Poet, Author, Composer....
Lots About Books–and War
Lots About Books—and War – January 3
Per usual, I read a lot in 2015—as in 197 adult books and 46 youth and children’s books. I belong to a United Methodist Women’s BookWorms group that meets once a month and I read a lot of books from the national United Methodist Women’s Reading Program catalog. I read many of the books in that catalog that are also for youth and children. I gather titles of books from magazines, newspapers, friends. And I pick up books at the library that just look like they might be gems.
I’m going to take four posts to share some of the book titles with you: Books and War; Books and Grace and the Bible; Books and Prison; and Books and Grandchildren.
The first book about war was a surprise to me. I had just read something deep and heavy and wanted to follow it with something light so I picked up Kristin Hannah’s newest book: “The Nightingale.” Surprise to me—it is not light. It is an amazing book about World War II. It gave me a little bit of the feeling of what it was like to live in occupied France with the poverty and the anxiety. I also caught a glimpse of the courage of the woman who helped downed Allied fliers to cross the mountains to safety. It made me realize I had never had to live in a war zone.
The second book is “Mission at Nuremberg—An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis” by Tim Townsend. Here I was impressed with this Army chaplain and his task of relating to and pastoring those on trial at Nuremberg. But after the trials were over and he was appointed to a Lutheran church in the states, he chose to pastor again in a nearby prison, when hundreds of men were touched by his humanity and spirit.
The third book is “Plenty of Time When We Get Home—Love and Recovery in the Aftermath of War,” by Kayla Williams. This is a good book about veterans and the help (and respect) they do or don’t get. Both Kayla and her husband are veterans of the Iraq war.
And the last book about war is Walter Wink’s “Engaging the Powers—Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination.” This is the third book in Wink’s Powers Trilogy and in my opinion it’s the most accessible and the most powerful. Walter Wink believed deeply in the non-violence of Jesus and the need for it in the world. This book gives details, theology, success stories of non-violence, and more.
On page 216 he writes: “Violence can never stop violence because its very success leads others to imitate it. Paradoxically, violence is most dangerous when it succeeds.”
Wink quotes Reinhold Niebuhr’s often used prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Then the Walter Wink rephrase of this prayer is: “God, help me to refuse ever to accept evil; by your Spirit empower me to work for change precisely where and how you call me; and free me from thinking I have to do everything.” He very much lived out that prayer himself.
Eliminating Excuses
Eliminating Excuses – January 1
It’s January first and many people are launching new diets on this day—reforming from the holidays and starting anew.
I don’t diet anymore but I do adhere (part of the time) to the Weight Watcher eating program. I am a life time member and believe that it has been a healthy program that works for me whether I want to maintain where I am or whether I want to shed a few pounds.
Today I weighed 5.5 pounds less than I did last January first, and that was intentional. Through the year I recognize that three lines of excuses broke out most of the time when I went off the program.
The first excuse: I’ve already broken with the program today so I’ll just stay off until tomorrow and then I can start fresh! That means I’m allowing myself for the rest of that day to eat anything I want!!!
The second excuse: I have to get this out of the house completely before I can go back to the program. After Christmas I happened to have three individual containers of pecan pie. So I said to myself—I’ll eat one today. Believe me, pecan pie blows any program! Then the next day there are still two containers of pecan pie. Well, I’ll just eat them both which totally, totally blows that day but then at least the pecan pie is gone!
The third excuse: I’m not really hungry—I just need to eat something, want to eat something, am going to eat something. And in that space of time that I am saying that to myself, I do not want to take a walk. I want to eat.
It’s January first and luckily it is a wonderful day to begin again.
The People In My House
The People in My House
I live alone—and yet, all around me there are people.
Each time I use the bejeweled tea bag squeezer, I think of Cathie who gave it to me. At first I didn’t even know whether I would use it. Now I use it each time I make tea and think of Cathie.
When I sit on my bed and look at the oil painting of the ocean at Ocean City, New Jersey, I see my granddaughter Lissa, as she sat on the bench facing the ocean and painted—for two days one year, and for one day the next year. People stopped and looked over her shoulder, nodding positively.
There’s a picture in my kitchen of people at a carousel. It’s cast with blue colors and because I love riding carousels, I love the picture and think of granddaughter, Sadie, who went to the recycling center with her Dad and found it in the little place where they pull out special things that shouldn’t go to the dump just yet. I smile and think of Sadie bringing it home to me.
Around Christmas-time I think of Will Albertus because I have in my vision three of his carpentry creations—a Christmas wooden puzzle which I have to figure out anew every single year; a rolling Santa which keeps tumbling off the end because I forget how to do it gently; and the little wooden person supposedly trapped in a box.
I smile at the sight of any of them but especially when I’m feeling trapped, I think of Will and look again at the figure in the box. She’s behind bars but the bars only exist on one side of the four-sided open box. All she has to do to get out is turn around and walk. I consider whether that could be true of my entrapment also.
I like living in my apartment—and I also like living with the people who are constantly present in my three room surroundings. I also like living with the four people who live next door in the attached house to my three rooms.
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving
Yesterday I received this quote and thought I would pass it on to you on this Thanksgiving Day:
“Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting.”
