The way you share your smile
With the world
Makes you beautiful
The way you step aside
To let the ignorant one pass by
Earns you respect
The way you keep silent
As fools defend and offend
Proves your wisdom
The way you look around
Really look
Makes them wonder
The way you show interest
In anyone but yourself
Makes you shine
Sattva
Bhakti
During the day
I take on such importance
Look what I’m doing
Look what I did
Look what I will do
Your praises are not yet
Ever on my lips
So I tattoo them on my body
Devotion means
Remembering you before
Each word I speak
Balance means keeping
A state of mind where
Thoughts of you can grow.
You
My source of wonder
You
My protector
You
My kindness & mercy
You
My wisdom
Success has a price
For every wish
A flame must die
Each one
Who lives to heal the world
Suffers proportionally
The more sensitive you become
The more often you dance with pain
The wider your heart
The bigger the target
But those brave souls
That bear our burden
Are honored in death
As ones who showed what we might become
If we could rise above need and fear.
Don’t go skydiving if you have a head cold.
Proud or pervert
Gay or straight
Love or marriage
Male or female
Dyke or fag
Heaven or hell
In or out
Birth or adopt
Ask or tell
City hall or closet.
No on 8
Accept or Tolerate
Phobia, shame
A mother’s dreams
LGBT
Family rights
Wedding
Electro-shock
Will fuck on the first date
Drag queen
Crossdresser
Rainbow sweet
Equality pride
Castro
Harvey Milk
Gavin Newsom
San Francisco
The sun sets on our conversation
More than a text message,
Thank God.
It’s hard to do the work
that makes a man better
A house is built one brick at a time
When your lives are full
An argument takes time
But words build a relationship
When you’re tired an
impure word might slip out
and put a crack in your foundation
Sometimes it feels like we’re
building the Tower of Babel
How will we ever become one
with God when our words
keep confusing the way?
Okay, I’ve seen more than one blog now doing a 365 challenge – Hana/Mike are writing something they are grateful for every day for a year, and I saw Mel was doing a photo a day for a year, so, inspired by them and the Pulitzer prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin, my goal is to write a poem a day for 365 days. As my roommate (who is also a writer) said, even if you write 30 poems, odds are 1 or 2 might be worth reading. Let’s hope so….enjoy!
I have no illusions that my parents were perfect; in fact, there were times growing up I wanted them to get a divorce. But their faith in God always brought them back together for the sake of the FAMILY, not just for the sake of the KIDS. They shared a belief that their marriage was before God, and that their commitment was worth every sacrifice.
Like many others all over the country, I watched the Jon & Kate Plus 8 series unfold over the years with a knot in my stomach. I never quite understood fully what was going on until they did a recap, showing a scene from the early years, where Kate was explaining that, while the way she and Jon communicated was not respectful or pleasant, it got the job done. And they didn’t have TIME to work on it.
That said everything to me. I suppose a good marriage counselor could teach a couple how to communicate efficiently AND respectfully. This couple drained their “trust account” with each other by letting the other person get away with disrespectful behavior, one word at a time.
In contrast, the follow-up show was the “18 Kids & Counting” show about a very religious family in Arkansas, whose parents are NOT getting a divorce. When you look at the way they communicate with each other, it is with the utmost respect and kindness. I’m sure we don’t see all the imperfections, but we don’t have to, to know that this is a more effective way of keeping a relationship strong and healthy.
It’s not too late for Jon & Kate or anyone out there to learn to assert themselves in a respectful manner. From my experience, reacting to others emotionally versus communicating respectfully in the interest of the OTHER person is a VERY difficult habit to break, but absolutely necessary for any person wanting a mature adult relationship.
Even my parents have not learned this technique, but at least they were able to default to a power higher than themselves when an argument occurred. Rather than thinking, “I have been hurt, I must protect myself or I must protect my kids“, they thought “I must protect my family, it’s what God wants.” Big difference.
"In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength."
An ancient Cedar Tree I visited outside of Elk River, Idaho reminded me of Koran engravings I photographed on a Muslim Temple in Thatta, Pakistan.
