Haiku 14 May 2015

May15

Loved the photo and especially the haiku

Aroil in Pain

While hiking the trail,

Take the time to rest upon

The mountain’s laurels.

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Easter Sunday, 2015

Apr5

Merging Traffic

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/girl-dancing-in-rain-royalty-free-image/148290495

(On this Easter Sunday, I pondered how
children seemed to be born knowing
how to celebrate, and how many of us seem
to lose that precious gift along the way.
This poem was first posted here
July 8th, 2014. A blessed celebration of
life to all.)
SHE WHIRLED BEFORE ME

She whirled before me, guileless,
eager face straining for the sky,
light rain chiseling a smile
glorious on glistening cheeks.
She extended her arms full-length
in opposite directions, flat palms
and feathery fingers seemingly
practiced in the art of soaring.
Moments before, she broke loose
from the boughs of my umbrella,
to announce an eight-year-old’s vision
and credo: I gotta be free!

Longing to join the gambol
but hobbled by an arthritic hip
and the rust of years given
to caution and conformity, I settle
for silence and reverent awe
in the presence of this young
priestess and her…

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Always Remember

Feb4

Aroil in Pain

Siblings will squabble.
Proximity’s artifact.
Archaic habits.
Explicit reminders of
Interwoven lives
And implicit reminders
Of interconnected hearts.

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A Guest Post By Hanna Lange: No Last Time

Feb1

There’s never going to be a last time.

There is no cure.

There is only the finite space

Of not-so-bad

Of kind of okay

The discrete moments of joy

And they’re so hard to remember

Especially when the sadness

Is so overwhelming,

When the melancholy floats to the surface

Like poisonous cream.

When I’m already so tired,

And the reality is that the best

I can hope for is respite

Rather than true relief.

It’s like a terminal illness

That never terminates

Without palliative care

Or hospice

And, so often, without

Real understanding,

Just empty platitudes.

-By Hanna Lea Lange

( This poem was written 4 days before the previous post, “Remember to Bend”. My daughter Hanna had called me and in the course of our conversation, she said, “There’s never going to be a last time.” It struck me as an opening line to a poem, and since she is a poet, I suggested that she begin a poem with those words which she did and the above poem was the result.

Four days later, after seeking and receiving the medical help she needed, her inner state had changed profoundly and she wrote, “Remember to Bend” after taking a yoga class as part of her treatment. I am sharing it here because I think it is one of the most honest and clear descriptions of depression that I have ever read and we hope it might help others who suffer from depression not to feel so alone. )

Remember to Bend (A Guest Post by Hanna Lange)

Feb1

“Breathe deeply,” she says, “and pay attention to the breath.”

In through my nose, and then one long exhale,

At first I struggle to clear my mind,

To be entirely present to my breath,

Not focused on anything but the present moment.

I feel the simple rhythm,

In and out, in and out.

My body moves in response to her words,

Stretching, reaching, seeking

Spine straight, arms up and over

And as I move, everything else slips away.

Knees toward chest, hips rotating,

Long neglected muscles are finally honored

Like veterans of a distant war.

I feel the tension letting go,

Drifting away in this quiet space,

Where there is only soft music,

Gentle instruction,

And the steady rhythm of my own breath.

We move in quiet harmony,

Me and this stranger,

And I rediscover how to let go,

How to be here now,

How to be mindful.

I feel myself relax,

The relief like the exhale after a breath

Held tight for far too long.

When the music and the lesson stop

I feel reborn, alive again,

Awake after a long, fitful sleep.

I realize that the most important thing

Is remembering how to bend in the now

And to focus on the simple things,

Like breath, and sound, and stretch.

– By Hanna Lea Lange

New poetry collection available: “Room for Poetry” by Emily Walls Ray and poets

Nov30

Emily Walls Ray's Light and laughter

For more than a year six women met in a quiet room and wrote our lives in poetry. The result is a new poetry book entitled Room For Poetry. The poems are arranged seasonally, reflecting the life events such as birth, death, job loss, glimpses of wisdom, redemption, and moments of pure joy. Illustrations by Glenda Kotchish add to the beauty of this lovely little book. Poets include Yvonne Campbell, Joan Garrabrant, Glenda Kotchish, Sarah Posey, Emily Walls Ray, and Jane Holliday Wilson.

Order through thebookpatch.com. ISBN: 9781633182394.