Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The Heart is a Crazy Bag Lady

Google Images

Linking with Imaginary Gardens for "The Tuesday Platform"
Imagined by Rommy



"A woman can say more in a sigh than a man can say in a sermon." 
~Arnold Haultain

The heart is a crazy bag lady that carries all it hears for keeps
and the mind stirs the contents like a soup to cook and feed
sometimes just one bite can leave a bitter taste
making an entire meal become an utter waste.

Words take flight on a silent breeze but they do not softly break a heart
and once they are truly free they do not soon depart
they fester like a neglected wound and linger like an unwanted guest
causing a deep discomfort and stealing peace like gold from a treasure chest


There is a heavy weight that words have the strength to bear
 so they can lift a spirit and send it high into the air
but when they are bitter they have the power to oppress
striping away self-worth like lovers get undressed


The heart is a crazy bag lady that carries all it hears for keeps
and the mind mulls over the contents like a tourist whose lost their keys
so next time someone offends you with words that cut to the core
remember when it comes to an argument sometimes less is more.






Thursday, November 30, 2017

Open Door

Courtesy Google Images


Linking with Imaginary Gardens for The Tuesday Platform
Imagined by Sanaa




Freedom begins between the ears. ~Edward Abbey


A soul that is hungry
will search beyond built walls
longing for a freedom
that some never know
it is a journey that can be
like an African safari in the dark
but like most cherished treasures
its attainment has a cost
for hunting can make some
choose to pick up a gun
and it is a lifelong lesson
to learn
freedom was yours
before you
opened the door.


This was originally written for a writing prompt we did at our Word Crafter Meeting last week.  Click here to read Chrissa's beautiful and mysterious response to the prompt.

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Simple Yet Profound



Linking with Poets United for Midweek Motif ~ Saints

Brought to us by Susan


SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX


At the age of 14, on Christmas Eve in 1886, Therese had a conversion that transformed her life. From then on, her powerful energy and sensitive spirit were turned toward love, instead of keeping herself happy. At 15, she entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux to give her whole life to God. She took the religious name Sister Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Living a hidden, simple life of prayer, she was gifted with great intimacy with God. Through sickness and dark nights of doubt and fear, she remained faithful to God, rooted in His merciful love. After a long struggle with tuberculosis, she died on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24. Her last words were the story of her life: "My God, I love You!"

The message of St. Therese is beautiful, inspiring, and simple.

Here is my poem in honor of her:


Simple Yet Profound,



Deeper than the deepest well
more distant than the past
there is a truth that few can tell
of a love and faith that is vast
it is a calling profound and true
a life of giving instead of take
it is employed by a mere few
life dedicated for other's sake
there is no extravagant need for glory
simply a mission of the truest love
a soul that has a greater story

even after it has risen to heaven above























Wednesday, October 11, 2017

I Fall in Love with Fall

Courtesy Google Images


Winter dies into the spring, to be born again in the autumn. ~Terri Guillemets

I fall in love with fall every time it arrives!





Monday, October 9, 2017

The Art of Forgiveness

Courtesy Google images

Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got. ~Robert Brault


Saturday, September 23, 2017

The Only Way Out is Through



Linking with Imaginary Gardens for the weekend mini challenge "Boats"
imagined by Kim


"We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear."
~Martin Luther King, Jr.


A wise poet once said, "The only way out is through",
 and when it comes to flooding that can be very true.
Sometimes you turn around and leave the way you came
and others it surrounds you and there is no quick escape.
You can start to wade through it or try to walk against the tide
but when it comes to flooding your better off with a boat ride.
So as you hold your two allotted bags and leave the home you knew
remember with most recoveries the only way out is through.




The view of our apartment before we were rescued out by boat.
(Keep in mind this is on stilts already.  That is how high the water was already!)


It seems that the only time I get in a boat is to escape flooding.  I went through this a year and a half ago and again recently with "Harvey".  You do not realize how powerful water can be until you see it rush through an area and take up the land like a raging giant. I have grown to have a very respectful fear of water.  Frankly sometimes I feel like moving to Arizona, but all my family is here and here is where I will stay, just not on the lower floor of these apartments.  So many people in this area are trying to completely start over their lives with new homes or gutting out and rebuilding the ones they are in.  So much loss and so much to do to renovate and move on.  It is much like true recovery, where one much face the problems at hand, dig through the rubble, endure the cleanup, and carry it through to completion.  Like so many solutions in life, truly the only way out is through.


