She sags in the faded lawn chair,
bowing from years of use,
clutching her new grandson.
He gurgles and grins -
arched back and rubbery neck searching for her eyes.
One cracked hand cups his round belly,
cotton-covered and milk-filled.
The other hand propped upright as if on a flagpole,
wrist loose, waving a striped bib back and forth.
She looks nearly patriotic sitting there –
eyes wet, bib-flag in the wind.
Proud and mournful,
recalling countless battles won and lost.
March 31, 2007
March 24, 2007
It's all Gravy
I am the daughter of an eternal optimist and an analytical skeptic.
So for me, the recent dicussion of the power of "positive thinking" or the "law of attraction" that seems to be filtering into conversation as much as Brangelina or New England weather, has really got me thinking. I tend to waver between being darkly cynical and effervescently positve. Does this mean that during the times when my nature has been sunny side down the universe was sending more challenges my way? Upon quick review of the last five years, it certainly seems that way.
I would not have created this blog five years ago. For one thing, the technology was not nearly as user friendly as it is now - blogging was something computer whizzes and techno-junkies did, not English majors. More importantly, I would not have created it because it wouldn't have mattered. In my world, activities had to have written guidelines, recommendations, a syllabus. I needed to know that my effort would pay off.
Today, I view that mentality as wasted energy. So what if no one reads this? I am putting my thoughts out there and just the expression of an idea is powerful enough to make a positive impact on my life. I tell myself I write poetry for me. But if a word is written on a page and no one ever reads it, is it really a word?
Writing is not easy because it requires a nearly constant battle with your inner critic. The only way to beat it is to keep doing it. Sometimes I want to throw all my journals in the dumpster. When I read what I have written, the words can seem irrelevant and I chide myself for not spending my time doing more important things, like dusting the windowsills or reorganizing the coat closet. But then I remember - this is the good stuff, the icing on the cake. Poetry, art, music - these are the things that keep us all going, that feed us when the daily drone leaves us feeling empty. So I am serving up my portion. I do hope you enjoy it.
So for me, the recent dicussion of the power of "positive thinking" or the "law of attraction" that seems to be filtering into conversation as much as Brangelina or New England weather, has really got me thinking. I tend to waver between being darkly cynical and effervescently positve. Does this mean that during the times when my nature has been sunny side down the universe was sending more challenges my way? Upon quick review of the last five years, it certainly seems that way.
I would not have created this blog five years ago. For one thing, the technology was not nearly as user friendly as it is now - blogging was something computer whizzes and techno-junkies did, not English majors. More importantly, I would not have created it because it wouldn't have mattered. In my world, activities had to have written guidelines, recommendations, a syllabus. I needed to know that my effort would pay off.
Today, I view that mentality as wasted energy. So what if no one reads this? I am putting my thoughts out there and just the expression of an idea is powerful enough to make a positive impact on my life. I tell myself I write poetry for me. But if a word is written on a page and no one ever reads it, is it really a word?
Writing is not easy because it requires a nearly constant battle with your inner critic. The only way to beat it is to keep doing it. Sometimes I want to throw all my journals in the dumpster. When I read what I have written, the words can seem irrelevant and I chide myself for not spending my time doing more important things, like dusting the windowsills or reorganizing the coat closet. But then I remember - this is the good stuff, the icing on the cake. Poetry, art, music - these are the things that keep us all going, that feed us when the daily drone leaves us feeling empty. So I am serving up my portion. I do hope you enjoy it.
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