Shrouded Shore: The Many Musings of Thom Singleton

 Haiku -  July 31, 2023 Summer goes so fast End of July already Quick, not like winter

  Our Pets Sunning themselves on the rocks in the pond Three frogs Crossing an opening into the shadowy woods A deer Hovering like a ‘copter around the sugar water feeder A hummingbird An aerial red flash across our yard A cardinal Flying to Earth, a piece of blue sky A blue jay An orange wonder at the jam feeder An oriole A gray bird which does not meow, but enjoys the jam as well A catbird

  Haiku - July 30, 2023 Started in the tent Back yard camping at its best Boys now asleep indoors

  Haiku - July 29, 2023 Camping-out tonight In our backyard with Keith’s boys And deer, fox, raccoons

  Bliss How about a day like this! Full not just with enjoyment but with bliss A feeling that all is provided and nothing missed A state of peace, contentment, and happiness Drinking love from a golden chalice By love, kissed

  I Forgive I forgive you, mind, for being so in a bind. I forgive you, ear, for somehow hearing fear. I forgive you, emotion, for being such a commotion. I forgive you, life, and all of its strife. I forgive you, Thom, for glomming onto qualms.

  Haiku - July 28, 2023 Be patient today Rome was not built in a day Nor are some poems

  Haiku - July 27, 2023 Life is good today Dentist said “No cavities” Back ache improving

  Forgiveness      Old English etymology: “for” means completely; “giefan,” give. To give completely. What does it take? Identify the problem I’m having with another. Work through the feelings, for example, anger. Express the feelings in a non-accusatory way, such as, “When you do or say _______, I feel angry. Can you help me with my anger?” Note their response, thank them, and continue to be honest with them in a way that doesn’t put them off. In other words, give completely, loving yourself and the other, both, as you remove what is in the way of love. Difficult? Can be. Essential to happiness? Absolutely!

  Haiku - July 26, 2023 To the doc today To get a spine x-ray done Is treatment working?

  Imagination Seeing with a child’s eyes A world full of wonder Seeing with a dreamer’s eyes What seems too perfect for this world Seeing with an activist’s eyes What will make the dream happen Seeing with a poet’s eyes What is in the moment Seeing with a mystic’s eyes What is beyond the beyond Seeing with anyone’s open eyes The smiling faces of love

  Early Morning Moment Bad backache Bad air quality  And dentist this morning OK, might as well get all the bad over with And let it go Be in the moment Look at the good That bran muffin over there is winking at me Chomp!

  Haiku - July 25, 2023 Bad air quality 5AM and 150 Stay inside today 

  Compassion      From the Latin, “to suffer with.” Seeing someone suffer, one wants to help relieve it. Doing so in a respectful way. Asking, not assuming, what they are going through. Helping them in the way they want to be helped. Praising them for what they can do for themselves. Another way to love.

  Haiku - July 24, 2023 Got up, 5:30 Air quality is ninety Stay inside today

  Warmth The Sun, our source of warmth and light and life  An example of how to be A beaming smile to others Enlighten just by one’s presence Allowing the light to illuminate the dark And warm each moment Giving of one’s spirit to all

  Haiku - July 23, 2023 AI in the news Real concern about robots AI needs EI (AI is artificial intelligence. EI is emotional intelligence.)

  Haiku - July 22, 2023 Seeing friends today The Bronk’s at Art at the Park Pat’s late birthday gift?

  Haiku - July 21, 2023 Coffee is brewing 5AM, it’s writing time Rabbits eat clover

  Haiku - July 20, 2023 I’ve written poems Five chap books ready to print Can’t wait to do so

  Haiku - July 19, 2023 What to do today? Amy leaves for her meeting Help with George and Gus

  Haiku - July 18, 2023 Family coming Maria, Jenny, Georgie A day to catch-up

  Haiku - July 17, 2023 Air quality good My backbone problem is not Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch

  Haze In and out, in and out, in and out… Air in and out of our lungs all our lives Unseen, taken for granted, until now Now there’s smoke - hazardous smoke - blowing in from Canada Canada, of all places Pristine forests now caught up in wildfires across its vast wilderness Wildfires due to drought, otherwise known as climate change Today for us, another Air Quality Alert, hazardous air for the health-compromised But also for older adults and children Bad air, stay inside, in summer We need to stop the world-wide carbon haze, if we want to stop the wildfire haze It’s up to us. All of us.

  Haiku - July 16, 2023 Boy, was I surprised! I said, “No raccoon tonight.” Then one comes running.

  Make I’ll make no bones about it. I’m just trying to make ends meet, you know, make hay when the sun shines. I’m not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, or make a scene, I’m just making him an offer he can’t refuse. Teaming-up, we might make waves, but, for sure, we will make things hum again. And we will make good on our promise. We will definitely make the grade. What point am I trying to make? One that will not make your hair stand on end, but one that will make your mouth water. Don’t know what we’ll make yet, but, working together, we can make it!

