OUR BABIES AND OUT LITTLE DOGS

 

I notice if we’re out with our great-granddaughter…even for a little while

when people, complete strangers, see her…they cannot help but smile.

If we’re in a restaurant and she’s sitting there…

intensely observing people walking to and fro…

everyone who sees her smiles…then stops…just to say hello.

I also notice when walking Arrow…our friends little dog…even for a little while

when people, complete strangers, see her….they cannot help but smile.

On the street or on a path…wherever we choose to go 

everyone who sees her smiles…then stops… just to say hello 

 

It’s difficult to understand…I truly must confess

the power ones so small and trusting and pure… 

and innocent doth possess.

When considering this phenomenon…a thought occurred to me:

Seeing how both a baby and a little dog radiate an innocence…

that immediately transfers on to anyone they see…

What if all the troubles of the world….

the fighting, the killing, the wars, the hateful dialogue….

could be solved if everyone brought to the negotiating table…

a baby…or a little dog.

When it comes to our prejudices and disagreements…

all the doom and gloom

a baby and a dog would go a long way 

to ease the tensions in the room….

All the leaders of the world…

when confronted with ones so innocent and small

would instantly be reminded…

of what is truly important to us all.

I like to think it would change the fighting…the killing

the wars and hateful dialogues…

For how could the leaders of the world…

look into those innocent faces

then make decisions 

that will kill our babies and our little dogs.

DOING WHAT CHILDREN DO

 

From the time I was a child I’ve been blessed to find comfort in life’s little things…

Like running among the falling leaves of autumn…pretending I have wings.

Like sitting on our porch in the mountains…with the moon and stars aglow

Listening to an owl’s closing aria accompanied by a chorus of crickets below.

It likens me back to when I was a child……a simpler time when my biggest worry 

was falling off my bike and scraping my knees

When life was easier…more innocent…and I had fewer responsibilities 

 

But now that I am older…able to sit back and enjoy the blessings a long life brings

I’ve come full circle…and I am, once again, finding comfort in life’s little things.

Like sitting on our porch…being an excited but silent cheerleader

to a diverse array of feathery creatures who frequent our bird feeders.

Like pulling over on our way home from Asheville…just the other day….

to stop and admire what artists in the town of Canton created out of hay.

There on the side of the highway…greeting every passerby

was a cornstalk standing next to a black bear…who was happily waving ‘HI’.

We walked around this corn stalk and bear…in the middle of a beautiful Autumn day…

admiring the talent and the creativity of this simple road art…sculpted out of hay.

If you happened by you’d have see two children…in their 70’s…

on the side of the road… playing in the hay.

reliving a simpler time that…as we grow older…has a tendency to slip away…

It’s funny when you think about it…

when we’re young and the world is fun and innocent and new

as children we often secretly wish to do what grown-ups do.

But when we’re older…and once again the world is fun and innocent and new

you can often find us doing…exactly what children do.

GODLENROD

 

I was cleaning our roof the other day…when I ran across something odd….

growing out of some moss on our roof…was a single goldenrod.

I love goldenrods for their bright yellow color…but that’s not all…

I love how they’re nature’s way of announcing  

summer’s almost over and we’re heading for the Fall.

I also love how they’re a symbol of good luck…

and how their medicinal uses have been broad.

but on the roof I remembered the story 

of the very first goldenrod:

An old woman was walking in a dark forest one night…

she was exhausted and confused…

She asked the tress for a branch to help her walk

but every tree refused.

When a small neglected stick on the ground

Said, “I’ll do my best to support you.

If you make me your walking stick

I’ll be happy to escort you.”

When they emerged from out the forest…

the old woman set the little stick next to a tree…

then said, “I am actually a fairy princess….

and I’d like to thank you for helping me…

She smiled then sprinkled that stick with gold dust

as the sun illuminated the early morn…

and because of that fairy’s magic

the first goldenrod was born.

It is a beautiful story…

Do I believe it’s true?

Do I believe a stick can be transformed 

into a flower with a yellow hue?

I do!  

Because standing proudly before me

was absolute and positive proof….

a descendant of the very first goldenrod

growing on our roof.

PAINTING OF TEH FALL

 

I was brought up believing God is an artist…

that she has an artist’s eye.

How else can you explain how every day

she paints the land…the sea…the sky?

I love never knowing what painting I will see

because each day of every season she paints so differently.

Her winter colors are muted…

peace, serenity and solitude…they convey

She paints like Whistler and Picasso 

when they dabbled in white and gray

In springtime she paints in greater detail

as buds on the trees and flowers appear.

She begins to use more lively colors

and paint like da Vinci and Vermeer.

Her summer hues burst off her canvas

as the number of her pallets increase.

Diverse colors show up everywhere

as she paints like Van Gogh and Matisse.

But my favorite season of her painting

as each day I look out and am enthralled

is when her unique colors of summer

blend into impressions of the Fall.

I picture her in her heavenly studio

constantly mixing colors deciding on this day’s motif

surrounded by her brushes

as she paints…then repaints each leaf.

I love when she paints Like Whistler and Picasso in Winter,

Like da Vinci and Vermeer in Spring

And when she paints like Van Gogh and Matisse in summer

I love all the colors she brings…

But I prefer the Fall….sitting among the trees

as the sun illuminates the day…

and watching how her colors blend together…

as she paints the season like Monet.

WHEN WE REALIZE

 

When our children are babies…it is a bonus…a plus

that their circle of life is small…it totally revolves around us…

Our job is to to keep them safe and happy and warm

to love them, provide for them…and shelter them from every storm.

And when they stumble or scrape a knee…when misfortune begins to rain

to be there with a hug…a smile and a band-aid to help to ease their pain. 

But along the way,…for this is what life is meant to do,

their circle begins to broaden and expand…beyond our limited view.

And there comes a moment when they’re out of our sight…

a moment that on every parent….takes its toll…

when we realize we’re not always there to help them…

we no longer have that control.

It is the point…the moment…from where most parental worry stems…

when we realize we cannot stop…the world from hurting them.

But once our babies lives have expanded far beyond our view

not to worry…there is still something as parents we can do.

We can let our forever babies always be aware

that should they ever need us…in an instant…we’ll be there.

Recreating those times…when they were babies

we’ll be there to love, and hug and feed them….

we’ll bring our smiles, our hugs…

and our band-aids

should they ever need them.