Category: Annie’s World

It’s too late mama…
I ate it…
And I ate the wrapper too…
Funny, the wrapper tasted better than what was inside.
 
That apple pie was like a snake in my path…
I had to kill it…
I had to eat it…
So, I shook it until it was dead, and then I plunged my head right into the heart of it.
 
Let’s start back at the beginning…
You know that I was born a hound…
I’m going to eat anything…
So cut me some slack!
 
Oh, the deliciousness of that first bite…
Sometimes when I make a kill all that is left is fur and feathers…
In this case nothing at all…
 
Mama, I hope you can forgive me…
I can’t help myself…
My urges defy the rational…
But that apple pie sure tasted good.
 
Next time could you also leave out the ice cream?
 
I love you,
 
Annie

Can you see it on me?
It’s sticky, like the way powdered sugar sticks to my nose…
Very annoying…
My tongue can’t reach it to lick it off.

It’s making me cross-eyed…
Surrounding my muzzle like drifting fluff seeds…
Taking me from nowhere to nowhere.

The sugar is my past mistakes…
The version of who I no longer am…
It wants to make me stay focused…
On the sugar and not all my blessings around me.

With my eyes focused only on the sugar…
I’ll never know who I really am…
I’m kind of afraid of knowing…
There’s more sugar in there.

I need some kind of magic tool to wash the sugar away…
I think I may have found it…
But it is difficult to use…
It is the brush of compassion and forgiveness…

Yes, compassion and forgiveness for myself!

I love you,

Annie

From the one lit window…
From a house at the forgotten end of the street…
It is so simple that it frightens me…
I wonder, who has flipped the switch.

To enter, I must leave my past behind…
Leg go of all my stomping ways…
Not pay attention to the creaking floor…
And leave all I own at the door.

Inside, life is as effortless as the sea making waves…
Like running full speed across a green meadow…
You know that restful deep green…
Isn’t it funny how “ease” is so easy to explore.

With my silence finally complete…
I can search for the mystery…
I can see that to go inward is a mighty steep cliff…
It is at the bottom that I will find myself.

And here I am…
The place where all causes lie…
All my words echoing back…
Annie, welcome to awakening!

I love you,

Annie

Most nights, before going to bed, I pray…
The door is only open when my mind is clear…
I pray of all different possibilities, all different paths…
Why do I give prayer so much attention?
Because my creator lives there.

When I still my mind, I can see my innermost self…
Like looking in a perfect mirror…
Calm like the dark black waters…
With waves of loving-kindness.

I can see that my soul is splendidly nestled inside…
My largest measure of awe…
Always churning between right and wrong…
Asking questions my mama used to ask.

I live on this earth, in this galaxy, in this universe…
That’s just the way it is…
All fairly improbable…
All completely wonderful…

I can see within myself that my life is totally original…
All I need to do is to find my personal path…
My creator has given me “myself.”
And that is the greatest gift of all

I love you,

Annie

What’s in the bag?
Shake it for me please…
Is it full of new friends with new stories?
Or something smoky and smooth?

Is it a book with the best of what has been written?
If so, why is it veiled in paper?
Is it someone’s surprise?
A gift that they have always wanted?

I think it is something like a generous smile…
Like the warm fingers of a sunrise…
I believe I will blink at the revelation…
Because it will be big, beautiful, and shiny.

I don’t think it is full of opinions…
If so, it would be empty…
Nor full of judgments…
Because its not leaking from the bottom.

Maybe, I’ll never know what’s inside, and I’ll always wonder…
The question is whether I can move forward in faith…
My heart tells me it is better than whatever was promised…
The stuff of real happiness.

I love you,

Annie

Life is different when everything is bigger than you…
It is like always being under a cattle stampede…
With very few narrow openings…
Feet, all widths, lengths, and colors.
 
There are hundreds of questioning eyes looking down…
Mouths twittering like birds…
I’m always in fear of one striking blow…
Why, Oh Lord! Why did you make me so short!
 
But there are advantages…
The herd drops and discards all manner of things…
Question:  Have you tried those cinnamon things?
I had one the other day smothered in whipped cream…yum!!
 
From nearer my own level there is a different world…
I can see the universe is a continual chain…
All connected with very few gaps…
Tall and short, black, and white, all connected together.
 
Do you feel the earth is bigger than you?
Of course you do, everyone does…
Be like me and dodge and weave…
If you look diligently, you may find one of those yummy cinnamon things…
And on a really good day, it will be covered with whipped cream.
 
I love you,
 
Annie

What if…
Doing nothing isn’t an option…
That peace is at the end of a long stretch in the road…
And we must accept that anything can happen, and anything will.

What if…
We view each morning as a new creation…
With no blur in detail…
Full of kindness and calm…
All behind a curtain we have to say “yes” to pass through.

What do you think?
Will you follow me here…
Take a step with me, out of your own mind…
Don’t be afraid…
It’s as easy as turning the page in the morning paper.

Or will you hesitate…
Claiming this is not what the teachings require…
That it is better to stay the same…
That courage is not for the likes of me.

But life is not meant to be a black and white circus…
We should search for the clusters of flowers…
Don’t you want to stop the “what-ifs” that are buzzing like bees in your brain?
Take a step forward, be kind to another, and watch the bees fly away.

I love you,
Annie

Now that I’m 15 years old and a wise old pup, I have learned…

That suffering is life…
It comes from unknown shores…
There is no place for me to run…
It is as sure as if written on a coin.

Yet, I always find refuge in the strangest places…
Things nuzzle me gently…
Coming brightly and quietly…
Like a starry night.

They comes through warmth…
A kind word…
A scratch on my head…
A hug so big, that it makes me sigh…
Or laughter, most importantly laughter.

Suffering is what has molded me…
A visage of the decade past…
Hope for the decade unwritten…
Making me strong enough to carry another suffering soul.

At the end of suffering there is always a celebration…
A place for the victorious, a temple for loss…
A safe house where we can listen to each other…
And wonder, how something so painful, can produce so much beauty.

I love you,

Annie

From the inside of a cloud…
Alone in its whiteness…
The perfection of calm…
Unwithering peace.

Inhaling the fragrance…
Like dipping a paint brush…
Choosing a light snowy blue…
Creating an image…
That looks kind of like you.

Acres and acres of snowballs…
Acres and acres of rain…
An untouchable peace…
Until the thunder roars.

I can’t help but cheer…
With the claps of brilliance…
As if the whole universe is hooting and shouting…
Even though we have seen it time and time again.

Now I must return…
This world can be a thief…
Stealing back my attention…
But with a few deep breaths I can bring myself back…
To the inside of a cloud.

I love you,

Annie

I know everything about the wild…
The mountains and the trees…
I know they have an inside like the rest of us…
Often smiling at the miracle.

I understand nature’s maze of stitches…
Can follow the needle work all the way down to the root hairs…
I treat nature with respect and love…
As one visits a friend.

I know everything about the city…
Bustling like bees…
Sips of whisky instead of milk…
Even know the alleys that turn me all the way around.

Like nature, the city is made of a myriad of fabrics…
With new adventure within the patches…
The city ebbs and flows…
Like a love lorn country song.

I am still learning about you…
Your quiet lowered glance…
I’m so blessed that God pointed you out to me…
So, we can have a lifetime of discovery.

I love you,

Annie