tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-111480462024-03-14T10:30:45.824-07:00The Writers BlogOriginal poems and meanderings of Joanne E. Nakaya The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.comBlogger327125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-75336104676304666642022-03-22T23:26:00.005-07:002022-03-22T23:26:35.848-07:00<div style="text-align: left;"> one house</div><div style="text-align: left;">four bedrooms</div><div style="text-align: left;">one mom and one dad</div><div style="text-align: left;">two kids</div><div style="text-align: left;">until</div><div style="text-align: left;">they evaporate into</div><div style="text-align: left;">their own lives</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">the ebb and flow</div><div style="text-align: left;">of lives </div><div style="text-align: left;">sweep through</div><div style="text-align: left;">one house</div><div style="text-align: left;">four bedrooms</div><div style="text-align: left;">full</div><div style="text-align: left;">until empty</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">but two still</div><div style="text-align: left;">remain</div>The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-57044059714631689982022-03-22T23:23:00.003-07:002022-03-22T23:23:47.849-07:00<div style="text-align: left;"> one word</div><div style="text-align: left;">one a page</div><div style="text-align: left;">calls another and more</div><div style="text-align: left;">until the page overflows</div><div style="text-align: left;">and grows into</div><div style="text-align: left;">people</div><div style="text-align: left;">places</div><div style="text-align: left;">events</div><div style="text-align: left;">rising action</div><div style="text-align: left;">culmination</div><div style="text-align: left;">epilogue</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">hey</div><div style="text-align: left;">I wrote a</div><div style="text-align: left;">book</div>The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-49247465020401870842022-03-22T23:18:00.003-07:002022-03-22T23:18:41.129-07:00<p> Wow my last post was 2020 ... what a gap!</p><div>So I returned from Israel/Rome in November of 2019 ... and then....</div><div><br /></div><div>COVID hit! My daughter, my granddaughter, her three kids and her husband, my other granddaughter, her boyfriend, not her kids, but she was sick three times. My son and his family avoided it, got vaccine. We got vaccine, didn't get sick. granddaughters got vaccine and stopped getting sick.</div><div><br /></div><div>Las Vegas went dark. Most of the casinos closed temporarily. Some still haven't reopened. Many here survived on federal money and friends and family. Most of the buffets are still closed, permanently. We wore masks. We bought masks, we donated masks, we washed masks, we forgot them and had to go back to the car to get them. People complained about wearing them and others complained because not everyone wore one. Crime increased, especially crimes against others. Most people were frustrated and angry with no place to put the anger.</div><div><br /></div><div>Donald Trump lost the election and Joe Biden became president. Vaccines became more available and fewer people started to get sick with COVID. Some protested against Asians, some violently and some verbally. There were crimes against people of color by the police. The police were put under a magnifying glass, some come through clean, others not so clean. Many became disillusioned with freedom and the American Way. They seemed to forget that every country is made up of people. Some want to uphold and obey the law; others, not so much. </div><div><br /></div><div>Putin, in Russie decided that he wanted the Ukraine and so stepped in and started bombing it into submission. The Ukrainians did not surrender, and NATO began warning Russia/Putin of potential war crimes. Putin insisted he was just taking back what was part of Russia. The neighboring countries are nervous and the US and allies began supplying the Ukraine with weapons, stopping short of stepping in to begin World War III. The outcome is undecided.</div><div><br /></div><div>The world decided that perhaps Global Warming was a real threat and began taking steps to reverse the damage to the World's environment. It may be too late to do that and I don't believe a band aid is going to do much good at this point. The Las Vegas Valley in Nevada, in the USA, is now considered an arid climate and Lake Mead, which provides most of the water for the Valley is 150' lower than the 1990's, due to a severe drought. Earthquakes, major storms, unusual heat and cold, tornado's, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, drought, firestorms, and plagues of locusts and disease are the new norm.</div><div><br /></div><div>This synopsis doesn't cover all of the trouble that is falling onto planet earth, but it's a decent microcosm of our problems, now compounded by an increase in the cost of food and fuel and more. What is happening here? I have answers but those who want to know already know the answers and the rest don't really want to know.</div><div><br /></div><div>storms and disease ramp up</div><div>their assault on the earth;</div><div>as the skies weep</div>The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-39045583856531414652019-12-13T13:49:00.000-08:002019-12-31T00:01:18.668-08:00Thanksgiving is done. Preparing for Christmas I’m going through and sorting out dishes and the detritus of thanksgiving. I pile leftover plastic cutlery and notice a lack of forks and a plethora of spoons.<br />
<br />
Spoons everywhere. Even more than knives. But the forks, they are few … I am the fork. Used up, moved from plate to plate, turkey, dressing and then dessert. Not yet done, a second<br />
plate, sandwich with cranberry sauce and gravy, scooped up between my tines, some sustenance lost, but not all. <br />
<br />
Dinner is done, some forks find their final home in the trash bin, others make their way to the sink to be washed and reused. I sit in the drawer, my plastic sides scarred, one tine chipped, but still serviceable … until I finally join my companions in arms … a new life.The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-20826749477419533932019-09-24T11:29:00.001-07:002019-09-24T15:25:24.666-07:00Well it looks like I have a lot to work through this month. Trying to figure out why I am stressed I came up with the following list. Maybe y6our list is longer than you think too.<br />
<br />
My grown daughter Lori has moved back home after ten years living in California. Glad and cautiously optimistic.<br />
<br />
I discovered that wanting to be included in an event does not necessarily mean I want to attend.<br />
<br />
I'm trying to finish my screenplay but not motivated to do so.<br />
<br />
I'm motivated to work through my poetry but partially blocked. Unwilling to work through it … there's something there.<br />
<br />
I finally reorganized my old bookroom (a new guestroom) and my new bookroom.<br />
<br />
Reading a book on reprogramming your brain … involves working through issues. Not everything is about what everyone/anyone else does. Some of it is mine but it's tangled together.<br />
<br />
I'm going to Israel next month. Anxious and nervous about traveling after a stroke and with new memory and physical issues. <br />
<br />
I'm having communication issues. What I hear is sometimes garbled.<br />
