Poetry Friday

Today's Poetry Friday is hosted by the lovely Amy at The Poem Farm.  Funny how the words that we're surrounded by pop up in our thoughts and writing.  Today's haiku was inspired by Mary Lee's PO-EMotion "anticipation," but when I visited her blog today, I discovered that it also works with today's PO-EMotion, "surprise."

I watch with sadness as pink blossoms float to the deck.  And then I notice something. Sorry for the shaky photos (not telling how many pics I took to finally capture one of the pink blossoms falling).

Tiny pink blossoms

Drifting languorously down

Tender green arrives

Every season brings change,
something to anticipate,
something to embrace,
something to notice.

2015 SOLSC 31/31: April's Siren Call

                               

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Beth, and Anna

for hosting this meeting place each day in March

                                                    and for nurturing our writing lives. 

It's a 5th Tuesday and time to revisit my OLW, stretch.  Which is scarier, calling yourself a writer or a poet?  I'm "stretching" my poetry muscles today with a fun form.

I refer to our month of daily slicing as my own form of March Madness.  Last year I leaped into April and Poetry Month with an arun* to celebrate a month of slicing with my students. This year I close out my month of slicing by lifting some lines from Beatrice Schenk de Regniers', “Keep a Poem in Your Pocket” in an arun to answer April’s siren call.  

*arun -  fifteen-line poem in three sets of five lines. Each set of five lines follows the same syllable structure: starting with one syllable and increasing by one (1/2/3/4/5 — 3x). Explore this form with GirlGriot who introduced it to me. 

March

may be

the maddest

month of them all.

But April creeps up,

Yield!

April

is not cruel.

Rejoice! With a

poem in your pocket,

you’ll

never 

be lonely

at night in bed
as poems sing to you.

2015 SOLSC 30/31: Mouse Story Part II

                               

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Beth, and Anna

for hosting this meeting place each day in March

                                                    and for nurturing our writing lives. 

Inspired by Catherine's found poem from the last chapter of Birchbark House, I create a found poem from the book, Cathedral Mouse by Kay Chorao.  Since the book is out of print and some of you were unable to find a copy in your libraries, this found poem summarizes this story that is beautifully told and illustrated by Chorao.  The story of how I found this book and purchased two additional copies is in Mouse Story.  For our family connection to the book, stay tuned for Mouse Story Part III.

Mouse wanted a real home.

Out of pet store

Onto snowy street

Big orange cat!

Mouse ran for his life!

Up stone steps

In a vast space

Curled near golden lights.

Hand! Danger! Ran!

Up carved screen

Heart pounding

Faces frowned at him

Scurried for safety.

Fell down organ pipe,

Tumbled into nest of mice

Out!  Not one of usssssssss!

Ran through hole in pipe

Fell, ran, leaped, landed,

Slid into cozy hollow,

Hid, heart still thumping.

Crash!

Running, running to find safe place

Top of stone pillar

Sleep tonight.

Tomorrow find home.

Awakened, next to him

Bread and cheese.

Light, jewel- bright

Ribbons of light

Beams of light

Mouse scampered and sang,

Dancing in the light.

Mop crashed down

Man shouted

Mouse ran to pillar

Be more careful!

Explore, slide, sing, and play

When safe and quiet.

Slept on pillar

Awakened, more bread and cheese.

Pillar safe

But not a real home!

Man in shadows

Mouse froze with fear!

Voice soft and slow

Man came often

Each time reached out hand

At last, touched Mouse’s head

After a long time, rides on arm,

Then, in pocket

Surprise –bread and cheese!

Man laughed

Tomorrow you keep me company

Little Cathedral Mouse.

Shed filled with blocks of stone

Curl up in cap

Watched from woolly perch

Man pounded and pounded.

End of every day

Mouse returned to pillar

Not a real home, but safe.

One day men pushing something

Heavy onto his pillar

"Now I have no place at all."

Sadly passed by his pillar.

Warm hand lifted him up

“Look what I have carved for you.”

Mouse looked.

“You have carved . . . ME!”

"And more."

Mouse crept into tunnel and

Found cozy little room.

“Now I have a real home.”

“Now you are a real Cathedral Mouse.”

And so he was.

And so he would always be,

Forever and ever. 

2015 SOLSC 29/31: Pensee Poem for Sunday

                               

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Beth, and Anna

for hosting this meeting place each day in March

                                                    and for nurturing our writing lives. 

I love to watch the rippling effects of our posts.  I try out the pensee form explained by Michelle 

who was inspired by Windows to My Life.

"A pensee poem is a poem that uses syllabic form. There's no specific meter or rhyme. 

syllabic count 2-4-7-8-6;

line 1 is the subject;

line 2 gives description;

line 3, action;

line 4, the setting;

line 5, final thought."

Savior

Light of the world

Redeems my soul, lifts me up

Yesterday, today and always

Teach me to walk in light

Image taken at the Chihuly Garden and Glass during Joan's visit in February.

