Life On A B-I7

Poetry Challenge Day 222 (Sat May 14)

Happy Birthday daughter.
Of all the things that could be said.
Of all the things that bring me pride.
You are at the very top of my list.

Not a day goes by
that I don’t think of you.
Perhaps you find that hard to believe,
I understand… still it is true.

If I could give you anything in the world
I surly would (besides my love of course).
But for now, this simple poem
will have to do.

And if there were any doubt in your mind
to whom I am referring,
it is to all of you.
Three times blessed am I.

Yes, to all of you, but especially to you on this particular day…

Poetry Challenge Day 221 (Fri May 13)

Things could always be worse.
I could be doing my laundry
at a coin-operated laundromat.

How exactly do you measure success and happiness? A large part of that depends on how my cat is feeling about me. Of course, since today is Friday the 13th I suspect the cat has very little influence, at least today…

Poetry Challenge Day 220 (Thu May 12)

I’m a list addict.
The benefit is yet to be determined.
I keep making them anyway.
Why?
I ask myself that.
I suppose because
they make me feel good.
If I didn’t have a list,
WTF would I do?
I’ve been told (read somewhere)
that successful people
don’t make lists.
There you go,
that explains a lot.

Poetry Challenge Day 219 (Wed May 11)

What the Hell
Ski Pomerelle.

Not terrible original, but it does rhyme. Actually Jed had me rolling on the floor laughing when he told me this, right after I told him I was going there.

Poetry Challenge Day 218 (Tue May 10)

You don’t choose a life
you live one.

Poetry Challenge Day 217 (Mon May 9)

We are of the nature to change.
We are of the nature to grow old.
We are of the nature to become sick.
We are of the nature to die.
We are of the nature to inherit our actions.

Have I lived today in a way
that allows me to cherish everything and everyone.

Have I lived today in a way
that allows me to not regret my nature.

Poetry Challenge Day 216 (Sun May 8)

Life rushes through us and past us
like a stream constantly changing.
We die a bit each day.
It’s good to remember yesterday
so we will approach today
with better intent.

Poetry Challenge Day 215 (Sat May 7)

God does not exist.

A loving God would not allow
this shit to happen.

If I’m wrong, may I drop dead yesterday…
…I guess I’m right.

If God is going to allow war, torture, and murder, then the least he can do is strike me down for blasphemy…

Poetry Challenge Day 214 (Fri May 6)

If Putin had a cat,
the world would be
a better place.
We wouldn’t have war.
He would be too busy
stroking his pussy
to care about committing
war crimes against
the Ukranian people.

Poetry Challenge Day 213 (Thu May 5)

It matters not how we feel…

What matters
is how we respond
to how we feel.

When we respond to how we feel…

What matters most
is responding with love
to how we feel.

Poetry Challenge Day 212 (Wed May 4)

It matters not how we feel…

What matters
is how we respond
to how we feel.

Poetry Challenge Day 211 (Tue May 3)

They say the third time is a charm.
Who am I to argue?
In point of fact, I agree.
You are the love of my life.
Thank you
for sharing
your life with me.
Happy Birthday.

Poetry Challenge Day 210 (Mon May 2)

It really is a pleasure
to have a kitty by my side.
There’s truly nothing better
then the way he abides.

Poetry Challenge Day 209 (Sun May 1)

Sitting
on a
heated toilet seat
is the
height
of luxury.

Say what you will, this is probably not an exaggeration…

Poetry Challenge Day 208 (Sat Apr 30)

I’m trying to understand
how meditation can save the world.
I know we desire to better ourselves.
Meditation can do that
How does this translate to a better world.

I suppose the answer lies
in how we live.
Meditation gives us the ability
to touch lives and take action.
So this becomes our challenge.

Poetry Challenge Day 207 (Fri Apr 29)

This is a poem of encouragement to myself.

A Bodhisattva I am not
but do I have what it takes,

to be calm when feeling
anger and fear,

to help alleviate
the suffering of others,

to find a purpose in life
that brings joy, peace, and balance
to my life and the lives of others.

