Monday 12th DECEMBER
Day 12
Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry – Mary Oliver from A Poetry Handbook
1.When you feel conflicted read Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles
through the desert,
repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal
of your body
love what it loves
2. When you are feeling down or grieving read Starlings in Winter
I want to think again
dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful
and afraid of nothing,
as though I had wings.
3. When you want to put up boundaries read Lead
I tell you this to break your heart,
by which I mean
only that it break open
and never close again
to rest of the world.
4. When you feel you are living without purpose read The Summer Day
Tell me,
what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
5. When you are too caught up in your own thoughts and worries read I Go Down to the Shore
I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour
the waves are rolling in or moving out,
and I say,
Oh, I am miserable,
what shall –
what should I do?
And the sea says in its lovely voice,
Excuse me, I have work to do .
On a practical level we had one of our youngest grandchildren staying with us for the weekend.
Today sunday morning began with reading of books in my bed, a game of babana using the letters in patterns, then building, then finding a target to shoot foam bullets , then he needed the plank set up and to play cars with Pa. And it was only 9 oclock. so setting out on the adventure slowed us down a little except the weather was wild with blue sky changing to a wild windy storm gone as quickly as it arrived.
We took him on an adventure – three train , one train took in 4 stations to Beecroft with an awesome childrens park . Then train to 5 stations to Hornesby and a visit to the library with a great childrens section for reding, and train three one station and walk home. We were all very tired at the end of the adveneture. Back home it was play doe then colouring in a monster. (for about 10mins. ) coits , and then we stopped . Then his dad arrived from an appointment he had in city and they set back off for Coffs Harbour,
- Playing cars on Pa’s special ramp. 2. Adventure a train ride to the Hornsby library .