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Excursions in Daily Living
Published by Ann Evans
This book is available in print.
Copyright 2012 Ann T. Evans
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Table of Contents
Excursions In Words
Another Day
24 hours In Every Day
Blessed Day
Bug Thoughts
Blustery Spring Day
Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
Day Tripping
Each Dawn’s Early Light
Calories
Clip On Flowers
Communication
Creation
Considering
Dark Clouds
Back to Square One
Blue Jay Confusion
I Wish
Casual Gardener
Directions
Fellowship
Defining Me
Cry Me A River
Excursion in words
What do I write...
the question
is addressed to me
and I hesitate
because
I would not call
it poetry
it is more
an excursion
of thought...
Impulse writing...
Free form...
A flow of
my thoughts
recorded
for myself
and
possibly
a limited audience
of friends...
Another day...
Hard fought battle
Struggling back and forth
Mistakes made
Plans remade...
Attempts to recover
Writing on the wall
Systematic disaster
Behind with little hope...
Any given day
A team can win or lose
Tomorrow marks new plans
Today's disaster to be left behind...
For as we all can relate to
Every ending marks a new day
What you make of your losses
Determines your true character...
24 Hours in Every Day!
It seems to me to be
That the days before vacations
Slide right on by s l o w l y
Then suddenly THE day arrives
Rushing, rushing, rushing
Checklists of things to do
Places to be and people to see...
A blur of planned or not planned activity
Pictures snapped, sights seen,
Or marked for future visits
Motion, activity, gathering,
Rushing forth each day
Then almost before you turn around
All is over...
Return to home with many reminders
Was it really 24 hours in every day?
Surely you were short changed some days
But whatever vacation time was spent
Rushed through your fingers in rapid speed
Until next planned vacation adventure
Tally Ho, away we go...
Blessed Day
Thank you God
For this day
For yesterday
And for tomorrow...
For the blessing of life
The breath I take
The joy of sunshine
Upon my face...
Thank you for Grace
Of acceptance in life
Of the will to live
To survive each day...
For the clouds that pass
The joy of life
Family, Friends, & strangers
That pass our way...
Most of all
Forgive my omissions
Of respect for others
Their choices & praise...
Bug Thoughts
Oh, big bug
In the hot, hot sun
Flew upon my windshield
This early morning
In the hot, hot sun...
Yipes,
Heat, BIG bugs, heat
Pesticide resistant weeds,
Hot, hot sun
As I sit in my air conditioning....
Contemplating things...
Heat! Bugs! Weeds!
Lemonade, air conditioning,
Ahhhhhhhhh....
Blustery Spring Day
Did I mention cold
With the windy part
Makes it more like Fall ish
Maximum temperature 60
With winds in gusts
Making one think
Of winter months…
Yesterday was stormy,
Windy, rainy,
Tornadoes hit the Midwest
In abundance
With flooding and turmoil
We kept our fingers crossed
Hopeful, not to see the same…
Pounding rain, on and off,
All day long
We watched our TVs…
Flooding areas shown,
Creeks rushing forth,
Just a damp, miserable
‘Can’t wait for tomorrow’ day
Then today we sit huddled
Inside away from the wind
Knowing that Spring must have rain
For the flowers to bloom
For the grass to grow…
Yet, does it all have to come
In one day or two…
Seems like our season cycles
Must come in extremes…
Too much, too little,
Too long, too short
Too cold, too hot,
Too wet, too dry
Or was it always thus…
Too quick to pass
The days rush on by
Projecting tomorrow with hope
Wishing today will be mellow
Fingers crossed &
Toes too
If that will be of any help…
Chirp, Chirp, Chirp
As I sit and knit
I keep hearing
Chirp, chirp, chirp
I go check the fan
Newly installed in the kitchen
Eventually turning it off....
I switch to reading
My newly purchased book
Chirp, chirp, chirp
Scratching my head
I explore the room
Checking here and there...
Back to my book
Becoming ensnarled in plot
Chirp, chirp, chirp
What could it be
Where can I search...
Suddenly something goes by
Under the coffee table
Across the floor
To the front doorway
Flutters a chirping bird ...
Giggle, giggle, giggle, what!
Apparently sometime today
One of my new family of birds
Managed to sneak inside
Keeping me company today...
Escorted out the front door
By broom guidance system
Chirp, chirp, chirp gone
So back to knitting
Or reading in silence!!
Day Tripping
It was a lovely, sunny Fall day
So the trip was impulse
Route plotted on iPhone map
Tank almost full of gas...
Through the Fall leaves
Across part of Natchez Trace
Take H’way 72 to Corinth, MS,
Past Iuka, Mars For Sale...
'Bingo' place has a few cars
Victoria Inn along the highway
Rolling mountains, up & down,
Soon arriving in Corinth, MS...
Finding Heritage Festival
Was child's play
Verandah/Curlee House
Interesting historic house...
Vegetable soup & corn bread lunch
Only $2, then back on the road,
'Mars' on mailbox, 14+ acres,
'Bingo' place car lot full, overflowing...
Lovely drive back on H’way 72
Take a left on H’way 133
Across the TN River, scenic view,
Back at home, Florence, AL, just a knitting...
Each Dawn's Early Light
Flowing streams of light
flashing past the view
Rushing with constant motion
little time for careful thought ...
