Three thoughts

Three thoughts close out the day --
Eighteen degrees and snow in April is not nice.
Slow running resists a world that turns too fast.
Freedom is all about giving up the will to exceed all expectation.

On a day like day three of April,
A Sunday,
it is all right
to sleep late,
do dishes and fold clothes, in place of grading papers,
to spend an afternoon immersed
in nylon brushes and acrylic color,
to throw paint on a canvas,
in the spirit of reclaiming time.

The year rushed through winter, toward an early spring,
causing those disinclined to like the snow to cheer.
But perhaps nature needed a few more days to prepare,
        And did so with a week of "sick days" --

Sudden snow, and a sharp dip in temperatures,
cold glittering rays of sun coupled with those Northwest gusts
all in the spirit of buying time.

Time, more scarce than water,
        yet squandered willfully --
        as we race ahead of ourselves,
and forget to check in on the present;
as we rush to exceed all expectations,
and displace our joy for journey,
until the destination comes,
with hollowness.

Like winter yowls in early April,
we can turn our clocks back,
and slow down
in an effort to reclaim the reasons why we live in the first place.