Monday, August 25, 2014

The Brilliant Teacher

Starry Night by Alex Ruiz
 
 
 
 
 
"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
 
 
 
Every soul is a brilliant student and teacher
 like the stars in the midnight sky.
Each endeavor we undertake
 is a shimmering example
be it wrong or be it right.
 
All the decisions one man can manufacture
are a beacon for those willing to truly view
and they become a bright lesson of guidance
of what another man should never do.


For our lives are a monument on display
 like a planetarium or chalk board at school,
and our actions profess the truths
that speaks for both scholars and for fools.








One thing I have learned over the years watching people and taking a closer look into my own mirror is this:


We all are teachers in this life.  We advise others not just in our triumphs but also in our mistakes.   Like stars in the midnight sky we shine bright when it is dark.  Adversity and how we handle it can be the most brilliant teacher of all.  It enlightens understanding much faster than the way of complacency for both the individual and the onlookers.   The clergy teach us, but so does the criminal.  They each have a message to share.   For this world is one big classroom, and we are not just the students we are the teachers as well. 






What is the brightest lesson your life has taught to someone else in your sphere of influence?
Has someone in your life taught you a valuable lesson you would like to share?






Saturday, August 23, 2014

A Fragile Force

Google Images
 
 
 
If grass can grow through cement, love can find you at every time in your life. ~Cher

Friday, August 22, 2014

Map for the Moon

Google Images


 Linking with Poetry Jam for the "Paths" prompt.
"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth."
~Buddha



I have never held a map for the moon within my hands
though I have journeyed there just the same.
With empty pockets and no compass for land
heading to uncharted territory with no title nor claim.

The future holds a ticket that I lost somewhere in the past
a place I don't belong but revisit with tourists and fools.
Fishing for food with a line I could never cast
hoping for amnesty due to bending a thousand rules.

 Lessons are like a dirt road that have pebbles under our feet
we learn to step on them gently and where not to step.
For life has a way of providing the trial that will teach
yet it is up to us to gain knowledge and utilize the test.


Sometimes the lesson that is hardest to learn is the" not" instead of the "do".  What not to do or not to go.  In recovery they talk a lot about insanity, and what it truly means.  Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.  I have found that in my life the things that I struggle with most are trying to control what is not my place to do.  Like a map for the moon, it is not my place to tread, nor is it truly an option to try.  Yet, I still keep on heading back down that path.  Hoping to change something that is not truly within my grasp, like a map for the moon, I do not hold the power to change anyone or anything outside of my own self.  I understand the lesson, yet I keep retaking the test.  I guess that makes me either an eager student or an insane one.  You do the math. :-)

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

A Mighty Force

Yell Sound, Shetland, 2014, by R.A.D. Stainforth


 For what avail the plough or sail,

Or land or life, if freedom fail?

~Ralph Waldo Emerson




The grand escape of bondage's chains
 is carried by swift feet to a better place.

We untie the knots and cut what binds
 with bloody hands in record time.

Risking capture we press on brave
forging for freedom through wind and rain.

Freedom's hope is not a faint of heart force
that sails forward no matter how rough the course.

It has a message that whispers not
it yells of liberty and never stops.

For anything that stands in it's way
is risking downfall for freedom's sake.



The will to survive is a mighty force, so when our life and liberties are in danger all the courage our soul possesses carries us through to escape the hands of peril where they lay.  Like adrenaline increases our strength to lift a car off a mother's leg, our deep longing to breathe in the place we feel we belong empowers us to defy the odds before us.  When I saw this picture prompt provided by the one and only Stainforth, the first thing that popped into my head was the word escape.  You can view it as a wonderful vacation escape to the isles or fleeing to other shores from danger or the law.  However you look at it, the word escape holds a powerful meaning in our lives.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this photo spoke to me one big one.

 

Thursday, August 14, 2014

The Daring Exploration

Google Images 

"Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door."  ~ Emily Dickinson


It is a noble yet desperate search the exploration 
we launch in the names of fulfillment and happiness
an excavation into the deepest of passions 
like a worm hole in the sand.
burrowing to the distant shores of man
longing for a verse that defines us
and a dream that makes beautiful
the ugliness of regret's disdain
taking back the loss
and filling it with something more
for brother sister lover and friend
you and I and yesterday's elderly 
the dead poets and all children's hopes
each worthy of the call
the voice of humanity
it is an echo of longing's song
that rings out far beyond the grave.


Linking with Imaginary Gardens 
and with Poets United









Monday, August 11, 2014

To Bear the Burden

Google Images


"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."  ~ C S. Lewis
 


Grief is a long and heavy coat
 that winter cannot bear by itself.

It carries into the heat of summer
 stealing youth's folly and it's wealth.

It tarries through to autumn
where November's rains turn to snow

and tears not yet fallen wait
for remembrance to let them go.

Time lightens it's ominous burden
yet it's garment never truly tears.

For grief is a long and heavy coat
that must be placed in God's loving care.


Linking with Imaginary Gardens for "The Tuesday Platform"
Hello beautiful Toads. :-)

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Homemade Moonshine

Google Images


"We are here and it is now.  Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine."
~ H. L. Mencken

Like a ringing phone at 2 am
white lightning has a certain kick
it grabs you at the gut
and then hits ya with a brick.

It holds the utter power
to make yer troubles run
it woos them with a sigh
and then shoots em with a gun.

The only trouble with the liquor
is it aint got a lick of aim
it makes a lotta noise
but troubles live on just the same.

So if ya got a heartache
that won't just leave ya be
forget the drink and jug
just stay sober and have green tea.

linking with Poetry Jam and the "Homemade" prompt.






Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?

Elizabeth Taylor, Set of  "Giant", by Frank Worth


The Mag #231



Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night. ~Terri Guillemets


I have skinned my knees for far lesser things
recklessly chasing tumbleweeds and lassoing dreams
carrying the load with my own bare hands
searching for meaning on my own spot of land
it takes giant strength to break a steed
and yet another kind to set him free
so now I plow hard on a lonely plain
hoping for sunshine praying for rain
for finding purpose and chasing dreams
is a thirsty calling and a tricky thing
you can get stuck in the mud falling hard
or lose your way and break your heart
either way it is an awkward gravel path
where boots get torn and tires go flat
so cowards need not apply for this post
keep your baggage and just stay home
I'm searching for greater things something more
and it can't be bought at the corner store
I will probably get robbed or ripped to shreds
digging for gold that could never be lent
but that has never before shattered my dreams
and I have skinned my knees for far lesser things.