Game of No Guarantees

Life guarantees us

nothing;

only life, itself.

It guarantees

no possessions;

guarantees no wealth.

It guarantees only

a journey;

not one day of good health.

Life guarantees

this moment;

we live with the hand we are dealt.

-Joy S. Barefoot

Nothing is Lost

 The baby plays upon the vision

layered in the mirror of time.

The crepe-lined old woman sprays

and varnishes the prints upon its face.

In the cloudy, lying mirror,

is the youth of all her years

gathered up in lines and wrinkles

in time’s unfair and sure reflection.

-Joy S. Barefoot

Life is like a ball of yarn . . .

Life is Like a Ball of Yarn



 . . . it usually starts out nice and neat;

with strands in their proper places

but tucked inside it’s fat little belly

are beginnings of intricate laces.

Hold on to the ball's big round belly,

as you carefully work to unwind it

for once you let that little ball go

you might have to search to find it.

Now make the length, only what you need;

. . . no more than you can handle.

That ball’s like other things in life

. . . it can get you in a crazy tangle.

The outside face must hold together

as you work with anticipation

for these will be the finishing threads

for the last of your inspiration.

There’s a lot to learn from those woven threads,

and when they're all in place,

you may look back with admiration

at the pattern of your lacings.

 

-Joy Stalvey Barefoot (2010)

Long Shadows (death of a day)

Late in the day

just before the sun

moves into it’s hiding

place, a long shadow,

a very long shadow,

strikes a fleeting pose

on all of what I know

as today.

It seems as if the covers

are slowly being closed

on the final chapter

of some mysterious novel,

bearing the nostalgic,

but faint, scent,

of carnations.

-Joy S. Barefoot

(Inspired by a very dear friend, who, in a short period of time,

taught me much about living. Thanks, Jeanne.)