all I have ~

29 Wednesday May 2013

Tags

bliss, cherokee, connection, death, faith, fearless, grace, life, love, nature, passion, poetry, postmark, relationship, seasons, spirit, spirituality, strength, truth, wonder

of winter still
the summer dreams
of nights in softest flannel
whispers folded secrets
warmed below

lazy morning shadows
said – I will again
take of these
my everything
of all I have to bloom

breathless
wakes the golden –
pressing down the dawn
clinging to a blossom
with memory
of snow

. . .

so easy ~

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Poetry, Storytelling, verse

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

becoming, bliss, breath, connection, destiny, faith, fearless, forgiveness, grace, gravel roads, life, love, memory, passion, poetry, reason, relationship, silence, soul signature, spirit, truth, understanding, wonder

in the space
where forever
took more
than a life –
hello seemed so easy
let go

a memory parsed
into measures of grey
hymns to a page
without word
were one to remember
a moment so sweet
as pulled
from the books
where history made

places to touch
now and then
even so –
like a spot
in the wood
surrendered to sound
– leaves speak a language
their own

knew us somehow
as a face
without name
eyes without cause
to recall
why we came

or silence beheld
in the space
of goodbye –
forever took more
than hello

. . .

the way of wish ~

27 Monday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in folklore, Poetry, Storytelling

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

becoming, connection, death, dreams, faith, fearless, forgiveness, grace, life, love, memory, passion, poetry, reason, relationship, restless, resurrection, soul signature, spirit, spirituality, strength, understanding, wandering

they’ve given place
a time I knew –
and ashes to the meadow
some nights
the wind blows backward
through the gale
reminding me of somewhere else
I stood a moment
longer –
and listened for a truth
I’ll never tell

for all you know
I wonder still –
how much of me is gone
the way of wish and reason sweet –
a path forgot to home
the same as when
we lingered
then –
with will for destiny

dreams
that I’ve stopped dreaming
a place somewhere
of me

would e’er the signs
be sworn to show –
or verses spilled just right
rhyming rules
in silent pools –
tis there I hold you tight
would circumstance
another chance
where’er our stars be crossed

ashes float
on northern streams –
alight with wishes lost

. . .

aging lace ~

17 Friday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Poetry, Rambling, Storytelling, verse

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

becoming, breath, connection, destiny, dreams, faith, forgiveness, grace, gravel roads, life, living, love, memory, old maps, passion, postmark, reason, relationship, restless, resurrection, soul signature, spirit, strength, travel, truth, understanding, wandering

for years
I thought to leaving
some rush into the night
would heal my heart –
and bear me to the light
a silver moth
of aging lace
surrendered to the flame
circles ’round me
gathering
the same

as was before
some other me –
some witness I can’t speak
of love I know
would beckon me –
beyond the realm of sleep
as stones were laid
beside me there –
as purple paper worn
now and then –
are light
before the morn

with wonder to the reasons
why I keep
what I can’t find
when all I’ve known
is leaving you
behind
peacocks march
a broken porch –
smoke rings chill the dark
lines are drawn –
and still I run across

the moment
of permission –
the corner where I stood
wishing you
and swearing you no good
but for me
a truth unspoken
gives pause most every time
I find the gate left open
while making up
my mind

. . .

part of all we knew ~

16 Thursday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Poetry, Storytelling

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

becoming, bliss, breath, death, destiny, dreams, faith, fearless, forgiveness, grace, gravel roads, home, life, love, memory, old maps, passion, reason, relationship, resurrection, spirit, spirituality, strength, truth, understanding, value

beyond the mossy comfort
of tear-stained I love yous
leaving settles
cold against the night
hands to fold in reverance
for moments come before
hearts are made to ache
the soul’s delight

how it is
the whole becomes
a part of all we knew –
stripped to bare
our reason for remorse
angels watch while lonely mourns
whispers born of bliss
sorrow keeps a plate
of fortunes sworn

the ways to know
of all we lose –
much the more we keep
as dreams resolve a heaven
we know best
sleeps beside the willows
rattles now the winds –
love returns to soothe
our restlessness

falling forward
somewhere else –
leaned into the fold
as there the names remember
us again
lonely needs no lesson
of where we passed the time
or voices ringing silent
o’er the bed

stronger ~

14 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Poetry

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bliss, connection, destiny, dreams, fearless, forgiveness, grace, life, love, memory, old maps, passion, relationship, sigh, spirit, strength, time, truth, understanding, wandering

of treasure
long forgotten –
like the way you said my name
whispered there
and gathered to my heart

as lilies by the april flood
dandelion and ash
venus trapped beneath
the milky way

swore the end
beginning –
steps above the waves
grief beyond the ache
of circumstance

the beat of something
stronger
than the ringing of desire
the tender sound
of reasons
not to go

. . .

