Stop whining!

My mom used to say, “If you can’t stand the heat 

Get out of the kitchen!” Which didn’t mean

“If you don’t like it, leave,” 

But rather, “Stop whining and solve the problem!” 

And soon I learned to make a list: 

Ten things I could do to deal with the situation.

But frankly, some days, I’d rather just whine…

A rainbow of hope

It’s January 6th again, 

Five years after the capitol insurrection, 

And across the sea of my negative thoughts, 

Beneath the clouds of discouragement, 

I’m pleased to see a tiny rainbow of hope, 

And pray that it will grow into a world 

Where all the colors are once again 

Welcomed and appreciated.

Moving forward

With the new year comes a new path: 

It may not be clear where it’s going, 

And I can already see 

That there will be obstacles, 

No promise of safety, 

And no guarantees of success, 

But steps must be taken if we’re to emerge 

From this feeling of helplessness, 

Powerlessness, and inertia.

A tiny beam of hope

When so much is so wrong in the world,

 I find this wee shed heartening:

 The thought that, for however long 

It took the moss to cover this roof 

And the ivy to climb up its walls 

This shed’s allowed a trusting exchange 

Of fresh eggs, gathered by human hands, 

And money, left by grateful neighbors, 

Reassures me: 

Somewhere there’s still hope and honesty…

To a brighter future

I know things are feeling pretty rocky right now: 

The values that lit our way for so long 

Appear to be behind us, 

And increasingly obscured 

By clouds of self-interest and greed, 

But now’s the time to reach within 

And find the courage to sail forward

 Into a brighter future we can define 

Ruled by compassion and hope.

The rule of five

Having just learned there are five 

Components to a scene in a play,

 I wonder if the rule might apply 

To a picture as well, and stare at this one. 

There are the cattails in the foreground, 

And the shorebirds in the water; 

The houses on the flatland, 

The trees on the hill, 

And the clouds in the sky, 

But do they tell a story, or just sit there? 

Have they anything to offer 

Besides stillness and beauty?

Happy New Year!

May the New Year that awaits us all 

Prove as peaceful as this scene, 

And may everyone find a place at the table.