poetry, prose, and photography
A joyous privilege
To watch these children grow up
Perhaps be helpful
Fatherhood is an amazing privilege. Watching, not just my son, but all these kids around him, grow into these interesting and amazing young men and women fills me with pride and wonder.
Darkness fades to light
Though I missed this while I slept
Blessed my restless mind
Sleeping solidly through the night is such a wonderful thing. With the mania of modern life, it’s also somewhat rare.
As I’m want to do, and have received a modicum of fame for, let me start with a haiku:
Such a simple phrase:
“Anything Worthwhile Takes Time”
Not the common view
I’ve long followed Ms. Millman: somewhere around 7-8 years. A long time. And, considering the modern view of time, a VERY long time. Lot’s changed over that time. Especially me. As I keep moving forward, keep learning, keep trying to be better, I become better.
Daylight moves slowly
Gently across the park’s grass
Dew disappearing
My relentless mind
In perpetual motion
Sleeping’s a challenge
Awake against my will
Dreaming of dreaming
Longing for slumber
The machinery of my mind
Psychological cogs churn and spin
Whirring hum of my soul
The night moving now
It slides up, embracing me
A piano plays
My phone buzzes
A beautiful woman
Who I remember
In diapers
I feel joy
At the blessing
Of my simple
Witness
His death striking me
Suicide’s painful cruelty
What ate his heart so?
I learned a lot from him
Though we weren’t friends, nor had met
But that’s not the point
His show connected with me
I felt a kinship via his journeys
And deeper knowledge
His travels: unique
He went off the beaten path
A road less taken
His show; self-aware
Acknowledging some deceits
Never caught a fish
No angel was he
A comfort with his darkness
Yet not quite enough
Bourdain won Emmys
And also a Peabody
Awards can’t save us
“Everything” he had
All the pieces he held up
Yet he felt despair
His pain surfacing
After great wealth and great fame
Worse than in failure
So many faiths
Preach there’s more to our lives
Than wealth or our fame
There’s an emptiness
In this life we envision
We must be wary
Exploring passion
Seeking to understand me
And what feeds my soul
One of my mentors challenged me: does my current work fill me with joy, is it what I imagine doing for years to come. I’ve never asked that of myself before. I’ve drifted from job to job. I’ve never had direction or mission in this part of my life.
I will fix that. It is time.
Writing is that joy giving thing. Now what? I’m unsure.
It’s exhilarating and terrifying.
As the rain had passed
This flower’s glory shines forth
And then the light shifts
Carl Setzer: Word Shaper 