Shades of Gray

The soul grows by subtraction, not addition. - Thoreau

life tried to steal my soul

but my spirit got in the way

maybe the two-faced, scheming thief will return again some other dark, dreary day

but i'll just raise my unsteady hands and kneel

searching and calling out for the guiding ship's helm and faith's steering wheel

keeping an upright, even keel

despite how i think or feel

as i pray it away

an ocean only sprays its words when it has something to say

a lighthouse marks the knowing way

as sure as there are different, passing, ephemeral

shades of gray

Author's Note

"The order of things should be reversed; the seventh day should be the day of toil...and the other six his Sabbath of the affections and the soul, in which to range this wider spread garden, and drink in the soft influences and sublime revelations of Nature.

Reviews

[Ms claws]

Now, "that's" mysterious. I do like the Thoreau quote,
I wonder about the traumatic event in the author's life.
Quite a respect of a six day Sabbath! I think it's true.
Yet, God in his holy wisdom knew man needs to toil the six.
Thanks for posting!

[Pete]

he knew how short and precious life is and how most of us waste it on frivolous, insignificant things.

[Ms claws]

Pete, That makes me think of the lines of people waiting to ride a ferris wheel when they could just sit and watch a hill of ants work. How they toil! And they never complain. I sit there watching and toking my expensive hookah pipe...just kidding! I LOVE nature!

[Pete]

... i'll take anything natural over anything man-made any day ...

[Thomas W Case]

Beautiful work. You paint a vivid picture.

[Pete]

thanks for the kind share twc.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Love this it’s very deep deep as the ocean ! Love spiritual soul writes

[Pete]

thanks so much for sharing kind thoughts.

[emmajoygreen]

Although I love colours - thinking of them as friends ready to visit depending on one's mood. For me, grey is a necessity, it's the background drip-drip to awful but silly happenings, the basin over-flowing, the carrots burning cos I forgot to turn down the cooker heat.. etc. Grey mood for half an hour sometimes more -having 'had a right grumbling go' at self I feel better, not wonderful but - better. Pick up a book, re.arrange some flower, brush my hair - and the grey's off and away with them. It works most of the time. What's done is done ! Try it! See, what your grey's done: cleared my mood!! Do i pay extra for that?!

[Pete]

ever the optimist you are. you do offer a good recipe for finding contentment even in the little things (of which i'm sure my muse would wholeheartedly agree). when you're right, you're right - "There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself." - Thoreau ... and 'tis free for the taking ...

[Buddhistboy73]

A rousing and inspiring poem about standing up to life's "shades of grey".......
I liked the lines "my spirit got in the way" and "I'll pray it away"....

Cheers for sharing Pete...

BB73

[Pete]

thanks for sharing thoughts bb. blessings.

[Chris Shaw]

Grey day, not whispers though, something more lively. Plenty of movement in cloud and sea spray. I find shades of grey more restful, an opportunity to take stock. Very nice poetry Pete and I loved listening to your posted music.

Chris

[Pete]

very spirited, uplifting music eh? thanks as always chris.

[Chris Shaw]

Reminds me of Dublin. I enjoyed my visits there:)

[Pete]

i wanted to visit ireland but never got the chance. i did go to england once for my job and saw london and bristol.

[Chris Shaw]

I hope your visit , especially to the city of my birth (London), was well in the past. It has lost its sparkle more recently. You would love Dublin, an amazing place. Not been there for twenty years, so that may have changed too. It’s not always progress is it?

[Pete]

unfortunately not. same goes for places here.

[John the Baptist]

Good rhyming in this one. Indeed, there are different shades of gray, and some of them deal with life much more successfully than those much younger.

[Pete]

indeed - maybe we should only have bold colors on our palettes.