We pick ourselves up,
we bumble forward.
There is little to be gained
by second-guessing
But much is gained
by reassessing
what we are here for,
what powers our days
Let’s have no more irreverence
where reverence is due,
no more complaining,
no dogged powering through,
more cheerful patience,
more open gratitude,
and all in all,
more closeness to our source.
©Wendy Mulhern
May 24, 2021
The sun will be laughing at us,
as it goes down, for all the things
we missed doing today,
although we were working straight along,
sun-roasted, wind-cooled, not stopping
to rest or eat
The sun will be laughing
but we will be laughing too,
for we did well, planting trees, not stopping
till we wanted to sink into sleep,
and we came into town
and got what we needed,
and may even get home
before the sun goes down.
©Wendy Mulhern
May 11, 2021
I’ll probably sleep well tonight,
long day’s work spreading itself oddly
into my dreams,
working with tools, solving problems,
being caught aloft in a gust of wind
There may again be waking moments
when the waning gibbous moon
peers piercingly
through our little window,
or the cold and hot of things
requires adjustment
But there is a rich blanket of peace
that billows like a magic carpet –
it will carry me through those moments
right on till the early dawn.
©Wendy Mulhern
March 29, 2021
Maybe we’ve forgotten
or maybe we never knew
how to celebrate –
little leaps to match inner elation,
thoughts of calling someone to proclaim,
a feast, a party – but no, we can’t do that,
and so we go to town and get.a sandwich
(and also some propane)
And sleep in, the next day, a little later,
and have a slightly shorter day of work,
and set ourselves up for the next sprint,
which will be fun. And therein lies the joy –
it will be fun!
©Wendy Mulhern
February 20, 2021
The windshield melts the image
but not the trees
into the soft wet of the afternoon
We have retreated
into this decadent warmth,
fleeing the frenzy of the work
and the chill of the dampness,
choosing this luxury bubble
which proves
we aren’t wholly rooted
in the rigors of homestead living –
we can watch it
like reality TV
through the glass
at least for a while.
©Wendy Mulhern
February 18, 2021
It’s still winter,
blackbirds singing by the pond
notwithstanding
It’s still winter,
momentary snow amidst the rain
attesting
And it’s still enough
to find a way to feed and warm ourselves
and take the time to watch the snow
command the scene
for the brief time
of its ascendancy
We will make progress
and measure it
not against our endless list of tasks
but in the pace
of winter’s strict permissions.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 26, 2021
The path I walk
so many times.a day
(and now at night,
my lantern faintly
showing me the way,
soft clouds lit up
by just a touch of moonlight,
soft air against my face)
is not without its thoughts of future –
what this place may sometime be –
but seems to have less of the past,
our forward press so steady on,
and, too, the sense of dissolution,
of all the past now found
to have been founded on illusion,
and the need to step ahead
lest my dissolving footprints
catch up to me.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 21, 2021
As I looked up
and saw the dark clouds
riding on the north wind,
there was excitement in the air,
something I noticed
as I walked with purpose
in my course of work
And the narrowness of the moment
of looking up from work
to see the clouds and feel the wind
made it a sweet song,
much like a flute
pulls sweet music
from the smallest places.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 17, 2021
Finding myself happy,
much spirit having blown
all through my day –
the weather’s kindness
and the joy of shared work,
and laughter, more laughter than usual,
and frogs at night – think of it! –
frogs in January!
Surely there will be more winter,
bot the sun setting just a bit later
was not lost on me,
and there is hope
for riding like this
on the top of the days
all the way to spring.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 16, 2021
Evening has me considering
today’s flavor of nothing to say,
rain settled in around the cabin,
a skunk, by the smell outside, underneath
The fire, having warmed our space
and cooked our meal, and made hot water
for cleaning up, is out to pasture –
a little flame retained so it will not go out
but small enough to not be overbearing
We have worked,
we have wrestled demons,
we will essay the same tomorrow,
this being the stuff of our days,
the course we are here to complete.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 3, 2021