<br />
It's hard to determine what stresses me out, I'm used to avoiding what I cannot fix or feels overwhelming. Right now everything seems overwhelming.<br />
<br />
My friend's mom just died and I have a memorial service on Saturday for a man I used to work with.<br />
<br />
I'm insisting on transparency from the companies I do business with. Should I not also require that of myself or I would be a hypocrit.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-9463018982178012812019-09-23T19:54:00.002-07:002019-09-23T20:23:25.345-07:00Death is such an integral part of life. As I approach 70, time seems peppered with condolences, memorials and funeral services. I don’t expect it will slow down much at this point. At first my question was “Where are you?” Followed by, “What are you doing? Who are you seeing? Are you at peace?” My friend Julie started this grand exodus. After our trip to Ireland. I got my news first followed closely behind by hers. We shared stories of chemo, rads, and surgery. A year later her diagnosis turned. The last time I saw her she had very little time left. She showed off a new size 2 wardrobe and an iPhone ... early 40th birthday presents. We giggled and shared funny stories. She got serious as it was time for me to go. “No offense but it’s not fair”, she sighed. “I’m going to die and you’re not.” I thought for a moment and replied, “No, it’s not fair at all.” She was only 39. I was 62, and no, it wasn’t fair. We hugged and I left. A few weeks later I got a message from her mom and a call from her husband. She was gone. <br />
<br />
Sitting in my book room that night I went through the pictures of our Ireland trip to put an album together for her husband. The last picture was her walking towards the waiting train in Dublin, backpack slung over one shoulder, half turned, calling me to hurry as she ran to the open door. “Where are you,” I whispered. The still air held no answer. Just gone.<br />
<br />
<br />The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-56679293168912052522019-08-05T11:12:00.000-07:002019-08-05T11:19:54.318-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">Looking at a recent article about "The Tyranny of the Ideal Woman" I can see that over the last 50 years not much has changed. In other words, there really is "Nothing new under the sun."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Ideal woman is portrayed as a physical manifestation of what some men and women perceive as the ideal woman; perhaps based on what their personal desires are for themselves.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So here is my perception of the ideal woman.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1. She does not exist. We are women who do the best we can under our own circumstances. So having said that, may I for a moment, encourage all of us to: </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Be comfortable in our own skin</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Accept ourselves as we are, uniqueness is a gift.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Accept others as we accept ourselves</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Explore, discover and use our gifts in any/every w</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Never hold a grudge ... it always backfires </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Turn away from the past, pain, hate, anger and disappointment</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Look to the future, ever day is our future </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Not worry about who we are, just relax and be; that's who you are</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the midst of turmoil and stress</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Love</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-88428087115906043512019-08-02T12:28:00.003-07:002019-08-02T16:35:23.578-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">Using the largest text makes me feel as though I'm shouting. That's weird.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So Today I'm looking inward. Yesterday I was looking for affirmation in a conflict I have with my youngest sister to a friend I trust. Instead of affirmation I got a different perspective based on my friend's problem with our relationship, the fact that I'm untrustworthy when it comes to keeping scheduled appointments. I bail. I don't know if I can trust her advice because as we talk it becomes evident that her advice is colored by her disappointment with me but her perspective gave me interesting insights. One insight is that I hate disappointing people so I say yes when I really should say no and then I hate bailing so I wait until the last minute. One problem heaped onto another. Yes, I am codependent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My friend suggests that my sister is right to avoid me since my co-dependence is unhealthy for her. Unhealthy for me too; because it leads to my sister's pattern of anger and disappointment, leading to blocking me, leading to reuniting with me in hopes that I've changed, leading again to anger and the cycle continues. My friend has opted to accept my inconsistencies, although she admits that my habits of being late and bailing would have ended our friendship when she was younger. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">How am I feeling about this? Depressed and frustrated and not sympathetic or empathetic at all. After all, shouldn't my good qualities measure against my failings? And as Christians we are commanded to love ... she says she loves me because that's the command but she doesn't like me and she doesn't have to like me. She's only human ... but so am I.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So today I went online looking for information on people who don't feel empathy. I don't think I'm an empathetic person. According to the quiz I am. So I looked at more quizzes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The next quiz was on mindfulness. I ranked in the middle, kind of mindful but needs work. It hit me that I am actually not mindful at all when it comes to being aware of how other people feel or rather life from their perspective. Not their point of view but how life looks through their eyes. I just don't see it. I've never thought of that before. It was kind of shocking.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The last one was on relationships. I chose to focus on my husband. Although I trust his faithfulness I'm not sure that he cares for me in a way that I assumed he did. But not like my family where it was 'every man for him or herself'. So I search on, what is the healthy way?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So a bit of history. I grew up in an alcoholic family with PTSD and abuse thrown in as chasers. The second oldest of four girls, I learned how to be hyper-vigilant to stay safe. My world revolved around taking my family's emotional temperature and watching for any signs of my father's impending rage, any evidence that his good mood was going to turn sour. I learned to pay constant and close attention as I watched how anger always led to violence. I tried to do whatever I could to control my family's feelings to protect myself. I became codependent.