Thoughts Have Hands

Choose a mood to replicate

Set a fitting decor

Play the music to lift the audience

Come sit and eat

Come to drink

Settle in

Secure and comfortable in a manufactured space.

Order in,

Coffee warm,

Take a moment to drink it in.

Watch people make friends,

Build connections,

Find direction,

Hug a friend.

Look out the window

as a lone bare tree sways

back and forth in the winter wind,

Wonder how you fit in?

Then mind relaxed,

Dwell in the moment satisfied,

Forget your hunger for awhile,

Bask in the refuge

purchased for a price.

For here and now you take respite,

Drop your cares and

Rest your wants.

THH

1/9/24

open.substack.com/pub/tomhardin

open.substack.com/pub/tomhardin

Holiday cheer wears thin when living with family settles in

It begins with grins and hugs and remembrances

Stories told then retold

and then living together begins

You notice habits and remember certain patterns from long ago,

Watch as they set in once again.

The way the refrigerator door opens,

The way silverware finds its way to strange draws,

The patter of feet across the floor at odd hours,

The way they move in, require exceptions and

Bend the way things have always been.

The programs they watch

from which you can’t looks away

The interests displayed in shopping

as if clothes and makeup are new to them

The making of room for asking

The inconvenience and the accommodation.

The adjustments to routine cries out in frustration,

Asking if normal will ever be normal again

It is then you see your true face

And then

know the love you have for them,

the care you offer them despite the costs:

The loss of comfort,

The sacrifice made in the shell you’re inhabiting.

Then you know the deep care required to love them.

THH

1/2/24

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Body beautiful

Body lean

Mind determined to fight the good fight,

Muscles taut and toned,

Ready to wow the boys tonight.

She lived this way.

Then one night,

After a grueling routine,

Her lover said,

Be on your way.

Set back she waved goodbye

She soldiered on

in her same disciplined manner,

kept her schedule day to day,

Every afternoon,

Running,

Biking,

Pushing through one

Marathon then

another.

Surely someone will notice the results

on display,

And the effort to make her body right.

Then after years of heavy workouts,

She met this guy one Saturday night,

who with a gentle smile

And twinkle in his eye

Asked her why?

Why work this hard,

Why so desperate, so uptight,

Are you really happy being exhausted Each and every night?

Suddenly came on the light

And she turned with delight

Decided to enjoy her one life,

To eat and play around, have some fun And not exercise so strenuously for a time.

Her friend became her partner that day,

And her face filled with happy smiles.

May she never again run so hard.

And may we learn:

The burn that keeps a body

flexible and trim,

Signals no guarantee of a happy end,

Or of finding the perfect friend.

THH

5/28/23

Holiday cheer wears thin when living with family settles in

It begins with grins and hugs and remembrances

Stories told then retold

and then living together begins

You notice habits and remember certain patterns from long ago,

Watch as they set in once again.

The way the refrigerator door opens,

The way silverware finds its way to strange draws,

The patter of feet across the floor at odd hours,

The way they move in, require exceptions and

Bend the way things have always been.

The programs they watch

from which you can’t looks away

The interests displayed in shopping

as if clothes and makeup are new to them

The making of room for asking

The inconvenience and the accommodation.

The adjustments to routine cries out in frustration,

Asking if normal will ever be normal again

It is then you see your true face

And then

know the love you have for them,

the care you offer them despite the costs:

The loss of comfort,

The sacrifice made in the shell you’re inhabiting.

Then you know the deep care required to love them.

THH

1/2/24

Body lean

Mind determined to fight the good fight,

Muscles taut and toned,

Ready to wow the boys tonight.

She lived this way.

Then one night,

After a grueling routine,

Her lover said,

Be on your way.

Set back she waved goodbye in tears

And soldiered on

in her same disciplined manner,

kept her schedule day to day,

Every afternoon,

A run,

A bike ride,

A swim,

Pushing through Marathons one after

another.

Surely someone will notice the results

on display,

And the effort to make her body right.

Then after years of workouts,

She met this guy one Saturday night,

who with a gentle smile

And twinkle in his eye

Asked her why?

Why work this hard,

Why so desperate, so uptight,

Are you really happy being exhausted

Each and every night?

Suddenly came the light

And she turned with delight

Decided to enjoy her one life,

To eat and play around,

have some fun

And not exercise so strenuously for a time.

Her friend became her partner that day,

And her face filled with happy smiles.

May she never again run so hard.

And may we learn:

The burn that keeps a body

flexible and trim,

Signals no guarantee of a happy end,

Or of finding the perfect friend.

THH

5/28/23