Playing Fair and Being Kind

A quiet descends upon the land. The day after Christmas and the majority of inhabitants have finally stopped obsessing about this yearly event where for weeks there has been shopping and spending and returning and wrapping and baking and boiling. Now comes the day after and the land is silent, no traffic, very little of anything. I have joined in on the day after stuff. I have stopped (for a long while) the other activities.

I’m spending my holiday energy on hiding, reading, and writing. I buy food for at least three days so I have no need to leave The Castle. I fill Beastie II with gas the day before Christmas to avoid being limited in escape destinations. Here I stay in The Castle with enough entertainment and diversion to occupy me. My neighbors and friends all know that I don’t like to have unannounced guests so if someone I know is coming over I know about it beforehand. Any noises in The Royal Driveway are suspicious if not on the Royal Schedule.

I took advantage of this lull in the chaos to go back over some of the writings that have accumulated in my documents folders. A pleasant surprise! There are a number that were stored in a folder that I have been ignoring and avoiding. The name of the folder was nondescript so it gradually became part of the background so to speak. I opened it and found three forgotten poems. Well, actually two poems along with a brief accounting that could be made into a poem as well. (Is that hideously egotistical of me?)

The poems are all about three years old and they read nicely. I took some time to tighten them up a bit and to soften some of the bumps in the flow and meter. I’ve added them to the end of this post.

I was invited late yesterday to join a good friend at her house today for an afternoon of conviviality. The situation changed and she needed to cancel her invitation. A disappointment but understandable under the circumstances. I look forward to another opportunity soon. This as an explanation of why I have been reading and writing all day today. I was all dressed up with no place to go. (Poor me!) It all works out in the end though. I gained a chance to rest, relax, and review these poems. Win.

I hope your day is as beautiful as it is here in Boothbay, Maine. The sun is bright as can be for being so low in the sky. Have a glorious day and I hope all is well with you and yours. Peace out.

NOCTURNAL CREATURES

In search of the little bear this evening,

Staggering in the dark with eyes lifted toward heroes,

I hear the ancient owl.

G. M. Goodwin

2012

 

WITH FEELING!

Some rowdy gang of senses delivers a rush I’ve missed lo

These many weeks,

Sound of wind,

Sight of gulls flung across the salty chop,

Inhaling the living earth I bow to a Snowdrop.

My heart shouts, “Spring!”

George Goodwin

Spring 2012

TALKING

My visits include a moment,

However brief,

When my host and I let go.

Whatever events made us guarded and cautious

Slip away unnoticed.

We find ourselves leaning in

Comfortably,

Talking in lowered,

Longer,

Lingering tones.

This space,

Awash in conspiracy,

Holds a drowsiness

During which a breath of jasmine

Relaxes and softens

My heart.

Eyes search

And invite as

Muscles surrender to gravity,

Smiles ascend along lips

And lily throats are exposed.

Now we can tell stories that are meaningful,

deeply felt.

This is where my host inevitably reveals

Their hero’s journey,

This is where my presence

Turns to gold,

And I really listen.

G. M. Goodwin

January 2013