Thoughts Have Hands

We know so little.
We know so much.
The difference an attitude,
hanging on green beliefs,
known to be so very true.

A string of possibilities unwound by disappointing data will not deter.

A speech delivered fervently shores up feeling.
As myths inscribe our heart with right meaning.

A world where comfort seeks an easy ride,
A cave and warm fire to today’s three bedrooms, two baths with a view.

A store-bought bride taken home to watch the internet.

A pride of place and time.

Beliefs festooned with finery dressed in expectation of success.

Beliefs disappointed if unrealized

Metastasize to become favorite melodies sung over the wreckage of loss,

Shattered identities frolic with idols of riches and desire,
Become frenzied vibrations and hollow chance,
Before sacrificial lambs are brought before our fearful chant.

All certainty alludes the honest mind,
For no one understands the play of circumstance.

But dishonesty takes charge of humanity if swayed by glamor and the promise of winning

Then destiny becomes a wishing well
Where humility stands unanswered,

To wait for the genesis of a better humanity,
while pride continues its rape of reason,

And with self protective aims, proclaims violence just;

Of this we know much in every season.

THH
1/31/24

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

We fish for meaning,

Use words to bait hooks thrown into the stream of consciousness,

Wait impatiently to reel in understanding;

Occasionally, we catch a coherent thought,

Clarity snagged from the deep.

Enough to take home

Enough to weigh and put on display

Enough to draw attention

Enough to cause a flurry of fishers

To try the same hook, and

fish the same waters,

Ultimately,

catching little or nothing,

Nothing worth frying up for dinner.

Finally, we see meaning fails to take the bait, and

Long before we stopped fishing,

Slipped the hook

And swam away.

Leaving us to row on down stream

in search of better waters to fish for meaning.

THH

12/29/23

I woke up this Christmas Day.

A day gifts and treats are shared with family and friends.

A day we are told a special child was born in Bethlehem to rest in his poor mother’s arms.

On this day we celebrate his birthday.

But do we not celebrate every child’s natal day,

With a wink and smile,

With joyful reverence,

For every infant birthed in the human family,

Don’t we offer deference,

and compassion

An enchanted reverie?

For each new born

faces the all to human tragedy

And suffers life’s sundry turns

Where human understanding must in fear and trembling learn

to discern the light in all the worlds best offerings

Doesn’t every mother see her new born — son or daughter,

As a special gift to humanity.

As her infant smiles, cries and sucks

the milk of life she is giving,

Savor the thought

She may have birthed a great king,

A doctor,

a teacher,

A Martin Luther King, even

A Buddha or

A Christ,

A messiah who will bring light to answer everything?

She may have brought forth a genius or an apostle of truth and great wisdom for all humanity.

So as we exchange our gifts

and bask in the joy of our own special community,

Let’s recall the fate of Mary’s child

and the innocent slain on our altars

of greed, pride, and thievery.

For throughout today’s unforgiving world few mothers are granted even half their wish. Indeed,

many see the light go out before the dawning of a single day.

What leads us to engage in such savagery

And sacrifice our children

To delusional wins,

Of fighting for power and control

to hold permanently?

Instead let’s strive to remember

the light and the art of sharing,

Instead share the light and make

for our children —

A world worth giving,

One worth living,

Instead let’s celebrate the blessings of incarnate light

this Christmas Day,

Let it warm our hearts

and challenge us all to light the light

in everyone we meet this day and tomorrow too.

Merry Christmas and may we shine the light of Christ in all our living.

THH

12/25/