Poetry Friday - So Much Remembering!

     It's Poetry Friday, and Patricia J. Franz is hosting on her website, Reverie, here! Be sure to visit to read her wonderful words about summer! And visit all the other Poetry Friday writers! Thanks for hosting, Patricia! 

     SPECIAL NOTE: Still wishing all of you a lovely holiday weekend! I guess blogger commenting is back! 

      We ended August saying goodbye to so many people, great people, and you may know more than those I am thinking of: Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, Yayoi Kusama, and just yesterday, Gloria Steinem!  Among these, today I'm also remembering the poet, Wendell Berry! Of his poems, many know "The Peace of Wild Things", comforting all when feelings are low: "When despair for the world grows in me.. ."  

      I've also read some about him as a farmer, living all over the world, yet eventually he ended up a farmer in what he named Lane's Landing, in Kentucky. I've been to Kentucky numerous times because my grandson went to college there. It is beautiful land, one I'm not surprised Berry fell in love with.

       Though I've been in Colorado for a long time, I grew up in Missouri, with two grandfathers who were farmers. They, too, had gorgeous land, and when Joan Rush McCullough shared Shirley Thacker's recent Farmku, illustrated by Clara Elffers, I snatched it right away! 

       With those briefest of words, Shirley's haikus bring scenes depicting my own memories, then Clara brings them to life with her special print-making. Warm colors bring warm feelings on every page. Yes, I rode with a grandfather to gather the cattle each evening, gathered eggs from fussy hens, and learned to bottle-feed tiny lambs born a bit too soon. Here's a glimpse from the book!

          I am remembering, too, that today is the anniversary of my husband, Arvie's, passing. It's been thirteen years, and every day, something brings him to me. 

         Poetry's the gift we all love, right? In their own spectacular ways, Shirley and Clara in their book, Dolly in her songs, Tim in his voices, Yayoi in her paintings, Gloria in her strong voice, and Wendell in his words, all have given us poetry. 

         Hope you get to find and enjoy Farmku!

Poetry Friday - In the Night

  

       It's Poetry Friday, and Karen Edmisten is hosting HERE at The Blog With The Shockingly Clever Title! You'll need to visit so you can see just what she's named it! Thanks for hosting, Karen! 

       We all have those special dates that we remember when they come. It's most often a loved one's birthday, and often they have passed on, but I also note the birthdays of extended family, ones I don't see very much anymore.  

         This coming Wednesday, November 20th, is my husband's birthday. He hasn't been with us for eleven years, but I'm sure you know that I will always remember and keep him close especially on his day! This week, Poem a Day shared a poem that touched me deeply. It is new to me and I want to share it, for all of you, and for Arvie, "my love", a Happy Birthday! 

At the head of the table, probably a holiday
long ago! 

At The Mid Hour of Night 

        by Thomas Moore

1779 – 1852

 

At the mid hour of night, when stars are weeping, I fly 
To the lone vale we loved, when life shone warm in thine eye;
And I think oft, if spirits can steal from the regions of air, 
To revisit past scenes of delight, thou wilt come to me there,
And tell me our love is remembered, even in the sky. 

Then I sing the wild song ’twas once such pleasure to hear! 
When our voices commingling breathed, like one, on the ear;
And, as Echo far off through the vale my sad orison rolls, 
I think, oh my love! ’tis thy voice from the Kingdom of Souls,
Faintly answering still the notes that once were so dear.

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on November 9, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.

 You can access the entry here which includes the audio, too.

Poetry Friday - Goodbyes Made Sadder

It's Poetry Friday, and Buffy Silverman is hosting HERE on her blog by the same name.  She is giving us a delightful peek at her new book, which is coming out next week! See the cover above! Don't miss it! Congratulations and thanks for hosting, Buffy!

              I wrote this a few days ago, before Wednesday, September 4th. It's not a happy post, but I thought many of you would like to know the poem my husband chose to be read at his funeral. He passed away eleven years ago on September 4th, a day I won't forget, though I will also remember the good memories of our life together for many years. 

          Now, with the grief of missing my husband, I am also filled with sorrow for those whose loved ones died Wednesday. And, I am angry that our country cannot make changes, especially to protect our beautiful children and also adults who have left their loved ones way too soon. You know the arguments, all of them.   

             The poem is The Long Boat by Stanley Kunitz  Here, on his 100th birthday, he is reading it.

      The Long Boat

When his boat snapped loose
from its mooring, under
the screaking of the gulls,
he tried at first to wave
to his dear ones on shore,
but in the rolling fog
they had already lost their faces.
Too tired even to choose
between jumping and calling,
somehow he felt absolved and free
of his burdens, those mottoes
stamped on his name-tag:
conscience, ambition, and all
that caring.

        the rest is HERE

April - Poetry Month (And Poetry Friday!) - Day Seven - Ghazal

         I am continuing with my Poetry Month challenges and At Reflections on the Teche, Margaret Simon, our host for Poetry Friday is HERE! Thanks, Margaret, for hosting!  Remember to check out what's she's done with the next Progressive Poem line, too, today. See the entire list on the right.

        Happy Easter to you who celebrate! 🐇 And for those who are celebrating – Happy Passover! 

       Happy Poetry Month, where poems parade in the streets, run like rivers within our veins or settle in our hearts every.single,time. 

       I am planning to use this older book pictured left that follows the alphabet with one kind of prompt each day. I used this book on occasion in the classroom years ago, but never worked through it day by day, with deliberation! Here goes!

       Today, Day Seven, calls for a ghazal, a complicated poetry form. One is challenged to follow the rules you can find here, one of which is that the theme of this form must touch on love and the other should include the poet's name in the last line. See if you can figure out how I did that! I chose to write about my husband who will be gone ten years this coming September. It still seems like yesterday.

 

       

Slice of Life Always With Me

       I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community today. It's always a pleasure to read what everyone writes about their lives.

Happy Election Day!

         Yes, I'm happy. It's been a long and rocky road to this day, and I will be celebrating when it's over. I want to move on to help our country do better!

        

          First, best wishes to Betsy Hubbard and her family for every part of your recovery from the fire to go smoothly with the best possible outcome. 

         This is a little bit of a sad post, too, because often for reasons small and big, I miss my husband, Arvie. And much of what I miss is sharing words. The fall that he passed, three years ago this past September, I wrote a poem that expresses these thoughts. You can read it here, and I imagine some of you remember it. It begins "And I would show you. . ."

        Lately, there is much I want to share, like about my visit to see Nathan, Barb and Carter, and how proud he would be to see the wonderful young man Carter has become.  And I know that he would love spending time with Sarah and Dave and seeing these growing up little girls that are the sweetest granddaughters. 

Celebrating My Special Someone

  Celebrating with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build.  and linking with others who share their celebrations, too. I am grateful to Ruth for starting this meme that offers a place to celebrate together! I hope each of you has a wonderful holiday weekend. It sounds like Ruth and her family are going to!

         This is the right time to share this celebrations, although the real day is tomorrow, September 4th. On Sunday it will be three years since my husband, Arvie, died. It's so hard to try to collect words good enough to show what a wonderful man he was, and son, husband, father, brother and grandfather. We had over fifty years together, forty-eight of them married, and every part, even the hard ones, were blessed because we lived them together. Arvie was kind, respectful of everyone; stubborn, yet often right in his beliefs; smart, figured out just anything he needed to; loving, showed it often with family and friends. I loved him very much, and celebrate his life today while missing him still. A month or so after he died, I wrote a poem that is still the truth in many parts of my day. Now I share with others, and you, but when you read the poem, you'll know that I miss sharing with Arvie the most.

 And I Would Show You

And I would show you autumn is here.

Where once greenest leaves, now falling goodbyes.

Flowers’ last blooms fade by the evening;

Afternoon breezes undress trees with sighs.

And I would show you the sun has changed angles.

It’s no longer glaring, clouds relax in their glide.

Last minute bees taste last minute nectar;

Crickets are chirping, cicadas abide.

And I would show you the clocks appear slower;

it’s time for breath holding, and nothing still grows.

Nature’s preparing stark shadows of winter,

Beginning to paint on its canvas of snow.

 Linda Baie © All Rights Reserved

A favorite beach picture long ago, probably in Mazatlan.

Making Memories-Then & Now

I'm slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community today.

