A Blueness I Could Eat Forever Quotes

“A few minutes ago, I felt as if I was back in Paris,
sitting in a park.
It is funny how our mind sometimes wanders
back to times past.

When each of my parents was dying,
floating in a sea of pain medication,
their minds drifted back to their early twenties
when they were newly in love.
They both talked as if they were lost,
and they had to find each other.

In one corner of my house,
I display some things that my parents cherished:
my mother's china
and my father's fishing gear.
I don't know if there is an afterlife,
but if their ghosts visit me someday,
then their cherished things will be waiting for them.
I also display photographs of my late parents,
not when they were old,
but when they were a newlywed couple,
young, happy, smiling
and full of hope
and love.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“I don't have the words to describe my feelings.
A woman, the last thing I think of before falling asleep.
A woman, the first thing I think of when I wake.
A woman, the image that passes before my mind's eye
in a moment of clarity.
A woman, the hands we hold,
the one thing I miss most.
A woman, the laughter that warms my heart and soul.
A woman, the perfume that invokes wonderful memories.
A woman, the love, the love, the embrace, the joy,
the wonderful joy.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“I heard a rapid alternation of notes,
a vibrating staccato of an ancient instrument,
nearly as old as nature herself,
a cricket singing
in my garden last night,
the first time this year.
When turning my garden's soil,
I often uncover crickets,
curmudgeons that scramble to find solitude
and cover from the light,
but I rarely hear their
ancient song 'till near
summer's end.

Although the wind is now lofting the branches
and rustling the leaves,
the evening sun
still warms my face.
And my garden still blooms full
with pink-papered hollyhocks
and blue, green spikes of lavender,
and roses,
bright pinks and yellows,
all glowing from sunshine-swelled canes,
and zinnias,
rainbow-shingled orbs,
and more.

And yet, I am already dreading
the coming of fall,
all dressed in small rags
of red, yellow, and orange.
I know that my summer garden
is nearing its end,
as hailed by the cricket's song.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“Your house has two colors," she said,
while looking up at a corner
of my ceiling and walls.
"Yes," I replied.

"Why is that rainbow beach blanket on the couch?"
I replied, "Color."
She bent over and ripped
the beach towel off my white couch.
Maybe she thought I was trying to hide something.

"You talk a lot," she said sarcastically.
I looked back at her.
Maybe I raised an eyebrow,
but I didn't say anything.

She's right, of course.
I don't talk much.
I am a simple man.
I speak from my heart.
Sometimes, I write poetry.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“Placing his snout on the edge of my bed,
Boomer pricks up his ears and widens his smiling eyes
when I turn my head towards him.
I smile at Boomer.
"I guess you want to go for a walk?"
Boomer bobs his head in agreement
and runs around in a circle.

"Okay," I say.
I turn over,
throw off the blankets,
raise my upper body
and swing my legs around and over
the edge of the bed.
I sit on the edge of the bed
with my feet touching the floor
and my hands at my sides,
all holding me up as my upper body
leans over the edge.
I am still half asleep.

I look around to my right for Boomer,
but he is no where to be found.
Boomer went for his last walk
some thirty years ago.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“I dream my poems
and write my dreams.
We can only write our own dreams, 
not the dreams of others,
for our dreams speak from our hearts.
For those who do not dream poems,
how can they know what dreams 
their hearts want to write? ”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“Breaking from the universe,
like waves spilling, plunging and surging
against a shore,
we crash with life and vigor,
scrape and scour,
spit beaches and eat land,
polish stone, glass and driftwood of splintered dreams,
uncover and bury bleached bones
of ambitions and aspirations,
carve grottoes of intentions and regrets
and then slip back into the deep
from whence we came
and may return again.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“Several years ago,
I visited a friend who had built a country cottage,
surrounded by a vast rolling garden of sunlit meadows,
rainbow blooms, shaded glens,
streams and ponds.

It was impossible to see
the entire garden all at once.
The only way to imagine the wholeness of the garden
was to walk through it,
follow the winding path
and view the garden from different perspectives.
Invariably, secrets revealed themselves
around each bend.
And sometimes, I chose to step off the winding path
and follow the contours of the land
and my heart.

In my youth, I imaged my entire life
planned out before me,
a straight path, if you like.
Today, I know that I was seeing
only one perspective.
And like any winding path,
perspective may change around each bend:
youth, sacrifice, friendship, success, love, parenthood,
joy, loss, folly, misfortune, and aging.

And yet, no matter how many turns we may take,
we may not fully comprehend
the wholeness of our life,
the unifying secret of our life,
until we look back
on all that has come before.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever

“Whenever you feel insignificant,
remember that you can make
a significant difference
in the lives of others,
particularly the less fortunate.”
― Jeffrey A. White, A Blueness I Could Eat Forever