Just as long as you stand, stand by me...

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid...

- Ben King, Stand By Me (1961)

Nature's Portraits

Our intention is to affirm this life,
not to bring order out of chaos,
nor to suggest improvements in creation,
but simply to wake up
to the very life we're living,
which is so excellent once
one gets one's mind
and desires out of its way
and lets it act of its own accord.


― John Cage

The World Is Your Mirror

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.

Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.

Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.

Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.

There is room in the halls of pleasure 
For a long and lordly train, 
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.

~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Solitude

Mornings

Every morning
the world
is created. 
Under the orange 

sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again 

and fasten themselves to the high branches ---
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands 

of summer lilies. 
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails...

~ Mary Oliver, Morning Poem

For Zoey

Zoey, sweet beloved
Whose thoughtfulness
Overflows,
Graceful in manner,
Elegant in spirit.

Grow up and
Spread your light,
Be a conqueror yet benevolent,
Strong in mind,
And always kind.

Much, much love,
Tita N.

A Poem For Xenia

"I put this on,

my big sister's dress

and you take some snaps,

and some more snaps...

here, here, like this

as I sniff the rose."

Animated laughter

Snorting, Roaring,

Giggling,

All those yellings

Xenia zapping

my serial disquiet. :)

With Much, Much Love,
Tita N.

Focus on the positive

Life can seem a tangle, in and out of focus.
Don't concentrate on the tangle.
Concentrate on the places
where one line in the tangle
crosses another line in the tangle.

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes