An Artist, Photographer, Writer, Poet

Daily Archives: October 24, 2015

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 19 ... Oh, Dear !

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 19
… Oh, Dear !

.

Plimoth Plantation free use image

Plimoth Plantation
free use image

.

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 19 …Oh Dear !

The Prompt:

“…. I yet again bring you something with form! Never fear, this one has nothing to do with counting!

Actually this is a form that I kinda made up one day for a poetry class in college, I call it the “Dear,” form.

Once upon a time a friend and I were joking about our ex boyfriends at the beginning of poetry class and coming forth from that was what we wrote that day!

How to do it?

Each line of the poem starts with “Dear (name)”
You get one line to say something to an ex or some significant love, example I did my ex boyfriend, my high school crushes, my (then) current boyfriend, my childhood love, etc. Anyways my list ended up to be about 17 names long.
For each name, you get one sentence plus one word (optional) Example: “Dear Steve, at least you made good coffee. Sorry.”

Don’t have a long enough list? You can go with a list like your bridesmaids, your best friends in college, deceased pets, etc. I’ve always liked doing this periodically with the same list to see if my feelings have changed towards any of the memories I have of these people. It’s a nice reflective exercise I feel, personally I think it pairs well with a glass of wine.”~Beverly Tan
.

============

My Response to the prompt:

============

.

Dear Ancestors …
those who came on the Mayflower
with Edward for going back and getting the cows
so we could have milk and cheese in Wisconsin.
.
Dear Ancestor writers and poets
who came before me…
your genes have been passed on
and into two generations after me.

Dear how many greats it is ancestors…
of those of you who were artists…
your gift of artist talent
is now in my grandchildren alive,
well and thriving.
.
Dear Grandmother Winslow,
who emigrated from Norway
to an unknown place,
and thru your example showed me
how to handle crippling pain
with your grace and never heard to complain.
.
Dear Grandfather Winslow,
you showed eternal love,
providing her the fine things she loved.
Saving and living frugally
to buy the crystal chandelier
piece by piece,
the oriental rug,
the french dishes for the table
… I wonder how many other things
we never knew about.
You gave me the love of Norman Rockwell
and remember the cellar room wall papered
with the Saturday Evening Post covers.
Most of all, your example of service …
doing all you could for your wife,
carrying her down the stairs in the morning, up at night…
never complaining
just doing what was needed
to keep Grandmother center in our lives ~
and allowing her to enjoy her surroundings
more than the four walls of the bedroom.
..
I just realized that,
before the elevator at the nursing home,
when I helped carry residents
from second floor to first for whatever reason,
I must have heard you whisper in my ear.
.
Dear Grandmother Gerstner ~
I may be following your foot steps
of making the rounds of the children/grandchildren
in the December of my life.
You taught me to keep silent
when in someone else’s home
… not to speak out loud your feelings,
yours must have been stepped on many times.
I learned so much by sharing a room
and my bed with you.
I still have your aprons
you showed me with patience
how to cross-stitch and patchwork
the right way and with elegance.

Dear Ancestors
who not only came over on the Mayflower
but by boat and plane, for a better life
or married and moved to join a family
~ one came on the day a baby was buried.
Your traits and personalities are still alive and well.
I wonder because of lack of photos,
if we look like you,
…. I can see some in me …
my Winslow nose that fits so well
with the Gerstner round and fluffy physique.

Peace and Love,

Sigrid (Gerstner) (mother Mary Winslow) Saradunn Artist, Poet, Writer

 

Advertisement

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 18 Things aren't always what they seem

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 18
Things aren’t always what they seem

.

Fresh Dandelion Greens Free Use Image

Fresh Dandelion Greens
Free Use Image

.

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 18:    prompt:  Things aren’t always what they seem

.
Today’s prompt we’re going to add a little mystery to our lives. Look around you, whether it’s a physical object or people in general in your life. Chose something or someone and give them a double life. Ex: I just book a graphic novel where the woman is a turn of the century housewife during the day, but at night she’s an assassin. Maybe your tomato has the secret life of an apple. Never know what’s happening in the crisper when the drawer is closed. Get creative and have fun with it.

=====

My Response to the prompt:

=====

 

Things aren’t always what they seem

illusions that come with mysteries
facts that have a spin to them
unseen to the human eye.
.

Cherokee tribe of Native Americans, said

“Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes”

.
and Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird :

.
“You never really know a man

until you understand things from his point of view,

until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

.
Think of the quote before being the critic:
walk in their shoes.
A grieving person may still be sad
even when laughing and sharing a joke.
A widower spoke and said, “Don’t tell
me you know how I feel unless you’ve
lost a spouse”.
.
An only child never knows the bliss
of a sibling who had the same parents
at the same time.of the parents life.
(My brother and I are “only children”
~ six years apart)
.
One person’s comfort food,
may seem odd or inedible to another…
have you tried fried insects, jelly fish,
pickled octopus, made rose hip jam or
dandelion greens in your smoothie ?
.

Things aren’t always what they seem
illusions that come with mysteries
facts that have a spin to them
unseen to the human eye.


OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 17 Dance

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 17 Dance

.

photo: free use image: sheilaomalley Dancing in the 1950s The random pair of legs in the air. The girl is upside down. I love her. I want to be her. Can you see the grin on her upside-down face, too?

photo: free use image: sheilaomalley
Dancing in the 1950s
The random pair of legs in the air.
The girl is upside down. I love her.
I want to be her.
Can you see the grin
on her upside-down face, too?

.

OctPoWriMo 2015 Day 17   prompt:  Dance…

“Dance, when you’re broken open. Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you’re perfectly free.” ― Rumi
.
Poetry Prompt:
What stage are you at in the above quote? Are you dancing? Write for ten minutes asking yourself the previous questions.

Word Prompts:
Free
Middle
Bandage

.

My response to the prompt:

=================

Teens Dancing with Joy
.
way back in the day
Friday night school dances
joyful grovin’ tunes
now jitterbug the night away
sounding like a wind broke horse

.