A Recipe for Life

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Harness happiness in a temple.
Promote goodness in an open hand.
Sweep up forgiveness, and spread it around.
Question stubbornness with optimism.

Pour in gentleness, stir it smoothly.
Laugh in good measure.
Sprinkle a little whisper,
Then rub a few cramped necks.

Ask a childish question.
Touch a heart, with a contagious spirit.
Climb to the peak of imagination.
Dream. Just dream.

Was It Worth It?

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Creativity takes various forms.
Sometimes, it is just shedding a tear.
Sometimes, it is letting someone go.
Sometimes, it is speaking your mind.

But all these things have potential pitfalls.
We can go too far, too fast.
We can get reckless.
We can want to do more than we can handle.

So, what to do?

Do we tone it down a little,
So we fit in people’s little boxes?
Do we stop being creative?
Do we only seek to be constructive,

Because, as everyone knows,
You can point to a result,
And say, That’s what I did today!
What did you do?

I cried. I spoke up.
I shared my heart with someone.
I left. I came back.
I battled my feelings. I gave up.

What does it all mean?

Does there have to be a concrete result,
A number, a price, a measurable gain?
What if the result only matters to you?
Or, what if only you can see it?

Was it still worth doing?

Sometimes, I wonder,
Was it all worth it?
Was shedding my blood,
Sacrificing myself, worth it?

Beth

In loving memory of Beth Stevenson

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You were a very special person.
A mentor, to so many.
Your wonderful smile,
Your gracious style,
Your words of encouragement
Meant so much.
Though it hurts to let you go,
I know you are in a better place.
No more pain or struggle.
You can dance with the best of them.
I hope that I can grow
To be an example to others,
Like you were, so many times.
May you rest in peace.
You deserve it!

Heard It In the Way

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Heard it in the way,
Not sure what to say.
Seems there are some issues
With how much we use tissues.

Tragedy and sin,
Outside and within.
Things are always wrong,
Just like a sad song.

What else can we do?
Seems we don’t have a clue,
What to do, or what to say,
Who to blame, or who should pay.

So many stories in the news,
So much to make us sing the blues.
Maybe we should just check out.
Maybe we should give in to doubt.

That won’t solve our problems, though.
If we don’t challenge status quo.
Things will stay the way they are,
If we don’t dream afar.

So let us keep hoping, still.
Praying with a great, goodwill.
Let us work together now,
Maybe soon we’ll figure how

To end the static, once and for all.
We must believe, we must know how,
There is a way, I’m sure of that.
So put away your baseball bat.

Violence won’t help the world.
Criticizing is the way to hell.
You are my sister and my brother.
We must learn to trust each other

It’s Raining Lies

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Hello, goodbye, see you later.
See you sometime,
Sooner or after.
Hear you behind, full of laughter.

Follow the leader,
Come by the easy way.
Trek the flowers,
Truck the dirt.

Real words modify.
Wrong words criticize.
Beautiful names signify.
Insults don’t dignify.

Hell might be true,
If it weren’t for the lies.
Heaven might be real,
Except for the dead guys.

How about truth?
How about love?
Forgiveness is a nice invention.
If only we practiced what we preached.

Do you believe the known is knowable?
Do you contribute to the miracle?
What is in a name, and when is it in vain?
I hope tomorrow it doesn’t rain.

Dancing Asleep

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Dancing happy strings, smoothly.
Love flows up and down,
Around my heart, I sing a melody.
Close my eyes, I fall asleep.

Trials tax my life, but they cannot crush
Courage deep below my skin.
Behind the normal, everyday,
I live a piercing focus step.

Cringe from all the ties alive.
Wrapped in tinsel, then afire.
Reading stories all around.
Fluttering rainbows blink the sound.

Ripped apart, the angels drop.
The quietude believes aloft.
Socked a dock, a rock in stock.
Mock my words, I do not stop!

Seminole Spirit

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Seminole spirit
Overcomes
Irish luck.
The journey continues.

It has been a long road
For the Seminoles,
Filled with many ups and downs,
Many potholes and snags,

Many black clouds
And stormy nights.
But there have also been
Glittering rainbows,

Glorious, amazing
Victories!
Come backs galore,
Rallies and smack downs.

The Seminoles
Have stayed on top
To the best of their abilities.
Sometimes,

Off the field,
There have been embarrassments,
Faux pas,
Close calls and nervousness,

But in the end,
The tribe has shook it off,
Left it all in the locker room,
And come out fighting.

Yes, there is still
Plenty to work on,
But, for now,
Let them bask in their glory!

To Dwell, or Not to Dwell?

Howdy, fella,
What’s up with you?
I’m right here
Watching the crowd go by.

What they say,
And what they do,
Don’t matter much
To me, anyway.

Sometimes,
We worry too much
About the most
Trivial of things.

Why is that?
Why are we so concerned
About what another person
Says or does?

Yes, it matters,
For the moment,
But is it all that important,
At the end of the day?

In the span of our life,
These isolated occurrences
Monopolize our time
And energy, as if

It was major surgery,
Or a death in the family.
In fact, we probably
Worry more about it,

Than we do about
Major events.
It is true,
That how we treat each other

Adds meaning to our lives.
A great experience,
Or a really bad one,
Can build us up,

Or tear us down,
In ways that other events don’t.
Perhaps, we should
Take them very seriously.

But, after the fact,
We must realize,
There is nothing we can do
To change what happened.

All we can do,
Is learn, and move on.
Dwelling on them
Does not make things better.

On the flip side,
If we spend some time,
Thinking about something nice,
That will go much further

In making us feel
A whole lot better.
Perhaps,
We should all try to do this.

A Spooky Night

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One night,
I walked out my front door,
And stepped…
On a knife.

What was a knife
Doing on my walkway?
That’s when I heard it:
Heavy breathing,

Behind me!
I thought quickly.
If I turn around
Really fast,

Maybe…no.
That wouldn’t work.
My next idea
Was to take off running.

So I did.
I ran and ran.
Even as I ran,
I could still hear it.

Heavy breathing!
As I passed by a tree,
I reached out
And broke off a limb.

It wouldn’t be much,
But I needed something
With which to defend myself.
I turned around, really fast,

And yelled out, “Ha!”
I didn’t see anyone behind me.
I looked down,
And there was my

Smiling golden retriever,
Buddy, panting away.
“You!” I shouted.
“You scared me

Half to death!”
Buddy just smiled
And wagged his tail.
He didn’t understand.

But I was relieved.
That’s when I thought of it.
The knife.
I knew there was a knife

On my walkway.
I walked, slowly,
Back to my walkway,
Trying to catch my breath.

I looked down,
Right where I had seen it.
There it was!
A dog comb.

I must have left it there,
Earlier that afternoon,
When I was out front,
Brushing Buddy.

All this Halloween stuff
Had gone to my head!
I went back inside,
And ate some candy,

That I had bought
For kids on Halloween.
At least this stupid holiday
Was good for something!