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    Headstall
  • Headstall
  • Author
  • 05/05/2023
  • 493 Words
  • 667 Views
  • 16 Comments
The content presented here is for informational or educational purposes only. These are just the authors' personal opinions and knowledge.
Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are based on the authors' lives and experiences and may be changed to protect personal information. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Headstall's Reflections - 90. Chapter 90 Things

Spending time with my memories...

Things

 

 

I walk around my empty house

And in the memories I do douse

Feeling their warmth like a scented bath

As I stroll my heart’s meandering path

 

Examples have put importance in things

Riches a lifetime of determined toil brings

Stark early lessons to me were taught

To climb those ladders and give inches naught

 

Accumulations are said proof of success

For empty spaces were deemed somehow less

And yes those things do carry weight

But real value is seen for some too late

 

Whether gauged in metric or imperial

It should be known the material is immaterial

Whether silver, gold, cloth, or paper

Or even the charred wick of a candle taper

 

Any and all can be cherished as treasure

Trinkets capable of giving us pleasure

Once we find ourselves walking alone

Our aged flesh inevitably pared to the bone

 

My house is a gallery to a life complete

Humble reminders of love’s gifts replete

Overflowing I be with bared emotions

As I slurp on my trove of happy potions

 

My riches are not made up of numbers

But in the years of children’s slumbers

And gouges in pine, deep and wide

And the dent on the fridge impossible to hide

 

My wealth is in crayoned birthday wishes

And in the chips of well-worn dishes

It’s in the school bell they loved to ring

And in those wildflowers they used to bring

 

It’s found in the most unlikely of places

The stretch of floor used for Hot Wheels races

The sill on which perched a Cabbage Patch kid

And under the couch where lost toys hid

 

How can I be lonely when my joy surrounds me?

When out every window is a bush or a tree

Planted there amidst animated discussion

Best to withstand damage from nature’s percussion

 

When my time comes, I hope it is here

For in this abode is all I hold dear

This gathering place where my kids feel at home

This special house most worthy of a poem

 

 

 

Haiku #1

 

Molasses moves slow

On frigid winter mornings

Copying my speed

 

Haiku #2

 

Beneath the dark sky

Creatures scurry for cover

Knowing what’s coming

 

Haiku #3

 

If we search out peace

When we haven’t done the work

It can elude us

 

Haiku #4

 

Covered by dead leaves

An entire world exists

Waiting to emerge

 

Haiku #5

 

I heard a blue jay

Express raucous displeasure

At feline stalking

 

Haiku #6

 

Life’s true enemy

Lies in our desperation

To hide from its pain

 

Haiku #7

 

There is a secret

Hidden in the deepest woods

Babbling its song

 

Haiku #8

 

Sounds of spring mewling

Comes from behind the barn walls

Announcing new birth

Thanks for reading my offerings. Comments are welcomed.
Copyright © 2017 Headstall; All Rights Reserved.
  • Love 13
The content presented here is for informational or educational purposes only. These are just the authors' personal opinions and knowledge.
Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are based on the authors' lives and experiences and may be changed to protect personal information. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

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Chapter Comments

Headstall
6 minutes ago, ReaderPaul said:

Love these, Gary,   Haiku #3 and #4 especially spoke to me in the haiku section.  The poem "Things" expressed so many of my thoughts well.

 

Well done, sir.

Thank you very much, Paul, for taking the time to read and leave such a nice comment. I've had a terrible cold for weeks now, and I've spent a lot of time looking around my house, inside and out. I finally had a nice walk in the woods. It was short because of coughing, but it was rewarding for me and my patient dog. :) 

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Parker Owens
  • Popular Comment

Like you, I can point to trinkets and odd items in my home which bring a flood of memories, both good and bad.  I deeply felt your question posed: How can I be lonely when my joy surrounds me?  The haiku were fun to read.  I thought #6  was excellent.  I may print it and post it on my classroom door.  Like @ReaderPaul, I thought #3 and #4 to be good, too.  Thank you for collecting and posting these.

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Headstall
  • Popular Comment
5 minutes ago, Parker Owens said:

Like you, I can point to trinkets and odd items in my home which bring a flood of memories, both good and bad.  I deeply felt your question posed: How can I be lonely when my joy surrounds me?  The haiku were fun to read.  I thought #6  was excellent.  I may print it and post it on my classroom door.  Like @ReaderPaul, I thought #3 and #4 to be good, too.  Thank you for collecting and posting these.

Thanks, Parker. I appreciate hearing your thoughts.

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raven1

Things often lose value as they age, but life and memories always hold or increase their value.  I loved this poem and had to take a walk around my home afterwards.  

I also loved the Haiku poems.  I had a laugh when I read the first one.  It's kind of how I felt yesterday, except it was not cold and dark.  The bluejay reminded me of visits from the bird and it's reaction to the presence of my cats each visit.  I think I know the inspiration for the last Haiku, and hope  the kittens are doing well.

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Headstall
3 hours ago, VBlew said:

Gary,

Things is quite interesting, and very similar to my house, without the children part. There’s still much love here. 
and Haiku #3 rings so true.

I have a number of things I paid very good money for, but they aren't the most valuable things I have. I think it takes a while to learn that... at least it did for me. :) VBlew, for reading these poems and sharing your thoughts with me. I'm happy you liked them, and I agree about Haiku #3. Cheers!

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Headstall
2 hours ago, raven1 said:

Things often lose value as they age, but life and memories always hold or increase their value.  I loved this poem and had to take a walk around my home afterwards.  

I also loved the Haiku poems.  I had a laugh when I read the first one.  It's kind of how I felt yesterday, except it was not cold and dark.  The bluejay reminded me of visits from the bird and it's reaction to the presence of my cats each visit.  I think I know the inspiration for the last Haiku, and hope  the kittens are doing well.

Thanks, Terry. My memories are priceless to me, and I'm glad you understood the value they have for us, particularly as we age. The fact you walked around your home after reading this poetry means a lot to me. 

I think I already told you I enjoy writing Haiku. There can be beauty in simplicity. And yes, the kittens seem to be doing well from the sounds they make. :) Cheers!  

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Headstall
7 hours ago, Aditus said:

I like your collection, Gary, and your feelings about your things. (Feeling their warmth like a scented bath for example.)

Like the others, I  too have a collection and my greatest fear is that I forget about their meaning, like my mother.

Haiku #5 and # 6 are my favorites.

I enjoyed your poems with a nice cup of Maca Chai. Thank you.

 

I have that fear too, Adi, and I'm sorry you have yours. My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's but it hadn't progressed too far before cancer took her. Still, I am haunted by that vacant look that had begun to appear. :hug: 

We all deserve our memories, and I hope someday this mental scourge is defeated.

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I have written a lot of Haiku lately, and I love when readers tell me their favorites. Take care, my friend. G.

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