Tag Archives: life

Day 125: Appreciation

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I was privileged to share a wonderful day with my bride and parents at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston touring their Van Gogh exhibit. Some interesting conversations arose about the way we appreciate art. Yet what stood out to me the most with this exhibit was the recognition it gave to Vincent’s brother Theo, who supported him for years.

It is so easy to become wrapped up in the creative process, the creation itself, or even the creator, that we forget about those who support creatives in the pursuit of realizing not only their dreams but their happiness. I have been blessed with many such wonderful individuals in my own life.

To all of you, this poem is for you.

Appreciation

Day 120: Opportunity on the Sofa

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Inspired by Chris Hemsworth’s newest portrayal of Thor in Avengers: Endgame and the wonderful problem of being flush with opportunities. Time to decide which are worth inviting to stay.

Opportunity on the Sofa

Day 102: Chrysalis in the Cinders

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I went to the park to walk my dog and de-stress from the day. It was a good day, just long and hard and I needed to unwind with my puppy.

The park backs up to some houses, one of which has a fence that is incomplete. The people who live there have a pair of dogs. They’ve gotten out before and caused some minor mischief, nothing serious. They got out again today and chased my dog, who chased them back. The woman who lives in the house came out screaming and cussing at me, furious that I dare walk my dog past her house and get her dogs riled up.

I have no idea why this bothers me as much as it does. It could be any number of combinations of things. This year, is a year of transformation and I think that right now I’m experiencing some growing pains.

Here’s to hope, to love, and to growth.

Chrysalis in the Cinders

Day 98: Which Calm?

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My bride and I went to An Evening with Margaret Atwood the other night, which began with her reading some of her poetry. After listening, I took away permission to ask more blatant questions in my own poetry. I’ve made an effort to steer away from that sort of thing overtly, but Atwood reminded me of one critical rule of creative writing: if it works then it works. Sometimes you don’t know if it does or not until you’ve done it. So, which type of calm do you pursue in your life?

Which Calm?

Day 97: Chase the Shine

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Wait, Day 97? What happened to 96?

I missed it.

No excuse, I had an opportunity to do it during my break at work and I passed on. After that, when I got home I crashed. Hard. Been trying to do so much lately. Not the point.

I am proud that it took me 96 days before is missed a poem. New goal: try to go the rest of the year without missing another one. If I am to miss another, try to beat my 96 day streak.

Today’s poem is inspired by missing yesterday’s. I couldn’t tell you why Neverland and Peter Pan popped into my head, exactly, though in this context it certainly makes sense. Those stories are really depressing and downright frightening at their heart. Missed and stolen opportunities.

A piece of me mourns the loss of yesterday’s poem. It will never be written, never grow up, or go on adventures. It won’t even get to die because it was never born. Simply missed. An adventure not taken, an opportunity not explored. On the other hand, I am taking to heart why this is so valuable to me. The pursuit of dreams, seeing beauty realized and brought to fruition. Here is a rededication to never stop chasing the shine.

Chase the Shine

Day 95: Words Spin

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Thinking again about words. Was going to try and get clever by making something out of silly words but the harder I looked the more familiar the words became. Not so sure what that says about me. I gave up and made this instead. Not half bad, I don’t think.

Words Spin

Day 94: Should Have Foreseen

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An unfortunate incident with my computer set me back by over a month and a half of work. It’s not just the accumulated backlog, but the new stuff I’m supposed to be pushing forward on as well. One of the poor projects fallen victim to circumstances is The Everyday Poet Podcast. Fortunately my cohost is amazing and hasn’t lit any of his enthusiasm for the project.

All that said, I’ve been thinking a lot about preventable mistakes. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but if I’d just done things a little bit differently, prepared just a bit better, adjusted my mindset…it’s never a good feeling when you find yourself mired in the state of “this could have been prevented if only…” which I found myself in today after driving in to work.

Should Have Foreseen

Day 93: Secret Corners

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I had lunch with my sister today and got to glimpse a sliver of her life. She took me to a small restaurant hidden beneath downtown Houston that I never would have know was there. It got me thinking of the places, and memories, that we collect and how they define a piece of our existence and how eager, and terrified, we are to share them.

Secret Corners