Limitions

My  Achilles Heel

Just when I think I’ve conquered

Just when I think I’ve won

Just when I think I can succeed

I find  I’ve just begun.

The task looms large before me

It hackles all my senses

It gains its sheer momentum

And shatters my defences.

My confidence just plummets,

In the face of this big mission

It’s really not then simple

To reach this goal’s fruition.

I may have to change direction

And abandon this objective

It seems that I made decisions

Without a true perspective.

I thought I was invincible

That my powers would abound

I never considered limits

Or how they would confound 

Those tasks and that are around me
Those commitments every day

They gobbled up my leisure

And left no time for play

An Awakening

Acknowledging An Awakening

The brilliant orb of light awakens me

The Eye of Judgement from heaven above

 It pierces my downcast emotions

Condemning and rebuking me

For my unwarranted despondency

Wishing for something even I cannot define

It stabs and spears at my voracity

And my failure to comprehend

That my rational needs have all been met. 

Reality crashes through my melancholy

Charging me with disapproval and admonition 

Shaming me for my ingratitude.

Scattering my despondency to oblivion!

I humbly review my good fortune

So unrivalled that I bow in shame

I acknowledge all the notable blessings

Supplied so bountifully throughout my days

That I revile at my ingratitude

And renounce my senseless greed!

Timely Discovery

I found this poem when I was browsing through my files today.  I don't remember when I wrote it but it seems so appropriate  for what  I have been going through lately.  I wanted to share it with you. I apologize if it is  a repeat. 

Managing Impatience

What I feared did not happen

What I imagined did not come through

What I planned did not materialize

All my lists just followed queue.

 I suppose I should be grateful

I know less than I thought I knew

This time my apprehension

Failed to raise a coup!

It stressed me out for nothing

It frazzled me to no end

I could have stayed unruffled

But I failed to comprehend

Life is what we make it

We fear what we don’t know

If we face it with timidity

It’ll defeat us just to show

Fear cripples our capacity

To be the best that we can be

It limits our potential

And zaps our energy.

It makes us question everything

We used to think was right

It makes us fear the future

And makes us run in flight.

We multiply the negatives

The bad things that could go wrong

 We cripple that great spirit

That used to be so strong

We conjure up scenarios

Of catastrophic mayhem 

It cripples our potential

And serves as our REQUIM!

Amended Goals

Another Year,  Another Spring

Another year, another spring

Another promise in the making

Another dream, a goal, a vision

A new opportunity for undertaking

That task that once seemed so important

That I spent such hours in scheming

Has somehow lost its zest appeal

And no longer now has much meaning.

For ambitions seem to shift and change

With the whims of my emotions

They stray and flounder under stress

And alter prior devotions.

Progress and Change

Numbered Aspirations

My days are now more precious

More treasures I do see

More birds sing at my window

New melodies to me.

There’s a sweeter breeze caressing

My face as it wafts on by

It sighs and whispers softly

Of days so long gone by.

My life so fast is changing

I hardly can keep up

But I know that all these changes

I really don’t wish to stop!

So you breezes keep on whispering

Fuel my spirit with your fire

For it’s only through these struggles

That I’ll achieve what I desire.

Cause a spirit that is stagnant

That no longer has a goal

Is an essence that’s departed

Like the body with no soul.

A Dream

My Dream

I dream of a world of plenty

I dream of a world of peace

I dream of love unbridled

I dream that wars will cease.

 I dream of a world of caring

For all of God’s creation

Of harmony and freedom

For each and every nation.

I dream of a world of sharing

All good fortunes we receive

I hope and pray that this old world

Will PEACE - someday - achieve.

That “color” will not matter

And religion will not divide

That “right” and “wrong” will triumph

As we all stand side by side!

Motivation

Managing Stress and Impatience

What I feared did not happen

What I imagined did not come through

What I dreaded did not materialize

All my lists just followed queue.

 I suppose I should be grateful

I know more that I thought I knew

This time my apprehension

Failed to raise a coup!

It stressed me out for nothing

It frazzled me to no end

I could have stayed unruffled

But I failed to comprehend

Life is what we make it

We fear what we don’t know

If we face it with timidity

It’ll defeat us just to show

Fear cripples our capacity

To be the best that we can be

It limits our potential

And zaps our energy.

It makes us question everything

We used to think was right

It makes us fear the future

And makes us run in flight.

We multiply the negatives

The bad things that could go wrong

 We cripple that great spirit

That used to be so strong

We conjure up scenarios

Of catastrophic mayhem 

It cripples our potential

And serves as our REQUIM!

Autumn Splendor

Autumn Splendor

Autumn’s flamboyant landscape beckons to me

With brilliant golds, rusty reds, bold burgundies

Stately oaks, aspen, birch and cherry

Flaunt their splendor with sheer abandon.

