Blessed Be
In times of troubleAngels tread upon the Earth. These pin drops of light Illuminate all souls from within and help soothe our pain
In this time of joy It is amazing to witness just such an angel bask in good fortune, so well deserved
May happiness shine upon each step of your path And may the kindness you've bestowed come back to you and never flee and may each day of your life bless-ed be
Please excuse this Facebook-like Status Update but.....
…I get my novel edit back tonight for Alarm Clock Dawn and the rewrite officially begins!
Quote of the Day
"One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds." - Gandhi
Snowfall Surrender
Snowfall Surrender
Thin and lean in the warm humidity I thrive, more suited to a tropical clime
but tonight the snow falls softly and its white brightness is a welcomed respite from gray halos encircle the street lamps Christmas music plays
wistful childhood memories dance around me sledding, with a wealth of years to go I’ve held this grimace long enough it’s time to embrace this season and surrender to the snow
The Perfect Pause - A Beginner's Meditation Guide and Journal
My meditation book (eBook version) is now only $1.99 for a limited time. Newly revised and expanded edition! Did you ever wish that life came with a pause button? The secret is that it does! With this book discover the key to making life more manageable. With three months of dedicated practice and journaling you will learn how meditation can greatly improve the quality of your life by:
• Easing and improving your ability to handle stress.
• Allowing you to sleep more restfully.
• Teaching you to appreciate the beauty that surrounds you.
The Perfect Pause is a clear, concise meditation guide and journal that will give you the basic tools necessary to discover life's "pause button". Included in the book is a three-month journal to chart your progress. This comprehensive guide provides the reader with a launch pad for a fulfilling lifelong spiritual journey!
Here's the link -
http://www.lulu.com/shop/eric-vance-walton/the-perfect-pause/ebook/product-17534486.html
Give the Gift of Words!
The eBook version of my children's book, "The Land of Things We Wish For" is currently on sale for $2.99! Save an additional 20% at checkout with the code, "FELICITAS" (ALL CAPS). The savings end December 14th! Happy Holidays Facebook friends and thank you for your interest in independent publishing. Link to the book -
Paradise Found
You’ve felt the hungerof your dreams pangs of obliqueness from that nameless, faceless hunger that gives you no pride, no shame fluid thoughts of a world draped in fixed opinions of Peace ever-searching for the answer to overcome the id and wonder what you ever did before your eyes were opened but experience weathers away your frame of mind slowly, relentlessly, minute by minute, hour after finite hour, wisdom overpowers until all you have left is the answer.
Your Soul Has Found Its Wings
Your true self calls like the oceanshimmers, vibrant as the sun and feels as comfortable as cool clover between your toes
we all know that you’re back again and each time we see that smile is a precious gift
to the delight of all those who love you the hearts around you sing your aura is now so clear and true Your soul has found its wings
Each dawn is a chance to realize that all you’ve ever wished for is a decision away your dreams hang heavy, so ripe and sweet just ready to be plucked from their vines
we all see that you’re back again and, oh, how you’ve been missed
to the delight of all those who love you the hearts around you sing your aura is now so clear and true Your soul has found its wings.
Ascendancy
Drink in the sanguine hush
and seek out the lushness of life,
that has been there all along
beyond all whims and aspirations
it lies in waiting with zealous eyes
wishing to awaken us by the sheer weight of its stare
hoping to be the catalyst of our rediscovery
time is not at all contrite in its
eagerness to erase
all memory of us
but, in truth, time can be beaten
squarely at its own game.
The Green Mill (Chicago 8/19/2004)
We took the redline to Lawrence
and checked the world at the door
in the footsteps of all those before
who found solace in sax and
draped themselves in neon dreams
I must confess
how easily I acquiesced
to the Gresik groove
hundreds moved
as broad shoulders unloaded
some say this swing-style’s outmoded.
It don’t mean a thing
Brother, I felt the pulse
The heart’s still tickin’
after all these years
And I’m the first to say
That I’m blown away
If relics we are, I accept it
This hurried world, I reject it
As I go back in my mind
to a simpler time
learn a new step and perfect it.
Early Morning Savior
Fingers stained purple
vanilla's essence fills the air
small bubbles effervesce
as you cure to a rich mocha
buckwheat blueberry pancakes
crowned with a dollop of whipped cream
dusted with cinnamon and paired
with a cup of strong dark roast
filling the hollows of a cold morning hunger
warming the soul if ever so transiently and
properly dispelling the depths of midwinter's darkness.
