The opening poem of the day is presented.
While some individuals aspire to wealth, others find fulfillment in different dreams. Personally, I feel I’ve paused my dreaming.
As a member of Generation X, I embrace a unique and modern perspective.
I recall a moment from my sixteenth year when I stood on that cliff, gazing over the gully. It inspired me to reflect on my life, viewing challenges, rejections, and feelings of inadequacy about my professional potential as steppingstones to growth.
I dedicated 28 years to a job that tested my spirit, sacrificing my own mental health so my daughters could pursue their dreams. In doing so, I empowered them to chase their aspirations, passing the torch of my dreams to them.
I stand at a pivotal moment in my life, reflecting on my journey.
Have I made the right choice?
Am I truly satisfied with my decisions?
I envision breaking through barriers that seek to quiet my voice.
To silence one voice is to shut down a conversation.
My final lines… finding growth after changing course.
The grass is slick and cresting.
Between a thinned-out thicket,
a white light ogles through it.
A faceless sky is elevator gray,
nothing to measure, no steppingstones
for see-through lighthouses.
Here in the rootless byways
of shiftless realities,
treetops break the surface,
of leaden puddles,
frogs perch,
dripping waterlogged croaks.
There are no shores
for somnambulant seagulls.
I am too lightheaded,
miasmic margins
numb the humdrum.
Footsteps crunch upon clouds,
doubt tugs at
'out of depth' ankle bones.
Half past Summer, two months till Fall
A Monet image, relishing!
Brisk sienna steppingstones sprawl
Half past Summer, two months till Fall
Whiffs of earthy cinnabar loll
Gold aspens strewn embellishing
Half past Summer, two months till Fall
A Monet image, relishing!
Leaping from stone to stone
Leaping forward toward the unknown
Stones hovering high above it all
Far below, a giant blue ball
Will you take a leap of faith with me?
Only by getting stoned on love will we be set free
So, get bombed on the wine from the Holy Grail
Skip stones across the Styx of Hell
Take one giant leap onto the Moon’s face when it’s full
Step into the spotlight and pull ...
set ‘em free,
let ‘em fall.
Uphill battles are won and lost in the crosswinds
Gusts of defiance brazenly slap across the terrain
If a path is forged it must be carved with a machete
Steppingstones nothing but laughable afterthought
This must be faced with uncharacteristic courage
The wind howls a chorus of unseen dissent
Blistered hands carve will from the wild
The earth unyielding resists with taunts
Testing the weight of every step’s intention
No storm can drown a relentless heart
No vines can choke a mindset on ascent
Step by step against the crush of fate
The summit waits for nobody so I climb
weathering storms is nothing new out in nature
or the streets
so dodge the hail sent from the clouds to keep
a semblance of your peace
when times are hard dig in & fall in love with all
the struggle
as seeds grow from the dirt rising from all of
the trouble
lower half's looking to tussle take the lowest
of roads
it's a must to climb higher, reach for all of your
goals
some blocks are steppingstones on the darkest
of roads
but are there to lift you up so take advantage
of those
the rose that grew from darkness shines the
brightest of light
using thorns as its protection, built & ready
to fight
the rising is a sight to behold, catching & holding
attention
be sure that your focus is ascension planned
with laser precision
My dreams are teardrops from the eyes of the
divine
What I see are liquid visions from the eye within
my mind
Lucid pictures just flow from me so know the clarity
is mine
I'm a vessel of channeled currents & am considered
a solid find
Etheric lessons were taught to me inside a school I
couldn't see
Within this ocean are many classes that are as cold as
winter seas
The life of me runs really deep despite how shallow
life can be
Depth isn't cheap for many fees must be paid through
adversity
I was taught to climb my family tree so I could get a
better view
I built a house upon my visions then watched my dreams
come true
I used the stones that many threw to help construct
something new
These steppingstones were footstools counted as blessings
they never knew
Seeds may grow to blossom.
And fruits that came to us freely.
May go to feed the next generation.
The steppingstones of legacy
When it is time to die, we may discover.
That we had never fully lived,
Legacy inscribes as success or failure,
for others to follow what we leave.
Responsibility and influence
we place in the hands of others,
the principles that we embrace.
Become memories beyond our lives.
Each person leaves an inheritance.
And cultivate an awareness of existence.
i built steppingstones
to take a shortcut through life
time looked on aghast
By
David Kavanagh
I am being sacrificed on the altar of sun
Color yellow sinks into my exposed skin
Reaching my arteries pumping red blood
Veins delivering back to the atmosphere
Carbon dioxide with me melted in it
Step by step I am disappearing slowly
Becoming a patch of color yellow mixed
With red that still has a taste of my blood
On my dry chapped thirsty pale lips
Trying to whisper magical words
That brings me back to reality that is
Escaping me and I can’t remember
How it looked like before I was lied down
On devouring me sacrificial stone
Of color yellow that belongs to sun
I am disappearing into thick mixture
Of blue overpowering bright yellow
In swift strokes of my brush while
I am trying to paint a picture of me
Being sacrificed on the altar of sun
In three steppingstones completing
Sacrificial ritual of me melting away
In magical colorful magnificent way
My words are so hard to find
With you so closely on my mind.
Together I want to ride this storm
But my whole life I have done this solo
I have learned to only rely myself
Because terms and conditions come with help.
The gothic gates To my gilded cage
Are always self imposed.
The tombstone of my horrible past,
Are the steppingstones most can’t grasp.
It’s not the fall that’s scares my soul,
Its the fact of waking up alone. I am afraid my wings
are already tattered and torn.
This erratic flight of butterflies songs.
"Remember the importance of self,
And how each day offers to help
You and your dreams,
No matter how distant they seem
All are within reach,
For they are beseeched
Because inside you there is a spark,
Motivated by desire to make your mark,
And light up this world,
As your goals unfurl
Like steppingstones in life,
One by one your success feels right
For you are the most deserving person you know,
On whom, God should bestow
Talent and treasures,
Beyond any measure
We gauge how we compare,
For it’s belief in me I adhere"
Sometimes:
A little Blake; and . . . a great big moon
Is all it takes
To walk each other home
To the tender side, the fragile side
Of our rude-winter Steppingstones.
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