Then and Now

 

 

Heart like a kick drum solo
Surely they can hear it
Against pin dropping silence
Waiting for my name..my name
The R’s, here we go
Oh no
Stomach churning, wheels turning
“Here”
Static percussion, blurred
Am I here?
I don’t want to be here
I hate the first day of school

Heart on my sleeve
Some take it, some leave it but
I’m against pin dropping silence
Rise up, be heard
Here we go, let’s go
No no
Won’t fake it, I will make it
“Here”
Mind enlightened,
Here is all we have
Savoring each breath
Loving each day of life

 

Written for dVerse Poetics: Back to School

Image credit: pixabay.com

Speaking of Peace

 

We are but one decibel in the scream

One whisper of insight, unspoken

Tongues too frozen to speak

Or are we tone deaf to the sound of

Fingers running along wind chimes?

Glass, bamboo, shells, stones, porcelain, metal, wood

All different

Dangling in the same sweet sea breeze

Tapping on each others hearts

To find perfect harmony

~

“Truth, peace, harmony, love” are part of the poetic prompt at dVerse this week.

Also written for Artists4Peace.

Dearest Self

 

So I’ll let you know now

Not that it matters

‘Cuz there’s no stopping this time train

But I just thought you might

Appreciate some tips

Put away these 5 things

Paper money, photographs, a map

Sensitivity and creativity

I suppose I could have 3D projected

This info but I didn’t want to freak you out

Holograms are in these days

Soon you’ll be scanning yourself for disease

They’ll send you the results via…

Yep, you guessed it

Dr. Hologram

And as we battle over nothing in space

I’ll picture you

Sitting by your retro gas fireplace

Natural, of course

Sipping on green tea

We don’t do natural anymore

Take trees for example…

Yes, take a tree

Maybe a small bonsai you can hide

Because you’ll be charged extra just for having one

Advice from the heart…

Don’t let them implant anything in your head

Life was better before becoming an Android

“Look above you- it’s raining
Look around- there’s a flood
Who can say when it started,
but now the ghost is in our blood”

 

~

Grace at dVerse has asked us to imagine the future and write a poem or letter to ourselves in the here and now. The last stanza is from a poem by Ben Burke.

http://ideas.ted.com/a-poem-from-the-future/

 

Peaceful Intentions

 

 

We have not even begun
To make peace
We simply roll it around
With our tongues
Stand united in multicultural scenes
Singing in different languages to
Candy coat the truth
We pray for it
We stand for it
Make demands for it
But we don’t know peace
Because we don’t know
What we’ve never had
It has yet to be created
And that takes wisdom
Not war
That takes a plan
Not a song
That takes love
Not hate
That takes you and me
And everyone else on this earth
To look inside their hearts
Forgive, forget, reset
And start again
Do you think that will happen?

We have not even begun
To make hope
We simply………

 

~

Please visit Artists4Peace

https://artists4peace.wordpress.com/blog/

Misty Muse

Seasons play with my perspective
Bending my evergreen thoughts
That dabble in serenity’s streams
Finding new ways to make me believe
That my life is a calendar

But I cannot pencil in peace of mind
Capsules of pain still hang
Bittersweet droplets of dew on the pines
Fighting gravity, wasting time
Landing on fickle forest floors

~

Because

Every change leaves a mark

And some are beautiful

~

Of Life and Leaves

 

 

Summer slips quickly

Into winter’s dream

As fall fakes a smile

Amused at the lens

Say “Leaves”

And they gather

In layers lost

Before our eyes

Bits of space unnoticed

Until blinks are detected

Don’t blink

These moments have a life

Of their own

If we don’t give them one

~

Organic

It becomes monotonous

Like picking up sticks in the yard

Leaves falling

Right in front of you

Disintegrating dreams

Lie dormant in the compost

You turn them over

Break them down

Doubt their purpose

Throw them back into the dirt

Not even noticing

That this is your soil

The soil that you toil

To plant yourself once again

 

Inspired by this week’s poetic prompt, “In the Corner of Your Eye” by MarinaSofia.

Check out what you’re missing at dVerse.

Empty Nesting

 

Curried carrot soup in the crock pot

Peach berry crisp bubbling in the oven

This is my morning

Its sixty four degrees and perfect weather

To watch the geese come in

For a spectacular landing over the pond

But that is not where my heart is

I am blind as autumn guides me through

The rituals of raking and baking

Buying squash at the market

Pinching off the mums that are wilting

Because I don’t have enough sun in my yard

I don’t have enough sun in my life

It is all a facade when there are no

Mouths to feed and no laughter kicking

Up the leaves

That was my yesterday

Little jean jackets, mischievous smiles

I brace myself for the cold

That never fails to surprise me

Half way through October

Even though it’s never left

Since you did

 

 

~

It’s Open Link Night at dVerse , an opportunity to share anything, but when Marina Sofia mentioned Fall, this one evolved quickly.

Where Earth Meets Sky

Image credit: Joel Robison

 

I sit here writing

About the possibilities

The sun setting on the horizon

As if it is so far away

Thinking I have to reach

Dreaming about dreams

When all I have to do

Is believe

That rainbows exist

The earth meets the sky

Thoughts merge with reality

And change is not work

Change is just catching up

To the truth

 

 

To see more of Joel Robison’s  extraordinary photography, visit  http://joelrobison.com/index.php/category/blog/

 

For dVerse

 

From the Shadows

I had no wings

Until I soared high

Over the desert

Faith under feathers

Suspended above

Corroding platforms

Of jagged words

Spellbound by what was

And what could be

             ~

I had no voice

Until the silence screamed

Above the sound

Of my own heartbeat

Exploding

Into a million

Tiny fragments

Of fear, recycled

               ~

I had no hope

Until it was buried

In early graves

Defective dreams

Petrified particles

Of all that I knew

For in this soil, this pain

Sifted and sorted,

I grew

 

In dVerse Poet’s Pub, MarinaSofia inspired us to answer questions of our own identity.

