So says the first line of Mary Oliver’s incandescent poem, “Wild Geese”. Have you read it? If not, I highly recommend it, as I do all her poems. Although maybe you’re not into poetry. Maybe you prefer rally driving, in which case, you’re probably not wasting your driving time reading this… And why would you?
You were probably told as a child that you had to be good. This usually meant curbing some kind of anti-social behaviour or other. For example:
- Yes, you must kiss weird Great Aunt Mabel who you’ve never met before even though she has a hair…
These times we live in,
these times we live in.
How to cope,
How to cope?
What to do?
Where to turn?
The doctor, the partner, the friend? The great outdoors? All of the above?
Times are hard, we say. Haven’t they always been? A different kind of hard, a new kind of hard. We no longer deal with raids by gangs of marauding vikings. Or neighbouring clansmen trying to steal our land. Although in some parts of the world, they probably do. Maybe someone is stealing your peace of mind. …
(If you’re hoping for an article on bestiality, click away now)!
This is Star. Well, that is a lie, although the dog in the photo is such a dead ringer, she might as well be. A cream golden retriever with melting chocolate eyes and a black velvet nose, too beautiful for her future Baby-Daddy to resist, when he met her for the first time last week.
The encounter that ensued was eye-opening, mind expanding even, causing me to ponder, yet again, why we think we are superior to the animals. I discovered, through this experience, that Frank & Honest is not just a brand of coffee.
Picture the scene: Star and…
My children are lovely little creatures, they really are. However … They are not ones to mince their words and are honest to an absolute fault.
In the unlikely event that their mother should start to suffer from an inflated sense of self importance, they have mastered the art of taking her down a peg or ten.
You will note, during the course of this list, that the majority of these insults relate to my sartorial elegance, or lack thereof, and my culinary ability, or complete absence of same.
So here we go — in no particular order:
- ‘Is that…
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better
Albert Einstein
Mr Einstein was a man who knew a thing or two.
And the wonderful thing is, the wisdom that was available to him, is available to all of us, as evidenced by the above quote.
Not one among us is banished from the sunset. Even the prisoner can look up at a patch of sky, observe the colours melding, the orange into magenta, watch them swirl together, in awe.
It is this sense of awe that reminds us of the glory of the universe, the magnificence of…
I didn’t know my way,
When I set out this morning,
Turned out there was no need,
Because I was led.
***
As I chose my own way,
The buzzard, she chose me,
Flew over my path,
And drew me to her.
***
‘This entrance’, she said,
This part of the forest,
Just follow my lead,
I won’t steer you wrong.
***
So I let the dogs loose,
And I hardly see them,
They exit so quickly,
Merge into the bush.
***
My eyes follow
Her recent path,
My footfalls fall with me.
I can only trudge, as she has…
Let me write my way out of this.
Out of this city of devastating blows,
When there is nowhere else
To go
But the pure, blank page.
The last refuge,
Like the church of old,
A sacred place, where you dwell in protection,
From the outside world.
That threatens as it pulls,
That cannot invade,
At least in here,
If only here.
Where the good can come and congregate,
Against the bad,
Where we can re group,
And band together,
Chanting with our pens,
An incantation,
Against the forces that are banding up against us.
But they will find that…
Sometimes it can feel like the universe,
Is forcing your hand before you are ready.
Ready to take the plunge,
That enormous leap of faith,
To say those words,
That need to be spoken,
To do the deed,
That has been crying out to be done,
For all of your eternity.
And you might well ask yourself,
Is this the time?
Is this my time?
With the universe watching,
Holding out a safety net,
To catch you,
And land you on your feet again,
Maybe bounce you even higher,
Then you’ve ever been before.
Can you do it?
Can you…
Do you feel as if you’re living
With the results of past decisions?
Because you are.
That is reality.
Reality is merely a reflection of your past,
A result of where you’ve been,
And not a reflection
Of where you are going.
Because the power is in the now.
What are you going to do with it?
This moment.
Your power.
Squander it with regret?
About where you are at present,
Or envisage a new day,
Where clarity is yours,
And true satisfaction
Is the name of the game.
Fill up your fantasies
With everything that is pleasing to you.
…
In your refusal to help me
You set me free
From a lifetime of bondage
When I don’t owe you anything
I only owe myself
And I can give to myself
My everything.
In your refusal to help me
You force me to step
Into the woman
I was destined to be,
But stopped myself
Because I thought
You were there to help me.
In your refusal to help
You grant me clarity
The only one who can guard my back
Is me.
Your inability to come to my rescue
Shows that I can rescue myself.
In your refusal to…
