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Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Without Water #NaPoWriMo
April 2, 2017
— 1 Comment
cactus
cactus
We fished and swam in the rivers, let our storms run down the street
It did not occur to us that one day our water supply would retreat
The plants and landscape told us our methods were made to defeat
The natural song of the rain and the snow, converting to concrete
When our hillsides and forests burned down and washed out to sea
It left us with few choices, no resources, just a distant memory
Of springs and brooks and underground streams that filled our land
We can no longer feed our people, our lives slip by like sand
In the hourglass of history no single ruler takes the burden of blame
For the killing of the living waters. All we can say is it is a shame
#GloPoWriMo
All month in April you can enjoy reading poetry submitted from around the world at #NaPoWriMo. Discover new poets or write some yourself. It is all in good fun. You may find a poem in you that needs to be written.
#NaPoWriMo2017
#WeekendCoffeeShare #NaPoWriMo Edition
April 1, 2017
— 4 Comments
#NaPoWriMo2017
Dear Gentle Readers,
In April I write 30 poems in 30 days to honor my famous ancestor who was an exceptional poet and a special kind of historian. Today I join folks from around the world to participate in this year’s #NaPoWriMo. Since it is a global initiative it is also known as #GloPoWriMo to make it clear that everyone is invited. You can follow both these hashtags on twitter or Facebook for more information. I invite you to partake as a fan or a poet. You my be surprised at the poet you find inside of yourself. There are many wonderful styles of writing to discover in this treasure trove of artistic expression. Don’t be shy. Write a poem.
#GloPoWriMo
Please sit down, relax, take a load off your feet
While I tell you the story of Ann Dudley Bradstreet
She published her poetry in the Puritan times
Her English is old school, her well crafted rhymes
Were concerned with religion and current events
She made poignant requests to her progeny to stay
On the right side of God’s will, never sit on the fence
She begged us to be ethical, honest, virtuous and bold
Her legacy is eloquent, the details of our family were told
In real time as America took unexpected turns toward liberty
Finding her voice as a woman was a rare privilege, an anomaly
As her descendant I call on her esteemed presence in April every year
I ask for her assistance to drop a few decent beats, to be pertinent and clear
And so, dear ancestor, now scattered into stardust and moonbeams
Visit me with your discipline, your wisdom, and all of your ancient dreams
To follow in your footsteps I am going to require a great deal of your love
Look down on your daughter here on earth, send inspiration from above
in bloom
looking up
If we were having coffee this month I would ask my coffee friends around the table to ride the poetry train if you are able. I know it is corny and may turn perverse. I assure you than in May I will return to verse. The coffee share and the poetry train go well as a duo, in my opinion. Help yourself to coffee, tea, and poetry. For more digital beverages and prose, please visit Nerd in the Brain. The weekly party is always interesting and stimulating.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
Planet Post Up – Jupiter Square Pluto, Mercury in Taurus, Saturn Retrograde, Venus Retrograde
March 31, 2017
— 1 Comment
Change in the heavens
Gold And The Green Flash #WritePhoto
March 30, 2017
— 12 Comments
gold
Golden reflections of sunset over the ocean took over my senses and transported me back to the first time I saw this place. My memories of this place stretch for miles and pleasant miles along the Pacific Coast Highway. I started to visit these beaches when I worked as an illegal alien in Tecate, BC, Mexico. I crossed the border to party and go to the beach in San Diego on a regular basis while I was teaching at a spa for Americans in the beer border town known as TKT in local lingo. As a wetback gringa I enjoyed easy free passage through the border. My employers bribed the Mexican aduana, and the US side was much different before 2001. We had an ideal way of life that included being paid to live at a destination spa. I made the most of it while it lasted, and am always happy that I did. Those days will never return. I kept crossing into Mexico to work until 2003, when I decided it had become too violent and scary to continue. The good old days were gone forever. Mexico lingo y querido had vanished forever.
Standing on a cliff in Encinitas I watch the surfers below me catch a few waves at the end of the day. I stop to watch the horizon for a green flash when the sun meets the water. A pelican glides in front of the light, fishing. The natural beauty of this stunning place in nature has endured through many political upheavals. I thought about the pelican and his flock needing no visa to cross the border. I wonder if man is conquering nature or nature has conquered man. FLASH!!! There is a moment of bright green that marks the end of this day. Most of us consider the green flash to be a sign of good luck. I am optimistic.
This is a story inspired by Sue Vincent’s photo prompt. Please visit Sue at the Daily Echo to read, write, or just enjoy posts from around the world interpreting this image. Every Thursday we take on a new image.
#writephoto
PCH
The Tedium Trance
March 28, 2017
— 2 Comments
facade
What is the worst band of torture ever known to human kind?
I believe it is tedium, designed to numb the mind.
The orders and the triplicate files of meaningless transactions
Fill the time and suck the life out of the worker bees who serve
The whimsey of the ruling class with the resources and the nerve
To spend without repentance, to waste, to make improvidence
A privilege they perceive is granted to them for outstanding cognizance
hombre
rusty
Dream Riders
March 27, 2017
— 5 Comments
adobe
wheels
A breeze blew through our dining room, lifting curtains made of lace
We caught a glimpse of a horse and rider moving by at a galloping pace
The lawn filled up with curious geese squawking as they ran
Shedding down like snow flurries, they covered the corpse of the man
Who died suddenly from mysterious causes but then returned to life
His presence disturbed horses who all began to spook and bolt
Ghost riders dressed in fancy chaps mounted the steeds and rode them into the sky
Outlaw gunslingers broke through the kitchen door in a flash of flames and smoke
We had lost hope, trembling under the dinner table in mortal fear when I awoke.
