Month: April 2013

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VICTORY

Mountain Climber type of guy

Mountain Climber type of guy (Photo credit: HikingArtist.com)

Flying across the finish line,
Floating into tomorrow,
I wonder if my feet will ever
touch the ground again.

How are you?
I’m awesome.
I feel fabulous.
I wish I could share.

It tastes so good,
no one could resist
going after some more.
At least I can’t.

I wish I could give it away,
but I can’t.
This fab fountain erupts
from the inside out.

Hard work, skinned knees,
talking back to
discouragement and,
persevering are SO worth it.

A guttural scream of happiness
escapes me as I reach
for the sky.
EEEEEEEEEEEEAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

Gimme some more.
I love to learn.
Love to earn.
Oooh, VICTORY
feels so good on me!

© 2013 DarEll S. Hoskisson

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Drowning in Housework

My back to the ocean,

photo courtesy Carrie Keohane

photo courtesy Carrie Keohane

I didn’t see them coming.

I just kept getting knocked off my feet

and spun upside down in a salty somersault.

The flat spots grew piles,

The floor oozed grit,

The dishes dried on dirty

and all my efforts were always spent

just trying to get my head back in the air

and keep it up, treading water.

In a herculean effort I would jump

to clean with all my might to stay ahead of the next wave.

It would be beautiful

for a glorious moment,

but by the next day, whump.

Back to normal.

Floors sucking on the dirty clothes,

dust bunnies propagating,

hungry children.

I need a shower.

My head down, I’m drowning again

with my feet sprawling overhead.

I knew I couldn’t keep this up.

Desperate, I felt almost dead.

I was smothered in the life

ironically chosen by myself.

It kept pushing me under

over and over again.

I couldn’t catch the pattern.

I didn’t know about the tide.

My great expectations and reality

would constantly collide.

I had to turn and face the waves.

I had to run out to meet them as they’d come.

I had to plan for the surprises, too.

I simply had to find the sun.

By preparing and maintaining,

though I could not stop the tide,

my life got routinely easier than

going along for that ride.

© 2013 DarEll S. Hoskisson

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Trust

That there is enough time
for what must be done.
That if there isn’t,
there is another way.

That the future
is not predictable.
That dark clouds do
lighten up with time.

That improvement will
come with persistent practice.
That doing it badly is just
part of beginning.

That persistence wins
over failure
if the lessons
are not lost.

That unendurable things
really are endurable.
That one step at a time
is all anyone can take.

That rushing is not
necessarily more productive.
That capability often
exceeds expectations.

That while not omnipotent,
I am potent.
That although

Leap... Leap… (Photo credit: . : : v i S H a l : : .)

invisible,
my actions have impact.

That small things add up.
That attitude matters.
That something done badly
may be better than not done at all.

That tomorrow will come.
That the future is worth planning for,
and that positive changes now will
eventually bring positive outcomes.

That someone is watching me.
That someone cares.
That help is available.
That I am known.

© 2013 DarEll S. Hoskisson

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Homecoming

The familiar landscape
catches my breath
and reels me in
toward home.

When the palms shadow
the sky along my road
I know
I’m almost there.

It is just how I left it.
Yet, somehow
it seems smaller.
I sense the changes.

Rip Van Winkle’s shadow
plays tricks on my memory,
and I wonder,
“What was I expecting?”

That the world would
stand still just because
I was gone? or that
I would be the same,
simply because I feel
that way?

I left a child.
In Neverland,
I found my wings.
I want to fly away.

I never could have guessed
it would take so long to be grown.
But, for now at least,
I’m home.

© 2013 DarEll S. Hoskisson

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Do Not Memorialize Me

When I die,
especially if I die a tragic or violent death,
do not memorialize me.

Do not give permanence to the pain.
Do not give the enemy fame.
Do not spend a dime on me
past what I need.
Do not pass on the painful story
to infect a new generation with worry.
Just let the deed die with me,
and instead, don’t live dead.

If you really want to honor me,
dare to dream and move ahead.
Explore, create, and find a way
to really live up to your best self.

And then, if that is not enough,
I know just what I would ask:
Love someone a little more.
Include someone who feels left out.
Share yourself to relieve the suffering or poor.
To honor me,
just help one more.

© 2012 DarEll S. Hoskisson

Written 9/11/12

Posted today as my thoughts are directed toward the memorial service of the police officer recently gunned down by the bombing suspects.

I wrote this last year in response to the controversial cost of the proposed memorial site of 9/11.  I mean absolutely no disrespect to those who feel that monuments are worth the costs involved.  I also mean no disrespect to anyone violently killed or otherwise who has died.  Of course people need to heal however is best for them.

Also, I understand the purpose of educating people to prevent future disasters.  My children are exposed for an entire month each year to the horrors of  Germany’s concentration camps.  This, to me, is complete overkill.  You don’t have to know every gory detail to make a better choice.

This poem simply expresses how I feel.   If there is to be a monument to me, I hope it would be a living one.  A living legacy, would be, to me, the most useful monument of all and perhaps the most meaningful.

–dsh

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Where can I find fun activities for kids?

This is a mall kids’ club that has fun activities for kids at Simon malls throughout the year. My friend that told me about it has a 3 year old and he had over 2 hours of fun with her there last weekend planting seeds and making wooden bead necklaces, etc.

I checked it out and it is 5$ per year per child and includes a t-shirt.

http://www.simon.com/kidgits/#/parents/membership