Wordless Wednesday (Week 35)
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Author Archives: Maggie C
Pop-top
I opened my mind once;
pulled that ring on the pop-top lid
and peeled it back.
It made a scritchy noise, that
aluminum on aluminum sound you hear
when you pull the tab on
your favorite cheap canned beer.
My mind hadn’t been opened
in a very long time, and I was curious as to
what might come pouring out.
Imagine my surprise when
I tipped it bottoms up and found
Not. One. Drop.
The thing about opening a parched mind
is that it suddenly realizes just how
thirsty it’s been.
It wants to sate itself with new experiences.
New thoughts, sights, sounds, aromas.
New textures, emotions, connections, insights.
And surprises. It craves the unexpected.
Have you ever tried to replace
a pop-top tab on a can of cheap beer
once the can’s been thoroughly shaken?
With froth shooting out and
liquid overflowing, it’s impossible.
You wouldn’t want to close it back up, anyway.
Once unsealed, if you don’t drink the beverage fresh,
it just goes flat and stale.
I couldn’t close my mind again,
couldn’t make that pop-top tab
fit back into place.
But that’s okay.
If I don’t imbibe these new
experiences while fresh,
they will just go stale and flat.
Let’s raise a toast
to open minds!
(But let’s forego
the cheap canned beer.)
The Daily Post Discover Challenge: Open-Minded
Perspective
Those held earthbound
are cheated of the birds-eye views
that put the vastness of life
into greater perspective.
Those perpetually airborne
miss the intimate details
that keep our daily lives
in grounded perspective.
Those who soar
with an eye for potential
and touch down
to solid reality
experience life
with a sound perspective
within which ideas
can take glorious flight.
The Daily Post daily prompt: Cheat
Weekend Coffee Share 8/27/16
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I can hardly believe it’s almost September. I’m looking forward to the arrival of autumn and its cooler weather. The photo above was taken in mid-July, and now the flowers have all dried up and wilted from the recent heat.
This week I’m hosting my daughter’s miniature long-haired dachshund, and he and my Chules are doing their best to keep the lawn watered. It’s a losing battle, but I’m keeping them well hydrated so they can fight the good fight.
If we were having coffee, we might be sitting on my deck in the back yard watching the squirrels as they harvest walnuts from my trees. Sometimes in the late afternoons, the squirrels are so busy in the trees it almost sounds like the crackling of a campfire. Fortunately, Chules is a live-and-let-live kind of dog, so the squirrels don’t have much to fear from him.
My cat Sebastian isn’t much of a hunter either. The few times I’ve seen him actually catch something, he seemed quite surprised and rather confused, not knowing what to do next, and I’ve managed to release the prey unharmed (though a bit damp) from his mouth and send it on its way.
I guess I’d better get started on the day now. I can’t let the squirrels show me up with their industriousness. Thanks for sharing my morning coffee with me. I hope the coming week goes well for you.
#WeekendCoffeeShare is hosted by Diana at parttimemonsterblog.com.
Canine Culpability
It’s National Dog Day. Let’s celebrate man’s best friend (and world’s worst actors).
“I’m really sorry I did it. Really, really sorry. Um… which ‘it’ did you discover?”
“I don’t know why the cat dug up the water sprinkler, but I scared him away just before you got here.”
“There’s something stuck between my teeth? How embarrassing. Do you have a mirror?”
Cat: “If stealth were a diet, you dogs would starve. Some day I’ll teach you the fine art of aloofness.”
Dog: “You’re a real pal, cat.”
Cat: “Let’s just keep that between you and me. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
Even in Death
life stories don’t end
they morph throughout time
as framed by
modern perceptions
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Frame
Wordless Wednesday (Week 34)
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Discovery
I wanted to get away from it all, even though
I didn’t know what “it all” was exactly.
I just knew it wasn’t where I was,
and it wasn’t
sitting within the same walls and
looking out the same windows and
thinking the same thoughts and
falling into the same rutted patterns
of my daily existence.
I searched for someplace remote
but near civilization,
rustic
but with amenities,
in the wilderness
but not too wild…
and I found it:
a cabin
in the woods
in a forest
that I had thought only existed
in my dreams,
and it was
sitting on a porch
with my closest family members
looking at wildlife and tall trees and mountains in the distance,
thinking more expansively in the vastness of the forest,
falling into new patterns of peaceful companionship,
and while getting away from it all
I discovered that “it all”
is actually a matter of perspective and
is always
exactly where I am.
The Daily Post Discover Challenge: Designed for You
The Daily Post daily prompt: Learning
Weekend Coffee Share 8/20/16
If we were having coffee… well, we wouldn’t be. Not yet. It’s barely light outside. I’m dog-sitting for my daughter and her sweet Bella seems to think my wake up time should be 3:00 a.m. It’s not.
Nonetheless, I gave up at 5 a.m. and here I sit, eyes half-mast, cold brew coffee not sitting well in my empty stomach, and plotting a very early nap. Like maybe as soon as I get the dogs fed.
I could go out in search of those golden hour photo ops I wrote about yesterday, but the morning sky is hazy today, and the only thing golden I see out the window is my parched lawn. I guess it’s more of a dark straw color, but “golden” makes it sound much more appealing. And almost intentional.
The postal delivery guy accidentally stuck my neighbor’s water bill in my mail box the other day, and when I took the bill over to the neighbor I joked that I guess I could have paid it for him. His response was, “You wouldn’t want to, I’ve been watering my lawn so much this month.”
Hmmm. Did I detect an unspoken “…and so should you,” clause at the end of that remark? Nah. My dead lawn just helps make his look that much greener. I’m actually doing him a favor. Maybe he should be paying my water bill.
It’s getting light outside now. I’d better go feed the dogs. Then I can take my nap. Who cares that it’s only 6:30 in the morning? Not I.
#WeekendCoffeeShare is hosted by Diana at Parttimemonsterblog.com.
Rare Gold: Early Morning Light
Shortly after obtaining my puppy Chules, we began training. Chules is an America Eskimo dog, which is a breed known for ease of training, so I was eager to get started. True to his breed, things moved along quickly.
The first thing Chules trained me in was the absolute necessity of rising early in the morning and heading out for a daily walk before we did anything else. Anything. Like coffee, breakfast, waking up…
The reward in learning this trick was that I was often out and about during the morning “golden hour,” when lighting is said to be ideal for outdoor photography. Not that I really knew how to capitalize on the opportunity, but I did get some photos during our walks that I was rather pleased with.
Now that Chules is older, training is less intense, and we sleep in a bit longer. I rarely catch the golden hour anymore, and a part of me misses it. But not the part of me that likes to drink coffee and have an unrushed breakfast in the morning.
That part of me continues to defy training. As does Chules. I don’t mind, though, because to me, Chules is more precious than gold.
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Rare
What Rhymes with Stanza? 