One poet's response to October, a month of blue skies and beautiful surprises!

 October's Bright Blue Weather






O SUNS and skies and clouds of June,

And flowers of June together,

Ye cannot rival for one hour

October's bright blue weather;

When loud the bumblebee makes haste,

Belated, thriftless vagrant,

And goldenrod is dying fast,

And lanes with grapes are fragrant;

When gentians roll their fingers tight

To save them for the morning,

And chestnuts fall from satin burrs

Without a sound of warning;

When on the ground red apples lie

In piles like jewels shining,

And redder still on old stone walls

Are leaves of woodbine twining;

When all the lovely wayside things

Their white-winged seeds are sowing,

And in the fields still green and fair,

Late aftermaths are growing;

When springs run low, and on the brooks,

In idle golden freighting,

Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush

Of woods, for winter waiting;

When comrades seek sweet country haunts,

By twos and twos together,

And count like misers, hour by hour,

October's bright blue weather.

O sun and skies and flowers of June,

Count all your boasts together,

Love loveth best of all the year

October's bright blue weather.

Helen Hunt Jackson







Photo: (c) Mjohnson

If I don't receive information from you, it's true that men have it easier in life than women, but not much easier.

Society never sympathizes with women, especially if a women is in any way threatening--to women or to men. When something bad happens, it's usually the woman's fault due to something she did or did not do or say. Because she walks alone (despite the church affiliation, the supportive girlfriend(s) or the good (hope he's not cheating) man, she's often suspect. She often can't share her negative experiences with everyone and her experiences are many. Whether a woman would choose a different gender is a good question because men don't exactly have it easy, either. But who do you think has it easier in life, women or men?

As I pondered this question, I made a couple of lists: 

• Men have it easier when it comes to being accepted by women and others in society.
• Men have it easier when it comes to saving money on clothing and other necessities.
• Men don't have to worry about an irregular monthly menstrual cycle--surprise!
• Men don't have to worry about pregnancies, abortions, or unaffordable children.
• Men don't have to tip-toe or stand on a chair to clean hard to reach areas or to pull groceries. from the top shelves at a grocery store.
• Men don't have to worry about shaving their legs or armpits
• Men don't have to hover over a toilet seat in public restrooms.
• Men don't have to worry about losing their temper or getting into a brawl.
• Men don't have to worry about being very smart, unattractive or unstable.

On the other hand:

• *Women have it easier when it comes to faking--most anything.
• *Women have it easier because they don't have to shave their faces and other places.
• *Women have it easier when it comes to openly expressing emotions and acting temperamental.
• *Women have it easier when it comes to providing evidence of being attracted to a partner or mate.
• *Women don't have to worry about "pleasing" someone since it comes almost automatic.
• *Women don't have to worry about stolen DNA and involuntary donations.
• *Women don't have to stand up to urinate.
• *Women don't have to worry about side-effects of Viagra.

If I'm leaving out something that women or men don't have to worry about, leave me a message and I'll add it (and your alias, if you'd like) to this blog post. If I don't receive information from you, I'll assume it's true that men have it easier in life than women, but not much easier.

Is this how it happened to someone you know? -- "One day I'll find the nerve to tell mama, one day when she's not too tired to listen."

It's no secret it's kept a secret how those like me get this way. When you look into my eyes it's like looking into a mirror, but it's more than a mirror, much like a portal where you go to hide if you want to cry so nobody hears you after he leaves.

I grow in ways my mother never dreamed because she's preoccupied with small babies and too tired to notice the look in my uncle's eyes, daring me to tell. I have a boyfriend who will not try to hurt me even when I turn thirteen. He's good to me and doesn't know. He's sixteen.

I jump through hoops to look sweet and innocent, like everybody says I am. I learn well, do what I'm told and sometimes get five dollars I don't deserve.

Look for me in midsummer night's mist sitting in shadows on the back porch, watching fireflies. Now you see me, now you don't but nobody ever realizes I'm gone. Maybe because it only takes a few minutes. One day I'll find the nerve to tell mama, one day when she's not too tired to listen

artwork (c) Mhjohnson 2015