Poetry – Sunshine Lane

Winding Down 2021

Remember when you had to wind your watch up every day
or it would quit marking time?
Now we must recharge our watches and it tells us
a lot more than just the time.
I feel like Dick Tracy sometimes with my
fancy watch on my wrist.
Especially when I’m out and
my wrist rings and I then video chat with
the caller right in the middle of the grocery store!

Somehow in 2021, my watch reset
without my realizing it.
Suddenly I’m 60 and my childhood seems
far, far away and they show it on the History channel.
All the toys and clothes of my era are “vintage.”
In my mind it was just yesterday!
I feel like a time traveler. I can pop back into 1966
as easily as a breath and then return to 2021 in the next one.

I was thinking the other day,
what if we didn’t mark minutes, hours,
days, weeks, months, years?
Does all that marking of time really matter?
If I had not marked all those things in my life,
would I still feel 60 or would I just be me,
living my life?

As I thought about this, I realized something.
Rather than setting resolutions or trying to
turn over new leaves at the beginning of the new year,
why don’t we just decide to live well today?
Then if we get a tomorrow, we do it again. And again.
And eventually, even without a watch or a calendar
to mark time,
we’ll have a wonderful life.
Wouldn’t that be cool?
dewl 12.30.21

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Crystal Clear|NaPoWriMo Day 30

There are those special moments
so crystal and so clear,
when we truly understand
what we honestly hold dear.

The moments we can see,
our life as from the sky
and even maybe understand
to the questions we ask, why?

Today I’ve had a moment
when every detail was so clear
when everything made sense
and I had two open ears.

God said: Here’s your mission,
you’ve had it for a while.
I said I’m sorry Lord, as
I hid a teary smile.

I was looking for a mission
somewhere far away,
something with some glamour
and maybe even fame–
and all the time my mission
was so closely gathered near,
I never thought to look and
see if it was here!

God tried to hide His smile,
but I saw it anyway,
and I thanked Him for the
message He let me see today.

My life may be hard at times,
and I wonder if I’m sane,
but God has given me a mission,
so crystal and so clear,
it is to love and care each day
for the ones that
He brings near.

And so we come down to the last day of the month of April and the last day of NaPoWriMo for 2015. I have enjoyed doing this so much! It has been a challenge, I will admit, but I am very glad I participated. Besides the joy of writing so many poems, I have met a lot of really neat and great people all over the world! If anyone had ever told me, even a year ago, that I would get to meet so many people and actually do what I love while doing so, I wouldn’t have believed them.

I hope we can stay in touch!

Peace and love, Elaine

Walking Among the Seasons|NaPoWriMo Day 29

My love and I wander along
the rose path of life,
sweet smelling, but also
bearing possible thorns.

We walk on through
the full summer night.
Moon shines on the ancient mountain
and we hear the murmur of the river
behind us.

We are quiet, but
slowly, a happy seed blossoms,
which will grow between our spirits
and will be seen in full bloom
in the summers of our future.

Then, God willing,
we will walk together through
colorful fall leaves,
and sacred, pure white snow,
before finally moving onto
the azure heavens,
where we will finally
get to meet Him together.

The suggestion for today’s poem was to write a review in poetry form. I wasn’t too inspired to write a review so I decided to go another way where my thoughts have wandered lately. I think I might have spring fever!

Only one more day of daily poems to go! I’m hoping to keep up the momentum, however, and write on a more regular basis than I was before. I feel that my writing poetry muscle has been toned up and I don’t want to let it get flabby again!

Tomorrow is Poetry In My Pocket day. Look here for information on what it is and how you can participate! http://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/poem-your-pocket-day?gclid=CP2m2LC0lsUCFdgDgQodk2EA3A

Peace and love,

Elaine

Bridges|NaPoWriMo Day 28

I grew up in West Texas,
where bridges are few
and far between.

Rivers are rare
and often bare,
no water to be seen.

Lubbock County
has but one little bridge
over a little dry draw.

I went to San Francisco,
where bridges abound,
and was completely awed.

I went on the Oakland,
plus the Golden Gate,
and fell completely in love.

I loved seeing
the blue waters below
and the big blue sky above.

Now I live in Colorado,
where rivers
and bridges are many.

I’ve walked across the
Royal Gorge bridge,
totally worth the penny!

I’ve been converted
to bridges you know,
they thrill and mystify me.

I still love best,
the great big ones,
that span a deep blue sea.

Today’s challenge was to write a poem about bridges. A bridge is a powerful metaphor, and when you start looking for bridges in poems, you find them everywhere. Your poem could be about a real bridge or an imaginary or ideal bridge. It could be one you cross every day, or one that simply seems to stand for something larger – for the idea of connection or distance, for the idea of movement and travel and new horizons.

Growing up in a place with few real bridges, they seemed a bit scary. However, after crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge (Bay Bridge to the locals), over that dark water at night, I was hooked! Since then I’ve ridden and walked on many bridges and even gone under a few by boat (ferry in San Francisco) and by train (under the Royal Gorge in Colorado). Bridges are fun!

Love and peace, Elaine

Starting My Day|A Hay(na)ku|NaPoWriMo Day 27

Sunrise
is purple
and gold now.

I
need to
write and pray.

This
is how
I start days.

I
pray you
peace and love.

And today’s prompt – optional, as always — comes to us from Vince Gotera. It’s the hay(na)ku). Created by the poet Eileen Tabios and named by Vince, the hay(na)ku is a variant on the haiku. A hay(na)ku consists of a three-line stanza, where the first line has one word, the second line has two words, and the third line has three words. You can write just one, or chain several together into a longer poem. For example, you could write a hay(na)ku sonnet, like the one that Vince himself wrote back during NaPoWriMo 2012!

