Days and Nights

The days run into one another
jostling children in a queue
mindless of what came before
and what comes after
eager just to get there


Nights spread out
deep desert sands
chill and dry and contemplative
elderly women staring up
at Orion
longing for something
just out of memory


I am between them
the children and the women
watching the sun set
feeling the moon rise
sweating and shivering
counting clouds
and stars


RCGA

Witte Wieven

It's late for frost, but just last night

a strong one fell on everything

that bit the soft presumptuous leaves

and iced my garden's flowerlings.


Before the dawn I went outdoors;

it's just a short walk to Fern Park,

and though the path is not well lit

I'd know my way there in the dark.


My grandpa lies there, granite bound

and has been there for many years;

next to him lies my grandmother:

"She shared her smiles and hid her tears".


I felt the cold bench through my clothes

and pondered the grey slab of stone

with aching body, wondering

if death is better than alone.


For sixty-seven years they lay

beside each other since they wed,

and nine long years after he passed

she still made room for him in bed.


I always wanted love like that

the kind that goes past "death us part"

but now that I have loved, and lost,

I don't know what to tell my heart.


A witte wieven was drifting up

as sunrise came and warmed my head

I left some flowers and a prayer

for both the living and the dead.


RCGA

Saudade

Quietly, now
Come closer with your sorrow
Place it near mine
Let them nestle together

They look so alike
The echoes of our singular pain
How can it be?
Does grief have a lineage?

I would reject my own
As a bastard born broken, hideous
Except that it is so dear
I cannot release it yet

Not to the world, at least
Not for the examination of strangers
But for you, sad counterpart
I will pull back the blanket

Ours is understanding
Clad in darkness, weeds and armbands
Carrying these burdens
Recognizing their sameness

Quietly, now
While their howls are quiescent
Let us find comfort
Place your hand in mine

RCGA

For The Birds

Peacock spreads his tail,
a display of eyes.
He struts the lawn
and prances for emphasis:
‘I see you wherever you go…
I know your every movement…
I reign supreme…
Look upon my majesty.’
Peahen in her drab
huddles, clutching a branch.
She wails from her perch,
her voice
sounding like madness.


RCGA

Aside

If I give in to this urge
there will certainly be a moment…
oh, more than a moment…
probably an hour, at least,
of sheer, indulgent bliss.
Oh, sinuous temptation,
tickling me with your forked tongue
in unmentionable places.
I am reminded
by your dangerous whispers
of my mortality
of time’s brevity
of opportunity’s limitations.
But how short is life, really?
Not short enough, apparently
to avoid waking with a headache
and regrets.
Trickster, stop poking me in the id;
I have enough heartburn
without eating fire.

RCGA 

Hand-Painted Sanita Clogs

OK... want. I have clogs, I want to paint them. I wonder what sort of paints and sealants would be needed?

Hand-Painted Sanita Clogs

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Today's Daily Word

Today's Daily Word - Monday, July 14, 2008

Creative

I am creative, giving shape and form to unlimited ideas.

Blessed with talents and abilities that enrich my life, I express myself in meaningful, creative ways. As I pray and meditate daily, I build on a consciousness that encourages me to be creative.

I am original in the way I speak and act. Rather than responding negatively to a perceived slight, I relax and reach out to others with patience and understanding.

Having released limiting perceptions and habitual ways of thinking, I am free to be truly creative in every aspect of my being. Creativity is a capacity to be inventive that gives shape and form to unlimited ideas.

"For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating."--Isaiah 65:17-18

The Spirituality of Creative Work

"Channeling the Muse" is the name of this essay from Grace Cathedral's Danya Ruttenberg. It is a short read, and worth the click if you play with the Muses at all, in any form.

There's a story about Michaelangelo: He was making a tremendous racket in the middle of the night. A disgruntled neighbor rushed into his studio. What on Earth might he be doing at such an ungodly hour? The sculptor looked up from the gigantic block of marble he was straddling, chisel in hand. "There's an angel trapped in here," he replied, "and I'm trying to get him out."

Today I Made A Monster

Last year I purchased a couple of felt kits from Fishcakes.com, and they rode around in the car a long time, waiting for me to find them, waiting for me to have time to play.

So, today was the day. I finally got needle and thread, and made myself a Green Monster!

The first picture is the front; he glows in the dark (!) and the second is the back, which I had to embellish. Actually, I turned the wings around, because I liked them this way better.

From The Daily Word

Child Within

I am cheerful about today and excited about tomorrow!

When Jesus taught those around Him about spiritual transformation, He encouraged them to become like children, to be open and receptive to Spirit.

I, too, have the childlike capacity to perceive people and events with an open mind and to find fresh new ways to express myself. I realize that I may not have the valid answers to all life''s questions or even a broad enough perspective to take in all possibilities. Approaching God with all the faith that a child would have in a loving, trusted teacher or parent, I am willing to learn, grow, and mature.

Renewed with an awareness of God as my creator and guide, I can be playful or serious, cheerful about today and excited about tomorrow.

"Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."— ~Matthew 18:4


As I start the new year with a desire to create,
let me remember to stay in beginner's mind
and foster a sense of wonder and joy. 
Let me be open, clean and genuine. 
Let my heart guide my hands
towards things filled with possibilities,
with dreams, visions and magic.
Let me embrace and lift up my inner child,
true essence of my being.
~RCA, 2008