ysabetwordsmith: Two smiling women; Kelly is blonde and Dale is brunette (walking the beat)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2015-05-05 03:08 pm

Poem: "Attainable Goals"

This is today's freebie for the Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] curiosity. It also fills the "Set Attainable Goals" square in my 5-2-15 card for the Wellness Toolbox Bingo. This poem belongs to the series Walking the Beat.


"Attainable Goals"


When Dale's car broke down,
she took it to Good Neighbors Garage
and was assured that it would be
back on the street within a few hours.

She meant to walk down the block for lunch,
but then she spied Juste sitting on the steps,
his hands dangling limply between his knees.

"Hey," she said quietly. "You look kind of low."

"I suck at being good," he replied.
"Dad doesn't like that much."

"It's harder than it looks," Dale agreed.

Juste snorted. "What would you know."

"Oh, I was a wild thing in my teens,"
Dale said as she sat down beside him.
"It took me years to settle down."

"I just feel like ... I've got a good angel
on one shoulder and a bad angel on the other,
you know, like the song?" Juste said.

"Two Angels and a Dream," Dale said.
"So what's your dream, then?"

"I dunno," Juste said. "How did you
stop being so wild all the time?"

"I found something else to do,"
Dale said. "I tried to do one good thing
each day, and built up from there.
Eventually it crowded out the bad habits."

"Just one thing."

"Yes, it's all about setting attainable goals,"
Dale said. "If you try to change everything at once,
it's overwhelming, and you can't stick with it."

"I could maybe manage that," Juste said.

"I have faith in you," Dale said. "Besides,
if you're listening to your better angel,
you might just find that dream along the way."

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Because I did," Dale said.

She didn't tell Juste any more about
the long and winding road that led her
to police work, but then she didn't have to.

Restoring someone's hope was more about
inspiring good questions than giving pat answers.

* * *

Notes:

[personal profile] curiosity started this by requesting "Two Angels and a Dream." Read the lyrics online.

Random acts of kindness do good for the giver and receiver. Here are some you could try.

Goal setting is a vital life skill. In order to set "SMART" goals, you need to understand what makes a good goal. Sometimes it helps to have a more experienced person give you a sample that you can explore.
lb_lee: A happy little brain with a bandage on it, enclosed within a circle with the words LB Lee. (Default)

[personal profile] lb_lee 2015-05-06 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
We actually live in Jamaica Plain now! So now this series will be even more enjoyable!

--Rogan
lb_lee: A happy little brain with a bandage on it, enclosed within a circle with the words LB Lee. (Default)

Re: Yay!

[personal profile] lb_lee 2015-05-06 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I unfortunately just missed this latest fishbowl, but I definitely plan to in the future!

This past weekend, we went to the Wake Up The Earth festival. Lots of fun. Definitely liking it here.

--Rogan