Monday Mainstay: Shel Silverstein

 I have always loved this Shel Silverstein poem. Here you go:

Listen to the Mustn'ts

Shel Silverstein

Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
      Listen to the DON'TS
      Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT'S
      Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
      Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

 

 

To believing that anything can be.

 

 

 

Ogden Nash - Introspective Reflection

So I thought this little two-line poem seemed particularly apt today. Enjoy.

Introspective Reflection
Ogden Nash

I would live all my life in nonchalance and insouciance
Were it not for making a living, which is rather a nouciance.


To insouciance!

Monday Mainstay: Come, Let Us Find (William Henry Davies)

Come, Let Us Find

William Henry Davies

Come, let us find a cottage, love,
That's green for half a mile around;
To laugh at every grumbling bee,
Whose sweetest blossom's not yet found.
Where many a bird shall sing for you,
And in your garden build its nest:
They'll sing for you as though their eggs
Were lying in your breast,
My love--
Were lying warm in your soft breast.

'Tis strange how men find time to hate,
When life is all too short for love;
But we, away from our own kind,
A different life can live and prove.
And early on a summer's morn,
As I go walking out with you,
We'll help the sun with our warm breath
To clear away the dew,
My love,
To clear away the morning dew.

Doesn't that sound like a perfect dream, to find this romantic cottage where we "A different life can live and prove"? 

To walking and loving and living and proving a different life. And finding a cottage, both literally and metaphorically.

Monday Mainstay: If I Were In Charge of the World (Judith Viorst)

If I Were In Charge of the World

Judith Viorst

If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg.

If I were in charge of the world
There'd be brighter nights lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower.

If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have lonely.
You wouldn't have clean.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister."
You wouldn't even have sisters.

If I were in charge of the world
A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable
All 007 movies would be G,
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to flush,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.




The world sounds like it'd be more fun if Judith Viorst were in charge of the world, doesn't it? Maybe my favorite bit is how she would cancel Monday mornings (or bedtimes or lonely). If I were in charge, I'd outlaw cubicles for sure and give everyone ice cream on Wednesdays (it's smack in the middle of the week and sometimes you need an extra little something to get through it, don't you think?) and there would be no such thing as malnutrition or war. Oh, and there'd  be more glitter and sequins. Definitely.

What would the world be like if you were in charge?


To doing one thing that makes us feel like we are in charge of the world (I've had ice cream today, thank you very much).

Monday Mainstay: Leisure (William Henry Davies)

Leisure

William Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

It's pretty common to hear that someone is busy. It's almost like a competition sometimes. But I don't want to be the busiest person. I never want to be too busy "to stand and stare." I think there are lovely moments that arise only from standing still, from staring at something and letting your mind drift wherever it pleases.

So this Monday, stay still for a while. To standing and staring.

Monday Mainstay: Kim Addonizio's What Do Women Want?

What Do Women Want?
Kim Addonizio
 
I want a red dress.
I want it flimsy and cheap,
I want it too tight, I want to wear it
until someone tears it off me.
I want it sleeveless and backless,
this dress, so no one has to guess
what's underneath. I want to walk down
the street past Thrifty's and the hardware store
with all those keys glittering in the window,
past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old
donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers
slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,
hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.
I want to walk like I'm the only
woman on earth and I can have my pick.
I want that red dress bad.
I want it to confirm
your worst fears about me,
to show you how little I care about you
or anything except what
I want. When I find it, I'll pull that garment
from its hanger like I'm choosing a body
to carry me into this world, through
the birth-cries and the love-cries too,
and I'll wear it like bones, like skin,
it'll be the goddamned
dress they bury me in. 

I want a red dress. I want to be a little reckless and channel a glamorous movie star (maybe Elizabeth Taylor) and not think about consequences and plans and The Future. Just for a while.

To red dresses and whatever they may represent to you. 

Monday Mainstay: a (second) Emily Dickinson poem

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any courses like a page
Of prancing poetry.

This traverse may be the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!


If it's not obvious by now, I love to read. I love how books can whisk you to "lands away," no matter what is going on.

To books taking us "lands away."

Monday Mainstay: an Emily Dickinson poem

IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin	5
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

                                                  -Emily Dickinson

I've decided that Mondays need a little something to brighten them up. So this Monday, it's Emily Dickinson to the rescue.  I think she's eased the aching in countless lives and cooled countless pains - maybe even stopped hearts from breaking. Her words still resonate with us today.

I must say that one of the reasons this particular poem appeals to me so much is its simplicity. She says everything outright and so clearly and elegantly, too. This poem is so utterly sincere; doesn't it kind of stop you in your tracks?

To not living in vain and to Emily Dickinson.