Friday, August 25, 2017

My Love is Baptized by Immersion



Linking with Imaginary Gardens for Rommy's challenge ~ Meme

The prompt is simple: grab a nearby book and flip to page 13 and go to the 7th line and use that sentence to find a quote that represents your love life.  You can also flip to the 7th page and go to the 13th line.  Take your pick, Come join the fun!


The closest book to me was: The Games by Ted Kosmatka
(The 13th page did not have enough lines, so I went with the 7th page)



Love, and a cough, cannot be hid. ~George Herbert 

This was my line: "The world around him retreated, became remote, irrelevant."



My Love is Baptized by Immersion,


My love is baptized by immersion it does not just linger at the water's edge
it dives in head first and reckless never concerned with what's up ahead
a simple christening with holy water just would never be the plan
it submerges all consuming into the deep love of another man
the world around it retreats becoming remote, irrelevant to what is true
for my love rises like surging flood waters diminishing the ground view
My love is baptized by immersion it does not wade in shallow waters safe
instead it plunges into distant oceans prepared for the greatest of tidal waves.

















Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Change of Heart



Linking with Poets United for Midweek Motif ~ Nature Her Words
Posted by Sumana

Sometimes Mother Nature has the answers when you do not even know the questions. ~Keith Wynn



I fear you have not truly been listening my dear
I have been speaking for centuries and
you are still sipping your coffee gone cold
behind that shroud of a paper 
without a response
nor even a glance
what did I just say?
No I did not just say it is cold in here
on the contrary it is getting quite warm
warmer than my heart can handle
there was a time you listened to my voice
loved the feel of my breath upon your face
you climbed my mountains 
did not want to cut my trees
I guess you have had a change of heart
your love for me has grown as cold
as my ice caps used to hold strong
I guess it is going to take something drastic
 to make you care again
to make you have a change of heart
I hope then you will truly listen
to my voice.


Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Bigger is Not Always Better



Linking with dVerse for Poetics: Border
brought to us by Grace


"If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor.
~ Neil Simon


Sometimes my mind needs a border collie to steer it in the right direction 
cause my sense of boundaries sometimes gets lost
you see agoraphobia runs in our family
my grandmother only left the house 
once a year to vote
my mother followed the same path
our summers growing up were weeks on end at home
when I was in my 30's I discovered I had a touch of it
on a grander level if you will
we went on a trip to Missouri and I suddenly felt 
anxiety and had no reason why
after a couple jots out of town after that
I realized that when I left town I had the symptoms
it was like agoraphobia on a larger plain
my grandmother could not leave the house
but I could not leave town
wow leave it to my dysfunctional brain
to do it on a broader range.







Thursday, August 17, 2017

The Dance Floor

Google Images



Linking with Imaginary Gardens for Bits of Inspiration ~ Keep Dancing
Imagined by Susie 

Come join us!

How can we know the dancer from the dance? ~William Butler Yeats


Sometimes humanity resembles the dancers on a dance floor;
each busily perfecting their moves,
never seeing passed their own steps,
hoping to impress
all the others...
but it is in vain...
for all the others
are doing the same.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Rising Above




The tides are in our veins. ~Robinson Jeffers



Linking with Poet United for Midweek Motif ~Flood  hosted by Susan (Thank you Susan)



One morning in April of 2016, I woke up to look out the window and find that my apartment was in the middle of a lake.  Good thing I can swim was not my first thought...suddenly me and sailors could speak the same language and I am not talking about ship terms.  My car was in the rising waters and there was no saving it.  After a couple of days of being trapped and unable to leave on wheels there was an evacuation.


The good news is: 
after applying for FEMA help
being declined
appealing and trying again
because I don't give up easily
I finally was approved
and got help to purchase a car
after 6 months of a lot of walking 
and waiting for rides.
What did I learn from this?
Well, first of all it pays 
to not give up.
When a door closes
God opens a window.
Sometimes hardships
can turn out to be 
blessings in disguise.
No matter how bad 
you think you have it
there is someone else 
out there with a worse situation.
When tough times hit
people are usually very kind and giving
The lovely thing was that we met 
neighbors that we would never have
seen otherwise.


