I Traded My Violin for a Piano

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Linking with The Sunday Muse for Muse # 38

C o m e   j o i n  us!

Sometimes troubles blow into our lives unforgiving like winter

Singing a sad ballad one could never forget.

In seasons passed when hardship played its tune

I used to sit on a cold bench

Unwilling to learn the notes

Too sad to even sing the song

Now in the winter years of my life

I shake off the cold heart of troubles

with a fling wilder than a grand affair

and sing the song louder

than an opera singer on the stage

I have danced that dance enough times

so I have learned all the moves

I know the notes by heart

and the chorus is now written

 just for me to sing

ssssshhhhhhhh

my solo is about to start.

There are many lessons that take a life time to learn, and I think dealing with problems and adversity are one of those things.  I have spent many years in the past thinking that if things just got better I would then be happy.  Truth is, life is full of problems that arise quicker than a summer thunderstorm.  We will always have situations where things do not go just as we would choose, and learning to be happy in the place we are is much like learning to play a song on the piano.  It is something that takes practice and patience.  Eventually we learn to sing the song and play the notes, but it does not happen right off the bat.  Truly it is a lesson I still struggle with from time to time, but I have gotten better.  I no longer cry in my bear, I now sip tea and reflect, pray, and find outlets that are healthier.  I guess life is a never ending journey of learning.  We never outgrow needing the metronome when trying to keep up with the beat ahead. 

©Carrie Van Horn 2019

Hanging In There

I had a lover's quarrel with the world.  ~Robert Frost, The Lesson for Today, 1942

I just wanted to take the time to let you know that I am still alive and kicking.  The last couple of years have been stressful ones for me.  Some of you know my troubles but many do not, and I apolagize for not explaining any further at this time.  I just have been hanging in there the best I can.  On top of everything else I recently changed job locations as well.  I work at a different library now, and I no longer have time to spend blogging and reading blogs the way I used to.  That is why I have not participated in Magpie Tales, One Shot,or Thing Tank, latley.  I did not want to post a poem and not be able to read the other poems that were linked to those sites.  I am working on getting internet at home, and then that will give me an opportunity to read and blog the way I would like.  Thank you for all for taking the time to read my blog and becoming a dear friend and encourager.  I may not be blogging, but my heart is still in it, and all the wonderful friends that I have met along the way are still in my thoughts and prayers. I promise I will be back....for now, I am just

hanging in there.

Ripple In The Water

Thursday Think Tank Prompt #12

One rock leads to another hard knock

as she flows her haphazard descent

a journey full of lessons

that do not know relent

one measured stroke

affects the next

just like the constant molding of the potter

so she flows with

each ripple in the water

she is reaching for a destination

broader than her nomad home

moving closer and closer

to the greater unknown

the everchanging tide

pulls and tugs until he's got her

and so she goes

just another ripple

in the water.

Hope Whispers When It Speaks

Inperfect Prose

I spent many frightened nights
in a stupor creeping down the stairs
with the subtlety of snow
drifting to my father's bedside
afraid to truly awaken him
yet softly calling his name
and tapping his arm
as uncertain as a scarf in the breeze
I stood there for what seemed to be hours
waiting for him to notice me
like I had done so many times before
but he never did
years later he still never knew
of my presence those weary nights
yet I had been there
just the same.




"Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark."  ~George Lles

Life can be hard, and sometimes it can seem too uncertain, but I have learned that no matter how difficult it may be...there is always hope...we just loose sight of it sometimes.  Like dry land to a sailor, we venture beyond the horizon, but that does not mean that the land vanished from exhistance, only that it is out of our direct sight.  The continent of hope still rests on the oceans of our life.

Just Breath

Magpie #28

I layed there

still like stone

and slow like callus

waiting for

the ripples

to smooth out

like sheets.

I spent many years hoping for things to go smooth, and afraid of life's troubles rippling out of control.  Now, I have come to understand that all the troubles are what have molded me, like smooth stones on a river. For as a result, I am a better person, a stronger woman, and capable of facing change.

Magpie Tales a wonderful site for writers!

The Open Road

Poets United Thursday Think Tank Prompt # 9

When the world closes in on me like elevator doors

and life's troubles send me to the basement floor

one cure that rescues my spirits back up

is not an elixir you pour in a cup

you cannot buy it and place on a shelf

no roadmap or guiede book can really help

it is simply the freedom of the open road

that clears my mind and sooths my soul

it can be sunny or stormy weather

and if the destination is grandkids thats even better

I don't need to go far you see... I just need time to think

so give me the car keys and some gasoline.

I know to some this may sound very environmentaly unfriendly, but if it helps your view on it; I do recycle. :-)