2015 SOLSC 28/31 and Celebrate This Week

                               

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Beth, and Anna

for hosting this meeting place each day in March

                                                    and for nurturing our writing lives. 

                               Join us each weekend for Celebrate this week with Ruth Ayres.  

 When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.

  A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember!

1.  Book Club List for Upcoming Year Arrived:
Several folks asked if I was willing to share our list.  It's always an eclectic list, but half the fun of a book club is reading books one wouldn't necessarily choose.  Two titles on the list were suggested by me, The Grapes of Wrath and All the Light we Cannot See.  I'm sad that our club didn't also choose my third title, Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast.
  
The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Dish:  The Inside Story on the World of Gossip by Jeanette Walls
The Zhivago Affair:  The Kremlin, the CIA and the Battle Over a Forbidden Book by Peter Finn and Petra Couvee
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith by Gina Nahai
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Translator:  A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrandt

2.  Play Dates on Thursday and Friday:
Half the fun of being retired is being available to watch some of my young friends.  Imi and I played at the park on Thursday.
Eliza (age 4) led me in a busy afternoon of
Adventure, a Discovery Toy puzzle activity,
Soccer (she was patient with me even though I was "slow"),
Find the Hidden Soccer Ball, and 
Chase (I don't think I've actually "run" in a decade or so). 
The first part of the afternoon, she watched "Ramona and Beezus"
which gave me some commenting time.  
I'm sorry that I can't report on my time with Emma who slept from the time she was dropped off until her mommy returned almost three hours later. (My children never napped for three hours.)  She enjoyed the neighbor's, "goggie" while we snacked on cookie bars and chatted with her parents.  I haven't seen Eliza and Emma since last spring when their family moved away for one year.  Unfortunately, yesterday's visit was during the time that their parents loaded a truck from their storage unit.
We're still hopeful that they will move back after
a short 18 month commitment in another state.  

3.  A serendipitous find at the library book sale:
I worked at the Friends of the Library book sale on Wednesday and Friday.  I ended up sorting the adult fiction during my shift on Friday, but couldn't leave without spending a little time straightening the children's section.  I shouted with glee when I found The Cozy Book by Mary Ann Hoberman.   I gave this book to a friend quite a few years ago because it was perfect for their "cozy" themed Christmas,
but had been unable to find a copy for myself until yesterday.
I picked up a few other titles, but don't tell my husband
because we're decluttering  at our house!

2015 SOLSC 27/31: For Those in Pain

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Beth, and Anna

for hosting this meeting place each day in March

and for nurturing our writing lives. 

I'm sharing a poem by Helen Frost 

that I found while sorting my paper piles.

Jone Mccullough at Check It Out is

hosting this week's poetry round-up.  

       Be sure to stop by for a taste of poetry love.

This poem may have already been shared on Poetry Friday which may be how I came to find a xeroxed copy of it.  I want to share this poem for my friend from college who is coping with the death of a young adult son, for a blogger friend who is experiencing tough love with her two sons, for the survivors of the family who lost seven of their eight children in a tragic fire,

and for anyone else whose

"...road is longer than it should be,..."  

You can find the poem in the What's New Section on Helen Frost's blog.  

Scroll down to December 20, 2010,

where you'll find Helen's poem "Where Grass is Pressed," and these comforting words:  

"Close your eyes, and nestle into sleep, into love."  

2015 SOLSC 26/31: Exercise

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice" 

to the Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Betsy, Dana, Beth, and Anna

for hosting this meeting place each day in March

                                                   and for nurturing our writing lives.

The bloggers at Spiritual Journey Thursday are            

writing about the spiritual focus of our community's   

One Little Words.  This week, we are writing about 

Mary Hill's OLW, EXERCISE.  Thanks to Holly Mueller
for hosting this group each Thursday.  

Writing this post is my own little exercise this morning.  I spend far more time writing my posts this year than in previous years.  Maybe it's because I'm retired, maybe it's because I don't want to do the other things on my "to do" list, maybe it's because I revel in having a bit more expendable time.  

But today is a busy day, and I know I'll feel better if I exercise my writing muscles and write quickly before the commitments of the day fill my agenda and life.

I know that when I exercise my spiritual muscles through prayer, scripture study, and reflection, that these moments will enrich the rest of my day.

I know that when I exercise my body, I feel good.  I can check that little item off the list, but even more it clears my head and affects my mood in positive ways.  

So if I know that exercising my writing muscles, my spiritual muscles, and my physical muscles is so good for me, why do I find it so hard to follow through and do? And why if I'm doing better at one of them (writing every day this month), do the other exercises tend to slacken?  I remind myself that in any exercise regimen, it's important to stretch.  So I'm cutting short today's post so that I can stretch my spiritual muscles before the demands of the day cut into my precious prayer and reflection time.  

I'll close with a quote that I kept posted in my classroom and that now graces my bulletin board:  

"Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still."
-Chinese proverb

with my adaptation for Mary's OLW, exercise:
"Be not afraid of exercising slowly, be afraid only of not exercising at all."  
-Ramona