Tag: poetry

The Signing Experience

Posted in Books2 Comments

Book SigningI’ve done several readings at Tome on the Range in Las Vegas, NM, featuring my books. Every time I do one, I’m a wreck and second-guess whether I said the right things and whether people received my reading well. On Saturday at my most recent reading and signing, my friend Jim Terr recorded portions of the readings and the following is one clip of three he will be posting. I thank those who could make it on Saturday, and to those who couldn’t, I hope you enjoy this clip. And by the way, buy the books! You can find Finding Family at Tito’s Gallery or Tome on the Range. The poetry books you may buy directly from me. Contact me  at fsvandermeer@gmail.com, or order through the click buttons in the right column.

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Video: Jim Terr

Happy Halloween

Posted in Books

Joy Riding

Hootie tunes and shrieking screams
scary thingies in your dreams.
On this haunted, hunted night
what next on tap will give you fright?
Creeping, leaping, jumping, sneaking
is that a ghost at whom you’re peeking?
Tiptoe back, slither down the hall
when spooky phantoms on you call.
Get into a warm and comfy bed,
pull the covers o’er your head.
Sweet visions conjure into being,
ignore the specter on the ceiling.
Come out and play, he moans,
Halloween lasts but a day, he groans.
Laugh, laugh away your silly fear,
the pumpkin grin will bring you cheer.
Gliding ghouls are hosts to you
waiting, waiting, and then – BOO!

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Except for the photo, this is a retread from last year. The picture was taken at a hotel in Albuquerque where the employees were having a contest for the best carved pumpkin. They were all good, but this was a stand out. It’s the one we voted for :). Have a safe Halloween.

 

EVERGREEN

Posted in Inspiration1 Comment

EVERGREEN

 

Ever green is the evergreen,
stately, piercing the blue sky.
From a distance I see an outline
of a metropolis on some distant planet.

On a trail in their midst
I am a midget next to a giant,
a flittering moth flashing
through sun rays that pierce the shade.

Surrounded by pine and spruce,
pinion and fir I walk
in peace, the pine tar smell
reminding me of Christmas trees.

I walk in wonder
beneath the
canopy of branches
awed by the hand of God.

Lines, Poetry in Notion

Posted in Books, Inspiration2 Comments

Lines, Poetry in Notion ($7.50 plus tax and shipping)

Lines, Poetry in Notion

Think of how you feel about getting up in the morning to splashes of glorious color in the sky, or how you feel about your faith, your partner sleeping beside you, or the quirks of life that make you smile… or cry. That is the essence of Lines, Poetry in Notion. Poetry is for everyone. Yes, even you. It tells a story from beginning to end, in many verses or in one. It speaks to the heart and stirs the mind to contemplation or tears, or anger, or love, or any one of a dozen other reactions that invite you to explore something about yourself. Click here to see one of the poems from the book.

Lines, Poetry in Notion is available through this site using Paypal, or at online stores including Amazon.

Through Christmas, 10 percent of all sales will go to Chapter H, a Las Vegas, N.M. chapter of an international organization that supports educational opportunities for women.

25 Days of Christmas, An Advent Journey

Posted in Books

25 Days Of Christmas, An Advent JourneyThe perfect Advent Calendar! 25 Days of Christmas, An Advent Journey rejoices in the birth of Christ through poetry. Words and phrases that evoke Advent, a time of expectant waiting for the Child of Wonder, inspired each poem. The accompanying scripture reflects on the promises of old, when prophets spoke of a Son, a King, a birthplace, a promise. These brief verses will bring joy to readers who want to take a moment out of busy holiday preparations to remember who we claim as our Redeemer King, and why we celebrate His birth. Add your thoughts and prayers, perhaps your own poems, in the white space entitled “Your Thoughts.”

25 Days of Christmas, Poetry of the Season contains poems in the acrostic style with the first letter of each sentence based on the title. The poems were shared on the author’s One Roof Publishing blog (www.oneroofpublish.com) in December. A friend asked if the poems would be available in printed format. The seed was planted and has grown to be this small offering of celebration. Merry Christmas, Christ is born!