It’s by Brian Tracy. I had not heard of him before but he is CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company committed to the training and development of individuals and organizations.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Simple Living—-Take Two
Simple Living—Take Two
I shared with you the other day a paradelle I wrote on simple living. It was fun to write and I wanted to try writing one. But in terms of a form to use for the topic of simple living, it was totally mismatched. And so I used the simple form of a shadorma, and it fit the subject much better.
The Simple Life
(Shadormas)
I ache to
live the simple life
keep it plain
keep it spare
find the balance point in all
and feel the magic
I want the
clearness in schedule,
surroundings,
no pressure
in how I live my moments
but much escapes me
since behold
clutter reappears
scheduling
simple life
get complicated again
where is the answer
I start with
small bits and pieces,
times throughout
my day when
I recognize that simple
has appeared – I smile
work for more
not content with small
inch along
bit by bit
for simple life extended
to more of my time
Simple Living and a Paradelle
Simple Living and a Paradelle
I’ve never written a paradelle before. It’s a poetry form concocted by Billy Collins, almost as a joke and then people started writing them. See if you can figure out the ingredients of the form. It was fun to write.
Simple (A Paradelle)
commit to do this simple living
commit to do this simple living
clear the clutter and discard the extra
clear the clutter and discard the extra
clear the living and do this simple
commit to discard the extra clutter
watch your purchases – buy only essential
watch your purchases – buy only essential
stop the frenzy of schedule – paint your center calm
stop the frenzy of schedule – paint your center calm
stop essential schedule – watch the frenzy
buy only your calm center – paint your purchases
eat basic healthy food and enjoy dance
eat basic healthy food and enjoy dance
breathe – feel the wind on your face as you walk
breathe – feel the wind on your face as you walk
feel the dance – breathe and walk as you eat
enjoy healthy food – basic wind on your face
stop the clutter of purchases – buy the discard
watch your schedule frenzy – eat extra essential food only
enjoy and feel the healthy you – do your face clear
walk on the wind – paint your basic center
commit to breathe as calm
and dance the simple living
Driving Energy
Driving Energy
Some of you know this about me. Some of you don’t. Maybe it’s time to put you all on the same page.
Driving Energy
I think of the old-fashioned
coffee percolator
with the clear glass ball on top
where you saw the coffee bubble up
with enthusiasm as it perks
when I drive alone in the car
that’s what happens
to my brain
it perks
—with ideas
—with things to do
—with poems
—with chants
—with thoughts
when I was pastoring
and was stuck on a sermon
I would get in the car
and talk out loud
as I thought it through
confession:
I keep an open spiral notebook
on the passenger seat
and make notes
don’t tell
Nested Meditation
Nested Meditation
I recently read an article by Kevin Anderson called “The Nested Meditation.” His directions for writing one was that each stanza is a place where you can pause to meditate. The very first stanza is simply one line. The next stanza continues beyond what you wrote in the first stanza and again you can pause. This one that I wrote when I was in the mountains of Virginia has seven stanzas. Read it slowly. Meditate. Then try writing one of your own.
Thank You
Thank you for moon.
Thank you for moon
and mountains.
Thank you for moon.
And mountains hover far behind
the birdfeeder.
Thank you for moon.
And mountains hover far behind
the birdfeeder,
where tiny tufted titmouse
and black capped chickadee
flit to feed.
Thank you for moon.
And mountains hover far behind
the birdfeeder.
Where tiny tufted titmouse
and black capped chickadee
flit to feed,
is the same spot
where busy squirrels
dance on trees.
Thank you for moon.
And mountains hover far behind
the birdfeeder.
Where tiny tufted titmouse
and black capped chickadee
flit to feed,
is the same spot
where busy squirrels
dance on trees
in front of barking dachshunds.
Thank you for moon.
And mountains hover far behind
the birdfeeder.
Where tiny tufted titmouse
and black capped chickadee
flit to feed,
is the same spot
where busy squirrels
dance on trees
in front of barking dachshunds,
all shouting:
Thanks for moon
and mountains.
Grandchild – Grandmother
Grandchild / Grandmother
Several years ago as I asked for birthday suggestions for one of my grandsons, and his mother (one of my daughters) told me the type of shirt he liked and his size. She also said, “He’s really hard to buy clothes for, Mother. He has to love the feel of it, or he won’t wear it.”
I realized this summer that I have become the very same.
Clothes
there are only
certain clothes
I actually wear
others hang forlorn
on closet rods
or sit like
remnants captive
in dresser drawers
the clothes I wear
feel right
against my skin
give ample room
to move without constraint
are loose so I can breathe
slowly
I transfer
these precious principles
about clothes
to my daily living
what I do has
gotta feel right
in my whole self
have room to move
and stay loose
for deep, deep breaths
Writing
Writing
I’m not promising a post every day—but I AM writing something every day. Here’s a poem back from the early weeks of doing this daily stuff.
Writing
there once was a woman
who tried to create
a chant or a poem
each day before eight
she tossed and she turned
every night in her bed
to put down the words
that would swirl in her head
sometimes it was poetry
other times it was prose
there were days it was easy
and nights it just froze
but over and over
in darkness or light
her pen scratched out words
either serious or trite
she could barely begin
barely come to a halt
she wrote down pure sugar
she scribbled pure salt
but at first and at last
as she jumped and she hopped
she couldn’t – just couldn’t –
couldn’t come to a stop
New Release!!
Daybook of Personal Faith
Mama and Me
