Our Grate

Our Grate

A grate is used

For many things

To catch and hold

And to let through

A grate in the fireplace

Holds logs to burn

And ash falls away

Letting oxygen through

The grate on a catwalk

Keeps workers safe

As they stride to labor

In high places

The grate on our counter

Helps us to make

Yummy eats that

Put smiles on faces

Trailer grates

Hold equipment secure

While letting dust and

Debris to fall

But the grate that

I speak of

Is elusive you see

And yet, the best of all

For things often pass

Our awareness

That could warrant

More consideration

And if our grate

Is functioning well

We will have our

Grateful of adulation

pic from attractingwellness.net

Evening

The poems keep surfacing once in a while - thanks for the encouragement Samara, Shanna, Khoren, Brett and Mark!

Evening

Evening, the act of leveling
spreading out a load
settling a score
bringing things closer to the same

Evening, the pleasant end
of what can be a hectic day
when people gather, or not,
and relax, enjoy, unwind

This language, it’s so confusing
which am I to do?
Get even, smooth what’s rough,
straighten a painting or table?

Perhaps evening is a time
to level the imbalance in my life
Read, exercise, call, attend - Or perchance,
watch the sun set and the stars come out

Poem arranged by wordle.net

Weathering

Not sure where this came from . . . guess I was thinking of more years in the desert and places I would rather be . . . yet there is so much here and people I would not have met in other places . . . guess I needed reminding






Weathering

How does it go?
Weather the storm?
Ah, yes, that’s the saying, but
Weather it well?

At times we have
things thrust upon us
voyages or experiences
not of our choice, just musts

So we begin our journey
Reluctant, even defiant –
I will not be a part
I will sulk and be miserable

But from a nook in our minds
emerge fragments of a poem –
of weathering the storm,
and weathering it well

Ha! – that means nothing to me,
It’s for someone else!
I am right in my resentment
Sure in my fury

The storm may be long
and weather it I will,
hunkered down in a corner of the ship –
Ha! weather it well? What a laugh

And when the storm passes
I will emerge and start
again where I was
'ere forced off course

That blasted poem
it haunts my thoughts
At storm end, to start again?
Why not . . . weather it well?!

My tactics must change –
I’ll stand on the deck,
even lend a hand
and gain strength from this storm . . .

Working side of others,
engaged in the storm,
I will draw from their strength
and do what I can to bolster theirs

I will employ this storm,
whether long, whether short,
to continue my quest –
on to my goal, my destination

This storm MAY delay me
or last longer than liked,
but arriving at the port
my journey will continue, not start again

The strength drawn from shipmates,
and the muscle built of my contribution,
will advance me toward my aim
when I reach the calmer shore

There to rest and look back –
Ah . . . the storm was a part, and I almost missed it
whimpering in misery and resentment,
bound by my pride and ignorance

Oh, the poem about weathering –
'Tis for others, AND for ME!
So I will not cower, I . . . I will embark and be on deck
facing the storm with its grandeur and shaping

Not just of the coast, but of the sailor –
Building strength of the body
and potency of the soul
‘midst all its fury and foam

Shadows

My hat's off to those of you who are stepping up to the Poetry Challenge for Poetry Month! One poem a day, how do you do it? I will continue to read your poems and thoroughly enjoy and wonder at your ability. Your poems have helped to inspire me. Here's my second offering for the month.


Shadows

Shadows engulf us
as we traipse along
No green can be seen
‘cept some clothes on the throng

So many are here
in these shadows so deep
Why do they come?
Why do they creep?

In this world of shadow
there are bits of bright light,
now and then round a bend
Eyes can hurt at the sight

The way becomes narrow
Less crowd persevere
Some quit with exhaustion,
others leave with a fear

The waters run deep now –
refreshing at start –
Here they can chill
Many shrink and depart

Continuing on
with our eyes we now see
what few others have seen
Now, contented are we

Our progress must end,
we must beat our retreat
‘fore the shadows will deepen
We must get to our meet

Returning through shadows
We stumble our way
Rocks interfere
With our search for the day

Encompassed in rock,
some that trip, some that scale
We cling to each other
We won’t shrink, we won’t fail

Then rounding a bend
the light fills our view
The wonders around us
seem so fresh, seem so new

Time warped in the shadows,
while there, sometimes long
But it passed in a flash,
like a few stanza song

Back where we began,
now laughing with glee
What an adventure it was
as we rest ‘neath a tree

It’s a tale we will tell
to our children and such
And, if we are lucky,
we’ll return with the bunch

To again venture forth
through this shadowy land
and witness their wonder
in this place that’s so grand

My inspiration - the Narrows, ZNP

Hemispheres – or, there and back again

I started mostly right
The way things were thunk
The things that were done
More time in the right than the other

Then on to school
A forced migration
to the other hemisphere

Tasks to be learned
Order to be organized
Processes to follow
to a “T”

Right would interfere
But with grades on the line
the other prevailed

Away from home
still in school
Dwelling in the other
Everything scrutinized
Critical of it all

Analyze it till
it makes no sense
to do it that way
Only the way of order
Only what They will approve

It provides a living
all safe and sane
Just do it Their way
Play at Their game

Still continents shift
But we can migrate


As time goes on
Right invites me back
more and more

Forgotten appointments
Lingering in the garden
Lapses of time
Things once hidden, but not forgotten
begin to emerge during
my time there

Does age take us back?
Loss of worry, lack of fear?
It doesn’t matter what They say anymore?
Well, at least not today

So for me at least
This hemisphere is
Where I spend
More and more of my time

More interest in beauty
Less concern about time
Greater notice of others
Their whims and their quirks

Taking time to listen
And
there is lots to create


Processes and
ordered tasks
linger behind
in the other
They will always be there
And often I have to go back

There, views seem obscured
Focus is on the path
Don’t get distracted
from this task
for the next one is waiting
Though pretty much the same


But the clime in this
hemisphere
is challenging, inviting
A place to explore
A place of growth
A new vista exposed
around every bend
if I'm willing to labor
to climb

This hemisphere is a garden
encompassing all the seasons
sometimes, all at once
A place of toil
of sowing, weeding,
cultivating, reaping
Working hands in the earth

On occasion
standing back to look
at what can be done
Exhilarated
connected in many small ways,
with The Creator of it all

Yet some seem to avoid
even a visit
To purposefully stay away

So I wonder –
is everyone inclined
to spend more time
in this hemisphere
as they get older?
Is that part
of the Grand Design
by the One who created both
and yet, leaves us free to choose?