Liebster and Others ~

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Awards

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

bliss, connection, friendship, grace, gratefulness, honor, life, living, love, poetry, relationship, restless, spirit, truth, understanding, writing

Before I take care of the formalities of receiving this sweet award, let me acknowledge the many who have given me this (and other) awards, and hopefully, this one (divine) act will satisfy them all. I am hopeful and I am humbled.

Thank you…….to my beautiful friends – Mary, Willow, Soumyav, Linda, James, Wendell, Mira Jay, J. E. Lattimer, Blue, Leroy, Jaana, Paul, Larry, Dan, and Vimal. Forgive me in advance for rolling all of these into one post. Know that I love each of you far more than words could say, and am thankful for Mary for giving the latest award such that it served as a much needed kick to do something other than say thank you (although thank you is, hopefully, understood).

Thank you, Mary for your love and your light. I am graced by that which falls against my shadows. This reward is of no comparison to the graces you share with us here. ~ http://godisiam.net/

I believe you say it best when you say quite simply – namaste.

The rules –

1. Accept the award, post the picture of the Liebster Award on the top of your post and say who nominated you for the award and list their blog site. (Check)
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers for the Liebster Award and list their blog sites. (Okay, you’ll either have to accept that I can’t count or that I think rules which define love are a waste of time.)
4. Notify the bloggers of their award.
5. Ask the award winners 11 questions to answer when they accept their Liebster Award.
6. Answer the questions left for you by the blogger who gave you the award.

11 facts
1. What I know. Some things don’t last forever, but some things do. Like a good song, or a good book, or a good memory you can take out and unfold in your darkest times, pressing down on the corners and peering in close, hoping you still recognize the person you see there. But always, that place, that person or song is there.
2. I am a very spiritual being.
3. My life is very blessed, such that I could not forget it if I wanted to.
4. I love. If there is one thing I know about myself it is this. It is not what I do, but who I am.
5. Morning is the time I enjoy writing the most. In that time, more than any other, words rush right past my hands.
6. I may not make a difference to a lot of people, but I can make a difference to a few. Since I don’t know who those are, I try to reach a lot. 🙂
7. There are no problems bigger than a person to love.
8. My parents live not far from me. My dad turned 80 last fall and suffers from Parkinson’s, and yet, he laughs. He loves and no matter how weak he might be, there is room on his lap and in his rocker for me. Home is where it is easiest to simply be, where love aspires to be nothing more (or less).
9. Nature is my cathedral of choice. It is there I hear angels most often.
10. I pray that I never live long enough to think I have learned everything. I pray that I am always a smile on the face of memory.
11. I am grateful for this place and these lives that have expanded to include me. I am quite positive that you grow tired of the word ‘love’, and yet there’s not a second choice word that does you justice.

11 questions
1. Why do you write? Because I don’t know how to not write. I am quite certain it would be easier to stop breathing. I am reminded of the answer to why does the caged bird sing ~ because he has a song.
2. Where is the one place you wish you could live? Actually, I live in every place that I have lived…..and love in every place I have loved. Beyond this life, I pray I live.
3. If you had the opportunity to go back in time to do whatever you wish, would you take it? No
4. What’s your writing process like? I don’t have one. I don’t question or wonder or plan. I write. Words come and I let them.
5. Among your work, do you have favorite poem? If so which one and why? Yes, and no. I have lots of favorites and some are posted here – deliberate pause, another me, where kisses fell, and one Kentucky (after all). They are all favorites for different reasons. I could no more choose a favorite than I could name a favored season, moment, or love in my life. Every day is the best day, every kiss the sweetest, every sunrise, the most beautiful.
6. What made you start writing? I wrote in college and then lost touch with it for a while. In 2001, a friend gave me a journal and all I had saved rushed forward to the page.
7. What is your favorite topic to write about? Life, love, truth, nature, and the beauty that sits just beyond the window’s edge. Remember – I write.
8. Who is your favorite poet or author? I’ve always loved Emily Dickinson, but also love e e cummings, Mary Oliver, and Lyn Lynfish.
9. What inspires you to write? Truth, love and divine (sweet) grace.
10. Is there someone famous that you admire? Actually, I admire anyone (famous or not) who chooses to make this world better, whether in little ways or big ones. We belong to one another. I admire those who love the job.
11. Which time period do you like the most? Early morning. Early afternoon. Late night. 🙂 All of them.

And finally, answer time: 05/13/2013 @ 12:50 a.m.

As for recognizing other bloggers, I am already extremely aware that I will miss someone that I don’t mean to. There will be someone that I love that is left from the list. Just know it wasn’t intentional, and that I love you (already) for any forgiveness you send my way.

