What do I tell my grandchildren now?

August 15, 2018

Ever since I became a grandmother all I think about is my grandchildren’s future and if life will be good for them. I fear that they will not have access to the same natural resources that I had as a youngster because we have abused the planet and mother nature for so long. I dread the moment that I will have to explain to them why some people hurt and hate other people. How do you explain that some people suffer so much because they have different beliefs.

I saw a television ad for an organization that helps children that are very ill cope with their sickness. Many of them are at risk of a short life expectancy. The infomercial made me weep. I thanked God my grandchildren are all healthy. The images presented are difficult to watch. Especially when so many children die because they do not have the adequate medical care.

But then it hit me. What will I tell them when they see tragic events or when they witness hatred and bigotry? What will I tell them when they are faced with bullying?

I remember talking to my children about these issues when they were growing up but I feel like it is all different now. There are more instances of tragic events related to bigotry, hatred, drugs, and natural catastrophe. It may be that I am simply older, and do not have the emotional strength to deal with all that happens these days.

I wrote this poem to read to my grandchildren when the time comes I may have to explain that bad things happen.

I would like your opinion if you have grandchildren or young children.

 

Well, I’ll tell you children

what you saw happen

just happens

and sometimes

we cannot prevent bad things from happening.

Sometimes all we could do is hope;

Sometimes all we can do is try to cope;

Sometimes you will need to question.

 

Many times you will feel helpless

But do not let yourself feel hopeless my darlings;

do not let fear disarm you.

 

Believe that you can be strong

Learn the difference between right and wrong

and never make others feel they do not belong.

 

My sweet children

all I can tell you today

is that tomorrow will be a better day,

because you will help make it so.

 

Only you can be the change

Only you can make the difference

and always remember

love is very powerful.

 

Love yourself

and others too

and always, always remember

Grandma loves you too.

 

 

Navigating the World of Poetry Publication

August 14, 2018

Great advice!

Vita Brevis

by Brian Geiger

Setting the Stage

Many poets view editors with the same distrust and artistic frustration that musicians harbor toward their record labels. They’re often seen as little more than oppressive, even bureaucratic, barriers to creativity who, by some stroke of luck, became the gatekeepers of the larger artistic world that so many poets dream to be a part of.

This view is completely understandable. It’s frustrating to know that the fate of your work is in someone else’s hands, that something you’ve so carefully crafted must first be put on trial by a judge and jury whose credibility you may already doubt.

And there’s a feeling of invalidation there, too. Implicit in a rejected poem is a rejected poet, damning feedback from the professional world that seems to say that you’re just not up to snuff.

The world of poetry submission is nothing trivial. It’s uniquely…

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We share the same diversity

August 14, 2018

Thinking about our diversity.

Creative Mindfulness

We share the sun

We share the need to quench our thirst

We share the awe of when we watch a full moon

We share the lakes, rivers, oceans

We share the same emotions

We are more the same than different.

If you think about it

We share the same things in our planet

We are one that way.

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Poetry is life; life is poetry!

August 9, 2018

This has been my mantra for a long time.

I have written on the subject many times and always introduced poetry in my class by writing this statement on the chalkboard and waiting for reactions. Here is a new poem I wrote last night.

Poetry is life:

And,

Life is poetry!

It is in your quiet tiptoe

across the room

to surprise your lover.

It’s in the laughter of a child

when she finds out jello wiggles.

It’s in the chocolate chip cookie

that melts in your mouth.

 

Poetry is life you know

It’s everywhere you go.

It’s being in the know

and sitting back comfy like to watch life’s show.

 

Poetry is life my friend,

Both a little hard to comprehend

Full of hyperbole till the end.

 

Look around you,

poetry is right here

sitting with you on the couch

as you try to figure out

the meaning of it all.

 

Life is poetry my friend,

It’s in the ladybug’s climb

up a sunflower’s tall stem

confident she’ll make to the end

to see the crisp lavender bend in the sky.

Poetry is the answer to the why.

 

Poetry is life:

Oh yes,

And life is poetry.

It is everything you’ll want to know

It’s everywhere you go.

It’s you,

It’s me

and I pray

it will be around for eternity.

 

 

 

my new found poem – A Love Missed

August 7, 2018

Dear Readers:

Occasionally I come across a line or two that melt my heart. I often collect words, phrases and lines and use them in my poems. I found this lines and they served as my muse to write this poem. The attributions are below. Thanks to my fellow bloggers: Ricardo Sexton, John Coyote, Julio Jimenez and Charmed Chaos.

