Moving Day

This little mother moved into a tiny apartment tucked within an old fence post a couple weeks ago. She regularly comes to check on her nest and it amazes me to watch her slip into that thin slot to feed her young. She’s fast! It was hard to capture even this blurry photo.

~~ To Bloom Where We Are Planted ~~

It must be a pickup truck moving day today!  It’s June 1st and all morning, pickups of every color have been traveling these four corners in every direction loaded with mattresses, couches, refrigerators etc probably trying to beat the thunder storms predicted for this afternoon.  I’m enjoying the scene from the front porch as folks move house - to and from this apartment filled city neighborhood.  

As I watch, I think about all the different kinds of moves we each make in a lifetime.  I’ve made few house moves in my adult life, having lived with this view for 40 years already - after starting our family in our first home of 15 years.  

Yet in those years I’ve moved from being a new mom to being a great grandmother.  From raising a large family to being empty nesters and later on to the foreign realm of widowhood. I’ve moved from being a mom to being also a foster mom, to volunteering and to running a small book business.  From my childhood understanding of faith,  to traditional Christian views, to a passion for gender equality - including the need to use inclusive language in our understanding and worship of God.  

So many moves on this long path.  So much packing away the old, unloading the new, regrouping and moving on.  So many blessings!  Yet so much of what I started with remains.  From my faith to my children, my love of books and writing, to the furniture of early days which one day will be carted off in pick ups to a senior lodging I suppose - another fresh start and regrouping to adjust to.

Some of our moves are losses. Some gains. Each one contains lessons, seeds of new blessings and gifts to build on.  May we each strive to watch for the gifts, grow the hidden seeds and endeavor always 

to bloom where we are planted.

JoMae
6/1/19

Reverie

~ Reverie ~

I catch myself in space

staring off across the years

to moments almost lost, yet

seared onto the scrapbook

of my long life’s memory 

floating in my mind’s eye

fondly hugging my soul

with joy filled smiles

regretful  sighs

grief’s love

vignettes of phantom

recollections my 

companions

~ Reverie ~

JoMae

4/20/19

Living On aprpad 9

Remembering John's Garden

~ Dear Heart ~

two years past your death

I’m like a shattered vase

still finding where the

scattered pieces fit

JoMae

~ Living On ~

some visit head stones

some sleep with a lover’s

soft garments left behind

my comfort lies between

the covers of my blog

there I curl up blanketed

with warm words revisiting

verbal snapshots of our life

and all it means, how true

love’s strength sustains

Beyond The Dying

JoMae

4/9/19 

#aprpad 9 - Two for Tuesday prompt: 

 Write a love poem and/or an anti love one.

Winter Envy #aprpad 7

Dreaming of Spring

~ WINTER ENVY~

It’s been a long cold winter

people like me have largely

sheltered in place, staying put

rather than chance slipping on ice

by February I was jealous

of folks living down in Florida

until I thought of how I’d covet 

the rhythm of the seasons were I to move

JoMae

4/7/19

Today’s #aprpad prompt: Write a jealous poem.

Roses in November Snow

After Winter

~ AFTER WINTER ~

After the winter was over

and days became longer

the sun beamed warmer

that dark cocoon of waiting

for more light began to soften

then break open to the magic 

of springtime with its signs of

new life and spirit of hope

as we shed our heavy coats

our hearts became lighter

our worlds a bit brighter

our steps a tad faster

anticipating

~ SPRING ~

JoMae

4/6/19

Today's #aprpad prompt: Start with After the (blank)...

Final Photograph #aprpad 5

#aprpad 5 Prompt: Write of something stolen

John's 80th
Easter Sunday 2015

~ Final Photograph ~

I didn’t take a photograph

(that may have offended some)

but I have that  picture  so sharply

graven on my mind I do not need one

You are imprinted in my heart

along with memories of your touch

but that coffin image means so much

as you lay freshly cleaned - and waiting 

I have your ashes atop Pop’s book case 

(and a few inside my pocket - a small sachet)

but the photo of you resting there, sleeves rolled

back ready for refinement for your next assignment 

…

I have boxes full of prints and photos

I’m surrounded by the artifacts you made

All remind me daily of your absent presence 

Yet one vivid image provides loves closure for

My Fond Farewell

JoMae

3/30/19

4/5/35

John’s birthday today (and I have the yellowed telegram to prove it) So here is another unpolished piece to commemorate the day.  Enjoy.

Their Dad #aprpad 4

John's Tree

~ Their Dad ~

Not a famous painter, but he loved

to capture action in a hasty sketch to

catch the baby dumping his spaghetti

save a vacation moment or draw a silly

birthday card

He’d sketch next year’s garden

lay out  a new kitchen cabinet

explain old dreams on napkins

design a lovely Christmas tree

or simply think in illustrations

on the back of an envelope

Scraps of paper now a treasured

Legacy of Love

JoMae

4/4//19

#aprpad 4 Today’s prompt, pick a painter, make him or her the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.

Animal Poem #aprpad 3

Today's poem-a-day prompt: Write and animal poem ~

Cookie Artist: Jean Spoelhof

~ Animal Poem ~

I’m hard pressed to come up with an animal poem

no pets but the bunnies and squirrels in the yard

lost kittens - who scamper to play in the garden

while robins hop hoping for worms in the lawn

but springtime is here and artists are busy

with cookies so dear, too lovely to nibble

chickens and lambs - all over the plate

bunnies galore might pop in the door

beautiful bunnies that I most adore

Prized art work by Jean the

Gingerbread Lady who’s

exquisite sweets iced

in delicate designs

are treasured

creations

one of a

kind

JoMae

4/3/19
#aprpad 3 - A small tribute to my favorite cookie artist ~

Prompt: write an animal poem - 

Cookie Artist: Jean Speolhof

Silence

A Blue Cocoon

~ Silence ~

The worst case scenario had happened: 

her world seems deaf, his voice now mute

the silent void a thick foam block encasing

a cold suffocating absence -- his presence

No whistling drifting from his workshop now

gone was the sound of footsteps in the door

garden tools dropped to the floor and more

a death she first deemed unable to endure

until one day, out of the silence rose a thought

sparked by a comment she had heard or read

her nature was to savor it to further ponder

she made a note and then another line until

her old familiar joy of writing took a hold. Tiny

bursts of words at first - her heart became ajar

lighting frail new blossoms rooted in old soil 

nurtured by the gift of quiet, time and place

~ Silence ~

The best case scenario had happened

for in her loss she found her voice

harsh gray silence softened to a

blue cocoon filled with words

JoMae

4/2/19

An April Poem-A-Day challenge #aprpad
The day's prompt: Write a worst case and/or best case poem

Winter Mornings #aprpad 1

April Snow

Winter Mornings

Coffee in my most comfortable chair

swimming in the wake up brew

treading an ocean of words

reading, thinking, writing 

until I look up and see

it’s mid afternoon

JoMae

4/1/19

Another April. Another Poem A Day Challenge. 

Today’s challenge: Write a morning poem