Ethical ELA Open Write:Your Great Brown Eyes

 It's the last day of Ethical ELA this month and our host is Denise Krebs. She asks us to find the 7th book in a pile, turn to page 7, read the 7th line and write a 7 line poem! I spent yesterday going through my antique school book collection and so I went there for inspiration. I took one of the Brooks Readers from the American Book Company 1905 which really isn't one of my favorites but was the 7th book in the pile! I took the 7th and 8th lines from the poem, To My Dog Blanco by J.G Holland: I look into you great brown eyes Where love and loyal homage shine.  Sorry Denise, but that 8th line is just too great to not use it!

I chose to write about a very sad day when I backed my car into our aging collie who had fallen and could not get up.. It still brings me to tears.

I didn't know you had fallen 

Behind my car, into the snowbank,

Where your blond hair merged with the sunrise

Until my wheels felt your aging mass

I looked teafully into you great brown eyes 
Where love and loyal homage still glimmered

Ethical ELA: That Sponge

Today's Ethical ELA Host, Matt Esenwine asks us to write a MBOE poem! This is a Most Boring Object Ever poem of something like a dirty rubber band! You think of an object, make a list of words that come to mind and then write a short poem! 

Resting from a long day

Its many irregular cells exhausted

The faded blue cellulose dries slowly

Leaving a hardening blob waiting

For another cup and spoon in need.

It's a rough life for the flexible

Workhorse who rarely leaves the

Kitchen sink until it's replaced by

A fresh dye-job version sleeping

Under the pipes.

Ethical ELA: October 17 : Take the Trip

Saturday's Ethical ELA Joel Garza asked us to write 6 lines (1,2,3).  I was traveling and I was tired with Weak internet so I started but am posting it now. 

We were exhausted as we waited in Zurich, for a long time.

After a chance to make decadent orecchiette, eat magnificent mussels, and explore tiny Trulli homes while visiting seemingly unreal basilicas on every corner.

We needed that long pause with a chance to decompress, an opportunity to recharge, and time to prepare to reenter those lives we left behind after the gift of a memorable journey into ancestry along with reminders of the kindness and generosity of people everywhere in our fragile world. 

October 11: What We Leave

I've thought a lot about what we leave behind this week as I reflect on the memory of a kind, generous and proud matriarch and explore a new to me culture. 

Jean left behind a legacy of learning, family, and kindness for her family, church and community.   I could not help but think of her as well as other legacies that have remained for centuries as I traveled this week

SOL: Karma

Today, I am sharing thoughts with my Slice of Life community. 

It's clearly fall, I thought as I walked among the acorn debris left by aggressive squirrels into the brilliant sunshine peeking over the horizon leading my thoughts to the Buddha message, If you light a lamp for anyone, it will brighten your path," It's a bit funny that message and the bright sunshine should merge with my thinking about Karma, that ancient idea that our actions, good or bad, boomerang back to us over time.

It has happened multiple times this week. People using the actions of others (including me) for their own benefit, taking advantage of abundance of waste in business or over billing claims. Those in education likely have experience with people claiming ownership of your work or ideas; yet, it is far more a widespread practice that makes me sad as well as apprehensive for their future.  

Yeah, yeah yeah....everybody does it, maybe, but that does not make it right!  Even though I am headed shortly to visit the big boss, I sure do not need the dark side of Karma. 

 

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Oct 4: Spiritual Journey: Trust

The October Spiritual Journey's theme is Trust. Patricia Franz asks us to reflect on trust and patience with God’s interaction in our lives. You can read her post here.

I used to trust people, rules, this path of our journey easily. At times, I accepted even when I did not agree and embraced even when I was hesitant, trusting in the wisdom of others and trusting things would work out for the best in the end. At times, colleagues, family and a legal system I trusted used that trust to augment their own goals at my expense.

Yet, over time I have realized that I must trust in my creator, who is beside me even when I falter, and rooting for me even when my prayers are not answered. I am never alone even when I feel alone on this journey like that morning, not too many years ago when I could not see the path ahead as I sat on the end of the dock when that sunbeam reached down from above and touched my toes and my heart. I could not have planned or imagined the path out of that hole that morning; yet, I am very glad I trusted I was not alone.

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End Sept: How Will I?

The usual crowd was making waves during aqua class this morning, I could feel the water warm with the release of diverse intense emotions as we pushed and kicked that forgiving water. There were those who scheduled their appointments to make the class as well as those heading out a bit early to fight a plethora of issues. There were several defying cancer themselves and even more fitting the class between care-giving of spouses, adult children, and grands. Some would be heading to work or volunteer responsibilities as soon as they were dressed and others would be off to look at nursing homes for loved ones or to face hospice decisions. As we exited the pool, the multitude of issues moved swiftly to return to their positions of power and as we dressed, thoughts became audible. 

I was still damp behind the ears when I left the locker room, but filled with reminders of the immense challenges that had warmed the pool moment before. 

She's rushing off for a scan, 

Praying its manageable, 

He's hobbling out to yoga, 

Hoping to keep going, despite aches and pains,

They're off to find help for an adult child,

Whose challenges were not anticipated,

She's is off to find a post retirement job,

He's off to fill the hole in his heart

They're filled with concerns:

Will the prices continue to rise?

How will the money last?

Can we afford to stay or to move?

Is there a solution to this problem?

• How will I deal with....?
  

Sept 28: Hamilton

Today, I am sharing an afternoon of my life with my Slice of Life Community.

We went through driving rain and massive puddles to get to the room where it has been happening for more than a decade in the big city. We saw a powerful storyteller's depiction of the characters whose revolutionary ideas contributed to the founding of our experiment in representative democracy.  Our feet were wet and the single ladies room for about 800 females resulted in a long and windy line through the entire theater; yet, it was worth the challenges for the masterful songwriting, vibrant storytelling and messages that stand the test of time.  

Those who tell the story,

Refine the memories, characters,

Choose the lens, lines reminding us 

Of the lofty ambitions, strong personalities

The drive of those long-ago immigrants

Like Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Burr,

Courageously defying the King, 

While not always in agreement with how to 

Integrate new ideas into a plan for a new nation,

Still needing reminders about immigrant drive, 

Working relentlessly towards goals, 

Active participation in determining our future.

Raise a glass to freedom
Something they can never take away
No matter what they tell you

Sept.27 The Show

On the eve of a forecast of a Nor'Easter, I watched the setting sunlight ricochet through ominous clouds after a week with more positive than negative even if I was still adjusting to the idea of drinking champagne next to my new French drains!

I smiled as I thought of my once tiny miracles who rocked my world a decade ago and that wonderful tea celebration of living where quiche settled perfectly next to raisin tea sandwiches to fill all the crevices in our hearts. And then, even if the forecast was dire, the show began....

Clouds whipped with amber residue

Floated swiftly through the sky,

Dancing effortlessly above treetops

Until the new cast infiltrated the skies

Dressed like phlox and amethyst

That made you look, appreciate the

Power of nature to put on a show.

Demand we notice.

SOL26: New Season

I'm sharing with my tens of readers and SOL Community today. 

This season is confused, 

Leading to drenching rains

During football, soccer games.

It's stressful, exhausted teachers 

Wrangling unwilling learners

Presenting the same old curriculum

Word smithed by think tank wanna-bes

Yet, I have always found joy in this season, 

Crisp mornings and sun-kissed afternoons,

Familiar sweaters retrieved from closet repose,

School jitters transitioning into learning,

A week filled with very special birthdays,

Plus, a message, "I'm home!"

Filling my heart with happiness, hope.