Blog Archives

Our Journey Home

3/31/2026

Hello blog friends,

I have two poems to share and two stories to tell. First, Yvette hosts Tanka Tuesday this week, and she has invited us to focus on something fun or annoying. Well, since we're in the Easter season, and chocolate candy abounds, my poem is intentionally playful.

I remember the Easter egg hunts with family and friends. And, I also vividly recall the mess. But truly, who can get mad at a little guy like the one in this Canva photo? You may not want to give the child a hug, but chuckles abound, don't you agree?

Growing up on a farm, we mostly had hard-boiled eggs dyed with food coloring. But...there were a few chocolate bars for us to munch on as well. How about you? Did you participate in Easter Egg hunts, and was your basket full of delights?

My second story:

A couple of decades ago, I accompanied a friend to one of Paramahansa Yogananda's temples in Los Angeles. I knew nothing of Yogananda at that time, other than he was a Hindu priest.

My friend and I walked the grounds and then went through the temple. In the main gathering room stood an altar, and on it rested the images of six holy men. One was of Jesus. I was very surprised, but as I looked around, I began to understand. These six holy men taught a message of love. All were Hindu, except Jesus, who they believed embodied their truths.

For many of us, this week is a time of prayerful reflection on universal truths. Despite our differences, I believe we are all brothers and sisters, and Love provides us with the pathway Home.

My simple Tanka poem:

Have a wonderful rest of the week, dear friends....

31 Comments

A Poem about Choice

3/24/2026

20 Comments

Hello, blog friends ~

I've another poem and reflection to share. This week, Melissa Lemay is the host of Tanka Tuesday, and she asks that interested folks create a Hautt poem, which she describes as:

content-driven, pursuing “wisdom and eternal truth”;
a hexastich poem of six lines;
syllabic with 4-5-2-2-5-4 syllables; and
unrhymed.

My contribution is inspired by an experience I had fifteen years ago. I'll explain:

In 2011, I was working at a college located near Camp Pendleton in California. At that time, large numbers of Marines and Soldiers were returning from service in the Middle East, and many enrolled in classes at the college. Almost all of these Veterans dealt with post-traumatic stress, but many also had physical injuries. Their world contrasted starkly with that of the other students.

I transformed my office complex into a Veterans Center for these young men to congregate. Then, on May 2, 2011, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed. I walked into the complex that morning, saw the disillusion, and was told, "No one cares!" These brave men had imagined that their fellow students would thank them or at least acknowledge this pivotal event. No one did.

I share this personal story as a reminder that we see through our own experience. On campus that fateful day, students had organized to complain that the coffee cart didn't have the flavors they wanted. The Veterans were right -- their classmates didn't know or care about Osama bin Laden.

Harper Lee powerfully wrote, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

With Lee's words in mind, I've created my short Hautt poem. I hope you like it.

May your week be filled with laughter, and may your crossroads be simple ones. 😊 I'm heading to Phoenix for several days, where my husband has multiple appointments related to his accident. It's a dreaded drive, but I'm hoping we'll be surprised by a miracle. ❤️

20 Comments

Mother's Day in the UK

3/18/2026

32 Comments

Hello, dear blog friends,

I have another poem to share. This week, Willow hosts Tanka Tuesday, and she has asked followers to write a Nonet focused on mothers. She explained that in the UK, Mother's Day was celebrated a few days ago - on March 15th. In the USA, we will celebrate that special day on May 10th.

With all that is happening in our beautiful world, pausing to remember our mothers sounds good to me. My mom had nine babies, and many of my memories of her include her holding one of them. Later, she cherished cuddling with the grandchildren.

In the photo below, you'll find Mom in purple in the first row. BTW, this isn't all the grandchildren. Some couldn't make it to the gathering. Yep, we wear name tags when we gather to avoid mix-ups. 😊

My Nonet poem tries to capture the tenderness moms feel when holding their newborn. Ohhh, if only we had more of that peace.....

I hope you have a fantastic week. In our area, we've been issued an "Extreme Heat Warning". Whatever happened to Spring!?

32 Comments

Mesmerized...

3/10/2026

33 Comments

Hello, blog friends...

This past week has been quite the rollercoaster, hasn't it? Rather than giving the ups and downs any more energy, I invite you to consider something that Rumi, a Sufi poet and mystic, wrote 1,400 years ago. He said, "You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop."

Perplexing? Yep. His words convey a connectedness to all creation that I rarely think about, but these days I find myself considering it more often than before.

So, while pondering Rumi's ocean, I read Colleen Chesebro's poetry prompt. She asked that we write a syllabic poem inspired by a piece of art. I knew I wanted a scene of an ocean and chose a painting by Sergie Vinogradov.

My poem is a simple Tanka. Remember, "You are the entire ocean in a drop."

Sergei Vinogradov (1869-1938): Women by the Sea, 1915. Posted on Facebook by Art Infinitus.

Let's have a great week, dear friends... ❤️

33 Comments

Swaying together

3/3/2026

27 Comments

Hello, blog friends...

I'm sure you'll agree that life's challenges can overwhelm us at times. Being the fixer that I am, and probably you are too, it's hard to stand at the sidelines, when others are suffering. We want to make things better for them. And when we can't, it's a weighty burden. For me, prayer and deep silence offer solace -- usually through nature.

When I read Robbie's Tanka Tuesday prompt for this week, I smiled. She asks that we write a syllabic imagist poem. This simple assignment took me away from pressing challenges to something beautiful - a butterfly. And after I wrote the poem, I realized the poem was about each of us.

I hope you enjoy it.

Have a wonderful week, dear friends... ❤️

27 Comments