25 Days of Christmas, An Advent Journey is available through this site using Paypal, or at online stores including Amazon.

Through Christmas, 10 percent of all donations and sales will go to a Las Vegas, N.M. chapter of an international organization that supports educational opportunities for women. Donors of $10 or more will receive a complimentary copy of Lines or 25 Days.

Autumn’s Favor

Posted in Inspiration3 Comments

Chili Ristra

Come autumn, Mom couldn’t pass up
a roadside farm stand.
She had to stop, shop, buy.
The bright array of produce
– juicy apples
– plump pumpkins
– piquant chile peppers
– green and yellow squash
and more,
much better than any store.

Vibrant color,
mixed aromas of melons,
dirt from the field,
sawn wood of newly built
display stands, wobbly
yet able to bear the weight
of succulent bounty.
It made Mom grin,
and drew her in.

Chilly shopping in the open air.
Backdrop of plowed fields,
trees turning golden,
dropping leaves like confetti,
ristras glistening in the sun,
peppery red and lush,
green chilies turning in barrels
drenching the air
with the bouquet of fall,
a seasonal signal of winter’s call.

Good food
from the good earth,
to make into enchiladas,
tacos, rellanos,
beans with chicos,
cornbread sprinkled with green chile
and kernels of fresh corn.
The kitchen a place of comfort
where love settled in every nook
and came in waves from the cook.

Autumn’s favor comes
in memories
of home, warmed by
the heat of an oven
baking a surprise
fresh from the field.
Memories interwoven with time,
a yearning to go back
and see my mother’s smile,
if only for a little while.

 

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Image: clipart.com

Get Ready

Posted in Inspiration1 Comment

In Bloom

 

Life is not about big moments;
it is comprised of many small events.
Some leave you cold and confused,
others plant tiny seeds of love.

Big moments come and go,
we’re never entirely ready for them.
Small acts of kindness take root
and re-form who we are.

Get ready to be surprised by
joy that blossoms
when these tiny seeds
burst forth in laughter.

Get ready to weep
when the seed becomes compassion,
deeply felt and shared,
expressed in mercy and love.

Get ready to be there
in the moments you are needed.

To listen…
to laugh…
to cry–

Get ready.

_________________________
In memory of our good friend Jack Van Horn, a poet at heart
(Photo: clipart.com)

INSPIRATION

Posted in Arts, Inspiration3 Comments

Leonora - Light

Tea, dark and strong,
bearing a type of beauty
in its shadowy depths.
My jaded spirit rises
on wisps of steam.
I feel the Leonora of my spirit,
right, faithful and true,
not some sleepy sprite,
but a song of focused certainty
leaking out of my brain
one word, one line at a time.

Deer Me

Posted in Inspiration1 Comment

The Connection
Well, hello there

There you are, sleek and beautiful
a creature amazing and graceful,
stippled brown and buff,
your tail a fluffy white flag.

Long of leg, powerful and swift,
your gaze penetrating, full of light.
Wary and wise, watching for danger
survival instinct evident in your awareness.

Your eyes find me behind a plate of glass.
No scent to tell you I am there
but you know, and look up.
I am breathless!

I think for a moment
my heart beats in cadence with yours,
creation in tune for a span of time,
until you cut our connection and bound away,

Leaping, it seems, straight up
as you fly over the fence
followed by your family,
seeking solitude and peace.

Three's a Charm
Are you looking at me, girl?

Away We Go
And away we go!

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(c) Photos and poem: Sharon Vander Meer

Snow More

Posted in Writer's Block

Snow Down

 

Are you happy now?
Do you remember
when you moaned
and groaned,
whined and fretted.
Will this snow
ever go away?
you asked.
It’s too cold!
you said,
Will this ever end?!
you cried.
And now I am going.
It seems as though–
winter has died.
Once I was three,
four feet deep.
This is all that is left of me,
and now you fret
because it is still winter
yet I am dwindling,
fading,
drying up.
Are you happy now?

___________________
Photo: (c) Sharon Vander Meer

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