Now here is my poem for the prompt:



Rising Above
but
I am Always Thirsty,


My mother always said "don't drink
any more before bed"
but I was always thirsty
and had chocolate milk instead
my life has been a flood of lessons
some learned some not
and when it rains it pours
and when it's dry
well it's just plain hot
and one thing I have learned through time
is this
love and sustenance are a constant fix
for me there is a close correlation between
water and men 
sometimes they are a disaster at my door
but I sure can't live without them
and because of my deep seeded need for love
I always keep coming back for more
one drink is never enough
gotta have 8 glasses of water a day
to stay healthy that is what 
the doctor's say
but sometimes I wake up
to a flood at my door
and I wish I had listened
to my mother more!



Author's Note:
The only floods truly at my door are totally rain related. :-)








Sunday, August 13, 2017

A Story to Tell




Linking with Imaginary Gardens for the Weekend Mini Challenge: "Out of Your Own Words"
Imagined by Magaly Guerrero


To view the original poem and post click h e r e


I also devoted an entire blog to this title cause I am crazy that way....
click h e r e if you want to see for yourself. :-))



What a seagull never told you about why he flies away is the farther up you fly the broader the view you get of the shore you left behind.
Nature tells a story that one can hear loud and clear
but it is a message that cannot be heard with ears
it rings out through the flight of geese
that know when  it is the time to leave
it whispers with the current that carries man's debris
that heads to bigger waters floating to the sea
it's voice rises in the floods occuring on busy streets
because man would rather have a parking lot
than grass and tall strong trees
you see nature tells a story that belts out like a song
and if we truly listen we will know there is something wrong.



***********************
It is like nature is trying to call us from a cell phone and we are unable to truly hear....
so nature moves a little forward and says...
"can you hear me now?"














Thursday, August 10, 2017

Sojourn


Linking with Imaginary Gardens for the prompt "writing unseen" 
imagined by Isadora 


" You don't have a soul.  You are a soul.  You have a body."
~ C. S. Lewis



Our bodies are a bed and breakfast lodge for a soul
 that has places to go
we sometimes forget their presence 
because they are the quietest of guests
treading down the innermost halls
preparing for a trip
with no plans to stay at all
so we attempt to keep up the cottage and
we fluff the pillows and smooth the sheets
but the soul doesn't eat a big breakfast
and never needs too much sleep
prolonging it's stay is futile
for it has plans we cannot conceive 
if one looks with scientific eyes
they won't see past the amenities
but if we simply close them
and search within the confines of our heart
we will find there is something bigger
than this world could ever impart...
so I say to the world of traveling souls
and that means you and that means me to
have a little faith
and we'll leave the light on for you.







Friday, June 16, 2017

Friday, May 19, 2017

Ssshhhhhh

(Carrie's spot at the library circulation desk)

Linking with Imaginary Gardens 
for Bits of Inspiration ~ Mixed Media Art
brought to you and imagined by Susie Clevenger


Silence was never written down.  ~Italian Proverb


I spend most of my time at work
sitting at a circulation desk where
people check out books
and pay late fees
discussing their day 
and their favorite 
series or author
while children laugh
and young adults 
and old ones as well
talk on their cell phone
as if they are home
for some we are
a home away
from home
we have snacks
people eat
kids run around 
and play while
their parents
are on the computer
oblivious to
their surroundings
and.....

yes libraries
are supposed to be
quiet
but
they are not...

we serve a community
where there are more needs
than just studying for a test
or looking up information
some need air conditioning
others want the internet
having important information
to print out
and then there are the
ones that want a great book
either way
there is a need to be met
and customer service is the
backbone of my career 
I am here to serve
in noise and in quiet
and I love it either way!

Now here is my actual poem for the prompt:

If silence could speak it would whisper ssshhhh
I would elbow it softly and suggest
something a little more assertive 
like shuuuut uuuup
or how about a mean glare
but silence would not listen
because silence is way too polite for that
and it does have a mind of it's own
you see silence is an old friend of mine
and we go way back
we have been through so much together
in my times of great loneliness 
it taught me the art of pondering 
life's questions and writing poetry
at night it was always close by
to listen with no judgement
there have been those that 
have shunned my dear friend
considering it empty
with nothing to truly offer
but I disagree 
it is a priceless gift
that I have learned to love
throughout the years
you see
silence
 truly is
golden to me!