Second World

I wouldn't have to whine
if the sun would only shine.
But I guess that it does
pretty much all of the time.
That lucky old sun
just keeps rolling around,
so I guess it's the clouds
that are getting us down.
We think, "If I were homeless,
I could spend more time outside."
Okay, maybe we don't think that,
but we think along those lines.
If only, if only,
we didn't have to strive
as if it's such a chore
just being here, alive.
We're sick of first world stressors
but we don't want third world strife.
Is there a second world that's just right?
Or do we need a second life?

More Less

I need to write more poems again.
I miss the way my brain worked then.
I also need to play more songs,
design more websites, right more wrongs,
find more clients, make more cash,
do more with my craft-stuff stash,
speak more Spanish, read more books,
spend time proving I can cook,
make more friends, call friends more,
do more with my Etsy store,
give my toddler more of me,
be the best that I can be,
yes, the very, very best–
okay, so what should I do less?

Creative

I tell my husband my ideas; some are smart, some just wild.
He says "Don't quit your day job!" as he smiles at our child,
and "Go for it! You're home, so what are you afraid of?"
I get to be a mom and I get to be a creative.

Caught Up

If you never know what it's like

to be caught up,

to cross off your whole list,

to have nothing left to do,

then at least

let yourself by caught up in love.

Good One, Goodell

Pressing

With buckets of apples beginning to stack up,
the need to process them becomes pressing.
Freezing and thawing and mashing and pressing
that is, and then some clean-up-the-messing.

First Things First

There are corners to be cleaned
and pages to be seen,
fruit to be pressed
and a desk that is a mess.

But you can't sing your own song
until you write your own poem.
That's just the way it goes;
first things first.

There are high notes and low,
fast beats and slow,
so many people to please,
and a tremor in my knees.

But you can't sing your own song
until you write your own poem.
That's just the way it goes;
first things first.

Under Pressure

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Plan out what you would say if you only had the chance,
then waste your only chance.
And tell your self that no one ever listens,
no one ever listens to your silent rants.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Make a list and check it zero times
until the day that everything is due.
And stay busy enough all that time before
to convince yourself that they did this to you.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Scatter all your clothes across the floor
and stack all of your dishes in the sink
and christen it a cosmic cleaning party
when you finally clean it up so you can think.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Find thirty books that you would like to read
and check them out yourself all at one time
and read them while you listen to an audiobook
like it's a race to fill up your whole mind.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

And someday take a break and just sit down

and think about how life has been so crazy.

And realize this has only been a warm-up

and now it's time to really be amazing.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Made It Happen

Thank you for coming and making me stick with it to the end.
Maybe I did it, but without you it wouldn't have happened.
Come anytime, yes, please come again.

Procrastinator

There are some things on your list that you should just do "later."
And by the time you get to them, they'll be unnecessary.
And that's one of the benefits of being a procrastinator.
It's amazing what can happen while you tarry.

One Month To Go

One month to go, and it won't go slow.
I have lots of poems to write.
More than a month's worth, that I know.
Plus, they can't be trite.
Eleven months of ups and downs,
and I'm still writing here.
I might not have written a poem a day,
but I'll have three-sixty-five in a year.

Nice Things

Would you rather have nice things or good days?
Would you rather get along or get a raise?
I look around and I'm always amazed
how our lives pass so fast. When they end the stuff stays.

I Eat Alone

Since you're not home, I eat alone.
I multi-task (no time to waste!)
and miss out on how my food tastes.

Inert

The weeds grew while we were gone.
They knew it was their chance.
And apples started dropping–
those got eaten at by ants.
But the work that we were doing
with the rocks mixed in the dirt,
was still sitting there, very still,
being stubborn and inert.

Different Nations

Dear cousin who I haven't seen,
we've moved up a generation.
We've often lived so far apart–
for years in different nations.
But now that you're a doctor
and now that I'm a mom,
you'd think that one of us had moved
to Greece or Vietnam.
And not because our jobs are different
(although they really are)
but because our lives are both so full.
That's what makes our nearness far.

For What It's Worth

"For what it's worth." What is it worth?
Think of today like a baby's birth
and when your baby marriage screams
when it should be cute and have sweet dreams,
just hold it like a tiny child
and don't let go. The ride is wild,
your fists will clench around your pride,
but let it go. Be groom and bride.
Your marriage will become your life
since that's how long you're man and wife.
This marriage will have a life of it's own,
as it comes to your lives as a babe to a home.
So care for it, swaddle it, teach it, and feed it.
Bring it to the doctor if it ever needs it.
And love your love's whole life on earth,
because that's what your marriage is worth.

Enough Is Enough

We spend so much time working
to pay for things to take up the time we are not working.
In the free time we buy, we shop, we sort, we fix, we clean,
we use, we move, we dispose of, and finally we scream,
"Enough is enough!
Let's stop with the stuff!
Let's work for what's needed
and live just to love!"

When You Wake Up

When you wake up in the morning,
do you wish that either life was fun
or that you could go back to bed?
Or do you just do what needs to be done?

Slivered Almonds

How do they sliver almonds?
That's what I'd like to know.
Do they drop them from a tower
onto well-placed blades below?
Do they run them past a mandoline
with several sharpened bands?
Or do they sit there with a paring knife
making slivers in their hands?

The Grass

The grass is only green when it rains.
If it's not going to rain, I'd rather have weeds.
Or a mix, just in case the weather decides
to do a little of each.