A Sign Post

Old iron, black scrolls
and iced in white:

"A dangerous passing"
over a surname.

Indeed ? A family trail
The way back, is briefly lit

then turns with deep shadow
into intellect and daring.

A transplant,
this street sign

once graced a school
in a nearby city;

where most ancestors,
penned History and Law.

Today thick pea stone
discourages walkers

you must leap, decisively.
I only come briefly once or twice a year.

Meditation

In my meditation this morning I saw and then stayed
with a scene which began with a mule in a work
harness.
The animal was standing in half shade. It was
very hot and dry, in this corner of a large southern
field. It was all open, except for trees and scrub
along the edges.
I am familiar with the intensity of mid day heat in
places such as central Pennsylvania, Maryland.
But I can only imagine, the breathlessness of heat
further south.
I had no indication of water. I only perceived the
length of the work day.
My next image was the load: pulling of a Plow-
all day…
I know sometimes teams are used; and it could have
been oxen, or draft horses. No matter; the harness, the
heat, the work: are all the same.
What must it take for these animals to do this?
Every Day.
If it were my job to match them,what they have
inside- what qualities would I need?

micro monday

Follow fish whiskers
to camp ground,
pull chair to water
bring pole,
sit.


31+16+10+4=61 characters.

Have an attempt! stating my hubby's obvious...
I follow and watch.

"Where oh where,

are my kid gloves ?"
Have I forgotten all the tenderness needed
for handling young stock...
Last I checked the compassion and care
were still there.
However the basics for survival have not
changed.
I am not a stoic, immobile guard of sobriety's palace.
There is action,prayer,speech,listening,reading and service.
I watched a retreating back yesterday-
My husband says " You helped with almost a year of recovery"
Gratitude! The cup being quite full!
God's army is a mysterious place.
I will now attempt to reach MY Sponsor-

Superstitions

Part I.

A speaker last night spoke
about:

Remembering the sense of " Impending doom "
and tracing its origin.

Did it start at seven years old ?
With examining " Outer limits"
and: Unspoken laws-
( akin to magic ?)

" If you step over that line
the boulder will crush you."

Imaginary scene where

A child is focused on counting;
and then a ritual: "One for me- one for you-"

Looks up, realizing a teacher is
finishing some instructions...

Power, of choice-
-What did he " Miss " ?

The other children around him are getting up,
silently going off in different
directions.

He quickly shoves the 2 handfuls of
candy into separate corners of his desk.

"Assignment:" is scrawled across the
black board and underlined.
Now everyone is gone.
To where ?

" You Must Attend! " His memory speaks.
He wasn't.
Goes out into the hall and looks both
ways.No one is there.

Goes down the hall
Into the main lobby,

Looks in the auditorium,
looks out the front doors.

Way over by the circle driveway
Children are climbing onto
School Buses.
He runs out-

Gratitude.

Missed the bus but caught the train !
tiny yellow dots
sailing
across deep green dapples
-petals, seeds ?
-wishes, dreams ?

Definite 'Meant to be' moments, to yesterday. I rang the office bell.
"Oh my yes, I remember your Art project !"
She was grinning ear to ear.
" Come in, come in-" she waved me through to her office.
"Have a seat"
She apologized for not getting back to me ( 2 plus monthes)
and then thanked me for being persistent.
She invited me to come to the Art Council meeting.That evening.
It was my turn to thank her and smile more and more...
At last a doorway- at least, a doorway.
At most a springboard...
I did arrive just after 7pm.
10 people collected around a table, in one of the front, white Gallery rooms.
There were 3 'encouragers', 2 questioners and 2 action-oriented people.
There maybe a potential room I could use there-( Only slightly off the sidewalk path)
But I came away pleasantly encouraged and will try and remain optimistic !

Strange Brain

During the regular morning journal time,
I got stuck on an image- and curiosity.
I was thinking of an orange (train) engine
that I have seen a few times recently,
at a depot behind a repair garage...
The furthest rail away is cars going east.
Closer by,is an orange engine usually facing west.
Now I have seen how they switch tracks-
but how do they change direction?
Anyway in my journal focus was a toss-up
between: color of that orange- and
whether it would still be interesting to run a train-
Or- reversing direction...
I can really see the alky in me, at times like this.
I toyed with all those for a
while and then went on to : power boats on a lake !
(which had everything to do with speed,
power and colors/ drawing )