Helping people quit

I have never figured out how to name this in job interviews, nor have I seen it in any list of spiritual gifts.

There is an inventory

Of spiritual gifts.

Mine have never

Lined up.

Not that

I have none;

Just that

Helping someone

Say no

To providing

Coffee hour

For another fifteen years

Does not make

That particular list.

I have a long list

Of helping people

Quit

The treasurer

Who wanted to hold babies

Instead.

And

Oh so many others.

Transitions

Start of a new year

The children
Are back in school
Starting new things
Finding people
They can
Hold hands with
Two by two
As they go out
To recess.
If recess
Even exists
Any more.
The adults
Find people
They can
Hold hands with
As they go
To boxed lunch.

Back

Back home

Back to our patch
Of wilderness
In the town
We claim
As ours:
Our birds
Our cats
Our home
The weeds
We must cut back
Or they will take over'
The house.
Still
Here we are
Back
Home

Rule out

I wonder if certain professions attract certain types.

I never met
An endocrinologist
Who listened.
I've tried three
In my life.
So
Three
Is often
A magic number.
I try hard
Not to rule out
People
By profession.
But still
My neurologist
Is awesome.
Therefore
All neurologists
Must
Be awesome.

I forgot

Boating by the peninsula which used to be Grandpa's. I forgot how much I missed it.

I forgot
How much
My heart could hurt
Until I saw the boats
Parked next to the land
We claimed
As ours.
This was the spot
To catch sunnies.
This was the spot
Where bass
Could be found.
No buildings left
Of course
No braying burros
On the shore
No road left.
Things change.
Things change.
I forgot
How much
My heart
Could hurt.

Wabana

Loons.

He said I needed
A dose of loon
I am getting my dose.
They remind me
Of past times.
My beloved grew up
With winter loons
Winter loons
Did not speak.

Anteaters

Ants

I wonder
How anteaters
Get enough
To eat.
Those giant anteater
Bodies
Those sticky tongues
Slurping enough ants
To live on.
How does it work?

Trucker

More stories on the road. Point A to Point B.

One driver last week
Had 15 years logged in
Over-the-road
Trucking.
She slept
In her truck.
She drove
The big kind
The small kind
Now she drives
Individuals
From Point A
To Point B
In my county
For Freedom First.
She sleeps
In her apartment.
She even had me sit
In the front seat
So we could hear each other
Better.

Weed people

We are weed people

What counts
As a weed?
The yard people mowed
The mint.
We hoped to add
To iced tea.
What counts
As a weed?
The rabbits eat
The clover
My mother
Hated rabbits
They ate
Her tulips
We have tulips too
The yard people
Know enough
To leave them
Alone.
The clover
Is part of the lawn
It has no difficulty
Being mowed.
What counts
As a weed?
We are weed people.
The thistles
Are in the blowsy stage.

Sun and thunder

Here I am expecting certain weather. Sun and thunder just don't go together. Time for another time through Job. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?

The weather
Is mixed
Today.
Bright sun
With rumbles
In the background.
I wait for things
To break loose.
It's coming.
It's coming.
It's coming.
Why do I always expect
Things to match
The way
I expect them
To match?
Why not sun
And thunder?
Where were you
When I laid the foundations
Of the world?
Where were you
When
I decided
Sun and thunder
Might be
An interesting
Combination?

When a position doesn't come through

I have Brene Brown to thank for this line of thinking. Indeed it helps to externalize such things, beyond the Fig Newtons and Pringles

When a position
Doesn't come through
What
Does it mean?
It wasn't meant
To be?
It wasn't any good
Anyway?
It's amazing the stories
We live with
In our heads
Until they even become
Part
Of the way
We walk.
Part
Of the way
We eat.
We find ourselves
Consuming
One more sleeve
Of Fig Newtons.
Most of a can
Of Pringles.
I'd like to say
I cope
In healthy ways.
I count
My blessings.
Indeed
Sometimes
I do.
It helps not to buy
Fig Newtons
or Pringles.