Day 53 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

Day 53 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

I was inspired to write this poem based on a line in a poem called "Why Just Ask the Donkey" by Hafiz. The line is: When I have so many other animals and brightly colored birds inside." Since I broke my arm and displaced my rotator cuff, I feel like I have a broken wing and am confined to the nest so I guess it finally emerged as a poem. 

Day 52 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

 Day 52 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

Today's poem highlights what I really heard today happening in the world around me. The song I'm referencing is Liberty and Justice for all. I am also referencing the trial of Derek Chauvin and the killing of George Floyd which takes place in the neighborhood where I teach high school. The Cicadas line comes from an MPR story I heard today and the line about our nervous systems comes from the On Being podcast which features Christine Runyan.

I hope it all comes together to make a poem that makes you think about what you are hearing every day.

Day 51 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

 Day 51 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

Some I love has cancer and it's terminal and it's so hard on all of us.
I called the church to request prayers and request that communion be delivered once a week. The lady I talked was so sweet and said they would start praying to ease his pain right away. Thank goodness for prayer warriors.

Day 50 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

 Day 50 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

Every time I hear Randy Travis sing "He Walked on Water" I start crying because it reminds me of my grandpa Harvey Spaulding, who I miss so much. This poem is a tribute to my grandpa and I'm borrowing a line from the song- I thought that he walked on water to use in my poem. My grandpa wasn't perfect, but in my mind, he is a legend, just like the many stories he told me.

Wow. Day 50. I'm at the halfway mark of this project and I have to say that this project has been transformational for me. Thank you to everyone who is reading my work, commenting, following, and buying me coffee.

You inspire me to keep writing every day.

Day 49 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

 Day 49 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

I got the idea to write about Heaven from poet Jose Olivarez who has several poems titled Mexican Heaven in his book Citizen Illegal.

Think about our soul without the baggage of the body and mind and we all become free to embrace everyone as family. This is my Heaven.

Day 48 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

 Day 48 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

I've been thinking a lot about the 7 mass murders in 7 days in this country and the anger that resides within all of us. Why do some of us choose to let it go without harming someone emotionally or physically and others harm others with words, fists, and bullets? We all have gaping wounds of sadness. Some choose to fill it with hope and others fill it with fear and hate,

Day 47 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

Day 47 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

Jane Goodall said she would trade one year of her life to change places with a chimpanzee for just 5 minutes. I was Wowed by this and thinking about it led to this poem.

If you could choose to trade places with a species who would you choose?

The possibilities are endless. 

Day 46 of the 100 Day Poetry Project

 Day 46 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

Oh my gosh, it is so hard for me to give away stuff I never use because I attach personal meaning to everything. I usually remember who gave it to me, the history of the object, and the memories attached to it. It's like giving away a piece of myself. 

Can anyone relate?

Day 45 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

 Day 45 of The 100 Day Poetry Project

It was 9 pm when I heard the owl start calling me outside. I went out to sit on the steps in the dark and listened to her Hoot for an hour. Tears started and I knew the grief was coming for someone who was in our wedding years ago who died from Covid this morning. Sometimes the human experience is hard and it gets to me. Life isn't fair.

I'm so thankful for the owl's visit tonight. I've been missing them and I know there are at least two here. I love listening to them at night. They remind me to use my intuition and to look for the messages in the moment.

Day 44 of The 100 Days Poetry Project

 Day 44 of The 100 Days Poetry Project

I teach AP Human Geography and for the last two days I've been teaching about languages and how they diffuse into the culture and that got me thinking about the violence in our own culture and the hate crimes and killing in Atlanta of 8 Asian American women.

Have you ever really thought about the violence in our language and the words we say every day? I tried to include some of our violent phrases in this poem to illustrate how bad it is.

Pay attention to your words.