Headline Poem 5/7/14 -- Thou mayest

(Photo credit Google Image)

I read this headline about Mumford and Sons. I thought of their song "Timshel,"  which led me to John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden, and the meaning of "Thou Mayest." In this life, we can choose. (Special tributes to JD for helping me surrender and EB for reminding me I'm not alone).

Thou mayest

today i
 surrendered

to the universe
to asking for help
to accepting it when it comes
to white light and love
to healing
to angels
to demons
to all of the above
to brothers and sisters
to not going it alone
to hearing whispers
to smiling at black crows
to a long time coming 

to what I'll never know
to timshel and thieves
to climbing mountains
 instead  of  moving   them
to doorsteps
to choice

today,
I am me, and

I mayest. 

Headline Poem 5/6/14 -- Bring Back Our Girls #BringBackOurGirls

(Photo credit Google Image)

I've been reading about this horrible story of the 234 Nigerian girls ages 12-17 taken from their school a few weeks ago. They may have been sold as brides for $12 each, but no one knows. Here is a link with three ways to help, and here is today's headline poem.

Bring Back Our Girls

Already away from home

To obtain an education

To create less frustration

To contribute to a nation

Girls with books are dangerous
They learn to think for themselves
To try to change the degeneration
Of tormented generations
With smiles and love

Echos of skipping fill the halls
When the devil and his sons
break down the walls
Screams and scratching
flesh and blood
red ants of fire take them
one by one

Distinct adventures

Unique looks

Seeking knowledge 

As a gift 

White lights

Open hearts

Stories they love

Plucked

From their grounds

Ripped 

Like wild suckling babies

Abandoned 

Too early on their own

Kidnapped and

Dumped
Into a nightmare
without any 

Rules

Broken
Hearts yearn for answers

Help us find our daughters and sisters!

Eyes of brown, skin of salt, 

we see you even though it's dark!

We vow to find you! 

We will not forget you!

We will not let you disappear
into the air like a storm that's run its course! 

Hell no,

We will not let you go

unseen to the in between!

Please God, send faith and love.

Please God, grant serenity from above.

Please God, make those evil men pay.

Please God, stop raping them today.

Bring back our girls,
sold,

like property,
and keep them
safe. 

Headline Poem 5/5/14 -- In Your Eyes

Motherhood (Photo credit Google Image)

I read this interesting headline tonight about motherhood awards in India. It made me think of my own children, and how they see me through their eyes, and what I see in theirs. 

In Your Eyes

In your eyes 

Of sweet blue 

I see my heart 

And truth. Hope lives

Inside your wide

Expressions. 

Your laughter and pain

I stare into them 

and 

practically 

Melt. Away. 

My job is honorable and

dignified. 

I smile because in your eyes

I am mom.

You deserve to feel me 

Wholly,

Faithfully,

Completely. 

In your eyes, 

I am 

Pure Love. 

Headline Poem 5/4/14 -- On her shoulder

Little bird (Photo credit Pinterest)

I came across this website today about all things birds. It inspired today's poem. 

On her shoulder

A bird

Free now,

Sits 

on her shoulder

In love. 

Headline Poem 5/3/14 -- We Call Society

I have learned a lot about society throughout the writing-a-poem-a-day process. Most headlines, as you know, are sad, negative, and uninspiring. I have to search hard to find ones that enlighten, connect, and build us up. They are there. People want them, but they get lost in the other "stuff" that creates fear, and tears people apart, and that disconnects. Today's poem is inspired by  headlines and news as a whole, and a reminder that we owe it go ourselves and each other to take a step back and simplify and balance. 

We Call Society

We have billboards with naked women

That tempt you while you drive

And websites for

Married people who want to cheat and hide

We are told food will fill us up,

And once we're good and fat,

We are told we need a surgery to lose the weight and fast

Then prescription drugs and alcohol

To mask the pain 

and 

church memberships are on the rise

with plenty to gain

From messages of hope and rebirth

You've sinned and you're welcome here

Come in

Come in

To sit with partners and call them brothers and sisters

Here's a shrink to discuss your woes

And recall the moments of curled toes

Where you cry that you're sorry

And look down when you're done

To your phone,

The enemy, the party of one 

Where you play games and watch videos with strangers 

Only to

then go home at night

To lock your door 

and set your alarm

Because in all of this craziness

You don't feel safe,

And want to be armed 

Free to protect your property and such

As fate may have it that one night

You'll have no such luck

Fear may knock on the door 

And your life will change

Family will visit through glass 

once a week

If you're lucky,

You'll be released,

A felony will get you no where

You'll go back to the drink

And the lonely

And the rage

And before you know it

You're stuck in a cage 

We call society 

We call society 

Headline Poem 5/2/14 -- Friday Night

Lots of headlines are swirling, and I can't bring myself to care or focus on any of them. I'm surrounded by magazines while under the hair dryer, and I'm waiting. This is my Friday night. 

Friday Night

I sit in the chair

Not ready to share

But I prepare 

Just in case 

It shows up

In my stare 

I'm trying to live 

In the present moment 

But the past 

Was not that long ago

And you've been lying. 

Headline Poem 5/1/14 -- Wind and Wildfires

This week in Southern California, there are strong winds and wildfires, not a good combination. They inspired today's headline poem. 

Wind and Wildfires

Sharp and sweet and hot, 

destined to meet. 

They move quickly. 

They spin around. 

They unravel. 

They pick up speed. 

Fingers bleed from mistaken steps. 

Wind and wildfires are a 

deadly combination. 

Often, there's no end 

in sight. 

It takes an intervention. 

It takes a hose 

of gold 

to tighten up the reins. 

Wind and wildfires 

are out of control. 

They're messy and aggressive and selfish and 

Before you know it, 

turn you to dust. 

To dust. 

But when they stop, and things are calmer than they've ever been, 

you see the damage, 

and you assess 

what's been lost,

and what's worth salvaging. 

You take a walk. 

You feel a spark. 

You're not sure it's safe. 

It's never safe, 

so just in case, 

You cross your fingers behind your back and beg 

(this time) that it lasts. 

You wonder if you have it in you to rebuild. 

It might be easier to start anew. 

After both die down, 

you'll still be afraid 

to light a candle, 

for fear of burning up, 

but you must (you tell yourself). 

For if you live in fear of wildfires and wind, you'll never truly live.