Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts

Thursday, 31 December 2009

Reading poetry


A hat tip to Juliet Wilson who blogged about preparing to read/perform poetry. Some ideas and advice can be found here [PDF], at the Reading Room.


Part of writing poety, is reading it!

A ShoutOut:
posted by The Weaver of Grass at The Weaver of Grass -
The weather here is abysmal - dark, grey, cold, sleeting - not a single thing to commend it. All the more reason then to enjoy our Poetry Reading Afternoon. Once a month a group of friends meet to read 

We are too far from kindred spirits to do this. 

My Poems
 I posted a few ideas on my Thank your teachers blog:

Choral Reading

  My Poems...

Sunday, 8 March 2009

PHOENIX RISING





I will not be crushed
This old skin will be shed
Life embraced anew
My dreams, hopes and vision
Surely will come true.

Rise up
Regroup

Reborn
Realigned

I am clothed in gossamer and feathers
Shining
Sparkling
Light as air but strong as steel
I will arise and fly
Life will not pass me by
I will dance, write and rejoice.
The course is set
I´ve slept so long
I will move on.

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

A Life of Value

these lives are lived with courage and hope
each time we choose we learn to cope

easy to die before you´re gone
to give up trying and sing no songs

a life a classroom; each friend a lesson
assignments are due: here comes the next one

