I Am Walking East by Melissa Haynes

As the sun rises, illuminating golden fields
Absorbing the sun and my surroundings
Quiet thoughts are at peace
Fluttering of wings is the only sound
The gentle breeze refreshes my body
Images of nature's art
Tantalize my senses


A red leaf catches the wind 
The wind invites it along
A sudden burst of energy goes through me
Sun reflects a pale mauve sky
Such a still beauty

Ruth Here

Not to beat a dead horse--you've seen this before because I workshopped it in October and I didn't get one piece of advice.  But they did say it was good.  I shared it with my poetry group Wednesday and then I got advice.  So I'm trying to clean this up to submit to "Lyrical Iowa" in February.  I'm posting a version that has a lot of things in parenthesis, italicized, words or phrases I may cut.  (Or in one case, alternatives about food for dinner.)   I'd like your opinion about cutting these and other changes I might make.  One suggestion I got is I should start the romantic encounter between husband and wife earlier in the poem--but I kind of like it this way.  Advice?

Remnants of Summer

The end of August is tinder dry. Your steps raise clouds

of golden dust that follow you to the house, hiding

your shadow. On the porch, sun-faded towels

are laid out, and kid's sandals are matched in pairs

of half-hearts, good luck charms for our marriage.

Inside, I watch from the window.  The oak table

is scattered with lined paper and yellow pencils.

I clear them for summer's final supper, fish and rice. (beef and bread, mash, chicken, grain, roots)

Children vanish to grieve the start of school, 

though sparks of excitement crackle in the air.

High pitched voices dissolve, and in the silence,

the day has melted to dusk. We carry glasses

of wine (out) to the thinning pale grass,

(to greet the last full moon before harvest,)

to breathe in the blue haze of Russian sage,

and we are alone, together.

The moon drops (lustrous) pearls in our blushing wine.

Insect wings stitch seams (of shelter)

in the descending fabric of fall. The force

of the evening pulls us toward each other.         

Your blood stirs, my breath catches.

Another version:

The end of August is tinder dry. His steps raise clouds

of golden dust that follow him to the house, hiding

his shadow. On the porch, sun-faded towels

are laid out, and kid's sandals are matched in pairs

of half-hearts, good luck charms for our marriage.

Inside, I watch from the window.  The oak table

is scattered with lined paper and yellow pencils.

I clear them for summer's final garden harvest.

Children vanish to grieve the start of school, 

though sparks of excitement crackle in the air.

High pitched voices dissolve, and in the silence,

the day has melted to dusk. We carry glasses

of wine out to the thinning pale grass,

to breathe in the blue haze of Russian sage,

and we are alone, together.

The moon casts (drops, reflects) pearls in our blushing wine.

Insect wings stitch seams of shelter

in the descending fabric of night. The force

of the evening pulls us toward each other.         

Your blood stirs, my breath catches.
 ......................................................................................................
 I changed "you" to "him."  I took out the specific kind of food; I'm not sure about that.  And made some other word changes...
 

New Year, New Start to the Nami Blog

Hi NAMI bloggers,
First, a happy new year! I hope the year is treating you well so far. I have just spoken with Rachael and she will be bowing out of the blog this semester. I am still here for you and my goal is to continue checking the blog each week for new entries. Please keep it to one entry per week. Also, I want your feedback on how the blog is going? Is it useful to you? Is there something I can do to be more helpful? I'm going to keep the blog up throughout the school year, and as always I ask for your patients as some times of year are more busy than others). I will probably take the summer off from the blog in May, as I will probably be doing field work in environmental science that will keep me away from regular internet access. In May we can decide if you want to pick it up again next school year. I've enjoyed reading your work! Please keep it coming!

Here is a poem of mine for you, with my deepest thanks for you sharing all of your work. I wrote it about the floods in Ames last August.

Language Levels Rising

Anna Keener

A flood of words

Came rushing through

My town today

After a night of

Clouds breaking,

A down-pouring of letters

This morning, I remember

They forecasted snow

No one knew it could happen

This bad

Language levels rising

Words at our doors

Swirls of nouns tangled in blasted trees

Conjunctions to dampen the spirit

Verbs now skulk like foam

Against sandbags

Articles settle like silt

Coating our basements

Boots stamp meaningless sentences

Across kitchen floors

We are overwhelmed,

Unsure how to begin to clean

Plucking up a Yearning here, a Flighty there

Is. Gorgeous. Behave. All in the dumpster.

Adjectives to scrub away before

They mold

This is the great flood

Infamous, demanding recovery

A sorting out of lost from gained

I am too busy now

To think of

The work to come

I spend the day in a dingy, fingers numb

With a butterfly net and red bucket

Raking them in

-Anna

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Excellent A New Years Poem Ties that Bind by dejohnsrld Artwork by SweetLinda on FanArtReview.com Author View Author Tools:    FAQ:  What are certificates? | What are stars? | How do I become a ranked author?

The Author

Welcome to the New Year Leave the past behind This moment is clear Use this year to find The future holds no fear Take time to unwind Ways to be near Ways to be kind Open your ears to hear What is on another's mind Speak your mind and be sincere Don't let relationships unwind Share your new found cheer The love of two combined Will last through the year

Author Notes Happy New Year!!!

Excellent The fourth in a series High Speed, High Impact Part 4 by dejohnsrld Artwork by dolphin on FanArtReview.com Author View Author Tools:   FAQ:  What are certificates? | What are stars? | How do I become a ranked author?

