Our bodies, our minds, our actions
Our desires and needs hit walls every day.
We may choose to accept the wall,
Let it slow us down, then go on with our day.
Some walls are of our own making (inner),
Some walls are imposed by others (outer).
Sometimes we fight against unjust walls,
Sometimes we let them bring us down.
Sometimes there are many mental walls
We need to navigate around.
The walls are there to restrict us
To protect us
To keep us from expanding, exploring
To keep us enslaved
To separate us from others.
May the walls in your life not stop you from being you.
May 24
May 24, 2026 at 11:10 PM UTC
Every day the world and the people around us
Want to shape us is their own image
They want us to conform to their standards.
Seldom do we tap into our ow standards of doing things.
Sometimes we need help,
But sometimes we need to lean into our
own wisdom and act appropriately.
But this is hard to do when the mind and the intellect
Is diminished and compromised.
Is this neurological?
Is it based on nature or our environment?
Is it psychological?
I guess it is a bit of all of this and that.
We are ‘off’ when our thoughts and actions
Are at odds with our inner values and beliefs
At odds with our identity, which has nothing to do with
How much money we have or lack
The social status we have or lack
The etiquette and all the ‘right ways’ of acting
According to our station in life.
It is not dependent on who are parents are
Or what side of the track we come from.
Our identity is unique and is found in our very core
And he behooves us to dust it off
Give it a bit of shine and wear the coat of our dignity,
who we are inside, as a badge of honour.
Discovering and sharing our identity is a lifelong project.
But a worthy one if we are to be true to ourselves,
To borrow from Shakespeare.
Long live our identities and may they shine in this world
Which prefers superficiality to the truth.
We are unique and must never forget that.
May 17
May 17, 2026 at 11:13 PM UTC
I got out of bed
In the middle of the night
My time is not my own
I do the tasks
That are required of me
My own sleep I do disown.
From one task to another
I go from room to room
Making sure everything is alright
I’m doing my best
And often I get it wrong
But sometimes I get it right.
Full-time job
On top of that
The foundations are about to crack
I do my best
With what I have
No time to take a nap.
But at night
I take flight
And my mind visits distant lands
My heart breaks out
In artistic scraps
Which I write with my crippled hand.
I do not begrudge
My lot in life
It is what it is, I know
But my poems and muse
Keep my “feet” moving
Leading me on the path to home.
May 11
May 11, 2026 at 10:52 PM UTC
We take our memories for granted
As we go to and fro to our work
Never giving it a second thought
Until it slips, leaving us in a lurk.
Memory saves us the trouble
Of thinking before we act
But when it's gone or absent
We sure want it back.
Without it, we need to relearn
Everything we thought we knew
How to walk and how to talk
How to live anew.
Memory slips are the **** of jokes
Must be a senior's moment
But struggling with memory loss
Is no laughing matter.
Oh memory, do not stray far
Stay with us awhile
So we won't be so afraid
Of acting like a child.
Without memory it gets harder
To know how to act and say
To live a normal life
During an ordinary day.
Memory, we cannot do without you
You are the rock on which we rely
To keep our ship from sinking
And keep our minds alive.
May 8
May 8, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC
In the cold night
When our bones ache with pain
We draw nearer to the fire
As we warm up again.
Fire brightens the night
And it lights up the dark
It casts shadows and secrets
With every spark.
"What can you show us
Great Fire, you are?
Show us the truth
For we have travelled far."
"Gather ye around
Young ones and old
And I will tell you a tale
That few people know."
We all gathered around
The great fire of light
To hear the old tale
And drive off the cold night.
"Ye humans are cruel"
We all held our breaths
"Fighting among yourselves
Till there's none of you left."
We shake our heads, no
"We're not all like that
Surely, Father Fire
We are better than that."
"I will give you warmth
I will give you light
I will cook your food
And I will be your delight."
"You don't deserve it
You selfish beasts of prey
You will become extinct
And I will flee away."
"Your light will grow dim
And your bones will freeze
As you realise
Begging on hands and knees."
