Best Settling Poems
and you tap tap on my leaves
high tide descends shipshape as
wholesome as can be brought forth
from the gale force fete relief
oh the hamstring you do hug
taut grasp relieves danger from
belt strap as it leaves beach plank
so the treetop perch easing
soothing dry tides of the wind
cool-charm in a household sigh
bluebirds in their enchant chirp
with their hip-hip-hurraying
Settling is a disease of the mind
It declares that it’s okay
To remain on standby
Live life on rewind
Because we are so afraid to move forward,
Move on
From the idea of forever
Settling is a disease of the heart
Love so manipulated, uncontrolled, undefined
But we are blind
Settling is a disease
That forces us to believe
That better does not exist
But i persist
That the cure to settling
Is the battle within
The piece of you that recognizes
The difference between
What is love
And what is comfort
Settling will never work
Don't rob yourself of true joy
Because you have become complacent with being hurt
...They sent a copy of an old tin-type,
a picture of Milton and his bride,
one look at it and I knew the whole truth,
Small Doe in the fighting had not died.
A DNA test confirmed what I thought,
and I resolved to bring this all to an end,
Blue Hawk deserved know death’s sweet peace,
so out into the crisp night I went.
As expected Blue Hawk did appear,
fixed his eyes on me and drew his bow,
I threw up my hands, shouted out “Wait!
There is something that you really need to know!
The Indian hesitated at the words,
so I nervously took a deep breath,
said,”If you shoot me than you should now
you’ll be sending one of your own to death.
“Small Doe didn’t die all those years ago,
with her lover to the west she fled.
She married Edward, who went by Milton,
and a family of six children they bred.
“I descend from that big family,
which means your blood is running through my veins,
Herbert Blake was my great-great-grandfather,
but Blue Hawk of the Sioux is the same!”
They ghost before me seemed physically struck,
the bow dropped silently from his hands,
his form seemed to flicker in the darkness,
then he stalked forwards from where he did stand.
He came close, then peered right at my face,
at the eyes and the curve of my jaw,
anger in his look softened to acceptance,
something familiar if my face he saw…
With that Blue Hawk turned and trudged away
fading slowly as he went into night,
he’d gone completely before sixty steps,
and I turned back to see my scared wife.
She stood in the doorway in her nightclothes,
but would not take a single step out,
I walked on back, and took her in my arms,
said,”I think we will be left alone know.”
She asked,”What was it that you told him?"
I said,”I just let him know that he misjudged
what happened here all of those years ago…
far time to settle this age-old grudge.”
My anger rises towards heights unknown,
Fury rages, fueled by contempt, a side that is rarely shown.
I strive to hold back but certain emotions I cannot contain,
Like a comic book character the face I see, to me is strange.
Jaws set tight, eyes drawn to a squint,
Fists are now clinched, time for talking is over, the message is sent.
When push comes to shove I’ve always stood my ground,
And I’m ready for this as my heart starts to pound.
He glares back at me with such a deep set of bluish eyes,
And flexes his muscles and makes disgusting sighs.
And starts towards me and I to him,
And we take it to the ground, and the outcome looks grim.
I finally get on top and I let him have it all,
Then granny starts hollering, pa you’re going to make him bawl.
Well I showed my four year old grandson I could still take a punch,
But now that we're through cutting up it’s time for our lunch.
Bittersweet memories are too hard to forget
It hurts too much to be happy
It feels too good to be sad
So we settle for less
We settle
Deep down in our seats
Sinking, bottomless, dark
Scared
Gripping the handlebars tightly
never letting go of the yearnings we felt
just a while ago
We settle for cold nights and silent treatment
Pecks on the cheeks and one night stands
Martini kisses and dividends
We make due with fake car chases and
Tooth fairy dreams
So we settle for the comfort instead of the
Pursuit of the Flashing Lights
Thrill of the chase,
Crash and Burn
Laughing at night with hands entwined
Fingers laced with the knowledge
That we all ache the same
Inside our chests
Heavy and delicious
In such a delusional way
At 3:46 in the morning we leave the residual
Pain in the dust
Sunrise in our eyes
Blink twice
Amnesia of the brain
And we settle
In comfortable lives until the day we awake
Looking in the mirror
And saying
“damn”
Trying to stop each other walking out the door
Still gripping the handlebars
Begging for another chance
Another game to play,
Give me another hand, deal it out
But it always plays out the same
Watching the stars in cosmetic mechanics and matching principles
Trying to understand
Negative space
The universe in quantum medicine and teardrops in their eyes
The fake smile of his lips, the curve of her spine
And we settle
For another day
She looks at herself
in the mirror,
and what looks back
is a sad woman.
Who is this person
that I don't know?
where did that brave little girl go?
All the big dreams
she had when she was small
now a grown up
she has lost it all
and what remains she doesn't know.
She feels little and out of place
nothing around is making sense,
she can't find words
she believes in,
she is cornered
going nowhere.
so far away from where she should be,
just looking at what she can see
there's nothing there
it's all empty.
Settling
Is it you holding onto the one you love and can’t let go
Is it you turning your back on the things you see wrong in the relationship
Is it you pretending to be someone you are not to please the one you love
Is it you changing to please the one you love
Is it you holding back the tears when you know the one you love is lying to you
Is it you crying while making love to a cheater
Is it you silently crying to yourself every night
Is it you sleeping with a broken heart
Is it you dying inside
Yes that’s Settling
Dusk
settles
once again
mind ready for
rest -
the
soul too
seeks zen to
renew self each
day
July 16 Scripture Meditations Based on Isaiah 13-18
Key Verse – Isaiah 14:24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.
