Blur, Root and Branch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

“Expectation is the root of all heartache.” – proverb (often attributed to Shakespeare)

Sometimes we see what we expect to see rather than what is there; in much the same way, our feelings are similarly clouded by not feeling what we expect to feel.

Another old saying about looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope springs to mind. The rogue root and branch in nature and human nature plays up to just such imperfections; we fail to spot them because we do not expect to find them there, any more than we are willing to see imperfections in ourselves.

Invariably, blurred vision will eventually clear and rogue elements exposed once common sense alerts us to using the telescope correctly, often than not with the assistance of those better able to focus than ourselves on whatever it may be that we are gravely misperceiving.

Nothing new about either sentiment, I agree, but, hopefully, as good a preamble to the poem as any...?

BLUR, ROOT AND BRANCH

How came by first seeds
to take root and nurture us ever after
through the various seasons
of such time and personal space,
as we can but suppose
was a well-intended force for good,
advantaging kindred also
in woods and gardens, in fields or wherever
thought best by Earth Mother

Root and branch, though,
rely in no small part on circumstances
and surroundings to encourage
growth and such appearance as likely
to appeal any who tend, observe
and take to heart, or not, as the case
may well be, even allowing
for any unforeseen flaws, in the taking care of it,
seeing its basic needs well met

Intended to bear such fruit
compatible with whatever circumstances
and surroundings they grow,
these may well change as time passes,
fewer admirers raising glasses
to toast any finer attributes, but seeing ways
of cashing in on such flaws
as lend temptations of flesh and blood credulity
among certain powers that be

Rogue elements, they mean
nothing personal to whom any harm be done,
led on by various permutations
that have abused their originals
across generations,
inclined to play fast and loose with nature,
the better to take their cue
from assorted but well-established powers that be,
self-interest, ever a first priority

In nature and humanity,
find various rogue species going their own way,
disrespectful of any code,
leading its society, unknowingly, by the nose,
yet, their come-uppance
assured, one way or another, caught out by chance,
word, deed or gesture, enough to alert
their contemporaries to such goings-on as needs must
be exposed for betraying its trust

For every rogue root undermining a species’ well-being,
find many, many more well worth the nurturing

 Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022 

Mind-Body-Spirit, Opening Up to Spring

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Spring is in the air, but sadly, the COVID-19 coronavirus is taking its toll just abut everywhere across the world. Not since World War 2 have we all needed to trust love - in all its shape and forms - to distract us and help us rediscover peace of mind ...

"Daffodils that come before the swallow dares, and takes the winds of March with beauty." - William Shakespeare (The Winter's Tale)

MIND-BODY-SPIRIT, OPENING UP TO SPRING

Come wintry seasons,

no peace for the unquiet mind

as it mulls its choices;

none so obvious as yelling “Me!”

and let the rest go free,

leaving mind-body-spirit to focus

on such kinder aspects

of human nature as any disinclined

to be a slave to its worst flaws

Winter, preferring gloom

to sunlight more often than not,

sending mixed feelings

all but mad with mixed messages,

now reassuring us,

now threatening us with the worst

it can throw our way,

now suggesting we do this, now that,

at each new day’s dragging out

Come, a hint of spring,

daffodils making their presence felt

in buds no quite ready

to open their hearts to the world,

let us see inside,

be inspired by Earth Mother’s need

to take a lead,

defy inhibitions hell bent on throwing

even the best of us off the scent

To mind-body-spirit, all the more peace 
and love for spring’s embrace

Copyright R. N. Taber 2020

Bargain Hunters or In the Market

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

How many personae do we take on during a lifetime, I wonder? More, I suspect that many if not most of us would care to admit. A friend once commented that everyone seems to have a mask for every occasion, and she may well have had a point. There is the interested face or mask we wear as and when called upon to do so, whether or not we are genuinely interested in what is being said or done, often to impress and earn admiration; most of us have a sympathetic expression, a cheerful one (a favourite)...whatever, as best suits particular circumstances.  Than goodness for those situations when we need no mask, but are free to be ourselves, with loved ones and close friends whom we do not need to impress or go along with to keep the peace...relatively few in the kind of crowded lives we so often lead, and all the more precious for that, even if human nature is such that we sometimes fail to let them know hot much we love and appreciate them.

Nothing comes completely free, of course; there is invariably a price to pay, in losing a friend or loved one either through their death or, worse, some fault of our own that results in estrangement; not always our fault, either, except in so far as stress  - in all its various shapes and forms - is to blame. Many people don't understand stress, but those who do, and can deal with the worst in others without being judgemental and still leave room for forgiveness...well, they are among the true treasures in anyone's life.

One of my greater regrets in life is that I have not only unintentionally failed people, in one way or another, but also compounded such failures by eventually recognising them without doing my best to rectify or at least try and compensate for them.  I have heard the 21st century referred to as the Age of Communication, especially with the advent of New Technology, yet my personal experience of human nature is that we are probably no more really communicative with each other now than human beings have ever been; we make assumptions, listen to gossip and make even more assumptions ..  and so the cycle of misunderstandings and missed opportunities on a personal level goes on unless or until someone breaks and mends it. Sadly, though, it takes two to break and two to mend, and it is not an uncommon trait of human nature that relatively few of us - myself included - are consistently adept at making first moves in any process of reconciliation, invariably misjudging the situation and all those involved - including ourselves.

