—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of Medusa
SUNFLOWERS
Standing tall on sturdy stems
in a long, milky white vase,
they sent out radiance
brightening the room
in the absence of sun
in my recessed apartment.
For seven days their petals
reached out to me.
I marveled at their heartiness
and deep yellow color.
Although cut from the ground,
they seemed alive still.
Cheerful circles of yellow fringe,
by the end of that seventh day
they began to bow and curl
inward one by one.
They gradually fell flat,
faces obscured on the kitchen counter.
By morning of the eighth day, I knew—
they had given me all they had to give.
Standing tall on sturdy stems
in a long, milky white vase,
they sent out radiance
brightening the room
in the absence of sun
in my recessed apartment.
For seven days their petals
reached out to me.
I marveled at their heartiness
and deep yellow color.
Although cut from the ground,
they seemed alive still.
Cheerful circles of yellow fringe,
by the end of that seventh day
they began to bow and curl
inward one by one.
They gradually fell flat,
faces obscured on the kitchen counter.
By morning of the eighth day, I knew—
they had given me all they had to give.
NO ALTERNATIVE TO TRUTH
Truth
what we know in our hearts to be true
Truth
we see it in innocent eyes
Truth
bears out after we sift through old and new
Truth
clear yet solid is rarely a surprise
Truth
what we need to know to keep going
Truth
the righteous path to follow in life
Truth
reveals itself to those who seek to know it
Truth
a goal worth some sacrifice
Truth
in the stars that light up the night
Truth
the calm that follows a storm
Truth
the freedom for which we fight
Truth
must be our only accepted norm
Truth
what we know in our hearts to be true
Truth
we see it in innocent eyes
Truth
bears out after we sift through old and new
Truth
clear yet solid is rarely a surprise
Truth
what we need to know to keep going
Truth
the righteous path to follow in life
Truth
reveals itself to those who seek to know it
Truth
a goal worth some sacrifice
Truth
in the stars that light up the night
Truth
the calm that follows a storm
Truth
the freedom for which we fight
Truth
must be our only accepted norm
MEMORY CHALLENGE
I never could remember numbers.
I don't like them, find them unpleasant
to think about, too precise. There is
no room to imagine them another way.
With numbers, I feel trapped.
My mind was always drawn to letters.
Letters lead to words and names,
create images and take me on journeys.
Now I still see those images, but can't
always remember their names.
The words and names are stored
safely somewhere in my mind.
I strain to remember them,
but as hard as I try, I cannot.
When I stop trying, there they are,
dancing around, eluding me,
challenging me to relax, minimize
their importance. When I do,
they sheepishly reveal themselves.
I never could remember numbers.
I don't like them, find them unpleasant
to think about, too precise. There is
no room to imagine them another way.
With numbers, I feel trapped.
My mind was always drawn to letters.
Letters lead to words and names,
create images and take me on journeys.
Now I still see those images, but can't
always remember their names.
The words and names are stored
safely somewhere in my mind.
I strain to remember them,
but as hard as I try, I cannot.
When I stop trying, there they are,
dancing around, eluding me,
challenging me to relax, minimize
their importance. When I do,
they sheepishly reveal themselves.
FEAR AND LOVE
Fear of uncertainty
the unknown
or differences
is a feeling that can lead to hate
intangible
inhibiting
immobilizing
Combat fear with
reason
intention
boldness
love.
Love uncertainty
its mystery
excitement
possibilities.
To conquer fear
embrace it
become familiar with it
understand it
regard fear as a wily child
to be soothed by love
Never fear love.
________________________
Today’s LittleNip:
LET US BE SENSIBLE
—Linda Klein
There is chaos in calm,
seeds of shame in any psalm,
that can feed dissatisfaction
and spur us on to angry action.
When suspicion rules our thought,
we are feeling over-wrought.
It is wise to take some time.
Ignore disorder, stay sublime.
_________________________
—Medusa, with thanks to Linda Klein for today’s fine poetry and her end-of-season sunflowers!
Fear of uncertainty
the unknown
or differences
is a feeling that can lead to hate
intangible
inhibiting
immobilizing
Combat fear with
reason
intention
boldness
love.
Love uncertainty
its mystery
excitement
possibilities.
To conquer fear
embrace it
become familiar with it
understand it
regard fear as a wily child
to be soothed by love
Never fear love.
________________________
Today’s LittleNip:
LET US BE SENSIBLE
—Linda Klein
There is chaos in calm,
seeds of shame in any psalm,
that can feed dissatisfaction
and spur us on to angry action.
When suspicion rules our thought,
we are feeling over-wrought.
It is wise to take some time.
Ignore disorder, stay sublime.
_________________________
—Medusa, with thanks to Linda Klein for today’s fine poetry and her end-of-season sunflowers!
For you, Linda, with our thanks!
For info about
future poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
future poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
