A - Adventure

On an out of the blue adventure in Boston a few years a...

 

This is the beginning of the AtoZ Challenge of writing every day, except Sunday, starting with A and going to Z by the end of the month.  I have decided to select a positive word, a growing word...something to keep me adventuring this month.

Before losing my husband in late 2023, we went on many “adventures”.  They would not be considered adventures to many, in that we did not risk life and limb...not to a great extent anyway.  We would take day trips in the car, stop at random interesting places.  We would go on a week long motorcycle trip with just a vague destination and no overnight lodging plans.  It’s how we ended up owning five acres of bold ocean front in Nova Scotia.  It’s how we found our little ocean view house to retire to, why we bought a farm in Minnesota and raised horses even though we’d never owned horses.  It was always our “why not?”  If there wasn’t a good answer to that, then why not?
Now I am on my own.  And every day is an adventure.  Each activity is new because I only have me to ask, “why not?”.
Adventures mean you don’t know the outcome.  You hope for a good one, and the odds are in your favor.  But you don’t know what this place, this person, this day holds in store for you.  Or maybe you don’t know what YOU hold in store for them.  Sometimes YOU are the adventure for someone else.  Have the adventure. Be the adventure.  Venture forth.

Adventure

Today’s the day I don helmet,
I slide my sword in scabbard
Saddle up and mount my steed
Race till his side is lathered...

This is the day
The very first
Of all the rest of days
Adventures all
Awaiting steps
Determining yays or nays
I’ll sally forth
To combing beach
I’ll step full shod in ocean
I’ll sit all day
And talk to birds
Avoiding all commotion
I may go on
To other things
That need no invitation
Talk to a passing
Unknown soul
To trade some inspiration
Who knows the wisdom
One might trade
With other roving knights
Today’s the first
Of many days
To set the world to rights.

by Donna JT Smith ©2024

 

We shall see how I do.  In other years I have at least preselected my topic and word, and sometimes even prewritten a poem to post on particular days. None of that happened this year.  I began doing this in 2012, but skipped last year.  Things got to be just too much.  But this year, I'm trying again.  It is truly an adventure of sorts.

October

Poetry Friday...

Go enjoy some great poetry by clicking links on Poetry Friday's host Matt Forrest Esenwine's page:

My poem for October was plunked down into FB this morning...or late last night:

October

October teases leaves
to begin their tinge twinges of
green to orange, yellow, red:

It begins the crisper nights;
it does a flash freeze on blades of grass;
it turns trees into bouquets,
and groves into giant mounds of mums;

It takes the sweetness of the summer breeze
and gives it a cinnamon kick
that swirls around your head
and tickles your nose.

And it ends with barely a leaf on a tree.
A coating thick on the ground
swishes and crackles
in your wake

as you scuffle-shuffle
toward the brown and gray
of November.

by Donna JT Smith ©2023