Banked.....

Persuasively you say
you bask
in my glow

and that reflection
is enough to keep you
warm, content, even keeled

But I long for heat

a bonfire of sweaty limbs
and gasping breath

a chemical explosion
of bodies
that won't be denied

a feast where things get
messy, slippery, tangled

The earth moves
in its orbit
and then there's chocolate cake

A poem for you, yes, you

knocking...

naked
unafraid and open

needful
willing and waiting

for you to cast aside
the built up layers
and let me in

National Poetry Month

I like to write short thoughts about things that speak to me. Sometimes these short thoughts are labeled poems. I'm not a poet. Not like Wordsworth was a poet. Or John Lennon was a poet.

But I love to think that sometimes I can string words together that move another soul. I'm amazed when I write something and people feel the need to interpret it. That's a cool thing. They take what I wrote, filter it to through their own views, feelings, life experience and come out on the other side with something that speaks to them, even if what it says to them is not what I intended to say. It doesn't make my creation more or less significant simply because there are various interpretations of it available to various readers. I think that the variability is what makes it an art form.

For the longest time the lovely and talented Bryan Borland, [who is a poet] had this included in his bio: "This poem is about you, yes, you."

If a reader can look at typed words on a page and feel that the words are speaking directly to them, what's better than that?

Ok, sex is better than that.

And the funny thing?

Most of my poems are about sex.

Go figure.

Tomorrow I will be posting a new poem. It's called "Knocking" and it's about sex. Or religion. Or coming in out of the rain. Or anything else you want it to be about. I'll let you be the judge.

Thanks to the lovely Estrella Azul, I'm going to be part of the National Poetry Month blog tour masterminded by Savvy Verse and Wit. I think the tour is a great way to connect up the online community and an opportunity to see work that you may have missed otherwise. I'm looking forward to discovering new poetic voices throughout the month of April.

Burning brightly

Is it better to burn brightly or not at all? I think so. That's why I try to beam my happiness to all and sundry every chance that I get.

I do it in person, I do it on the phone, I do it online. There's a lot of singeing taking place all around me, but without the smell of scorched hair, because, well, since I'm being metaphorical, that would just be silly.

What isn't silly is two of my lovely friends asking me to write about what makes me happy. Anne Tyler Lord and Estrella Azul both asked me to beam my happiness out to the world via a special Ten things that make me happy posting:

So, here goes:

1-Hugs. There is little better on this round rock we call Earth than having someone you love press their heart to your heart while enveloping you in the warmth and strength of their arms.

2-Spring. Those six letters really should be in all caps and italicized and made various pretty colors, but it still would not do the magic of the word justice. Spring is joy. Spring is new life. Spring is hope bursting forth from the ground and saying: "See? I survived. So can you. Be joyous. "

3-Creating something. A photograph, a story, a poem, a painting, a calm, loving, welcoming space to live in, a joyful moment in someone else's day. All of these things make me happy.

4-Dancing. I dance by myself all the time and I recently had the opportunity to find out if I remembered how to dance in public. Turns out that I did, and I'm going to do it again in a week or so. [in costume] Even the thought of that makes me happy.

5-Laughter. I love to laugh and I love to make other people laugh. Laughter is a great boost to your day and it keeps your energy flowing so you can function at a higher level. Mentally and spiritually. So if your boss catches you reading Miscellaneous Yammering when you should be working, just tell him that you're performing preventative health care. If he's smart, he'll nod sagely and leave you to it.

6-Moving water. Listening to The SOUND, watching the sparkle of the sun dancing off of the surface, absorbing the inherent peace water encapsulates. My favorite waterfall was overflowing with so much snowmelt a couple of days ago that I could feel the power of the stream roaring underneath me in my feet while standing on the bridge. It was all I could do to prevent myself from climbing down and standing in the crashing foam to soak up all that gorgeous energy.

7-Dragonflies, frogs and toads. Not necessarily in that order. Oh and butterflies, and praying mantis, and stick bugs and carpenter bees, and hummingbird moths, OH AND HUMMINGBIRDS!!!!! Hummingbirds, hummingbirds, hummingbirds. Did I mention hummingbirds?

8-Enthusiasm. I don't think that there's any feeling in the world that matches sharing something that you're passionate about with someone and having them meet your enthusiasm with their enthusiasm. Enthusiasm not only makes me happy, I find it extremely sexy. [just in case anyone's taking notes]

9-People who feed me. I love going into a restaurant and ordering what I want and actually HAVING SOMEONE BRING IT TO ME.

10-Someone else paying for the above ordered meal. I love a free meal-- what can I say? But I always sing for my supper by being sparkling company and I never, ever chew with my mouth open. I have been known to snort milk or the occasional shrimp out of my nose if my dinner companion is funny, but most people agree that particular little party trick only adds to the whole entertainment package. It's damn hard to snort a whole shrimp out of a nostril, but I always like to give my audience something above and beyond so they'll come back for more.

Speaking of which….here's a photo of a hummingbird moth. They're really really fast, so it made me extremely happy to be able to capture this little guy.

Photo copyright Karen Schindler