Percopotomus - Day 3 - Inside a Poem

Inspired by the prompt of the same name:

Inside a poem,
I can tell a story,
share my dreams,
my fears,
my life.

Inside a poem
I can put out a message,
to one person,
to many people,
to make people think.

Inside a poem
I can share
my perceptions,
my reality,
my truth.

Inside a poem
I can tell it
like it really is.

And only those who know me will truly understand.

Another Season Done - Turn, Turn, Turn

Wow - it's been a long time since I posted a blog here. Life has had more than its share of downs this summer season - and some ups as well - and those are what I prefer to dwell on. As long as I can still see the light at the end of the tunnel, I know I can get there!

And speaking of getting there - yesterday was the day of the 100 Thousand Poets for Change events hosted all over the world - in over 90 countries - WOW!!! Here's the article from the local paper, the Sacramento Bee, on the event I participated in yesterday. Yes, you read that right, participated in. I actually got up and read one of my poems during the first open mic session of this event. And...I wasn't even nervous! Usually when I get up to speak in any type of public forum, I am quaking and shaking in my figurative boots - not this time - I said it loud and I said it strong - WOW again!!!

And that wasn't all I did writing-related yesterday, oh no was not all (BTW, yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the passing of Dr Seuss - the man who introduced me to poetry at my mother's knee in the 1960s).

I also entered NPR's Three-Minute Fiction contest - edited down one of my favorite short stories and sent it off on its merry way.

Back to the poetry reading yesterday - there were some awesome artists there sharing!

Mario Ellis Hill- WOW!

John Allen Cann - I will find a copy of the 24 Caprices he published in 1992 - they are as relevant today as they were there (and perhaps even more so!).

Sean King - again, WOW!

And Lawrence Dinkins - double, triple WOW!

And of course, Abe Sass (sorry, new website found with just info on him or an example of him reading...sigh...) - dude, Dr. Seuss may have drawn me into poetry, but it was Langston Hughes who touched my soul with back in 6th grade, when Miss Desmangles assigned him to me to research and write a report on. Awesomeness!

These were just a few from the first installment in Capitol Park - I was not able to follow to Fremont Park to hear the rest of the readings., which included Frances Kakugawa, a fellow NCPA member - although she did read a Thank You to Poets poem during the second open mic session at Capitol Park.

17 Apr 11 Post

Last week, I was beseeching the members of Congress to do their job and pass a budget for this fiscal year - well they did so. Now, I'm waiting for the news that the President has signed said budget - really a Continuing Resolution that funds the government through 30 September 2011.

So, is it business as usual come tomorrow, or are we still on pins and needles here? But for the want of a signature...sigh...

On to the rest of life.

The picture above was taken at Hidden Falls Regional Park in Auburn CA, and was the impetus (along with the hike I took) for my poetry offering yesterday on my poetry blog. I've managed to write a poem a day for 16 days so far this month, which happens to be National Poetry Month!

I've written free verse, sapphic verse, tankas, haikus and senyrus. I feel most drawn to the 5/7/5 tempo of the haiku and senyru, but also the 5/7/5/7/7 tempo of the tanka. I'll see what other traditional styles I can fit in over the next 14 offerings.

And, like several weeks recently, the hike is the only exercise I've gotten around to this week. Am likely to pay for it with stiff calves for the next few days!

Next week, however, I am looking forward to a My Girlfriends Garden event in Roseville - the second session of Creative to the Core: Peeling Back the Layers - on Thursday!

And, I have a job interview on Wednesday for a potential promotion. Wish me luck! The job would be very challenging, but I feel that I am up for it!

Ides of March

Alex Trebek noted the Ides of March on Jeopardy this past week - my first thought was that we are past mid-month (beware the Ides of March from Julius Caesar). Today, I think I ought to consult the dictionary - the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to be exact, 2004 copyright:

"ides - the 15th day of March, May, July or October, or the 13th day of any other month in the ancient Roman calendar."

I'm a-thinking what ever tidings the ides bring, they have brought the whole month through for March 2011. So much has happened this month, and the ripples and repercussions of what has happened will ring through for years to come.

Haven't done much this week in relation to exercise - I was down sick Wednesday and Thursday, fighting off what has gone around the office for the last month so I could enjoy spending time with my darling daughter shopping for her wedding dress on Friday. She found THE ONE and she looks beautiful in it - and will again in November on the day of her nuptials.

Saturday (yesterday) was my grandson's third birthday - he and his sister are so adorable! He's a little man instead of a toddler - wow where does the time go?

As for writing -have done the Daily Pages, and am sending off two short stories to the CWC Sacramento Branch 2011 Short, Short Story Contest. I find I tend to be more verbose than a mere 750 words, but I have two stories that say what need to be said within that word-count limit. We'll see if they win me any accolades (and a bit of cash!).

April is National Poetry Month, and I am challenging myself to write either a poem or about poetry each day -perhaps I'll put up a poetry blog for the month - and link it here!

Laundry beckons - so I bid you adieu for this week.

Romantic Scavenge

Scavenge the romance in your own marriage

Tell the truth about your feelings and your needs

If they are not heard and met, move on

Hurt no more those you claim to love

Or wait, love hasn’t been mentioned recently, has it?

Is that your relationship or mine we are discussing

The one of hurt and mistrust, unmet needs

Virtual affairs and tete a tetes

Why do you stay if not for love

Any other reason is not worthy

Love, devotion, honor, trust, faith, respect

Where are these in our relationships?

Is that why you and mine continue

While you and him and me and mine falter on the vine

Each day one closer to death?

You Knew

You knew

It was a lie

But you told it anyway

You knew

The importance of honesty

The value of openness

The need for candor

You knew

The pain of betrayal

The devastation of deceit

The agony of discovery

You knew

It would destroy us

But you did it anyway

Unsung Heroes

Unsung heroes there

Whilst we are bickering here

Who is right or wrong

Sing thee the hero’s song

For those in lands faraway

Who may not live to see another day

Unsung heroes every one

Someone’s daughter, someone’s son

Doing their job until day is done

Sing thee the hero’s song

No matter what side of the aisle you’re on

Or which religion you choose to don

Unsung heroes far and near

All to someone very dear

Ask not why are we here

Sing thee the hero’s song

Pray for peace and freedom from greed

Pray for relief from every need

Unsung heroes every one

Care for them as they cared for us

In our love they put their trust

Sing thee the hero’s song

And pray they all see another dawn

The dawn of coming home

Flow of Life

Come silently
or rage against release
you still flow for now
soon you will flow no more
and barren will I be