Cherry Margarita #haiku #spring #haibun

 

I sit behind closed doors. Drawing pictures of ballet dancers in pink .  Crumpled piles of discards about my feet. I’m reminded of cherry blossoms in spring. They dance through the cobwebs in my head and I am outside in spring’s kaleidoscope with no Co-Vid.

***

Infused with sunshine

cherry blossoms kiss still waters

sparks of spring

We miss the cherry blossoms they are always so cheerful and so this week I may take a few moments and draw more ballerinas.

Hope all of you are doing well. Not sure how it is for the rest of you but I am actually happy to be home writing and creating. Most of the places where I work in hospice did a close down (which was wise) – anything to prevent a spread. Be well and write!!!

Sharing with Poets And Story Tellers United

 

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Lens of Yesterdays #poetry #memories

 

“Who is that?” My daughter asks as she filters through 100 year old snapshots.

“I never heard their story. I was only a child when I looked at these photos last.”

“Which side of the family are they from?” She looks for any family likenesses.

“They look like dad’s family. I’m glad these didn’t get thrown away.”

“Who is this?”

“I think it’s my great-grandfather. I don’t know much about him. I think he was a grocer. That’s your grandfather when he was a little boy and this is your great-grandmother. I think you look the most like her.”

My daughter squints her eyes to see some resemblance.

My family and their past is in a black and white capsule. Much of what remains is in a shoe box. The family farm is gone and all the antiques burned up in a fire several years ago. I want to carry forth their past but there is so little that I know.

***

 

Box of sepia prints

few faces recognized

memories lost

*

little hands

smile covered with icing

I still hear that voice

*

brush away tears

people long gone

puddle in kodachrome

*

One of things that we do with family is look at old family photos. There are so many dialogues. One thing is a constant we continue to make memories even as we look at the past.

Enjoy the memory making with family!!

 

 

 

 

Treasure Hunter #poetry #alzheimers #elderly

a grey- haired journey

we often stub our toes

rattle our mind for memories

caregiver regular  in tow

treasures we seek

but little do we find

momentary peeks

into a treasure filled mind

*******

daily routine

seasons change as you age

 digging up treasure

 

Look into the mind of the elderly there are vast discoveries. Sometimes there is a thin veil covering the expanse. It is worth the effort.

Freedom Cancelled #poetry #alzheimers

rose bud bloom

decided on its own colour

catching random raindrops

she danced each spring

a calla lily

ivory  water cup

opens like a scroll

makes my heart sing

dry dusty petals

always winter

a ballerina once

no longer remembering

****

a swan song

the seasons changed her dance

robbed of her wings

 

Alzheimers the hidden treasure #caregivers #alzheimers #haibun

More than forty years ago,I took care of my first Alzheimer’s patient. Back then we called a patient confused. The trade marks were the same: little by little the mind ebbs and the memory recedes.

I have learned much as I have looked through the window of an elderly person’s life. There is a store house of information, experience, history that is so close. My challenge as a caregiver is to find the key that unlocks the treasure chest.

By the time I enter a client’s life, they have “lost” quite a bit of memory. But there is always some treasure if I am patient. “Patient” is the operative word – I cannot have an agenda, be pushy or in a big hurry.

Mary loves children and she most often sets the tone for the conversation. Her years of experience as a school teacher are like gold for me as my other life is teaching African children. It is a joy to hear children in the background of her life.

Today- I grasped at another treasure – we look good in the same colors. She chose several outfits that would look good on either of us. Last week we had a pillow fight and got into a fit of laughter. She asked me a puzzle of a question; I asked her one in return.

Each day we find what we can do not what we can’t do and it works.

I am not inferring that caring for a person with Alzheimer’s is easy – It is Not! As the wave recedes, I am sorrowful for the yesterdays that are lost. But my hand is going to clasp hers and be grateful that there are more days filled with treasure if I am ready to hunt for it.

Tide is fading

wind thrashes each memory

deep blue sea

 

 

In Christ Alone #easter #poetry

Who faithful carries burdens

who in love bore the cross

only one God’s Son

willingly paid the price

sin a heavy anchor

none can loose its chains

but by the eternal victor

 you are free from pain

why walk bent and broken

you can be set free

what a loving forfeit

Christ’s death on Calvary

*

Sins willingly bore

Risen no grave could hold

Jesus paid sin’s price

 

 

No Comparison #art #nature #poetry

I tried to draw a rose today

but noise and life got in the way

my pencil finally took control

what it drew I hardly know

“it’s good I guess” I tell the pad

 I sniff the scent of rubber band

I tried to draw a rose today

crumpled paper, thrown away

*

rare beauty

inhale, no bottle can hold

rose succulence

Flowers can cheer a frown into a smile. Poets United knows this well and so the prompt this week is Flowers!!!

Photographer #atozchallenge #Uganda #acholi

 

 

images of a moment

a few held digitally

others only close

 suspended in memory

the photographer reminds us

 places where we’ve gone

people who are close

he brought us along

celebrate the magic

the aperture doth spy

creative destination

 captured with my eye

*

too wild to hold

running with the seasons

camera ready

Uganda is a place that holds so much beauty that passes in a blink. My memory banks are full of flashes of color. I try to imprint in my heart the smiles of people I met. I’m grateful for the telephoto lense that brings a lioness, crocodile and hippo close but not in harm’s way. Im happy for an artform that captures a few memories to relieve.

The header is a mirror image of our dear friend John Pipes who has many gifts including photography.

 

Freedom’s Dawn #Easter #Poetry

 look through storm clouds

beauty to behold

colors of the rainbow

mercy to unfold

hold not to the dark

open up your heart

before the Lord seek freedom

make a fresh new start

*

nightingale’s song

 lily raises its pure face

morning glory

*

Easter is a time to be reminded of Christ’s sacrifice and renewed. But we can hold back and lay roots of rot and resistance. It is not God who holds back His goodness. We are the ones who chose not the beauty of salvation’s grace.

 

Fire #Uganda #Atozchallenge

“There’s a fire” a boy points

it looks like dust

the men go to check

flames are raging

inside a small school

men and women rush

saving everything they can

“Get out before the roof falls”

fire brigade of 25 children

“pump pump pump”

children carry 20 to 30 pounds of water

I try to put a bucket on my head

my arms will have to do

brave men push brick walls inward

courageous children pump and carry water

one school is gone

I sigh with relief – “no one is hurt this day”

tomorrow a new challenge

*

Brave children

red hot flames of destruction

tired, sooty smiles

*

This fire happened 3 weeks ago while we were visiting Uganda. Our aim was to teach elementary children during the day  and encourage a home of orphans and staff at night.

In the United States we would stand back and watch as firefighters battled a fire. Not so with these strong people who dragged burning, hot furniture out of a raging fire. Kelly, a 3-year-old, carried bucket after bucket of water to save the school.

In stead of the 16 elementary lessons I had prepared, we spent the week teaching 70 children (4-6 year olds) on the porch of the orphanage. I was thankful for a suitcase of crafts and a butterfly puppet, I packed last-minute, who helped my husband and I teach  daily lessons.