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I graduated and left home but took with me the codependent lessons I had learned. I learned to ignore my own needs and take care of the emotions of others ... my survival had depended upon it. The moods of others continued to dictate my emotions; it was exhausting. When anyone was upset, especially with me, I couldn't relax until they felt better and I felt safe again. I had to fix them in order to de stress. But fixing them often didn't work and even when it did, it was only temporary. I felt let down, unappreciated and then angry. I heard about recovery from codependency. The first step was to be aware of what's known as the 'drama triangle', how I was using survival techniques that were no longer necessary to survive. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I needed to change my response to the feelings and needs of those around me. In the first part of the triangle as soon as I felt someone close to me was getting angry or upset, I would try to rescue them ... a fight or flight response. It could be from their own responsibilities, troubles, issues, etc. I would try to fix the problem which would fix my problem (fear and stress over their problem). It often didn't work. Moving to the second leg of the triangle, I would become angry because in order to fix them I had often agreed to do things I didn't want to do, ignoring my own wants and needs. The person I helped not only didn't appreciate what I did, they got angry at me. I would then move on to the third leg of the triangle; I became the victim where I felt used and sorry for myself, I felt like a martyr. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">To stop the process I had to be aware of what I was doing. I had to change my response. I needed to start saying no. I needed to address the fear that saying no would make them abandon me. I had to stop trying to manipulate people in order to protect myself. I had to stop trying to guess what other people needed and offering it before they asked. So I also had to stop expecting others to know what I want. Finally, when I'm feeling overwhelmed I needed to ask myself what I need to take care of myself, and then do it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It means I needed to be in tune with my thoughts, feelings and needs. I needed to take my attention away from what I think I need to do to meet the needs of others in order to protect myself ... a habit that has long outlived its usefulness ... and put my attention back on what I need.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-84484351028376499012019-07-31T16:53:00.001-07:002019-07-31T16:53:23.113-07:00So in Vegas we go from 117 to 99 and cloudy and rainy ... that is like my life lately. One minute sunny and hot and the next cloudy and rainy ... the new norm.<br />
<br />
I've been looking for joy. Not fun, although I like that ... but joy. The psalms (yes the bible) says that joy await us inside His holy temple. Joy in the freedom of those released from the chains of guilt and shame. Joy and freedom. Not the freedom to do whatever we want ... that's not freedom at all. We are just exchanging one set of chains for another. The chains that bind us to money, to those who don't care for us, to whatever promises fun and freedom from God but there is no freedom apart from God.<br />
<br />
When we grasp the freedom to do what is right we are released from the chains that looked like freedom but were not. We are freed from guilt, from stress, from justifying what we do, from a life that promises but doesn't deliver. Freedom to do whatever we want, what we desire instead of the freedom that will break our chains to 'fun' and offer the freedom of an abundant life free from guilt, anger, fear, pain.<br />
<br />
So today, be free. The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-34178411927526943392019-07-31T12:19:00.001-07:002019-07-31T12:24:48.657-07:00<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meanderings</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've been doing a lot of this lately. Lots of changes:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mini Stroke</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Grandson moving out</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Home renovations</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Husband health issues</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Issues with family members</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some of these are good and some not so good. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So I was contemplating why I am so 'flake' and bail out after I make plans. Yep, I'm one of 'those' people. I did some research online to see where it would come from, the causes because all I know is that I make plans and then sometimes (not always) as the event is on my doorstep I want to run away and hide out ... so my fight or flight response causes me to ... you got it ... bail. Now I don't always give in to the impulse to bail ... but when I do it's usually at the last minute which, understandably, pisses people off.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So my contemplation led to a relationship between bailing and being late. I want to be perfectly on time, right 'on the dot' as it were, and that's nearly impossible because of outside influences. So I'm instead, late. Then there are the myriad things I have to do and the impulse to do them when I have an appointment. There's my inability to correctly identify the right time to leave and the stress that accompanies it. What would seem like an easy thing to accomplish so often for me leads to failure.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You might think, well leave earlier. I have tried that, but being too early has such a negative connotation to me that I shy away from it. Thus, I'm late. You might also think that this seeps into other areas of my life and you'd be right. I often would burn the midnight lights getting an assignment done just in time, but I tend to do my best work 'under the gun'. That might reinforce waiting until the last minute. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Conversely I am, ironically, a planner. I plan vacations out in detail and follow the plan closely. I was also, in case you wondered, early for my wedding. The church wasn't even unlocked when I got there. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I decided to be kind to myself. I explain to people that I am chronically late; this seems to give me permission, strangely enough, to be on time. When I'm late I call and let them know so it gets them off the hook.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As far as bailing at the last minute, it's worse now after my stroke, so I've taken to explain to people that if I don't feel well at the last minute I'll call and let them know I can't make it. At this point that's the best I can do.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thats it for now.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-81336833507059761592019-07-16T12:36:00.000-07:002019-07-16T12:36:33.218-07:00
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Something I wrote quite a while ago and I enjoyed re-reading it. Hope you do too</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
Response to Coleridge's ”Dejection: An Ode"</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">by Joanne Nakaya </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well!