I believe that is my intention.

Poetry Challenge Day 206 (Thu Apr 28)

Take your pick…
Methodist, Mormon, Catholic, Buddhist,
the list is endless.
Which one holds the secret to the universe?
None of them do.
The secret to the universe
is an equation that will unify
Relativity and Quantum Theory.
When science achieves this holy grail,
we will have the answers
we have been seeking…
What existed before
the Big Bang.
What is on the other side
of Black Holes.
Are there other
universes…
other dimensions…
These questions and more
will be answered,
including where does
God fit in the equation.

My Catholic middle name is ‘Thomas’, I chose to be named after the saint known as ‘Doubting Thomas’. You are free to draw your own conclusions.

Poetry Challenge Day 205 (Wed Apr 27)

Who am I to give advice?
I am no one.
Let me give it anyway…
There is no better therapy
than to keep a journal.
Write down your thoughts,
good, bad, indifferent,
it doesn’t matter.
You will discover in time
that you know yourself better.
You must be the only one
you are writing for,
but isn’t that the best reason of all?

Sadly, I regret to think how I would be viewed if anyone read my shit… but still, I write.

Poetry Challenge Day 204 (Tue Apr 26)

Surprisingly,
I think of you often.
I’m not really sure why.
I suppose it is because
I have always wanted
to be closer to you.
Thinking about you
brings me closer.

Poetry Challenge Day 203 (Mon Apr 25)

I need to sit
for fifteen minutes
each morning and evening.

It’s called meditation.

I need to see
if it truly can
make a change.

Writing has.

Poetry Challenge Day 202 (Sun Apr 24)

I love the feel of a book
in my hands.
I take great satisfaction
in turning the pages.
I try to remember
the words I have read,
sometimes I succeed.
Most of the time
I am left with only an impression.
That’s okay,
I am the sum of my impressions.

Poetry Challenge Day 201 (Sat Apr 23)

The first thing I should do
when I wake in the morning
is:
smile.

The second thing I should do
when I wake in the morning
is:
acknowledge the gift of twenty-four hours.

The third thing I should do
when I wake in the morning
is:
promise to live each moment.

The fourth thing I should do
when I wake in the morning
is:
commit to view all beings with compassion.

Of course these ideas come from Buddhist teaching. What makes them special, and why I decided to write a poem about them, is simply that they resonate with me. My hope is that writing this poem will help me try to live this teaching.

Poetry Challenge Day 200 (Fri Apr 22)

The Jefferson County Library District in Oregon is sponsoring a “Poetry Jam & Tea” today at the Madras Public Library. They have some suggested themes for the Jam, one is “Community.” I plan to attend the Jam and read this poem. At least that is the plan…

In a community,
everyone recognizes one another.
We greet with kindness and caring.
There’s no need to fly a flag
because everyone understands
that their views are respected.
We share a helping hand
without question or strings.
When someone is hurting
we step in to console,
when someone is happy
we share our happiness with them.
How do we create
this community?

Poetry Challenge Day 199 (Thu Apr 21)

What is it you do
when you are most at peace
with yourself?
For me,
it is when I am riding my bicycle.
We all need to find
that thing that grounds us
and hopefully makes us
more capable of living
with and for others.
For me it is GOMBAR…

Get On My Bike And Ride.

Poetry Challenge Day 198 (Wed Apr 20)

I remember the early days
of the Internet.
The notion of ‘blogging’
was fresh and exciting.
I was captivated by the idea.
I wanted to take part,
but didn’t know how.

For awhile,
I read “Toshi’s Lunchbox” every day.
Toshi (whomever that was)
would list the contents
of her lunchbox.
It could be the reason
I didn’t try my hand at writing
until much later in life.

The fact that someone was writing a lunch menu while others (me among them) were reading it, should have been enough to persuade me to start writing then-and-there. But it wasn’t. Now that I have undertaken this project, I hope this writing rises above the level of a lunch menu, but of course, that judgement can only be made by you. (It’s probably best if you keep your conclusion on that subject to yourself.)