June 2002 17’s

 

I can do a lot,

that which is mine to do well.

First I aim, then act.

I don’t mind my dreams.

Sometimes they help plan my day,

energize my hopes.

Today I plan to

let love flow. I have enough

Good to pass around.

I’ll forgive today,

knowing I’ll need to do it,

again and again.

My talents are put

to best use when I share them.

Sharing is a joy.

Imagination 

lifts me, fills me with hopeful 

possibilities.

Encouraging praise

lifts one up much higher than

criticism does.

How can one maintain 

a positive attitude?

Just stay committed.

It takes the courage

and strength of a warrior 

to ask for some help. 

It’s not important 

to always know how or why,

simply see the truth.

There are so many

ways to become beautiful,

loving the best of them.

Wee birds in a nest,

mom and dad feeding them still.

Faith in the future.

Imperfection is

a fact of life, at least it

is in my own life.

Seeing all discord

as an opportunity

can lead one to calm.

No comparisons.

They don’t have to measure up.

My Friends are unique.

Like the times, I change,

though throughout my many years,

Spirit is constant.

The one phrase I hope

to remember frequently:

May I be of help?

Sharing brings me joy.

I share my prosperity 

however I can.

My prayers are about

holding others in my heart,

seeing them all loved.

As my day begins,

I see opportunity 

to find joy, laughter.

Healing is outward,

the power of it inward.

It’s all in the mind.

I see it’s all Good,

thankful for all my teachers,

whose bright lights still shine.

I look and I see.

Sometimes I look and don’t see.

See what I’m saying?

It happened to me?

Nope, it just happened for me.

Living and learning.

Today I focus

on what is in my power,

my thoughts and feelings.

Trees tremble in fear,

Earth’s fever draining its lakes,

spring lambs stay sleeping.

When you love someone,

there’s no need to do the math.

No calculating.

I have prepped the soil,

pulled the weeds, planted the seeds.

Now it’s time to bloom.

I am most present

when I’m giving my whole heart

to what I’m doing.

I’m not an artist,

but see a lot to word-paint 

nearly everyday.

Heat, pressure, stress

 The Heat is On

In the southwest, spring is

viewed with a touch of worry,

as the Snowbirds leave us,

some east or northwest bound.

Winter’s days of easy warmth

yield to a different story

than in the nation’s cooler reaches,

where summer does not wound.

Southwest falls and winters,

and clearly, early spring,

are the reasons people

visit, and why many choose to stay.

but those remaining after April

know this one true thing,

that for all its beauty, summer’s

heat is our yearly price to pay.

It’s not the small reminders,

with the early heat of May.

With nights still cool, it

still allows a dance or two, a song.

It’s that we know

spring’s rapid days

too soon are summer’s.

My god, they get so long.

Everyday is truly special,

each a part of new beginnings,

living in this temporary vessel,

ever more so in life’s final innings, but

it’s the solstice already, close to the big heat,

and summer lurks, growling,

with her nineties warming the sand

beneath our trembling feet.

Sundays

 Simply Sundays 

One of my ministers,

a spiritual guide,

read to the congregation the contents

of one of my pumped-up poems,

the one suited to Memorial Day,

without me at her side.

I send her many works,

but with the plague and all,

we don’t actually meet,

but I watch her Sunday messages online,

appreciate the content while 

staring wistfully at my empty front row seat.

I like it that she likes

what spills from my pen,

laugh when she reminds 

the congregants who I am, 

the only one who sits in the front row,

the Marine, the elderly gentleman.

I miss being with those folks,

my comrades in Spirit,

as I watch the services,

double up with the recording,

grateful the download allows me to hear it.

Memorial Day 2022

 “When blue stars turned to gold

The families had to be told

Their loved ones, brave and bold,

Would be no longer theirs to hold”

In case you haven't been paying attention these past few decades after our war in Vietnam, the clock has been ticking.

"Of the 2,709,918 Americans who served in Vietnam , Less than 600,000 are estimated to be alive today, with the youngest American Vietnam veteran's age approximated to be 67 years old." How must it feel to be among the last quarter of all the Vietnam Veterans who served on the ground in Vietnam to be alive? Even more telling is how many Vietnam combat veterans are still alive today? Combat Veteran means being awarded a CIB. If one in ten saw sustained combat, then there may be as little as 60,000 of us left! Perhaps one reason for this is that there were times we had to drink out of bomb craters that were in areas sprayed with Agent Orange. Vietnam veterans are dying at annual rates estimated to be high enough that there will soon be only a few of us alive.

I don’t know about you, but it kind of gives me the chills, especially when I note the dwindling numbers of Korean and WWII combat veterans.

