Some Little Poems

Below are a smattering of short poems I've written. Some are in a  7-line syllabic form called "Pyramid Poetry." (To know more, see Pyramid Poetry, described by Justin Stone, who founded the T'ai Chi Chih program I teach.)

WORDS 

Words wiggling inside of me, 

struggling (with a smile) 

to emerge. 

Like old friends, words feeling familiar, 

yet also open to shedding 

that familiarity 

and (re)appearing in 

new forms. 

 

... 

 

Open.  

I'm ready. 

What's coming? 

Unknown. 

What's to do? 

Nothing. 

 

... 

 

a sense of words waiting 

to erupt, to flow,  

to be transcribed  

from unclear sensations 

into well-formed consonants and vowels. 

 

... 

 

Moved to write, I see it's already been written! 

 

... 

      Here 

      I AM 

writing words 

That fill me up 

  Give me joy. 

    Each one 

     Sings! 

 

... 

 

    Words 

  Are fun 

 To welcome 

As they arrive 

  And settle 

    In their  

     Place 

 

... 

 

      Words 

       arise 

   and are lost 

   if not written 

   and preserved 

      forever 

        new 

 

.... 

 

Sometimes words flow easily 

mirroring the flow or glow of emotions 

within. 

 

... 

 

      Words 

    Coming 

     Arising  

   like tai chi chih 

      poetry 

     moving 

      chi 

 

 

Nature 

 

             Trees 

          Nourish  

         And uplift 

       With energy 

       That delights 

        And calms 

                Me 

 

             Full 

       The moon 

        Is tonight. 

     The flower moon 

      Burning bright, 

         Streaming 

            Light 

... 

 

       Moon 

     resting  

   in the sky 

Sensing dawn 

     it begins 

       to set 

        down 

 

 

JOY 

 

      God  

      Is in 

    My body 

    And also yours 

     Together 

      We are  

       God 

… 

 

       You 

    Are me, 

  Together 

We become One. 

   Together 

    WE ARE 

       ONE 

 

        You 

     Are me, 

    Together 

We become One. 

   Together 

       I AM 

       You. 

 

So much truth, coursing through my body, 

Faster than my mind can find the words 

Than my fingers can play the tune 

Faster than my brush can draw the shape. 

 

      That 

       Is it. 

     Or is it? 

Not really that. 

     Not really. 

      And yet, 

          Is. 

       

         Joy 

       Expands 

   The moment 

    Making it grow, 

         Elongate, 

       Spread out, 

            Shine. 

 

... 

 

        I 

 stand here 

Stand alone 

Never alone 

You are here 

    With me.  

     You. 

 

... 

 

     We 

  are here 

  all of us 

breathing life in 

    reaching out 

     always 

     ONE 

 

... 

              This 

            Is what 

        You get when 

      My love shines bright 

          And surrounds  

            Us all 

            Now. 

 

... 

                    Sad 

               Was here 

          And now gone 

         Where did it go? 

            Or perhaps 

                 it was 

                  Not. 

 

 

... 

       You  

      inspire 

    and pull forth 

     passionately 

    that which lives 

       within 

         us. 

 

... 

 

      What  

     is this 

  that fills me, 

   envelops me, 

    embraces 

   with love 

       still. 

 

MY BIRTHDAY 

 

5/10/24 

            This 

         moment, 

        this "today" 

     is my birth-day: 

         I arrived, 

           safely, 

            here. 

            

... 

 

        Birth 

     Each Day 

     As if new, 

 Grateful each time 

   morning comes, 

        with new 

           Life. 

 

       Work 

      Awaits 

  My attention 

   My time, my care 

     Not today. 

         Later. 

         Work. 

 

 

... 

          Mind 

        grabs on 

         to ideas 

     without substance 

          pretending 

            to be 

            real. 

 

... 

              Hope 

           Despair 

          Canceling 

       Each other out. 

         I choose not 

            Either 

              One 

 

... 

 

Today 

This face, 

My face, 

has a new line. 

Has aged. 

Cracked. 

No longer the smooth facade 

Of youth… 

At last. 

 

... 

           Dark 

     Thoughts came 

         Confusing  

    Made me cranky 

      Looked within. 

          Saw me. 

            Raw. 

 

 

... 

 

This Day 

 

I'm here 

Right now 

With no expectations. 

No future.. 

Except what is in my calendar! 

 

Will hunger drive me, move me toward my next now? 

 

Will it be hunger for food, for creative expression, for connection, for God? 

 

My calendar contains a road map I might follow.  

 

Or not. 

... 

                Here 

             and then 

           we were gone 

           only to return 

          now here again 

                happy 

                now 

 

... 

                 Fear 

             finds us 

            whenever  

             separation 

             causes us 

               to lose 

              breath. 

 

... 

                    Time  

                  will tell 

                 the secrets 

              we try to hide 

                and always 

                    reveal 

                    truth. 

 

... 

I smiled today. Even though the bombs still fall. 

 

I smiled today. Even though horrid things have happened. 

 

I smiled today. Even though. 

 

... 

 

Magic isn't always fireflies 

or dragons 

or a winning streak. 

 

Sometimes magic is like an invisible  

blanket  

wrapping me in its sweet folds. 

 

... 

Today 

maybe 

I'm a poet. 

At other times, I'm an artist, 

a musician, a wife, a lover, 

a bookkeeper. 

No longer a daughter. 

No longer lots of roles. 

Or maybe 

Just a change of clothes. 

 

... 

Adrift. 

Like an Autumn leaf 

floating, 

leaving, 

not yet arriving. 

... 

