LEGEND IN A HAT

Excerpt from "LEGEND IN A HAT"

I’ve come to the end of myself to realize I can be content with little. But other days I have this hole burning inside me. I reiterate my blessings.

But the other half of me eats up my contentment and pushes me out on a ledge beyond my comfort level I look out on the horizon and shout –

I want to be legendary, like Mother Teresa, when they look past her decrepit state and prune like skin and only see her God within.

Photo by Amy Ward (AWARD studios)

IF NOT NOW WHEN

bits and pieces from the poem "IF NOT NOW WHEN?"

It is behind you, it's in the past.
wounds heal, scars last.
Let it heal, don’t pick it open.
Goals don't come by hopin’.
when will you accomplish your dream?
Don’t drift aimlessly down the stream.

paddle to get where you are going.
You’re beautiful even with scars showing.
You can achieve what you want to.
Set your face against the wind, push through.
Let go of what is holding you down.
Stay afloat, you don’t have to drown.


photo by RT Norland

FEATHER

Excerpt from the poem "Feather"

The feather floats down on a gentle breeze...

The boy works up his resolve and goes at it with gusto
it slips past his little fist mocking the boy's youth...

He could walk away and forget about it...
but if he continues to try...

The feather eventually lands on the ground...

he feigns victory over the now lifeless feather
which has become a feather in his cap;
no one the wiser of how it was captured,
only that it was.

HOW DOES ONE WAIT FOR THEIR ANSWERS

Excerpt from the Poem "How does one Wait for their Answers?"

..."No one is exempt from pain; the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. It’s all in how the situation is handled; do you sit on the sidewalk and cry and continue to get soaked or do you run for temporary cover under an umbrella?

Do you seek shelter and what do you do if all the doors of the shelter are locked? Do you pound on the windows, try to break in or leave a note on the door? Or do you do all of the above, cry, find an umbrella, try to get shelter? And if all else fails while you’re waiting for your answer, do you lay down to moan in the road of life and risk being run over, or do you dance in rain until your answer arrives?"


photo by RT Norland

FINANCIAL RUIN

Excerpt from the Poem "Financial Ruin"

"He looked at the stack of bills and he was stewin’
“Linda you’re going to lead us into financial ruin...

She didn’t spend like this when things were going great;
This was her drug of choice when she chose to medicate...

Maybe a second job to pay for this kind of stuff;
She knew deep down it would never be enough...

They had a problem and she knew she was the only mender;
Read a proverb and agreed “The borrower is servant to the lender.”

EMPTY YOUR MIND

Excerpt from the poem "Empty Your Mind"

"...Empty your mind of all that is untrue
Including so-called facts spoken to you.
Go with your gut and listen to your spirit
Block out the negative, chose not to hear it.

Focus on what is good and what is right,
It will improve your stance when you fight.
Concentrate on the good things you want to add,
Not things you must take away, considered bad...

Spend time only with friends who are kind,
And when it comes to others, empty your mind."

CONFIDENTIAL LETTER

Excerpt from the poem "Confidential Letter"

So here it all is, with all my faults and each failure;
Putting it in this self-sealing bubble-wrap mailer.
I’m addressing it to you, and it’s only for your eyes;
Knowing the content inside could bring my demise.

I trust you fully; I see the compassion on your face;
It’s others I don’t trust… that’s why it’s now in the fire place.

CONFETTI

Excerpt from the poem Confetti

How easy is it for us to judge someone,
or cast them aside as if they have no problems
because of the confetti type lifestyle
they appear to have, in all of its extravagance,
cars, clothes, jewelry, but all is a façade
and can hide their own secret burnings
that they shelter in their heart,
that you would never get to know
if you didn’t open it up and look inside.


Photo by Adrian Carr

BURNING BRIDGE

Excerpt from the poem "Burning Bridge"

"...“What if I don’t do it right, what if it can’t be fought;
What if it still consumes me and the fire has me caught?”
Then I in flames unwillingly plummet to my grave;
What if it’s all in vain and this fire can’t be stayed?

Torment chokes me, knocks out my knees, I drop paralyzed;
A little voice reminds me “One won’t know unless one tries.”
Extinguisher fizzes, nothing comes out, as the flames continue to rise,
I should have just jumped, and herein lies my demise.

Try again the voice proclaims, and I squeeze with all my might;
Not only did I live, I took the chance and did what was right..."

Photo by RT Norland

BLADE OF GRASS

Excerpt from the poem "BLADE OF GRASS"

"...Though the world presses down upon us, we are but a blade of grass;
We can respond with love in tenacity and not come across crass.
Keep fighting through it though under the sidewalk you lay;
Strengthen yourself and look for the crack in it today.
Keep pushing in this life and know that you can make a dent;
Who says you can’t be the blade of grass to push through the cement!"

ART

Excerpt from the poem "ART"

"It amazes me how certian people seem to worship art,
but not the one who made it with a bleeding heart.

Someone put their blood, sweat, and tears into that masterpiece;
the only thing some are concerned about is how he painted the geese.

I want to know about the person, what makes them faint?
What gives them joy, not just the mixture of the paint..."


Skateboard painted by Jesee Munoz

AND THEY CALL ANIMALS DUMB

Excerpt from AND THEY CALL ANIMALS DUMB

"...Ants work all the time getting food stored for winter;
Critters crossing ‘harms way’ not afraid of getting a splinter.
They don’t make decisions based on their pleasure;
Nor for convenience sake, it’s not something they measure.

A bear may risk getting stung trying to get some honey;
But they wouldn’t sell out their own family for money."

A MOMENT OF INSIGHT

There are moments in life when we are called upon to do things we’ve never done before; to attempt things we have no expertise in; and it’s only us, no one to call, life line or expert panel, not even those in the full yellow page ad to save us; just us and the dilemma..........


In the end you are the one stuck with whatever decision you make. So do you relish the crazy insight and throw out everyone’s including your own lifetime of experience? You know the results of what will be if you take the road well advised and traveled… I suggest the grassy knoll of the narrow path, and then you won’t live the rest of your life in ‘what if’s’.

A Digital Camera

Excerpt from "A Digital Camera"

"...I have taken hundreds of pictures since I got my new digital camera,
I have captured so many beautiful and insignificant moments;
only you would never know it by looking at my photo album.
The pictures are stuck in digital hell,
and just about the time you think you will print them
because your camera is too full,
you download them to your computer to deal with later;
only later doesn’t come..."