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January 23, 2020 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment
What does this photo say to you?
I’m thinking we’ll do this every week … maybe more… with a new photo.
Write a short poem or lyric about what you feel when you see this photo. Does it speak to you? Speak to it. Speak to us.
Share your thoughts, words, and your poetry invoking photos with us as well in the comments. I’ll push them to posts as they come in. Hope you share yours.
Peace,
Jo

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August 10, 2014 | Categories: Haiku, Musings, NEW!, Pictures, Poetry, Prose, Uncategorized, Writing, Your Turn | Tags: comments, feelings, poetry, poets, sharing, thought-provoking, words, writers, writing, your thoughts | Leave a comment
I remember childhood.
We went out after breakfast to play in the neighborhood “somewhere”. The term “neighborhood” was very loosely defined as I recall.

Lambertville,NJ ~ New Hope, PA
We went to the creek, walked on the tracks, picked berries, visited the farmers field, explored neighbors barns and garages, held “seances” where we lifted Porky Hayes with our pinky fingertips! Probably ate peanut butter crackers someone’s Mom made us all for a picnic lunch on their lawn.


Lunch over we played tag and baseball and kickball and hid in the most gawd awful dangerous places but no one made a fuss….wee regularly spent time exploring the treasures in basements and attics, barns, garages, abandoned houses. It was great.


In the evenings when it started to get dark we’d all gather together on Patty Strouse ‘ s front porch ~ home base for the famous neighborhood game: Jail Breaks (aka hide and seek) and when we were “IT” we shouted “apple, peaches, pumpkin pie, who’s not ready holler aye! Ready or not here I come!” Every night in the spring, summer and fall.

In winter we went sledding and tobogganing down Mr. Holcombe ‘s hill or the horse farm hill and yes many times we ended up in the road at the bottom. We dried our soaking wet mittens on the nearest neighbors big giant hole in the floor beautifully ornate cast iron heating grate (sometimes our own) and hung out in their living rooms until they were warm enough to wear or our toes were thawed out enough to go back out in the blizzard. We dug snow tunnels and built igloos and played in them for hours. If one collapsed we just dug out the “victims” and made a new one. No one told us that we couldn’t do it again.



We walked to and from school. Went to grandma’s at lunch then back to school. Catechism on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, church on Sunday….all by ourselves. We walked everywhere but we had to check in when the street lights came on. If we had a nickel or a dime we could walk up the hill to the corner store … (aunt Marion lived upstairs, sometimes we’d stop there if she was home from working in the hippie store in new hope…so cool!) … for a candy bar or ice cream cone. Penny candy was 3 for a penny. Sometimes we roller-skated like a band of young criminals through neighborhoods. We cut through everyone’s back yards, were allowed in for a glass of water and sometimes a band-aid.



We walked in the Halloween parade, Easter parade, labor day parade, rode decorated bikes in the memorial day parade, went to the fireworks on the 4th of july and the firemen’s carnivals all summer long where we ate cotton candy without a hint of shame. No one followed us or put us on a leash or outfitted us with cellphones or GPS trackers. We didn’t have nannies or neighborhood watch. We got in the occasional brawl, fistfight, tussle. Skinned our knees, broke our arms, got hit in the face with softball pitches (not so soft btw). And no one got sued. No one’s parents raged over to tell another kid’s parents all about it. If we got in trouble with a teacher at school, WE faced the consequences, not the teacher or school board. We learned to behave decently.

We only got 3 channels on the TV and then only if pop went up to the roof to adjust the aerial antenna while one of us stood in front of the TV to check for a clear signal while another of us hung our head out the window to yell up to the rooftop when we “got it!”. It was a big to do to watch Disney on Sunday nights or Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. We went to MomMom & PopPop’s every Sunday for dinner. We had the same pot roast, mashed potatoes and home made rice pudding for desert every single week.and we LOVED IT! We had to endure the Larry Ferrari hour before dinner and the Phillies game blasted through the neighborhood on every Dad’s TV in the afternoon. We played clarinet or cello or sang a song for pop pop and we went home full and happy to spend the evening collecting lightning bugs in a jar.


This is what childhood “used to be” and it’s a sad sad thing to have been lost before this generation could even begin to taste it.



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June 29, 2014 | Categories: Musings, NEW!, Pictures, Prose, Rants, Short Stories, Uncategorized, Writing | 2 Comments
what’s in another?
we’ll never
look like them
there’s
no stopping here
no reason
have you seen
the face in
the mirror
why question
perfection
take a good look
see what
we all have
in common
no?
exactly
look again
you hold the record
for
being
you
and what
could possibly be
wrong with
that?
© 2014, J.H.
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March 9, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tags: be yourself, happiness, image, mirror, perfection, poem, poetry, self-image | Leave a comment
(aka Life Goes On)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh
what have we here
imagine this
a flower
in bloom
beauty in the making
for a short while
not everlasting
but never ending
the petals may fold
but the seed will drop
and a new life begin
perpetual perfection
such is the design
of life
© 2014, J.H.
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February 16, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: flower, life cycle, life goes on, perpettual perfection, poem, poetry, rebirth, reincarnation, seed | Leave a comment
crystal blue skies
burning down
the
imperative
gathering
unique
perspectives
a complex
consciousness
challenges
rationality
and sanity
as always
you can’t change
who you are
© 2014, J.H.
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February 13, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: change, decisions, doubt, perspective, poem, poetry, psyche, questions, self, who you are | Leave a comment
Image