If that poet who penned
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
the tale of Sir Patrick Spence</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
was wise to the ways of the wind</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
then tonight, so quiet too, will not pass unmolested
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
by winds more demanding,
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">than
those breezes that stuff clouds with lazy flakes</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">or
that dull sobbing wind, that moaning, scrapes
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">hungry
claws</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">upon
the strings of this Aeolian lute
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
it would be far better if this lute was unable to speak.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
For see, the new moon lights the winter sky</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
And covered with a soft light</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
A hazy light spreads over her face
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Silver Rimmed and encircled.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
see the old Moon in her lap, predicting</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Rain
and fierce storms</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
oh, I wish even now the gusts were swelling</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> With
rain slanting down loud and fast.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
music of the rain that has often lifted me with awe</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And
sent my soul flying with the wind</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tonight,
maybe those sounds again may stir in me</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
habit of wonder and excitement, and</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Might
interrupt this mute pain and make it move and live.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My
life
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
constant grief
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">without
a piercing pain, empty, dark and dreary</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> A
restrained, tiresome, un-passionate grief</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> A
grief without surcease</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh
harp, in this melancholy heartless mood</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even
nature has failed to entice me
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> All
this long night, calm and gentle</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
have been staring to the sunset</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> And
its strange flavoring of yellow green</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
still I stare unseeing!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Through
the thin clouds above, bars that imprison the sky</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
stars revel in their dance</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
they glide behind and now between them</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then
bright, now dimmed but still apparent.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
crescent Moon, as unmovable as if it were alienated</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
the sky</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Belonging
instead to some pure, untainted clime</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
can see them all, so beautiful</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
see, but cannot feel, how beautiful they are.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My
cheerful spirits fail me again</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They
can they do nothing</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To
lift the smothering weight from my heart</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
would be useless</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even
if eternity locked her gaze</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On
nature as she lingers in the west</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
know I cannot obtain from her</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
passion and life that dwell within me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh
harp, can we only receive what we give?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nature
lives only as a distant memory
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She
has woven her wedding dress for our joy</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">her
winding sheet twists our limbs</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
if we could ever envision a higher purpose</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Than
this artificial world provides</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To
the anxiously searching futility of life</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Oh
not from nature but from eternity that
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Sleeps within the soul itself that life must come</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
light, that glory, like an eternal cloud</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> It
covers the earth</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No,
from within alone must that voice be heart</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> A
sweet prophetic voice, of the soul’s own birth</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of
all sweet sounds of life and nature</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pure
of heart, you don’t need to ask me</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
name of this rough music in the soul</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What
and where it emerged,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
light, this misty circlet of light</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
beautiful power that makes beauty glow</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
is Joy dear harp, joy that belongs only</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">to
pure, in their purest hour</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Life
and life’s spirit shower joy</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Joy,
Joy, that spirit and power</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Which
nature, at her wedding, gave to us, as a dowery</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> A
new earth and new heaven
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Unobtainable
by the sinful and proud is joy,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Joy
the sweet voice, joy the luminous cloud</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> She
Envelopes us., and we rejoice ourselves</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
so flows everything that charms my eye or my ear</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> All
song the echoes of that voice of joy</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
all colors created from that joy</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
was a time when though my way was hard</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
joy within me only toyed with distress</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
misfortune was
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> a
dream in the midst of my happiness</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> (where
fancy created dreams of happiness just for me)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
hope wound in and around me like a vine</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
I adopted hope, that not my own, seemed to be mine anyway</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
now afflictions drive me to the ground</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
don’t care that they rob me of laughter</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> But
oh each instance</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Suspends that gift from nature</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The
