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Author Archives: John Swinburn
September 29: Thoughts for the Day
That incomplete kiss. An unspoken longing. The wish that never found words of expression. Memories and dreams that never merged into reality. Those are the things of regret. Those are the passions buried under what could have been, what should have been. … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts For the Day
4 Comments
Rage and Hope
If ever there were a poem that demonstrates the power of poetry, this is it. Take the seven minutes needed to hear everything she has to say. If you’re at all like me, your eyes will be awash in tears, … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change
4 Comments
Leaves
Yesterday afternoon, I looked at the leaves on the trees outside my windows and imagined how the trees will appear in two weeks, two months, four months. I looked at the leaves and wondered where they will be at each of … Continue reading
Posted in Change, Nature
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September 28: Thoughts for the Day
Pieces of my life are missing. Certain days give me pause to think about those missing pieces, and this is one of those days. Today is my mother’s birthday. She is missing from my life. So is my father and … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts For the Day
3 Comments
Unrestrained and Untrained Creative Deviance
For reasons unbeknownst to me, I started thinking about mermaids the other day. Maybe it was the sculpture of a mermaid I saw a few years ago in a little Mexican coastal town. Or maybe it was a neural misfire, … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Writing
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September 27: Thoughts for the Day
“Poetry became democratized,” the woman said, explaining to me her views of the development of poetry during the last two decades of the twentieth century. “What I love about contemporary poetry is its multitude of voices,” she continued, citing formalist poetry, … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts For the Day
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I Don’t Know
At the moment, the unit of measurement of time is the second. In the International System of Units (SI), a second is defined as “The duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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September 26: Thoughts for the Day
Even the slightest breeze can move enormous trees.
Posted in Thoughts For the Day
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Rational Choices
A rational choice is not always the right choice. A choice arising from fear, even a rational fear, is not always a rational choice. I write this morning with an oblique reference few who read these words will understand. But … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Regret
1 Comment
September 25: Thoughts for the Day
There is nothing like being slugged in the gut with a bat made of mortality to make one understand how utterly priceless life and love really are.
Posted in Thoughts For the Day
2 Comments
Contest
My poem won the poetry contest. Actually, I suppose it is more appropriate to say I won the poetry contest with my poem. I am to be rewarded for my poem’s selection by being asked to read it publicly to … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
3 Comments
September 24: Thoughts for the Day
Early is a relative term. Its meaning is vastly different from one context to another. As a qualifier in connection with “morning,” the word’s meaning is innocuous. “Early Man,” on the other hand, carries more gravitas. But then, consider this. This … Continue reading
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Machete Sharp
I bought a machete at a garage sale a few months ago. It cost only three dollars. Seeing the price, I felt compelled to succumb to my urge to own a long, dangerous knife, the kind with a blade that speaks unapologetically … Continue reading
Posted in Aging
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September 23: Thoughts for the Day
I looked in my little black book and the pages were empty. That can mean only one thing; there are things to do and tales to tell.
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September 22: Thoughts for the Day
Reality bleeds fantasy from its shredded veins. Only the impossible is a target worth pursuing. ‘Never’ is the only destination worth sacrificing ‘now.’
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I used to be smart…
Today’s Thoughts for the Day got me thinking about things I wrote while wearing the robes of business owner and association executive. Naturally, after reading the post that was the genesis of my Thoughts for the Day, I spent some … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Wisdom
1 Comment
September 21: Thoughts for the Day
I wish to call the world’s attention to a rant I posted on my company blog, but which nobody read, on July 22, 2008. There is no reason to believe the world will pay heed this time around, either, but … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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Free-Form Thought Packets
Some things are more readily available in solitude. For example, this morning for breakfast, I fried an egg and toasted two slices of pumpernickel to make my own version of a fried egg sandwich. Lunch, similarly, was something my wife would find unappealing: … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
1 Comment
Growl
I already posted, on Facebook, photos of the two pieces of abstract art (acrylic paintings) I worked on yesterday. So, I won’t post them here, for fear of being labeled an egotist of epic proportions. (How could I cope with such … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
1 Comment
September 20: Thoughts for the Day
You rarely have opportunities to correct past mistakes. Take them. All of them. If they don’t present themselves, seek them out. On even fewer occasions, you’re presented with second chances at missed opportunities to do or be good. Only a fool would … Continue reading
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Drive-Write-Focus
This morning, I’m off to drive my favorite spouse to the airport, whence she will wing her way to San Francisco for a four-day high school reunion getaway. I will occupy my time with various projects I choose to pursue, along … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
4 Comments
September 19: Thoughts for the Day
Post 262. Might as well make it to 365. Thanks Robin & Trisha for the encouragement. If you can’t hear yourself whistle, you may be playing a trombone.
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Search for Meaning
Lust and muscle and bone and blood, he was a tangled fury, when he fell with a thud. His eyes were blazing but his nerves were shot, he tried to move, but found he could not. The edge of the … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Poetry
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September 18: Thoughts for the Day
Today is the 261st day of the year. The 261st post I’ve called “Thoughts for the Day.” I think it’s time to kill this fantasy. I imagined a “thought a day” could be therapeutic in some fashion. But it’s just become embarrassingly … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts For the Day
3 Comments
The Courtesy of a Reply?
The envelope almost shouted at me: “Please favor us with the courtesy of a reply.” That not-so-subtle effort at instilling guilt in me resulted in just the opposite of what the marketer wanted. That blatant suggestion—that failure to respond to the … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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