It has been so long
since we spent a quiet
afternoon
together.
Just my pen
and I
getting reacquainted
with
myself.
Catching the lessons
out of the sea
of experience
and tacking them
up page by page
in the sun
to dry
so I can taste them
again
on yet another day’s
golden picnic.
DSH 11-30-16
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… (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
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
Can it be true?
The number we became
when we added you.
Only one wiggly tooth.
Tigger-like energy.
Playful, excited, happy.
Thin legs and arms.
Where did the years go?
Our baby is gone.
I’m so glad
to have
my Seven.
–dsh 2013
English: Female surfer in Maui (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’ve asked many doctors
if there is a cure
for my common malady,
a case of teenager.
They each assure me it’s normal
but rich they’d surely be
if they could prevent the storms
most teens seem destined to see.
They say that just a few short years
is all it should reasonably take.
If waiting is the answer, then,
I pray my patience won’t break.
I wish I could keep you sheltered here
and ignore the reality of harm,
but you must learn to swim and swim hard,
not just on seas safe and warm.
I must let you struggle
and fight your way to strong.
One day I’ll see you proudly surfing
and know I wasn’t wrong.
© 2012 DarEll S. Hoskisson
written July 5, 2012
posted today in honor of my daughter’s last day of fifteen
A teen she knew from her high school just got shot and killed over the weekend. It isn’t something to take for granted, making it to sixteen. Always grateful for one more day with my family.
Dried green paint (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Every little mood I’m in
colors every place I’ve been.
Spilling paint and splashing tints
imagination’s subtle hints
of what fortunes soon will come
pretending that it’s already done.
Tomorrows will all be like yesterday
painted in the very same way.
On they’ll go and on and on
drudging on as they’ve begun,
and hope bleeds out like runny ink,
and I won’t notice unless I think.
The paint for tomorrow is in my hand
the canvas white, clear on it’s stand.
The colors will be fresh, the picture new.
It might be green, or pink, or blue.
© 2007 DarEll S. Hoskisson (dsh)
All the past,
my own
along with all who have ever lived,
every discovery,
every word written,
every whisper of legacy
whether good or bad
converges
into
one purpose:
To help me
live now
and
succeed beautifully
in the present,
one living moment
at a time.
© 2007 DarEll S. Hoskisson (dsh)
Personal Abridgements: Living Well Together 