Imagination that shapes my spirit</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Leaving
me one sole possibility</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
And so unfeeling still, and patient</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
I contrived to steal</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> From
my very own nature
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> My
only resource, my only plan</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until
finally that small loss encompassed me</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Becoming
the killing habit of my soul</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
future of deadly thoughts work within my mind</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I
live in Reality’s dark dream</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
turn from this and listen to the changing wind,
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
A spirit she
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> raving
unnoticed extracts my scream
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of
agony made longer by torture</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That
lute sent forth! You, wind that fumes outside</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Wild and barren nature</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
You hover near groves unknown to man</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
barren houses,
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
I think were better suited to you</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mad
lutanist, who in this month of spring showers</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of
ungrown gardens and hesitant flowers</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Make
a devil’s pact with Christmas worse than desolate song.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blossoms,
buds and shy leaves hide you,
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> You
tragic actor</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You
mighty poet, frenzied and bold</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> What
are you now?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Like
the rushing of an deserting army
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">howling
as they trample the wounded</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">groaning
with pain and shuddering with cold</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
wait, in a pause of deep silence</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
noise of the madding crowd</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">groaning
and shuddering, is finished</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Now
it will relay another quieter story</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> A
less frightening tale</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> With
some delight I recall it</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
if Otway himself had written it</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> of
a little child</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> a
wild place</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
near home she has lost her way</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
quietly wails in grief and fear</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
then shrieks piteously hoping her mother hears</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s
midnight my hope of sleep fades</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
hope you never share this, my vigil</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Visit
her, gentle sleep, with healing calm</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> may
her storm be a mountain-birth</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">all
the stars shine bright
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Silently
as they watch the sleeping earth</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> rise
with happiness</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Bright
with fancy and cheer</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Joy,
lift her spirit, make her voice reflect her joy</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">May
all things be alive to her, pole to pole</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">May
nature’s life feed her living soul</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Oh
simple spirit guided from above</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dear
harp, devout friend,
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">May
you rejoice forever.</span></span></div>
The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-7429267526967783622019-07-16T10:19:00.001-07:002019-07-16T10:19:22.160-07:00So I'm going to back up for a moment to give a perspective to my recent posts. (Not garnering sympathy … I'm happy to still be here)<br />
<br />
In 2005 I lost the vision in my right eye to repetitive detached retinas.<br />
In 2010 I spent a year in treatment for Breast Cancer losing most of my left breast.<br />
In 2015 I smashed my left elbow requiring extensive reconstruction.<br />
In 2019 I had a mini stroke numbing my whole left side.<br />
<br />
So, now I'm half blind, and have totally abused my left side. <br />
<br />
I said that so I can say this. I'm so thankful that I can still see, I am alive, I can use my left arm and I can walk and smile and garden with both my left and right sides. And I am still writing.<br />
<br />
Today I played in the dirt at 7:30 am. It was only 92 degrees. I'm not out there long … 100 degrees comes up pretty fast in July, but I transplanted a mulberry tree that popped up next to the house. I moved it over to the side of the driveway next to the Chaste Tree. I love trees. I planted three small bushes in the shade of my Arizona Ash in the front yard, I pulled three weeds, I propped the chair rail up against the side of the house so I will remember to paint it, soon, and put it back in the living and dining rooms. It's now 10 am and 101 degrees so I'm done outside for the day.<br />
<br />
My plan is to rest then go to the mall and walk my 1.5 miles. I have a birthday party to attend tonight and a screenplay to finish. The USB for my wireless mouse and keyboard has disappeared so I can't use my downstairs computer right now, so I drug out the old Apple laptop Susie gave me and I'm using that. The battery won't hold a charge and it's bulky and heavy but it's portable and easy to use, so I'm loving it!<br />
<br />
With my generous watering system in the morning (hose and drips) I now have butterflies and a mocking bird living in my back yard.<br />
<br />
Mockingbird sing<br />
whistle a song<br />
crooning and calling<br />
dawn to dawn<br />
<br />
skipping down rooftops<br />
and skirting the trees<br />
crooking your head<br />
sipping with bees<br />
<br />
you watch from the wall<br />
as the dogs madly rush<br />
then skip quickly away<br />
as they jump and they thrust<br />
<br />
soft muzzles sharp teeth<br />
that never can find<br />
your tail feathers flow<br />
and they're left behind<br />
<br />
mockingbird mockingbird<br />
stay for a while<br />
and sing through the leaves<br />
that shiver through my smilesThe Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-66781967653285729162019-07-15T16:44:00.001-07:002019-07-15T16:44:27.831-07:00Life is just more and more interesting.<br />
<br />
I'm now mall walking because it's just too hot to walk outside. After all, Las Vegas is located in the desert and it's July so the temperatures rise to about 120 during the day … hot.<br />
<br />
Mall walking could be boring … one mile is once around the 2nd floor and once around the first floor … and the stores don't change daily … but interesting people are everywhere here and many of them love to stop and chat … maybe they find it as boring as I do.<br />
<br />
Anyway, chatted with a woman dog sitting a chihuahua … a shop keeper for a tee shirt shop that she loved showing off … watched the woman from Cinnabun frosting cinnamon rolls … chatted with a woman in an art gallery … and a man in another art gallery … and then went home … one mile accomplished.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow I'll look for more interesting people to talk with …<br />
<br />
The rest of my day looked like:<br />
Coffee at Starbucks with the guys I used to work with<br />