MY GOD, THANK YOU FOR SETTLING ME IN YOUR PURPOSE
Thank You for settling me in Your purpose of eternal supremacy
Really sovereign midst uncontrollable inconsistency
Allowing me to practice patience against gratification-urgency
For my faith’s strength and persistency.
Thank You for settling me in Your purpose of divine perfection
Really wise midst prevailing corruption
Allowing me to stay in Your will despite temptation
For my heart’s devotion and dedication.
Thank You for settling me in Your purpose of majestic glory
Really radiant midst vexing misery
Allowing me to declare the Gospel story
For my commitment’s fruitfulness and victory.
Thank You for settling me in Your purpose of great endeavor
Really worthy midst earthly favor
Allowing me to work for Your name with willingness’ fervor
For my sacrifices’ sweet-smelling savor and flavor.
Thank You for settling me in Your purpose of everlasting security
Really protective midst attacking infirmity
Allowing me to abide in Your salvation’s certainty
For my soul’s assurance and purity.
Thank You for settling me in Your purpose of heavenly enrichment
Really bountiful midst crises causing discontentment
Allowing me to seek first Your kingdom-advancement
For my spirit’s revival-fulfillment and ministry-investment.
Thank You for settling me in Your purpose of joyful fellowship
Really blissful midst worldliness’ friendship
Allowing me to obey Your leadership
For my stewardship’s service-sacrifice and praise-blest worship.
July 16, 2022
Settling into love
for a person
for a sacred place
fertile
organic
rich growing space
Easy when felt
obviously
warmly
positively
copassionately
robustly returned
Difficult when mean
selfish
cruel
cold indifference
perpetuates competing
to not further communicate
Bilateral lose/lose
zero-sum competitive rules
Less golden than intending win/win
Unlikely to age gracefully
cooperatively
happily
healthily
safely
steadfastly saving
positive protagonist
panentheistically felt sacred faced
fast-paced race
through insufficient reconnecting time
Settling into fear
against another angry person
against an anxious all-consuming place
threatening stuck
neglected deadening space
Easier to be hard
to speak cruel
cold indifference
Forgetting impractical win/win curiosity
possibly both unorthodox and unsafe
cooperative economic co-investments
and politically transparent
vulnerable golden rules
predicting virtuous grow
of win/win co-passionate choice-making
for lose/lose Trauma
unconditional healthy-warm
and positively safe
from win/lose predative
degenerating toward lose/lose harm
for lack of win/win resilient
unconditional warm charm
Settling into love
for each interdependent person
for each polypathic sacred place
fertile recreation
organic speciation
rich growing
our neurosystemic healthy space.
In the air floats a strange sense of panic, like a heavy mist settling over the city,
a silent fear and uncertainty that penetrates our bones,
along with the beliefs and truths that were once solid as rocks,
but now melt like ice under the light of a merciless moon.
Institutions, once temples of safety, are now castles of sand,
mercilessly eroded by the waves of change,
and we are left clinging to the shadows of the past,
trying to find an anchor in the tumult of a sea of confusion.
There is a presidential election, like a clock ticking in its rhythm,
but somewhere, in this chaos, the president is missing,
like a king without a crown, a symbol emptied of meaning.
Every four years, the naive half of those who vote
are encouraged to believe that if we choose a good person,
a president with an open heart and a sincere smile, everything will be fine.
But the truth, this deceitful magician, whispers otherwise,
for it will not be. Beneath the smiling masks lie bitter truths,
and promises are just soap bubbles that shine for a moment
in the sunlight, before bursting into the silence of disappointment.
My thoughts flow like a dark river through a landscape of broken dreams,
and I wonder how we came to place our hopes in illusions,
when true power lies in the silence between words,
in those moments of deep quiet when we find ourselves again.
Perhaps, one day, we will learn to seek answers not in the ballot boxes,
but in our hearts, in that blessed anarchy of the spirit,
where freedom is not promised by others, but discovered by each of us,
in a world where we no longer need leaders,
but only an inner compass to guide us through the labyrinth of life.
there’s nothing in my head.
there’s nothing in my head.
why don’t i care about the right things,
and leave every word unsaid?
i wear rose tinted glasses,
carry petals in a basket.
looking to buy a tiny house,
but settling for a casket.
there’s nothing in my head.
there’s nothing in my head.
my eyes are opened
but my mind is dead.
you viewed my profile
you have added me to favorites
i ve responded to this
we spoke over the phone
we met
we drunk
i was put of your vomiting all night you looked like skeleton so unatractive
i thought ok he is is definitely out
but somehow we kept going on this for 3 years.
i loved you loved you not
we broke we made up so many times
now we apart again
and dont know what will happen next...
we are not perfect but we're perfect for each other
AP: 1st place 2022
Guns,
and ballistic threats
don't settle anything
They can't,
more quickly
kill.
Mindfulness,
and compassion therapies,
might restore peace
We could
most inclusively
embrace.
Could our court
and prison
and police
and legislative systems
become more mindful,
less judgmental,
by restoring win/win hopeful health?
Rather than punishing
shadowed neurodiversity
and cognitive limitations
and post traumatic stress disorders
and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders
and poverty
and lack of affordable self-medication choices,
Retribution
revenge
assuming perpetrators had real-world powers
to choose
and chose badly
madly
sadly.
Court fines
and forced confinement
in bullying cultural environments,
and verbal abuse from guards
and cops
are not infractions
are not extractions
predations
crimes against healthy wealth
of possibilities
for restoring EarthTribe justice.
If mindfulness
could reflect
restore
nurture
anticipate
only panentheistic
win/win compassion within
and without
A portal
back through indigenous
ecofeminist
wisdom,
and forward
toward resilient co-therapeutic resonance
Musicians fading win/lose trauma
Wise elders listening together
to social anxiety,
through restorative
becameral curiosity,
anticipation,
EarthTribal integrity.