at the edge
of the shadow
light meets dark
in a deception of
distinction and
division and
sometimes
dissention
but this edge
where light meets dark
is only an illusion
of differentiation
because under the shadow
no edge exists.
The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: Edge
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
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
life stories don’t end
they morph throughout time
as framed by
modern perceptions
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Frame
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
The best walking companion is
one who helps you see
your surroundings
with fresh eyes.
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Morning
When I look into your eyes
and see the profoundness within,
I am thankful that your spark of wisdom and grace
has been added to this
wounded and ailing planet.
When you look out
through those sparkling windows
at the chaos of the world to which you’ve come,
I doubt you are thankful
for the brokenness into which
you have been born.
But perhaps
in your wisdom and grace
you see healing and hope for this world
if only we would all
open our windows.
The Daily Post one-word prompt: Profound
What are our chances?
Slim to none, on a good day.
Then let's work with "slim."
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Narrow
Ψ
1.8
your “therapist look”
what lies hidden behind that
nonjudgmental mask
2.3
what will she ask me
or will she ask nothing – yet
wait for my reply
2.4
I trust you and yet
I don’t trust myself to know
in whom I can trust
2.18
I wish you’d somehow
relieve me of this shadow
but that’s not your job
Ψ
3.4
misconstrued feelings
I end up defending thoughts
that never were mine
3.9
I want to be heard
or so you told me, but then
you didn’t listen
3.10
not satisfying
agreeing to disagree
when I know I’m right
Ψ
3.11
laid to rest for years
you pulled back musty covers
hurts to be laid bare
3.12
heavy question posed;
answers blowin’ in the wind?
or just flighty thoughts?
Ψ
3.16
you look down, she said.
yes I am; I don’t know why.
I will try harder.
Ψ
3.17
wallowing in mire
wish you could pull me out, but
I know that’s my job
4.12
when things go too well
I feel the need for poison
that’s what she told me
4.13
which poison to choose
self-loathing memory loop
usually works
4.16
walking a thin line
why do I find it so hard
to choose happiness
Ψ
5.13
introspection time
I get your words but do I
want to make them mine
5.20
does it matter why
I feel and think as I do?
why yes, yes it does
6.27
what would I have done
if granted a do-over
hard to imagine
Ψ
6.28
what will I do now
each day is a do-over
up to me to choose
6.30
So what now? I asked.
Indeed, what now? she echoed.
I’m hopeful. Kind of.
7.22
rearranged my life
or at least the living room
life is next in line
Ψ
The Daily Post Discover Challenge: Shared Journeys
What Rhymes with Stanza? 