50+ Lifestyles

A Pause for Poetry

By Gary Heath
Poet in Residence for 50+ Lifestyles.

Palace of Big Feelings

The palace of big feelings on the
Mountain beckons us from our
Valley. We climb, ascend the
Mountain, cliff by cliff, we want
To feel the joy up there in the high
Palace. We yearn to be in the big
Story there, dare climb the heights,
Risk our story in the valley for the
Story shining in the palace up there.
We just know there is a resplendent,
Scintillant story on high, up and
Away from the earth of our valley,
Way up there on high, in the palace
Of big feelings, far beyond the valley
Of our birth.

Wildness

There is a wildness in the people and
A wildness in the land, it lurks under
Cover of domesticity, but the wildness
Is always there, and can never be
Tamed. The wildness is demure, it lies
Low under the surface, a calm majestic
River, silent before a roiling flood. The
Wildness lurks under streets and towns
And under well-plowed fields and
Discreetly rolling hills, silent before a
Temblor. Of a sudden, the wildness
Lurking bursts upon the people and flails
And flounders in frenetic disarray, till the
Wildness plays out its fury and, at last,
Tires of besetting and trying all around,
And life returns to the usual round as
Wildness retreats underground.