Where's the Fire?

We must act out passion before we can feel it.
Jean-Paul Sartre

This past weekend, our son and his wife were in Sequoia

They came home with tales of peace

and wonder

and fire.

They explained that some pods that hold the seeds of magnificent trees

will only burst open

and start the growth of new trees

when heated by fire.

I get that!

I have seen what happens when dreams grow cold

When the seeds of greatness

lying within us never come forth

It is because something has put out the fire

Doused by that one last cold splash of disappointment

Or simply buried under the ashes of time

or regret

or worry

or fear of failure

fire killers all....

But I also get this....

You can find the fire -

the passion- once again

Go!

Find that fire that once filled your heart

You know where you left it.

Get it back

it is yours!

And never let it go out again

And that’s poetiquejustis

Forever...something....

It takes a long time to become young
Pablo Picasso

I went by a store the other day called for some unfathomable reason

Forever 21

The mere idea gave me a panic attack!

Really?

Forever on the edge of the pool?

Forever fighting the waves to get away from shore?

Forever .....

trying my wings….

Forever

Finding my way…..

Forever

Turning the page?

Twenty one….

Been there

Done that

Crossed that bridge and barely made it to the other side!

Have at it, my young friends!

Be 21

and be good at it!

but take heart!

No one is going to ask you to be forever 21.

And that’s poetiquejustis

Budding Genius

During the long cold winter,

with the wind howling around her farmhouse

on a Pennsylvania hillside

After the kids went to bed,

my friend Holly would sit at her kitchen table long in to the night pouring over seed catalogs.

She would carefully decide what her garden was longing for

and then she would write a check,

and mail her request off to the seed company

And she would wait

And she would work

The minute the snow was off the ground,

Holly would begin her battle with the frozen soil

and the rocks that seemed to grow out

of nothing

Where her garden was meant to be

Then the day would come-

the seeds would arrive-

The earth would be ready-

And the planting would begin.

Because Holly in the quiet moments of her life made a plan

Then got busy

and

planted the seeds

and helped them grow

There were vegetables on many tables during the summer.

Including mine.

Now…what if Holly had only perused the catalog

and stopped right there?

What about the seeds you have waiting to be planted?

Seeds of hope

Seeds of faith

Seeds of change

Seeds that cannot grow without your help

Go!

Plant them!

Nothing is going to grow unless you do.

and that's poetiquejustis

Just a Little Flakey

"Wish I was a Kellogg's corn flake

Floatin' in a bowl takin movies..."

Simon and Garfunkle

So much of life seems to be about the packaging….

and

The packaging is always changing, isn't it?

The way the world sees us....the way the mirror sees us..

All about the packaging.

Kind of like Corn Flakes

One day you are the kid with all the answers....

The next day......you feel like plain wrap generic

One minute you are fine art

And the next minute you are .....

folk art....

You are a star..

...

Then, just one of the crowd

But no matter what the picture looks like

If you shake out that box

you are still going to get corn flakes

and there will always be room for corn flakes like us on the table of life

and that's poetiquejustis

Once upon a rhyme

Words should come in pairs

Once upon a time

There were words that would not rhyme

Though most things came in twos

Even fussy caribous

The words that I would choose

Just would not rhyme

There were birds of quite the feather

Gathering together

And doing bird duets and keeping it in time

There were salt and pepper shakers

But for my words, there were no takers

One by one my words just did not care to rhyme

Twas a quandary , twas a riddle

It split my brain right down the middle

Til I realized

And let drop the other shoe

What was missing- what was glaring

In all that wordsmith pairing?

I forgot that me will always rhyme with you

and that's poetiquejustis