Tag: life

THE QUILT

Posted in Inspiration, Poetry, writing3 Comments

Life is a quilt,
one created over time,
one square, one stitch
placed just so
over weeks,
months, decades.
Sometimes the stitches
knot up, tangled
in unexpected
life events:
death of a love one,
divorce,
too much of this
too little of that.
And then
it smooths out
when new bonds
are made,
babies are born,
life goes on.
The quilt spreads,
covering the span of life,
bringing comfort
and protection.
The quilt of life,
the connectedness
that bridges divides.

Check the BOOKS tab to find out more about my work. Follow me at www.vandermeerbooks.com, https://www.facebook.com/vandermeerbooks, Amazon Author Central. I’m also a member of the Las Vegas Literary Salon, a group committed to sharing the work of local writers. Follow LVLS at lvnmlitsalon.org. Thanks for reading, commenting on, and sharing this post.

OPEN AND CLOSE

Posted in Inspiration, Poetry4 Comments

Silver Lining

I pray to live into God’s promise,
and embrace the gifts of life and opportunity
with joy and optimism,
living in hope and grounded in faith.

I thank God for mercy and compassion,
the comfort of his love that
brings peace to a troubled soul,
and opens doors to joy.

May I have the wisdom and strength
to close the door on disappointment and anger,
and instead, thank God for love without measure,
forgiveness without limits.

Truth be told

Posted in Life, Poetry, She said...

More from the April Writer’s Digest challenge, the brain child of Robert Lee Brewer, a WD editor and blogger at Poetic Asides. The first of these is personal, based on the prompt to write an ekphrastic poem, a poem inspired by a work of art – photograph, sculpture, or some other creation. Words of Art is based on a wooden wall hanging given to me by Kathy Allen for my birthday last year.

Kathy Gift 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

WORDS OF ART

“a good friend
knows all of
your stories,
a best friend
helped you write them.”
So reads the wooden wall hanging
given to me by a dear friend
for my seventy-fifth birthday.
On the backside she wrote,
“We’ve made many stories
during our 55 years
(and counting)
of friendship.
Let’s write more!”

Eight months later
she and her husband were gone.
A terrible accident,
one that took two amazing
people and the stories we
– and they –
would write.
They went from this life
to the most profound
adventure of them all.
Yet, I grieve still.
They were and are a part of my heart.
This crafty wooden work of art
carries wisdom and memories in equal measure.
Take no moment for granted.
Treasure those you love.

BEING OTHER

Change is a coin,
a thought,
a mind,
an idea,
a life.

Change suggests
being other
than we are now,
influenced by
opinions,
facts,
experiences,
truths and lies.

Being other
than who you are
right now,
can be better,
or worse,
an improvement,
or cataclysmic devastation.

Who decides if
you will be other
than who you are today?
Society?
Friends?
Enemies?

Surround yourself
with people who
challenge you
yet give you encouragement.
it is the melding of the two
that makes being other,
be you.

COMMUNICATION

If the missive is massive
the meat of the message
may get lost in translation.
Massive experience forms
intellectual confidence…
or does it form massive
pride and disregard for
opposite opinions?
When you communicate,
keep it simple
(not dumbed down)
but understandable,
relatable, perhaps
a touch compassionate.
A few words well said
may make a massive,
life-changing difference
to someone in need
of a voice whispering
in the light.

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Poetry in Notion

Posted in Inspiration, Poetry, She said...

Apple Blossoms

SPACED OUT

Give me space!
I have no place
in life’s maddening race,
where I exist, by God’s grace,
yet hunger to see a familiar face
as distancing makes its case,
to be masked with haste!
To ward away the virus’ pace,
advancing, advancing! Lives laid waste…

FOLLOW THE LIGHT

One candle, one light
sputtering and stuttering.
Winds of change cannot,
will not smother its glow.
The light of truth
grows brighter
moment-by-moment,
overshadowing the darkness of lies.

 

A NEW WORLD

How will what I do in this moment
give hope and help to someone else,
so they know the hellish world of today
will not always be this way?

For something more, my heart yearns.

Make this New World, when it begins,
one full of kindness and comfort,
love, one for another, rippling, flowing
as toward the future we are going.

We ask for ‘normal’ to return.

For something more my heart yearns,
a New World where words of care
are backed up by action taken,
the status quo shaken, shaken.

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April PAD Challenge

Posted in Life, Poetry

RoseI’m belatedly taking part in the Writer’s Digest April Poem a Day Challenge. Below are three new works. Enjoy.

QUIRKS WORK

Life at its best is quirky for you,
and at its worst, it’s quirky too;
you start with one thing in your head,
and life throws you a spanner instead!
A monkey wrench, if you will,
a quirk to give you a chill
taking over your plan for the day
in an annoyingly unexpected way.
Or… it brings a new quest
that shows you at your amazing best.
The outcome of quirks are up to us,
Disasters or adventures, no need to fuss.
Make the best of life’s quirks;
find in yourself what really works.

 

SOCIAL DIALOGUE

You asked me to dance.
I said, NO! Not a chance.
There are many things I’d like to do,
one of them is to NOT dance with you.
Why, you may ask,
am I not up to the task?
You are an elephant; I’m a giraffe
everyone would look at us and laugh!
This social dialogue ends with a grin,
animals talking, it’s my poetic whim.

