Listen To The Mustn'ts

The boys were afraid of the storms tonight, so we retreated to the basement and spent most of the evening delighting in several Shel Silverstein books my grandparents gave me as a young girl. One has a "happy birthday" inscription with hopes that I'll enjoy the book throughout my life. I certainly have, and still am more than 25 years later.

One poem we came across didn't spark childhood memories like so many others, but it gave me pause tonight. I plan to read it to these little people again and again, with hopes that it might find a place in their ever-expanding minds, and reappear throughout their lives as a reminder that even when life gets stormy, there is nothing to be afraid of. Because anything can be.

Listen To The Mustn'ts

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.

-Shel Silverstein

The Calm and The Quiet

I could lie here
all night
and never tire
of the warm air
and hazy moon glow
and most of all
the calm and the quiet
within.

The calm that has
eluded me for ages,
now nestled snug behind
my breastbone,
tucked in and feeling
right at home.

The quiet my mind
had all but forgotten-
no spinning, no reeling,
just stillness and light
behind my eyes.

This very moment
feels good, for once.
Grateful, I'll stay while I can.
Tomorrow? I thought of it.
And then I let it go.

I'll lead with my heart when I get there.