On Call, 24/7

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

Someone once told me how I lucky I am to be a poet because ‘poets have a way with words and are blessed with an imagination.’ Yes, I enjoy writing poetry and feel a lot better for having written a poem than I probably felt before starting out; it is the only form of creative therapy at which I can (hopefully) claim to be any good.  

Imagination, however, turns not on words but on the human spirit, and each and every one of us has access to that.

Painting, gardening, any form of creativity stirs the imagination because imagination is a state of mind, not ability. When we are unhappy, we feel better for distracting ourselves by doing something that gives us pleasure and will help ease whatever pain is causing whatever unhappiness, physical or mental, that is burdening us way beyond any measure of words.

Never let anyone tell you that you have no imagination, but if life is an epic poem, so we, too, are epic survivors for the way we journey through it; each in our own way, a poem in the making.

“It is not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.” - Lena Horne (singer)

We all need a stop-gap if only to give as a breathing space when things get on top of us, as they invariably do from time to time. Oh, and never think you have no imagination; just close your eyes, relax, and let it work its magic. Whatever is troubling you won't go away, but you can always trust imagination to refresh mind-body-spirit, if only briefly, enough to make dealing with it less of an ordeal.

ON CALL, 24/7

As a child, I would rejoice

in every day, take it in my stride,

good or bad, fall asleep

at night among pleasant dreams

of beautiful places

and beautiful people whose beauty

lies but in the eyes

of the beholder, no expectations foiled

by the worst of human nature

As a teenager, I would dread

schooldays almost as much dealing

with a personal space

to which I dared not admit family

or friends, tried hard

to take it in my stride, but sensed

I was falling apart

until I discovered real-life companions

for mind-body-spirit

In later years, I’d find how love

takes many shapes and forms, in people,

places, wildlife,

waves and seashells…all eager

to comfort, reassure

and support a sad mind with memories

of happy times…

always there to be logged into, undermine
any mental or physical pain

I am Imagination, on call 24/7, feel free
to call on me, stopgap for reality

Copyright R. N. Taber 2019

Streetwise or C-l-o-u-d-s, Mind Games

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

We don’t always know what we want, and when we do, we don’t always get it, but that should not stop us even just window shopping for inspiration…like millions before us throughout history anxiously seeking inspiration or perhaps just a comfort zone of sorts, sufficient at least to see us through another cloudy day.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky.” -  Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

STREETWISE or C-L-O-U-D-S, MIND GAMES

Now and then life grabs us

by the scruff of the neck

and tosses us into The Street

where we lie on our backs

look a passing cloud in the eye,

demanding answers it

It soon becomes very clear

the cloud doesn’t care

what on earth we're doing there,

(nor it seems do passers-by)

so we have to face the possibility

it could well be our fault

Our flaws stand up poorly

to close examination,

lying on our backs in The Street;

time to get real, get up,

walk on, trust centuries of hope

to treat blisters on our feet

Wearily, treading the world

in anxious footprints left

by ghosts fired by desperation

to track the kinder side

of reality, live in love and peace,

secure a comfort zone

Last spotted throwing caution
to the winds, putting can
before can't and will before won't,
giving winds of change
a fighting chance to do their best
on the street where I live 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2013