Apr18Poetry - Both Sides

I'm trying something new, taking a risk this month - participating in
#VerseLove with Sarah Donovan,
hoping to write poetry every day this April.







Today's challenge is such a hard one! Oh my. The inspiration was Joni Mitchell's song "Both Sides Now" - we were to pick three topics and look at these from two perspectives. I listened to Joni Mitchell's amazing song, and could not get it out of my head. She focuses on clouds, love, and life. Here is my poem...I focus on night, home, and family. Ugh!

Monsters and bogeyman,

Ghosts hiding in the walls,

They’re awake while you sleep,

Don’t disturb them at all.

You stay in your bed

Pull your covers up tight,

Beware of the dark

In the middle of the night.

But now I see so much in dark,

Dreams, ideas, prayers, and books

When I wake in the middle,

It’s time for another look.

No reason to fear this

Instead take paper and pen

Write what I am thinking

Go back to sleep again.

I think and wonder about the night

I probably should know more,

What of stars, moon, owls,

and bats, to name only four?

No clutter and polished wood,

Sheets tightly made on beds

Mom kneels in prayer, curtains drawn

Dad’s working in the shed.

Follow the rules, no protest,

Be sure to do all my chores,

Then find my shoes and jacket,

Leave the cold and head outdoors.

But then I made my own home,

Wanting another way,  

The one rule: no silent treatment

We’ve honored to this day.

Three boys, messy rooms,

We laughed, sometimes we cried

All feelings were welcome

Home was a place we tried.

I think and wonder about home,

the touch of theirs on mine,

What changes might we make,

If we went back in time?

One man and one woman,

Holy marriage is the way,

Children need this structure,

Everyone would say.

Sheltered life limits the view,

Seems to shape children’s minds,

But I don’t think there’s any stop

To curious, over time.

Whether books, study, or travel,

I began to question it,

So many families

That this shell didn’t fit.

Teaching showed me even more,

Each family is unique

Together has so many ways

There is no one technique.

Whatever I think and wonder

About families, is just guess.

Isn’t it an illusion

To think we know what’s best?

Apr7Poetry - Girls' play

I'm trying something new, taking a risk this month - participating in
#VerseLove with Sarah Donovan,
hoping to write poetry every day this April.








Today's poetic challenge is to write an "ekphrastic poem," which is one that originates with a piece of art or photograph, providing a creative description or imagining of the scene itself. We were given several photos as a starting point, and invited to open up our senses and write!

I chose this photo:

Girls' playground, Harriet Island, St. Paul, Minn.

• Digital ID: (digital file from original) det 4a12326 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a12326
• Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-det-4a12326 (digital file from original)
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Grab the rings, soar in the sky,

Together, sisters, we play.

Waste no moment here outside,

My favorite time of day.

Dress and tights won’t hold me back,

With each swing, I feel the breeze.

Simply nothing that I lack,

Like a bird, I am so free.

I find it so confusing,

It doesn’t make sense to me.

You stopped running and doing,

Simply to goggle and preen?

Hold on tight, big swing, repeat,  

My muscles will see me through.

Move the stepstool when I leap,

Then, I’ll do the same for you.

Grab the rings, soar in the sky,

Together, sisters, we play.

Waste no moment here outside,

My favorite time of day.

The mirror

I am participating in the
 Slice of Life.  
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, 
on Tuesdays.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

My husband captured the cutest video of our fifteen month old granddaughter ('Frog'), watching herself in a full-length mirror...as if seeing herself for the very first time. Truly, the video is enchanting - and I'd love to share it here, so that you might see for yourself. However, we are all trying our very best to raise Frog away from social media (as if this is even possible, these days)...so you'll have to take my word that it is the ultimate cuteness. 

I've looked at the video over and over again, these past couple of days - noticing her eyes as she looks at her reflection, noticing her delight with what she sees, and her burst of happy laughter that she has this mimic in her life. She expresses such ease with herself, with her body; she is delighted to share this moment with her Papa as she plays at the mirror, turning her head to laugh with him, then continuing to bend, stretch, and even squat, making her reflection move. 

I do not pause for mirrors. Whenever I happen to pass by a mirror in a public place, where others might see me (i.e., not my bathroom!), I am not in the least bit happy to see my reflection. Was I ever at ease like Frog? How might I capture just a fraction of her happiness the next time I see my reflection in the mirror? Where did I lose that little girl's openness to all that I am? 

There is so much wisdom in this little girl's dance.

Here's a little rhyming poem about the beauty of her moment at the mirror.

The Mirror

She happens upon a mirror
and simply can't believe
there's another someone hiding
who looks just like she.
She crouches down and then jumps up,
to see what her friend might do.
Every twist is mimicked,
and her facial expressions, too!
She tries a new position,
she leans in for a kiss;
when the other moves the same way,
she laughs with sheer bliss.