for what it’s worth
i’ve never been in the ocean
oh, i’ve been to it, i’ve seen it,
marveled at the vast expanse of
nothingness that equals everything
but i’ve never dipped my toes.
chances are, i never will,
me being a fire sign and all
hot, hot, always burning myself out
before anyone can douse my flame
content to sit with the embers.
i’ve never been to the moon
either and i’m okay with that,
who wants to travel all that distance
and besides, i’m fairly certain
she looks better from afar.
i spend my days in my backyard
which makes me small and rather
boring, but i don’t need to swim (or
drown) in a salty vat of bitter sorrow
i’ve got this puddle at my feet,
this reflection that paints blue sky
as well as any maxfield parrish and
every so often a water bug stops by
to skim the surface, creating
ripples the size of tsunamis.
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:11 am
Wow…contentment and reflection….this….I love this….
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:16 am
you have the world and the sky in the tips of your fingers. in your heart. in your soul. not small at all. and never boring.
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:38 am
I love this. I wish you wouldn’t call yourself Mrs. Mediocrity. You are anything BUT:)
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:40 am
ditto, to all the above………….
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:55 am
thank goodness for those waterbugs to break up our day with ripple tsunamis….smiles…really nice build in this…i love the ocean…the moon might be cool for a stop but fairly desolate though…the magic stops the closer you get…smiles.
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:08 am
Mrs. Magnificent was my suggestion last year and I’m sticking by it! Wonderful imagery, pitch perfect tone, and compassion as deep as the ocean.
May 22nd, 2012 at 12:28 pm
nice…love esp. the water bugs stopping by, creating ripples the size of tsunamis…there’s magic in the small things often and we don’t have to go far for the really exciting things…and yet…i’m a bit of a wanderer and…
May 22nd, 2012 at 3:07 pm
‘salty vat of bitter sorrow’, great line, enjoyed it all.
May 22nd, 2012 at 3:12 pm
this is beautiful kelly….one of my all time favorites of yours !!
and i know of those water bugs and their extraordinary powers 🙂
May 22nd, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Very nice, being content in your own space – no matter how small one may think it. I really enjoy the final line, and this:
“i’ve never been to the moon
either and i’m okay with that,
who wants to travel all that distance
and besides, i’m fairly certain”
May 22nd, 2012 at 3:42 pm
*smiles* This is lovely…there’s beauty in the small things and home…love this 🙂
May 22nd, 2012 at 3:46 pm
Fire signs are there to keep us warm when all the other lights go out, and you do so here, with a light and nurturing heat this rather chilled earth sign really appreciates today. Love the taste of ” I’m fairly certain/she looks better from afar…”
May 22nd, 2012 at 3:46 pm
This is wonderful. When you really feel you have everything you need, then you know you have it all.
I love the moon but, like you, from this distance she is beautiful, wouldn’t want to be on her though. She would be cold, dark and, inhospitable.
A lovely read Mrs. anything-but-Mediocre. 🙂
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:04 pm
Both are just beautiful, your photo and your words!
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:22 pm
ditto… I dont know how to swim and I’m fine with that.. heheh.. a lovely write. sometimes there’s nothing like reading a simple (& wonderful) piece of poetry
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Interesting thought there. Absolutely enjoyed you poetry.
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:38 pm
A wonderful sense about this piece for me–rich and I love the tone of the piece–
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Great expression of your contentment with where you are right now. I too easily want to be somewhere other than where I am.
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:59 pm
“The vast expanse of nothing that equals everything” … wow, what a neat way to describe the ocean. If you don’t mind, I’d like to store that one in my mind 🙂 I thoroughly enjoyed this.
May 22nd, 2012 at 5:00 pm
F**king awesome….to take such grand entities such as the sea and the moon and to then cut them down to size. This asnt so much a poem about fear…but of contentment…of self contentment- and it made me think…we are always striving for the more, for the What’s Next….that big thing to overcome…but actually the challenge is whether we can be at ease with ourselves or not…I really liked this…honest and deep
May 22nd, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Nothingness that equals everything… Sums it up for me, perfect! In the moment.
May 22nd, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Sometimes it is better to gaze than to experience something and subsequently be let down.
Ace.
May 22nd, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Hello,
I found this interesting as the reader can feel that you are peace in your own corner of the world. Nice!
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:13 pm
[…] http://www.mrsmediocrity.com – Today, 7:13 PM […]
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:16 pm
I totally just fell into this and I don’t want to leave! So much resonates with me…I’ve not traveled far nor dipped my toes in many seas…but I fear none of the world would compare to the postcards I’ve painted in my mind…or maybe I just fear travel 😉 No matter…I can live here in this poem and be 100% happy 🙂
May 22nd, 2012 at 7:42 pm
You are so comfortable with you, who you are where you are, that the moon and the sea don’t draw you in nor do they intimidate you. That rocks! I love this, a new favorite!
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:19 pm
An excellent write.
And the first part reminds me of Once Upon A Time in the West, and Morton’s quest to reach the Pacific Ocean.
Not sure if you intended that or not.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Stunning.
Emily Dickinson had no need to travel either.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Loved this – paradise is also in the eye of the beholder.
May 22nd, 2012 at 8:48 pm
I love the ocean…but your words here move me.
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Loved this poem. Surely true contentment lies within. I am reminded of a movie quote: “…if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard; because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with.” Dorothy Gale, The Wizard of Oz!
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Maxfield only had the oceans in the background too…
Good company to keep some would say…
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:35 pm
With its imagery and narrative, this poem versifies the well-known adage of “the universe in a grain of sand, and eternity in an hour.”
May 23rd, 2012 at 10:40 am
This gave me such a deep sense of peace. Really beautiful write.
May 23rd, 2012 at 1:02 pm
i cant go a week without dipping my toes in the ocean.
May 23rd, 2012 at 4:25 pm
This ends on a lovely image. Don’t give up on the sea just yet; it has a lot to offer.
May 24th, 2012 at 8:43 am
Excellent. This is perhaps my favorite of yours. The repetition enforces the imagery and concept so gracefully. Beautiful work.
May 24th, 2012 at 9:48 am
I loved your poem and George is pretty cute too 🙂
On first reading I misread water bug for waterbus which made me think of Venice !
May 24th, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Okay, this does it. I love your poetry. Where’s the book?
I too spend most of my time at home, feeling as thought it’s my place to rest, even though ithere’s a lot of work going on in my backyard. It’s still rest, peace, safety. The place I can escape to.
June 2nd, 2012 at 5:49 pm
I know i’m a little behind, but I finally got all caught up on the ramblings on Mrs. M and I think this is my favorite. Not only because it makes me realize how alike we are, but also because it makes me think about how when I was little, you told me that if I looked hard enough, I could see the man on the moon. And i still kind of believe you.