Hills I've Climbed
Now she lives in Austin, she says,
surrounded by friends and family,
having retired when her legs went south
long before the movers arrived;
before the "Now what?" of it moved in.
She can't conceive of who she must have been back then,
before... way before... all her world turned.
Night comfort is her arms wrapped around her beautiful body,
calmly pleading her case for sleep's freedom.
It will be okay, she tells herself,
and marks another diurnal done.
First light brings the usual self-medicating mental stunts
or perhaps performing a dance of smiles,
looking out from inside herself
through the pain darkly.
— Granny
It's only uphill to the top.
~ Grenard's 1st Law
of Bicycling
May what you think, and what you say, and what you do, be in harmony.
Attempts at HAIKU
a group of noisy sparrows
over the front door -
truancy and mess.
Nearing geezerhood
at very alarming rate
despite best efforts.
chirping of sparrows-
morning sun on grass
paper on driveway.
Shine red, white and blue
give us peace, hope, love, today
stars and stripes forever.
High above the door
Their detritous on the porch
Messy little birds.
McDonald's not downsizing -
Both buns and waistlines
Are supersizing.
broken camera
the front yard blue
with wildflowers
nudist camp
where to begin
with the sunblock
The only sure antidote to oblivion is the creation.
So I loop my sentences around the trunks of maples,
hook them into the parched soil,
anchor them to rock, to moon and stars,
wrap them tenderly around the ankles of those I love.
From down in the pit I give a tug,
to make sure my rope of words is firmly hooked into the world,
and then up I climb.
— Scott Russell Sanders, Staying Put: Making A Home in a Restless World.
Do I hear Don MacLean singing,
"Bad news on the doorstep,
I couldn't take one more step . . ."
You must do the thing you think you cannot do. — Eleanor Roosevelt
Happiness is not a destination. It is the attitude with which you choose to travel. — Arit Desal
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars. — Les Brown
Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost.
— Thomas J. Watson
How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. — George Washington Carver
Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing about who that is. It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely the path that is your life.
— Jon Kabat-Zinn
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