Friday, October 28, 2011

Inspired by, The New Yorker Magazine~



{The above cartoon is from the Oct. 31 2011, addition of The New Yorker Magazine, of which today's poem has been inspired~



A True Mother of Invention


We're going to the house
of the woman with the mouse
They've got the job, they're staying on
we hope without a louse

We're going on the trip
of this I have no tip
It gives me anx, to do it
but it's part of the whole shtick

We're going to the house
to say ~"It's Bon Voyage"~
Let's hope you're safe, and always well

This epic's been a trip

This is now, act umpteen
from early on in teens
You've taught a lot
I've learned a lot
of never to be mean

We're going to your house
to help with what we can
the thought of it does bring me down
but life of this for man's
not always our best choice
not always good for thee
but you came first
here, there, and most
and freedom's what you seek

So we'll not hold you back
or even warn you of
what lurks, you know
won't hover though
your mindful passing's song~

of this we'll never know
for God does make the call
for when we go, it's inten-ed
for all, yes~ for us all


*******************************

The above is today's addition to the Poetry A Muse In Motion project, of which I would like to gratefully thank, The New Yorker Magazine of whom, never, ever disappoints. Thank You!











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This October Morn






And now, though appearing out of focus, all blurred & fuzzy-like, reminding me of that abstract expressionist/impressionist styles, I love so much~
lending it's self to hints of form, yet colors true...

Here it is just two days before Halloween & already snow in these here hills, oh my~

Yesterday my day revolved around being sure I was off & on time for our Thanksgiving planning meeting of our Interfaith Council, & lo & behold, not just rain, but freezing rain, & a good downpour of snow. I went from wearing an unlined trench coat on Wednesday to wearing my hooded winter jacket, all in just 24 hours. The weather here is so Mark Twain-ish, for truly all one ever has to do is "wait a minute".

I left the house with my tribulations of course as we haven't yet switched over to studded snow tires, but my husband assured me that the all weather ones that were still on the car would be just fine. He was right of course, & as I meandered down & around our slope, onto the country roads out our way, making it to my friends house in good turtle time, we still we arrived at our meeting in a timely manner.

Weather such as what was splashing about last night was a bit intimidating at times, but I kept reminding myself that during my work-a-day career, of coming home from one or another various nursing jobs I had been employed at, that many a day, night, or early morn, that I had driven in conditions far worse than last night's, so I calmed myself & mushed on.

Snow is beautiful the way it blankets the ground, it gives a gentle, & peaceful look, but we do know that within those unique flakes & crystals there is a process that goes on, & traction on the roadways can, & has been very risky at times. We did well, & as far as I know all of our friends attending the meeting, did Aok too. In all honesty I am not looking forward to our forthcoming wintry travels, that for whatever reason in this global weather pattern, has arrived in our region way too early, but no matter what we'll do our best, & it seems~ like it or not, it's now time to travel around with our snow brushes, ice scrapers, & shovels, as we really have no choice. Oh & let us not forget the sand or kitty litter, that many a time has proved a true, & only fix, of getting ones vechicle off of a~ going nowhere slippery patch.

Safe & Happy Autumn what's left of it, one & all, & be certain to catch whatever glimmering glipse of what you can for it's~ going going, so soon to be gone...












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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Greening of America~

We have finally arrived, with multiple generations of awareness,
that in order to protect, & to keep what it is we cherish & love
to be an American, also means to conserve, & recycle efficently to~

~Make Art Not War~

now & forever more!