A dear friend of mine lost her Daddy today after a long illness. She is heartbroken. I didn’t quite know what to say, so I wrote it in a poem. I hope it helps her.
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February 4, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Pictures, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: Be Sound, death, dying, Frame, hope, loss, love, Picture, poem, Scenery | Leave a comment
release
my pain
the
damage
done
dream
a new
original
self
flowing
from
the
center
a
single strand
attached
to
promise
© 2014, J.H.
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February 2, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: damage, emotion, hope, original, pain, poem, poetry, promise, psyche, relationship, self | Leave a comment
transparent
harness
a fine
energy
of
elasticity
holds
down
the
fires
of
the
heart
© 2014. J.H.
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February 2, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: emotion, energy, fire, harness, heart, love, poem, poetry, relationship, transparent | Leave a comment
suspended
as a
guillotine
patented
and
balanced
quality precision
be easy
sleep now
for a
time
tomorrow
is a
better
day
© 2014, J.H.
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January 31, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: be easy, poem, poetry, relax, rest, sleep, unsound, worry | Leave a comment
pull
the pin
pressure
we’re all
on stage
for this
maiden
voyage
are you
ready
or take
it back
and
realize
that
its
only
beautiful
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January 30, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: anxiety, beauty, choices, life, poem, poetry, pressure | Leave a comment
my name is
invention
not for naught
relax
lift me
high
a
soldier’s shield
a well-worn
patina
get in
close
its
time
© 2014, J.H.
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January 30, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: action, invention, patina, poem, poetry, soldier, time, try, trying | Leave a comment
a myth
content
of
three
perfect
in
simplicity
a warm
hand
dipped
in
ice
a
moment
of
truth
© 2014, J.H.
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January 29, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: hand, ice, myth, perfect, poem, poetry, simplicity, three, triad | Leave a comment
zip up
the words
tumble
and
fall
revealing
your story
written
in grays
released
in
overarching
themes
to be
used
again
and again
sanity
is not
always
at
the
helm
© 2014, J.H.
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January 26, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: personality, poem, poetry, read between the lines, revealing, story, talking | 1 Comment
reliance
preserve
us
all
take care
the
suffering
there is
a
light
pure
of heart
have
nothing
to
fear
© 2014, J .H.
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January 26, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: fear, hope, light, poem, poetry, preserve, pure, reliance, suffering | Leave a comment
on axis
or off
revolving
unbalanced
slippage
off normal
something is
happening
here
no matter
the
cause
a pull
far larger
than
you
patterns
altered
every wall
will
fall
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January 25, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: fall, insanity, mental illness, normal, poem, poetry, sanity, unbalanced | Leave a comment
these
red walls
of need
built from
constant
hunger
waiting
for you
for less
than
asking
set them
free
purify
your
soul
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January 25, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: hunger, poem, poetry, purify, red, soul, waiting, walls, writing | Leave a comment
exponential
decay
a half life
extinguished
but carries on
one life
unpredictable
among
thousands
shine on
bring to us
life seed
hope
for
the
future
© 2014, J.H.
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January 23, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: attitude, carry on, decay, future, half life, hope, insignificance, life, unpredictable, waning | Leave a comment
blue star
of arrival
blazing bright
challenge
our history
transport us
to
a better life
among
the stars
irresistible
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January 23, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: arrival, blazing, blue, change, future, history, lure, poem, poetry, star | Leave a comment
skeptics
cornered
by the
agenda
seven times more
go back
control
your
own way
confident
in the
challenge
of
freedom
© 2014, J.H.
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January 23, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: action, belief, confidence, freedom, poem, poetry, seven, skeptic, tenet | Leave a comment
suckle not
the sacred
cow
behold
a truth
well hidden
in time
disguised
a simple
secret
a treasure
hunt
follow
the mystery
the truth
lies
© 2014, J.H.
within
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January 23, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: agnostic, atheism, cow, history, poem, poetry, religion, sacred, soul, truth, within | Leave a comment
wondrous
oceans
reveal their
story
in
mysterious
meadows
of
shadow
and
depth
spliced
by the
hand
of desire
and
haunted
obsessions
© 2014, J.H.
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January 21, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: desire, haunted, illusions, mysterious, mystery, ocean, poem, poetry, sea, secret, shadows | Leave a comment
this blanket
falling
lightly
swirling
merrily
no warmth
to be had
on the surface
but
in the soul
its beauty
brings
me
peace
© 2014, J.H.
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January 21, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: beauty, blanket, cold, peace, poem, poetry, silver lining, snow, warmth, winter | Leave a comment
raining down
a light
to feed
the fires
blackening
the skies
stand witness
divine kings
of ancient
will erupt
cover not thine
eyes
rise
or
fall
the
inscription
has
already been
written
© 2014, J.H.
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January 21, 2014 | Categories: NEW!, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing | Tags: eyes, eyes open, fate, foretold, future, history, poem, poetry, written | 3 Comments
Poetry Invoking Photos Let’s Write
What does this photo say to you?
I’m thinking we’ll do this every week … maybe more… with a new photo.
Write a short poem or lyric about what you feel when you see this photo. Does it speak to you? Speak to it. Speak to us.
Share your thoughts, words, and your poetry invoking photos with us as well in the comments. I’ll push them to posts as they come in. Hope you share yours.
Peace,
Jo
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August 10, 2014 | Categories: Haiku, Musings, NEW!, Pictures, Poetry, Prose, Uncategorized, Writing, Your Turn | Tags: comments, feelings, poetry, poets, sharing, thought-provoking, words, writers, writing, your thoughts | Leave a comment