Watered the veggies in the front and back<br />
Moved some pots around<br />
Ate breakfast and watched a murder mystery with Jerry<br />
Walked in the mall<br />
Fixed the Apple laptop so I could login (I always forget the login since it's not originally mine)<br />
Writing<br />
<br />
More tomorrow … carry onThe Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-42475938524899163292019-07-14T20:23:00.003-07:002019-07-14T20:25:21.765-07:00Playing Catch up<br />
<br />
I've had this blog since 2005 and it's been my favorite place to set my thoughts in prose and poetry. It's been an ideal way (for me) to solidify what's going on in my life and identify it; but not niche it. I don't like niches. Dust ridden dead spots that hold ideas that have outlived their usefulness. Not always accurate either, they seem anachronistic, unusable and ignoble too, somehow.<br />
<br />
At any rate, it's 2019 and it's not even January or close to the first part of the year. July, it says and utter silence since the previous January. I've decided that if I'm going to write again I will return to the space that first enticed the words in my heart to jump onto the page and cavort, to dance and sing, to moan and writhe, to live. So here I am and here they are. They've been patient you know. They've waited past family drama, cruises to far away lands, explorations of exotic places, then, more recently through tumultuous changes and challenges in home and heart and culminating in a tap on the shoulder reminded me of my own humanity.<br />
<br />
It wasn't all fun and games but still it was exciting and new and frightening and somehow invigorating, and still, here I am. I did finish my first book, yet published, and have pulled my screenplay out of dry dock, hoisted it onto a deck to check for barnacles and will soon turn it over to my editor who, with loving, devout and deviously sympathetic hands render it suitable to send out into the world of paper prose.<br />
<br />
And yet, here I am, not searching for nouns, verb, adverbs and the like to pepper my play but instead decided to begin my continuing saga as a writer by giving my muse-driven fingers free reign.<br />
<br />
It's good to be back.The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-1627211105268451662018-01-26T12:38:00.002-08:002018-01-26T12:38:24.863-08:00<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Let's go Down to the sea</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">As the sand</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Meets the waiting sky</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">As the waves tease the toes</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Of the stately ice floes</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">As they lumber slowly by </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Let’s go up to the hills</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">That kiss the clouds</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">As they fly</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Or the verdant green</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">From stream to stream</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">As the dusk </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">sails where they sigh</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Let’s go home to our home</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Where the sea and glade</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Retire</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">In our glen we will lie</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">In the sweet bye and Where the sky meets the sea</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">I will wait for thee</span></div>
<br />
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Where islands in the sky wait for time</span></div>
The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-21112875038472682522018-01-03T11:07:00.003-08:002018-01-03T11:07:56.492-08:002018 .. A new year<br />
<br />
Thinking about the gains<br />
and losses<br />
from a year so recently gone<br />
always seems to lead me back<br />
to where I first belonged<br />
<br />
The good .. the bad<br />
Indifferent<br />
feels stronger than before<br />
I’m wanting less<br />
but finding more<br />
as I work ceiling to floor<br />
<br />
I cannot please the everyone<br />
someone or<br />
anyone at all<br />
so I will try to please myself<br />
ducking from chips that fall<br />
<br />
My New Years resolution list<br />
is very short this year<br />
be kind<br />
be loving<br />
don’t fix what’s not mine<br />
don’t make others happy<br />
for meThe Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-36273116400627186992017-11-05T16:03:00.002-08:002017-11-05T16:03:37.786-08:00My sweet enraged friend posts holiday tips on how to bury guns .... she is angry and frustrated .. unable to comprehend or stop this violence ... she’s looking for someway to assuage the pain ... we all are ... she rants against an ineffectual God ... invisible gun control .. insincere government officials .. incomprehensible violence .. and an exploitative media .. vultures waiting for the next feeding frenzy ... her screams of painful rage echo from sea to shining sea ...The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-58634727507597530102017-10-06T17:35:00.000-07:002017-10-06T17:57:53.292-07:00I haven't blogged much this year ... it's been an odd year since my mom died. I've been out of sorts trying to find a new 'normal'. There was drama over our grandson who moved back in with us after a year away ... and it was a year of 'aways.' We went to Berkeley for a week to see family ... I went to the Bahamas with my daughter .. I went back East for my high school reunion .. to visit my elderly aunt .. and stayed in Upstate NY and then finally returned from 12 days in Germany and the Czech Republic last Wednesday culminating in finding my home town on national news from the 10-1 massacre ... Las Vegas. <br />
<br />
Like I said ... an odd year. We lost one Chihuahua and rescued another ... we gave our home a facelift .. bid farewell to friends who would never see the end of 2017 and welcomed a great grandson. Was adopted by a feral kitten and picked the sweetest watermelon I have ever eaten. I watched my husband begin to relinquish his hold on immortality as I began to questioned my own. I let go of my need to be busy and found two new careers .. one in camera work and the other in accounting.<br />
<br />
But the worst bit of this odd year happened last Sunday night. Relaxing in bed we got a call from our Katrina -- our Katlyn was in lock-down in the basement of the Luxor ... calling everyone including her 3-month-old son .. to say goodbye in case she didn't survive ... there was a shooter ... people by the hundreds.. bloodied and panicking .. had rushed past her reception desk in a frantic search of a safe place to hide from the carnage across the street .. the final night of a music festival. <br />
<br />
By 5:30 she was on her way home ... and we breathed a sigh of relief that lasted only as long as the next moment as we learned the names and faces of those who not be going home again ... a heart wrenching anthem of mothers - fathers - sisters - brothers - friends - lovers. I read of the heroes and heroines ... and I saw a town touted as Sin City show its true colors of honor ... compassion .. and love .. as if by an unspoken accord we began to stand in the gap ... for strangers and family alike.<br />
<br />
The horror of that day will fade for those who did not feel that bone chilling fear of loss. For those who must face grief-stricken days ahead ... you are not alone. We grieve as well .. feel your loss and share your pain. We could not protect your loved ones .. or our own ... and thus share a bond forged by grief but strengthened by love. As you travel a road none would willingly choose .. know that a part of us goes with you ... always.<br />
<br />
<br />The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-75283274058699149952017-01-31T21:15:00.000-08:002017-01-31T21:15:31.824-08:00My Mother's Pearls<br />
<br />
<br />
