life: acoustic & amplified
poetry, quotes & thoughts about life
Archive for the category “art”
the importance of caregivers: angels among us breed angels among us
Cool, dry hands, long fingers
soothing my fevered brow,
administering the requisite aspirin,
leave apple juice, draw the blinds.
“Angelo mio,” she’d caress me, “poveretta.”
My Little Angel, you poor little thing.
When I was a kid, I liked
staying home sick
from school – no pressures,
got to watch My Little Margie,
Lucy and Ethel’s escapades,
And Queen for a Day. I never faked,
simply had a weak chest. Colds seemed
to settle in with a fever and an opportunity
to be coddled. The 60 lb “portable”
TV would be ceremoniously
roll into my room for the duration.
Meals appeared on a white wicker bed tray,
with slots on each side of the space for my legs
where I could stash a Nancy Drew or maybe
a couple of those bio’s on important people as kids.
The courage of ten year olds like Pocahontas,
Annie Oakley and Virginia Dare steeled my resolve.
I imagined myself standing up to bullies; running
Away from home to do important things and
Even courageously dying of the plague without a whimper.
The boob tube occasionally silenced, Luisa
would play board games with me as though
this were the activity she most adored in all the world:
Candyland, Chinese Checkers, Chutes and Ladders.
And she often let me win – a strategy I remembered
in the sickroom in a different house 30 ears later.
On these days, Mama and Papa would stop in
Before leaving for work and upon returning.
Yet while they were otherwise occupied,’
the soothing endearments in in Italian,
the cool dry hands, egg drop soup and
infinite patience informed me
of what was most important:
You are loved after all.
Angelo mio. Ti voglio bene.
Anni Macht Gibson
gracefullsunangel@gmail.com
then sings my soul
There are things that make my soul sing –
Like hay bales in a newly mowed field.
Corn with tassels as far as the eye can see.
Tobacco hanging straight on rods drying high in a barn.
Farms fenced with white wood, their pastures dotted
with cows, horses and John Deer green.
Coming down a hill to see
city skyline soft in rainy mist,
or night-time lights.
Fog draping anything.
Crossing a body of water on a brilliantly engineered bridge.
All make me hold my breath with the sight of so much beauty.
The lines and shades of green from the tree farm pine trees looking like Christmas all year.
Small deli’s with homemade sausage and hand cut meats,
where the owner takes care of getting your order,
then comes out to ring you up.
All of these are miracles of extraordinary proportion.
These have fed my soul today.
So much more in store for me tomorrow.
The lavish gifts life brings are many and varied.
I am blessed to be awed by a few on my way.
AL 6/28/13
Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly. – George MacDonald
There is a spot that has become me
A small spot in the world,
yet it brings me great delight –
and even a whiff of wonder –
that it is mine.
I have this 4 feet of place
looking out to the trees
which are mine to borrow.
A place to dream.
A place to create.
Bringing pieces of me
into being,
to share with the world
from this tiny new place
filled with love.
AL 6/15/13
On Not Writing Poetry
Didn’t write a poem today.
October 23rd,
heavy with autumn’s first cold,
numbing despite British tea.
Words played movie-like
across my screen,
pictures just out of focus
in that maddening way:
the smell of marble swirling,
the feel of air, not quite ripe.
I didn’t write a poem today.
Did I?
by Anni Macht Gibson
Unfinished and other poems
be soft. do not let the world make you hard – Kurt Vonnegut
photo by Nici Tietjen Derosie
http://artshapedworld.com/
http://artshapedworld.blogspot.com/
Just a few timeless life lessons we all learn on the road of life…
1. Beauty comes from within. – You will never be beautiful like me. You can only be beautiful like you. One does not become beautiful by trying to be beautiful. One becomes beautiful by finding beauty in what’s already within.