Oh, but whatever happened to in-depth communication on that priceless personal level, and how fortunate are those better able to not only seize, but also make good the day.

BARGAIN HUNTERS or IN THE MARKET

End of Term sale;

two, even three for the price

of one mask,

bargains to keep everyone happy

for acquiring personae

that will see us go on our way

if more anxious

to take what (and who) it finds at face value

than be found wanting

End of Season sale;

more bargains to be had at prices

easy on the pocket

nor too hard on the mind-body-spirit;

whatever reservations

the human heart in stalling for time,

better to play games 

others like to play than be called out too soon 

for bending any rules?

End of Life sale;

rummaging stalls for what’s left

to keep the world

from guessing it’s been had

time and again

by personae anxious to fit hand to glove

(it takes one to know one)

but likely bargains already long gone for a song,

needs must, ego-driven

Market, closing down;

no stall holders left making their pitch,

only ghosts, anxious

to avoid seizing on human flaws

sure to incite poor choices,

but giving pride of place to the kinder side

of human nature,

for its proving the old adage that all the best things

in life are - free

Copyright R.N. Taber 2020

Back to School OR Rediscovering Letters on Building Bricks, Learning Tools for Grown-Ups

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

While I will always refute the notion that schooldays see us through the best years of our lives, I will always be grateful for a less than happy learning experience that has brought me to where I am now; one which, for better or worse, has more yet in store for me. For just how much longer, only time will tell; no life experience teaches us all the answers although there never was any harm in speculating and trusting that a few, at least, will filter through.

I was like a fish out of water at school for all kinds of reasons, not least because no one picked up on my partial deafness so I missed much of what was being said. Moreover, I am not a very practical person and hopeless at subjects like woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing, which, it being a Technical School, were primary subjects. I learned a lot, though, if only by way of survival skills that would see me through the rest of my life.

Although a ‘low to medium’ achiever’ at school, I had some great teachers and learned a lot; e.g. how to compensate for my deafness by developing a wacky sense of humour that would get me out of all kinds of scrapes; feeding my imagination on classic children’s poetry and literature that would soon find me devouring adult works that, in turn, would serve me well as a mature student at university;  enjoying my ups by coming through my downs with a real sense of having learned something although (of course) I hadn’t thought of it as a learning process at the time; discovering at first hand that self-pity is a waste of any potential for mind, body and spirit left waiting in the wings, demonstrating (only too well) the futility of going nowhere fast.

Oh, and last but not least, those less-than-happy-but-worth-every-minute schooldays taught me to live with myself, warts ‘n’ all. (Rarely a flattering image, but, what the heck…? Sure, escapism by whatever means is all very well, so long as we can get real - with ourselves if not always with each other - whenever needs must.)

Yes, 71 now and still discovering what letters make what words on what building bricks used to make a world...

BACK TO SCHOOL or REDISCOVERING LETTERS ON BUILDING BRICKS, LEARNING TOOLS FOR GROWN-UPS

Old building,
groaning for developers
knocking it down

Empty rooms,
full of jeering ghosts
putting me down

Nightmares,
haunting my every step,
bringing me down

Old school tie,
noose around my neck,
dropping me down

Formative years,
lessons but half learned
letting me down

T-I-M-E, choices
breaking us in, schoolkids
on a joyride

L-I-F-E, a half-ruin
waiting upon developers
to reconstruct us

N-A-T-U-R-E,
kinder ghosts, ready to lend
a helping hand

L-O-V-E,
better teachers, overriding
lesser mortals

P-E-A-C-E
but graffiti on a blackboard
till we can spell

Copyright R. N. Taber 2017

Whispers in the Wind

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

History is a great teacher of love and peace; the pity is that humankind is (such) a slow learner in respect of either …  

Oh, there is peace in many parts of the world, but only where we define pace as the opposite of war ; it is an uneasy peace with societies refusing to reconcile with core differences threatening to undermine national (even global) stability at the best of times ; similarly, there is love, in all its shapes and forms, so long as we don't look too closely at the various shortcomings of human nature.

WHISPERS IN THE WIND

Whispers in the wind

like autumn leaves, ever drifting

time and space…

Love poems in the heart

like tears of a rose, harbinger

of autumn

Hymns to nature voicing

hunger for change and peace

of mind

Bogeyman at every corner

waiting to pounce, force-feed us

its prejudices

Drop-ins along every street,

ready to lend an ear, teach us

fight-back

People of all persuasions

asking no more of life than love

and peace

Grim Reaper harvesting

humankind’s failure to settle

its differences

Whispers in the wind

like deaf ears, perpetually drifting

time and space…

Copyright R. N. Taber 2015