Those branches, once were a verdant green

Now display their new attire with bravado.

 Like outstretched arms, they reach out

Lacing their leafy fingers high above

As though embracing one final time

And form this lovely tunnel for my passage.

Not to be outdone,

Even stately Lombardy poplars join in the fun.

Like slim golden sentinels they stand

Overlooking this gaiety and pomposity

And boldly join this carnival of exuberance.

As they sway in the gentle breeze.

With one final display of boastful daring

The trees obscure the sun’s fading rays

With their own supreme display of glory!

Before shedding this magnificent garb

To don the barren nakedness of winter grey

And sink into a long and peaceful slumber.

Golden Leaves of Autumn

Golden Leaves of Autumn 

Like the golden leaves of autumn
So our years of youth fly  past
Leaving naught but poignant memories
Of good times we wished would last.

Like the golden leaves of autumn
We lose the resolve to hang on
Forsaking all life's daily struggles
Youth delivered on the run.

Like the golden leaves of autumn
Now we languish, reminisce
On those years when life was pleasing
On those years of youthful bliss.

Like the golden leaves of autumn
We're still wishing to explore
The summer of our youth now fading
To face those glory days once more.

Like the golden  leaves of autumn
We must let go of that hold
Sailing on to eternal slumber
Accepting that we're growing old!

Journey of life

Journey of Life

I woke this morning thankful

For the time that I was given

To enjoy this wonderful new day

Cause my life is so worth livin’!

I cherish every moment

Every miracle of each day

Not wishing to waste its merits

Like some worthless castaway.  

We humans are so lucky

We can look ahead and back

We can study every blunder

Then improve on traits we lack.

We can learn important lessons

From each mistake we make

We can even change direction

With each task we undertake.

Our lives are but our tour maps

Of experiences that we bore

Those events that made us who we are

And they tally up our score.

We can make that score look good or bad

By how we respond to strife

We can make them just our stepping stones

On this journey we call life!!!

Age Spots

That’s Not Age Spots

They’re trying to sell me potions

To hide my age spots and my wrinkles

That are part of that living process

Each passing day now sprinkles.

I really do not think it’s bad

To display that confirmation

That I’ve been here for quite some time

That demands corroboration!

My wrinkles are the road map

Of the twists and turns I’ve made

My dark spots are the price tags

Of the penalties I paid.

So I cherish every blemish

Every wrinkle, every pore

And I’m hoping to keep getting  

More – and more – and more!

Cause stopping now means ceasing

To reap benefits that I’ve earned

To enjoy this life of leisure

So long for this I’ve yearned.

In Memory Robin Williams

When Depression Wins

He made us laugh all through his life

It was his glowing passion

Yet behind that silly grin there lurked

That demon of depression.

That depression got the upper hand

And he lost all will to fight

All his problems overwhelmed him

When the darkness shut out light.

With age and fate against him

And gloom would not dispel

When the torrents of bleak anguish

Did forever rise and swell.

He tried to hide his feelings

His  problems and his  pain

But gloom and desperation

Had established their domain

He sought relief where ever

Illusive though it be

For just a glimpse of childlike peace

To end the misery.

But it’s really  not that easy

To camouflage the truth

No matter how hard we try

We can’t recapture youth.

Rest in peace Robin and keep smiling into forever!

Red Sun Phenomenon

A Red Sun in the Heavens

I’ve often watched a sunset

And marvelled at the view

Of clouds of pink and purple

And colors of every hue!

But what I saw last evening

Was a sun that was red! Instead!

I’ve never seen a sun like that

Hang suspended overhead.

Some said it was humidity

Some said it was just heat

Some said it was all that smoke

But I just thought it neat!

For I was watching a red balloon

Hung out there in the sky

An ornament for us to view

Our heavens to beautify.

Amid all our strife and conflicts

We need to sense delight

To know that life’s worth living

And our world can still be bright.

So that red sun last evening

Was a sign from God above

That even when we misbehave

He won’t withhold His love!

Search For Peace

Desperate Search For Peace

Searching for truth in a sea of doubting

Amid the frothy waves of life’s unending trials

I battle fear to maintain confidence

But simple buoyancy evades me still.

Desperately I flounder 

As I sink ever deeper beneath the brine.

The shore of wisdom slips ever further

From sight – and panic now grips the mind

All signs have vanished that had meaning

Survival struggles have lost appeal

It’s just “defeat” that now seems real!

Should I really forego the combat

To maintain serenity, faith and pride?

Is it really worth all this turmoil

This endless strain that just won’t yield?

Would it not be so much simpler

To accept the inevitable and make that the “truth”?