 

I need a wild heart

So do I

 

All I do lately is …

Draw your picture in my mind

The mind that teacher tried to change

When I told her I loved you

I need a wild heart today

Do you hear…

my whispers on the wind?

I pray that I will see you again someday.

 

I have not changed one bit

 Je n’ai pas changé. 

But I suppose you know

I am still the brown eyed girl

You sang to over the phone

 

We should have kept in touch

I did not have to find out

You passed so young

I need a calm heart now

Until we meet again

 

Attributions:

Charmed Chaos

Ricardo Sexton

John Coyote

Julio Jimenez

Confusion

July 25, 2018

“Lack of understanding; uncertainty,”

is the dictionary definition.

I can only express my rendition

with a mosaic of curved lines

which I myself cannot understand.

Cause I envision

Peace.

But really all there is, is division.

Cause I dream

of a new idealism,

full of optimism,

perhaps a neologism

like neo-spirtualism,

everyone understanding

that prolonged confusion

cannot continue

cannot continue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Shrinking Feeling

July 21, 2018

 

A shrinking feeling overwhelms me;

the giant issues that surround

the world

suffocate and diminish my spirit slowly.

Will we survive?

Will this craziness pass?

Will we ever find the door

that leads to the garden of love

and peace?

 

Let us be strong again;

Let us believe again;

We must survive

the lunacy,

the autocratic greed,

the narcissistic need to lead

blindly, arrogantly, foolishly,

and selfishly.

We must believe that we are truly one.

 

 

 

 

 

Someone Knows Who I Am

July 19, 2018

Someone knows who I am!

And would you have guessed

She’s a poet.

She described me

with hyperbole

and used metaphors

to describe my soul as I show it.

She counted all the tears I’ve shed;

listed my fears with alliteration.

One can only help but feel

some sort of fascination.

 

Someone knows who I am;

Someone knows I am,

who I am;

Me, myself and I

now do see

the me

or I

I want to be.

 

 

 

Inspired by Stanley Kunitz

July 17, 2018

 

(c) Melba Christie 2018

Every spring I try to plant a beautiful garden like the ones I have seen in magazines. No sooner I plant Begonias, Calandula, Petunias and Pansies, our resident cottontail rabbit and  occasional visiting deer snap up the fresh or new blooms.

The rabbit loves the clover that grows wild and free in our backyard. Clover is a weed but I cannot bring myself to stripping it because it has very dainty white flowers and because I too love the green leaves.

Therefore, my garden is composed of large ceramic pots. I have resigned to the fact that I may never have a garden except for the improvised one on our deck.

So what does Stanley Kunitz have to do with my want to be garden? Nothing really. Except that Mark Doty once described how Mr. Kunitz would walk through his garden “paying strict attention to every inch of it.”

I too thought about Mr. Kunitz’s  visits to his garden.  My grandmother never left her house for years except to step out into her small garden. Hers was a real garden.  She talked to the flowers and plants; she claimed they would grow more and bloom more robustly.

Thus, I wrote a poem about her love of nature and especially her garden.

 

Grandma only felt safe in her garden

the lavender plant soothed her soul

and helped her cope with her phobia.

 

On a few occasions, I heard her sing

to the tiger lilies. They leaned and seemed to listen.

She stood very still as if she were watching out

for prey like the cottontail did on the grassy lawn

there were no prey to speak of

no one would ever harm her

but she listened carefully to nature’s sounds and warnings

every morning among the daffodils

She is gone now

and so is Stanley K.

I wonder if they stand together

in heaven’s divine garden

praying for us here on earth.

 

 

On Stanley Kunitz and the Fine Arts Work Center — The Paris Review

July 17, 2018

The Fine Arts Work Center. When my wife and I first started dating, the poet Stanley Kunitz, one of the founders of the Fine Arts Work Center, visited her in a dream. She told him about our budding romance, and he said, with all the brightness and benevolence one would expect, “That’s wonderful! Wonderful!”…

via On Stanley Kunitz and the Fine Arts Work Center — The Paris Review

My Painting and a Quote by Shakespeare

July 9, 2018

Lately, all I wish for is peace and quiet. I have been watching too many shows that focus on politics and the state of the union if you will. I am just exhausted. I needed to get back into a zen place and focus on writing again and painting.

The painting above is imagined but suits me fine  for the time being. I also started sketching and drawing portraits from old photographs. It has been therapeutic.

There is nothing more calming than painting and writing. I recommend it highly.  I would like to hear about other remedies for reducing stress. Please send me your thoughts.