2. Pain has a purpose. – Pain doesn’t just show up in your life for no reason. It’s a sign that something in your life needs to change. This change takes strength. But remember, it’s not that those who are strong never get weak in the knees, or that they never gasp for a breath. It’s that while their knees are shaking, they force themselves to breathe and to take another step. Read The Road Less Traveled.
3. There are right people, and wrong people, for you. – There are fake people, and those who are true friends. There are people who take the heart out of you, and those who put it back. You have a choice of who to spend time with. True friends have an honest heart, and will go out of their way to help you when you need it most. Stick with the people who never let you down and keep their promises. You can’t fake that.
4. What you focus on grows. – Do not let the negativity wear off on you. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Promote what you love instead of discrediting what you dislike. When you choose to focus on the things you love, you end up finding more joy and more love in life.
5. What you don’t start today, won’t be finished by tomorrow. – There are seven days in the week and someday isn’t one of them. Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow. Read Getting Things Done.
6. Sometimes taking your own advice is hard. – You know what to do, but you can’t seem to accept your own good judgment. You’ve said the same exact words to others, but listening to your own words is a struggle. That’s why friends are priceless. Because sometimes you just need to hear it from someone other than yourself.
7. You can’t live your life solely for other people. – When writing the story of your life, don’t let someone else hold the pen. You’ve got to do what’s right for you, even if the people you love disagree with your dreams. Live your life so that when it’s time to ask where the time went, you can answer: “It went to joyful moments of self-discovery, to my search for passion, to doing work that felt like play, to standing up for what I believe in, and to exploring this beautiful world with an open heart. My time went to living MY life!”
8. Forgiveness is the first step to recovery. – Sometimes we don’t forgive people because they deserve it; we forgive them because they need it, because we need it, and because we cannot move forward without it. So cry, forgive, learn, and move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future growth and happiness.
9. Your beliefs become your reality. – What you believe has more power than what you dream or wish or hope for. You become what you believe. Even though you cannot control everything that happens, you can control your attitude toward what happens. And in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you. Read Awaken the Giant Within.
10. Success is rarely easy, but always worth it. – Those who have achieved their dreams know that life is about willpower and persistence. It’s about hanging on to hope when your heart has had enough, and giving even more when your mind and body want to give up. Yes, each step may get harder, but the view from the top is priceless, and well worth enduring the journey to get there.
http://www.marcandangel.com/2012/10/11/10-timeless-lessons/#more-473
Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you. – Gandhi
If you have a talent, use it in every way possible.
Don’t hoard it.
Don’t dole it out like a miser.
Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.”
– Brendan Francis
Get on with your own creative life. Ideas are free. They don’t cost you a thing. You can live in the world of thought all the days of your life and never go broke.
You will also die unfulfilled, because an idea that never incarnates, that never becomes physical and grounded in this world, will eventually feel like the most painful burden you ever had to carry – one that you can never put down.
People who have had near death experiences report that there is indeed a life review that happens upon our death, and that a part of that life review is to make note of what could have been in our lives had we chose otherwise.
Falling into that category are all the creative opportunities the universe provided for us that we let fall by the wayside because our fears carried more authority within us than our faith.
Trust in the life support system that is inherent in your creative spirit. You will draw to yourself all that you need as you need it, but you must first be willing to risk it all. – Caroline Myss
adventure awaits!
New York through the Lense – Vivienne Gucwa
I watch the dark skein swerve and wheel
and return to its purpose,
each bird defined
against a misty grey sky.
The rain-stained glass
and traffic noise
keep me from their calls,
and I feel apart
from life itself.
Rhythms and drives
are sanitised and commoditised,
rituals removed
more and more
from root and purpose.
The outstretched necks
and curves of wings
are living shorthand messages
for those, like me,
without direction,
left behind
to the hard shoulders and cold hearts
of a lost people.
Nancy Somerville, ‘Wild Geese Flying South’, from Pushing the Boat Out: New Poetry , Wild Goose Publications, Kathy Galloway (ed.), 1995
life: acoustic & amplified 