Pen to paper
Foot to floor
Courage now, darling
It’s safe to hope for more
Find freedom in the grace
That holds us all together
Storms pass with rolling wind
And it can all be weathered
Speak your peace
Make your art
I know the dangers of a broken heart
But it’s still beating
Beneath your hesitant skin
And it’s in the darkened brokenness
That the dawn’s rising will begin
Hold fast
Breathe deep
The mess of burning colour before you
Is becoming masterpiece
Brick Wall, Bending Hall
Each night,
Before I sleep,
I look at a photo
of Oxbow Bend
That my father took
One summer
At an age I don’t remember.
I am glad to know
That when I look away,
it still exists.
And I wonder
If good places exist,
Even when you look away,
Maybe good people do too.
Breath
May there be a Spirit that speaks
For me
When my heart stands so silent
Beneath
The skin that I’ve been standing in
Seeing
Each moment of heaven and hurt
Between
All the lifeless, listless
Ordinary
That I fear I am, that I fear I’ve become
Screening
You and I will laugh
Like sunrise to hear you breathe –
No fears left to face.
The Card
I have received many gifts from my mother over the years. Some gifts I count and keep, others I blindly accept without fully acknowledging their worth. She has surprised me with a full range of gifts, both material and beyond: a leather jacket she found on sale; a long hug after a hard day; a hot cup of coffee in the middle of studying for midterms; a new notebook (because she knows I always love another); a knowing look shot across the room.
But one of my favourite gifts from my mother was a bundle of hair elastics.
How the hair elastics became such a significant gift is a rather unnecessary story, with the exception of one detail – the card she attached to them. She filled the entire blank space with tender words of wisdom, but I find my favourite part in this one phrase:
“These hair elastics are to remind both of us to love even if an action is unlovely…”
I think I love words so much because my mother has always found ways to make life poetic.
To this day, when I tie my hair back in a hair elastic, I remember to love, even if an action is unlovely.
Thank you, Mama.
Home Again, Gone Again
Oh, that rambling man,
He’s burnin’ white hot down that highway
Tryin’ to make it to some hideaway
And finally rest his head
But shadows run faster than the world’s fastest man
So there ain’t no holding still
They’re even perched on the windowsill
When he awakes next morning
But there ain’t no time for mourning
For this ol’ rambling man
The bags are packed; his eyes are set
On the faintest of horizons
He don’t think that she’s gonna mind it
When she wakes to find him gone
‘Cause he was never really there,
That ol’ rambling man—
Only a scattered soul sent running scared.
Never really cared
Enough to set the story straight,
Never cared enough to wait
For someone else’s timing
And that sweet, sweet horizon is
Calling him away
So it’s out on the red dirt roads
For the second time this year
Thinks he’s gonna find “it” here
When he comes knockin’ at a new door
But the peace of a man knows more
Than to befriend a bitter shadow
So no sleep until tomorrow
Or maybe the day after…
Samwise’s Stirring Speech
This is one of my favorite scenes from the three Lord of the Rings movies. This one comes from The Two Towers, and I know it has a little Hollywood screenwriting trickery here.
Though a good portion of Sam’s speech does actually appear in the novel, this particular scene does not. In fact, Sam’s monologue about stories happens in Shelob’s cave–correct me if I’m wrong.
But, still, it’s such a great scene. And a lot of the dialogue is actually in the book.
Such a great, great film. Enjoy this classic scene from The Two Towers.
White Flags (A Forgotten Banner)
Good morning, child,
Greet the day before you!
Where wars are common
And strangers aren’t safe
Because of selfish sickness.
Don’t be disturbed, child –
We’re just doing what’s best for ourselves.
In the end, it creates happiness. (?)
The cruelties are necessary, child,
They make our bottom line.
It’s part of life, child.
It’s all part of being human.
We take our stand
And take our sides
‘Til the streets run red
And mothers sob –
Another day in paradise.
Why do you fret, child?
Why do you lament?
Why a heart so bent on peace?
It’s all a means to an end.
So wake, child,
And chase your dreams
No matter what the cost.
Soon enough, you’ll be sick as us –
Too enlightened to be lost.
Speak New Tongues
How to write Your praises
When You render me
So very speechless?
Often I wonder
If spirits speak a language
I do not yet know –
For I know when my heart swells,
You understand.
And I can see the script
In a spilling tear,
In a sweet embrace,
In a sunset, falling fast into stars.
Yes, You have crafted words
Far better, far beyond the ones
I speak.
So I will follow my swelling heart,
My singing spirit,
Home.
Maybe then I will have words;
Maybe then I will have words.
Once Over, Once More
I met a couple in the market
Married fifty-seven years.
And I hope that, someday, I’ll tell
Such stories with such words.
And I hope to smile at you when I say them,
For I intend to love you always.
I shall not call it perfect;
Such things don’t exist here.
But I will indeed call it wonderful
As you and I face our fears
Together, face our triumphs
Together. And doing so
With no regrets. I cannot regret
Because I know
I have chosen well with you.
And were we to reset time
And set the world spinning anew,
I would not chance to hesitate –
I would find you again,
Love you again,
Choose you again,
And again, and again.
Chasing Wind & Butterflies 