          
           Some of you know because I posted the picture above with the title "waiting" a few days ago on FB that I'm headed Saturday for the beach house, and the rest of the family will gather different days next week. We stay at a special house on the beach and soak up the sea as much as possible. I think we soak up each other, too!

         The first time I traveled to the Ft. Myers area was with my husband Arvie on our annual trip with Carter. We stayed in a small cottage right on the beach of Sanibel Island, spent wonderful hours exploring, gathering shells, swimming, loving on each other. At that time I was doing all the planning and driving, and Carter, ten, helped much with navigating in the airport and on the road. It was a wonderful trip I was determined to take because I knew it would be the final one for Carter with Arvie. I wanted to make a memory for us all.
         My family is headed for Captiva Island for the fourth time this next week, and making more memories there, but Carter and I feel close to Arvie too, and remember the good times we had that first time. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad I persisted in going that summer. If I had waited for a better time, there wouldn't have been one. Don't wait for those "perfect" conditions; they probably won't ever happen. Go and do things you want to do!

favorite pictures from that summer of 2011

Notice the sign-big chuckle!

Poetry Friday - Reflection

            Michelle H. Barnes hosts the middle of April's Poetry Friday this week. Thanks, Michelle! Go to her blog, Today's Little Ditty for all the links, and to read her wonderful Echo poem. There has been so, so much poetry written and shared this month I can hardly keep up. I don't have a goal of every day, but am trying to write once in a while, and am really just loving what everyone else is doing. 

            The Progressive Poem created by Irene Latham is moving along beautifully. Don't forget to visit here to see the next line by Matt Forrest Esenwine at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme.

Celebrations Sweet and Bittersweet

              I celebrate each Saturday with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build and the rest of the wonderful community that celebrates together. Come join us!          Tweet at #CelebrateLu

              Having visitors again is always something to celebrate. This week filled with visitors I was happy to have, from a former student and her husband in town at the Tattered Cover for their book launch of Find Me Unafraid to my son, daughter-in-law and grandson in Thursday to celebrate my birthday and a special family ceremony. I celebrate also the two rainy days we had, what a lovely blessing for our dry, dry earth.  Pictures show some of the joy, and you can imagine the in-between.

Jessica and Kennedy Odede at The Tattered Cover.

At The Kitchen--in our renovated Union Station all
together Saturday night before parting again.

Celebrating Happy Times

              I celebrate each Saturday with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build - Week number 97! There are many others who celebrate, too. Come join us!          Tweet at #CelebrateLu

         It was a good, full week, with daily walks, reading and writing and meetings with the new teacher I'm working with. There are many small things to celebrate, and at the end, one big thing, my husband, Arvie, who left us two years ago yesterday.

So today, I made a peach pie, his favorite dessert, and all week have been thinking of what he would be doing if here, the adventures he would "cook up", wondering always how he would like my new home and the way he would change it to make it "ours", and wonder how he would like me being retired, as he was for a while, the time to linger in the morning instead of rushing off to work?  I'm celebrating what a wonderful man Arvie was, all the "good" words one can say, and how his exuberance for living changed me too. I am blessed to have had the years we had together. Here are pics of him being the super grandfather he was when all the kids were younger. And one of that peach pie! Hug your friends and family every day; time goes so quickly.

Thoughts That Stay

           Thanks to Laura Shovan, we do more with poetry! She offers thoughtful challenges for poetry creation and contemplation often, and today shares another of her book/poem connections. along with hosting Poetry Friday at her blog, Author Amok. Come visit for a day filled with poetry! And be sure to thank Laura for managing all of us! 
            This post seems particularly apt for Poetry Friday because it's about the spoken word, and poetry is meant to be spoken. Some believe that our everyday interactions create the poetry of our lives. I enjoy the idea a lot.            

5/31 My Slice of Life every Monday

Thanks to those at the TwoWritingTeachers blog for this challenge. 

         For those of you who’ve followed my blog for a long while, you know that my husband spent the last years of his life in a nursing home with Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson’s disease.  It’s been six months since we said goodbye to him, and I miss him every day. This post is not exactly about him, but about the wonderful place where he stayed, my slice of life on Mondays. It isn’t a fancy place, but oh, the care and love he was given there, and that I received from the staff as well was awesome.   A couple of months ago I began volunteering in the part of the home where he lived.