Thoughts That Come While Cooking Split Pea Soup and Washing Dishes on an Overcast Monday

 I am determined to love this earth.

No matter what, I will hold dear

all of her plants and creatures,

all of her dirt and wind and fire,

her droughts, her floods,

her wounds that keep mounting up,

the rhythm of the dying and the living.

This beautiful earth is doing her best

to tend to life. She cannot break that habit;

It is what she does because she is life itself.

I do not know what the future holds.

There are dark voices on the horizon

that seem to not respect life, even though

they are a part of it.

I hear them, but I will not take their words

into my heart.

I will stand, yes, probably afraid,

but I will stand on and for the earth

and continue to sing of my love.

God is still singing,

and so will I.

say 2024

I think I may have over salted the soup. I may need to make biscuits to compensate. I smile.

image: A neighbor's tree. No, this is not a great photograph. I took it last week through one of our living room windows that overlooks my neighbor's backyard. I did not want to open the window or go outside because I knew the birds would hear me and fly away. This tree is a favorite for the neighborhood finches and sparrows so it is a favorite of mine. These particular birds are forest or wood pigeons. They are larger than city pigeons, and they have yellow legs and yellow rims around their eyes. It seems they prefer wooded areas, but have a weakness for tasty morsels found in neighborhood bird feeders. They make me smile. As does the idea of biscuits.