As long as you are dreaming, there is always a way out.
What matters is not how well you can avoid trouble, but how you cope with trouble when it comes.
Paul Auster (born 1947) is an American writer and film director. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages.
Life with its purpose
Every minute spent
Never wasting any
Just need to pay today’s rent
Day’s unhurried pace
Let’s enjoy each scene
Sitting on nature’s porch
Sunshine better than caffeine
Yes, growing older
But treasure each day
Dreaming of fairway green
Does anyone play croquet?
Rather keep life simple
Chasing more blue sky
Positive state of mind
Patio invites, come by
Grilling cheeseburgers
Welcoming each friend
Tasty bushel of crabs
Please let this day never end
Holding off sunset
For few minutes more
Warmest ocean breezes
Tomorrow waits in night’s drawer
This poem honors the musical legacy and life of American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet (1946-2023). In his own words: “Shells sink, dreams float. Life’s good on our boat.”
Distant clap of thunder
Pausing as if on cue
Cloudy skies breaking free
Nightly reflections coo
At first, hearing silence
Nature turns on her spell
Nightly reflections stir
Stories ready to tell
Moon serenades landscape
Harmony’s silent creek
Timeless melodies swirl
Nightly reflections peek
Lake’s high tide rolling in
Whispers tease sandy beach
Nightly reflections wink
Drowsy thoughts within reach
Dreams never want to fade
Overcome now with sleep
Horizon’s sunrise waits
Nightly reflections keep
I think if you have a passion for what you do then there are no limitations on how long or how much you can accomplish.
I have an awful lot to learn. My dream is to get better and better as I get older. (This Twitter post was published in 2014 when Bennett was in his mid-80s.)
Tony Bennett (1926-2023) was an American jazz and pop singer. His performances and recording were some of the most acclaimed of his generation.
Someplace beyond morning’s rainbow
Hidden behind radiant sun
Residing in distant chateau
Tomorrow’s dreams forever spun
Clouds pushed aside for open door
Daily invitation calls out
Stirring every eagle to soar
Higher and higher, sky’s lookout
Opportunity always waits
Passage to high heavens above
Flying over more open gates
Treasured gifts, overflowing love
Visions transforming into night
Moonlight shining, fully ablaze
Dancing stars, filled with neon lights
Darkness anxious for sunny rays
Rain shadows early daylight’s peace
Sunrise waiting, shrouded in clouds
Rising colors, set to release
Morning’s rainbow, sweetness endowed
Remembering past, page by page
Flipping through one more memory
Reliving yesterday’s heartaches
Manuscript’s incomplete, hollow words
Steaming locomotive hurls dreams
Sitting alone throughout this night
Waiting for next stop, none scheduled
Life’s empty script, more unfulfilled scenes
Seeing only darkness tonight
Looking out into gloom’s abyss
Thinking, will morning arrive soon?
Starless sky offers nothing to find
Hearing dreadful noise far ahead
Tumbling from seat, frail ego bruised
Realizing train’s journey derailed
Future’s blueprint—one big, jumbled mess
Waking to sunrise’s promise
Feeling blood flowing through veins
Pinching self, wanting to make sure
Yesterday forgotten, quiet now
I have a rendezvous with life.
Man dreams that he is more than a leaf in a tree.
Countee Cullen (1903-1946) was an American poet and novelist, who made a significant impact during the Harlem Renaissance.
Photo by Mateusz Dach on Pexels.com
Under the shade of a massive oak tree, Fred relaxes in his backyard hammock while enjoying a perfect summer afternoon.
A slight, friendly breeze helps to keep the bugs away, and Fred always thinks better when he spends time in his comfortable hammock. He looks up into the canopy of branches in the tree above, and his eyes begin following an intensely busy squirrel which is scurrying back and forth . . . back and forth.
Fred’s thoughts begin to wander as he imagines his own creation of the “perfect” treadmill. While his model will have the usual cup holder, he will add a necessary tray for his pepperoni pizza.
Thinking . . . How can a person calculate how much wood a woodchuck could chuck, if he could really chuck wood?
Worried about an upcoming family reunion, he recalls telling his close friend, Wally, “How will I remember all of their names?”
Wally confidently replies, “Easy, just call everyone ‘cousin.’”
Remembering his granddaughter’s wedding reception last summer, he asks his wife, Doris, to dance. He tells her, “They’re playing our favorite song.”
It takes the couple a little longer to arrive on the dance floor, and the song is nearly half over. Fred calls out to the DJ, “Play it again Sam!”
Several minutes go by. The “always in a hurry” squirrel pauses and thinks to himself, “What is that noise?”
Looking down, he spies Fred blissfully sleeping and dreaming, and his loud snoring serenades the entire backyard with . . . well, almost charming tunes.
Originally published March, 2020.
Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.
Once we give up searching for approval, we often find it easier to earn respect.
Gloria Steinem (born 1934) is an American journalist, speaker, and political activist. Much of her life’s work has revolved around the equality and rights of women.
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
Dream more, learn more, care more, and be more.
Dolly Parton (born 1946) is an acclaimed American singer-songwriter. Her success in country music has enriched her life with opportunities to become a philanthropist, actress, and businesswoman.
Big Sky Buckeye 