Quietness

December 10, 2018

I didn’t want to sit and be still.

I’d rather do the laundry,

Make the bed,

Wash the dishes.

I didn’t want to think and ponder.

I’d rather mop the floors,

Shop for groceries and gifts,

Bake bread.

I didn’t want to write and draw.

I’d rather hang garland,

Decorate the tree,

String outdoor lights.

When all was done, then, then,

I’d sit, be still, ponder.

Then I would have thoughts to write about,

Things to say.

About laundry and dishes?

Errands run?

About checklists completed,

And how efficient I am?

No! No! Not that!

Today I will do one load of laundry,

Soak the dishes.

One hour to decorate, not seven,

Just one batch of cookies, not six different ones.

Only those quick things,

Because today I will sit and be still.

I will ponder life and

Listen to my heart.

See the beauty out my window

In the woods, across the field.

And treasure the gentleness of deer,

And evergreen trees dusted with frost.

I will treasure my Christmas tree,

Tiny blue lights, no ornaments yet.

I will see the beauty of things undone,

The simplicity of only lights.

And today I will be truly alive!