Category: determination
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Parking lot civics
Last night, I dreamed of the old man who used to rest his hand on my head while talking with dad in the parking lot after church. He lived in an old clapboard farmhouse where gravel turned to blacktop and subdivisions grew among the corn. Rooted in old settler stock, he ran for state legislature…
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the vanity of underachieving
Send me 21st century Proverb to hang my hat on; push me to do more My adolescent self found Ecclesiastes and I have been too lazy to go beyond “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” I have two decades left and need to make up for 70 years of underachieving So send me a 21st…
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When shadows block the sun
If I cast my shadow behind me at the pond, turtles do not jump from bank to water. In our yard, I sit in a faded yellow chair my wife wants me to throw away. I don’t care what the neighbors think; why replace what conforms comfortably to my form? I go inside to pee,…
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Everyday
everyday the challenge the desire to change to become a better human everyday the self-knowledge the awareness of inconsistencies lies that become truths everyday you become older closer to death becoming more alive everyday you realize you will not live long enough to become perfect everyday you strive you become stronger and more and more…
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Berry picker
Wet winter walk Sunny spring remembrance Berries thick upon the bush Pick the easiest to gather Eat the plump and ripest ones When the easy harvest is done Reach among the thorns For the tart, the tiny, almost ripe Grateful for a hint of sweetness Held in bloodied hand 12-30-21
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High, narrow ledge
high, narrow ledge fire behind net below ready to jump – no wait – needing to jump he wonders if the last jumper was smaller than him holds his breath shuts his eyes steps into space 10-12-21
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the abusing vine
Before it strangles all life From the tree Cut the choking vine At the base of the trunk For a while It will remain Overhead as a reminder But in time it will fall away Dry and dead Gather it up From cold ground Pile it at the curb Let the city haul it away…
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Senescence 2021
Stop waiting for change; it will happen. Squash some bugs, pull weeds Water your garden; flowers grow into tomatoes 1-17-21
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Root naga
Out in the grass up for air and light thick as a rope tethering a ship in port root anchors tree. Tells me it has as much right as grass to be here and will defy my mower if it comes too close Until trees grow legs and walk he will stay only an ax,…
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happy/sad
I remember the morning breakfast at my parents’ table Dad in his chair by the window Mom making coffee, frying eggs, bustling, always bustling. He said, I wanted to tell you first; in that split second, I thought the worst, cancer or some other kind of slow dying. I left the Republican Party; they’ve lost…
My husband's poetry 