Public Posts Seattle, WA Seattle, WA (zoom)

I'll write about you,
the view I saw.
I am selfish, that way,
not my only flaw.

When I see you,
my heart does a flutter.
You are the picture,
I'm merely the shutter.

Please hear
the words I say.
I find you beautiful
in every way.

Want not the World.
Avoid any bad scene,
the love in the World
has turned into mean.

A cynical view
of what is today.
Caution is the word.
Heed what I say.

Full of emotions,
it's hard to think
about tomorrow's
swim or sink.

Only a night from old to new!
Only a night, and so much wrought!
The Old Year's heart all weary grew,
But said: "The New Year rest has brought."
The Old Year's hopes its heart laid down,
As in a grave; but, trusting, said:
"The blossoms of the New Year's crown
Bloom from the ashes of the dead."
The Old Year's heart was full of greed;
With selfishness it longed and ached,
And cried: "I have not half I need.
My thirst is bitter and unslaked.
But to the New Year's generous hand
All gifts in plenty shall return;
True love it shall understand;
By all my failures it shall learn.
I have been reckless; it shall be
Quiet and calm and pure of life.
I was a slave; it shall go free,
And find sweet peace where I leave strife."
Only a night from old to new!
Never a night such changes brought.
The Old Year had its work to do;
No New Year miracles are wrought.

Always a night from old to new!
Night and the healing balm of sleep!
Each morn is New Year's morn come true,
Morn of a festival to keep.
All nights are sacred nights to make
Confession and resolve and prayer;
All days are sacred days to wake
New gladness in the sunny air.
Only a night from old to new;
Only a sleep from night to morn.
The new is but the old come true;
Each sunrise sees a new year born.

Helen Hunt Jackson - (1830 – 1885) Pen name, H.H.; born Helen Maria Fiske; was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government. She described the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor (1881). Her novel Ramona (1884) dramatized the federal government's mistreatment of Native Americans in Southern California after the Mexican–American War and attracted considerable attention to her cause. Commercially popular, it was estimated to have been reprinted 300 times. The novel was so popular that it attracted many tourists to Southern California who wanted to see places from the book....Wikipedia

Off in the distance,
hearing sound of a drum.
Is it a signal now
of what is to come?

Having strange dreams,
thoughts in my head.
Not a pleasant one,
snakes in my bed.

Saratoga Passage, WA

#sunset

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

At this year's end Mars still shines brightly in planet Earth's night as it wanders through the head-strong constellation Taurus. Its bright yellowish hue dominates this starry field of view that includes Taurus' alpha star Aldebaran and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters. While red giant Aldebaran appears to anchor the V-shape of the Hyades at the left of the frame, Aldebaran is not a member of the Hyades star cluster. The Hyades cluster is 151 light-years away making it the nearest established open star cluster, but Aldebaran lies at less than half that distance, along the same line-of-sight. At the right, some 400 light-years distant is the open star cluster cataloged as Messier 45, also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. In Greek myth, the Pleiades were daughters of the astronomical titan Atlas and sea-nymph Pleione.

Photo by Gabor Balazs

Why am I sad?
Feeling alone, forlorn.
Sometimes the thoughts,
why was I born.

What is my problem?
I'm stronger than this.
Perhaps it would help,
having a hug and a kiss.

You sat at a table,
another resident see.
Don't think you're mean.
Did you ignore me?

I expect too much,
I'm an elderly man.
Friendships are important.
Hoping you understand

My mind feels cloudy,
though I'm not confused.
Feeling exhausted,
my body energy, used.

Missing some energy,
lacking in my drive,
keep on breathing,
needing to stay alive.

Another love lost,
another heart broken.
Wanting to visit but
the words lie unspoken.