Doing the best I can with what I have
Bare toes, blue water
Minutes stretched thin across time
Watching tide’s return
Sand pipers scurry
Shy of ripples’ foamy touch
Dashing to safe shore
Footprints on the beach
Now you see them, now you don’t
Magical sunset
(Note: I’m tired of being sick and writing about being sick, so I went to the beach in my mind. The photos are all from Pinterest.)
Insistent cat paws
Tap tapping on my forehead
“Up human! Feed me!”
Inquiring meow
Catnip toy batted about
“Human! Play with me!
Sweet kitty kisses
Velvet nose, nuzzling cheeks
“Please human, pet me!”
Firmly established
Benchmarks of true excellence
One’s personal best
Quality measured
Quantity notwithstanding
Who sets the standard?
Do leopards count spots?
Does spring’s robin rank his songs?
Ah, humanity!
This was inspired by my friend Marty, who writes a terrific blog, snakesinthegrassblog.com. The content in Marty’s blog is always outstanding. He provides useful information in an entertaining format, and I always look forward to his posts. He subscribes to a high personal standard of writing.
Recently I shared with Marty that some days I really don’t feel like writing anything, but at the same time I hate to let the blog wither. I’m not reluctant to sacrifice quality for quantity. Is that a sad thing? Should I begin holding myself to a higher standard? But as I asked Marty, “Why start now?”
This silly blog sustains me in a weird way. To paraphrase Descartes, “I write, therefore I am.”
Peace, people.
A vintage photo of my cousin and his friends playing music on the beach inspired me to write this poem a couple of years ago. I’d forgotten about it until today when the photo showed up in his Facebook feed.
Rock on.
How Do I Love Him? In 25 Words or Less
On February 2nd
The search began
For a card proclaiming
Undying love for my man
I looked at flirty cards
And sexy ones
Religious and
Romantic ones
Those that didn’t
Catch my eye
Were too verbose
With too many verses for my guy.
The number one thing
He likes in a card
Is conciseness in verbiage,
Just a few words from a bard.
So I strive to appease
The less words the better
This year I found one
With only one letter:
👁 💖 U
I think he’ll like that message, don’t you? I’m not sure I can find one with a briefer one.
This is another of my collaborative pieces with photographer Julie Powell. I just love her artwork. Be sure to click the link to also have access to Julie’s site. Thanks!
I’m not feeling very energetic this morning. I’ll spare you the details, but hoping to see my doctor sometime today. In the meantime, I thought this previously posted poem might suffice for my daily offering.
Peace, people.
I tried to write a poem, but the words fell off the page
They puddled on the floor in coils of rhymes gone wrong
And no matter how hard I tried to gather them together
They slipped through my fingers too agitated to coalesce
No scheme, no order, no reason or reflection, no arbitrary alliteration
Hell, I’m no poet. I don’t even play one on tv.
This is a piece inspired by the wonderful Australian photographer, Julie Powell. She and I collaborated on several pieces awhile back, and they’ve been on my mind lately.
Today I pondered the good things in life that are free:
A kiss, a hug, honest conversation
A walk in the park, a turn on the swings
Saturdays doing nothing
A nap, a snuggle, a genuine smile
A song, a prayer, dancing in the dark
Warm sunshine on my face
A gentle touch, a kind word, a giggle
Shared tears, shared meals
The scent of fresh cut flowers
The songs of birds as they discuss the day
Now, all this pondering was prompted by a trip to a local office supply store. Did you know that it doesn’t cost a thing to use the hole punch at Staples? Winning!
Peace, people
