Let Us Be Silent

Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this quote.... I often "hear" it as I paint....

Card Catalog

The Silence Alexandra Burke

Antony & the Johnsons Sing - The Guests by Leonard Cohen

Beautiful......

Jeff Buckley sings - Hauntingly beautiful

Sorry, but this has a tacky commerical you have to watch before it goes to the video....

Crying - Roy Oribson with KD Lang

I absolutely love Roy Oribson's Voice and KD Lang's.... this is a beautiful song....one of my all time favorites.

Enjoy. :)

Burning Daylight

Burning Daylight

Life changes

fast and furious
parts of me
gone forever
I am restless
burning daylight
painting and writing
for hours on end
probing
searching for forgiveness
or resolution
waiting for my passport
and travel journal
I have new pens
watercolor pencils
and intense
wanderlust

I have renewed
the friendship
with myself
it keeps no score
has no expectations
the journey free
of destination
my suitcase overflows
as candles flicker
and curtains
sway in the wind
the crisp winter air
delights me

I close my eyes
breathe in deeply
craving
a village that spills
down from the mountainside
with beautiful old houses
and ancient monasteries
towering high above
overlooking dusty roads
and desolate islands
in a sea of mist
I need greenery
open space
ancient land
bagpipes
single malt scotch
and to be immersed
in the simple life
wherever that may be
my feet will take me there

I write to heal
to pray
to find clarity
to give myself
permission
to be welcomed
into another's life
to feel that holiness
that only comes
from being invited into
another's soul
ushered in deeply
taking up residence under their skin
sharing their space in time
upon this earth
at the end of my life
having had this connection
is what really matters

In my dreams
I slather fresh paint on my chin
as I run my fingers down my neck
and over my sagging breasts
then pen the words,
"Fresh Paint - Please Touch".....
I am no ordinary woman
I seek the man who yearns
to get his fingers wet

(c)jmt 2008

Sting - I Burn For You

George Michael - I can't make you love me

Reality

The damp night air carries

Church bells ringing in the distance

My past and present intermingle

I struggle with my luggage tagged “history”

Waiting for the next plane or train to leave

Believing I should board it

In blind faith –without a map

Yet I know,

It will leave without me

I will stay behind

Hoping

Hoping, for a just one interlude

With you…

Perhaps a stingy glass of wine

And cheese with the mold cut off

In the back of a dimly lit room

As the piano player plays the same tune

Over and over

You intrigue me

I hear your voice in the distance

And your footsteps

Along with the whistle

the last call for the train

My eyes search for you in the crowd

Yours do not seek me

I exhale long and deep

My body has betrayed me

I no longer have a clue how to seduce you

And hold you in my folds

For hours…. or days

Yes, days.

I forget I have aged

My sagging breasts

Round hips

Soft muscles

I despise them

I tell myself half-truths

And downright lies

Just two glasses of wine

And all will be perky and firm…

At least for an hour

I watch you out my window

The old man on the train

Tells me I should have stayed

Turned around

let fate play out….

Easy for him to say

He does not own hands

That long to hold a lover

Wrapped in my folds

For hours… or days

On this cold rainy night

Your Sacred Space

“Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again.”
~Joseph Campbell

Today, my big events are behind me.........my "accidental activist" project was recently won........... it is time for me to find my scared art space and time, even if it means clawing my way into this area of my life. I have missed it and need to recharge.

Time is precious, make it count.

SLOW DANCE

This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids,

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain,

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.


Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day,

On the fly?

When you ask "How are you?"

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done,

Do you lie in your bed,

With the next hundred chores,

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die,

Cause you never had time,

To call and say,'Hi'?

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

All thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower.

Hear the music.

Before the song is over.

Life Coaches - GIve me a break!

I think I will scream if yet one more intelligent person I know tells me they have hired a life coach. Give me a break!

Who in their right, intelligent mind, hires someone from the internet who proclaims to be a life coach?

I have known at least 10 people who market themselves as life coaches - most are either very under-employed or unemployed, but feel they can direst someone else to success and some have "taken an online class" to give themselves credibility.

