What Have You Overlooked?

Week 8

What Have You Overlooked?

Tweets

1.   We all benefit from looking up.

2.   One of architecture’s great inventions—centuries ago—is the arch.

3.   The man knows the real angel; that’s why he bought the print, framed it, placed it above. he’s seen him. That’s why he bought

4.   Do you have a nook where your comfort is sure, where your mind is quieted?

5.   We seat ourselves, lean back, look up and feel at ease, sigh maybe. Then we look down, don’t we? Is this true for you?

6.   We are made for worship.

7.   We each have our angel, who is not meant to be denied.

Icon

Over the man’s chair

where he finds comfort

with his books

hangs a print

of an angel made

of carved wood—

a statue that in

its real life

stands 12 feet tall.

He’s playing his pipe

in praise—that angel—

as memorialized in

the 150th Psalm.

The man in the chair

sees less of him

than you might think,

as the angel remains

at his back.

Perhaps that’s the point—

acknowledged by his

furtive bow as he

enters the room.

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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When It’s Time to Stop Time

Week 7

When It’s Time to Stop Time

Tweets

1. Imagine the yesteryear scene in a small town, a suburb or neighborhood in a larger city. How does it feel?

2. This is what centennial celebrations do for 10 days or so and prices are rolled back 100 years.

3. I’m thinking it might be fun to paint a Norman Rockwell picture in my own mind.

4. I’ll paint the playground at Longfellow school—that yellow brick building that still stands—playing kickball before the 8:50 am bell.

5. Slow down is what I hear. Find the time to not do. Stop doing and clear clutter.

6. We can’t go back, but we can go in, or, perhaps, out. Mere things can pass into the background.

7. Stop! Where are you needed? Stop time. Be there, where you’re needed. So productive…

Recess

Let’s make believe

today—

the two main streets

of the downtown

that cross each other

and run a half-mile each

have been closed

to car traffic

and thrown open

by the city fathers

for play-day.

It’s a mild Sunday afternoon,

people strolling and milling

with no cause—

some with their kids—

stopping for an ice cream

or glass of wine,

looking in store windows,

skirting an open fire hydrant

for the rowdy, pausing

for the bocci ball

played at a corner patch,

sitting on benches,

saying hello, smiling,

running into old friends,

making new ones.

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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When You Can’t Make Heads or Tails of It

Week 6

When You Can’t Make Heads or Tails of It

Tweets

1.   The situation is threatening and confusing. Where do I turn?

2.   Something is missing, but what? I don’t know. My take on this leaves me limited.

3.   If I got bold, aggressive, easing my angst, I would only make things worse.

4.   What am I afraid of? I’ll shoulder some possibilities.

5.   I’ll do nothing, except stay attentive.

6.   I face it, still, not face it down.

7.   Then something breaks I don’t expect, something else clears, and I see the way through.

Knot

What is it

that troubles me,

that won’t come clean?

It’s an irritant

in itself,

compounding the situation.

If my closest friend

came to me with

the same complaint

I would have

no answer.

I will go to

my own confessional—

try on my innermost

honesty,

then do the only thing.

I would offer

that friend

were he to ask the

same of me:

wait and watch.

As Rilke has written,

see the night

a stone will fall,

a star will rise.

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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See It There, Right in Front of Your Face

Week 5

See It There, Right in Front of Your Face

Tweets

1. Some times it’s just the obvious, isn’t it? Just the obvious.

2. Have you seen a sheep sheared? Sounds mundane? See for yourself.

3. Any fool knows…? Oh yeah?

4. “I’m bored,” she says. Whose problem is that? Whose task to solve it?

5. What is more compact and perfect than a scallop shell resting on your flattened palm?

6. You don’t need to put up zeal on a daily basis, but a week without it leads to dark Sunday afternoons.

7. Often the obvious isn’t obvious until it’s seen. Then it is and what a revelation!

Seizure

Let me wander

among the givens

Let me see through

the transparent

Let me hear the noise

Smell the pungent

Tear off the loose

Push off the firm

Pierce the soft

Wear the worn

Savor the edible

Squeeze the grape

Bleed from the spear

Shiver at the cold

Bend at the crooks

Float the river

Climb the steps

Roll down the slopes

Mine the ore

Whistle at the wondrous

Oh, dear master,

let me be awake

© 2012 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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