There Is a Me I Know

There is a Me I Know

There is a me I know.

I am Him

and He is me

Whenever in my wanderings

I wonder what to do

I find Him still

inside of me

and suddenly I know

what to do

What could I do

if I were me?

unleashed and unbridled?

Could I travel far and wide?

Could I find my dreams

come true?

Each day there are so many

things that I must do

and mostly they are mundane

whether task, or chore, or bore

Duty says, 'Here you stop

and do'

But the Me who is inside,

He, we stare on past

to far horizons calling

new and fresh and true

our heart knows best

what our mind forgets

We know what We must do.

-RPF '16

Poetry for your Monday

"We bled under a banner to find life as free men 

the wind still blows across those far off glens

where Scottish blood flowed to keep us all free 

What we did not know was, what will be, will be   

We can alter the future by the actions of today 

but yesterday is already set and flown away 

so set your sights on changing tomorrow 

don't dwell on the past and all of the sorrow   

The future can shine as bright as the sun 

Our web of life is still to be spun 

The silken thread that join us together 

all interlinked and entwined  with the heather   

The blood in our veins carries memories of the past 

linking us together from the first to the last 

Wherever you roam you will remember your blood line 

no matter where you are a Scottish heart will always shine   

The freedom we had is still all around 

The heart that is Scotland can never be drowned 

A voice from the past is heard in every true heart 

So stay true to yourself and live free before you depart"

-Leslie Hounsel

How To Be A Poet

HOW TO BE A POET

(to remind myself)

Make a place to sit down.

Sit down. Be quiet.

You must depend upon

affection, reading, knowledge,

skill – more of each

than you have – inspiration,

work, growing older, patience,

for patience joins time

to eternity. Any readers

who like your poems,

doubt their judgment.

Breathe with unconditional breath

the unconditioned air.

Shun electric wire.

Communicate slowly. Live

a three-dimensioned life;

stay away from screens.

Stay away from anything

that obscures the place it is in.

There are no unsacred places;

there are only sacred places

and desecrated places.

Accept what comes from silence.

Make the best you can of it.

Of the little words that come

out of the silence, like prayers

prayed back to the one who prays,

make a poem that does not disturb

the silence from which it came.

- Wendell Berry