Men and The Goddess

Rosemary held another Conversation with The Other Side last evening. The theme for everyone was to get creating! Mine from the guides, as it often is, goes like this: “I know you’re a poet, but it feels like there needs to be more of a concentration on that, Richard. No, it won’t happen until you see yourself as a poet first.”

As I was writing my daily (I try to make it daily) pages today, I did attempt to see myself as a poet. This is what I wrote out, thinking as a poet:

Absurdity and Misery

This is going to require more smiling,
More laughter.
It’s going to require looking at
The absurdity of the world,
Of life,
Of the prisons we build
For ourselves,
Then break free of them.
Laughter is the key.

A smile is a beginning:
Smile at yourself in the mirror.
Lighten up, loosen up, free up,
Sing, dance, skip and hop
On the walk.
Think silly thoughts,
Make up crazy rhymes,
Find the joy in everything.

No, this is not about hiding
From the misery;
It’s about looking deeper at it,
Realizing the absurd nature of life.
Yes, there is sadness.
There will always be sadness,
Loss, grief.
But it is all temporary;
All fades away to be replaced
With some things new.
Find the joy in the new
As the old, the sick, the dying fade.

Take the long view.
All is impermanent.
Sadness shifts to gladness
And back again.
Comfort shades to misery
Soon enough,
And fades back again.
See the smile in that.

Smile through the tears.
Shed tears of laughter
At the absurdity.
So much better to see
Laugh lines in the mirror.
Frown lines compound
The misery and bring
Other people down.
Your job is to find the joy,
And share it.

©2024 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.