from “eighteen sonnets” by Beverly Dahlen

Dahlen, Beverly. “2 from eighteen sonnets”. The Reality Street Book of Sonnets. edited by Jeff Hilson. Hastings, East Sussex: Reality Street Editions, 2008. poem is found on page 49.
Truth
I have advice for people who want to write. I don’t care whether they’re 5 or 500. There are three things that are important: First, if you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where you just put down what you think about life, what you think about things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair. And second, you need to read. You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. It’s the great writers who teach us how to write. The third thing is to write. Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour — write, write, write.
Madeleine L’Engle – Walking on Water
I just got a new vacuum cleaner. A Shark! It’s fabulous! The best vacuum cleaner I’ve ever had. My rugs look & feel like they’re brand new.
Of course, the cats don’t like any vacuum cleaner. Radar tolerates them with a feline distance & distain, but Bobby hides.
Bobby’s hiding place was revealed when I moved the couch to vacuum behind it.
Both cats like to lie back there underneath the blanket & by that heating vent, so you know there was a LOT of cat hair!
I used to have an AA sponsor who told me to “examine motives” … mine, of course, but also the motives of others.
“Stay close to people who want more for you, not from you.”
Remember that you have limits.
Remember that you don’t have to give endlessly, and to be there for everyone, all the time.
Choose your relationships wisely.
Choose people who are good for you.
If this is an area of struggle for you, ask yourself what’s stopping you from staying close to the right people, and walking away from the wrong people.
It’s an important question to ask.