NaBloPoMo 2024 - day 17
1 week ago
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2005
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March
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- She Has Gone
- Ten Things...
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- As The Circus Drags On....
- My Pearl is Blooming...
- Thoughts on The Terri Shiavo Case
- Score Another One For Mr. Smith
- Grin and Bear It...
- They Won This Round....
- An Example of The Republican Smoke and Mirrors Act
- The Last Word on Social Security (Maybe)
- Cool!
- Photo Walk
- Moving On
- Gray Day
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March
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Victory Again
Time to Rebuild
Pro-life
Some Who Are Still Out There
I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. --Abraham Lincoln
Where I'm From
I am from station wagons, from kool-aid and turf-builder.
I am from the three bedroom, one bath ticky-tacky box
with the swath of weedy lawn; from lightning bugs,
June bugs, and mosquitoes the size of small birds.
From nights near as hot as the days,
spread-eagled on sticky sheets
crickets creaking, horns honking,
trains rumbling and whistling in the distance…
I am from snow to the eaves, jewel-studded ice storms
and green-black thunderstorms with sideways rain.
I am from bright red tulips, honeysuckle berries,
and worms on the driveway after a cloudburst;
from daisies, tiny wild strawberries, “Queen Anne’s Lace”
and crashing the kite into power lines.
I am from “Look what followed me home from school”
and never having too many animals. From Taffy and Rusty
and Sunny, the yellow headed parakeet, who could say
“Happy Birthday” but only when he thought
no one was listening…
I am from the women who shuttle the carpool,
punch the clock, scrub the toilet,
then climb into the bottle, the herb
or the fantasy to quiet the noise in their heads
and the men they choose to rescue
or who choose to rescue them.
From “When you meet the right one, you’ll just know”
and “Your dad was a virgin when we were married…”
I am from the dutiful eldest daughter who paired off
home made and pro-created at the appointed time,
and the other four who didn’t.
I am from the tearful Catholic and the stoic agnostic;
the rope stretched taut between belief and unbelief,
pulled one direction, then the other…
the eternal tug of war never won.
I’m from pioneers of urban exile; before the country clubs and the soccer and the Rolls Royces.
I’m from the first McDonald’s and the last Tastee Freez.
I am from the great moldering box in the upstairs closet;
roaring twenties sepias stacked on
shiny square instamatic shots, discoloring with age.
I am from the five stair-steps, the Christmas trees, the campfires,
and the blurred mountains captured from a moving car.
I am from the unlikely union of a country boy and a city girl,
brought together by Hitler and Hirohito;
and the neighborhood of compromise
that kept them both sane…almost.
I am from the three bedroom, one bath ticky-tacky box
with the swath of weedy lawn; from lightning bugs,
June bugs, and mosquitoes the size of small birds.
From nights near as hot as the days,
spread-eagled on sticky sheets
crickets creaking, horns honking,
trains rumbling and whistling in the distance…
I am from snow to the eaves, jewel-studded ice storms
and green-black thunderstorms with sideways rain.
I am from bright red tulips, honeysuckle berries,
and worms on the driveway after a cloudburst;
from daisies, tiny wild strawberries, “Queen Anne’s Lace”
and crashing the kite into power lines.
I am from “Look what followed me home from school”
and never having too many animals. From Taffy and Rusty
and Sunny, the yellow headed parakeet, who could say
“Happy Birthday” but only when he thought
no one was listening…
I am from the women who shuttle the carpool,
punch the clock, scrub the toilet,
then climb into the bottle, the herb
or the fantasy to quiet the noise in their heads
and the men they choose to rescue
or who choose to rescue them.
From “When you meet the right one, you’ll just know”
and “Your dad was a virgin when we were married…”
I am from the dutiful eldest daughter who paired off
home made and pro-created at the appointed time,
and the other four who didn’t.
I am from the tearful Catholic and the stoic agnostic;
the rope stretched taut between belief and unbelief,
pulled one direction, then the other…
the eternal tug of war never won.
I’m from pioneers of urban exile; before the country clubs and the soccer and the Rolls Royces.
