Quadrille #13 for dVersepoets–1969 in a Jar

1969 in a Jar

July, 1969,
I dragged
behind my
middle-aged dad
at White Sands, New Mexico.

He put
white sand
in a big
mayonnaise jar,
just for me,
and ruffled my hair.

Today, that white sand is
that 1969 moment, in a jar.

Elaine

8/17/2016

*******************
This week at dVerse Poets, the challenge is: Write a poem on your blog in exactly 44 words (excluding title) where at least one of the words has to be jar, remember to link back to dVerse. Visit and get inspired by the other poets, have fun and remember to come back throughout the week to check out if there are any new entries. We will select one of the poems to be included in our upcoming anthology, and if you are selected we will contact you to get your acceptance.

https://dversepoets.com/2016/08/15/quadrille-13/

Haibun Monday: A Little Romance

I missed one day of work due to my little sons catching a bug at school and when I came back to work, I felt like I had mistakenly walked onto the set of the old Dating Game show. Just one day! I learned that three graduate students had been sent over to our clinic (the day I was out) to be interviewed for a semester long internship and I would be supervising the intern. I was given three resumes and application letters to review quickly. Every nurse, doctor and staff member mentioned the three intern candidates and which one they thought I should pick as I walked through the Dermatology Clinic where I worked as a Clinic Coordinator. I took the three applications back to my boss, Carol, and asked who she thought was the best. That’s when I learned she had already chosen an intern and he would be starting later the same morning! “Oh, and, umm, Elaine, he’s very handsome. I think you’ll really like him! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. You should start dating!” I shook my head in frustration. “Carol! This guy is supposed to be here to learn and to help us! He’s not coming here to be set up with an over the hill divorcee with two little boys!” She just laughed and left.

Later that morning a tall, dark and handsome man walked up to my desk and introduced himself as my new intern. Dammit, he even smelled handsome! Carol just laughed at my mumbling, turned beet red after I glared at her and left us to it. I was pretty icy with him for the first couple of months. Then I thawed out to merely tepidly friendly. I didn’t want him to get any wild ideas while I was overseeing his masters project and thesis. At the end of the semester I proofread his paper and retyped it for him. Then he started asking me out to dinner to repay me for helping him so much. I kept saying no. Finally, one day he caught me overwhelmed with patients and I said yes without meaning to do so. I was sunk and he knew it. He laughed heartily and left before I could change my answer. We dated for 14 months and then I regained my sanity and broke up with him. He was too young, crazy and different for our romance to last, but our summer-spring romance ended pleasantly.

Spring and summer meet.
Flowers bloom, birds sing sweetly.
Chilly fall kills blooms.

D. Elaine Wood-Lane
8/8/16

Today at dVerse, the challenge was to write a brief, true romance story in one or two paragraphs followed by a concise haiku to describe the same story. This is my attempt. Yes, it is true. No, it is not the story of my romance with my husband. He’s a very private guy!  Go to: https://dversepoets.com/2016/08/08/haibun-monday-a-little-romance/ to read more haibuns or to leave your own!  

Hot Air

Sun shines down so hot,
Cotton field dirt burns bare feet,
The hot air shimmers.

Summer days of old,
Cousins playing on the farm,
Hot dirt, hot air…joy!

Huddled inside now,
Cool air, carpet, dimness here,
Where is hot air joy?

© D. Elaine Wood-Lane
7-31-16

I recall a time in my childhood, when Mother’s family would gather at Aunt Mary and Uncle Dolf’s farm. We cousins would go outside to play in the 106 degree heat and we loved it! We played outside, walking through fields in our bare feet, finding magical objects in the dirt like arrow heads and pretty rocks and we were in our glory. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories.

POKEMON GO PSA FOR PARENTS FROM A CONCERNED GRANDMOTHER…

I just recalled something I heard on the radio yesterday that concerned me so consider this a public service announcement of sorts. Please forgive my ignorance of the finer details of the Pokemon-Go game, but I’m assuming the idea is to follow clues to collect Pikachus? Anywho, a radio emcee had wondered if younger people/teens who were playing were being careful about their involvement. As an experiment, he went to a park, saw some teenagers playing, and indicated he had found a Pikachu and knew where there were some more. The kids got all excited and when he offered them a ride to the next place, they immediately agreed to go with him and headed towards his car. He was incredulous that they were so naive!

