Musings from the Junk Drawer, part one

Poetry, Word-wrangling

Deep cleaning my room last week yielded a poem, longish, written in tiny print on two pink sticky notes stuck together. Thoughts from a younger me, fifteen or sixteen, maybe.

Knowing I had typed it out once upon I time, I went digging through my files, and found another old poem instead. So here’s some nostalgia for you…

Ode to a Blank Page

By Lia Rodriguez, schoolgirl (Oct. 7, 2012)

A blank page is a world to claim, an open door, a beckon to fill it.
It is a call to make the two-dimensional three-dimensional, to turn lines into life.

A blank page knows no rules. It is an ocean vast and untamed.
“Sail me!” it cries. “Make me into more than ceaseless motion.
Place your vessel upon me, and I shall carry it.”

A blank page, to me, is wood to a carpenter; a slab of marble to a sculptor.
“Make me beautiful,” it pleads. “I shall bear your work well.”

A blank page is a garden. “If you work me,” it promises, “I will yield an abundant harvest.”
Sweat and toil bring sustenance and life.

A blank page is naught on its own. Yet without it, my work is naught.
So in alliance, we give each other significance.

A blank page is a mountain to climb. The journey has its difficulties,
but the view from the summit makes every stumble well worth the pain.

A blank page is a world to claim, an open door, a beckon to fill it.
Behind every full page is an empty page. Beside that empty page, there is a writer.
And behind that writer there is a village, who said, “Sail the ocean, climb the mountain, claim the world.
We would like to see the view from your eyes.”

Thanks for being part of the village!

Poets, Philosophers, and Pizza Crusts

Love Like Steel, Ponderings

Ordinary Moments in a Library Corner and Unloading the Truck
Plumbing the meaning of “I love you,” spoken,
And when we say thanks for the little things you do and compliment your smile,
Does that mean “I love you” too?
Just for you?
If you hold a mirror to my words,
Is the image true?
Do I say the same with what I do?

And can I say it if I still have room to grow?
My desire to be given, does it show?
Because, I just want you to know…

Yes, I love you.

An extravagant thing, saying I love you. Because Love is bigger and higher and greater than words can measure, but not for hearts to hold. To truly love, that is all–that is bold.

So I’ll aim to treat “I love you” like the good dishes. On purpose. Only habit when every day is joyful feast.

Which brings me to the pizza crusts, a philosophy in passing. Courtesy of a text message, October 8th.

“Ok, then I’ll feed you the less-than-stellar pizza crusts. 😉 Only because I love you, truly. I always want to give you the best, but better is to give you honestly. And baking can be pretty awkward sometimes. :)”

Porches

Love Like Steel, Poetry

Porches are made for little feet
And tiny fingers playing,
Painting watery lines from a red bucket,
Momentary art on the wood slats.

Porches are made for see-y’all laters
And moonlight talking,
First light watching,
And maybe, lazy napping cats.

Porches are made for time-tested love,
Decades of friendship and weathered wood,
Rocking chair hand-holding on, letting go
Goodbyes and welcome mats.

A Thought of You

Poetry

Thoughts of you are colored glad
Like cantaloupe dripping down my chin;
Warm like sunlight on honey.
 
Thoughts of you are colored brave
Like blue suede and a soldier’s uniform.
 
Thoughts of you are colored sweet
Like Paris bakeries and lilac on an evening breeze,
And music, soft.
 
Thoughts of you are colored true
Like the unrelenting green of a Ponderosa pine.
 
Thoughts of you are colored bright
Like a pearly shell button poised to catch a glowing gleam;
Wonderful, like an alpine lake or a ripe tomato, soft with morning dew.
If delight were a color, it would be a thought of you.

One about Words

Poetry, Uncategorized

Pondering “Hey”

You know, “hey” is an interesting word.

It can be attention-getting. “Hey, over here!”

Or friendly, “Hey, Luke.”

But, hey, it could also be casual.

It can be all manner of things, in every imaginable hue.

A three-year-old whine or Dad’s eyebrows up, “remember what we talked about…”

But here’s the contrast that got me thinking—

“Hey” can have the most cutting edge to it,

Or it can be the softest whisper, a hand on the shoulder,

“It’s all right.”

A simple word, it doesn’t mean much,

So it can mean a lot.

It’s all in the tone, the face, the heart.

Just a thought.

Written in Late July—

Words piling up like thoughts in a traffic jam.

Waiting on the light to change.

Be home soon.