take up thy pen

tabula rasa – a day, a page
every hour unfolds with the chance of
mindnumbing or skyreaching possibilities
take up thy pen and write your life to come

delicate phrasing to encourage the heart
light and air to encourage the work
a little quiet to let thoughts run
a little beat to tap the feet

days to earn and days to spend
and days of neither slipped in
where practical
times to embrace and times to refrain from embracing

called outside by the sun or kept in by the storm
find those elongated moments to observe the angles and shades
flickers and wobbles
no shortage of apt metaphors for what drives you
ails you
wakes you

long streams of contrasting struggles
great and small
that remind of the work that has been done
and the work there is yet to do
the fitful gymnastics of the soul that with luck and grace
may melt into a refined yoga of the spirit

it is good to live in a neighbourhood
with a high incidence of smiling
where you can observe the aftermath of little victories
the continuous miracles of
being bigger than the troubles
stronger than the grief
faster than the speeding bullets
that always seem to track us down

we are our own creators
making ourselves microstep by microstep
as we catch waves before we can swim
taking flight before we learn how to land
allow ourselves to be caught so we can learn how to catch

key features may include
acknowledgement of gifts and kindnesses  
(each giving is an act of love)
remember names even when you can’t
savour scents and flavours
laugh with children
laugh with lovers
laugh with (and at) yourself
laugh until you sing / sing until you laugh

sit still and let it all wash over you
there’s always time to stop, breathe, go blank

and when presented with a blank slate
sharpen your pencil
and start again