Am I Nostradamus? Nah…

I’m no future predictor and my lived track record fully attests to that. Oy. On the other hand, my many years surviving so far may have given me a step ahead in assessing probabilities. That’s only a guess. So, I hope you’ll indulge me a little on my year-end musings for life in general for the upcoming one.

On December 31, 2019, I posted a small thought on a sense of optimism with a coat of trepidation that I’d felt then for the upcoming 2020. I had nothing concrete in support of that feeling, but it really didn’t take long for that intuition to receive validation.

Twenty four hours later our family was devastated by the shocking death of a family member; only 20 days later, shocked again with the diagnosis of a fatal disease for another, and that all soon followed by the announcement of the world-wide pandemic. I suppose to say the world would also soon feel the shake-up would be a bit of an understatement.

I’d surmised in those early 2020 days, that this was a sort of re-set decade where we’d all be tested and revealed to be who we really are. The Decade of Exposure. A time when scales are removed from our eyes and the plugs removed from our ears and we take an honest hard look and accounting of the world we have built around and within, ourselves.

We’ve certainly gotten our eyes and ears full of that, haven’t we? The Decade of Exposure. It isn’t stopping at exposure either; the next steps are up to us and we are obliged to follow through or lose so much. It’s been a series of painful events, this world-wide learning curve to see what is, but it’s one that seems utterly necessary. We need to see it all to clean up our messes, whether on the micro or macro levels of our lives. Seems like that’s coming to fruition to a large degree too and thank goodness, because we are so far behind in equalizing equities and upholding justices.

We’re reviewing our leaderships; the people we choose to call our heroes; the rules of oligarchs and societal norms; the roles we all play and what our value is within them. We’re seeing how we’re manipulated by those factors and more, but through this, we’ve begun some promising insight for ourselves. It’s been something to see and hear so many, very thoughtful people moving to the forefront to speak up and challenge the cacophony of extremes, breaking up a good swath of apathy.

It’s this that tugs at that sense of optimism again for me. Still, despite my known lack in future reading, I can’t shake the sense of a bit of a continuing uphill challenge for 2023. I feel this winter will be a bit of a tester on several fronts and to remain cautious, to live with a little extra care, seems a good idea. My own relief is the belief that good things are soon coming behind all that. Our work to do better begins to pay off. We’re all a little wiser and better. At least, that’s my best dream, if not actual prescience.

And so, with that I wish all the very best for the new year. May all good dreams come true.

RL

Balancing challenge
Beauty and muddled chaos
Peace behind the fog
RL

Photo: Evening Snowfall, by DaXXe, Deviant Art

Introspection cleanse
Insight sparked
Reflection winner

RL

Photo: Brossen, by DaXXe, Deviant Art

Phoetry Secrets

I got lost in reveries until I was found, in a secret garden. Gem after gem hidden in plain sight; easily overlooked if a tennis or basketball court or a skateboarding park was the day’s goal. A slight veer off the beaten path and we were suddenly surrounded with joyful abundance – foods, flowers, pecking and scurrying friends. Veiled comfort shrouded by the sentinel trees. Bliss-inducing cooler air, sumptuous scents and the antics of competitive birds, squirrels and all their other woods-based rivals.

It was a good day to sit back and let life. I (we) should do that more often…

broke into pieces
but on a steel horse I ride
scrappy warrior

innoscents abound
purity of spirit sings
olfactory bliss

a Flicker of hope
silent prayers for a moment
to capture a song

languidly landing
“busy, busy”, they decree
Ain’t no time to play

mind your business
uninvited intruder
leave my nuts untouched 😉

a little yellow
brightens the world with a touch
even a birthday

It’s been a very busy year, with all moving toward bigger and better, but oh, to get back to more regularly combining camera and poetry… Balance is, in fact, the real spice of life. Here’s hoping we all get a little more even in the long run…

Cheers!

RL

Phoetry is Back, Part 2

An ode to adventures at home in three lines and a photo, continued…

No longer sunken
Laid to rest in solitude
Rust-worthy pursuits

#Haiku
Skimming the ripples
Decisions, oh decisions
Water or the sky

#haiku
Due care practised well
Warm welcome upon return
Shrouds begin to lift

#Haiku
It felt tropical
A palm tree in full disguise
Willing to be fooled

#Haiku
Luna is hiding
No, I’m not shy; I’m beaming
Perfectly in frame

#Haiku

RL

All photos by Blog Woman!!!

Phoetry is Back, Part 1

It was forever since I looked at where I live. I’ve been mostly in the business of adjusting to new normals – again. Still. Look, can we finally just face that we really have no idea what normal really was? A lot of what was normal badly needed the revision anyway. I guess we’re all still working on it.

In the meantime, home commanded my attention. I forgot what an adventure home is…

Home sweet home
Tantalizing dreams
Still fathoms

#Lune #photo #poetry
Pleasure sits idle
Labor has punched in the clock
Unlocked and undocked

#Haiku
Memories fill up
Years of crossing my own paths
Storied bridges fade

#haiku
She accepted it
Cradling the final moments
Inevitable

#Haiku
Planetarium
Setting the spotlight focus
Lunar favorite

#haiku

RL

All photos by Blog Woman!!!

