Blythely Dancing

 #353 Crystal ritual I call upon elements wake me to fortune #354 Binding, constriction, limitation, structure can create space, freedom #355 Show children ballet evil spells, graceful dancing La Scala "Swan Lake" #356 So beautiful is the Prince - will our Prince also be so beautiful? #357 Heilige Abend Family, feasting, delights Most holy of nights #358 What gifts do you have latent within, awaiting their time to be shared #359 Much celebration embarrassment of riches savor blessed wealth

 #339 Inspired by Modern Tarot Page of Pentacles stop daydreaming, start doing path to master craft #340 Need a container rich environment for growth safe to take the risks #341 inspired by Modern Tarot Jasmine-infused dream scented inspiration lead to profound insight #342 inspired by "The Nutcracker" Sugar Plums prancing snowflakes, flowers, candies waltz children's dreams dancing #343 Embracing humid plumeria/jet fuel fantasy of home #344 Leaping into faith put money where my mouth is link arms to get coached #345 Can it be twelve months since we lost your shining light tender grave visit

 #325 Forty days left in the year twenty twenty-one these twenties roar on #326 Flood-salvaged barrel former service holding wine story-filled table #327 Weissburgunder wine Red grapes without their skins make delectable drinks #328 Late November chill grey skies hang low, wind biting layer, bundle up #329 Bleeding all the time fertility flows over nature letting go #330 Alchemical mix elements evidence-based intuitive charged #331 Free to ride all day twenty-four hour ticket takes me to where I want

 #304 Right now, be fulfilled, content, grateful, abundant, thankful and complete #305 Two hundred morning pages, three hundred yoga sessions, more grateful #306 Slivery moon hangs birds atwitter at twilight greet the breaking dawn #307 Winter fairy, blown on frosty winds, buffeted snow twinkling crystal #308 Inspired by Jolynne Anderson Daily joyful moves discover your own music true self empowered                                    Jolynne Anderson screen shot from our interview, Podcast 071   #309 Out dancing with queers delighted by company sexiest people #310 White dry erase board blank slate of the possible tabula rasa

 #199 For love, they say, the best reason--only reason?-- to move far away #200 Almost quarantined COVID case in ballet class- glad vaccinated! #201 Joyous and gracious spread uplifting happiness graceful and joyful #202 Peering telescope, microscope, magnify, look though different lenses #203 Shiny fresh-cleaned floors vacuumed, mopped, newly grit-free smooth beneath bare feet #204 Braided together stress-tangled muscle fibers trauma tapestry #205 Bee, like the honey- maker, flitting, gathering beautiful flowers

 #102  Achtzehn, Klettenberg fuenf Minuten mehr Sonne Geniess den Fruehling #103 Mensch von Moeglichkeit(en) a magical person of possibility #104 Finally en route waiting patiently, sort of to get what I need #105 (inspired by Virginia) Isn't life always so exciting? Make room for positive to come #106 (inspired by Quran 186) I am near, answer the call of the caller when they call upon me #107 Little flippy heart remember how brave you are beat strong, you got this!

 #89 In order to think outside the box, one first must have and fill the thing #90 Lighthearted, springtime bubbles up, flows forth, spills out joy on the landscape #91 April picnicking feasting on the sunny lawn friendly relaxing #92 Dirty queer poet telling sexy fantasy diversity, truth #93 How quickly can you let everything which lies right behind you go

#81 Having slept poorly dreamt of flying on a plane, searching for a mask #82 (inspired by Nikolais-Louis) Time is duration for the space between events to fulfill itself  #83 Dancer is ably manipulating the time, perception of flow #84 Vietnamese food two blocks pas our normal Thai intrigue satisfied #85 Escape together imaginary bondage intellect breaks free #86 Wo? Wohin? Woher? Diese Woerter sollen den (?) Kasus erlaeren #87 Sending love letters sweet energy flows through ink then flies through the air #88 Wassertrettstation where one can walk through water hiking Koenigsforst

 #18 Jacaranda you are such a pretty sight there standing, blossoms purple #19 Curry and toppings shredded coconut, peanut,  chutney, pineapple #20 Cartons of creamy ice, the freezer stuffed chockful his favorite, Breyer's. #21 (Inauguration Poem) Alike, only in  ideals: freedom, justice, hope, diversity #22 None could carry off fur coat, hat, and shiny shoes like you, my pretty #23 Looking ahead, while being right here like a bird, treetop, listening

