Sunday, April 18, 2010

I AM...

I am fast, I am tall,
I'm the bravest of them all.
Try and catch me, no you can't.
Go slower? No I shan't.

I am weak, I am small,
People laugh when I trip and fall.
I don't get picked for kickball.
I'm not very popular in class.
Go ahead and ignore it when I get harassed.

I'm in the middle, I'm pretty plain.
I don't always get the target when I aim.
I don't always get normal grades.
I don't have a pool as other kids do.
But hey, that's okay. That's cool.

By: Cameron, age 9 1/2 years, April 14, 2010

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

March 2010 Haiku/Senryu/Poetry

March 2:
Souls entwined ~ across time ~ two are one
(haiku challenge 'across')


Collision of souls ~ known to each other in this ~ world and some others
(haiku throwdown 'collision')

March 4:
Adrift ~ uncertain ~ alone

Bare trees ~ shiver in the ~ cold March wind

Familiar touch, smell ~ familiar voice, I reach out ~ and wake from the dream


Monday, February 15, 2010

Twitter

In January 2009 a friend suggested I join Twitter. At the time I was into Facebook and didn't really know much about Twitter, but I figured I'd give it a try. I signed up and started following some news and entertainment accounts. It took about six weeks for me to really "get" Twitter and understand that you need to be interactive with others and follow people in order to get the full Twitter experience.

A few great things have happened since I joined Twitter. First, I have been able to meet and become friends with some fabulous people. There is a great group of women I have the pleasure of knowing. We laugh with each other - and sometimes at each other! We feel their pain when a loved one is sick or dies. We cheer for their child's accomplishments. We have shared personal stories. We are truly friends. We live in New York, Canada, Washington, DC, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Great Britain, Texas, New Jersey, Oregon, but the distance does not matter, because we all meet here on Twitter. Although, in a few months when a number of us meet in person, New York City may never be the same!

In October 2009 I stumble across another group of amazing people on Twitter, writers of haiku, senryu and poetry, and I now consider them another group of friends, scattered throughout the world. An interesting facet of Twitter is that you can become friends with people you've never seen and don't even know their name. To me it actually doesn't matter because you get a sense of who they are by their tweets.

After following these great poets for a bit, I decided to jump into the pool, so to speak, and started tweeting my own haiku and senryu. It has become an important creative and cathartic outlet for me, at what has been a difficult time in my life.

Trying to explain Twitter to someone who has never used it can be difficult. It's a bit like narrowing down six degrees of separation by at least half. It's a way to meet people from all over this planet that we might otherwise never get the opportunity to meet. It can be a creative outlet. It can be a way to meet people who will be friends for life. For me Twitter is all of that and more.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

February 2010 Haiku/Senryu/Poetry

February 1:
Once adorned with his ~ love, she has been stripped naked, ~ love taken away.
(haiku challenge 'adorn')

February 4:
Took up residence ~ in her heart, until the pain ~ was too strong to take
(haiku challenge 'residence')

February 8:
When there is nothing ~ left to say does everything ~ before still exist?

The well seems to be dry.
(six words)

February 9:
Broken heart requires ~ time to heal and in the end ~ emerges stronger
(haiku challenge 'require')

There is a place I ~ go in my dreams, hoping to ~ find you there one day

February 10:
Red flash ~ cardinal hides ~ within tangled vines

Animal tracks ~ in fresh snow ~ nature's art

February 11:
Sudden shiver up ~ spine makes me wonder are you ~ thinking of me too?

Shall carry you in ~ my heart forever although ~ no more serenade
(haiku word game: forever/serenade/carry
)

February 16:
Do not look elsewhere ~ when all the strength you need is ~ right inside of you.
(haiku challenge
'elsewhere'
)

February 24:
Snow on birdhouse ~ favorite ~ backyard scene

February 26:
Squirrels jumping ~ from branch to branch ~ nature's acrobats

Wind rushing through pines ~ and thoughts of you conspire ~ to keep me awake

Never expected ~ these life turns but she is still ~ hopeful nonetheless
(senryu party 'never'
)

Love the mountains and ~ lakes, but miss the smell, sound of ~ the Atlantic coast
(senryu party 'coast')


Heart shatters ~ like glass ~ if not careful
(senryu party 'glass')


February 27:
Soft sweet ~ slips through silk ~ so succulent

Freckles splashed across ~ cheeks of the most beautiful ~ face I've ever seen. (for Cameron)