Natural Progress

Summer haikus; poetic respite in between the cares and the concerns of Spring and the prep work for Fall…

Photos from my first attempt at a deck garden.

Green bean sprout

Delicacies reign
Effortless sustenance hails
Tendril-loving care

RL

Wild flowers

Seedy flirtations
Lusciously coloring life
Carelessly strewn joy

RL

Green onion flower; sweet seeds

Allium cepa
Flavorful accessory
Verdant stems of pride

RL

Goth petunias
Black velvet grows in boxes
Textural wealth

RL

Tobacco flowers/seeds

Future offerings
Seeds of faith, promise & love
Gratitude’s bounty

RL

First Thought

This could be a Spring of retreat; a step or two toward the past. Maybe time on our hands and loads of room for reflection. My own longings lean toward the masses questioning all the holes in all the systems that Covid-19 surged right up to our every sensibility.

My next prayer is that all this new-found realization of what matters, this renewed knowledge of what essential is, will not get tossed and lost for good by most.

Reflection choices can be simple too; in fact, the majority of mine certainly are. I can’t believe how much it means to walk in the woods right now. All the smells of Spring are especially entrancing, and I am so in beyond land when I look at the tender shoots that replaced the tiny seeds I planted weeks ago. I’m so excited to be a back deck farmer this year. Small things. The every things.

It was within these lines of thought on this lazy Thursday, I was reminded of a sweet and lovely moment of 3 years ago, when we were allowed more fearless touch.

Wishing all a gentle and inspiring weekend.

morning bliss I am the first thought
On his mind as daybreak blinks
Sunday morning bliss…

 Gently smudging pain’s traces
Sweetly replacing facades

RL

Haiku / Tanka

Inspired by the artwork of: aaronpaquette.net and prompted by: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/heal/

2020

The whirlwinds of life have been carrying me across a map of wonder and occasionally, just plain confusion. The decade of 10s has left me wide open; it dumped me into a sense of knowing, but bereft of detail. Oh, how I despise the statement, “I know, but I don’t know”, and yet, here I am…

I have high hopes for 2020, and though I don’t know what the shift is going to be, I sense it. A large one and it’s going to be interesting. You feel this too, right? It’ll maybe even be pretty bumpy, but the ends will justify the Universe’s means – and let’s face it, we asked for it.

Perhaps, that’s why I’d like to usher in this new era lightly, maybe even a tad timidly. Nah, I’ve outgrown timidity; long ago. Damned long ago. Still, it feels right to simply step in softly and a little carefully. Boldness will eventually be called for, of that I feel certain, but in a bit.

For now, I revel in the small pleasures, like the smile that crosses my boy’s face when he’s told meatloaf is for dinner. ( I make a good meatloaf. Just sayin’.) Or, when I get to look at photos for the year and they inspire a small dive into humble poetic pleasures. …

Winter’s moon calls for rest
Centering contemplation
Replenishing growth

A heart’s library
Body of knowledge embraced
Contentment attained

Pushing boundaries
A cast and crew of courage
Therapeutic art


And finally, my boy’s choice for my 2020 profile. Of course, he took the photo, so his bias is likely far more basic than the object of his artistry 😉 .

Holiday bounty
Lovely evening awaits
Surprise packages

As always, I remain grateful to those who follow my meandering thoughts & trials and to those who reply with the most gorgeous dollops of kindness and insight. I look forward to continuing to learn and then, with the best of success that my prayers allow, share that education meaningfully. And when it isn’t education, may all our poetic and humorous days flourish! I also look forward to reading as much as I can within my writing communities. The amount of talent to sort through is the loveliest of problems.

To all, I wish a healthily successful 2020 and a courageous, joy-filled new decade.

Cheers,

RL

Phoetic February: Sunday Moody Sundays

It’s been about a month’s worth of thoughtful weekly beginnings. Something in the air… change, newness, the call of Spring? I don’t know. I do know each one gave me something personal; something not quite typical…

Heralding Hues

Waning assurance?
Maybe merely fine-tuning
Imminent promise

#haiku #rainbows

RL

Moonstruck

Reverent howling
Eerie, the Blood Wolf Moon Eve 
Neighbourhood braced

#haiku #lunareclipse

RL

Sunday SoftlySunday night refuge
Musical libations soothe
Under homemade stars

#haiku #pubdreams

RL

Singing Our Lives With His WordsSong flows like whiskey
Tenderly trickling around 
Fading memories

#haiku #musicalpoets

RL

Capturing Spring, an Ode to Grace

It’s a beautiful thing, watching our yards convert and conform to the winding of the world.  I think this is the real new year in motion. It inspires my hopes for personal growth in a good way, in as much as the grace found in the beauty of these Spring markers…

Springalings

Sweetly bells appeal
No blue states of mind remain
Smiles swell, bud to bud

RL

Spring Siren

P4037637.JPG

Hints of lush promise
Purity tinged seduction
Daffodil’s disguise

RL

Beautiful Dreamer

Beauty softly speaks
Within Magnolia dreams
Gentle folds embrace

RL