For the Love of…

The blog for this week concerns why do I put this ending under so many of my poems. In all of my writing, the thing I like most to do is to write about the lives of others. What is making other people happy, their life situations and circumstances, and /or what effect they have had on me. So many people have stirred within me a profound sense of emotion and pure awe. Some of them I know, others I only know of.  They may be relatives, friends, or someone I have never met. Many have touched my life in ways they know nothing of. Their struggle, or their grief, or what they had to overcome has spurred me to want to remember them in a poem. And so I have. And many times.

Often my “For Love Of”s come at the end of a poem about my love for someone. I have written many about my three lovely and beautiful daughters and at the end of each, I will put “For Love Of” this particular daughter.  Some go at the end of verses written about my husband such as in the poem “The Present”, or the one titled “The Highway Man”. “And Now A Little Boy” is for the love of my adorable little grandson and granddaughter.

And then there are those who have inspired me so, brought me to tears, held me in the palm of their own life, and made me vow to never forget them. Here are but a few…..

“The Sacrifice”….about a young mother who decides to allow herself to drown at sea in order to save her little boy.
“Strong Survivor”….the enduring strength of a widow.
“Why”…..a little baby dies of crib death.
“And Then I Wake And You Are Gone”….the story about a young girl who loses her best friend.
“Dark Hours”….a womans’s last few hours with her husband.
“Unborn Soul”….for women everywhere.
“Hanging On”……a woman endures such suffering and pain.

Their stories are never ending because life is never ending. It stops for no one, leaving us with no choice but to cope and endure, and for so many, this is asking almost the impossible. I want to write about them, remember them, admire their strengths, and be so thankful to have been influenced by how they are dealing with their nearly impossible fates. I want to express my love by saying, “For Love Of” this amazing person!!  Hope to see you next time.

A Poetical Autobiography

The blog for this week concerns the meaning of a “poetical autobiography”, and how poetry has been part of my personal growth. Actually, the two go hand in hand.  I consider my book to be a poetical autobiography because in each of my chapters, or lanterns, the first poems are those I wrote when about 13 years old, and continue on with poems through the years on that same topic until I published my book, some 47 years later. I have been able to see my personal growth as my poems have evolved from one decade to another. Some of my earlier poems are somewhat childish and embarrassing, while those in my later years are more serious and more reflective of what life is all about. Consider these examples:

In Chapter 2, A Lantern on Love and Family :

“At Carnival Time”

The children are happy; their faces are bright;
They laugh and yell in all their delight.
Some young, some old, some big, some small
Have gathered here, oh one and all
At carnival time

The above was one of my very earliest poems written about 13 years old.  The end poem under this Lantern goes like this….

“Life Allowed An Answer”

And so we have…we’ve taken risks
With secrets we have shared,
But never stepping out of bounds
On those we love and care.

The clocks for us are older,
But both of us have tried
To be so ever grateful
Life answered, by and by.

In the Lantern on Philosophy and Self:

“My Song”

I’ll sing a song
Of right and wrong
Of joy and love
Of Him above.

I’ll sing of fear
Or danger near.
I’ll sing of wants
Or that which haunts.

The above was written first in this chapter, and one near the end goes:

“Spur of the Moment”

An outing never scheduled;
It didn’t make your list,
But one you’re ever thankful
Was not the one you missed.

Someone asks you how you are,
You start to say “not great”;
Then you turn in time to see
His leg is in a brace.

So, hopefully, a difference can be seen. Next time I will be addressing my favorite topic….hope you will tune in!

Why the use of lanterns?

The topic this week for my book, Lanterns of the Soul, concerns why do I use lanterns. I love lanterns! I love the way their light casts in such a soft and reflective manner. They don’t generally give off a lot of light, sometimes just a glimmer of light, enough to see just a little. Some of them will shimmer directly on something, letting you see it in a little more detail from other things around it. Lanterns have a way of drawing me to them, to look further at what they are shining on. I don’t think I have ever seen a lantern I didn’t think was pretty. Therefore, they are able to put me, or others, in a better mood for viewing what they are beaming on. Their gentle and delicate glow always seems to soften their point of interest.

