there is a custodian where i work
(environmental services i suppose i should say)

he wouldn't care if i called him
a janitor

i don't know his name

he is a man of color

he has a caribbean accent

he is gray on top

and he is always

smiling

he is so genuine

when he says "how are you?"
he stops
and waits for an answer

he means it

i wonder...
what is his story?

how lucky he is

i bet his mother was always smiling
...and singing
i bet she was singing

i wonder....
how does he do it?

how does he do......................it?

does he know how lucky he is?
(he's a janitor for God's sake)

does he envy me
and the salary i make?

there is no envy in him

only in me

Only….

IN SILENCE…
     am I able to hear.
IN LONELINESS…
     am I near.
IN BROKENESS…
     am I made whole.
IN SUBMISSION…
     am I led.
IN SURRENDER…

     I AM

          Only!

emotions

Kaleidoscopes of doubt
intrude my mind

slowly i uncoil

myriads of light
force themselves

weight imposes

pressing against the
power of emotions

i rise

anyway

Jane

the sound

of the written

germinates

within me

powerful emotions-

painted on wood

turning my heart

from steel

to fire

and back again-

precise recognition

of feelings

rebirth of

emotions

memories

tributes

to treasures stolen from

long forgotten moments-

childhood and

beyond

memories

wretched from

gray hibernation

and resonating

shades of black

or white

depending on

the moon

and God

Mood of the Day

Walking away

from the pricks and barbs

of life

Toward the light

of solace

Finding

the reality

of dreams

moments of me and you

warm days of summer
....mingling
cool autumn air


drops of dew
....tickling
our tent

tongues of fire
....stabbing
star choked nights


fall colored leaves
....tempting
mountain trails


sweat and sun
....smearing
day weary shirts


lusty green eyes
....gazing
....grazing
visions of blue


....Moments of me and you

Ruby Nell

Sitting on the front porch
playing "I spy"
while shelling peas
(shelling peas was fun then)


Playing in the dirt for hours
...matchbox cars and old spoons
... she worked the garden


Following behind
Shoes with holes
and faded dresses---
pedaling produce
at the local grocer


Shucking corn in the kitchen
Eating homemade, hot biscuits
slathered with sorghum molasses


Wringer washers and threats of
crushed limbs

"As the World Turns" for her
"Dark Shadows" for us


Standing at the stove...
always cooking, canning, freezing

Chocolate pies
with meringue-perfectly browned
spilling over the edge


No fancy dishes
Nothing that matched
Except her beautiful, blue eyes

Grandmama
Ruby Nell


for Magpie Tales #14-- http://www.magpietales.blogspot.com/

I'm off to work my 36 hours but before I go I want to just say:

Thank You Lord for all the support and encouragement you have given me through friends, family and now my kindhearted fellow bloggers. Your creation is indeed a wonderful and miraculous thing to behold!

Amy

Mystery: "What ARE they saying?"

"But I must hug the tree..."

"BUT YOU CAN'T HUG THE TREE..."

(there's one in every crowd)

"Darling could you help me with

this chastity belt?

I feel the overwhelming need to push!"

"For some odd reason, I feel I should pursue a career in plumbing."

"My name is Sara Cophagus. Could you assist me?

I'm feeling a bit unwound."

submitted for Theme Thursday---visit at http://www.themethursday.blogspot.com/

"There is in every woman's heart a
spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in
the broad daylight of prosperity; but which
kindles up, and beams and blazes in the
dark hour of adversity."
                    Washington Irving

photo: "Elements Aligned"-M. Geistweite

I'm
frightened

because my world has changed

it's easy to take on
new
when you are surrounded by
old

but what happens when
new
meets
unknown?

past
coping mechanisms
no longer work

life is
upside down

where are
You
Lord?

You've always been there!

I know You are

here
now...

Stillness

brings

Peace

Ever have a brilliant thought

that flees straight from your mind

You wonder, will it return

Have I the chance to find...

The moment that I'd love to share

with those I love to love

It's gone-alas

this fleet idea

and left me here alone.