An interesting form I had not heard of before. I love short form poems, like the haiku and now the hay(na)ku. They require me to condense my thoughts and feelings and I really like it because what comes out is often more meaningful than a poem or essay with too many words. Less is more, to me, for certain!

Peace and love, Elaine

Margaret Inez Wood|NaPoWriMo Day 25

Margaret Inez Wood,
You always did the things that you should.
You told me one day, “Quit entertaining yourself,
and dust all the tables and shelfs!”

And now for our prompt (optional, as always)! It’s the weekend, so I’d thought we might go with something short and just a bit (or a lot) silly – the Clerihew. These are rhymed, humorous quatrains involving a specific person’s name. You can write about celebrities, famous people from history, even your mom (hopefully she’s got a good name for rhyming with).

Obviously, I chose my mom! She was a good, tenderhearted woman, but didn’t believe in idleness in children or anyone…at all! If we were reading or goofing off and she found us, we were immediately put to work. I have to give her credit for teaching me how to work hard and not giving me time to even think about getting into trouble as a kid! I loved her very much and still think about and miss her every day. Peace and love, Elaine

Queen of Hearts|NaPoWriMo Day 24

I drew the queen of hearts again,
and won the game of Spades,
it really wasn’t skill,
but pure luck that it was made.

I’ve always loved the queen of hearts,
she’s very dear to me,
because I have a lover’s heart,
with deep love and empathy.

I feel another’s love, elation,
and their pain,
sometimes I wish I didn’t,
but it’s just the way I am.

I’ve tried to turn my heart off,
to be more cool and clear,
and then I find someone,
with their eyes full of tears.

Immediately my heart clenches,
I feel their pain and know,
it’s time for me to love,
and some hopeful seeds to sow.

I start out with a hug,
and then
say “God loves you,
and you know that I do too,”
and somehow they know
I mean it,
and that God’s love is something true.

When someone’s face is wreathed
in smiles and they are grinning
ear to ear,
my heart and face start smiling too,
it’s automatic, I fear.

If a child is playing joyfully,
my heart skips a beat,
and the next thing I know,
I’m right there with them,
dancing right along,
and climbing up the trees.

Somehow I drew
the queen of hearts,
upon the day that I was born,
I smile when people smile,
my heart feels what they feel,
it’s a little hard,
when they’re feeling grief and fear.

But in truth,
I’m very grateful,
I drew the card I drew,
because I love my God
so much,
and all His people too.

The prompt for this poem was a challenge to take a chance, literally: Find a deck of cards (regular playing cards, tarot cards, uno cards, cards from your “Cards Against Humanity” deck – whatever), shuffle it, and take a card – any card! Now, begin free-writing based on the card you’ve chosen. Keep going without stopping for five minutes. Then take what you’ve written and make a poem from it.

Lucky I drew my favorite card, wasn’t it? I don’t know what I’d have done with the joker! LOL!

Peace and love, Elaine

The Little Poet|NaPoWriMo Day 22

“See the poem I wrote today?”
She grinned at me and said.
I looked at her in wonder,
and slowly shook my head.

How could she be so naive
and even worse so glad?
She was just too young to see,
how the world was oh so bad.

Then she handed me her little poem,
written in childish scrawl,
and tears fell down my face,
as all at once I saw,
the reason for her joy
and understood her grace,
no wonder she had such a
sweet, sweet smile,
upon her little face.

The poem was very simple,
just four lines, you see,
but every line was beautiful,
to old and grouchy me:

“God loves you,
God loves me,
I love you,
do you love me?”

This little poem was actually inspired by a little girl I had in a third grade bible class I taught. She was a very sweet little girl from a poor family on the “wrong side of town.” The world she lived in was poor, rough and scary, but she had more love in her little pinkie than most people have in their whole lives! I still remember her…

Elaine

Parts of My Beautiful Days|NaPoWriMo Day 20

Ketchup on crackers,
hugs and loud laughter,
pickles and dew drops,
and icy Coke after.

Sunshine and kisses,
snowflakes and rain,
these are all parts
of my beautiful days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Today, I challenge to write a poem that states the things you know. For example, “The sky is blue” or “Pizza is my favorite food” or “The world’s smallest squid is Parateuthis tunicata. Each line can be a separate statement, or you can run them together. The things you “know” of course, might be facts, or they might be a little bit more like beliefs.

While I know all these things about myself, I can’t truly consider them “concrete” facts. They are more in the vein of things I believe and know about myself. This is actually a little poem I wrote in 2012 so I sort of cheated. 🙂

Peace and love, Elaine

Woman’s Life Landay|NaPoWriMo Day 19

Why must a woman’s life be so hard?
Because she bears the future in her soul, body, heart.

And for today’s prompt (optional, as always!), I’d like to challenge you to write a landay. Landays are 22-syllable couplets, generally rhyming. The form comes from Afghanistan, where women often use it in verses that range from the sly and humorous to the deeply sardonic and melancholy. Check out this long investigative article on landays for a fascinating look into a form of poetry often composed in secret, and rarely written down. You could try to write a single landay – a hard-hitting couplet that shares some secret (or unspoken) truth, or you could try to write a poem that strings multiple landays together like stanzas (maybe something akin to a syllabic ghazal?)

I read the article linked in the prompt and learned that most landays are written with nine syllables in the first line and thirteen syllables in the second. These are usually not written down anywhere because women aren’t allowed to write poetry in Afghanistan, but are composed to be easily remembered and shared with others. These come from a long oral tradition dating back thousands of years. Some that they quote are quite heartbreaking. I hope I have captured the spirit of the landay because I really find it inspiring. Elaine