Poetry Thursday- Your Own Voice

As someone just taking baby steps into the world of writing, and particularly the world of poetry, this week's Poetry Thursday prompt made me throw up my hands (metaphorically speaking) and cry WHOA! Voice? I don't think I have a "voice" yet, at least not in the poetic sense. Not in the way that Mary Oliver has a voice, or Jane Kenyon, or Naomi Shihab Nye, some of the poets whose work I've been reading and enjoying. I spent most of the week wandering around thinking, "where is my voice?" and "how do I find it?" I had just about decided to post a poem from one of the poets mentioned above, as if to say, "I don't have a voice of my own, but how I wish I had one like this!" But then, I heard something. Not a voice, really, but a tiny whisper. So, I have a poem of my own to offer after all.

You must know ~

I've been searching endlessly

for this voice of mine.

Perhaps it hides

beneath loads of laundry

and lists of chores,

notes from various people

(not friends)

who beg money or time from me.

Perhaps it's injured or frightened,

remembering a moment in the past

when it ventured cautiously

from behind it's safest shelter,

only to have me ~it's protector~

shove it hastily aside,

discount its worth,

continue blithely with

the truly important tasks

that fill my day ~

the dusting, the driving, the tidying up

of all the cobwebby corners

of my world.

I tell myself now

to sit quietly

and gently call its name,

coax it to me

with a promise

of fresh ink, blank paper

and

a full measure of my devotion.

There is more poetry here

Written in the Stars (?)

PiscesYour imagination is flying high today, dear Pisces. Intellect and intuition join together in a vivid and explosive union where the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts. Don't waste this energy. Get busy and work on whatever creative projects you're involved with, or start one if there aren't any. This energy may not come around again for a while, and you'll want to make the most of it. Have fun!

I really wish I had read this horoscope this morning when I first got out of bed, instead of now, at 8:00 pm, when I'm about to change into my comfy flannel jammies, pour myself my alloted glass of wine for the day, and burrow into the corner of my leather couch to watch Dancing With the Stars. If I had only known before I went to work that my intellect and intuiton were going to join in a vivid and explosive union, I'm sure all those reports I typed and mailed at the office would have immediatley caught the eye of a top literary agent. And that fax requesting a quote for shower grab bars and a raised commode seat would probably have garnered me a nomination for a Pulitzer prize.

Of course, I did make some headway on one very important creative proect - my stockpile of post-it flags are now individually displayed in a colorful flag-like banner along the entire length of the shelf above my cubical, a project I completed during the time I was on hold with the telephone company repair service.

Oh well, tomorrow's another day, another opportunity to make the most of my creative energy, assuming it comes around again. And tomorrow, I'll be checking the horoscope first thing with my morning coffee, just to see if my imagination might be flying high.

One Deep Breath-Delicious Autumn

Summer's on the wane

green glory slipping into gold

harbinger of fall

A visual feast

nourishes my hungry soul

for the long winter

There's no doubt about it, autumn is here. Daylight arrives later and later, while dusk falls earlier and earlier. I've been keeping my eye on this tree, which grows more crimson every day. I love the colors of fall, along with all the other delights of the season - new sweaters, fires in the hearth, hearty soups for dinner, and snuggling under the covers at night. From now on, I'll be busy storing up all these delights in preparation for the dreary cold of winter.

for more haiku celebrating the deliciousness of autumn, go here

Sunday Scribblings-Google Magic

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other word would smell as sweet."--From Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

Rebecca 1) From the Hebrew name רִבְקָה (Rivqah), possibly meaning "a snare" or "a noose" in Hebrew, or perhaps derived from an Aramaic name. This was the name of the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob in the Old Testament; 2)Rebecca is the English form of a Hebrew name, Rebekah. Until the 17th century, Rebecca was almost exclusively a Jewish name. After the Reformation, however, it became one of many Old Testament names adopted by Protestants. Rebecca was especially popular with the Puritans. It was revived in the late 20th century. In 1900-1910, it was 161st most popular baby name in the US. In 2003, it was the 64th most popular.

I've always been really interested in names. When I hear news of a birth, the first question I'm likely to ask is, "What did they name her (or him)?" After all, your name is the one thing about yourself that probably will never change - unlike your skin, hair color, and certainly height and weight, your name isn't affected by the ravages of time. So, unless you take the time and trouble to change it legally, it's yours intact from birth to death.

When I was a kid back in the 60's I was the only girl named Rebecca in my entire school. I liked that actually. I was never a child who felt compelled to be like everyone else, so I was secretly proud of the fact that I wasn't one of the three of four Kathy's or Debbie's or Linda's that always seemed to be in my classes. I did go through a phase of spelling Becky with an "i" on the end (I know, really stupid), but that didn't last long.

I've also always liked the fact that Rebecca is a Hebrew name, particularly since I discovered that some of my earliest ancestors here in America were actually Jews from Germany, who arrived here in the mid 1700's and settled in the area that is now Pennsylavania. However, I'm not fond of the Hebrew etymology. A "snare," or "noose"? Not a very attractive image to fulfill. Modern baby name books use the word "captivating" as the meaning, which is certainly much more appealing.

I remember asking my mother why she chose this particular name, since it was rather unusual in the mid-1950's when I was born. And she said just what I would expect her to say - that she wanted my name to be special and unique, because that was the kind of person she wanted me to be. (On the rare occasions when I did complain about not having or doing something that "everyone else was doing," my mother always gave me a withering look and asked pointedly, "Do you really want to be like everyone else?" Grudgingly, I had to admit that I really didn't.) So, perhaps it was partly because of my "special and unique" name that I've always been quite comfortable in my own skin, even when I don't blend in with the crowd.

How about you? What's in your name?

Poetry Thursday - In the Voice of Another

~1~

If Life should walk Beside me

all Lovliness to See -

I'd take its Hand - invite it In -

my Heart's true Company.

If Death should walk Beside me

grave Lonliness to Bear -

it too, would be Welcome -

my Heart's burden Gladly share.

For now, Content, I walk Alone

midst trees of Evergreen -

my Rhymes and Songs to Guide me

toward Pathways yet Unseen.

Emily Dickinson has always fascinated me, from the time I was a child and first read "I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you - Nobody - too?" I was, and still am, envious of her complete self-containment, her single minded dedication to her poetry. Her reclusive life seemed romantic and glamorous to me, a young girl growing up in a midwestern suburb, cherishing her own dreams of "the writer's life," and I almost feel as if I'm committing an act of sacrilege, making this faint attempt to capture the rhythm and grace of her voice.

For more poems in the voice of another, go here