 

WANDER ON A CROOKED ROAD

In the way of life on the dusty road,
it turns and twists, wanders here and there,
gives rise to questions without answers.
The chatter of dissenting voices mirrors the road,
turning and twisting, giving rise to answers for questions unasked.
The road bends and dips, throwing life onto a battered field,
knocking it cold but for the hot tears that stream from life.
What is that shooting up from the ground
where salty tears touched the soil?
It is a flowering vine, that quickly grows,
turning the field into a meadow,
lush and abounding with life.
Life shakes off despair and sets off once again
to wander on the crooked road.

More later this week. Please let me know what you think. Like, comment, share.

Follow Sharon at:
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Abundance

Posted in Inspiration, Life

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

LightJesus didn’t show up out of the blue, and nothing about his time on earth was a cake walk. These cliché observations reflect random acts and living the high life. Christ came – and comes – at just the right time so we, frail and flawed humans, may live abundantly. Not next week, next year or when we get to Heaven, but now. So, what does that word “abundant” mean? Not being a theologian, I don’t recommend taking my thoughts as gospel, but I think it means making the most of who you are, where you are and what you are doing right now. You can never know what a difference you make by speaking a kind word, smiling instead of frowning, sharing instead of hoarding, laughing instead of crying, being faithful and having faith in the face of doubt.  Live abundantly and pass it on.

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I am a writer and I have a writing business. Contact me for free consultation about your writing needs. Write Stuff Writing Services

 

Courage

Posted in Arts, Inspiration, Poetry

Sundown

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” 1 Peter 3:13-14

Sometimes courage shows
when we do the right thing;
when we stay quiet
in the cacophony of raised voices;
when gossip is being spread about.
Perhaps it is speaking faith
by your actions
when others say, “There is no God.”
Could it be prayer raised
on behalf of someone who is not like you
or who has treated you badly?
Don’t fear what other people think;
be true to who God made you to be,
that is the step-by-step journey
called courage.

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Photo: pexels.com

My town

Posted in Las Vegas, New Mexico, Life, Poetry1 Comment

My town is people
who care about each other
and the future,
integrity and hospitality,
creative energy.
My town
has dedicated entrepreneurs,
some just starting out,
some stalwart and foundational
to my town.
Some struggle,
some thrive,
some have hope,
some have drive.
My town
looks to the future,
plans for tomorrow,
lives today with anticipation.
Many hands
work to make better
what is already pretty great –
My Town.

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Tiny Tome #1

Posted in Books, Inspiration1 Comment

cover 6x9I write daily devotionals; it is part of my faith practice. The resulting brief essays are part meditation and part writing exercise. I have quite an accumulation and decided to select 31 for my first tiny tome digital book, Joy in the Morning, Words of Hope and Encouragement. Some are in prose form, some are written as poems.

The books will only be available on this site and in e-format. I hope you are inspired by Joy in the Morning, Words of Hope and Encouragement. Below is a sample.

 

Day 25
Temptation
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

Temptation is a beast. Not always a ravening beast, one that is evident and huge, jerking you around with relish; sometimes it is far more subtle, a gentle nudge here and there to compromise your values and your morals. C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters pointed out the gradual slide into sin. “You are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness,” Screwtape says to Wormwood. “It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing… Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one.”

God’s promise is the trump card. When we know the beast is at our doors, we know God is there ahead of it, ready to stand with us to overcome.

~§~

I will appreciate you downloading Joy in the Morning, Words of Hope and Encouragement, and tell me what you think of it. The next tiny tome will be a collection of short stories.

The revision of Future Imperfect, a story of the apocalyptic consequences of manipulating nature, will begin posting soon.

 

A musing

Posted in Opinion, Views8 Comments

Sharon Vander MeerThoughts on aging

I am old but it pisses me off… makes my blood boil… grinds on me… is a rude awakening when people treat me like I’m old. Even worse, I recall treating old people the same – or worse – when I was young. The following is a short list of comments I would prefer people keep to themselves.

Isn’t she sweet. Puleeze. Some of the crotchiest people I know are old and they have every right to be crotchety. Nothing works the way it used to. Sometimes peeing is the priority and there is NO BATHROOM IN SIGHT! Your kids rarely call. You spend way too much time wondering how time got away from you. The bucket list sprung a leak a long time ago and all your dreams drained away. You would be crotchety, too.

She sure is feisty. What the hell does that mean and why is is applied more often to old women than anyone else? People with a few miles on them have learned the value of persistence, hard work, dedication, and self-denial. There’s nothing “feisty” about that. It’s plain common sense.

Let me get that for you. Yes, it is nice for people to lend a helping hand, but sometimes it makes older folks feel helpless and hopeless. Age-related changes become more evident when you can’t bend over and pick up something you’ve dropped, or the door to the post office is too heavy for you to open on your own. You appreciate the courtesy of kind gestures, but it irritates you as well because someone decides you can’t do it for yourself. Go figure.

Is that appropriate attire for a woman your age? Oh, it’s never said that way outright, but subtly raised eyebrows or a snicker behind the hand conveys volumes without a word being said. I’m delighted the fashion of the ’50s that put women in house dresses with no thought to style has come and gone. Women no longer must fit a mold. I don’t care if leggings are only meant for young skinny women; I’ll wear them anyway. Life is too short to let anyone dictate one’s style.

You don’t look your age. Gloria Steinem famously said to the person who told her she didn’t look 40, “This is what 40 looks like.” This is what aging looks like. Telling someone they don’t look their age when they clearly do, is an insult. Mom used to say, “I’ve earned every wrinkle and gray hair.” So have I. Life is good, even joyful most of the time. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. No one does. I do know I will be about the business of living fully and with anticipation. I believe that no matter what age you are, you can have hope for new adventures, even when the adventure is a trip to Charlie’s for a cup of Starbucks.

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