HOW TO LIVE By Duane Vorhees

The true eloquence 

is in your eyes.

Don’t starve yourself

and spare your hoard.

If you badge yourself, beware

but prepare to brave

your firing squad

without blindfold or frown.

Downpours occur.

Don’t ignore life’s storms--

open your door

to the flood – and to love.

Experience becomes example

becomes expression becomes

experience

The wise carpenter

treasures the differences

between a drill

and a bolt.

Cherish your garden.

The white dandelion

of age and the red

newborn poppy

deserve equal cultivation.

Duane Vorhees is an American poet living in Thailand. Hog Press of Ames, Iowa, has published four of his poetry collections: HEAVEN, MEMORIES LINKED LIKE OASES, GIFT: GOD RUNS THROUGH ALL THESE ROOMS, and THE MANY LOVES OF DUANE VORHEES