Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing ~ James Tate

As I was looking through old things today, I came across this poem I wrote a few years ago when I was going through a very difficult struggle in my life.  I have shared this poem with a select few in the past and today I share it more.

"The poem....is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful.  And in the end, the poem is not a thing we see -- it is, rather, a light by which we may see -- and what we see is life." ~ RW

Clarity in Fog
Erica Vaughan Jarrard


Sun brightens, lights mimic
To reveal colors, shapes, movement
Moving to and from, back and forth
Some things never returning, some things never departing
All part of a scene
Constructed of pieces easily replaced to recreate

Tick-tock

Illuminated, the world is visible, in focus
Noises audibly distinguishable.
Lists created, tasks completed, checks marked
Accomplishments achieved, seen but unseen

Tick-tock

Vapor fills the air
Masking surroundings, slowing movement
Colors muted, distance shortened
Perfect circle in the sky, able to see with the naked eye

Tick

Aware, eyes opened, feet planted, fingers curled
Invisible drops embrace and penetrate
Softening skin, bending hair

Tock

Taking more, mouth opens and lungs fill
Inhaling purpose, exhaling extinction.
Centered in a cloud, in myself

Tick

Satisfied, filled, fog knowingly disappears
All part of a scene,
Left to become
All of me

Tock

I Work To The Best Of My Ability Today For A Better Tomorrow

I work to the best of my ability today for a better tomorrow.

I recognize each day is different.  Experiences day to day illicit a range of emotions depending on my current underlying emotion, my experiences in the past, my temperament, and my overall perspective, my lens in life.  Some days I can work harder, while others are a struggle to stand upright, to move past apprehensions, fears, and inhibitions.  Each day is work, no matter the starting point.

I work to the best of my ability today for a better tomorrow.

I recognize I cannot work alone, as much I want to or believe I can.  I need my faith in God.  I need the shoulders of friends to lean on and sometimes strong arms to carry me.  I need healthy relationships to be fed by both selflessly giving and openly receiving.  These relationships form a foundation.  Without a sturdy foundation, a rich soil, I cannot grow and I cannot work to my fullest capability.

I work to the best of my ability today for a better tomorrow.

I recognize I live in a body that was given to me with no choice in the matter.  It is my responsibility to strengthen, to rest, to nourish, to feed, to train, to listen to this body so it may carry me with the least amount of problems into the future.  My health is my responsibility.

I work to the best of my ability today for a better tomorrow.

I recognize I make mistakes.  I acknowledge and accept my role and responsibility in these.  I know my intention is not to hurt others, though it is the outcome at times.  I focus, pray and meditate on what I can do to prevent the same mistake(s), the same painful outcome, as I am the only one I can control and change.

I work to the best of my ability today for a better tomorrow.

I recognize I have many roles in life.  I am not perfect in any one, nor will I ever be.  I do not believe I am defined by my roles; I define the roles.  I work to become a better giver, listener, more compassionate, more patient, a more open person in general to feed the hats/roles I have in this life.  I believe this work only stops when I am no longer living.

I am full of hope and promise because I work to the best of my ability today for a better tomorrow.