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2561" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2560" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Several years ago I was visiting my mom in her apartment and she suddenly stopped and looked at me and asked if there was any jewelry of hers that I wanted. I don't wear much jewelry but I was curious. </span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2562" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2526" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2563" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hesitated and so she said she had already given most of her jewelry to my sisters but she could give me either a pearl necklace or some costume jewelry she had gotten from my dad. She said the pearl necklace came with a story. I chose the necklace and asked for the story.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2527" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2528" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here it is....</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My mom was 17 years old in her junior year of high school in 1940 and very popular. Slender with dark brown hair that framed a lovely face, she had clear brown eyes and a mischievous grin. The one I have inherited from her, Frances Lucille Smith. </span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2723" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2722" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That same grin hid in the corner of her eyes as she settled into her comfy blue recliner and into her story. Once upon a time there was a boy ... a boy who would remain nameless.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2524" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was only a few short weeks until his graduation and he was already enlisted in the Army. He was preparing to go to the war in Europe but it was spring and he had a question that couldn't wait.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2522" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2523" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sweet scent of Lilacs filled the air as he walked her home from school but as she turned towards the walk to the front door he gently tugged her into the blooming Lilac tree, so full of blossoms that it hid them from view. The heel of one dainty white pump caught on a root as she fell into his arms.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2521" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2473" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2472" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She smiled, leaned in closer and nestled under his chin as he lifted her face and gently kissed her. She sighed, "I wish you wouldn't go" she whispered. He nodded, "I know. But I don't want to leave without a promise."</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her eyes widened. </span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I want you to come with me to the jewelers so we can pick out an engagement ring." She stepped back, her eyes round with surprise. </span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then she lifted her chin. "But what ..." she hesitated, straightened her shoulders. Her voice dropped, "not everyone comes back." </span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He started to protest but she rushed on, " I want your ring, I do, but not like this." She stepped closer and whispered, I want the ring and you, together."</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He caught her hands in his. "But what can you wear so everyone will know you are mine?" His voice wavered. "Fran, you ... you are mine?"</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Her voice raised with that teasing note he knew so well, "Well, I love pearls."</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2734" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2733" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Several weeks later, fingering the strand of pearls that graced her slender throat Frances watched as his train disappeared around the bend. He would come back; he had to come back.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2738" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Over the next three years she repeated that well-worn phrase. His letters were scarce unlike the black edged posts that were hand delivered around every town, large and small. She spoke often with his mother, who lived in a nearby village, every time fearing the worst but if letters were scarce at least the black edged telegraph never arrived either.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2764" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2763" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally his mother called, he was coming home. She was so excited, she chatted on, she'd wear the pearls and her pink dress with the white eyelet collar and.... she suddenly stopped as she noticed the silence on the other end. "Well Fran" his mother began hesitantly, "he wants to wait to see you. He was hurt and he wants" her voice dropped, "to wait a bit."</span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2762" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2761" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2760" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"How" her voice wavered, "how long?" </span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2759" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2758" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2757" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Not long Frannie," her voice forced a confidence that was missing. "I'm sure not long."</span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2739" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2741" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2740" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But it was long. It was well over a year after the war ended when she stopped waiting and volunteered to go to Japan and aid in efforts to rebuild. The pearls still went with her everywhere, though seldom adorning her neck. </span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2742" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2744" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2743" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They, her and a good friend, went by ship to Japan, then just a few months later, she took the long cruise home again when her father fell ill. She boarded the train from California home to Indiana. It was on that train that she met the handsome young Air Force sergeant who would become her husband a year later, Joe.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">The pearls sat in her top drawer, in a box of cotton, hidden but not forgotten. They might have stayed there forever, except for a trip home one fall, back to Indiana, a small vacation without three little girls. On a whim she decided to take them, and wear them.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2745" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2747" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2746" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Joe had spotted a small bar, while visiting her family, on a rainy afternoon. Sitting next to him she considered how different her life was from what she had imagined. He ordered drinks as she got up to powder her nose, walking around the long curve of maple bar. She glanced towards the bar as she turned towards a dim hallway and there he was.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">It would be hard to decide who was more surprised. She stepped back, her heel caught on the edge of the carpet and he reached out to steady her. A quick glance behind showed that Joe was flirting with a waitress. She sighed in relief.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"It, it's really you," he whispered, drawing her into the dim hall. He looked back at the table too, sudden understanding filling his eyes. "I, I am so, so sorry Frannie."</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"You never called. Never." Her words hung in the air between them as she fingered the pearls. His eyes dropped to the floor.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"I, I was sick Fran, really sick. It was, well, it was hell. You were my hope and I, I wasn't worthy of you any more." His chuckle was dry, "When I felt better, I went to see your mom. She told me you were married. She told me to move on."</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">His arms waved to encompass the bar, "This is mine Fran. But it's not too late. It can be ours, you," he glanced at her throat. "You have the pearls." For a moment hope sprang between them. "You have our promise."