Shades of grey, white, charcoal
tumble, swirl, curl,
orange lightning zig zags from
sky to ground
thunder growls, deep voiced
threatening.
Suddenly, the sound of silence
suspended, waiting.
Uncategorized
Choose
See beginning note. I turn off the computer when a lightning storm arrives.
Last night I planned to reblog this, my very first blog post from over three years ago. However, a big lightning and hail storm arrived; I turned off my computer. I did not want a lightning strike to ruin it. Lightning struck my house twice in the six and one-half years I have lived here; once it destroyed my TV.
Abraham Lincoln said we choose–or do not choose–happiness. When I was twenty something, I chose happiness, not the sappy, syrupy, cheery, but the deeper joy of cherishing the small, the unique, the everyday, smiling with sunsets, the song of the mockingbird in the spring, my horses running free, the nearly invisible bobcat climbing the canyon wall, the taste of fine coffee at the first wakeful moments in the morning, cooking for friends, taking a “property walk” with my grandson, laughing with the teenagers I teach. I am driven to do…
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Surprises
Life sometimes graces you with lovely surprises, the unexpected sunrise, flowers in unusual places, the rarely seen bobcat climbing the canyon wall. Today, tired, bag full of papers to grade, I entered my house, smelling a puzzling sweetness. The stage manger of Les Miserable lived with me two weeks. She left a bottle of red wine, a heartfelt note, and a bouquet, snowy lilies, golden roses, blue bells. Lillie scent pervades the room. I walk in beauty. 
Photo Essay: Spending a Day in Ljubljana
For those of you who liked the previously reblogged post on Slovenia.
Our Slovenia travel chapter started with its beautiful capital city and the smallest capital in Europe – Ljubljana (“lyoob-lyAH-nah”). Interestingly Ljubljana is a city that does not have any world-famous monuments or attractions or a long or short list of to do’s. But it has many things to see and do and the best way to discover its secrets is via our favorite way – ditch the map and walk around aimlessly on foot.
Ljubljana from the Ljubljana Castle, Slovenia
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Commitment and Poetry
This business of committing to posting a poem a day during National Poetry Month is not so very easy. Yesterday I totally forgot and tonight I am nearly too tired to think of anything at all profound and clever. However, a commitment is a serious endeavor, I will put my fatigued brain in gear, and something of use to someone will hopefully result. Now that I puzzle over this, the solution is to write a poem about those things to which I am committed:
Commitments
Make a difference in this world.
Enjoy ordinary moments.
Hang in there for the long haul.
Express joy and courage to
be the best possible self.
Make a difference in this world.
Dance to the sound of silence.
Learn something new and
meaningful every day.
Meditate, practice yoga.
Cherish friends and family.
Make a difference in this world.
The Tupelo Press 30/30 Project
Today, one day late, I discovered this project for National Poetry Month and decided to commit to it by experimenting. It requires writing a poem daily either on your own or following “instructions”. Today’s directions included finding a nearby book, going to page 29, picking twenty words, and using them to write a poem:
crazy think
goofy people
worried together
leave bear
smudges on the glass
bloody floor
huge knives
packed sorrow on
a plastic table
Linguistics 101: Appreciate Our Languages on World Language Day
Since many blogs are about all the different things that have to do with human language, I decided to repost this. Since this is World Language Day, it seemed especially appropriate.
World Language Day is an event held by some universities in the U.S. to popularize knowledge of world cultures and languages among general public, particularly high school students (e.g. MSU,UNCO, etc). Being linguistics student myself, I couldn not help but join this endeavour. So this post is, in a sense, not specifically for writers/publishers, but for language users — which is all of us!
We all speak at least one language — in fact, more than half of the world’s population speak two or more languages (Tucker, 1999). Language is so ubiquitous that we can easily take it for granted, but it is also said to be one of the most central characteristics that set us off from other species on this planet. What is so special about human language? Why does it differ greatly from animal “languages”? Three properties make our language distinct from any other animal communication…
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Haiku Adventure–Part Three
What I learned from these poems: what is usually considered good writing for other types of poems may or may not apply to haiku. Alliteration provides an example. Generally, in poetry alliteration merits a plus. Not in haiku. Regardless, I decided to leave the alliteration in this poem. When I eliminated the alliteration, the effect I wanted disappeared.
red roan horse runs
rain roars
deep depression in mud
Generally, I teach senior English–British literature. However, one short class twice a week contains all freshmen. My assignment: teach them what they need to know to pass the state STAAR for ELA. This poem illustrates what occurred during the class this past week.
teaching freshmen English class
What is a pronoun?
they stare; no one knows.
Haiku Adventure–Part Two
After receiving positive feedback on the following three poems, I learned that two of them cannot be haiku. Why? They instruct, give directions. Such teaching is forbidden in haiku. Regardless, I decided to post them anyway. At least the Meditations will illustrate what not to do if you want to write real haiku.
Meditations
shut your eyes, be still
listen to the wind, rain, thunder
shut your eyes, be still
open your eyes, be still
watch coyote and bobcat climb
open yours eyes, be still
There are several other reasons why these two poems cannot be haiku–more than one image and a contrasting image in a single poem–forbidden. I knew there must be some reason I had never previously seriously attempted haiku. Too many rules.
This one, however, meets modern haiku standards or so I have been told. I will eventually get this. Learning, challenging oneself, remains a positive experience.
Night
big dipper illuminates
clouds race
darkness suddenly descends
Haiku Adventure
Since I felt out of sync with writing and accomplishing little in that vein, I decided I needed a challenge. In spite of two published books, one instructive, non-fiction and the other a book of poems, I never attempted writing haiku. Even though I probably, due to teaching schedule among other activities like singing and horses, cannot write one haiku a day, I committed to writing seven a week. The first thing I noticed is the difficulty. Haiku poems may be short; however, getting them even close to “right” remains quite difficult, a real challenge. Here are the first three written this week:
milkweed rising to the sun
wait for monarchs
who never ever come
cirrocumulus clouds fly
across an azure sky
snowflakes and cottonballs
OPI Bogota Blackberry
on my freshly scrubbed feet
walks along in wonder
writingontherim 