Fold, flow ~ feel ~ fill, free

Flower bulbs ~ sleeping under the soil ~ waiting for Spring








Saturday, January 16, 2010

Book Two: "How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed, A Memoir of Starting Over" by Theo Pauline Nestor

Sometimes a book comes along at the perfect time, and that is the case for me with "How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed, A Memoir of Starting Over" by Theo Pauline Nestor. The book details her separation and divorce after a long marriage and two children. As someone currently going through a divorce I can relate to a lot of what she wrote, especially her description of the 'stages' she went through after separating. This is a good read for any woman going through a separation and divorce.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Book One: "The Middle Place" by Kelly Corrigan

"The Middle Place" by Kelly Corrigan is a true story, or stories. Kelly is in her late 30s, a Mom to two young girls, when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. She is close to her family, most especially her father, Greenie, who is diagnosed with bladder cancer. She describes her point in life as "the middle place" - where you are a parent, teaching and praising your own children, but also calling your parents to tell them of your latest accomplishments, and receiving praise from them.

The book goes back and forth from the present time when she is going through chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, and different times in her life - childhood, young adulthood, pregnancies.

It is a quick read and will probably make you think about your relationships with parents, siblings, spouses, children and friends.

(My goal in these posts is not to "review" each book. What I like another person may hate, and vice versa. I'm just keeping a running lists of books as I read them and maybe some of them will interest someone else.)

Sunday, January 3, 2010

January 2010 Haiku/Senryu/Poetry

January 1, 2010:
The image in her ~ mind was just a dream, she puts ~ it away, moves on.

Laughter, happiness, ~ life is more fun seen through the ~ eyes of a child.

January 3:
Picking up pieces ~ of her broken heart, moving ~ forward much stronger.

January 5:
Flow with me, let's just ~ be together, two become ~ one, the world can wait.

January 6:
Sometimes you just need to cry. (six words)

January 7:
New year, clean slate in ~ front of you, what will you do ~ with such a great gift?

New year, life changes ~endless possibilites ~make it what you want.

January 8:
Hope to dream of you tonight. (six words)

January 9:
Emotions raw and ~ hurting, eyes wrung of all tears, ~ time now for healing.
(haiku challenge 'wrung')

Searching for you, are ~ you searching for me too? Hope ~ we find each other.

January 10:
Everything I know ~ has changed, turned upside down and ~ I need to find me.

My heart persists in ~ caring about you although ~ it has been broken.
(haiku challenge 'persist')

Glance, smile, touch, kiss, ~ hug, bodies pressed together ~ heating up for more.

When our lips meet, pure bliss.
(six words)

January 13:
Sun reflects off thin ~ lake ice only strong enough ~ to hold a small bird.

Characters come and ~ go, plot changes but title ~ remains same: My Life.
(haiku challenge 'title')

January 14:
Talking as we walk ~ to the car, arm around each ~ other, Mom and son.

January 15:
Cannot overlook ~ how he hurt my heart even ~ though I do still care.
(haiku challenge 'overlook')

January 16:
Babies of Haiti ~ I want to hold you all close ~ and make it better.

In a fog just want ~ to pull up the covers, close ~ eyes and drift away.

January 20:
Stillness, loneliness ~ creep in when least expected ~ hurts heart yet again.

January 21:
Memorized you, lines, ~ shapes, contours, muscles, tried to ~ forget but cannot.

Hands glide across back, ~ fingers in hair, exploring ~ mouths, soft sigh escapes.

January 22:
Red flash against white ~ snow, cardinal lands on branch, ~ surveys his domain.

January 24:
Emotions raw and ~ hurting, eyes wrung of all tears, ~ time now for healing.

My mind knows the truth ~ but my heart aches for you, my ~ body yearns for you.

January 25:
A boy, a Mom, two ~ cats snuggling on the couch ~ in late afternoon.

Rough beard on soft skin ~ pleasure and pain, she pulls him ~ closer, wanting more.

Tracing his soft lips ~ slowly with her finger, so ~ far only a dream.

January 26:
Cold morning, steel grey ~ sky, tiny snowflakes float down, ~ like tears on a cheek.

January 27:
The space between dreams ~ and wakefulness is where I ~ must go to find you.

January 28:
Friends with heavy hearts ~ my thoughts and love reach out to ~ you like a warm hug.

All I want is to sleep.
#sixwords

I think of you and smile.
I think of you and cry.
I must stop thinking of you.
#sixwords (times three)

January 29:
When I gave you my ~ heart it was not a loan, I ~ did not want it back.
(haiku challenge 'loan')

January 30:
Cold night. Warm bed. All alone.
#sixwords