You didn’t hand me boxes wrapped in bows,
Or silver trinkets bought upon a whim.
Instead, you took me where the river flows,
And taught me wealth is found in catching bream.
You gave the gift of a persistent mind—
To cast the line again, to watch, to wait.
To look beneath the surface and to find
That patience is its own rewarding state.
I became a treasure hunter of the human heart,
You taught me the value of a quiet space.
You taught me how to pull the world apart,
And to find the gold in every simple place.
The rush of water, and a bending reed,
The stillness of a humid afternoon—
You showed me that the only things we need
Are found beneath the sun and silver moon.
So I will let the others keep their fragile things,
Their fleeting goods that tarnish on the shelf.
I have the wealth that only nature brings,
And all the truths you taught me of myself.
Lessons learned
From our Father
We had learned
Many years ago
When we had our confirmation
We had been only a
Teenager
Back then
Also, our Father had
Thought us to pray
And we had prayed together
With our Father
Also, we had prayed for each other
Many years ago
The lessons learned when we were young
From fairy tales and nursery rhymes
Were meant to help us grow up strong
As up the hill we climb.
So, don’t forget the stories told
When we would lie down in our beds
As slowly, surely, we grow old
We keep them in our heads.
What captivates a child’s mind
To grown-ups might not seem profound.
Dismissing simple truths, I find
Will bring you tumbling down…
So, ponder this, and don’t forget
As years go by, as seasons turn.
The story isn’t over, yet,
Until the lesson’s learned…
Wrong is shameful in both the old and wise,
Take it from one who's lived long enough to know.
Life is a stormy sea of wicked woe,
And tears are no less wet from older eyes.
What is life?
but a journey,
a collection of
experiences,
a jar full of memories,
a crazy rollercoaster ride
of highs & lows,
why do we intend on making
living in this world harder?
by holding on to the things
we should be letting go,
reminding ourselves it's
not regrets, it's lessons
learned,
it's time shared,
it's laughing,
it's crying,
it's something you
can't fully understand,
or prepare for,
we just have to take a step at a time,
pushing forward,
no matter how slow,
it won't ever be perfect,
but that's okay,
we will give it our best shot,
we will hold our heads high,
you might not think you have it all,
but my darling,
you are rich in love,
more than words can say,
I hope that you keep that throughout
all of your adventures & it
stays in your heart always.
True Story
So, I wanted to hang a birdfeeder the bear cannot get to
I took some rope, tied a rock on the end of it, to throw over a high branch
I kept missing, realizing I lack the athletic ability I had when I was young
After many times trying, I threw it again and the rock flew off!
So, I tied the rock tighter and threw it high again
This time, the entire rope flew over the target branch, onto the ground!
So I tied the other end to another tree and I threw it yet, again
- ALAS - IT WORKED! –
I lowered the rock, tied the birdfeeder on and pulled it up like a pulley
Now, I have one out back and out front; the birds will be happy!
Heidi Sands
5/21/22
Many lessons we have learned,
Were given and never earned.
When we use what has been given,
all our triumphs and our fails
Are not ours alone
We have built upon the works of all those
who have gone before.
If you think your lessons have not been heard,
Fall on deaf ears
Are just another bunch of words.
It’s the failings of youth
that your not understood.
Falling prey to the traps of beauty
and boundless energy.
Many years later on,
A clock will chime
And all those words
Will turn into rhymes
Holding now, great appeal.
Even after you are dead and gone,
a part of you will still belong
In the hearts and minds of those you chose to impart your wisdom upon.
And those you chose to spend the breath of your life, your years, your time.
Taking heed NOW
All the love you shared through your blood sweat and tears.
All the hills that we climbed
Seemed like mountains at the time.
All the oceans we have sailed,
All those lessons we have shared,
Finally came home to roost
A WHISP
Turns into a SPARK
Turning DARKNESS into TRUTH.
When I was a boy I did not understand
Just how much was carried by my Father’s hand.