Sleep eludes me, 

Like a shy creature hovering nearby, remaining just out of reach. 

 

... 

 

Sometimes there are no words.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Am Here - written 10/12/2023

Written after the 10/7/23 Hamas attack on Israel, and before Israel's response in Gaza.

I Am Here  

I am here.

In Hebrew, "Hineni."

This is what Moses said, when God called to him from a burning bush.

I am here. Hineni.

My heart, my body, my soul 

are here, present, focusing  attention

on the sacredness of this present moment.

I. Am. Here. Grounded in the center of my being.

And yet, I am not here.

I am 6,000 miles away.

I am in Israel, I am in Gaza.

I am in the hearts of those who have lost loved ones in heinous ways.

I am in the hearts of those who fear they will soon lose loved ones.

I wish.

I wish I could enter the hearts

of those who hate and kill.

I wish I could open their hearts 

to my Presence. 

To the Presence of All Life.

Hineni.

I am there, joining hearts with those who continue to reach for Peace in the midst of so much anger and righteousness, generations of anger and righteousness.

Hearts hardened in a history of wronging and being wronged. Hearts hardened as they perpetuate more wrong-doing.

Hineni. I am there.

The world teeters, unsure of finding balance in the madness of religion and the might of power.

Hineni. I am Here.

I am here

with Mahatma Ghandi

whose plea to embrace religious tolerance even India has forgotten.

I am there

6,000 miles away

where families pray and so-called leaders and zealots prey upon each other.

Hineni.

I am here.

My heart beats with yours,

whether you feel it or not.

Even if yours has been hardened.

I wish 

I could wave a heart flag

and end all war.

Hineni.

I am here, with my own, still living breath.

I am here. I grieve with you as the breath of your loved ones expire.

Hineni. I surrender to inner peace even as horror surrounds me. 

Even as helplessness threatens to suffocate me.

Reach Out to Re-Connect!

I recently attended a wonderful Authentic Voice workshop with Stephanie Heidemann. At one point, she invited us to let our voices express the differing elements of earth, air, fire and water.

That reminded me of Orton Graves, a drummer with whom I played flute 30 years ago.

Days after we had met and briefly played together at a party, smeone asked me to play for her chakra workshop. She wanted a flute and a drum. (This was long before drum circles!) I called Orton, not knowing if he was familiar with chakras (he was). I said, "She wants us to play something different for each of the chakra colors, is that something you could do?" He said, "Sure, yes. In fact, I was just playing purple!"

Wow, was I excited! We continued to play together. Once, we recorded ourselves playing the seasons! Another time, we played on stage for an AIDS benefit. For that, we played the life cycle, birth to death. Somehow we were able to communicate, flute & drum, so that our music flowed and expressed whatever theme we chose.

Orton drummed for dance classes, and he taught drumming. He invited me to play with his class. I suggested, and he used, the name "Wild Palms: A Florida Percussion Group" when we performed.

It has been many years since we'd been in touch. I was looking forward to calling him and reminiscing. I just discovered it's too late. 

When you think of someone, let them know. Don't postpone reaching out to reconnect. 

R.I.P. Orton. May the music of your soul bring joy wherever you are.

https://www.westsidefh.com/obituary/Orton-Graves

Words Arising, Reaching Out

 

Words

arise

from within,

seeking release,

reaching out,

touching

you.

poem 3/2022. art 4/2021. 

Remembering Aunt Addie

Remembering my aunt who passed on six years ago today. This was my eulogy for her.

Eulogy

I can't believe she's gone. My Aunt Addie was the most vibrant, alive​​ woman.​ She was always there.​ ​The best of aunts. ​She was ​​family.. MY family..  we were so close... She would tell me stories of my childhood that I had no memory of. But I always remembered the feeling of closeness.​ She was always there.​

And I do have many memories of our times together... One in particular stands out. When I was in my 30s, she was in her 40s and my mom was in her 50s, we took a trip together. The 3 of us.​ ​We roamed through Northern California to Nevada..  Away from Albany and their husbands, my mom and Addie let their hair down and revealed their wild side.

What a wonderful time we had. Addie definitely knew how to have a good time.​

People ​have ​often commented that I look like Addie. We both loved that! Sometimes she felt like an older sister to me. 

O​ther ​memories​ are of Addie at her 80th birthday party, and at my mom's 90th. And being with Addie at Uncle Bill's funeral. . And ​al​so​,​ tragically, at Mason's. I'm so very sorry to not be here today, to stand by my ​Myers ​cousins as they lay their mother to rest.​ Dean, EJay, Michael... thanks for sharing your mom with all of us.​

Addie was to ​come to Florida, ​this month, ​for my mom's ​​94th birthday.​ ​We were all looking forward to that. I can't believe she's gone.

I always had great admiration for my Aunt Addie, for the way she lived her life​,​ ​both as a married woman and, in these last years, on her own.

​Her legacy, the values she leaves behind, include strength - the willingness to do what needs doing...   and curiosity​ - a lifelong interest in learning, educating herself, expanding her knowledge and awareness. Addie knew how to grasp the pleasure in life, even when it's not so obvious. 

What I'd really like to say about Addie, is what I saw on a t-shirt offered for sale online: "My Aunt was freakin cool."  

​

She will be greatly missed.​

​

~ Diana

(Read for me by my brother, at Addie’s memorial service.)

2021 - so far

 Well. It's February now. Winter snow blankets much of our country. Here in Florida, the weather has been fabulous. I began taking daily walks a few weeks ago. I discovered that TREES have unique energies and seem to reach out to me in positive ways. So I began to draw them...