A thought went up my mind to-day

That I have had before,

But did not finish,---some way back,

I could not fix the year,

Nor where it went, nor why it came

The second time to me,

Nor definitely what it was,

Have I the art to say.

But somewhere in my soul, I know

I've met the thing before;

It just reminded me--'t was all--

And came my way no more.

E.D.---of course ;)

eye think
therefore
eye yam

eye yam not
what
you
think

eye yam from the
south

eye yam proud of
my southage

eye yam thankful
that You
hear me

Eye
yam

YES, I YAM!

please check http://www.magpietales.blogspot.com/. so much more than me

Time pricks the dawn

as dew penetrates the night

walking away from the rust

of ideals once held sacred

and polished daily

new replaces old

sunrise on the fringes

of  conformity

Resolution fades into

acceptance

Contentment refreshes the air

as struggles from the past

become shadows in the distance

Beginning again

Transparency without

intimidation

Awakening

Revelation

Revival

I Came by to buy a smile-today-

But just a single smile-

The smallest one upon your face

Will suit me just as well-

The one that no one else would miss

It shone so very small-

I'm pleading at the "counter"-sir-

Could you afford to sell-

e.d. # 223

Please someone let me out of here....

Oh wait...freedom is right behind me...

Smiles!!

Just finished reading Willow's post on Lynn Redgrave's death. She could not have been more poignant when she wrote that we " need to seize the day and stop to buy a big juicy chunk of life". And in my Southern Bible Belt tradition, my only comment  was "Amen sister". I hope Willow knows that receiving that comment from an American Southerner is one of the highest compliments that can be rendered in word form.

Prior to sitting down to savor my favorite blog sites, I spent at least an hour looking over photos taken on the momentous day.

Turning fifty has been such a joy. Contrary to the way I thought I was going to feel, my life seems to have settled. All the dust is gone and my heart is much clearer.

My two wonderful children took me for a walk down memory lane. The walk was peaceful regardless of the many, major struggles we were reminded of while on our stroll. I believe the wonderful personalities that have blossomed in my children were cultivated by working through the difficulties in life with perseverance and humor.

For the first time in my life I am able to:

accept differences without feeling I need to defend my position
be more confident than conforming
realize that a bad day or anger is only a faint whisper of difficulty
that life REALLY IS too short to waste
the future promises nothing but good things for those who seek it

I'm relaxed....I enjoy....I'm looking forward to good things.

So- on that note I want to share some of God's promises for the future:

My only regret is that I didn't turn fifty sooner.........

Just kidding!

The close of a great
day

The beginning of a new
decade


Children
Grandchildren
Friends
Family


Time spent with the past
and the future


You and me
Mine and yours


Youth and Age
Time and turmoil


You lay in bed watching the tube
I sit and read poems on the net


I love chimes and solitude
You love The Stones and me


You want time to stay and 
the years to be savored


I love change and
confronting the unknown


I believe you are mine...
I know you well


But then...
I know you will
never divulge
the
core
of
you


You believe I am yours...
you know me well


But then
I know that I can't
allow myself
to
become
vulnerable
once
again


You give yourself to me
I give myself to you


Just not totally
Just not today


Even on a perfect day
Like Today

Pink

Lyda Rose

shy

sweet 

simple

single

faint smell of musk

varied hues
of feminine

accessorized with gold

classic

but not

traditional-
in the orthodox
sense

many wonder

if this beauty

is even a rose

to some it

isn't--

to me it

is--

the perfect

 shade
of pink

my
favorite rose

Today is the big Five O birthday party.
Funny but I don't feel like I thought I would-old I mean...
Or at least older.

I actually feel rather young and excited.
This whole diagnosis thing may have been just the ticket :)

Locked into the sphere
Held captive by
Omnipotence

Loved by the Creator
who separated the dark
from the light
and water from
Earth

From dawn to dusk
they repeat
Sun to Moon
and back again

Toothless grin to
toothless grimace

Swimming round
and round again

Perspective changes with
the prisms of life
like a rainbow after the rain

None-the-less
Swimming round
the
Cycle of life

Created for Magpie Tales. To see more visit http://magpietales.blogspot.com