Aneke over at At the edge of the ocean has gotten me hooked on Mary Oliver.  Love this one.
Next Time
by Mary Oliver
Next time what I’d do is look at
the earth before saying anything. I’d stop
just before going into a house
and be an emperor for a minute
and listen better to the wind
or to the air being still.When anyone talked to me, whether
blame or praise or just passing time,
I’d watch the face, how the mouth
has to work, and see any strain, any
sign of what lifted the voice.

And for all, I’d know more — the earth
bracing itself and soaring, the air
finding every leaf and feather over
forest and water, and for every person
the body glowing inside the clothes
like a light.
Susan at 29 Black Street is rockin’ my world these days.  You gotta check out her blog and see what her cowboy is up to.  She posted this poem not long ago.   As a woman who likes to talk, I must say that George Elliott was on to something here…
Oh, the comfort,
the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person,

having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words,
but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together,
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping,
and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away.

George Elliot

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