I write about these numbers mainly because I know that these are the brothers and sisters who most appreciate the meaning of Memorial Day, who know that this is not Veterans Day, but rather a far more important time in which we keep our pledge to honor the fallen, to remember, to reflect. It is not a day to wish others a “happy” anything, nor is it a special day to thank vets for their service, though there’s nothing wrong with doing so every day. So, my advice is to wish everyone, but especially the combat veterans, a day of peace, maybe tell them you hope that they are having a meaningful or thoughtful day, wish them well. Save “happy” for the mattress sales and BBQ restaurant promotions. 

Freedom

 Free Will

Craving freedom

from painful emotions,

but suffering exists.

All Buddhists know this,

at home, across oceans.

Feeling helpless,

alone,

doing nothing.

Would it help if

I alone

did just one thing?

So I write,

stay mindful,

light one candle,

pursue a personal freedom

as I give my friends

the love they deserve.

I fall short, of course,

but this is my path,

so I continue on.

Feeling Free

That day long ago when

for a little while, I died,

thought I was going home,

no sadness, no more fear,

no clinging to what’s here.

That year I’d gone to war,

all thrumming energy,

rising above the cacophony,

struggling beneath the fear,

wishing mightily to be invisible,

knowing I had put myself there,

all the elements of ego

so visible to God, 

if not to me.

Today, I have declared freedom 

from fear and darkness. 

Life is always present.

Grief has had its time,

in all its untidy dress,

complicated and deep,

feeling a lot like regret.

Now, there is 

less force, more flow,

less stress, more ease,

less fear, more Grace.

Take a sad song and make it better

 After R.E.M.’s  “Everybody Hurts”

Life Happens

When did it happen,

that all my friends got old?

Not all of them, but most.

When was it, exactly,

that running became impossible?

And, recently, walking sort of hurts.

When were the years

that my parents died? 

I think I’ve now outlived them.

When did we stop traveling,

was it after that long September?

Maybe we live now where we used to go.

When was it, I wonder,

that bananas lost their flavor?

Though I think, lately, they found it.

When was it, at which point,

that I started looking back,

trying to remember?

To tell the truth,

I can’t really worry 

about any of that.

I can’t stew

on the fact that

I might be a little fat. 

See, all of that stuff

is just lightweight,

unimportant fluff. 

I’m here right now,

happier than ever today,

no matter what comes my way. 

Circumstances don’t compare

to the pure Spiritual Truth 

of the why, what, when, who, where. 

Here’s a fact, the truth

of how the universe

does conspire…

No matter what the mirror says,

God’s gifts constantly 

lift me higher. 

May, 2022 17’s

 Time together here

on Earth is precious. I am

so grateful for us.

The longer I live,

the more Divinity I 

see in everything.

Be patient with you,

while you’re learning something new.

Don’t get discouraged.

Listen for your call. 

You are stronger than you think. 

Live beyond your fear. 

We all have talent.

Look within yourself to see.

We can change the world.

Those times when I think

I know everything are when

I can learn nothing.

Going nowhere helps

calm my thoughts of everywhere.

Today, I’m sitting.

When I can’t come up

with an answer, I know that 

Grace will carry me.

Embracing changes.

They are inevitable.

Sitting hopefully.

I find truth in the

present moment. There’s no more

I need to create.

Wash my hands, maintain

distance, keep myself free from 

fear and suffering.

I hear “their” viewpoint

and realize the world is 

not just black and white.

While separated,

we remain connected by

love which never ends.

I see you, love you,

and always support you in 

your magnificence.

When I wake in doubt,

I don’t despair. I simply

opt to recommit.

I release weak thoughts,

all useless thoughts of illness,

sitting in wholeness.

Rest and nutrition,

quiet time with family,

self care at its best.

I often make noise,

but I seldom notice it.

Tinnitus, you know. 

The present moment 

is the only moment. Might

as well settle in.

What noises did I

make, sounds did I hear, before

my parents were born?

Even when busy,

I can bless myself with rest. 

It’s time for a nap!

The earth’s needs are great.

When I feel overwhelmed,

I do what I can.

Forgiveness is an

ongoing process, not a

simple one and done.

Most often, it’s best

to just let things go, rather

than living with hate.

Engaging in thoughts

of gratitude will give one

a happier life.

If one would be kind

they might choose the right words from

their odd, random thoughts 

When I say things wrong,

it’s the next thing said which makes

me feel good or bad.

There is always good

being done in this wide world,

not only the bad.

I don’t pray to beg.

I pray to receive God’s will,

infinite blessing.

Today I plan to 

express peace by being it,

in the here and now.

I wake, look outside,

spy our beautiful garden,

see a place of grace.