Health

Health is often unconsidered,

in its prime.

But thoughts will turn to little else,

given time.  

Fettle - a condition; to trim or clean the rough edges of clay or metal castings before firing.

Mettle – a person’s ability to cope well with difficulties, or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way.

Loss

Loss rends

     when what 

We’ve tended

     with love

Is gone. 

The metallic taste 

     of disbelief 

Accompanies life

     laid to waste. 

Hands lie still,

     left without tasks,

And sorrow invades

     with grief unmasked. 

There is nothing fair 

     when desire to care 

Faces only a void. 

The cruelest word is the ultimate outcome of life. 

No wonder we cling to resurrection. 

Weakness

 "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,

Little ones to him belong, they are weak but His is strong..."

The meek shall inherit

    the Earth, they say.

But what of the weak?

The negative connotations

    simply aren't fair

For all those who,

    burdened by care,

No longer have the stamina

    to endure

With strength.

I'll tell you a secret.

We are all susceptible.

Weakness is inevitable.

"Ready or not, here I come."

Pride

Pride is a swelling,

Dwelling in your chest -

Satisfaction growing,

All from knowing 

You did your best -

Best not let it 

Get puffed up tho - 

For ruffled feathers 

And pride

Go before a fall. 

Keep it in check 

And let it roost 

Then call upon 

That confidence 

Next time you need 

A boost. 

Flavors

What is the flavor

     of your day?

If you let it stew,

     do you add

A bay leaf

     to enhance the outcome?

Does it sparkle

     like rosé?

Or is it more blasé,

     as common and secure

As peanut butter -

Perhaps it’s exotic, like curry,

     come afar from the

Route of the

     ancient spice trade?

What have you made 

     from your recipes

For a flavorful life?

A Bird in Flight

Lift - torque 

Hollow bones - wings 

These are the things 

     that allow 

Your instinctual flight. 

How enviable to have

      both song and soaring 

As your genetic gifts. 

What rifts of the Earth do you see?

What silence is there near the stratosphere?

How lovely it must be

     to catch the warmth 

Of a thermal, spread wide - 

     and glide  

                Art by Charley Harper

Intelligence

Intelligence is two-fold - 

Acquisition and application 

     of knowledge. 

Too many steps, for most. 

“Read above your comprehension,” 

     my college professor said - 

Gone now - dead - 

     these many years.

His sage advice remains…

Seek. Understand. 

Implement.

So many are not taught

     and do not perceive, 

Do not give thought,

     and act instinctually.

Rationale lost.

The cost -

Humanity.

The Cathedral of Orvieto, Umbria, Italy.

Lorenzo Maitani (1275-1330)

A Walk

The greatest words

My dogs can hear

Are, “Do you want to go 

On a walk?”

It’s no cheap talk, 

The words they understand. 

A walk rectifies,

Sanctifies,

Remedies what ails you,

Heals what hurts you. 

Walking - step by step - 

As stone by stone -

Breaks dams and

Disassembles roadblocks 

To let ideas flow. 

A walk clears the air, parting

To let you egress there. 

Rippling light - feast of sight 

A walk is therapy 

For the senses. 

Bliss

A state of bliss -

How infrequent comes

This sensation. 

We yearn for that

Perfect peace and relaxation,

Security, fulfillment,

And the radiance

Of contentment. 

We seek it by vice,

Beauty, or design -

Food and wine can divine

It for a mite,

Euphoric taste with

Each succulent bite…

Eyes half-closed in drowsy

Splendor - seeing only

What pleases,

Bliss teases for

Longevity, but its brevity

Is what makes it precious.