Category: haiku

Time to be still

Musee D’Orsay
Paris, France
August 2019

(photo by Carla Romarate-Knipel)

A new year has begun

My feet wants to keep going

But my heart desires to be still.

Within me a clock is ticking

Not fast or hurried, but steady

It is saying, you can be still

And keep going.

Stillness does not mean stuckness

Stillness can be active courage

Willing to remain calm and focused

Even when so many things are screaming for my attention.

Time to be still is good

At the beginning of the new year

It is necessary.

In stillness you take a deep breath

Before you take the next step:

You notice

You pay attention

And then you go on …

until it’s time

To be still again.

By Carla A. Romarate-Knipel

January 5, 2026