Not one of them has a life I'd like to emulate. The people hiring life coaches believe what they read on the internet. I urge them to find someone in their life or community who they respect and go talk to them, read books, network with those who have the skill sets they desire. Journal. Anything but turn their life over to an online "life coach" with an inflated ego who has no measurable success and all we really know about them is what they wrote about themselves. Give me names of real people they helped, with their before and after bios, their email and phone numbers. Give me names and numbers of people who know them well and those who only know of them. Show me their employment history, marital history, etc. It makes no sense to me that anyone would let a total stranger ONLINE be a life coach. I'd rather they buy a lottery ticket.

Twitter and the internet is filled with such people.

The subject of life coaches came up in a woman's discussion group last night... and most agreed with me - those who led full-rich lives mentor by example and spend time with people they know - they don't hang out on the internet waiting for some poor soul with bad body language, cash and low self-esteem.

Yes, I'd much rather they buy a lottery ticket - perhaps they'd win enough to hire a real profession, with a qualified degree and measurable success. Or, I'd like to have swamp land to sell them, at least they'd have a deed for their money.

Perhaps it's the weather

I am once again restless.
Often I find myself
staring out the window,
fixed on the hosta breaking through damp earth.
I welcome them like long lost friends.
How long has it been since I last looked at you?
Touched you?
Realized your beauty and strength?
You tolerate winter much better
than I do these days
and wait patiently until
it is your season

I push the envelope
realize with each passing year
that time is running short
regret the years I wasted
and the days that passed
without me noticing
even the slightest beauty
or grace.
I watch the robins
frantically gathering
twigs, straw, old string
already planning
to mate and go forward
I snip bits of colored yarn
and place it in my suet feeder
for them to gather
my contribution to spring
and new life
new love

Over a cup of coffee
a friend asks
"How many more springs
do you suppose we have?"
Sigh.
Like Emily Dickinson
I dwell in the possibilities
of what each arriving spring
may bring into my life
and what I leave behind
I refuse to focus on the end
before I have exhausted today.

Early Morning Walk

This morning I went for an early morning walk,

The air cool with thick misty fog

As dawn broke I desperately searched

For early signs of spring

To signal the end of winter

The air smelled of damp earth

But what I really craved

Was even the faintest scent

Of you

Lasting Relationships

“Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something: they're trying to find someone who's going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take.” -Anthony Robbins

Reflection

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected
in one dewdrop on the grass. ~ Dogen

The Winner Is

I've learned that when you have an argument with your spouse, the first one who says, 'I'm sorry I hurt your feelings; please forgive me,' is the winner. ~unknown

Caution

Caution

Even now
having recently removed
the last long thorn from my flesh
the wound has scabbed over
but not healed
perhaps it never will
or maybe it is waiting...
patiently
like a spy in dark shadows
for me to acknowledge
it may have all been an illusion
disguised by candlelight
infused with wine
and twisted emotions

I catch my reflection
in the window
an older woman
stares back at me
where did the years go?
my youth passed all too soon
On the horizon
I see I see him staring back at me
standing in a now barren field
miles away, as always
out of reach
on the other side of the wall
that is his comfort zone


Experiences of the heart
transform or consume us
in unpredictable ways
I remember the fire
the intensity, the vivid colors
I also remember
crawling out of the ashes
after the flames died down
after the last ember
stopped smoldering

I see myself
as if viewing a stranger
half-frozen
speechless
unable to warn her
to stop
STOP
move away from the flame
or risk being consumed
once again

Butterflies

Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time. ~Deborah Chaskin

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. ~Richard Bach

The butterfly’s attractiveness derives not only from colors and symmetry: deeper motives contribute to it. We would not think them so beautiful if they did not fly, or if they flew straight and briskly like bees, or if they stung, or above all if they did not enact the perturbing mystery of metamorphosis: the latter assumes in our eyes the value of a badly decoded message, a symbol, a sign. ~ Primo Levi

"How does one become a butterfly?" she asked pensively. "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar." ~Trina Paulus

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." ~Maya Angelou