Below the Surface

He was observed: made from scratch.
He was seen scratching away
at the surface: the stubborn dirt.
He scratched long into the day.
He wanted to reach the hurt.
Not before long, the day was gone.
He found nothing here, so he
scratched there. He couldn’t see
as he scratched deep into the night.
The sun came up, and he looked
down and said: “I can make some-
thing from all the stuff I found.”
Tired and dirty, he walked home
with stuff that can never be shown.
He was happy to have dug below
the surface: a place only he knows.

Father Time

Don’t hit fast-forward.
Don’t press rewind.
Press play and watch
memories from the past
come to life. Take it
slow and pay attention
to the days that pass by
most of our closed eyes.
Look too far and miss
today. Don’t look at all
as our doubts grow tall.
Don’t rush. In our lives,
things may come and go,
yet we will come to learn
there is more to know.
Father time has his hands
full with grains of sand
flowing to his sandals.
Only he knows when
his palms are empty.
Only we can know that
this life is a blessing.