A soul is buried deep within a person and needs a light to shine into it in order to see what is going on in there. If you want someone to willingly open up or reveal something of themselves, you don’t shine a bright or glaring light at them. Rather, you give them a soft, nonthreatening type of light and one that might give them the benefit of the doubt with what they have to offer….you give them a lantern!

A lot of my poems reveal my inner self, and if I’m going to put myself in such a vulnerable position, I want it done with a soft and forgiving light…I want a lantern!  Thus, the name Lanterns of the Soul.  Each chapter directly deals with a subject matter concerning part of a person’s individuality or personality, whethere it be mine or someone else’s, such as family, faith, or mortality. Therefore, I have phrased it as a Lantern on Family, Lantern on Faith and so on. It’s a lantern or a peek on these issues or topics.

Here is a short poem unveiling a piece of my inner self, but only with my lantern flickering its light on it.

Illusions

Although the sky seems blue, ’tis not,
And do we see the wind a lot?
We don’t. For only in the swaying trees
Is shown the wind to you and me.

A mountain looming far and still
Would seem to be but o’re that hill.
When of’t we hope that something’s near,
We sadly learn ’twas never here.

If dare I seek to read your heart,
Because I’ve known you from the start,
Invariably, I’ll read you wrong
While sure I knew you all along.

And wonder I how well we know
That part of us that never shows.
How deep goes truth till fantasy
Disguises true reality?

~

See you next time!

Make sure to take a look at my recent blog for Mother’s Day.

In Recognition Of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday, so I wanted to put something here about mothering in honor of it.

“IF ONLY”

If only I could ease your pain
And wipe away your tears,
To see you never frown again
And keep you safely near.

If only I could show you how
To solve your every woe,
Erasing thus your furrowed brow
While troubles swiftly go.

If only I could keep you strong
For that which comes your way,
And help you choose each right and wrong
Throughout your busy day.

If only I could keep you safe
And ward off every harm
Before it has the chance to chafe
Or interrupt your charm.

If only I could see you laugh
And hear it echo long,
And know “twas not for my behalf
You sang your happy.

If only I could send you love
Beyond my very own,
Whatever kind you’re dreaming of,
The kind you ache to know.

If only I could do all these
And see your face aglow,
For then, in turn, you’d clearly see
How much I love you so!
~
For Love Of My Three Girls

Why I Choose Poetry as a Way of Expression

My blog for this week on my book, Lanterns of the Soul, concerns why I choose poetry as a means of expressing myself. There are a number of reasons why I do. One major one is that I like to write things down. I am the person who makes lists after lists. It hasn’t started until I make my list on something, and it doesn’t end until I stroke it off. I am also much more comfortable with writing than with verbal conversations. If you get tongue tied on paper, you only have to erase it. Once something is said, it’s forever.

Secondly, I am a very private person, which I think goes along with the preference for putting something “down” rather than putting it “out there”. This is reflected in my poem, “Good Day To You:”

It’s only me, my pad and pen
My thoughts while drifting by
A very private love affair
This poetry and I…..

There doesn’t have to be anyone else present for it to happen; you just need yourself to be there, anywhere, anytime.

I also enjoy the challenge of condensing thoughts and feelings, or stories, into short sentences or passages. My poems are very traditionally composed in that I like for them to rhyme, hence another challenge. In the poem, “The Sacrifice:”

Too suddenly it happened
Not a warning nor a sign
Like an undersea tornado
It sucked them out in little time
She knew the chance was very slim
That help would come in time
To save her son from drowning
She would leave herself behind……

This is a true story that could be written as a chapter in a book, but in poetry, it is condensed into a couple of pages.

In “A Reason:”

Disbelief, heartache, grief, and despair
Much pain to endure, such crosses to bear
Where lies the beauty that makes it worthwhile
In the midst of life’s chaos, a little child smiles….

I am able to relate my love for children in a few short sentences.

I enjoyed “writing” to you all this week. See you next time. Stay safe everyone!