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© Mother Lightning of Mother Lightning's Peace Garden

Monday, October 24, 2011

Classic Chores of Classic Rock



A new week is here & now, with that I will be making every attempt to not only do what it is I need to do on my "to do" list, but to really try very hard to get to some of the boring, mind numbing redundant tasks, such as dusting~


time to dust
the dusting now,
dusting can keep,
as much as I try~
dusting is tedious
and dusting's a bore
dust is all over
just hate the chore
though I will kvetch here
and I might wine
when I get to it
really don't mind
put on some music
put on a show
think in dimensions
what needs to known
can't call life boring
not always fun
it's what it is now
needs to be done
but if I want to
have friends for tea
must do the dusting
that I can see

from dust we came
to dust we go
Picasso said
it keeps you know
I'm no Picasso
nor a Matese
am not Ms. Georgia
of the O'Keeffe
am no St. Vincent
Louisa May
I am of whom
I'm meant to be
and if I want~
have friends for tea
then I must dust
my home of trees
for it's more fun
to share our lives
rejoice in friendships
mark our times

we are of dust
these fleeting miles
it's rushing currents
jet stream highs
so we take pause
once in a while
to share our journeys
embrace in smiles
all work no play
what is we do
adjusting balance
staying tuned
we learn each other's

different ways~

this dust of journeys
unique paths
alone so enter
nair a guide
the winds they tell us
always flux
our stardust orbits
worlds beyond
dusting a wood frame
dusting a home
yes we do orbit

whence we've come...


***********************************


Neil Young may have inferred, as did Joan Baez that Rust Never Sleeps, in the songs of our generation, I must add, that though dust is not rust, it also does not sleep, it is the stuff of dreams, our past, our present & our futures...

This completes today's addition to the Poetry A Muse In Motion project~












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Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Blessings of Friendship~









There it is right above this paragraph a photo of what was a little while ago the here & now, but last night my husband & I traveled back into the Hartford area, to be the guests of a long time friend. I have known Joanne since grade four, of way back to the time when we attended Anna E. Norris School together during our hometown days in E. Htfd., Ct.

Fast forward to the here & now~
Joanne & I of course attended one an other's weddings back in the early 70's. She actually introduced my husband & I to one another. He was 18, I was 17, not quite the~
Sound of Music song of course, but pretty close, nonetheless. Add a different horrid wartime era, & fast forward once again~

My long time childhood friend, who has worked very hard to make a wonderful life for herself & children, is now, no surprise here, a grandmother, like so many of us b. boomers.
Approximately some twenty years ago, with a lot of determination, talent & strength our friend Joanne re explored, & to her good credit, rediscovered her theatrical & musical talents, & voila~
there we were, my husband & I in the audience as our friend's special guests, watching her perform once again, & this time in her stylishly talented role of~ Sister Mary Hubert
in the locally performed Broadway Musical, Nunsense. Gotta love it!

Time may fly, & yes, we do get older, but a loving friendship for a very talented friend, that was formed & nurtured, from back in the time of schooldays, & summertimes, never really gets old, it just matures to it's beauty of a garden rose, a scent so delicate, & memorable, & alive, no matter the winds....

***************************

For anyone interested in a quality night out to the theatre, we highly recommend you check out the current schedule of the~

Connecticut Cabaret Theatre


which is located directly off the Berlin Turnpike, in Berlin, Ct., of which is so very worth the trip, & on your attendance, you will not be disappointed, for certain~

so let us close by saying~

On, on with the show!











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© Mother Lightning of Mother Lightning's Peace Garden

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The Peaceful Pumpkins, at Putnam's Pumpkin Festival













A picture says a thousand words, & in this case, even more. We just perchance stopped in downtown, the plan was to do the river walk, & much to our suprize~ there it was, a festival, so colorful, friendly, & pumpkin flavored too!

There's nothing quite like a beautiful autumn day in October, as it will always take first place, in any New Englander's heart.












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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Washington~ Part II



















As an American all my life, I too have extended family members who have come from far away lands. My grandfather came to this country from Austria back as a boy. There never was a long enough story told to us, of any detail, only that during my grandfather's family's crossing, across the great oceans from Europe in what must have been horrendous conditions that steerage provided, his brother died. That is all I was ever told as a child by either my father or my grandmother. Nothing more, nothing less, barely a chapter of a life shared, of one who barely lived.
It must have been a horendous episode for my grandfather & his childhood family, for all the years that I knew him which really wasn't very many, perhaps up until I was ten or 13 or so. All the years that I knew my grandfather Benjamin, he never, ever spoke anything but a very sparse English words, only Yiddish which I barely understood. My grandmother Anna was born in Yonkers New York, though at some time in her family's history they had all come to this country from Russia.