Self Care And Self Expression
March 26, 2017
photo fun
photo fun
photo fun
photo fun
The phrase self care is popular these days. I personally am very happy to see this concept become a trend. For far too long high maintenance has been praised as a status to which we should all aspire. Personal trainers, stylists, shoppers,, chefs, and spin doctors of every sort are employed taking care of the needy and the wealthy who have no life skills to care for themselves. I enjoy personal care and attention as much as the next person, but I believe that by turning over too much personal care to professionals one becomes a product more than a zesty, lively expression of our own personality. It is vital to get down to basics when we define self care. It must be different for each individual because we each prefer unique ways of being soothed, pampered, or restored. By taking responsibility for one’s own pampering one discovers new and valuable ways to keep our bodies and minds healthy. There is no single formula, but there are elements that work well in combination to create a self care ritual or practice.
Personal time to recharge and invigorate can be used in all kinds of ways. Here are some ideas to try:
- Take a class to learn a new skill you may enjoy as a hobby
- Spend time reading in a peaceful space
- Plan and execute a journey as a retreat, formal or self guided
- Meditate or partake in mindfulness as you do your chores
- Cook, clean, eat, transport, shop, and try various tasks in silence for a change
- Play sports or games with others to foster fellowship
- Swim, walk, bike, hike, or dedicate time to a solo exercise designed to free the mind of stress
- Make a journal of discovery that includes words, ideas, and dream images
- Take elaborately planned and executed baths with music, candles, privacy
I had to mention the bath because this is the classic way people think of self care. I agree that a long soak in a tub with some essential oils can be just what is needed to restore vitality. Not everyone is a bath person. I encourage you to look around for ways to take care of yourself as only you can. I enjoy trying photography in nature. Sometimes I even produce something worth sharing. Enjoy, gentle reader. You are in charge of you.
#WeekendCoffeeShare Reaching Conclusions
March 25, 2017
— 8 Comments
horseshoes
horseshoes
If we were having coffee this weekend I would invite you to relax and take in the jasmine scent, still going strong in my front yard. I have ordered more tea (not that I was in need), so the selection has grown to epic proportion. The lazy Susan pantry literally groans under the weight of all the tea. I am digging a new blend called Hugs and Kisses, with a rose/caramel aftertaste that drives me wild. I also ordered a black passion fruit flavored tea that tastes delicious iced. We drink iced tea all year, but in summer I brew in the sun daily and we consume mass quantities. If you like, I can brew you a hot cup of roiboos jasmine to go with the flowers in the yard. It is one of my favorites, and there is a little chill this morning that will make a hot beverage feel just right. Please, make yourself at home while I fetch your drink of choice, and tell me how your life is. I want to hear what you have been doing, and how your writing is proceeding.
I have been trying to finish a non-fiction story that has unfolded over many years by creating a happy ending in real life. This is the nature of non-fiction, being just the truth. It limits one to facts. As I struggle to make my real life ending happen I am writing some fiction and poetry as a relief. I am a neophyte at both genres, and, if I do say so myself, pretty shitty at both. I like to practice to improve because I do find it liberating to just make up stories rather than try to influence hard reality in favor of a heroic outcome. It is so much easier to imagine an alternative vision than it is to bring one into being on the earth.
I spend a lot of time investigating my genealogy, discovering facts about my family tree. I have attempted some short historical fiction based on some factual data I know about my ancestors. I think this is a direction in which I could take my writing that would not only make use of the years of research I have done, but also allow me to create stories based on facts, but not limited strictly to them. All that has happened already, so there will be no changing the historical facts. Embellishing the truth, imagining the dialog and the settings, then bringing them to life seems like something I could really enjoy. I have a very famous poet ancestor, in whose honor I write 30 poems in 30 days in April as part of #NaPoWriMo. It is a challenge, but I think I owe it to her to give it a whirl for one month a year. She provided her DNA and poetry about her life and children (of which I am one). She was religious and wrote in olde English, so there is that. There are a couple other poets in the tree who lived in Tudor England. One was beheaded by Henry VIII. I tried to write a comedic ditty about his death a couple of years ago..it was one of my worst poems ever…but I published it. When I become an accomplished poet I will edit and spend much more time finishing each piece. Reaching a conclusion for a poem should be creative journey that has a universal ring. Someday I aspire to do that. My poetic muse has a short attention span that needs to be expanded. The fiction one is in the same boat. They are lazy, so they like to jump to conclusions rather than work it.
This year I am gearing up by writing some warm up poems and collecting some interesting images to use for illustration and inspiration. All I do is publish a poem each day. I only hope to improve over time and stir my genetic muse to awaken and say something profound and poetic. I keep the bar very low for quality, but do find lots of great ideas by reading the work of the other participants. I have finally finished my tax preparation and have returned to some written correspondence with a my new pen pals from February. I loaded up on stamps and plan to hand write and mail some of my shitty poems to my pen pals as a fusion of #NaPoWriMo and #InCoWriMo. They will be on great post cards, so even if the poems suck the presentation will be artful. This is the major lesson learned from the #InCoWriMo peeps, who tend to also be bullet journal, #BuJo, peeps…presentation counts, so don’t slack in that department.
Please join us on the weekend to sip and savor digital beverages with kindred spirits around the globe. Nerd in the Brain hosts this jolly group of writers. Please visit the party here to read, comment or submit your own post.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
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