But now that I’m older, I stand in his shoes
And see all the burdens a man can’t refuse.
I’d nothing but time that I wasted each day.
With no nine-to-five and with no bills to pay.
Through years and experience fin'ly I’ve found
That I understand why he wasn’t around.
It’s funny, I think, but in ways kind of cruel
How time, of all things, makes us each out as fool.
There’s never enough and it goes by so fast,
Before we all know it, the future’s the past.
Each moment we’re given, they say, is a gift
But good times zip past us, impossibly swift.
We live in the present, the hours drag on
And suddenly realize how much is gone…
I’m sorry now, Dad. I just wish I had known
The lessons I’ve learned since I made my own home.
The burdens that came with each choice I made:
The chores to be done and the bills to be paid.
The worries and fears that we cannot control
That heavily weigh upon our hearts and souls.
Forgive me please, Dad, for now I understand
Just how much is carried by a Father’s hand.
I sat at your table
I’m sure, I was 5.
The first time I learned
About being alive.
Helicopter landed in
The field, Right out back.
No time to finish eating,
Rushed out, forced to pack.
Stayed with a neighbor
I barely knew
And then the next day,
Said goodbye to you.
And when you’re 5,
One minute your there,
Healthy, alive.
And the next your gone,
I visit a stone.
No one tells you
How to be alone
Because some lessons
You shouldn’t have to learn at 5.
As the lookout crow caws a warning
And raindrops drip from trees
Gray clouds the sky's only adorning
Life for some a summer's breeze
Life for others like the backside
of a dead Christmas tree
Where no decorations linger
And dry needled don't see
The future could be bleak or a
pleasure, successful or failure
What is learned in youth without measure
Can be the person's tailor
Preparing them for life's purpose
Of which each person has one
Can we as seniors give reason
To at least one youth life's run
Thoughts out on the porch
Life is one big lesson
Be it easy, be it hard
There's no sense in guessing
You'll know soon enough when it comes along
I can tell you this from experience
With everything I've seen
The hardest lessons that you learn
Are the ones you most likely keep
As we go through life people come and go, with a lesson to teach.
But sometimes their that special someone that comes in your life,
that opens your eyes to the whole new world.
That makes you believe dreams can come true,
the things that you thought was out of your reach;
is in your hands or so it seems.
They tell you their stores of a new world, with music, travel.
But most of all they teach you the true meaning of love.
I will always be grateful he open my eyes,
to help me to believe again, love again.
And even those some doors must close, I know others will open.
But the love remains in my heart.
The dreams; the hope of one day.
L-essons learned by study
A-re guidelines in life;
D-o the things that are taught,
Y-ou shall be far from strife.
L-essons learned by experience explain why you brave the weather;
H-azy air remains beatable on the nineteenth of November.
V-aluable lessons learned
I-dentify the wrong from right;
L-et not your eye turn blind,
L-ooking at the dark of night.
E-very move must be correct,
N-ow that you are concerned;
A-llow your heart to open to all the lessons learned.
Cats live in the NOW
Cats just want you to BE
Cats have two priorities: LOVE me and FEED me
Cats don’t care if you’ve gained a few pounds
Cats don’t care if you’re not wearing makeup
Lounging will win over exercise and chores every time
Gracefulness comes by making chilling your #1 priority
A good stretch can cure anything
There’s nothing more urgent than showing affection
Being cute and playful works like a magnet
Being elegant and mysterious will go a long way
There’s no greater pleasure than basking in the sun
and
Sometimes doing nothing is what it’s all about
Published in my photo/poetry book ~LESSONS LEARNED FROM CAT SITTING~ 2018
AP: 2nd place 2020
Submitted on October 21, 2017 for contest PICTURE PROMPT CONTEST sponsored by JULIE LEIGH RODEHEAVER - RANKED 3RD
everyday
a lesson learned
some bring pleasure
others hurt
to be sure
the ones that hurt
more valuable
the lesson learned
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