Life is unpredictable,
stealing bases on the wrong signals,
raining on even the best planned picnic,
and sometimes unravelling like a sweater 
caught by a cat’s claw.

But people still win lotteries,
the puck sometimes hits the goal post
— and ricochets in, instead of out —
and being in the wrong place at the right time
can be a stroke of luck.

Despite the unexpected twists and turns,
all the wishes that slip through fingers
like balloons lost at a parade,
and all the hopes that sink,
still, some things never change.

A wise man once told me 
there are givens in life —
the sun will rise every morning,
rivers will always flow to the sea,
spring showers will bring new life,
and you will always be beautiful.


november 2006
Janet Reid







Awarded by Poetic Constellations