The Cow Poetry Commonplace Book

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus


Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.
African Proverb


In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost


If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
Anonymous


The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.
Bertrand Russell


Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity.
Rossini


Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.
George Carlin


Deep within the soul of the lonely caged bird
Beats the rhythm of a distant forest
Etched upon its broken heart
The faded memory of flight. 
Ginni Bly


A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.

Pioneer Girls Leaders’ Handbook


I, myself, have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute.
Rebecca West

So many gods, so many creeds,
so many paths that wind and wind,
while just the art of being kind
is all the sad world needs.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox


How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
Abraham Lincoln

Commonplace Books

Here is a summary of what Wikipedia has to say about commonplace books:
 
Commonplace books were a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into blank books. They became significant in Europe around the 17^th century.

Such books were essentially handwritten scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: medical recipes, quotes, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces were used by readers, writers, students, and scholars as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts they had learned. Each commonplace book was unique to its creator's particular interests.

I learned about commonplace books quite a few years ago and started filling a small tablet with any quote or saying that I came across and especially liked. I still have it and I still like it. More recently I’ve started doing the same thing digitally – I have a “commonplace book” document on my computer and copy into it snippets of writing that interest me.

It wasn’t too much of a leap, then, to decide to keep a commonplace book on my blog.

In fact, I think everyone should keep a commonplace book just for the pleasure of it. It’s not like journalling, which can be accompanied by a sense of guilt (at least for me), but it’s still reflective of your personality and personal interests.

Easy to access, easy to update, easy to share.

A lot like Pinterest, come to think of it.

Unexpected Bliss

Expectations decline.

Not a rut, a routine.

Work, home, eat, sleep.

An occasional departure

planned in advance.

Then suddenly,

unexpected bliss

anoints us like a blessing.

A fiery sunset sky

seen by eclipse,

a warm, whispered sigh

from a time thought passed,

an unbearably sweet smile

from a new-found friend.

Unexpected bliss.

Incandescent moments for which

we didn’t even know to hope.