I believe that we all need to learn to breathe intently and mindfully in order to free ourselves from pain and anxiety and to reach calmness. During this time of social distancing, isolation and for some of us deep sorrow, it is imperative to keep the faith and to maintain our immune system stronger than ever. Below is a link to a video on how to take deep cleansing breaths by Dr. Andrew Weil. I have passed on this video to many of my family members and friends. A fun way to keep connected is to use the Zoom app and do the exercises with a group of friends. Teach your children how to do the breathing exercises. Please let me know about your experiences. In the meantime, stay safe.
I mean who wants to measure and do all that scoring.
Whom would have guessed
I am now sewing like crazy
I need to keep doing
so I won’t grow too lazy.
I been on a masquespade lately
making all kinds of masks to keep the safety.
They are not perfect or fancy;
no embroidery,
or appliqués,
I try my best is all I can say.
As I sew I also silently pray
that soon we will not have to stay six feet away,
from our neighbors, elders, friends and family.
When that day comes I will sing with glee!
Free at last! Free at last!
Then I will invite everyone
to visit so we can party and have a blast.
For all those who wish to help by sewing masks to donate to different organizations like nursing homes and hospitals or even simply your local grocery store workers. I have linked a few videos and the guidelines for making the more professional type masks.
In the meantime, just remember we are all in this together. Stay safe and cherish the time at home with family. Let’s make this a mission. Do not allow the fabric of our most precious values to unravel.God Bless America and the world!
This week’s challenge is to write a poem starting with the line: “I must speak up today.” I am looking forward to reading your poems so please post them on your sites and send me a link in the comments section of any of my posts this week.
In the meantime, stay safe, stay home if you can, and keep the faith. Don’t forget to breathe and look at the view. We will get through this together. There is no other way.
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
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.
My favorite poem of Langston Hughes is “Mother to Son”. I read the poem during a ballet dedicated to the great Harlem Renaissance poet. The poem resonated with many grandmothers in the audience that evening and I will never forget Ella Mae who came up to me and told me her story. She struggled to make ends meet when her husband died tragically and she was left with three little boys. She was the daughter of a share cropper and never learned to read. But her dream was to see her sons go to school and become professionals. Her eldest became an attorney and the other two sons were both doctors. She finally learned to read at the age of 70 when she enrolled in an adult literacy program. How she managed was a miracle. She said her own children never realized she was not literate. The reason she shared all of this with me was because her favorite poet was Langston Hughes. He was one of the first poets introduced to her by her literacy instructor. This poem is a tribute to all mothers who dream big for their children. I will never forget Ella Mae and her heartwarming story about a mother’s love. Here is a recitation by Langston Hughes himself.
I have received several poems to include in my new collection of poetry. Please indicate if you would be interested in having your poem or poems included before February 14, 2020. If selected payment will be one copy of the publication. Updates about this new endeavor will be posted. Happy writing!
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