  Haiku - July 15, 2023 Enough “almosting!” I’m following through today Don’t know on what yet

  Wonder I wonder why the Earth spins. I wonder why I feel the invisible wind. I wonder how the Sun shines, I wonder how vines know how to climb. I wonder how birds fly. I wonder how tears appear when we cry. I wonder why leaves turn green. I wonder how, when sleeping, we dream. I wonder how humans go from babble to talk. I wonder how, with such small feet, we stay upright and walk. I wonder how a seed becomes a tree. I wonder how, when we open our eyes, we see. I wonder how our heart continues to beat. I wonder how a soupy mix turns to concrete. I wonder why the sky is blue. I wonder why cows moo, not mew, and why cats mew, not moo. I wonder why I wonder. I guess, because I’m alive, and life is full of wonder. 

  Haiku - July 14, 2023 Yay oh yay oh yay! It’s Patti’s birthday today! Happy day, dear wife!

  Rain! The god of rain came today Rose surely from a Great Lake’s vast expanse To form the swirling clouds above No passing storm with light drizzle or quick downpour But a slow, steady, soaking rain Tapping the wilted green with a million drops  To awaken Earth from drowsy desiccation Her thirst slaked, Earth exhaled a cool gust in gratitude  

  Haiku - July 13, 2023 It’s July 13th Tomorrow is Pat’s birthday Yikes! Get her some gifts

  Haiku - July 12, 2023 Wednesday is hump day That’s what hard workers call it Over-the-hump day

  An Almost Kind of a Day           I’m almosting today. I almost tipped a cup of coffee on my wife’s paperwork. I almost fell outside on the deck. I almost dropped a dish while drying it. It goes on like this almost all day. Almosting is - kind of - a positive way of saying “not quite” or “I quit” for that matter. Almosting is not really good, but not bad either. Almosting is - sort of - a wake-up call, even though you’ve been up for hours. Almosting is a sign that soon you may - heaven forbid - be following-through today. It’s to - almost, kinda, sorta - say, “It’s that kind of a day.” You’re surviving it, so “Happy Almost Day!”

  Haiku -  July 11, 2023 A new chapbook soon It’s title, Self and Spirit We print it this week

  Haiku - July 10, 2023 The Beatles were right The essence of life is love “All you need is love”

  What We Have Beyond the senses Beyond sight, sound, smell, touch, taste Beyond the world Beyond the body Beyond emotion Beyond mad, sad, glad, scared, bored Beyond depressed anger, repressed tears, impossible happiness, frozen fear, apathetic yawn Beyond words Beyond thought At the center All there is The essence of life Love 

  Haiku - July 9, 2023 Straight talk with my son A walk along the river Eagle watches us

  Haiku - July 8, 2023 Coffee, fruit, vitamins Granola and almond milk Great start to the day

  Haiku - July 7, 2023 Five stores yesterday Poetry at The Bookstore Slept like a baby

  Haiku - July 6, 2023 How to deal with fear? Whatever is the question, Love is the answer

  Our Backyard World The spruce, a towering wall of blue and green, divide the world outback into the wild woods and our somewhat cultivated lawn. Cultivated? Well, really a diversity of clover and other greenery on which deer and rabbits feed. In the wall of trees is an entryway into the home of the deer, a path we call the door of leaves. Entering there, we find a tangle of vegetation suitable for animal travel but also negotiable by us. There the widespread death of ash trees is evident, due to the invasive emerald ash borer. Even so, a walk in the woods reveals a rich, green understory. Due to the demise of the ash, more sunlight gets admitted to the forest floor, and new life springs back. New life springs eternal. 

  Haiku - July 5, 2023 What is life about? Ego? Power? Riches? Fame? It’s learning to love.

  Unconditional Love: A Conversation with Myself What to do today?      Love unconditionally. Love whom?      Start with the person in front of you. How do I do that?      Recognize and respect their boundaries, their conditions. What is conditional love?      Love that says, if you behave a certain way, I will love you. But don’t we all love conditionally?      Yes, and that’s why we argue, fight, divorce, etc. So how can we get to unconditional love?      Respectful honesty. What’s that?      If there is a disagreement or even a clash, don’t attack. Calmly state, “When you say or                do/don’t do__________, I feel angry. Can you help me with my anger?” Ah, helping them to respect you, helping them to love unconditionally, ...

  Haiku - July 4, 2023 Today’s reminder What does this country stand for? True democracy

  One Summer Afternoon Wary robins, with their eyes on me, drink at the pond. Flashy orioles partake of sugar water. A rare monarch flits at the pollinator garden. Bees enter a tiny hole in the shed, an entrance to their nest. Redwing blackbirds forage below the feeder. A blue jay perches sideways on the feeder pole. A woodpecker lands on the neighbor’s fence. A chipping sparrow takes a sip at the pond. A juvenile grackle opens his bill looking for food from his mother. A redwing tries to hide in the greenery, but his blazing red spots give him away. A catbird sips at the pond along with the blue-black grackles and redwings. A hummingbird hovers at the sugar feeder, A baby bunny appears from under the deck and munches on clover. The falling water in our pond drowns out the race and rumble of distant city racket. It’s hors d’oeuvres out here for all of our winged and pawed friends. Time for me to forage in the kitchen.