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Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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#WorldPoetryDay and the Poet in You
March 21, 2016
— 1 Comment
Today is World Poetry Day, so twitter is all aflutter with haiku. UNESCO is running a thread for pros and amateurs to enter the fun using the hashtag #tweetku.
There are some funny and inspiring poems flying around, and we see coffee houses where they are accepting poems for payment today. This celebration has grown and become more popular since last year. I urge you to join the creative fun, even if you are not feeling very poetic at this moment. Read some of the other tweets for inspiration or just to tickle your funny bone. I know that we are all poets because I write a poem each day for poetry month in April for #NaPoWriMo. I have no particular talent or style, but after 30 days of poetry I feel very accomplished and more creative. I use original art or photography on my April poems to make them a little more interesting. The important part is the practice rather than the poems themselves. I am hoping to expand my subject matter again this year. My first year was way too drippy, all about spirit, dreams, and tinkle tinkle reality..pretty dull and one dimensional. Last year I did some new topics like my ancestor’s beheading at the Tower of London. The art and the poem were infantile, but I did give it a whirl. Practice does not really make perfect in my case, but it does make psychological inroads into my own thinking and ability to write. I am warming up for next month today:
Here is one I love, with a little pun:
https://twitter.com/BarvanderVossen/status/711979640378826753
Let the poet in you loose on the town today..or at least read some.
No Place Like Home Wellness Plan
September 23, 2015
— 2 Comments
pure intention
My recent odyssey was perfect for my taste as well as my health. Winding up the last three days and nights in Desert Hot Springs gave me every chance to relax, release and renew in the water. The drinking water there is also excellent, so I came home hydrated and healthy. Taking a mineral water cure is always my favorite way to retreat to center and focus. Leaving home is a great way to assess which best and healthy practices to nurture, and which habits to eliminate. I was very lenient with my diet on holiday but did not suffer ill effects from a few days of extra alcohol and taste treats. We did not go overboard very much on the trip, and a little splurge is good for the attitude.
The first day of fall beckons to holiday celebrants to begin planning, singing, and collecting recipes. The Pumpkin Spice lifestyle is propagated everywhere, and obligatory holiday consumerism is praised as virtue. I am not opposed to merriment, gifting, or parties, but think it can all be done with less waste, more true spirit of giving, and some refined restraint. I plan to use this season of harvest and thanksgiving to clean up my act, my house, and my lifestyle choices. I am the only one who can give myself these gifts.
Now that I am home I have the chance to create positive new change:
- This fall I will limit myself to 3 alcoholic drinks a week
- I will go through my books and office to reduce clutter/clear space
- I will try at least 3 classes a week at the Racquet Club
- I will have acupuncture or body work every week
- I will write poetry and mine my dreams for self-expression
When the winter solstice arrives in December I want to feel happier, lighter, and more free. Three months of concentration on my wellbeing is an investment that will pay big dividends long into the future. This holiday present I am giving to myself is more valuable than anything I could be given by another person.
shadow selfie
The Dactyls
May 10, 2015
— 1 Comment
copper
The race of spirit men who are attendants to the Goddess Cybele are known as the Dactyls. They are small and phallic, like the fingers of human hands. Cybele is a 5th century Anatolian goddess who became popular in Greece, then Rome in the 3rd century. She is principally a nature goddess, but has responsibility for nations and the welfare of the people. She is merged with various other mother figures in Greece and Rome. The Dactyls discovered metal and metal smithing and taught it to humans. They are skilled musicians and magicians. On Crete they are said to have discovered copper.
In English poetry a dactyl is a foot in poetic meter. The word poetry itself is a dactyl, one long syllable followed by two short. Greek elegiac poetry was written as a line of dactylic hexameter followed by a line of dactylic pentameter. This was done to make the lines easy for the players to remember, since they had to memorize and recite long choruses. This three beat rhythm is a verbal waltz.
Digital now refers to things not crafted by hands, but in cyberspace. These miracles of programming still require fingers to type in the codes. Take some time today to consider the meaning of fingers and the ability to employ them. Prayer position, or namaste, pressing the fingers of both hands together, is significant as a symbol of gratitude and honor. Sensitivity in each finger brings sensory information to us and allows us to reach out and touch others with feeling. Everything we touch nourishes our inner wisdom and feeds our souls. Give some thanks today for everyone who has given you a hand in life. In what ways do you give as well as receive with your hands? Acknowledge the magic in these exchanges of energy and emotion.
