Day: February 22, 2018

An idle mind
Is a puppet of the heart

The words must entice
Anything else will not suffice–
I am a dictionary reader

Sentences must convey
The feelings of what they weigh–
I am a student of literature

What’s written isn’t randomly placed
For that would be such a waste–
I am a judicious planner

Done not for the money
The wealth is in the journey–
I am the heart’s scholar

No rave reviews to be won
Not waiting for anyone–
My litany is never over

The objectives preach
What the instructors must teach–
I am the designer

The questions test
Sort the best from the rest–
I am the test writer

The training must educate
Knowledge transfer it must facilitate–
I am the course developer

Delivered on budget and on time
With the all widgets and wind chimes–
I am the project manager

When the critiques are good
With return on investment fully understood–
Onto the next project

9.11×10⁻³¹ kg is the weight of an electron
0.3 seconds for an eye to blink
1.5 miles between home and work
3 days become the ideal weekend
4 years to get through college
7 miles to pass a hour’s time on the treadmill
8 minutes for sunlight to reach the Earth
10 pieces of candy corn is enough
17 elementary particles in the standard model of physics
21 months is the length of an elephant pregnancy
30 days to form a habit
43 is just an age
65 is when you like to retire
70 is probably when you can retire
122 years is the age a human has been verified to have lived
248 years is the time it takes Pluto to orbit around the sun
350 years is the high-end estimated age of Jupiter’s Great Spot
760 miles per hour is the speed of sound
900 years is the estimated age of a famous British time traveller
2,018 years of the Common Era/Anno Domini calendar
3,000 calories per day is an actual diet plan!
5,000 meters is only 3.1 miles
10,000 hours to become an expert
24,000 miles is the circumference of the Earth
239,000 miles between Earth and moon
1.4 million people in Hawaii
3.9 million people in Oklahoma
14 million estimated species on Earth
136 million miles between Earth and Mars
323 million people in the United States
670 million miles per hour is the speed of light
7.4 billion people in the world
28 billion light years is the area of the observable universe
100 billion galaxies estimated in the observable universe
20 trillion dollars is the national debt of the United States
7×10²² stars in the observable universe
7×10²² molecules in 10 drops of water

And the space between me and you?
A word

There’s a comfort
In knowing I know more than
My Dog Has Fleas
Plucked across the strings

It may seem strange
That I spend some time
At lunch softly tugging the strings
Of something other than someone else’s heart

But it’s all connected–
The writing the playing
And my singing
The last of me you don’t know about

Instead of trying to play a song
The way someone else wanted it done
I honor their work by playing it closely
And try to complement it with my own voice–

But you won’t catch me
Singing something
Along my ukulele in my cubicle

Maybe in a gathering of friends
But I haven’t done that in a long time

It’s seeing you smile
Regardless of the reason
Hearing you laugh
When no else is looking
Listening when you speak
Though you never felt like talking until now
Telling you what I’m thinking
Because you finally asked

It’s when you tease me
To break the scowl on my face
Or reel me in
When I’m all over the place
It’s when you pass me notes
To let me know you’re still around
It’s when you distract me
Because you didn’t want that line to rhyme

It’s when your words carry me
The way a lioness carries her cub
It’s when your actions get my attention
Like a bear catching a jumping fish
It’s when you make me feel more than real
I’m a dolphin ramming a shark in the gills

I’ve felt this feeling before
It makes me hopeful
And I am scared