In need

How do you provide for those
Who need a boost
Or a can of food
A warm smile
Or some focused attention?
Who is helping whom?
I find being of some benefit
However miniscule,
To be so life affirming
It makes me glad to be alive.

Continuity

I think when I was a teenager
My folks may have repented
The folly of giving birth to me.
But now the grey hair
Is on the other foot,
And my aging mother depends
Very much on my cousin and I
For everyday tasks and concerns.
What a precarious existance
It must be-that's life, I guess-
The petulant child
Grows into the semi-devoted caregiver.
The hair-tearing years of adolescence
Have blossomed into Social Security.

Trip to Ponca

I was thinking how lucky I've been in my life-with experiences with my late husband & farming & animals & people. I've seen calves born-helped even with their birth-kittens born and raised-chickens, ducks, turkeys & peacocks-gardens plowed and planted and harvested. I've been a part of the land here and I've loved it. I've had a rich life, rich in experiences and adventures. Rich in cats & books & people and jobs I've held (and some I tried to hold), rich in pain and heartbreak and love and joy. All the things that count. I've been forced to look within, to become stronger and more honest.

In short; I've been lucky in that I've risen to some of my challenges, let some go and hung in there and finished some of the projects I started years ago. What more could you ask of life?

On my way home

On my way home, steeped in concerns
A sudden movement ahead cautioned me
A pair of graceful golden deer leaped out
Finally alert, I reflected in wonder
Then two horned virile bucks galloped in pursuit!

How lucky can one person get?
Past the trees just up the road
A whole herd of bronze beauties threw up their heads
Frozen in momentary alarm
Before exploding into joyous action!

Barack is to be inaugurated today

Barack is to be inaugurated today. I so hope all goes well. It will be-it is- so inspiring to think of him taking office. I feel better about this country than I have in a long time. I guess, in my whole lifetime. He is such a symbol of hope. A shining example of what can be-that dreams can come true-not just Barack's dream but the whole country's dream, my dream, my friend's dreams, Martin Luther King's dreams... It is a new beginning, a time of hope.

A beginning of true freedom from oppression and a beginning of real equality among people. It won't be perfect, but hopefully much better. We are leaving pettiness and hatred behind and embarking on a new path, a new story for this country.

New Beginnings

This is totally new to me, and I'm not sure what to write or what to do. I've seen a couple of blogs of other people, and they are inspiring and beautiful. Here's hoping I can create something worthwhile that will interest others. And feel right to me.