</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"Five years, five years I waited." She glanced back at the table and saw that Joe's eyes were peering into the dark hallway. "No, it's too late. I'm married and I have three little girls .. maybe four," she glanced at the waist of her dress. </span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">She gave him one last sad glance, and turned back towards the table, to her life. As they left the bar an hour later he stopped by their table, and asked Joe if he'd been overseas. They chatted for a moment and he told them that the drinks were on the house for servicemen and shook his hand.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">My dad died in1991, after years of torment from his years as a POW in Japan. His torment finally had ended as did my mom's. A year later the phone rang. An old friend, he said. She told him, with a smile, that she remembered.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"I'd like to see you." She said, "Yes, yes I'd like that."</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">He picked her up in a rental car, handing her a bouquet of Lilacs at her door. "You remembered?" He smiled. Dinner was comfortable as dinner with an old friend can be, and as he walked her to her door he smiled.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"A little late," he gently touched the pearls nestled around her throat. "Too late?"</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">She looked up at him. That same smile erased the years of loss. "I should have waited longer. If I had known...," she looked down at her sensible black heels and glanced up again, "but I didn't. It was wonderful seeing you again. I wish you well."</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">He gazed at her for a moment longer, nodded and turned back to his car, glancing back for one last look. "May I call again?"</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">"Of course."</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">It was almost two years later when his daughter called to tell her that he was gone. "He always loved you, you know," there were tears in her voice. "Thank you for seeing him, it made his so happy."</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Mom sighed and handed me the box of pearls. "Now these are yours." We both smiled as we looked at the slender white vase that sat on the low maple table between us, and took in the sweet sweet smell of the Lilacs dancing there.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 21pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 21pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2756" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 25.1px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2748" style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485234024207_2754" style="font-size: 21pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-84167453320718636212016-07-07T14:14:00.002-07:002016-07-07T14:14:28.490-07:00Something Old<br />
<br />
the gum drop lake<br />
held a pea green boat<br />
that drifted very slowly by<br />
<br />
and if you looked very close<br />
there's a very small bear<br />
with a laughing wink in his eye<br />
<br />
when you're not very old<br />
and your dreams can still live<br />
very close to the light<br />
of the day<br />
<br />
you can look very close<br />
and that very small bear<br />
has a smile that will light up<br />
your way<br />
<br />
and why does he smile<br />
you might ask with a grin<br />
that is coaxed from your face<br />
by his smile<br />
<br />
why he's smiling you see<br />
at that other small bear<br />
under candy canes nestling near-by<br />
<br />
your heart may then drop<br />
as you notice the boat<br />
as it makes it slow way<br />
to the shore<br />
<br />
and in only one blink<br />
when you look once again<br />
there are two little bears<br />
on the shore<br />
<br />The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-4007350323759004492016-07-06T15:19:00.004-07:002016-07-06T15:19:38.981-07:00I was wrong<br />
can the words make<br />
history<br />
disappear<br />
<br />
I am sorry<br />
can my sorrow<br />
erase pain<br />
<br />
I made a mistake<br />
can my admission<br />
erase the past<br />
<br />
or remove the hole<br />
in my<br />
heartThe Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-2012772290265251012016-06-24T17:45:00.004-07:002017-02-27T11:28:27.121-08:00<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the change</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">you wish to see</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that slumbers deep</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that makes us free</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the heart</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that beats inside </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">reaching with arms</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that open wide</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the love</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that pours upon</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">the poor, downtrodden</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">sad, alone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the one</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">you are within</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">transforming what</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">has never been</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the change</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">and you will see</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">the change in you</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">the change in me</span>The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-30670402722659625212016-06-24T17:45:00.003-07:002016-06-24T17:46:55.818-07:00<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the change</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">you wish to see</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that slumbers deep</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that makes us free</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the heart</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that beats inside </span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">reaching with arms</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that open wide</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the love</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">that pours upon</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">the poor, downtrodden</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">sad, alone</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the one</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">you are within</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">transforming what</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">has never been</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;" /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">Be the change</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">and you will see</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">the change in you</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.08px;">the change in me</span>The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-26975673401775714402016-05-24T17:44:00.001-07:002016-06-01T22:25:12.866-07:00Listen to the silence<br />
you can hear<br />
Your heartbeat<br />
Delivering life<br />
<br />
Touch your skin<br />
You can feel the rhythm<br />
in your veins<br />
<br />
Open your eyes<br />
You can see<br />
The promise of tomorrow<br />
<br />
And You can know<br />
Life<br />
<br />
<br />The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148046.post-41377126712721091852016-05-22T13:41:00.000-07:002016-05-22T13:41:54.061-07:00"How Stereotypically White Are You" is a FB quiz. Why am I compelled to do these things. Okay, that's for another day. But....<br />
<br />
I am over 60<br />
I am white<br />
I am a woman<br />
but what does it mean to be white<br />
and<br />
does it really matter?<br />
<br />
<br />The Writers Blog -- Joanne Nakayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00933161962524301014noreply@blogger.com0