One More Yesterday

Just One More Yesterday

A head too full of “good times”

A mind too full of thought

A heart too full of memories

Of battles so hard fought.

A life so scarred and battered

With pain and sorrow borne

She spends her time remembering

As she sits there so forlorn.

She has nine children living

In this town (not far away)

But they never come to see her

They’re “too busy” they all say.

Still those times were well worth living

So filled with gratification

When her children all adored her

And showed appreciation

Now she’s lonely and forgotten

And she struggles all alone

To overcome depression

‘Bout the “good life” she’s outgrown.

New friends come try to cheer her

(All old friends have passed away)

So she sits with her heart broken

Wishing for “just one more yesterday”.

A Magpie's Lament

A Magpie’s Lament

Somehow I got short-changed

Somehow I was maltreated

When music was distributed

I feel that I was cheated.

The chickadee is just a little bird

Its coat is drab and grey

But it sings a lilting cheery song

As it flits about all day.

The robin only knows one song

But it's music to the ears

It’s a harbinger of happy times

Each time that spring appears

The bluebird has a neat blue coat

And a song that all admire

It sends the hearts of all who hear

To heights their souls aspire.

The whippoorwill just sings at night

Still it fails to aggravate

The folks don’t seem to mind at all

Cause its call they so appreciate

Even crows do not irritate

The folks the way I do

And jays don’t really sing, I know

And pigeons only coo.

But I’m dressed for the party

And I’m sure I sound conceited

But my tuxedo coat does not impress

Cause my squawk  has me defeated! 

Anxious Aging

Anxious Aging

She leans heavily on her walker

As she shuffles slowly down the hall

Uttering moans so barely audible

Moving toward an end as yet unclear.

 Searching for peace in a sea of doubting

Amid obscure objectives and dim reflections

Of days so quickly fading from her mind

And she wanders, fearful, anxious

For that certainty she can no longer find.

Youth and vitality have vanished forever.

They slipped right out from her last firm grip

Now from beyond they taunt and tease her

With tormenting visions of yesteryears

When confidence was but a simple concept

 And life was such a breeze to live.

Passing time brings fading images

Of a life that can no longer be

And she ponders this new prospect

Of  “Old Memories” as her destiny.

Blessings

Blessings Around Us

I find myself meandering

My heart  heart so full, replete 

As I marvel at the blessings

That God has laid here at my feet.

I leave behind the tribulations

Of  days so filled with care

That trip and trouble daily life

There is no reason to keep them there

I stop, inhale the peace of nature,

It sends my heart to throes of bliss 

I feel the cool of still blue waters, 

Where true presence of God exists.

I hear the hiss of breezes sighing 

They fill my soul with serenity
I sense the aura of nature's splendor
Etch indelibly into memory

I bid farewell to strife and worry
Of days and nights so fraught with fear
There is no reason to be worried
When all God's  blessings are so near !

Summer's Revenge

Rehabilitating That Incapacitating Drag

For months I have been deliberating

Cause winter was so aggravating

Its dismal gloom was so exasperating

That warm sunshine I’d been anticipating

Was just nowhere to be found.

Then suddenly temps were graduating

Sun’s rays their heat disseminating

That sunlight was so liberating

That excuses for procrastinating

Had lost their bitter edge.

So the garden needed cultivating

For veggies that we were propagating

But dandelions were proliferating

They actually demanded eradicating

We really did not want them there.

On horticulture we’d been educating

As exotic plants we kept incorporating

Joy and labor we were integrating

Cause Eden’s garden we are recreating

Right in our own back yard.

We sat there planning, contemplating

Those plots that we are allocating

For seeds that we had germinating

In peat flower pots originating

To give them a good start.

Good weather we’re appreciating

The warm days are so invigorating

We find them so intoxicating

All old grievances we’re repudiating

With sighs of sheer delight.

So we sit there prognosticating

Cause we find it so exhilarating

New ideas we’ll be coordinating

Make us really feel like celebrating

Cause it truly is so validating

And we’ve earned this sweet revenge!

Technology Woes

Frustration

Instructions are redundant

If the print is way too small

For I cannot see the letters

I can’t read them at all. 

I don’t understand this gadget

I don’t know how it works

Oh for youthful savvy

 I could really use those perks!

I struggle and I try so hard

I really work to train

But knowledge of these gadgets

I just cannot obtain

So I bug and pester and implore

My kids until they’re blue

They’re convinced that Mom’s a nuisance

With no patience and no clue.

This technology’s moving way too fast

For this brain to comprehend

 For no sooner as I think I got it,

New technology they expend.

Life used to be so simple

When we simply met and talked

There was no frustration

And our brainpower never balked!