Personal Growth
Love Poems
not very good
with love poems
to the world,
so they usually
just end up saying,
How’s it going?
to everyone they meet
Magic
She tapped her finger
& nothing happened
& she thought
she had lost her magic,
but it had only changed
& it took her awhile
to figure it out.
Magic Survivors
In a recovery group for people who’ve been sawed in 2 pieces at a magic show
Magical Beast
this is a magical beast
that holds the secret of
light & shadow
in a safe place
in her heart
& when it has been
too long grey,
she starts to dance & laugh
& cry & sing
& the sunlight fills her up
& spills in wild abandon
back into the world again
Make Believe
When I’m having
a really bad day,
she said, I pretend
I’m dead & you’d be
amazed how much that
perks you right up.
Losing Battle
I mainly like life to be peaceful
with a few loud noises thrown in
to remind me to be grateful
for the quiet I have, he said.
How is it going so far? I said
& he shrugged & said
he had children
& that was enough for me
to buy him a beer.
Listening Well
the hardest thing is listening well enough to quit worrying about dying
Lists
When I was younger I used to keep all the stuff I had in my pockets. There were a lot of rocks & little shiny things. As I got older it got to be too much to carry & I couldn’t remember why I kept it anyway so I finally got rid of it. Now, I make lists
Life Plan
I asked her what she planned to do with her life & she said she was way beyond that point already. I’m just happy I remember to be there when it happens, she said.
Listening For the Future (Feminine)
I’m on my way to the future, she said & I said, But you’re just sitting there listening & she smiled & said, It’s harder than you’d think with all the noise everyone else is making.
Listening For the Future (Masculine)
I’m on my way to the future, he said & I said, But you’re just sitting there listening & he smiled & said, It’s harder than you’d think with all the noise everyone else is making.
Life Cycle
This is a special bike that’s not very good at listening to excuses, so it takes you exactly where you really want to go & if you kick & scream it makes you pedal harder & go up steeper hills until you’re too out of breath to complain & after awhile, if you’re lucky, you start to see that it doesn’t really matter if you laugh or cry, because it just wants to ride like the wind
Life Machine
this is a machine that takes your life & does all the hard parts & leaves you all the parts you enjoy & almost everyone discovers they’re not the parts you’d think they were at first glance
Leaks
places where the light & rain get in with no regard for your virtues or reputation
Leaving Pieces
She left pieces of her life behind her everywhere she went. It’s easier to feel the sunlight without them, she said.
Joy of Spring
The birds brought seed & flowers & bits of brightly colored string & placed them in her hair while she slept so that she would remember the wild joy of spring when she finally awoke.
Knowing Right
I’m not so good at taking my own advice, she said, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s right.
Inventing Evil
He said who invented evil? & I said I wasn’t sure anybody invented it, it just happened when somebody got tired of all the effort it took to live right. They probably didn’t have anyone to teach them, he said & I thought to myself, we might be doing this right after all.
Invitation
It is not what you first think. There is no effort of will, no firm resolve in the face of this thing called living. There is only paying attention to the quiet each morning, while you hold your cup in the cool air & then that moment you choose to spread your love like a cloth upon the table & invite the whole day in again.
Invitation to a Future
this is an invitation to an amazing future & I can guarantee it because most futures are & even if they aren’t there are better things to do than blaming me about it