Category Archives: Gratitude

Measures

What is the measure of a man?
Is it his worst or best behaviors?
Does he have to rise to better or
Can he fall to his lowest point?
Measure him by size, his weight
His girth, his height, the peak of
His hat. See if he must duck at
The doorway or bow at his knee.
Who shall judge him and why?
Taller than an oak, or more
Crooked than a tree trunk makes
No matter. Sharper, wittier or
Foolish or kind. Measure him 
Inch by inch by intention and
By design. Let his measure be
Reflected in your love and care.

For good and all

The best is yet to come to those 
Who wait to see what the future
Will bring and where the road'll
Lead. I expect great things will
Await when you've waited and
You've seen. There's no measure
Of good that won't land on your
Plate. You've waited and stand
To get back what the wind blows
Back. Your heart is full; it's pure.
With all you've got, you'll get more
And more there'll be for you still
When you wait, see what's coming.

The habits of the old and wise

What are your daily habits?

Wiser than you were yesterday,
I'd say. All true, my habits will
Reflect my new-found skill at
Coping. True dat. The years play
On but still wisdom is hard-won.
Habits that were every day are
Harder, are easier. They are the
Same. Daily, I seek love, or fame, 
And acknowledgment. Is that 
Wise? Is there a prize for age?
Wisdom is just a stage in a life 
Full of frolic and strife. Habits
Should stay with you. A tacit 
Rule that defines what a habit
Must be - a practice, a custom,
Routine. Nothing to intervene,
Accustomed, and, then, some.

Simple truths

The work of the weary, the work of the wise 
Even the foolish or the giddy, the silly surprise
Every mood and all the timbres that color
Our world and brighten its doorstep, flowers 
Rocks, the hard and the soft fall into place
Everything so ugly so beautiful so dark interlace
We greet our days with tears, concern, laughter
Everything so puzzling, so clear greets us hereafter
We are wicked we are good both stupid and smart
The world we inhabit is so sweet,  and it is tart

Officially, summer

It's day two or maybe 3 of
Summer. Officially. There
Isn't much change since the
Spring. Temperatures about
What they were in May, that
Merry month sayeth A Bard
And so many of us concur, I
Won't counter the description.
Where does that leave June,
A month full of frolic and the
Start of a solstice of heat and
Passion? June will lead us to
July as we go trippingly deep
Into the cycle of months until
Fall comes to whisk away the
Heat and bring us the falling
Leaves of autumn. Also an
Autumnal sadness but oh my
I love the fall and wait for the
Falling temperatures to clear
The air and bring a sweater
Chill. The autumn is sweet, a
Season for a transition likely
Towards the more serious of
Our thoughts. Meanwhile we
Are here in June anticipating
Swims and picnics and kites.

Who’s that?

Time has changed us so much 
We are unrecognizable even to
Ourselves. I certainly don't know
The woman in our wedding photo
The man by her side has been so
Transformed, he might not be you
But I know it is. Changed, but the
Spirit lives on in your eyes. Cute
As you were then, maybe cuter as
Time has added years and taken
Nothing, maybe given back what 
We never had before if that were 
Possible. We always knew who 
We were. Changes puzzled us, 
But they changed nothing. Time.

Dawdle

If it's dawdling in plain sight
Then I am trained for it. Not 
Just trained but training. My
Skills are in moving. Slowly. 
Or you might say deliberately 
Across the tableaux that are
Your games. I know the rules.
I can ignore them or play upon
Them. My effort is well worth
It. You have met your match.

Love … enough

Words of love are exchanged, but
Common and unexceptional. They
Don't meet your expectations yet
They are true and accurate. Just to 
The point. What more can we hope 
To hear? Murmurs and whispers of
Affection and adoration might be
Enough to keep in our hearts when 
Our hearts are open when the sky
Is blue or the sunset pink when it's 
Hot and it's summer or we enjoyed 
A walk in a drizzle or suddenly saw
What the other meant about that
New brand of coffee. Love is enough
If you love enough and it's cold or 
It's just winter when the clouds are
Billowing and the sun fades as if it
Never appeared or we ate a really
Great salad or suddenly understood 
That enigmatic cartoon or figured 
Out what that ending said about 
How it all began. Love is enough.