I wrote this poem when I was pregnant with my youngest in 2014.
Baby Boy you are so smallYou growing fast and all Starting to kick my belly here I like having you oh so near It won't be long before my belly grows Protruding out watermelon size, Oh! I try to keep from eating too much My biggest meal is always lunch I feel you move in the afternoon Or when I lay down at night to snooze Soon you will be here, it will go fast Your kicking me from inside, a thing of the past
Another Day. Another Day. I seem to say that every day. Is there no other way for me to say, Another day has passed?
A Turtle sat on the edge of a pond and saw a beautiful Heron standing in the water next to him. The Heron looked down into the water at the fish and the turtles soaking in the day’s sun as they rested on the logs, then turned to the Turtle and asked, “Why can’t I swim like the fish? Why can’t I lay on a log like the turtles?”
The Turtle looked up at the majestic Heron. Her beak, neck, and legs one beautiful long line down to her feet. Her feathers were as white as snow. He could not understand why this lovely bird could not see its own beauty or potential.
The Turtle replied to the Heron, “I was just wondering why I can’t fly up in they sky and soar over the ground like a bird. I am stuck here on the ground. I can swim or lay on the log with the other turtles to sun myself, but all I want to do is fly. You can take the wings you have and do what you do best with them. Just spread your wings and flap them. You are built to fly. Why are you holding yourself back?”
The Heron looked down at its legs and fluffed up its feathers by moving its wings around a bit. “I never flew before. It’s scary. I would rather sit on a log.” the Heron replied to the Turtle.
The Turtle looked up again at the Heron. “You can’t fly, if you don’t try.”
At that moment the Heron started to run ahead through the open field next to the pond and flapped its wings as hard as it could. Slowly and gracefully the Heron took off and eventually was floating above the ground. She was amazed with her own accomplishment. Even more amazing was that it was a turtle that taught her to fly.
You walk, you stroll, you love, you growHow the city effects you, you never know Meeting people and making friends A new adventure around each bend A place for old and new love too Seeing couples holding hands, its true The city of love, a city of passion Where to next, only you can fashion Sitting by a fountain, resting on the stairs With this city I am having an affair Love some parts, also hate others Its a city of artists, its a wonder! So much inspiration in one place A new day and adventure, its the way With inspiration and love in the air Each moment you will cherish and care
Written at the end of my trip to Italy, July 2012 Vacation is over, time to return to daily lifeI am still a mom and friend, but not a wife Daily life with all its ups and downs I find it hard to keep my feet on the ground My vacation inspired me and made me wonder Is there more to life than this daily plunder?
Little brown mole, little brown mole In my arm there's now a hole You naughty thing you melanoma I want to kill you, not to grow ya! You were black like many freckles I am already covered in spots and speckles You seemed benign for many years Then the doctor said, "You're outta here!" I have fear of you, but you fear the knife You're out now and not ruining my life I am happy I went for my yearly check To stop you in your tracks, Oh heck! So on with life and lots of sunscreen Avoiding sun more than I've ever been I'll be eating better and taking care You melanoma you better beware!
I wrote this during a trip to Italy in 2012 and found it written on a scrap of paper. It is true that when you have free time, you make room for creativity.The sing song Italian words I hear Motorbike sputtering, the city sounds near Behind, in front and to the side In Rome there is no quiet to find The air is warm and humid too With all the sun, you can't feel blue A moment of peace is in your heart That is where peace starts A place of calm, a place of home Where else can you be alone? A great big city with people everywhere As you stroll through winding streets without a care Sitting on the sidewalk drinking espresso How can I move from here? To get up and go? I don't want to leave but I know I must At some point, espresso runs out, what a fuss! Tourists walk by I can hear them laugh I don't feel much like them at all, too bad And so I finish my Roma cappacino At last its time to leave, here I go.
I have a passion for which I write Little of which will see the light Channelling a message, I feel it come One thought at a time, soon I am done I wander across the page in time Selecting each word and filling a line My emotions are bleeding onto the page I can't control it, like a lion in a cage I wonder how people contain their ideas? Mine flow out in a variety of ways In lines of prose or poetic form It rains down words like a thunderstorm To write is something that I must do My passion to write, I'm sharing with you As you travel from place to place I hope you will capture words in this space Thoughts and ideas will always appear A pen and paper should also be near By writing you clarify a thought or a feeling It will keep you and your mind from reeling A safe haven, a place to write In early morning or late at night Even if the words just stay in a book Years from now you might take a look What today is foggy, tomorrow is clear Each day you will learn, or that's what I hear So write a word, learn something new A writer must write, it is all he can do
I asked my 12-year-old son to suggest a topic for a blog. He burped at me. And so I wrote it.
Why is it that the older you get the more unacceptable burping in public is? Let’s start with babies. A baby burps and everyone is proud. Or relieved. Gas in a baby is painful to the baby while the baby’s incessant crying from gas pains becomes painful to a parents ears. Burping for a baby is no small feat. It often requires vigorous patting on the back and bouncing up and down. It even can require walking around the house in circles with the baby positioned upright. Parents expect the baby burp and sometimes beg for it, “Please, just burp!”. It gives the baby (and the parents) relief when the burp finally arrives.
As children get older, they may burp loudly after drinking a soft drink and no one thinks much of it. Kids laugh at each other. Even parents may continue to laugh at the burp of small children. Approaching the teenage years the burp becomes less funny and more inappropriate. It becomes a teaching point – “If you are going to burp, please say ‘excuse me’ or please burp quietly.” Even better, ‘boys don’t like girls that burp’. What pre-adolescent girl isn’t going to take this statement to heart?
I don’t know too many adults who burp in public. If they do, they certainly keep it to themselves. If they have an audible burp they may turn a rosy shade in embarrassment or bow their head down to look at the floor in hopes that no one saw them. Something as simple as a burp (a normal bodily function) shouldn’t be viewed with such disdain, but it is. It is too bad we don’t laugh with other adults about this sort of thing. Where is the camaraderie and humor in burps? Perhaps it was left in the 4th grade? Does all the fun belong to babies and children who can burp without refrain or embarrassment?
Unfortunately the answer is yes, burps are for babies and children. The next time you have to burp I don’t expect you to do it out loud, but maybe you can be a kid for just a moment transported in time back to the time when burps were funny and didn’t require, “Excuse me”. What other fun things could you laugh about as a kid but cannot now?
Quirky Contemplation 