At that point, he asked the kids if they knew anything about him and, since they obviously didn’t, asked them why they would be so willing to get in a car with a complete stranger. They said that they didn’t worry about it because they were all playing the same game. He pointed out that, though that was the case, they could not be assured that he wasn’t a rapist or serial killer or anything really. The kids he spoke were 14 and 16 years old.

His point was that if it was that easy for him to dupe kids into getting into his car, it would be for anyone to do it. Although these kids were old enough for their parents to trust them to leave home on their own, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea in light of how easily coerced they were.

So, parents beware! Warn your children, even teens, of the dangers of going with someone they don’t know, regardless of how “nice” they seem.

This concludes my PSA of the day! Carry on and be careful out there! 😊

D. Elaine Wood-Lane

Finding Joy

Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT)
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

Where does your mind wander? Does your mind focus on the positive and good, on light and hope? Or does your mind focus on the negative, the dark and the despair of life? I tend to believe that where our mind wanders, whether it be on truth, honor, love, light and hope or whether it be on deception, selfishness, hate, darkness and hopelessness, that’s the way our day proceeds and our life unfolds.

I know the world right now seems crazy and hate-full, violent and rushing toward destruction, but this is nothing new. People through the history of the world have thought the exact same thing. Yet, we are still here, the sun comes up new every morning, and despite what is happening in our lives, today presents a new opportunity to think differently, to believe differently, and to act differently. Are you focusing on the destruction, worrying every moment? Or, are you focusing on the positive and then working to make the positive a reality?

Where does your mind wander? Wherever you mind goes today, it will determine the outlook and outcome of your day… Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, pure, right and lovely. Fill your heart with love. Look for the good in others.

God loves you! I love you! Be happy!

D. Elaine Wood-Lane
7/25/16

Walking Through Life

I walk through life,
wandering, wondering,
what really matters,
what makes life sacred
and why are so many people
angry and alone?

We all want and need
to be understood,
to be seen,
to be accepted.

What if…
instead of seeking
to be understood,
seen,
and accepted,

We instead choose…
to understand,
see,
and accept others?

What if…
instead of thinking,
me versus them,
or we versus them,
we realize we are
all them?

None of us are so
very different from
one another.

We are all on
a path to learn,
grow, share,
love.

Sometimes on our path,
we find another soul,
at the same place,
at the same time, and…
our soul smiles and…
breathes.

We learn from these souls,
we connect, learn,
grow, share, love.

Then we continue on
our paths, seeking
continually to see more,
learn more, love more.

If we never seek
to understand others,
to see them as we
want to be seen,
and never accept
others,

We will only grow
angry, embittered,
isolated.

What if…
instead we open up,
dare to love one another,
see each other,
and stop the madness?

Let us love one another,
seeking peace instead of
 seeking being
right.

For in the end,
“The love you take, is the love you make.”

© D. Elaine Wood-Lane

7/9/16

If you’re like me, you’re so tired of hearing of the hatred and violence on the news all the time. It’s heartbreaking. This poem arose out of that heartbreak. What if we tried something different? Quote at the end is taken from The Beatles’ song, “The End.” I’ve always loved that line in the song. It really resonates with me.

Be At Peace

Though our hearts be sad and gray, let us remember that so far as it depends on us, be at peace with all people. (Romans 12:18). 
I leave you this blessing:

Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)

24 “‘“The Lord bless you

and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.”’
I love you all and am praying that the killing stops, period. It is time.

Elaine

Heaven…


This is art shared with me by a friend. The artist is in Scotland. Isn’t this absolutely beautiful? It reminds me of how I picture going to heaven at the end of my life. It isn’t something to be feared at all. Quite the contrary. I think it will be the most beautiful experience of my life. The timing is God’s however, so each day I will seek to make everyone’s day more beautiful, or at least to not make it more ugly. I hope everyone has had a pleasant week! Go hug someone and God bless you!

D. Elaine Wood-Lane

7/7/16