poetryfest

“We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do.” — Art of Quotation

“We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do.” — Barbara Ward, economist, author

via “We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the earth as its other creatures do.” — Art of Quotation

“It’s a sad reflection on society how many people are shocked by honesty… and how few by dishonesty.” — Art of Quotation

“It’s a sad reflection on society how many people are shocked by honesty… and how few by dishonesty.” ― Noël Coward, playwright, from the play Blithe Spirit

via “It’s a sad reflection on society how many people are shocked by honesty… and how few by dishonesty.” — Art of Quotation

“The key to leadership is recognizing you’re not the smartest guy in the room.” — Art of Quotation

“The key to leadership is recognizing you’re not the smartest guy in the room.” Mitt Romney, Republican Senator

via “The key to leadership is recognizing you’re not the smartest guy in the room.” — Art of Quotation

“It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves.” — Art of Quotation

It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves. Cesar Chavez, activist, “An Organizer’s Tale: Speeches”, p.352, Penguin Image: Migrant Worker on Highway, Dorothea Lange

via “It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves.” — Art of Quotation

“humans… move to an area and multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area…another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is?” — Art of Quotation

I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an […]

via “humans… move to an area and multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area…another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is?” — Art of Quotation

The Marshmallow Test? “ America….We have the knowledge, we have the resources, but we don’t have the will.” — Art of Quotation

America in 2020, it seems, is too disunited, with too many people in the grip of ideology and partisanship, to deal effectively with a pandemic. We have the knowledge, we have the resources, but we don’t have the will. Source: Washington Post, Paul Krugman America Fails the Marshmallow Test, We lack the will to beat Covid-19. […]

via The Marshmallow Test? “ America….We have the knowledge, we have the resources, but we don’t have the will.” — Art of Quotation

“I am not blaming those who are resolved to rule, only those who show an even greater readiness to submit.” — Art of Quotation

I am not blaming those who are resolved to rule, only those who show an even greater readiness to submit. Thucydides, “History of the Peloponnesian War”, p.345, Penguin UK, 1974

via “I am not blaming those who are resolved to rule, only those who show an even greater readiness to submit.” — Art of Quotation

“The spaces between stars are where the work of the universe is done.” — Art of Quotation

The spaces between stars are where the work of the universe is done. Ivan Doig, writer, book quote from “The Sea Runners”, p.68, Simon and Schuster

via “The spaces between stars are where the work of the universe is done.” — Art of Quotation

“Far off, men swell, bully, and threaten; bring them hand to hand, and they are feeble folk.” — Art of Quotation

“Far off, men swell, bully, and threaten; bring them hand to hand, and they are feeble folk.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

via “Far off, men swell, bully, and threaten; bring them hand to hand, and they are feeble folk.” — Art of Quotation

Through The Screen Door, by Dominique Doutre

My favorite color only happens once a day.

It’s that moment right at sunset as the sky changes from blue to grey.

The light that kissed the treetops has faded from the leaves, pulling away his warm fingertips.

The color can’t decide if it’s blue or grey or simply light, tiptoeing the edge of night and day.

The color feels like solemn emptiness and acceptance that the day is over. Do we rejoice? Or am I full of dread? Of emptiness? Can one feel full on emptiness?

I sit watching the day wind down and listen to the birds through the screen door, all while my favorite color sits in the sky.

While the sunset oranges and blushy pinks cling to the clouds for brief moments and then vanish, my favorite color watches quietly.

And for one moment, once a day, right at sunset as the sky changes from blue to grey, I feel a little less alone.