The road to Nowhere
is paved with good intentions
Not Hell, but Nowhere.
Nowhere is a spot
on the side of the road where
hope ran out of gas.
Don’t blame intentions,
they’re only a starting point.
Next time bring a map.
Bring along a friend.
Travel roads paved with laughter;
they lead to Somewhere.
#27
“It’s a sweet clover year” he said
and I thought of you again
in that other sweet clover year when you came to visit.
My best friend thirty years and three thousand miles ago.
A smile, a hug, and the years dropped away
and we walked by the creek looking for fossils.
The sweet clover was in bloom
and you stroked the mustard yellow blossoms,
collected some to dry,
said they were good for something or other,
some sort of homeopathic remedy.
And then you were gone.
Again.
And the years flowed by
but the sweet clover never seemed to bloom so profusely.
Never sent its scent into my open window.
I called, sent a letter, but somehow
I lost you again.
Then one day I typed your name into a search engine
and there you were,
smiling from your obituary page.
Seems you died of cancer not long after our visit.
Did you know?
I think you did.
Thank you for the moments you shared.
It’s a sweet clover year again
and I think of you.
My friends are shiny flakes
at the bottom of the pan
as I swirl through the mud
of life’s alluvial fan.
#357
Thank you
For never giving up on me.
You give a fool hope that a way will come.
Thank you
For the words you said that set me free
And the ones you didn’t when you bit your tongue.
Thank you
For always being there by my side
except when you turned to protect my back.
Thank you
For slowing down when I was tired
As we move on down life’s rutted track
Thank you
#289
Friends forever fly apart
so slowly,
and now somehow you are somewhere
on this planet but I have no idea
where that is
and I have trouble remembering
my grandchildren’s birthdays
yet I can always remember yours.
Happy birthday, friend of my childhood,
wherever you are.
#263
My CD "New Traditions" is available for listening or digital download
My CD "Breathe" is available to listen to or for digital download
Linda Studley is a writer, songwriter, independent recording artist, and sometime graphic artist living in Northern BC, Canada
Linda Studley 