May 1, 2021

SOMEWHERE  ELSE

Sometimes we wish we were somewhere else.

We’ve all seen teenagers stand in the back
of the dance floor – near the door – but
checking out the dance. They whisper
to each other – and head out the door.
 
Sometimes we wish we were somewhere else.
 
We’ve all seen adults in church
looking at their watch. They check
out the crowd – and if possible
they are first ones out the door.
 
Sometimes we wish we were somewhere else.
 
We’ve all seen old folks in nursing homes -
down near the front door – hoping the next
person coming towards the entrance is
coming to see them  - but their face says, “No!”
 
Sometimes we wish we were somewhere else.
 
Hopefully, there is some way, we can do
something for the young, the middlers, and
those in nursing homes – helping them to
laugh, to love and to enjoy the ice cream.
 
Sometimes we wish we can be there for somewhere else.

  

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 

May 1,  2021

Thought for Today

“A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man."  

Lana Turner (1920-1995)

 

April 30,  2021

INNER  ROOM

Jesus voiced it early on:
He said we have an inner room.

 
A comfortable chair helps ….
Some music ….
Some family photo albums ….
A thermos of cold water ….
A good pillow ….
A warm blanket ….
Current and old diaries ….
A good ball point pen ….
A small soft bed ….
An easy light ….
No cell phone ….
 
But most importantly
we need to spend time there.
 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 

April 30,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“Yes God!  Yes God!  Yes, yes and always yes.”

 

Nicolas de Cusa

 April  29,  2021

      THE  RELATIVITY  OF  TIME 

 
Last week went too fast.
This week is going too slow.
Both have the same amount of hours.
 
Sometimes I’m in an ice age.
Sometimes I’m in a warm mist.

Sometimes I’m in total melt.
 
Spring …. summer…. fall …. winter ….
The melting of the ice, budding trees,
warm green grass, falling orange leaves.

Ordinary and extraordinary days,
Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries,
hello and goodbyes, Oh no! Oh yes! 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

April 29,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

 

“A writer who keeps a personal diary uses it to record what he knows.  In his poems or stories he sets down what he doesn’t know.”

 Adam Zagajewski,

Another Beauty, 2000

 April 28,  2021

 

2:37 AM 

Woke up -
somewhere in the middle of nothing -
went to the bathroom -
woke up in the middle of the night -
noiseless, nothing -
night, darkness.

I’m alive,
now back to the space of sleep,
deep into the out of my control,
will I be awake in the morning?

 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 

April  28,  2021

 

Thought for the Day

“A poem’s every line conceals the sufferings of Cambodia and Auschwitz …. Every line also holds  a spring day’s joy.  Tragedy and joy collide n every line.”

Adam Zagajewski,

A Defense of Ardor, 2004

April  27,  2021UGHT

CAUGHT

Lost, caught, trapped, stuck,
not sure of what’s next.

Show me a small house
in this bloated forest.

Let there be a light in a window.
Let there be a fire place – lit.

Let there be a door that opens -
without any trouble.
 
Let there be food on a stove.
and a soft chair to sit on.

I need a warm bed for the night
and a long, long sleep - rest.

Tomorrow I can find my way out
of this mess – but not right now. 
 

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

April 27,  2021

 Thought for the Day

 

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then, is an empty desk?”

 

Albert Einstein

April  26,  2021

CONSEQUENCES

 
We hear echoes,
even when we seem
to be deaf to them ….

We hear them,
even when we forget
there are consequences,
and we get hit with

the reality of repercussion.

Realities trigger realities.

We know that some words 

are made of razor blades or 

have been left to marinate

in the dark mud of earth,

the dark dirt of death. 

Hopefully we discover the MORE:

there is redemption and hope

and not just the dark stuff.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

April 26,  2021

Thought for the Day

 

“Size isn't everything. The whale is endangered, while the ant continues to do just fine.” 

 

Burton Hillis

 April  25,  2021

 

NOT SUPPOSED TO

 

There are lots of not supposed to
places we’re told to avoid:
the other lanes on the highway,
the places without the lights.

Good if they are dangerous.
Bad if there are places where
we can make things better
and bring about a clean up.

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2021

 

April  25,  2021

Thought for the Day

 

“Rule No. 1 is never lose money. Rule No. 2 is never forget Rule No. 1.”

 

Warren Buffet