Note to Self:

-Image from Jena Schwartz

Knitting – 55

I am a beginner
but already enchanted
with the beautiful
colors and
textures
of yarn

the way it slips
through the needles,
the feel of it on my fingers
and the repetition

knit, knit, purl
purl, purl, knit, purl
over and over
like a meditation,

the clicking of needles
a mantra

calming
soothing
and creating

Small Wonder

A seed
becomes a world
a cell
becomes a species
for, the smallest thing
can make the biggest difference

So where will you go
what will you do
in this big,
wondrous
world?

NaPoWriMo #28

Devotion

To what do you devote yourself?
What do you worship?
What do you cherish?
To what do you give your time?

A short snippet composed of awkward questions, but the sort of thing that’s on my mind just now.

NaPoWriMo #26

It feels like I’m just sitting
in my chair, typing
and drinking coffee,
but actually I’m spinning
almost 1000 miles an hour,
and travelling through space
on this biggish rock
we call Earth
at about 18 miles per second
Isn’t that remarkable?

And is it any wonder
I’m exhausted
at the end of the day?

NaPoWriMo #24

My lost friends are stacked,
like playing cards,
set on the table
of my immobility,
my inability to reach out
to communicate.

I think so fondly of them
of the times and adventures we shared
tender, or exciting, or comforting
as close as family,
once

In my mind
I take each one,
examine her, remembering
then I take them all – the stack,
the deck
I shuffle them,
deal them out, face up
and begin another game of
solitaire

This is really rough, but I like the idea of it. I have friends that I have lost touch with, for no reason. We never had a falling out or anything like that. We just were no longer had daily or frequent interactions and either business or inertia or something has kept us apart. I got this image while driving and thinking, and tried to write it down (without crashing).
“Friends I have lost, structured like playing cards,” is my note. This makes me think of two things. One is the Virginia Woolf quote, something like, I have lost friends, some to death some to the sheer inability to cross the street.
The other thing it reminds me of is the Pink Floyd song about pictures of faces on newspapers …their folded faces to the floor….

Anyway, some work needed, but it’s a promising start.

NaPoWriMo #20

I am up before the birds.
Strange, when I used to sleep late,
loving the feel of my bed,
of sun streaming in the window.
I luxuriated in sleep,
resented waking.

But now I love
to be up before the sun
in the quite of the morning,
when it’s still more like night,
before the birds chorus
or the demands of the day.

This morning
last night’s the full moon
greets me.
It’s reflected
in the glass table top
next to my chair
and I set my coffee beside it.
The house is still, and chilled
but I am warm,
wrapped in my robe
with faithful Otis at my side.
This time, each day,
is like a secret I cherish.
Please don’t tell.

I love starting the day sitting with my dog, Otis, before the demands of the day. I hope you have an equally good start to your day. Cheers.

NaPoWriMo #18

Like a blind dog
searching for water
we use our other,
inadequate senses
as best we can.

Can we sniff out love,
or salvation
in this dark, mortal chamber?

Ok, this needs work, like the “can./ Can”, so close together in lines 5 and 6, but right now I can’t take the time to fiddle with it.  Another one to come back to.

NaPoWriMo #16

So yesterday the Notre Dame cathedral caught fire and much of it was destroyed. The world is diminished by it. It has repercussions in the religious, cultural and personal spheres. I was shocked and dismayed, so of course I completely avoided it in my writing. Stuff like this needs processing time, for me. Instead I took off on a tangent from a funny (I thought) cartoon about why there are no crocodiles in orchestras and that got me thinking. I loved the sound of, “an alligator orchestra” just the sound of it. And I started thinking about different instruments alligators might be able to use (if there was nothing but their big snouts and short arms limiting them). And then I started thinking, in a ridiculous way, of things different animals would be very good at, rather than bad at. And what follows is the start of the absurd little list.

The Octopus Bakery
has the best bread in town
they knead three loaves at a time
with an extra tentacle
to spread flour
or give an extra pat
or reach for a loaf pan
or run the cash register

The Aardvark Exterminator Co.
is the best in town
someone is on call
twenty-four hours a day
and they use no harsh chemicals
results guaranteed
or they will come back
no extra charge

Dung Beetle Septic, LLC
is the best ever
their motto:
Your shit
is our bread and butter
That is truth in advertising!

NaPoWriMo #13

Tell me
who you hate
and I will tell you
what you fear