"But I will not come
I will not rejoice
Till you learn to behave
You all have a choice."
"Father Fire, do not leave
Don't abandon us, poor and lame
We have no one but ourselves
In all this to blame."
"Show us your light
And give us your warmth
Otherwise we die
From our greed and our wants."
"Yes, I will stay
But only for a little while
Learn to love peace
Like a little child."
May 4
May 4, 2026 at 11:48 PM UTC
Inner growth happens in spurts
Like growth spurts in a teenager
They come with time, introspection and experience
Inner Growth cannot be forced.
It comes of its own accord
When we are in tune with it.
It comes like a light bulb, illuminating the dark corners of our minds.
It is exhilarating and we cling to it
Like a drowning person to a life raft
Hoping it will get us closer to shore.
What is the shore? It is full enlightenment.
What is full enlightenment? It is truth.
Truth about ourselves, about others and the world around us.
Growth can guide our thoughts, motives, and actions.
It is there for the picking, if we want to take the time.
Apr 30
Apr 30, 2026 at 4:46 PM UTC
The heart is ever restless
Because it tries to find its rest in temporary places
The heart searches, it yearns, it pumps life into us
Even when we do not notice it.
What is deep down?
We do not know until we have explored that abyss,
That dark cave.
Why are we so afraid of discovering ourselves?
Why are we so terrified in discovering the truth that lies within?
With truth, comes responsibility
And most of us feel we have enough on our plates
Then disturb a sleeping dragon.
Apr 30
Apr 30, 2026 at 9:18 AM UTC
The Threads of my being
Are becoming unraveled
As whom “I Was” is only seen in the shadows and patches
I am losing myself but finding myself at the same time.
The threads are unraveling the “sweater” of my being
It is being rolled up in a ball of wool, like so many threads of life, cocooned
Until a new garment is made from the old.
What is this garment
that my mind and my being are weaving?
It is a garment that reaches back in time,
even as it becomes invisible in the present.
This garment is my shield
As I become ever increasingly vulnerable
But never increasing deep
Deeper than I’ve ever been.
It is not about a “meaning of life” journey
It is not Nirvana or Valhalla
It is not an enlightened moment
It is melding in a new way of doing things
Finding new ways of learning and retaining memory.
Even poetry becomes therapeutic
As my garment takes shape
And covers my nakedness.
Apr 20
Apr 20, 2026 at 10:32 PM UTC
What is the measure of a man?
Is it the number of churches he attended?
Or the diapers he has changed
Is it the child he had to discipline
Or the one he constantly praised?
What is the measure of a man?
Is it the hours he clocked in
Working for the Man
Is it the sacrifices he has made
Leaving callouses on his hands
What is the measure of a man?
Is it the times he said please and thank you
Or the birthdays he has missed
Is it the vows he's kept or broke
Or the women he has kissed?
What is the measure of a man?
Is it the time spent doing hobbies
Or the hours watching TV
Is it the home he built for his family
Or the scars on his hands and knees?
What is the measure of a man?
Is it the degrees hanging on his wall
Or the empty praise he got
Is it the knowledge that he gained
But then soon forgot?
The measure of a man
Is not what he says or does
It's not the money he amasses
Or the great deeds he thinks he's done.
The measure of a man is hidden
It is what he is at his core
The measure of a man can be anything
But the true measure of a man is hidden
Deep in his very core
It is being true to himself
That he can be that much more!!!
Apr 20
Apr 20, 2026 at 10:21 PM UTC
I am alive because of you
I live because of you
I suffer because of you
I love because of you
I am dysfunctional partly because of you
I am loved and needed because I care, because you cared
The only thing which is not predetermined
Is how I choose to live this life
Will I spread love and acceptance to myself and others
Or will I repeat the same mistakes in myself or my children?
We are not robots, but we are 'wired' together
We are not artificial intelligence, but intelligent, living, breathing fallible beings.
We live, but are not defined by what we do.
We are defined by what we are.
I am alive and I'm grateful for that.
Apr 17
Apr 17, 2026 at 10:09 PM UTC