Jan 22 2015

…dressing up is done whether in imminent danger in an oncoming battle or a sickness or injury at times of peace.” – Wooden Leg, Cheyenne Warrior and Tribal Judge 1858-1940

While death is something we seldom joke about, my thoughts are not so dark today, and I was struck by a rather fanciful notion of warding it off. I’ve riffed on the idea of an apple a day helping to keep us healthy.

It occurs to me to wonder:
if I take care never to dress up,
might I substitute pajamas for the apple

that keeps the doctor safely in his place,
not needing to visit me? Would sloppy
unkempt appearance mean long life?

Or should I always greet the day
in my best dress, makeup carefully done
just in case it is time to leave?

CAS Jan. 22, 2015

Jan 19

“… All we wanted was peace and to be left alone…I was not allowed to remain quiet. I was tired of fighting. I have spoken.” — Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux, on his deathbed, 1877

For days now I’ve longed for quiet
in my brain, peace and serenity,
to look out my window to still waters
far from rapids racing over stone.

But the blood still pounds in my head,
thoughts racing forward into darkness
always facing future, when instead
there is today, its hours wasted thinking

about those things that never happen,
and the ones where time is not yet right
Those are the hours to be savoured, to focus
on the glint of sun, the beauty in a single snowflake.

CAS Jan. 19, 2015