Truth
Everything flies
away eventually
a finite succession
of crystalline
moments in time
are all that we
really have here
choices allow us
to shape each of them before
they are frozen in form
In this moment
I choose to be grateful,
happy and to be kind to you
I will never understand
your struggles and
mine you can never know
not hallow kindness
born of pity
from some bleeding heart
but honest kindness
that comes from a place
of solemn respect
for a fellow traveler
whose twisted path
will eventually lead
them to the fringe
of very same Truth.
Looking Back at 39
Here at the glint
of my dream's unfolding
Placing the final pieces so deliberately
As this time I want to
experience the full crescendo
And savor the fruits of my labor
With those whom I love.
Life thus far has been magnificent
the greatest of fears, slain
Wisdom gleaned from
attuning to the hush of nothingness,
a Peace of stillness near
to me it has been proven many a time
That this Universe is a place
of both infinite miracles and tough love
ever ready to take us into its arms
and guide us, dutifully like a child
through the audacity of our sorrows
to stand reborn
in the untouched light of a new day
This year I have learned
not to despair
for not getting everything
I want
But to rejoice in the fact that I’m
receiving exactly what
I need.
SNL - Is There Hope?
I remember watching SNL as a child in the seventies. It was cutting edge, current. Now, when I have enough courage to tune in, I wince every since time at how bad it is. For the sake of nostalgia, I'll watch ten, maybe fifteen minutes longer than I'd want to but it never gets better.
I have two weeks until I have to start the rewrite of my novel after the editing is done. In the next two weeks I'm going to draft a few skits to send into the show. Probably a couple times per month my wife and I are driving along in the car or going for a walk and something sparks an idea for a spoof of a commercial or some other humorous skit. Believe me, the world provides plenty of material for this.
Just on our walk around the neighborhood lake alone we've come to know a cast of characters who entertain us every night. Just a small sampling of the cast of characters is as follows:
1. The Angry Jogger. A man who appears to be in his fifties and is wound way too tight. He has literally cursed me out, without ever turning around, for not getting out of this way;
2. The Poop Patrol. An elderly gentleman who rides his bike around the lake, keeping a watchful eye to make sure dog walkers pick up after their animals. If, God forbid, he sees a spare turd and you happen to have a bag in your hand he will ask you to pick up said turd. He's done this to us.; and
3. The Monkey Man. A man who walks around the lake with a real live monkey on his shoulder (I'm serious). The man gets his hair cut to mimic the monkey's hair (again, I'm serious), a close cropped flat top. Real Twilight Zone stuff here folks.
This will be a fun project. If nothing else, we can use the material for another project at a later date.
Total Blue
Up until nowit’s all been empty fiction
time… can we afford to squander?
lingering in the midst of every nuance. if only, if only
giving until there’s nothing left to hold on to,
nothing but total blue
we must struggle with a world where the deepest of feelings go unspoken
until we can look into each other’s eyes with no regrets.
Children's Poetry For My New Book - 12 From Memory Lane (Currently seeking a publisher)
This is a collection of poetry that I wrote for a children's book years ago. I partnered with a great illustrator, Linda Pigman who created the pen and ink illustrations.The book will be similar in format to Shel Silverstein's, "Where the Sidewalk Ends". Each poem contains a kernel of a childhood memory. I am currently seeking a publisher for this book. If you know of anyone who may be interested please let me know, the art is done as well.
The Mean Lady On The Porch
She’s so old and mean, she sits and stares watching us with her icy glare
Is she mad at us for bouncing a ball Or is it because we’re four feet tall?
Does she frown at us girls and boys ‘cause we make far too much noise?
Sean says she’s just plain mean and so does Matt They said if she smiled, her face would crack!
Tanya told the story and Chris approved Of how the lady once had her smiler removed!
This all seemed so silly, I thought to myself As I put the ball back on the shelf
There was a flower in the yard I picked it, sighed and swallowed hard
And walked up to her, saying with a smile Hi, I’ve lived next door for quite a while
I’m glad I’m your neighbor and just want to say hi then a tear streamed down from her eye
After we talked a while I saw she wasn’t mean Sometimes people aren’t what they seem!
Red Rubber Ball
How I wish I could be a red rubber ball Ben could bounce me, then I’d be tall!
