Overheard
It’s a beautiful day
the small man said from behind me
and I could tell he had a slight limp
from the rasp of his boot against the sidewalk
onmymindwriter
My Positively Ever Changing Life
Filed under Art …
The City
The City
Constantine P. Cavafy (1910)
You said, “I will go to another land, I will go to another sea.
Another city will be found, better than this.
Every effort of mine is condemned by fate;
and my heart is — like a corpse — buried.
How long in this wasteland will my mind remain.
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look
I see the black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years, and ruined and wasted.”
Like this:
What If I Didn’t Write?
by Jen Lambert
Lately, during my designated “writing time,” I find myself shuffling around the house in my slippers and rearranging piles of cooking magazines and lengthy utility bills. I take out the recycling and I brush the dog and I shake out the rugs and I think of all the things I could be doing if I wasn’t supposed to be writing – which I’m really not doing.
Like this:
Window Washer
by Christopher Todd Matthews
One hand slops suds on, one
hustles them down like a blind.
Brusque noon glare, filtered thus,
loosens and glows. For five or
six minutes he owns the place,
dismal coffee bar, and us, its
huddled underemployed. A blade,
black line against the topmost glass,
begins, slices off the outer lather,
flings it away, works inward,
Like this:
We Wear the Mask
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,–
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Like this:
At The Door
Stalk the Clock
Shake off the Shock
Highs and Lows
And So it Goes…
Sleepless Black
The papers Stack
Words that Spill
While she Heals
Break, she May…
Vows to Stay
In the Game
Without the Shame.
Like this:
Writing
“Writing is a concentrated form of thinking…a young writer sees that with words he can place himself more clearly into the world. Words on a page, that’s all it takes to help him separate himself from the forces around him, streets and people and pressures and feelings. He learns to think about these things, to ride his own sentences into new perceptions.”
-Don DeLillo
Like this:
10 Thoughts on Whole Living
Thriving
1. Just as a seed contains all it needs to sprout, so are you already equipped to thrive.
Growth
2. You can’t grow without pushing your limits.
Lessons
3. See your mistakes not as personal flaws, but as the source of your most valuable life lessons.
Empowerment
4. Think of money as energy; use it to empower, not control, your life.
Resilience
5. Every moment of suffering brings an opportunity to build resilience
Rewards
6. With each challenge comes new growth. Engage in rewarding efforts.
Focus
7. Missteps are part of any process. Stay focused on where you’re headed.
Direction
8. Find your direction in life by looking where you want to go, not where you don’t.
Worth
9. Know your worth — and accept nothing less.
Dreams
10. Make this the day you stop dreaming and start doing.
Like this:
A Christmas Photo For You!
Like this:
All That You Have Is Your Soul
Oh my mama told me
‘Cause she say she learned the hard way
She say she wanna spare the children
She say don’t give or sell your soul away
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Well I was a pretty young girl once
I had dreams I had high hopes
I married a man he stole my heart away
He gave his love but what a high price I paid
All that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Why was I such a young fool
Thought I’d make history
Making babies was the best I could do
Thought I’d made something that could be mine forever
Found out the hard way one can’t possess another
And all that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
I thought, thought that I could find a way
To beat the system
To make a deal and have no debts to pay
I’d take it all, I’d take it all, I’d run away
Me for myself first class and first rate
But all that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Here I am, I’m waiting for a better day
A second chance
A little luck to come my way
A hope to dream, a hope that I can sleep again
And wake in the world with a clear conscience and clean hands
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
So don’t be tempted by the shiny apple
Don’t you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
Oh my mama told me
‘Cause she say she learned the hard way
She say she wanna spare the children
She say don’t give or sell your soul away
‘Cause all that you have is your soul
All that you have
All that you have
All that you have
Is your soul
Tracy Chapman
Like this:
Keeping A Secret
