RING IN RESILIENCE

May 2021 - for over a year we have been living cautiously waiting for this pandemic to go away.  We have been resilient and flexible.  We must keep resilient, and we can keep learning about resilience from many unexpected sources, such as:
Toothpaste and sunscreen.
Tricolor Herons
Magnolias
Swamps
Scam callers!!
 

Transcript

May 2021 - for over a year we have been living cautiously waiting for this pandemic to go away.  We have been resilient and flexible.  We must keep resilient and we can keep learning about resilience from many unexpected sources.  These poems reflect that.   

SQUEEZING

The never ending tubes

toothpaste and sun screen

are too resilient

seem to last forever

even as I am ready to move on

they keep coming out.

another week goes by

still I cannot throw them away

with the rest of the trash,

The white stuff keeps coming.

I am ready for spearmint

but the peppermint lingers

finally one last desperate roll and squeeze

just covering the toothbrush

one last time

it stops coming out!

RESILIENCE

An hour after sunrise

Lying low in the wet sand

I focus on the tricolor heron

it stands still, and silent

seeing through the shallow water 

snakelike it dips and strikes, fast

a fountain of water 

splashes and sparkles

but the fish has left.

Never giving up 

heron strikes again,

again and again.

Failure is not option

and success is the result.

Heron flies away fish in beak

finding a good breakfast spot.

Thanks for the lesson

dear heron.

Success is not instant

I will keep trying

keep practicing and learning

not accepting failure 

having no doubt 

of success.

TIMING

This time of year my walks are slower

I  take a very long time 

magnolia trees are budding and flowering

grasshoppers stroll across the path

dragonflies fly around in squadrons

birds are singing earlier and louder

and sweat gets in my eyes.

,

The magnolia flowers

its 6 pure white petals arranged

to reveal a perfectly framed

view of its central Carolla

curly, hairy, green carpels

above the bright red stamen.

For days now I have been searching

all the carollas are half hidden,

the petals have brown frayed edges

where are my perfect pictures?

Be in the right place at the right time,

but who determines that?

It is just like those stock pickers

saying when to buy and when to sell.

This is not our game to command

to think so is to live in illusion.

Magnolias have been flowering

for 140 million years.

I would rather be completely present

and in this moment

find the perfect magnolia 

and accept that this perfection

exists in this present moment

of time.

FAKAHATCHEE SWAMP

I love walking through the swamp

cool water swirling around my legs

sunlight filtering in through the canopy

the wide trunks of the pond cypress

spreading out stabilizing the tall trees

being home to orchids and bromeliads.

Ancient ferns rise above the surface

while unseen fish and amphibians 

pass by under the surface.

Now it is the dry season

the water is almost all gone

beauty is now in the silence,

the multicolored butterflies,

the hawk watching and preening,

near the large shiny black vulture.

The raccoon that peers out

drinking in the smelly muddy puddle.

The long black mink slinking across

the dirt road and out of sight.

I’ll come back next wet season

swish my legs through the cool water

watching out for water moccasins, 

and flowering orchids.

and listening to the happy sounds 

of the awakened swamp life. 

RING RING

Ring ring.

That do not call dot gov

is something scammers love

they have successfully hacked in

and have a new list and a big grin.

the phone rings, its 203

it must be myself calling me,

to see if I am still awake 

or if I will make a mistake.

I do answer and listen to the story

extended warranties remove worry.

Minutes later it rings again, again, thrice

so I bury the phone in a bag of rice.

I have had just about enough of being nice.

©MartinStrasmore2021