Curt could kick me and have lots of fun I’d roll along faster than people could run!
Brooke would dribble me ‘til I got dizzy During recess is when I would be busy!
It all sounds like more fun than one boy can take Besides, a red rubber ball can’t eat chocolate cake!
Secret Playground
Tucked away where no one can find it, it’s our own space my playground, your playground, our own special place.
Grown-ups can’t find it ‘cause they’ve forgotten the way Most of them think work’s more important than play
Me, I’ll keep coming here to slide down the slide Whoosh we race down as we giggle inside
My stomach gets queasy as we teeter and totter If I could only explain to my mother and father
How much fun can be had on one simple swing It sparks my mind to imagine incredible things
While climbing on top of the huge monkey bars I pretend I’m a spaceship floating high in the stars
Let’s never forget the way to our own special places that once painted bright smiles on our tiny faces.
Wake Up Juice
Six o’clock in the morning is way too early I’d rather sleep one more hour and have to hurry
My eyelids are droopy, the world is all fuzzy The sun isn’t even up but the alarm clock’s buzzing!
I’d be loose as a moose, or is it a goose? If I could just have one sip of wake up juice
The dark brown juice that fills dad’s cup, Its aroma fills the air as the steam floats up
It wakes dad up fast and makes him alert But he says I can’t have it cause I’m just a squirt.
The First Snowflake
The sun hangs high in the morning sky In the cooling air the first snowflake flies It flutters down for all to see and gets lost among the fallen leaves
it’s not long before his friends arrive more tiny flakes from Autumn skies
like diamonds shining pure and bright they glitter in the morning light
the air grows brutally frigid as North winds blow and the leaves get lost beneath the snow
if all is well and all is right and this continues through the night
we’ll dash for the door, mittens in hand to begin this Winter’s first SNOWMAN!
Snuggle Monkey
When I’m feeling down, in need of a hug When the world has no sympathy, he’s never smug
I just call his name and he’ll be right there he’s much hipper than some stuffed bear!
He doesn’t like bananas or swinging from trees Brussels sprouts, gingerbread, spiders or fleas
Just put on some music and watch him get funky He’s the one and only snuggle monkey
He’ll break into song whenever he pleases And likes to say, “Bless you” when anyone sneezes
He never makes a mess, or gets me in trouble I’m so very glad I have a monkey to snuggle!
A Fat Cat For A Hat
As Tammy lay down to go to sleep She cracked her book, sipped her tea And smiled as she looked at me She had a fat cat for a hat
You see, after she lay down in her bed a fat cat wrapped himself around her head and got himself warm while she read She had a fat cat for a hat!
her auburn hair was nice and soft as he snuggled in and drifted off on the nightstand her book was tossed she fell asleep with a fat cat for a hat!
Bookloft
There’s a wonderful place with rooms to roam thirty-two to be exact and each feels like home it's the Bookloft, nestled in the Village
Be careful, for if you lose your way You may wander lost for many days and read about everything from pies to plays in the Bookloft, nestled in the Village
Follow red brick streets and you’ll be there have the courage to go where not many dare Start the journey of knowledge and lose your cares in the Bookloft, nestled in the Village.
Shy Sly
Shy sly was so shy that he would close his eyes whenever he saw a stranger
but shy Sly, the poor guy feel into a hole, why? he never did see the danger.
Edgar’s Bike Shop
Whether it’s a big red bicycle with a old rusty chain Or a small tricycle that clickity-clacks like a train
Before you give up and throw it away, ask Edgar to fix it, he does everyday
Ask any kid on the block and they’ll tell you the way there’s no sign out front and he’s not open everyday
If you’re lucky Edgar will be in his garage with jumpsuit and wrench Leaning over a bent up old bike clamped to a green wooden bench
There’s no wheel that’s too crooked or flat tire he can’t seal If he’s in a good mood you’ll get a great deal
handlebars will be fixed for a few jellybeans chocolate bars will get you miraculous things
most days he’s quiet grumpy to tell you the truth but his mood is improved right through his sweet tooth.
The Barber’s Secret
Barbers now for many years, instead of cutting hair, have lowered ears
once you’d see a pile of hair on the floor but no you won’t see that anymore
they’ll tap the end of your ear with a comb quietly mumble their magic barber’s poem
and quickly each ear slides down an inch so fast it makes fooling you a cinch
Barbers now for many years, Instead of cutting hair, have lowered ears