Here's my next batch of poems in my Haiku Challenge, experimenting with English and German and I'm bound to make mistakes, but it's my challenge, so I can do what I want to! :)  #9 Think only of Me: infinite divinity now, blessed present #10 Where Tutu lived were rainbows, colorful flowers, laughter, songful birds #11 Cusp of magic born under the strawberry moon dancing blithely forth #12 What will you plant here? In dark and fallow fields will high grains grow again? #13 Golden finches fly Coffee, toast, strawberry jam Captain Cook breakfast #14 Momi, with five and hundred, finally ready to make her way home #15 Ist mein eigene Gehirn wirklich genug schwimmfahig zu sein? #16 Wet 'n Wild lipstick tone matching mumu and pedicure, too #17 Voegel warten auf verbotten Voegelfutter bei dem aelter Heim

Is joy a good or necessary thing? Is happiness somehow bad, evil, or unworthy? This is not a comprehensive study, just a couple brief poetic ideas about whether it is right to enjoy life. A Brief for the Defense By Jack Gilbert Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies are not starving someplace, they are starving somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils. But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants. Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not be fashioned so miraculously well. The poor women at the fountain are laughing together between the suffering they have known and the awfulness in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody in the village is very sick. There is laughter every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta, and the women laugh in the cages of Bombay. If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction, we lessen the importance of their deprivation.

Happy Earth Day! Oops, already shared my one explicitly environmental poem on day 20… Still deeply concerned about the state of our planet and keen to preserve our ecosystem for future generations of humans and all of the creatures. What actions will you take to protect habitat, reduce your footprint, and cherish the earth today?  I suppose a sense of wonder at creation is related to a sense of responsibility and stewardship, so poetry- wise my themes of the day are innocence and exploration, reverence and discovery. The William Blake excerpt contemplates time and space through concrete experience of this moment, and my original of the day (from 2010) explores the drive to find connection.  From “Auguries of Innocence” By William Blake To see the World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour. Impulse by Blythe Stephens Searching Fumbling I stumble Impulsive But impuls

Today’s poems deal with heaviness and lightness, the fleeting nature of life, the flow of the tides, and the depth of truth. Isn’t it incredible what can be expressed by so few words? What Are Heavy? by Christina Rossetti What are heavy? Sea-sand and sorrow: What are brief? Today and tomorrow: What are frail? Spring blossoms and youth: What are deep? The ocean and the truth. I wrote this poem 20 years ago, and it still rings true for me.  Buoyed Up by Blythe Stephens I want to swim Fast and far In clear water Buoyed up by something More powerful than myself Push my limits I want to make something of my voice Tell my story Begging to be known Hew straight for the core No obliquely hemming and hawing Bypass the fear that it’s been told before (It’s all been said, but no matter) Recounting, no, counting Events of my splendid existence And it is splendid indeed There is much yet to show- by me!

Marge Piercy is another of my favorite poets, introduced to me by Yishan in Portland. She got one of her poetry collections for me on a visit together to the In Other Words feminist bookstore (where I spent quite a bit of time) and I’ll never forget it. Feeling the hope of spring right now through the anxiety and fear of pandemic quarantine. Dirty Poem Marge Piercy Snow lies on my fields Though the air is so warm I want to roll on my back and wriggle. Sure, the dark downhill weep shows who’s winning, and the thatch of tall  grass is sticking out of the banks, But I want to start digging and planting. My swelling hills, my leafbrown loamy Soil interlaced with worms red as mouths, My garden, Why don’t you hurry up And take your clothes off? This is an oldie by me, capturing a collegiate moment of angst. I wouldn’t say it’s a masterwork, but it does capture that time for me: Lost in Flecks By Blythe Stephens When I look into their faces, What d

For day three I’m bringing one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems, but she certainly may appear again this month, as I have a bunch of favorites among her collection. Her themes of the beauty of nature and appreciation for life always lift me up. Why I Wake Early By Mary Oliver Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who make the morning And spread it over the fields And into the faces of the tulips And the nodding morning glories, And into the windows of, even, the Miserable and the crotchety— Best preacher that ever was, Dear star, that just happens To be where you are in the universe To keep us from ever-darkness, To ease us with warm touching, To hold us in the great hands of light— Good morning, good morning, good morning. Watch, now, how I start the day In happiness, in kindness. Am I really going to be able to come up with, and deign to share, 30 poems of my own? I start to doubt myself. But this is part of a sneaky plan to catalogue my pa