I lean and loafe at my ease …. observing a spear of summer grass.
from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” in Leaves of Grass
CONTEMPLATION
I lean and loaf and sit around
Taking in the sights and sounds
Of shore or meadow or a wooded trail;
I’ll watch a squirrel shake its tail
Or listen to the crickets chirp.
Feel the sun upon [...]
SWEET SURRENDER
Going passive, letting go,
Being still or moving slow,
My bed beckons and attracts
And in seconds I relax.
My limbs grow heavy; I’m cool in head.
I indulge this state instead
Of drive, ambition, an active stance,
I know stillness, rest, and a calming trance.
A half an hour, maybe more
Is what I’ll need to explore
This altered [...]
BLESSED STILLNESS
We dash about, go near and far,
In train and plane and in our car.
The world goes by in miles per hour.
No time to stop and smell a flower.
But wait a moment and take this test
And have a day of peace and rest.
So take a day, or maybe two,
With no place to go and nothing [...]