all those we meet they tell a story
from them we learn; aspire to glory

so listen well and listen true
as wisdom they impart to you

before too late awake we must
take on our work before we´re dust

each life is short; there´s much to do
live and learn and seek anew

spread the word; awaken spirits
tell of love: praise its merits

what we once knew we have forgotten
remember now and tell it often
~~~~~~~~~~~

Dedicated to my parents, the Salt of the Earth, mom & dadwho taught me many lessons in life, many while dying, whose spirits remain in my heart.
Read more in my Memoir: Living and Dying in Dignity: A daughter's journey through long-term care. I continue to read and research about Health Care Issues.

Monday, 23 February 2009

laundering my karma

a young adulthood spent learning to fly
ducking over and under barriers
seeking my soul
flexing my wings to soar
feathered head held high
fledgling down but a memory
graying feathers a reality

negative vibes clinging like lint
dust bunnies dancing in the sunlight
my kin launders my karma
crying rivers till waters set me free
a youth spent wallowing
hormones & angst
preparing me for the worst
losing sight of the best
the lessons have been dear

dignity my mantle
courage my mantra
blustery north winds blew me off-course
alight and preen the plumage
set my sights on hazy horizon
a wobbly course but a beacon

a little more fragile on the inside
feathers a steelier gray on the outside
those who would dare meet her in flight
see the shadows and look deeper

I'se found a mate
with strong backbone of a knight
murmuring words of grace
gentle strong arms to enfold
a noble spirit to focus energy filled light
don´t look back, he counsels
keep your eye on the horizon
anchor yourself in the present
there is only the now

Sunday, 22 February 2009

Haiku on Snow

There are some debates about the 5-7-5 framework for Haiku. A comparison and discussion on the number of Japanese symbols, vs. English syllables.

Haiku: (for more information) Please also see Michael's Ten Tips for Writing Haiku.
He says, in part:
  • Does your poem have a season word?
  • Does it have the two-part juxtapositional structure?
  • Do you use objective sensory imagery?

That said... a poem can be short/long, fat/skinny, descriptive/contemplative, rhyming or rhythmic. By all means, it should be succinct - an issue with which I deal daily!


horizontal flakes
wind driving fearful fury--
flees Spring eternal

Peace

the rising sun warms my skin
lake water laps the shore
rhythmic motions
smoothing furrows on our brows
penetrating my weather wearied soul

moss moist
fragrant with earthy smells
redolent of centuries past
comforting cycles of seasons
how firm our foundation
birth
death
rebirth

bird song amongst the lofty leaves
savour the smell of pine
my soul resonates in joy
reverence creeps through my being
gratitude for these gifts
the peace of this place
a beacon to guide me on
to seek truth
purpose
clarity of vision
my soul flourishes

Saturday, 21 February 2009

Our Calling


The spirit yet unbroken
The work it must be done
The love it will be spoken
The songs they shall be sung

Through love and joy and gladness
Through tears and fears and pain
There´s glory in the madness
As vision clears again

The candles brightly glowing
We´re dancing towards the light
Pathways they are showing
Walk proudly through the night

Herald chimes are sounding
The wind blows on my face
We mortals firmly grounding
In this our rightful place

Our task on earth is holy
The work we do is blessed
Our higher selves nod slowly
These lives they are a test

Thursday, 19 February 2009

Tell Me...

On the date of President Obama's visit to Ottawa, Canada. I post my poem...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are all part of the universe

Tell me where the rain ends and the cloud begins
Tell me where the cloud ends and the water begins
Tell me where the water ends and the sky begins
Tell me where the sky ends and the shore begins
Tell me where the shore ends and the beach begins
Tell me where the beach begins and the wave begins
Tell me where the wave ends and the ocean begins
Tell me where the ocean ends and the sky begins
Tell me where the sky ends and the sunbeam begins
Tell me where the sunbeam ends and the sun begins

Tell me where the petal ends and the flower begins
Tell me where the flower ends and the stem begins
Tell me where the stem ends and root begins
Tell me where the root ends and the earth begins

Tell me where the anger ends and the fear begins
Tell me where the fear ends and healing begins
Tell me where the healing ends and the body begins
Tell me where the body ends and the spirit begins
Tell me where my spirit ends and love begins
Tell me where the love ends and God begins

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

My Angel



She listens in love
with heart of a dove
acknowledges fears
then dries off my tears

she scolds and she hugs
heart strings she tugs
we talk and we sigh
we laugh and we cry

embodies spirit
lived well with merit
my strength and my friend
our joy will not end

-- © Jennifer Jilks
dedicated to my darling daughter

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

Ice Storm ´98

3:00 a.m.
flashes of blue green
another transformer blows
lifeline to civilization
hydro poles lean slowly
finally plummet to earth
wires snap in desperation
trees stand tall then fall
ice coats a burden
cruel twist of nature

crown after crown crashes down
remaining knights reign in fractured glory
icy clatter of frozen fingers
sentinels standing display broken limbs
stark white in the gray sky

as cold at the trees
I stand alone at my window
crews drive through bleeding streets
knights in shining armour
their steed a red charger
spotlights shine on damage
they search for deadly terror
comforting to know I am not alone

warmer months reveal festering wounds
broken arms bleed sap
wounded trunks lean drunkenly against comradesice storm 98
weight of new leaves brush the grass
families pile broken limbs
buds trying to break free
driveways sadly piled high
altars to our weekends work
healing begins

J. Jilks, 1998

Monday, 16 February 2009

You Will Be Happy When...

as a child I always knew
happiness will come to you
all you need: the perfect life
one day to wake and be a wife
dreams are made: truth not told
lies were all I could behold
forever after is the cry
without a love you´ll surely die

a life I´ve led: husband and marriage
afterwards a baby carriage
a second child, then number three
true happiness I then could see

but the picture changed with my rebirth
no longer content to sit at hearth
my hopes and dreams, fears and wishes
all have changed -so screw the dishes

I want to live to make a choice
to boldly go, to find my voice
each friend I meet becomes a dove
I feel that God has sent such love

for peace I feel now that I´m free
a better time I know I´ll see
let go the chains, break free of boxes
security flies, throw out galoshes

take a risk, break down the door
I´ll find my life will show me more
I´ll free my kids, they too will fly
we reach together a mountain´s high

their future lies in brighter visions
where dreams are dreampt without collisions
in praise of love we´ll grow alway
in harmony that´s lived each day

Saturday, 14 February 2009

4:00 a.m.


another sleepless night
the dark before the dawn
worries, fears and sorrows haunting the shadows
they sit lurking in the corner
bedside lamp banishes the ghosts

dawn arrives
sun´s soothing fingers massages the corners of my aching room
ghosts flee as the grace of daily obligation calls
cat burrows deeper into blankets

-- © Jennifer Jilks, 2008

reprinted in: Living and Dying With Dignity, A daughter's journey through LTC

Friday, 13 February 2009

Tree of Knowledge

The night envelopes me with dark wings
For eons now I have seen my possibilities
dropping like decaying fruit from my tree of life
One by one they plummet
bound by the gravitational pull of this 4th dimension
becoming impossibilities
broken dreams
crumbling over time.

Yet, as I open my eyes,
I perceive fireflies flickering amongst the trees
There is a shadow,
An elfin creature waves a wand of magic
His eyes twinkling in the dark
as he sprinkles pixie dust
in this my dreary night.
The flickering spheres have risen
from the ashes of despair
transformed from impossibilities into probabilities.
They arise, like the Phoenix,
Glowing with energy
precariously positioned in the branches.

Once, Was it only yesterday?,
I let my heart rule my head
But my vision has cleared.
I see the dawn peering hesitantly over the horizon.
The winds of change have risen with the sun
They embrace me, comfort me
Then they rustle the leaves
to add harmony to the rising octave
sending me to the higher sphere.

The chains I chose have loosened
and set me free
with the knowledge
that we are free to choose;
a prison or a palace,
a serfdom or a queendom,
despair or glorious works,
anger or peaceful promise,
my douleur vanishes with the dawn
His golden fingers caress me
as I shed my mourning clothes
My higher self rises to sing
and dance with the angels.

My tree is now laden with fruit
The possibilities ripen on the branches
just waiting to be plucked
The sun rises in penumbral fashion
The fireflies rest and wait for the night.

--© Jennifer Jilks