– http://foreverpoetic.wordpress.com Wendell loves such that his words glow. I, for one, am grateful.
– http://liliessparrowsandgrass.com Dee writes with such grace and with divine gentleness. I am awe of her words and the love she breathes into them.
– http://lindawillows.wordpress.com and http://lesplaisirssimplesdelavie.wordpress.com Linda and Cynthia (Cindy) share an extraordinary talent for marrying image to words, such that I am not sure which is the most envious of the other. Always, they take my breath away.
– http://soumyav.wordpress.com Soumyav is a soul of pure white light.
– http://jamesfielden.com James is an extraordinary writer, and a beautiful tender soul.
– http://makebelieveboutique.com and http://sbsebring.wordpress.com Blue and Bob both make me think. Always, their words pull me to another dimension of thought, of understanding, of questioning. In your words, Blue, I have found the perfection that is being imperfect – the bliss that is allowance.
– http://bluesander.wordpress.com Nessa is a sweet young, exquisite talent ~ a breath of innocence and strength (even when she doesn’t think so).
– http://throughthehealinglens.com Robyn has a heart of a gold, and a soul in full blossom!
– http://betweenpoles.wordpress.com Vimal is a dear sweet friend, and an amazing poet.
– http://ladybluerose.wordpress.com Mary is a sister of spirit. Her love is a blessing.

And a host of others for no other reason than that I love them, and always their words inspire me, delight me, and move me. Thank you Dean, Martin, Lenise, Willow, Stephen, Dennis, Peter, Seb, Mira Jay, Vanessa, Tracie and Paul.

– http://deanjbaker.wordpress.com
– http://agapintheclouds.wordpress.com
– http://iamleniselee.wordpress.com
– http://willowdot21.wordpress.com
– http://bumbastories.wordpress.com/
– http://dcardiff.wordpress.com
– http://grandfathersky.wordpress.com
– http://beijomacio.wordpress.com
– http://divinerhythm.wordpress.com
– http://ordinarylifelessordinary.wordpress.com
– http://tracielouisephotography.net
– http://pjb1943.wordpress.com

*whew*

sweeter ~

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Poetry, verse

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

becoming, bliss, connection, destiny, dreams, fearless, grace, life, love, memory, moments, old maps, passion, poetry, reason, relationship, restless, spirit, strength, truth, understanding, wandering, wonder, writing

more
the grace beyond this light
a sun beyond this moon
skillful as a lover
sworn to mute

salvation
just beginning
remembrance of bliss –
lie me not
with pieces of regret

fly my soul
beyond this night –
with stories told of us
eternity
made sweeter
by a kiss

. . .

just one kiss ~

11 Saturday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Poetry, verse

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

becoming, connection, destiny, dreams, faith, grace, gravel roads, life, living, love, passion, relationship, restless, southern, spirit, strength, understanding, wandering

If heaven I returned
for this –
and gave of longing
just one kiss –
Of lives before I traded in –
my silence for a song.
A rhapsody
so fleetingly –
became the best –
a part of me.
Else love be left
to haunt
the place you keep –

wherein the past
is new again –
the sweetest times (remember when)
I knew that you were going
yet you stayed –
to share with me
an endless dream
of moments (past)
as breath between.
Stories we’ve forgotten
now to tell.

Sunlight served
to melt away
words of love – I couldn’t say.
Faith to find –
direction in the dark.
Let’s just sit here
for a while –
I’ll trade the rest
for one more smile.

Dance with me –
I saved your song
for now.

. . .

pictures of the past ~

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by tornadoday in Poetry, Rambling, Storytelling

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

connection, faith, fearless, forgiveness, gravel roads, knowledge, letting go, life, love, memory, old maps, passion, relationship, southern, spirit, strength, truth, understanding

you stayed away
much longer than you meant
but I was waiting
near the window
(you could see me from the road)
and everything was still
the same
though years have bent us both
but something there
is just as it had been (before)
tho moments keep no pictures
of the past

I’d thought a time or two
of where you might have gone
did you make it to that diner
stayed up all night long
(to dance)
what engine held you closer
than I ever thought
I could
did you long for me
(forgiveness)
beneath a desert moon

I remember hearing
somewhere
you had lost your faith
and for nights
I prayed and worried of the road before
whene’er a storm would come
I’d speak your name (aloud)
and stare out at the darkness
everywhere
(and wondering)

it’s been a while
the place don’t look the same
(as then)
the orchard fell a year or so ago
the old porch swing
still sways (beneath the weight of memory)
there’s some things I don’t say
(I wish I could)

come inside
I’ll get some coffee brewing
what pride I may have had
was lost in yesterday
there are latches need replacing
and fields now gone (to seed)

I moved the bed
much closer to the window
I can lie awake
and count the stars
(you gave)

nothing’s changed
tho time has passed
(winters without asking)
no need to say
I’ve never locked the door
some might call me crazy
but most are gone from here

most all my life
I’ve waited for this day
you stayed away
much longer than you meant

. . .