Out Of Frenzy
Into Focus
You can choose
Panic or poise
Excitement of racing like a rabid dog after
every elusive impossible prize
or
Pacing steadily towards a dream that's real.
How to retrieve composure that has been
needled with poisonous stings of office politics?
Nature's balm- hugging solid, ancient trees
Marching headlong into fierce cleansing winds
Swimming sturdily length after soothing length
Soothing serenity basking in rosy glow of
radiant sunset.
We learn to replace
Daily agonizing regrets -lost loves, forbidden pleasures
Wealth never gained, grinding jobs, deadly duties
With kinder, simpler, less expensive delights
Daily thanks for friends, hugs, jokes, tenting
adventures
in camp sites cloaked in green trees,
shimmering water rippling deliciously under clear skies
Pork and beans sizzling warmly in well worn pans
Work that almost seems like fun
Panting, shifting, lifting, - worthy sweat
Tedious, rigorous toil for causes
That make you feel good
Frantic to focus-
so possible-
so filled with pleasure.
This particular poem was written with unemployed people in mind as my Feb. 8th, 2006 keynotewas for the Unemployment Help Centre here in London, Ontario, Canada.