I’d like more snow. I don’t like driving in it but I like to look at it. It’s so pretty and I like how everything seems quieter after it snows. (Global warming is no fun at all.) In honor of snow days here’s a poem from Robert Frost

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;   
He will not see me stopping here   
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   
To stop without a farmhouse near   
Between the woods and frozen lake   
The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   
To ask if there is some mistake.   
The only other sound’s the sweep   
Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   
But I have promises to keep,   
And miles to go before I sleep,   
And miles to go before I sleep.

There’s zigzags
and byways and
dark shifty alleyways

What do you get when you
can’t find your way?

Found? Or left to run astray?

I don’t know what comes between
those two things but I sure know
you’re going to find
all the things you’re meant to
you’re not behind just make sure
you
Keep going.

Saschia Johnson

There are so many times we are just at the edge of a breakthrough and we walk away. It’s funny, we sit here and say, “I want to reach for the stars. I want breakthroughs.” But when the time comes to sit through the pain, we can’t take it. We step away. We find something to appease our anxiety. And we have no idea that that moment we couldn’t sit through, was our opportunity to face our moment of truth.

Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.

Mary Tyler Moore

I admit it, when I’m writing and my anxiety gets high, I automatically step away and look for a snack. It’s wired in me. It’s wired in all of us. When our brain senses that a situation can cause some sort of discomfort, it tells us that our best option is to step away. And we listen. Maybe more times than we should. But here I am reminding you to stick it out. Sit and focus and don’t stop till you feel the breakthrough. I promise you, it’s there. I promise you, it’s coming. And I can guarantee you that if you are super uncomfortable, you’re in the right starting place. Keep going.

The future gawks at me
empty brained
the past
fat and tired
watches on
jumbled with dreams
and reality
my source of energy
and inspiration
lies inside me
rests in the present
like a flower in bloom

Saschia Johnson

She took a deep breath
(it smelled like roses and vanilla)
and then
she took a step toward the field
across the street from our town cemetery
She turned to be sure I was coming
And I was
Then she sped up
and danced in the moonlight
as if not a soul could see her
But I could
my best option was
to dance with her

Saschia Johnson

I let my tongue hang
and wiggle symbols
I wear comfort in stilettos
and my heart on the doorknob
There’s no real wild
it’s just real human
expressed everyday
and in so many ways
I feel left out
I feel eager
I feel purpose and hope
I feel so many things
Why leave these pieces of me out
when I can be every single one of them

Saschia Johnson