Turn the page, begin a new chapter,
I have placed the past at the start of the book,
Good day to start the rest of your novel,
The time and place to change is now; just look.

There is no better moment than the present,
Do what you have always wanted to do,
If you wait for the "right" opportunity to come
Might accidentally pass by you.

Every day a chance to write a new story,
An idle pen is of no use,
Neglecting the blessings life has to offer
Is it's own unique form of self-abuse.

Goldie,

perfect things come in small packages:

gold rings and goldfinches,

sun-soaked raindrops,

marigolds, goldenrods,

memories golden-hued,

and you, dear Goldie, too.



You shared with us such time-worn treasures:

the swimming hole,

orchids blooming ferociously in Hawaiian humidity,

children lost and children gained – your bittersweet legacy,

misplaced brassieres in laundromats,

atrocious climates and thermostats,

and speaking of weather – Stormy Daniels too.

Your sense of humor shone right through –

remarkable.



For life can be an ordeal, you know it well I’m sure

and golden youthful moments too soon become silver

With each winter’s passing cold,

frost-heaving each and every life,

cracks spread across our pavement for

against the inevitable, we can’t fight

and giggling rivers grow slow and stale

and evening skies sicken and pale



But despite the cold winds, you – dear Goldie –

Remain golden still.

Blessings in winter
Rain of spring leaves
Drift home once more
Hearth captures all hearts
with love as a cloak
And we bond
forevermore