Act, react, move on through
shifting, sliding, changing view
Rushing in perpetual motion
Through winding tunnels every which way...
Seeing, hearing, holding forth
Flashing past the view
Rushing by with much motion
little conscious thought or depth...
Today is here before yesterday's filled
rushing by each day
From crisis to crisis
With little time for reflection...
Calories
Oh, gee,
now I know
what to blame
something to wear
and it hugs me so tight...
must be those pesky
little buggers
calories....
Do ya think
they are related
to Hershey's chocolate bars
or walnut fudge squares
or buttered popcorn
or cherry pie
or those .....
hmmmm
good
things....
Clip On Flowers
What year was it
When pointed toed
High, high heels were worn
With clip on flowers...
The late 1960s, early 1970s?
Just saw on TV
A lovely lady
Wearing similar footwear...
Reliving my teen years
With fashion’s return styles...
Though I'm content
With my tennis shoes
Most days & expressive socks
Scattered with bright flowers...
Ahh, retirement has its advantages...
Communicate
How is it that
Some folks want to talk
And talk and talk and talk
About their problems & struggles...
Their complaints about daily life...
Hardly waiting
For a 'yes...' or 'um hu...'
Response or acknowledgement
That you are there, listening,
Consuming all they say, somewhat...
I suppose
There are those who listen
And those who talk
And talk and talk and talk
We listeners appear to be
The safety valve for release of pressure...
Internalize
Our thoughts...
But even with us,
Eventually...
Someone needs to listen...
Creation
If you create something
And no one knows
Have you created...
If you compose words
And no one reads
Have you composed...
If I keep my words
Unto myself
Have I expressed...
Excursions of thought
Always I have done this
But have I connected...
Does it matter
Has it mattered
Well, no; words still flow...
Considering
This is the time
Of the year
When a move
To a more
Southern, sunny,
Warmer area
Appeals to me...
As the cold,
Overcast days
Accumulate
& my body
Aches,
and soreness
Predominates ...
Achy, breaky
Is not a fun song
But a constant
Lament....
Then there are
Fluffy snows,
& Sunny days...
Then my spirit
Rises...
My aches subside,
Ibuprofen
At my side
Warm heat,
Movement ...
Life moves on...
Another winter
Survived
With seasonal
Moans & groans
And spring
Will arrive ...
Dark Clouds
Came through the area
As I watched
There were strong winds
And I watched the sky...
Will there be a time
When I watch less
When I do not think
Will there be a funnel cloud, tornado...
How long before we forget
The force that could be
The possibility that nature holds
How destructive & quick the violence...
How long before we think
Just another thunderstorm
When we continue on our way
When there is no hesitation…
Will the children who survived
Ever not have fear & hide
When dark clouds roll by
And we all stop and wait...
April 2011
Back To Square One
Family time anticipated.
What makes a family?
Birth, connection
Accidents of life...
During holiday season
November, December, January
Thoughts center around family...
Groups of people reconnect...
Expectations are high
Dreams are often overly wrought
Memory is selective
And, hopefully, near sighted...
Terminal velocity shatters
Reality lives its own life
Memory encompasses truth
Today's disasters are irrelevant...
What is important
Is the gathering effort
The continued chain of life
The renewal of connected ness...
Blue Jays Confusion
Brightly blue feathered creatures
Flitting to and fro in the area
Guarding 'their' territory
Making noisy security flights...
Maintaining status quo
Letting others know
This area is not to be invaded
Changed, infringed on, or shared...
Blue feathered furry
Guarding 'there' territory
Making noises, loudly protesting,
Squirrel scurries with confused opinion...
All is right with the world
Blue jays maintained current environment
Life moves quietly forward
Until next infringement encounter...
I wish
That I could write
Mystery novels...
Character portraits
In words...
Swirling plots
With descriptive landscape
And odd characters...
Capturing an audience...
Holding your attention...
A real page turner
Keeping you up
Past midnight...
So I must simply be content
Place words upon paper
Expressing feelings
And personal attitude...
But I can wish...
And express hope...
Ah yes, the writer's urge ...
And appreciate others...
Casual gardener
That's what I choose
To call myself
When pressed for a title...
Why,
because I approach
Planting things in my yard
With a 'casual' attitude!
For example,
My GA yard was not
Planned, step by step...
I'd sit outside and think
Well, maybe this would look OK
Or I'd see an azalea or 2 on sale
Or a lovely group of flowers
Would catch my imagination
And I'd purchase 'em
Figuring out later
Where to put 'em...
If a purchased item
Failed to flourish
I'd uproot
& throw it away
Or turn under for mulch,
Trying something else instead...
Of course, I read 'directions'
But they often fail to retain;
I keep attached tags
But tend to lose 'em
At some point...
My Alabama yard
Is the same
With an Internal plan
Imagination driven
With a vision of Hope...
Casual attitude
toward growing;
I plant
God grows
Is the attitude;
See
'casual gardener'
Is my title...
Directions
In this day and age
We rely on technology
To get us where we
Want to be…
Long ago
In a place far away…
Haha…. I was the map person,
the teller of how to get there…
Seems Mom didn’t like
Making wrong choices
And Dad often got aggregated
When she gave directions…
So I was promoted
At a very young age to
Holder of the map,