Poet Hollow
April 30, 2015
— 1 Comment
orchid
Woods dripping with Spanish moss and voodoo shrines
Down the hill from the oracle cave the hermit still declines
To give you the secret magic word you use to save the day
Find the sorcerer’s manuscripts then interpret what they say
Squandered youth, wild stormy stories, hidden truth of night
Dreams bring colorful vibrant myths, strong psychic insight
The realm inhabited by poetry and poets, invisible to some
Portrays life more intensely, gives clues to why we have come
flora
NaPoWriMo 2015
It has been a real privilege to inhabit the place of the poets this April. Thanks to all who contributed and read.
Truth by Mother Goose
April 28, 2015
— 7 Comments
field of sunflowers
Early years fill with nursery rhymes, stories designed to teach
Suspended between fictional characters dialog is made to preach
Current popular opinion, political outrage hidden between the lines
The villain and the hero match wits whilst the wicked witch opines
These morality plays change very little with the passage of time
Forces of good conquer evil and the story is set to rhyme
When you meet a character who comes straight from Mother Goose
You have discovered archetypal imagery that will help you to deduce
If you are the victim or the hero, the popular victor or the slimy creep
We all have parts to play, ego hiding under shadowy cover of sleep
field of sunflowers
NaPoWriMo 2015
The poetry train has almost arrived at the destination…May. Hop aboard for a poetic ride here.
Oil Field Orphans
April 27, 2015
— 5 Comments
Ruby and Her SistersThe Taylor sisters of Humble, Texas met tragedy early in life
Their mother died in childbirth leaving ten children in grief and strife
Their father rode a black horse around the oil field reading gauges
Recording the data from each well in production for very low wages
When their father killed himself at home he was discovered by his son
Who was only 5 years old. The deed could never be undone.
They had no preparation or reserves for this sudden change
Suicide had swept away home and security, memories forever stained
NaPoWriMo 2015
Poetry is the sport of the month in April. Please indulge yourself in all kinds of poetry here.
Electing Apathy
April 26, 2015
— 4 Comments
Thorny issues
The candidates align on left and right with eager well lit faces
Chirping sound bites with sincere well tested spinning phrases
They will sprawl all over the airwaves, call your home and send mail
Proclaiming vague tattered arguments that strike everyone as stale
We will resume campaigns for presidential power through bribery
Lavish spending on election shenanigans supports the corrupt dynasty
To protect yourself from Republicans and Democrats you must be firm
Political parties spend like sailors spreading untruths to make you squirm
As they trot out their make up and their speeches, reject the fallacious
Look at the images they are projecting and recognize the mendacious
After the spending and insincere rhetoric we elect the same jerks
As if nobody has been paying attention to the way this all works
NaPoWriMo 2015
Enjoy poetry this month here. Take time to read and write some poems in April.
Thistles for Dinner
April 25, 2015
— 3 Comments
globe artichoke
I ate my first artichoke in New Orleans in the French Quarter
I was a teenager on the town at Antoine’s, an establishment so fine
It arrived looking exotic, next to a giant bowl of melted butter
I was instructed in the art of thistle consumption, then treated to a sip of wine
I don’t remember the rest of the menu or what else we ate for supper
I decided to adopt flower tasting as a permanent feature of my lifestyle design
globe artichoke
My parents didn’t bother with the labor intensive green gourmet delight
I liked the way it revealed itself, required each leaf to be a separate bite
I have a vivid memory of the atmosphere and the formal setting we had
It was fun to discover a dish I loved to eat, with the bonus that it irritated my dad
globe artichoke
NaPoWriMo 2015
Poetry of all kinds can be found to read and enjoy during the month of April. Ride the poetry train here.
Spylight
April 24, 2015
— 3 Comments
skeleton
Windows of stained glass, gothic arches reaching down from heaven
Contain secret hiding places from which to see the world in procession
Between clouds and stars light years have passed uncounted, forgotten
Pathways of comets, trails of meteors falling to earth, and fools misbegotten
Bright illumination shines through the veils, the curtain, and the hidden door
While multitudes enrolled in rival schools of thought collapse into war
Youth, athletic performance, strength have become the peak obsession,
Playing games is a metaphor when competition is the prize possession
NaPoWriMo 2015
Poets and poetry are celebrated during the month of April here. Enjoy reading writing and reciting!!!
Exchange
April 22, 2015
— 1 Comment
poppy
California Poppy
Currencies and agricultural pursuits have exchanges
Changing times, political events, require sensitive gauges
To measure then analyze the progress we have to report
Comparisons to perfection are built on data that we all support
The withdrawal from nature has no column in this audit of value
The inexhaustible generosity of earth has unlimited virtue
Flowing steadily down from high places feeding the demands
Of a hunger impossible to satiate that nobody alive understands
Pioneers of wilderness and giants of industrial conquest
Bequeath to the future a desolate landscape, fully processed
skull and crossbones
Find your muse and write some poetry this month. Enjoy the work of diverse poets here.
NaPoWriMo 2015
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