Tag: Hope

A warm bright spot

A warm bright spot

This world contains multitudes
It’s not one or the other
For every day full of sunshine and warmth
There’s a storm waiting to darken the sky
That will, too, eventually pass
And there’s often no sense
No reason
Why some get more of one
And some more of the other
And some not enough of either.
And I am just one small part of this world
One weightless drop of water,
One small beam of light,
But I am a part of it
It’s shape and feel
It’s light and darkness
So I seek to be a small, warm, bright spot
A gentle place to take a rest
Before moving on the way
And I seek not to take
But to give
Not to win
But to build
Not to hate
But to love
And I know I will fail sometimes
But I hope to succeed more times
And I hope you join me
And the world becomes a little warmer and brighter
Together.

How to help

How to help

I saw it on the news again
The same sad story
A man the world forgot
Neglected, didn’t shelter
Acting out a little
Crying out in pain
In a way that was inconvenient to society
His light extinguished too soon
By a violent wind
And I stand here
Lost in thought
Asking how to solve the problem
Asking where it comes from
And how I play a role
How can I help my fellow man?
When sometimes I feel I can hardly take care of myself
But that’s nothing
Compared to what he lived
But this problem is so big
And each of our parts is so small
It can feel hopeless
But that’s not a reason not to try
So I hope the next time I can do something
Something small or large
To help ease someone’s pain
I will do it
Without a seconds thought
And that there are millions just like me
Thinking the same.

The Fork in the Road

The Fork in the Road

Some want to be known
Some want to disappear
Sometimes it’s best to just be
To take the road in front of you
with all the twists and turns.
To look just ahead,
to see each fork in front
and only think about the next right thing.
Life is not always fair
It’s often a game of chance
Or a game of hard work and chance
Where both are needed
To get where we are going.
But the fates don’t bend to our will
So we can try to control the little we can
And hope that it’s enough.

Pain

Pain

You asked me why I make my life so hard
I’m not sure it’s like that
Maybe it’s just that I don’t care
That I don’t do anything to stop it
But why?
I guess when one fears the hard times
The burn in one’s arms
The lead in one’s bones
The fatigue that smothers like a blanket
That fear itself
Can do all that and more
Always running from pain
That’s only temporary
That won’t consume my soul.

But maybe it’s not that
Maybe it’s the contrast
The old cliche
No light without dark
I always identify with people who have known pain
In a life full of pleasure, the absence feels like pain
In a life full of struggle, pleasure feels like manna from Heaven
On a journey with no food or drink
Legs aching full of hunger and thirst
The first sight of civilization
The first sip of water, bite of food
These are worth living for
When one returns from a walk home in the cold rain
Fleeing thunder and lightning
Soaked to the bone
And you walk through the door to a warm home
The deep breath
The feeling of peace.

Or maybe it’s to train
For the next shoe to drop
It always will
And that’s ok
To be afraid of pain is to intensify it
But I greet pain as an old friend
Coming for a visit
Who will leave
And one day return again.

The Best Days of My Life

These days I feel I’m invincible
Ready to take on the world alone
I break rules, I escape gravity’s pull,
Ready to disprove everything known.
(They all say these are the best days of my life.)

A few years later I have hit my stride
I have a career, I am somebody.
I have accomplishments, family, pride,
I have everything I could want and more.
(I guess maybe these are the best days of my life.)

Now I move slow but with a twinkle in my eye
I’ve lived a long life full of joy and some strife
But when I look in my grandson’s eyes I know
That these are the best days of my life.

 

You’re only 22

You’re only 22

It is easy to fall into despair

When you look at your life and can’t tell what

You’ve done that matters. Why anyone should care

If you disappear. When it sinks, your gut,

Realizing that the things you want most

Are always floating just out of your reach.

When it feels your work is nothing to boast

About, that you have nothing you can teach

And it feels like you don’t know anything.

But that just means that you must press onward

And build, grow. You’re young. Your heart might yet sing

With happiness, more beautiful than birdsong.

Life’s a journey you’ve just begun. It’s true.

Never give up on yourself, you’re only twenty two.