The jukebox in my head is playing again today. I guess I have alot of songs that need to be sung. The song today is Killing Me Softly. It is a pretty song but I can’t sing it as beautifully as Roberta Flack. Nevertheless life is killing me softly and slowly with its demands. There’s nothing to do but to ride the ups and downs. Everyone is on the same roller coaster. There’s no use whining. I better just pull up my socks and keep my panties on.
I’m doing the best I can. No matter what, I wake up, get up, dress up and show up each day. Some days are better than others. Some days I’m a flying mess. Some days I’m feeling just fantastic!. There are days that are just full and spilling over with everything. Those days I cuss and fart alot, trying to have some fun. Those days, the jukebox in my head like to play Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese. It comforts me alot.
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
onethousandandtwo 
Good morning and what a beautiful poem. You and I are sometimes on the same wave length and we just have to do what we can. Every month our church has a breakfast fundraiser and today after church I stepped out of my alone comfort zone and went. I sat next to this very nice couple, they introduced themselves and come to find out they sat right behind me at church! Hope where ever your day takes you, it’s a peaceful one.
Some days we just have to embrace the mess and find comfort in the little things, like a favorite song or a good laugh. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Your words capture the highs and lows of life so well—riding out the chaos while finding comfort in music and poetry. Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese” is a beautiful reminder that we don’t need to be perfect, just true to ourselves, as we navigate this shared roller coaster.
‘Everyone is on the same Rollercoaster 🎢!!
Mary Oliver had such wise words!
I always look forward to Kim Stafford’s Instagram posts – with words from his topsy-turvy world!
❤️ 💙 💜
I love both of these women (Roberta Flack and Mary Oliver.) What I especially appreciate about you is how you continue to show up – day after day – and share your life experiences with us. Thank you!