Bedside table minds clean paper
Pen at the ready, lying in wait
for wording as I wait for the sandman
Thoughts pole vaulting at high speed
tossing, and turning then settling
unable to make it over the top
Mind frozen in time with selections
untamed uneducated words, hitchhiking
around my head, seeking new adventures
on paper with other more interesting fellows
Words stuck in the corners of my mind
spring cleaning energy is needed here
to pull them out of their aerobics class
Forcing the words down my right arm
in Gymnastic style movements
out of my pen they stream endlessly
inking up the page in the stillness
But I dare not move to switch on the light
for the theme will be broken for all time
Jan 29, 2016
Jan 29, 2016 at 1:18 PM UTC
ANTLIKE STRENGTHS
A poem by Tricia Hague-Barrett 1993
An ant carries its large load across the cracks
in the path on its way homeward
Nothing gets in its way
Nothing prevents him from succeeding,
If only I could have seen the end in the beginning
where struggles are frequent but passable,
testing but not breaking my resolve to give in
to the desparate feelings of loneliness, tiredness.
Ant-like, I too have to learn to carry the heavy load,
The Teaching load, the Administrative load,
carry it across potholes, ditches, mountains
and through distant valleys of calmness.
Turbulent tests, stumbling stones,
each there to guide me along the way
Like guardian angels, each one
Heralding the Dawn of a New Day.
Ends.
(C) 1993
Nov 9, 2015
Nov 9, 2015 at 4:45 PM UTC
Copyright ©Tricia Hague-Barrett 1993
We must recognize that under duress,
great things are born.
Diamonds form in molten rock.
Gold is tested in the fire.
The sweetest flowers of man’s spirit
have often been watered by tears.
To struggle gives strength,
to endure breeds greater capacity for endurance.
We must not run away from the heart-breaks in life;
we must go through them,
however fiery they may be,
and bring with us out of the fire
a stronger character,
a deeper reliance on ourselves
and on the Creator Who,
like a good parent, chastises us
because He loves us,
and realize that the pain is worth
the prize that can be won.
This is indeed a power world,
and great forces are at play,
the sun, the wind, the rain,
night and day,
they are big things
powerful things,
making powerful changes in the land,
removing old scars,
bringing new ones.
Electricity, gravitation,
are strong forces forging the earth
with all its beauty it’s life its growth.
We human beings
are subjected to strong forces too,
love, hate, passion, fear, sorrow, pain,
each acting on us, spurring us on,
developing those qualities giving us colour,
individuality.
Why should we want to shun and abolish
factors that bring out the best in us?
That tempers our steel?
Teaching us to value happiness
as its true worth?
Can a man who has never been hungry
in all his life know what a piece of bread means,
savour all its sweetness as can a man who has starved?
So, when trouble comes our way,
think about what quality
I may need to develop for this given situation,
never knowing, it may b e a quality needed
without our even knowing.
ENDS
Nov 2, 2015
Nov 2, 2015 at 1:48 AM UTC