Every year for many years now I have celebrated National Poetry Month and invite and encourage those who find poetry difficult or boring to give poetry a try. If you have read my profile you will know that for me poetry is life and life is poetry. I was introduced to poetry at a very young age and had wonderful teachers who inspired me to read and write poems.
I believe that poetry can change your life. I also believe that poetry can heal. Our nation needs healing right now. We are facing a very deadly virus and have been told that there is a possibility that many thousands will lose their lives. The thought terrifies me and saddens me deeply. Hopefully the numbers of people affected will decrease substantially. This pandemic has hit hard in many countries around the world. This is why more than ever we must understand the concept of oneness. Prayer, meditation, and yes reading poetry will help us cope with the tragedy of what is now. I refuse to think beyond that; i must stay focused on the now. We have little control over what may happen as a result of this deadly and highly contagious virus.
I believe in hope. We must believe in the ingenuity of our scientific and medical researchers because we do have the best of the best working hard to find the therapy and finally the vaccine that will work.
Please join me in celebrating National Poetry Month by using poetry to help us heal and to comfort us. Join me to celebrate a Poem in Your Pocket. Look for poems that inspire and fill your heart with hope. Share poems with love ones and even perfect strangers. Write poems. Dedicate a poem to someone who is laboring to make a difference in all of our lives. Share poems via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and any other social media outlet. Let us make poetry viral surpassing any other medium. Surprise someone with a poem inside a greeting card. Remember that poetry is life and life is poetry.
God bless you all and may poetry bring you joy and hope during these very scary and difficult times.
Because today I have been thinking about so many things at once, I decided to stop thinking. Our political scene which filled with mindful and mindless debates, continuously infusing cleverly crafted alternative facts are driving many of us to drink. It truly saddens me. But we must continue to listen mindfully. I came across a few quotes that calmed my busy mind. I want to share these with you today just in case you too are drained with all that is going on.
“You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems, and suffer; and understand, for all that is life.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” -John Milton
I have been away from the writing board for a few weeks now. Sadly my beloved father-in-law passed away and we had to go and help with so much that is required after a death.
My father-in-law was my father. I lost my dad many years ago and he began to fill in that gap slowly but surely with much love as my father would have done. I relied on him for advice, his mentoring and a fatherly hug when I needed one. He will be missed.
My son delivered a very emotional eulogy depicting his grandfather as a noble family man. As I listened to him I heard my husband’s, my dad’s and my father-in-law’s voices all in one. My son had learned well their collective teachings. He never met my father but I had shared so many of his stories that my son got to know him well. I was so proud of him.
I learned a lot about life these past few years as I watched and listened to my father-in-law deal with his illness. I have learned to appreciate so many things more now. The little things especially. It is amazing how many of the mourners remembered precisely the short encounters with my father-in-law. Many close friends characterized their memorable experiences as seeming insignificant to anyone else but themselves. They emphasized how some of these events (mostly acts of kindness) had changed their lives. But now more than ever the family swelled with pride to know how he made a difference in so many people’s lives.
His legacy will carry on through my son and daughter and hopefully my grandchildren. We are what we do. A life is the sum of the great things we do for others. This was the best lesson of all. He served during World War II, he loved his country with great passion and cherished his wife of 70 years and his entire family. Rest in peace Don Will, you did well.
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.
Poemattic: Poetry and Art for the Soul 
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