Inspiring poem by Robert Frost.

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

I might ride to the mountains this weekend and get pictures of the leaves before they drift away into a blissful, eternal, silence. I’m doing great in my class so far! Wish me luck. My final exam is coming up soon…

My poem for the fall…

Sweet Cascade

Fall lends us a fresh death
It rids us of all the summers’ weeds
They fall slowly to the ground

But as they die
Autumn shines brightly through eager eyes
And for a short time, nature reveals her weakness
Her strengths

 In a colorful eulogy, she glows
So many witness the last moments
As the beauty falls to the ground

 She’s gone
But not for long
Sure to live again!
Although she’ll never be as magnificent
As she was towards her end.

While conversing with friends the other night, I learned of a poem called “How Did you Die?”  I’ve never heard of the author Edmund Vance Cooke but I really enjoyed this.  Here it is…

Did you tackle that trouble that came your way

With a resolute heart and cheerful?

Or hide your face from the light of day

With a craven soul and fearful?

Oh, a trouble’s a ton, or a trouble’s an ounce,

Or a trouble is what you make it.

And it isn’t the fact that you’re hurt that counts,

But only how did you take it?

You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what’s that?

Come up with a smiling face.

It’s nothing against you to fall down flat,

But to lie there — that’s disgrace.

The harder you’re thrown, why the higher you bounce;

Be proud of your blackened eye!

It isn’t the fact that you’re licked that counts;

It’s how did you fight and why?

And though you be done to death, what then?

If you battled the best you could;

If you played your part in the world of men,

Why, the Critic will call it good.

Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,

And whether he’s slow or spry,

It isn’t the fact that you’re dead that counts,

But only, how did you die?

A little girl sits and stares out at an open sea
She observes a bright red sailboat and ponders, why can’t that be me?

Sailing over frothy waves, it appears to be so free
Please let the wind catch those sails and send it over to me
Then maybe I could ride that boat, that’s sailing so happily

 It paused only for a moment, so she jumped on eagerly
The little girl got to ride that sailboat and for a moment she too was free

I recently finished reading Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography.  It was a magnificent read!  He began each day with the thought “what good shall I do today?” And ended with “what good have I accomplished today?”  I loved the little poem that was contained in the book (I’ll have to look up exactly who wrote it):

Let not the stealing God of Sleep surprize,
Nor creep in Slumbers on thy weary Eyes,
Ere ev’ry Action of the former Day, Strictly thou dost,
and righteously survey.
With Rev’rence at thy own Tribunal stand,
And answer justly to thy own Demand.
Where have I been? In what have I transgrest?
What Good or Ill has this Day’s Life exprest?
Where have I fail’d in what I ought to do?
In what to GOD, to Man, or to myself I owe?
Inquire severe whate’er from first to last,
From Morning’s Dawn till Ev’nings Gloom has past.
If Evil were thy Deeds, repenting mourn,
And let thy Soul with strong Remorse be torn:
If Good, the Good with Peace of Mind repay,
And to thy secret Self with Pleasure say,
Rejoice, my Heart, for all went well to Day.

My favorite quote of all time from Franklin:
“Either do something worth writing, or write something worth doing.”

I was telling a friend that it’s kind of sad at the end of the book, it’s almost like you’ve been a part of this other life and as you draw towards the end you know it will soon be over.  But there’s so much more interesting material to read!  I’ve started a book on Nefertiti now.  The Egyptian culture is really interesting to me, I can recall as a child checking out books on the embalming process… what a strange kid.  

So far, I’m enjoying this novel; even though it’s mainly fiction – - there’s a lot of non-fictional information throughout the book.  I’ve learned that Nefertiti was a very important figure during her reign, almost as important as her husband.  She was not only extremely stunning but very knowledgeable and a kind leader.

I’ll update once I’m finished w/ the book.  As the end of my work day draws near, I must finish up some things and prepare for my release.  That almost sounds as if I’m a caged animal at the zoo… which isn’t too far from the truth.   I guess I should be lucky to have a job though.

Have a wonderful afternoon folks!

Hello my friend,
And a good comrade you are.

 Can you believe we have so many things in common?
Your love for music, hiking, animals, baseball and traveling.
I always enjoy doing these things with you.
There’s never a fear of silence.
We are the perfect pair, you and I.
And I like you for that. 

You are always there for me, I know this for sure.
Without a doubt, you listen and give your opinion.
Not always the right decision, but usually with good intention.
Like a top notch pal should, you have my best interest at heart.
And I thank you for that. 

You are child-like and wild!
Also shy and self conscious.
Not bad looking either…
But more importantly, you have a beautiful soul.
And I envy you for that. 

Even though you have tendencies to entice me to drink, binge and smoke…
You ultimately want what’s best for me.
Your self esteem is not always great.
Neither is your grammar…
I know for a fact that you’re extremely flawed.
But you are who you are. 

And I love you for that.

 Yours truly,

Lindsey
aka Tyler Durden

Happy Earth Day to all!  I think I’m going to sign up for some project at www.handsonatlanta.com to comemorate this special day – even though the project may actually take place in a few weeks… 

I also came up with a short poem about my veins.  They were begging to be heard tonight so I decided to give them the spotlight for a moment.  Here goes nothing.

Eyeballs glued to them

A pretty violent tinge

The biggest veins

I can’t help but stare at them

My eyes never strain

They stare back at you

Bulging within view

Transparent my skin

They shine right through

Laughing all the while

They make my World seem askew

I take a look at them

They look right back

Always reminding me to stay on track

They will go away

But not anytime soon

I want them for now, leaving would be inopportune

So I watch them

And they stare back

Bulging within view

They laugh at me, my platelet carrying sacks

I jotted down a little spring time poem this morning…

Hello Ms. Blue Jay

My!  What pretty wings

But they momentously lack in compare

To the way you chirp and sing

The highest pitch, you carry with such pride

Expressing your love of just being outside

You’re brightly colored and flying free

Please won’t you sing your song for me?

The one with the ever changing melody?

Thank you for the song, it sure was nice

Custom made for me, never to be heard twice

Goodbye Ms. Blue Jay, I enjoyed your pretty song

You’re a very busy girl now, so hurry on along

Your gift is too precious to be beheld by just one

Open your wings and fly little bird

Fly into the sun!

I was bored sitting around and started writing again… hope you like!

Right now, in the morning

Later on in the day

Any time of the day

The clock will keep its pace

Time meanders on…

Right now I hear it ticking

But tomorrow  now will be gone

Beauty

Beauty does not know boundaries, territorial lines that divide

It does not make choice of particulars

It can come and go from one day to the next, effortlessly

But it never dies

This is only my opinion

Not only is it beheld in physical form

But more importantly, spiritually

As the Angel that guides you through the day

As light as a speck of dust or a beam of light glowing through a window

As heavy as the creation of life

Beauty rests, dances and flies – yes it is alive!

It is eternal and infinite

Gorgeous is this divine creature

A deity and necessity to a lackluster World

I thought this was a pretty quote.

“Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.”  ~Edgar Allan Poe