It’s a daily thing

The writing

The thinking

The checking in 

Alcoholics do it by playing their daily hymn

I am here

I will not give in

Depressives do it

One foot at a time

Doing their time

They do not give in

I’m lucky I guess

My first thoughts are usually of 

Poetry

Writing

And the beauty of the world around me

But I got here

One foot at a time

Battling thoughts

Beat them back

With invisible sticks

Back

Back

Way back then

I don’t return from whence I’ve come

Except to see how far

But when I read of others stories

And there are many now I follow

I’m blessed

Blessed that my mind is not a small shallow pond or fallow field 

But growing larger

I read little snippets of lives

From all around the world

Little snippets

That they share

And I’m blessed to hear

Because they throw my own 

Small

Things

Into a more positive light

Not many write of joyful happy things

No

We just experience those moments

Happily 

Instead 

It is the darkness we explore

With torches

And candles

And tiny pen lights

Seeking and tumbling experiences over

And over

Trying to make them over

And release them

It is not the light and sparkle of which writers write

But the shadows

Because they ground us

In art you will learn

See

That shadows, when painted in

Are what gives an object its depth

Contrast

Imagery 

Eventually 

It is to the shadows we look 

For reality

And that

Is

When

Real

Living

Begins

For when you can embrace the shadows

Understand their purpose

Their beauty

Their art

Then the heart

Becomes whole and the mind broadens beyond its tiny fences

Humour is boring when it lacks edge

Knowledge

Astuteness

Intelligence

Great comedians have gentle eyes

Sad even

But my God they can hit the nail

Squarely on the head

Probably because they have missed and hit their finger so many times

Or life has

Great artists

Great writers, poets and singers

Great anything

Have depth

Soul

Shadows

It’s a daily thing

A warrior thing

A survivors thing

And it visits the woebegotten

The grief stricken

And those just untangling

Their noisy 

Jangling

Mortal coil

It is grace

And it finds us all

Daily

As we race about 

Avoiding 

That which gives our very life

Substance

Meaning

Depth

Shadows

Fleeting

Shadows 

Deepening

Shadows