1) Who are you and whom do you love?

2) What else are you, that no one has seen before?

3) Describe a morning you woke without fear.

4) What lingers when all is said and done?

 I responded to #3

Autopilot

All systems go

Buzzing, fuzzy

My legs are walking

My mouth is talking

But I am on autopilot

Numbed and knocked out

By something bigger

Than what we had

Maybe I’ll go

Dazed and drowning

My eyes are burning

My heart is yearning

But I am on autopilot

Snowed and sloughed off

By something bigger

Than what I thought we had

50 Things I’ve Learned in 50 Years…#19.

#19. Parenting is lifelong.

When your children are small, you think this is the most difficult time of your life. Diapers, fevers, tantrums, oh my!!  It has to be easier when they are grown.

“Grown”?

What does that mean? Do they ever stop growing?  I haven’t stopped growing!

We are always waiting for the next stage in their development whether it’s walking, talking or starting school. There is always a step, as though we are accompanying them up the stairway to ADULTHOOD…some magical place where we are no longer responsible, no longer needed, no longer of service.

This is so far from the truth.

Parenting is not a job that simply ends at 18 or 21 or 55. They continue to grow and change every day and you are part of that.  You never stop worrying about them, caring for them and loving them. Everything they do has some effect on you. There are feelings of pride, guilt, concern, sadness, relief, excitement and fear that run through you as they continue on their journey of life.

The hardest part of being a parent is when you no longer have the right to be involved. Your involvement becomes a privilege. Your knowledge of what is happening in their life crosses lines of confidentiality policies and ventures into new territories of friendship, mentor-ship and consultation…if you’re lucky.  Suddenly, the flashbacks of boo boos, band aids and kissing it “all better” are sweet memories. It was so simple then. As your children get bigger, so can their problems.  When you no longer have the ability to protect them the way you used to, it can be the most unsettling and frustrating feeling you have ever felt.  Your colicky baby that kept you up night after night was still SAFE in your arms. As they get older, it is much more of a challenge to let go and simply pray for their safety and well-being.

Parenting doesn’t end when your children are not children. As long as you are worried, you are still a parent.

They are part of you forever.

Reach In and Reach Out

Hand me a soap box

I’ve something to say

If you don’t want to help me

Push a button today

Like, share or follow

It is easy to do

There’s no obligation

Wrapped around you

But if you can find

The light in your heart

A voice without judgement

That says, “Do your part”

Act solely on kindness

Release any doubt

Place hope in another

Reach in and reach out

This is not my usual style of poetry, but at this point I would tap dance (terribly) on a soap box if it would generate any response. Actually, I am sure I would fall off and land on my patootie. Maybe not the response I was looking for.

Seriously….

I am moved each day by the financial struggle of a fellow blogger, a very nice lady named Cheryl (“Hot Southern Mess”) Yes I know, my last post was dedicated to her as well but I am one stubborn Canadian gal on a mission.

Please take the time to read her story at  http://allbuthomeless.wordpress.com/

She holds nothing back, beginning with her “Intro” page.  She is not asking for a miracle but one could happen right here.

Please share her story if you are unable or willing to assist her in any other way.

Thank you for listening.

Bless you for caring.

~Mish~

Recipe for Change (50 Things I’ve Learned in 50 Years….#13)

#13. Don’t look to others to change your life. It’s not going to happen. You are accountable for your own destiny. The only one that can change your situation is you.

Life is tough.

I think some people are more fortunate than others to breeze through the first half of their life, without losing  a parent or sibling, without going through a divorce, without being abused, without suffering from a serious physical or mental illness. Then there are others who have faced all of these and more.

Life is not fair.

Random things happen to random people. I think it is foolish to think that tragedy cannot strike at any moment. It can. It does. It happens  to someone somewhere in every moment. It could be me. It could be you.

So now that I’ve spewed this negativity and doom, I will follow with some hope. Hope is one thing that can always exist. No one can take it away. It is yours. No one can control it. No one can end it for you. If you take hope and mix it with a little action, it equals change. This recipe is a keeper. It can also be passed down. You demonstrate this for your children and wowsers, they will have the best formula for survival on this planet. Keeping with this analogy (humour me here), you can also stir things up that really need to be and watch your life rise to new levels.

I made the mistake of looking at where I was in my life as where I had to be. Someone had to get me out or maybe I needed to stay there. This wasn’t fair. What did I do to deserve this? Someone else had to change so that everything would be ok for me. How dare someone else try to ruin my life or leave my life. I wallowed in self pity, anger, resentment and pain. It took many years for me to realize that no one else was going to do ANYTHING of the sort. That is difficult to accept. First you are thrown this horrible fate and then you are supposed to be the one to deal with it? Seriously?

What it comes down to is that you cannot control the crazy, unpredictable, tragic, shocking things that can happen to you and no, you cannot change everything you want. Change  doesn’t bring back the loved ones you have lost from this earth. It doesn’t completely heal the scars that cover a victim of abuse or multiple abuse. Change is a place for you to go. It is anywhere else but where you are…..and  if you’re in any type of despair, then anywhere else is good.