Relative Something

*this* John W. Hays' take on things and experiences

Posts Tagged ‘words

Words Emerge

leave a comment »

Spring has arrived on the calendar. Maybe that explains all this spring-like evidence unfolding before our eyes. Mud, primarily. Yesterday, I opened some gates for the horses that we have historically held open using step-in posts. Without thinking, I attempted to step them in and quickly met the resistance of frozen ground an inch or two below the surface.

It’s only spring on the surface thus far.

There is still snow in the woods, but it is shrinking by the minute.

The wooden blocks of the “boardwalk” we installed on a section of trail that gets the muddiest are beginning to reappear.

Cyndie has painted words of inspiration on some of them and it looks like those messages have survived the winter just fine.

Out on the open road I didn’t find any traces of snow while spending time on my new bicycle in the afternoon. I’m pretty confident I will never regret purchasing an e-bike. Having that motor assist took much of the stress out of my first real ride of the season.

Like the emerging words say, LOVE always. I expect I will be loving this bike for the rest of my life.

.

.

Written by johnwhays

March 21, 2022 at 6:00 am

Happened

leave a comment »

.

.

.

.

Written by johnwhays

March 17, 2022 at 6:00 am

Gravity

leave a comment »

.

.

swinging around
    startled
  then not
normalcy returns
in a privileged life
difficulty happens
and then doesn’t
for most of the days
of the rest of their lives
while holding
the sacred path
outlasting
the gravity
the rest of us
    grasp

.

.

.

Written by johnwhays

February 8, 2022 at 7:00 am

Conversation

leave a comment »

.

just great
all time memory
lost
not forgotten
glossed
figurative
restorative
wondering
finally
incremental
incidental
wandering
last seen
staked out
ignited
misunderstood
wishing
struck down
downtown
mainstreet
deforestation
alternate location
waiting
looking out
casting about
grasping
second option
only two
bright
despite delight
indeed alright
dashed
in conversation
altogether
alone

.

.

Written by johnwhays

January 24, 2022 at 7:00 am

List

leave a comment »

.

it was like a list
just lying there
bunch of words
one on top of the other
detailed
manicured
all orderly and stacked
tight
concise
basically like simple advice
it read with authority
commanded attention
unemotional
except for the sense
of nostalgia
it evoked
a simpler time
indeed
cigarettes
fish hooks
trundle bed
nothing that really mattered
answers for a game show
charade topics maybe
license plate
wastebasket
or bin
depending where from
the subject had sprung
what reason
spurred the creation
how the words landed
on that space
in that order
just in case
was far from obvious
dead battery
bags
trowel
random to a point
of seeming entirely pointless
but intrinsically powerful
nonetheless

.

.

.

Written by johnwhays

August 26, 2021 at 6:00 am

Meandering

leave a comment »

.
.
no explanation
it’s all that comes to mind in this moment
just words
random ones
trepidation
okay, that one
but also, surprise
wonder
adventure
mystery
misery
miserly
listening
laughing
loving
lifting
wanting more
wasting nothing
timing essences
cats
dogs
calamity
insanity
walking all day long
looking for everything lost
asking why didn’t we call
noteworthy
newsworthy
pithiness
à la carte
without a care
sleep
time
extra breath
deep sigh
falling snow
wandering eye
vast unrest
captive audience
long goodbyes
waiting
wanting
finally learning
holding hands
meandering
all the while

.

.

Written by johnwhays

February 22, 2021 at 7:00 am

Evading Capture

with 4 comments

The mind moves so much faster than words. Thoughts are like delicate athletic dances as compared to the awkward stumbling of sentences and paragraphs. In the blink of my right eye, indescribable realizations swirl through my head, launching emotions and chemical responses throughout my body in immeasurable doses before a single word begins to form in my mind.

Conversely, at the times when my busy brain is babbling on with endless mindless verbiage, the words appear from an absence of actual thought. There are no images playing. The screen is simply blank. Words are heard, not seen.

As I write this, there are delectable aromas of home-baked apple crisp wafting from the kitchen. It’s distracting. The scrumptiousness defies description, but my mind knows how to interpret it and launches into one of those delicate dances. It’s a joyful dance.

It’s a dance my sugar addiction is very fond of.

My taste buds have no complaints about it, either.

Before I finished writing this post, Cyndie presented a sample, hot out of the oven. `A la mode.

This batch tasted even better than it smelled. I’d describe it to you, but, well… you know.

Think about love. Let that ethereal concept dance through your mind and you will have a vague sense of my apple crisp and ice cream experience.

Mmmm. See if that evades your capture.

.

.

Written by johnwhays

September 25, 2020 at 6:00 am

Ready

with 4 comments

.

you don’t need to forget

but you’re welcome to try

like a sneeze sneaking up for a very long time

I am coming

so get ready, or not

there are more stars in the sky

when there are no other lights

have you seen them with your very own eyes

the glorious stories they tell

from before we were born

have burned longer than we’ll all be alive

while we waste precious breath

hissing words we’ll regret

once we reclaim all our senses and pride

who is coming

are they ready, or not

our better angels flying round

every space in between

fill the cracks in our delicate minds

reminds us of something else

we might forget to apply

sending love is better than saying goodbye

there’s only so much time left

gather all of your pets

and paint portraits to remember them by

we are going

so be ready, or not

.

.

.

Written by johnwhays

January 21, 2020 at 7:00 am

Words

leave a comment »

.

they are just words
but you can’t write them fast enough
because they flow
like lyrics in a song
that everybody already knows
even though they only remember
two lines of the chorus
because the verses wander
all over the map
about kittens and deforestation
cloth diapers, crime, and comedy
lightning, goal celebrations
vegan recipes and political tragedy
ghosts, authors, fancy makeup
chainsaws and Ultimate Frisbee
cyber insecurity, false witness
lost love and fortunes found
like a blog roll of unending topics
scrolling down a glowing screen
ideas on how to make millions with ease
or at least to transform
this world
into a better place
than it could ever possibly be
through song
sing along
with incandescent harmony

.

.

.

Written by johnwhays

May 7, 2019 at 6:00 am

Latest Word

leave a comment »

I have a habit of getting stuck on a pattern of frequent reuse of a particular word. The latest word that I’ve noticed –usually it happens without my being aware– is “gorgeous.” In terms of a hot August day at the lake, the word is well suited to describe yesterday.

After a lazy soak in the lake, Cyndie and I lost ourselves in an over-fascination with picking rocks that grabbed our fancy.

“I like this one.”

“Oooh, look at this!”

“Here’s one for you.”

In the water, they look so shiny and bright. Cyndie brings up a pile of them to keep, all of which tend to turn into much less spectacular stones after they’ve dried.

I like shapes and textures. Tear drop and smooth.

Both of our eyes are drawn to the ones with lines of different color layers.

I noticed an urge to break some open to get another view of the layers. That thought brought back a memory of hammering different colored stones to dust with my siblings to make layered sand art jars.

I remember thinking those always turned out gorgeous.

And for the record, this August weather totally rocks!

.

.

Written by johnwhays

August 12, 2018 at 8:33 am