When the world seems to drag by and weigh on my shoulders

I seek refuge in smooth thoughts and deep breaths

Elusive peace flees from my grasping fingers

Like reaching for smoke in a fog

Sounds of tinkling water and the hum of bees sing to me

I search for the quiet of a calm mind

Yeah, Um, Ok.

The world is full of splashy billboards and cleverly marketed circus peanuts.
Even with my Phantom necklace and bedazzled Vicki's pants, I'm feeling a bit blah today.
Perhaps too much yard work and not enough sushi could be causing my case of the Monday's, but I have more on my mind than manual labor and raw fish.
My teeth are moving south and, unfortunately, so is my butt. I'm glad for one, not so much the other.
The amount of work on my desk is outwaying any idea of running tourist around Boston. But... If my laptop won't cooperate, I may have no choice but to act like some Chinese national, proudly wearing my trolley sticker and snapping pics like a non-pro.
That reminds me, I need to get my car inspected so I can be legal again and not worry about being arrested in DC. Not the worst place to get arrested, I assure you.
One day I plan to organize a small bedroom into my own little arts and crafts studio. Oh, a girl can dream.
Just when you think things have disappeared for good, they show up again in photo's you forgot about. Please keep me away from AquaNet.
The phone rings, the email dings, the paper weighs, the drop-ins stay, the issues grow, the powers know, the money slims, the bills spill.

Of Course

Why is the sun so sunny,

the moon so moony?

Why do the stars twinkle in the starry sky?

Why is the wind so windy,

the cold so cold?

Why is the silence so silent?

The heat, so hot it burns.

How is the air so airy,

the breeze so breezy?

What keeps the streams, streaming?

The waves, waving?

The tides turning?

Who made the trees so tall,

their green so green?

Who taught the birds their song,

the crickets their crick?

Who built the mountains so mighty,

the canyons so deep?

Who made me, Me?

God, of course.

Help Us Remember

Heavenly Father,
Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love. Matt 5:44

It's sunny outside!

As the days get shorter and the nights longer, my mind wanders through fuzzy mazes of clues and pastures. Rolling along the path, absent from the world's prerequisite of supposed truths. I spell relief with a good book, warm slippers and kiss on the forehead from someone who spoils me with sweetness. Through imagined climate change, destructive and rebuilding wars, famine and pandemics, I linger in the doorway leading to true happiness and peace. Baby steps along the road of life and learning. Will I walk this way again?

When...

When the world seems to be closing in and my cube walls suffocate all sense of freedom and energy, I close my eyes and picture a smooth green hillside to my left, a small creek running along the line of trees on my right. Sounds of cool running water, tickling over stones as it smooths the edges off my mind. Velvet breezes rustle leaves and creak high reaching branches above. Soft sunshine bathes my skin and warms my soul.

I do not know if this place is an actual recollection of some physical location, or a realm my imagination created to allow my escape from reality. Either way, I love coming here.

Visual Poetry

read into it what you will

Poem of the Day

INVICTUS
by
William Earnest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Song of the Day

Song of Aragorn

by

Bilbo Baggins

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

Tuesday is not Friday

As the day crawls by
Minutes seem to meander by my window
Taking a rest as the world holds its breath.

Time is a place without name
A thought without mind
An answer with no question

Who will hold our hands as we walk this path?
The guideposts change directions
Smoothing the edges of our travels

Is it Friday Yet?

Sitting in my cube

Pondering daily quotes and secret posts

Listening to nonsensical babble over cube walls

Mind wandering to wide open spaces

Unknown questions with questionable answers

Rants and raves assault my senses

Too much information, not enough fact

Wishing for the silence of rushing wind

Discovering that hard work has more meaningful definitions

Endless landscapes lead to ever expanding horizons

Quick trots and slow walks

Time stands still

Almost there...

Sunshine entices me to abandon never-ending responsibilities and frolic through a grass field, picking wildflowers and playing with the breeze.

The taunt of soft waves lapping upon white sand shores, tickle my mind away from paper and electric leashes.

Running my hand along a smooth horse's coat, scents of alfalfa and new hay fill my senses and create visions of riding off into the sunset.

Rain

Rain falls in torrents past glassy eyed cube dwellers

Wind shreds the clouds to strips, blocking the ever present sun

Feeble rays desire to penetrate the misty shield

Stillness reigns

Untitled

Layer of light
Breaks land from night
Sun's first rays
Not yet touch the sleeping
City lights
Quilt work patterns below

Whip cream clouds
Warm sun upon my face
Descending through layers
Dark then light
Farewell to the sun
Back to earth
And all that awaits

Again in the air
Again on the ground
Cities all look the same
Perspective on life
From His point of view
What will I find
Next time around?

...a Day in the Neighborhood

Rain streaks down my window.
Wet reflections off the cold asphault.
Bare trees still.
Soldiers at attention.
Ominous storm clouds.
Grey and forbidding.
Drops bounce off the windowsill.
Plummeting towards the earth.
Wind gusts past.
Sharp and cold.
Winter's chill hangs.

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

WILLIAM E. HENLEY

Poem of the Day

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I have ADD and... hey look, a Chicken!

Look Within

The beauty of a woman is not In the clothes she wears,

The figure that she carries,

Or the way she combs her hair...

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes,

Because that is the doorway to her heart,

The place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,

But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives,

The passion that she shows

And the beauty of a woman with

Passing years only grows!

The greatest truths I've ever learned came from Primary songs

I am a child of God

And so my needs are great

Help me to understand His words

Before it grows too late

Lead me

Guide me

Walk beside me

Help me find the way

Teach me all that I must do

To live with Him someday

Sick at Work

The negative fiscal impact of employees who go to work sick has been proven numerous times. Unhealthy employees are less productive and share their germs thus creating more unhealthy employees perpetuating the cycle. I understand this cycle of contamination, and yet...I am at work. Sick. Why, you may ask? Because I have work to do. Advisors to transition, e-mails to respond to, voicemails to call back, papers to push. Information to transmit, docs to fax, questions to answer, a seat to fill, a paycheck to earn, PTO days to not use.

Warm clouds of satin sheets
Gentle sunshine and songbirds singing lullabyes
Fresh air scented with vanilla
Breezing across my bare skin
Feathers under my head
Angels kiss my eyes closed
Floating on rivers of pink foam
Dreaming of flowers and cotton candy