Plant your own Garden, Decorate Your Own Soul

Do you ever read Ann Landers?  She is gone now and I miss reading her newspaper column. I must say I enjoy reading the Dear Ann Lander section.  Some of her articles I cut and pasted them on the inside door of my dresser so that when I open the door, the first thing I see are the articles not the clothes. 

This poem was published in one of her articles. 

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning
And company doesn’t mean security,
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure…
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn…
With every goodbye you learn.

Author: Veronica A. Shoffstall

 

Related articles

• Chicago Tribune Nov 15, 1999: Dear Ann Landers
• Plant Your Own Garden (thesnowballeffect.com)
• After a while… (lostandfoundparadise.wordpress.com)
• Comes The Dawn (truespiritblog.wordpress.com)