Category:  Biographical Non-Fiction   Posted:  December 31, 2010      Views: 52

The Author High Speed, High Impact Part 4 In Part 1: I told about events that preceded my accident in which I was hit head-on by a semi. In Part 2: I described the first six weeks after my accident when I had five surgeries to my femur (upper leg bone) and had also developed a bone infection. I was released and taught how to use IV antibiotics at home. . In Part 3: Describes the next year and a half of repeated surgeries and trying to get rid of the infection. Part 4: How did I get from where I was to where I am today? After two years of having surgery after unsuccessful surgery, I was so weak that it was a major undertaking to open a can of soup and heat it up. It took about two years for my strength to return to normal. I still fall ill more often than I used to and I take longer to heal. After all of the stress my body underwent, I developed Fibromyalgia and have pain from that as well as post amputation pain. The best therapy I have found is not get too tired but to keep as busy as I can as that takes my mind off of the pain. I tried using a prosthetic (artificial) leg, but it had been so long since I had walked that my balance was impaired and I was having so many falls, that it was not safe to continue. I did give it a determined try for a year and a half. Getting used to not having enough money was hard. I got my first disability check seventeen months after my accident and one day before foreclosure papers were to be filed on my mortgage. I still only get about one fourth of what I had been earning. I have learned to do without many things I used to think were essential. Not being able to work was difficult. I had worked since I was sixteen and had worked very hard to put myself through college. Once I was no longer able to work, I started volunteering at an Adult Daycare Center two days a week, and thus feel like I do make a difference. After my surgeries ended I had a lot of anger and resentment over being disabled. I went through all the stages of grief. As I slowly worked through all of the problems I encountered, the anger and resentment lessened. I also found a support group for people with disabilities which has been a tremendous help. Probably the hardest change was to develop a routine in my life after being so sick. I had completely lost any type of stability. It didn't matter when I slept, when I ate, when or if I got dressed. The only thing I actually needed to do was to take care of my beagle. It took a long time to get a routine back, but at this point I go somewhere each day of the week. Being around others is the best medicine of all. When I was sick I would go for days without seeing another person and spend week after week never getting out of the house. Some comments on my life now: I'm usually pretty happy and if not I am happy, I am content. This is never what I planned my life to be like but there are some good things about it. I have time for crafts, hobbies, reading, and writing. I am so much more empathetic. I understand a lot more about others after having gone through what I have. I try to focus on gratitude, what I do have, rather than what I don't have. Every day is a new day and a new adventure. I've developed a spiritual life that I didn't have before. Pays 10 points and 52 member cents.

© Copyright 2010 dejohnsrld All rights reserved.

Exceptional Christmas visit to a horse ranch Christmas at the Horse Ranch by dejohnsrld Artwork by catmal on FanArtReview.com Author View Author Tools:   FAQ:  What are certificates? | What are stars? | How do I become a ranked author?  Category:  Biographical Non-Fiction   Posted:  December 26, 2010      Views: 49 The Author Christmas at the Horse Ranch I remember the Christmas when I was 15 years old. My mother, sister and I went to Arkansas with a friend to stay at her father's horse ranch. It was a long snowy ride from Iowa to Arkansas, but as we got closer, the snow let up and we were then driving on dirt roads muddied by the rain. This was actually harder to navigate on than the snow. The tires were picking up clumps of mud and throwing them on to the windshield. We didn't arrive at the ranch until 1:00 AM. we arrived at our accommodations, a rather rustic cabin. It was heated by a wood burning stove downstairs and that floor had electricity and running water to the kitchen sink only. The upstairs where we slept required an extra layer of blankets and a lantern for light. The restroom facilities were outside in the outhouse. It was as though we had turned the clock back several decades. As we had arrived there very early Christmas eve morning, we took a lantern upstairs and tried to get a few hours of rest. When we woke up, it was time to help with the Christmas Dinner preparations. Because I had done a little cooking, I was placed in charge of pies. Unlike how most of us use shortening to make pie crusts, we used lard. I'm sure it wasn't good for our arteries, but those were by far the best pies I have ever eaten. After cooking, we walked over to a coniferous forest and picked out our fresh Christmas tree which we cut down and brought to the house. Then we took care of the horses and went for a short ride. We had soup and sandwiches by the wood-burning stove for supper and then played board games in between trips to the outhouse. About mid-evening we realized it was snowing, not a blizzard like in Iowa, but a few light and fluffy flakes like in the scene on a Christmas card. Along about 10 PM, we took the lantern and went to bed. We were very tired, but much too excited to sleep, so we spent most of the night chatting and waiting for daylight so we could use the outhouse. We got up Christmas morning to find about two inches of snow on the ground making it look like a winter wonderland. Just like at home, we had stockings and gifts. After the unwrapping was completed, it was time for Christmas dinner including my pies which were the hit of the day. I have tried to make pies with lard at home but have never been able to replicate the pies we had on that special Christmas. That afternoon we spent sledding and getting to know the horses. The sun sets so early in the evening, that we barely had time to play. We had a supper of sandwiches and leftovers and then played cards until we were too tired to hold our eyes open any longer. All of the fresh air that day had really worn us out. We took the lantern and went upstairs. This time we feel asleep right away. The day after Christmas the sun shone brightly and warmly, and the snow melted rapidly. The trails were back to mud by the time we got the horses ready to ride. We explored trails all afternoon. By supper time, we were so tired we ate and went to bed. After a good night's sleep, it was time to head home having been much enriched by our trip to the horse ranch. I have treasured these memories for years. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Notes The year would have been 1977. Pays one point and 2 member cents. © Copyright 2010 dejohnsrld All rights reserved. dejohnsrld has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.