I’m from the first McDonald’s and the last Tastee Freez.
I am from the great moldering box in the upstairs closet;
roaring twenties sepias stacked on
shiny square instamatic shots, discoloring with age.
I am from the five stair-steps, the Christmas trees, the campfires,
and the blurred mountains captured from a moving car.
I am from the unlikely union of a country boy and a city girl,
brought together by Hitler and Hirohito;
and the neighborhood of compromise
that kept them both sane…almost.
On Where We're Destined to Go...
As for life, I'm humbled,
I'm without words
sufficient to say
how it has been hard as flint,
and soft as a spring pond,both of these
and over and over,
and long pale afternoons besides,
and so many mysteries
beautiful as eggs in a nest,
still unhatched though warm and watched over
by something I have never seen
-a tree angel, perhaps,or a ghost of holiness.
Every day I walk out into the world
to be dazzled,
then to be reflective.
It suffices, it is all comfort -
along with human love,
dog love, water love, little-serpent love,sunburst love,
or love for that smallest of birds
flying among the scarlet flowers.
There is hardly time to think about
stopping, and lying down at last
to the long afterlife, to the tenderness
yet to come, when time will brim over the singular pond, and become forever,
and we will pretend to melt away into the leaves.
As for death,
I can't wait to be the hummingbird,
can you?
Mary Oliver
I'm without words
sufficient to say
how it has been hard as flint,
and soft as a spring pond,both of these
and over and over,
and long pale afternoons besides,
and so many mysteries
beautiful as eggs in a nest,
still unhatched though warm and watched over
by something I have never seen
-a tree angel, perhaps,or a ghost of holiness.
Every day I walk out into the world
to be dazzled,
then to be reflective.
It suffices, it is all comfort -
along with human love,
dog love, water love, little-serpent love,sunburst love,
or love for that smallest of birds
flying among the scarlet flowers.
There is hardly time to think about
stopping, and lying down at last
to the long afterlife, to the tenderness
yet to come, when time will brim over the singular pond, and become forever,
and we will pretend to melt away into the leaves.
As for death,
I can't wait to be the hummingbird,
can you?
Mary Oliver
"Sometimes I go around feeling sorry for myself; and all the while I am being carried by the wind across the sky." --Chippewa saying.
Look at all those pretty little gems!!! It's snowing here AGAIN!!! I'm ready for spring.
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful. Aren't daffodils the most cheerful hargingers of spring? I have always loved them, singly or in abundance. Thank you for such lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteToday when I went to my mailbox, right before I had to go down the street to the bus stop for my little Tulip, I looked around and the massive amount of SUV's and big trucks made me feel like I was drowning. It was unreal, surreal. My first thought was a camera, to click this moment, where there was no "real" car in sight, only monsters, MONSTERS, and monsters. I had to glance at my driveway and the driveway behind where I was standing to get my barrings back.
ReplyDeleteLovely pictures. I am waiting for my gladiolas to bloom, the Geranium on my porch is as faithful as it always been, now nine years old.
Spectacular! Especially the crocus. The big saffron crocuses haven't really started to bloom in our yard yet. Thnaks for sharing. :-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I wish I had a backyard again....Hmmm maybe I should shut up. I like where I live, I don't want to jinx myself. :-) ---Robbie
ReplyDeleteYour yard must be beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteKathy
So colorful! And, I just love the way that you layered them here! Lisa
ReplyDeletewow! I love it! I need to get some flowers in!
ReplyDeleteMarti
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDamn! I can't wait to see my backyard (I'm at my daughters in Lousiville)...the crocus where in bloom last week.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWhat photo program do you use, if you don't mind my asking? Mine always turn out a mess, especially the collages... :)
ooohhh, this is beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd what a lovely back yoar it must be!
ReplyDelete*** Coy ***
http://journals.aol.com/coy1234787/Dancingintherain
Absolutely beautiful, Lisa! Not only do I have no lovely flowers like that in my backyard, but I couldn't get such perfect pictures of them if I did!
ReplyDeleteDonna