National Poetry Month #18: Thank you Judith Viorst for "The Pleasures of Ordinary Life"

Being such an avid fan of poetry I have lots of favorites. I have LOTS of favorites, but this one by Judith Viorst really speaks to me. It reminds me to enjoy the simple pleasures of ordinary life. Those pleasures are often what I photograph like the simple pansy above.  Enjoy a few photos while reading the poem.

a yellow bell found in the wild

the Catholic church on the Kalispel Reservation

The Pleasures of Ordinary Life

I've had my share of necessary losses, Of dreams I know no longer can come true. I'm done now with the whys and the becauses. It's time to make things good, not just make do. It's time to stop complaining and pursue The pleasures of an ordinary life. I used to rail against my compromises. I yearned for the wild music, the swift race. But happiness arrived in new disguises: Sun lighting a child's hair. A friend's embrace. Slow dancing in a safe and quiet place. The pleasures of an ordinary life. I'll have no trumpets, triumphs, trails of glory. It seems the woman I've turned out to be Is not the heroine of some grand story. But I have learned to find the poetry In what my hands can touch, my eyes can see. The pleasures of an ordinary life. Young fantasies of magic and of mystery Are over. But they really can't compete With all we've built together: A long history. Connections that help render us complete. Ties that hold and heal us. And the sweet, Sweet pleasures of an ordinary life. Judith Viorst

red wing blackbird in our feeder

evening on the deck

beautiful butter with a viola dressing it up

Beautiful Corner of the World: Road Trips

Yesterday we did a stop for lunch at Frater Lake on Tiger Highway, northeastern  Washington state. 

JEJ and I love to take drives and short road trips. We decided years ago that the best places to enjoy were in our own beautiful corner of the world. It is a cheaper way to travel and it gives us an appreciation of northeastern and north central Washington state, northern Idaho, southern British Columbia, and  western Montana. We have seen incredible scenery, taken hundreds of pictures, and enjoyed the drives, conversation, food, and the companionship of our dogs.

We took a refreshment break after exploring the grotto yesterday. We had saved our bottle of wine from the Tulip Valley Winery for a special occasion.

Earlier this year I got really interested in the International Selkirk Loop. We knew all about it, and had been to many places along the loop, but I thought it would be fun to visit a new place on the Selkirk Loop each month. Trips so far have included Bonner's Ferry, Sandpoint, sourthern British Columbia, Kalispel Lake, and the Pend Oreille River. Here are some photos of our road trips. If you want to learn more about the International Selkirk Loop go here. Above are the tundra swans.

 British Columbia in February and Connie's Resturant in Sandpoint in January.

National Poetry Month #17: To Say Nothing But Thank You

 When I watched my students work hard to make Earth Day a success I say thank you. When I return home tired and sore and see my gardens awakening to spring I also say thank you. When I soak in the tub to remove the Earth Day covering of garbage smells I again say thank you. 

To Say Nothing But Thank You

by JEANNE LOHMANN

JEANNE LOHMANNhas published eight collections of poetry and two books of prose, including Dancing in the Kitchen: A Prose Collection (Fithian Press) and Calls from a Lighted House: Poems(Daniel & Daniel Publishers). At nearly eighty-six, she relishes walks through her Olympia, Washington, neighborhood and remains active in the local poetry community.

All day I try to say nothing but thank you, 
breathe the syllables in and out with every step I 
take through the rooms of my house and outside into 
a profusion of shaggy-headed dandelions in the garden
where the tulips’ black stamens shake in their crimson cups.
 
I am saying thank you, yes, to this burgeoning spring 
and to the cold wind of its changes. Gratitude comes easy
after a hot shower, when my loosened muscles work, 
when eyes and mind begin to clear and even unruly 
hair combs into place.
 
Dialogue with the invisible can go on every minute, 
and with surprising gaiety I am saying thank you as I 
remember who I am, a woman learning to praise 
something as small as dandelion petals floating on the
steaming surface of this bowl of vegetable soup, 
my happy, savoring tongue.

National Poetry Month #16: Woman Who Loves Gardening

Days like today get me in the mood for digging in the dirt. Bulbs are coming up, the weather is warming, we are bathed in green. At a writing workshop a few years ago I was inspired to pen this poem. Picture above is at the Portland Rose Garden, June 2013.

Woman Who Loves Gardening

I have dirty nails

and rarely paint them, living out

my long growing season in the flower garden, trellises

giving view to clematis, climbing Peace

where aromatic flowers

grow in profusion.

I pull the weeds

in the early morning

gritting my teeth

wiping sweat from my brow

and listening

to footsteps of my husband

coming in range to help.

Sun makes my face red;

each sniff with my nose

leaves lily pollen behind.

When I rest it’s the beauty

that causes anxiety to shake loose

from a woman in need

of a quiet place to retreat.

Christy Woolum

June 20,2007

National Poetry Month #15: From Triumph to Grief

When a student overcomes obstacles we celebrate! We cheered J.S. on as she was escorted to graduation last spring by her beautiful child.  Today we cried for her. Today our school was filled with sadness. Yesterday she lost that beautiful child in a tragic car accident.  We pray for strength for her family, our school family, and especially for  J.S. 

"Though her smile is gone forever

And her hand we cannot touch

Still we had so many memories,

Of the one we loved so much,

Her memory is our keepsake,

With which we’ll never part;

God has her in His keeping,

We have her in our heart."
Anon.

National Poetry Month #14 : Caroline Kennedy and Joy Harjo

During National Poetry Month I like to give shout-outs to poetry anthologies I enjoy and recommend. Caroline Kennedy's most recent anthology is entitled "She Walks in Beauty, A Woman's Journey Through Poems." I love the selections that honor the life of women. As we celebrate Earth Day this poem by Joy Harjo was a perfect selection for today. I wish i had a spectacular eagle photo to accompany it.

Eagle Poem

BY JOY HARJO

To pray you open your whole self

To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon

To one whole voice that is you.

And know there is more

That you can’t see, can’t hear;

Can’t know except in moments

Steadily growing, and in languages

That aren’t always sound but other

Circles of motion.

Like eagle that Sunday morning

Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky

In wind, swept our hearts clean

With sacred wings.

We see you, see ourselves and know

That we must take the utmost care

And kindness in all things.

Breathe in, knowing we are made of

All this, and breathe, knowing

We are truly blessed because we

Were born, and die soon within a

True circle of motion,

Like eagle rounding out the morning

Inside us.

We pray that it will be done

In beauty.

In beauty.