So here I am now retelling some of my family's tree history, for this past Sunday, a small modern day branch of us, really packed in the site seeing which was a good activity for our short visit with our son, as we were to leave the next day to travel back up the eastern seaboard, to our neck of the woods, back to where I am now perched.

We chose to visit the family home of our Capitol's namesake~
George Washington, in Mount Vernon, which is located about an hour out of the District of Columbia, in Virginia.

My husband & I do agree with the assessment of Washington's great contribution to these United States of America, as a strategic leader & hero in the Revolutionary War, but the sheer fact that he owned slaves during his lifetime, & the amount of individuals he held in bondage until the time of his death, was three-hundred people. It was written in Washington's will that his slaves were to be granted their freedom upon his death. Which of course were; men, women, & children, the very young & the very old, compete families, all individuals that had no say, & no control over their own personal destiny.

Just image three-hundred people to do all your work, & this was no small homestead, but a great plantation which was a producer of tobacco, fruits, vegetables, live stock, whiskey, & whatever else...
On the way home back to New England, I asked my husband what his true opinion of George Washington was, & he said that, "The fact he is revered for his part of heroism in the Revolutionary War, & also his great Presidency, which could not be denied, but the fact that he was a slave holder, takes away from his greatness, as even considering owning, purchasing, controlling another human being, is totally repulsive, & therefore we as a Nation began our very beginning, marred."
Yes, indeed it is, much like a Biblical original sin, was my response.

I've included some photos of Mount Vernon in this array, simply because of it's stunning historic place in our history, & most truly it never did belong to Washington, but to the world of nature as always. These beautiful buildings have been constructed by man, & much of what you see of Mount Vernon, is from the mind & vision of the Washington family even before George's time, but most truly this plantation estate is of the blood, sweat & tears of every single slave~ man, woman & child who ever stepped upon & walked these halls & paths to the Potomac River & beyond...

It is always far too painful to be reminded of our humanity's, less then good nature, but that is who we are, an aspect of our shadow self, our lesser side, & a true reminder that though the fierce, & animalistic nature, that some human beings posses strongly in their reptilian brains, be what they are, it is not all of humankind to be this way. We all continue to learn new ways of thinking, of coping each & every day, & as we continue to bravely face our own history, we can be kinder & with that strong too. It's just a shift, in the perspective of what's blowing in the wind. We can do this, for in this point in time, it is necessary. We need not forget, but we do need to forgive, & along the way, to forgive ourselves too, for we will never be perfect, we are only human, but we can try, to continue to keep trying, to be a better People, a better Nation.

****************

The following is Part I of this episode-














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Monday, October 17, 2011

The People's City~ Part I









Are the very talented & cool musicians you see featured in this posting.
We were told that this wonderful Block Pary went on into the evening. Not only was the music the best of the best, but to experience it, in a friendly & welcoming neighborhood gave our trip into D.C. a true feeling that we really were in~
The People's City




It was a weekend of logging the miles, from one climate zone to another.

We just got back early this evening from visiting our son down in D.C. He's been back to our neck of the woods, to visit with the fam* & all, but this was the very first chance we got to visit with him on his own turf since he moved down there about a year & a half ago, & it was a wonderful weekend to be sure. Our son from the north has always had an aspect of hospitality, so living down south is a good fit, as the climate is a bit warmer there, & the people are friendly too, with neighborhoods extending out branches of hospitality to one another, & as he said to me due to the warmer climate, "It's one of the fittest places in the country." Which makes sense as the bike trails go on & on, out of the city into Virginia along the Potomac, & weaving into Maryland, & back. Two days, including travel time, is just enough to wet one's whistle, to say,
"Next time we ought to bring our bikes."

**************************

The following is part II of this episode-


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© Mother Lightning of Mother Lightning's Peace Garden