If every day I do my best
before I lay my head to rest
and try to lend a helping hand
though help may sift like softest sand
If every day I only say
the words I mean, not by the way
and take to heart, not bow to head
the feelings meant, not what is said
If every day when I reflect
with honesty, in retrospect,
I’ll find the seed of hope we sew
when we allow our love to show.
Today has granted me some faith
The dark side will not thrive,
A fragile hope I dare to hold
That keeps my love alive.
So gentle was this day, despite
my fears that all was lost,
I found some kindness in the air
like clouds and fairy dust.
Old bitternesses found no place
to spoil my peace of mind,
they simply burst and spun away
to learn how to be kind.
Twenty three thousand breaths today
were all it took to build
a vessel made of loveliness
just waiting to be filled.
Today has granted me some faith
The dark side will not thrive,
A fragile hope I dare to hold
That keeps my love alive.
Political Christmas approaches
The stables are filled with the bray
Of animalistic impressionists
Who think they control us today.
But know in your heart it’s the small things –
The smiles we exchange in the street
The warmth of a hand on a cold day
A kindness, a cuddle, a treat –
It’s these things that fill up our stockings
And give us the strength to go on,
Let’s share out our loving this Christmas
And hurry glad tidings along.
With grace we’ll be around next year
Sipping Cali Majito
We’ll put on woven hats of straw
And do the Boston Tango.
We made our lives up very well
I’m happy as a mango
Your sparkly eyes are quite a prize
They’re just like Marlon Brando’s.
I never wanted very much
I thought I’d won the lotto
When you came by and took my eye
My heart it was besotto
And our romance is one long dance
Beacause we have this motto:
Leave me alone and I’ll come home
Coz I know what I’ve gotto!
Caring means something felt
And then something done
Remembering when someone cared for us
Empathising even when it is difficult.
Gained trust is a gift received
Inspite of hardship
Very often the only thing left
Irreplaceable and precious
None of us are perfect, but
Give heartily and know you are loved.
If you are a sunset
I’ll stand by my easel
Watching in wonder
as you paint the air.
If you are a rainbow
I’ll follow your glory
Skip with your silken thread
Dance in your hair.
If you are the moonlight
I’ll whisper your pathway
Howl to your melody
Bow to your prayer.
If you are my mentor
My sweetheart, my friend
I’ll know that true beauty
is your tender care.
I reached here earlier today,
lit our fire to guide you homeward,
I built it bright and warmly wait
The return of your footfall.
Amongst Christmas preparations
In the twilight of a year
We’ll kiss beneath the mistletoe wreath
Hang holly in the hall.
This Christmas birth, twelve days of love
One tree, one Angel dear
Our family’s arms, our human forms
One day when heaven calls.
Come in, come on, come Christmas,
How sweet the choir draws near,
How we’ll embrace and feel the grace
And learn to love us all.
Spent a day trying to understand why printer won’t talk to laptop – why laptop won’t even look at printer.
Spent a day delving into computer registers, enabling and disabling policies, downloading drivers.
Spent a day digging deep, persevering, threatening and cajoling.
That was yesterday. Today I am spending with my beautiful son – just loving.
There’s a wasp between my fingers
and a bee behind one ear,
Two slugs above my eyelids
and a bird’s nest in my hair.
My body is a tree trunk
my mind a crooked path,
My life juice is a river
my feelings are a raft.
Fulfilling earth’s intention –
imperfect and impure,
with love as my redemption,
intuition at my core.
An angel spoke to me one night
when I sat in my youth
he told me I should be aware
of one unerring truth:
That like or not the time will come
when I will need a hand
to guide me through my daily life
– not quite what I had planned.
He bade me think, this angel fair
of loving volunteers
and low paid carers struggling
to tend my ageing years.
What will I want when I am old?
An elephant that rages
because we locked the cupboard door
and wouldn’t pay her wages?
Am I so sure I will not yearn
for love’s sustaining patience
when I am old and on my own
with similar relations?
Why do we lend so little heed
to those who hold our future?
For I’ll receive what I beget –
if I forget to nurture.
“So pay the carers what you will,”
the angel said, “be certain
that you will want the gentlest hand
to close your final curtain.
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