After Quarantine

The world is made new
Different than any have
Previously seen,
A quieter, less crowded place
For we have sheltered in homes.
Those who solitary
Embrace, enjoy, are at peace,
But most are denied
The routine, familiar pace
That verified lives defined
By haste, and social interaction.
This contraction is revoking
Much we all depended upon,
We had no inkling commerce,
Education, government, health care
Could be like the empty shelves
Where toilet tissue used to be,
But now, we know the economy
Can fail because contagion invades.
The mystery
Will we return to business as
Usual if or when the deaths end?
Could we be fortified to live
More independently, freely,
Functioning successfully on our own?
We have been catapulted into
A space-time continuum
We did not expect or choose to share,
We are commissioned with the duty
To bring care, kindness, and love,
To this New World unfolding
Unfathomably before us
Moment by moment.

Life Cycle

As day begins pain
Arising like the sun hours
Ago; now, let go
Find the power to persist,
Suffering, positivity
Do not co-exist,
The will is stronger; survive,
Thrive fully alive.
Be bigger than the challenge
Sink the free-shot, all net, whoosh.
Play like the champion
No one knows in these plain clothes,
Name always unknown.
It is the will which
Drives achievement, victory,
The self knows what must be done
It harbors no moment for defeat
Competition is against no other,
What must happen is proving stronger
Than yesterday’s best effort
Over and again, without pause,
Living to be a better person
Never content to give up
Never willing to contemplate
Quitting, forcing the pain small –
To relent enough to strive,
Finish all that was begun
With a conquering flourish,
One can overcome and grow.

Yesterday’s prompt on Poetic Asides was “cycle.” I am experiencing a bit of difficulty right now and felt I could do no poetry yesterday. The pain is not gone, but I am more forceful than my pain. I have never let it stop me. I wrote this today. Thank God for music. I might not make it without my Inspirations.

Creativity Now

If you are fortunate enough to have some extra time in your schedule now, I want to encourage you to spend a portion of your day engaged in a type of creativity:

You might want to write your observations of this time in a journal or create poetry and stories that are entirely unrelated. If you have ever had the ambition to write a book, perhaps this is your ideal time.

Photographers might enthuse themselves with taking photos of a scene over some interval of days, and look at the changes, or use them in layers combined for an HDR effect.

Artists might find ordinary items in the household and anthropomorphize those objects, even working them into a cartoon or short animated movie.

For those who have culinary desires, now might be the perfect time to delve into grandma’s recipes or that book you never opened and do some food magic.

Those musicians who need some practice could try something they have never gotten around to, or write some new songs that would surely receive a warm welcome the first time they are performed.

Computer programmers and other computer geeks, this is your time to code your own project until your heart is content.

Readers, this is the time to explore everything you choose. Go everywhere, everywhen, everyhow, you wish all within the covers of books or the pages of eBooks.

Of course, any of the above could engage children or pets as subjects in work, also involving children so they better understand what can be done creatively is a valuable learning activity.

I am confident if you look at this time from the perspective of opportunity that you will find inspiration and things to explore creatively. Time is only wasted when we fail to recognize its value. These are a few ideas, I am sure you have more if you allow.

Take care, be well, God Bless You!

Obscure

Just a moment, how,
Looking across the expanse
Of bare open floor
To the table where he sat
A vision almost unreal;
How the breath caught, ceased
Before the radiance of his face
Cast all unconscious, unknown,
Which would never leave one
Alone.
Sowing restlessness, unease,
No lesser mortal
Ever came close to pleasing
The feral wanting-ness,
Voracious needling appetite
Beyond all reason, all right,
His terra cotta eyes, sculpted jaw
Haunted every hour, day,
And night
Allowed a momentary respite,
So business, busyness
Were enjoined to maintain
A state where fantasies were
Kept from the forefront
Of thought for he was almost
A specter beyond every
Possibility, a dream of Love
To whom one might devote
But never acknowledged
Come close to embrace.

Another late night musing. Sometimes I believe insomnia is a creative gift. I allow the muse its way, better than Calgon, any day.

Hope Despite Plague

Busy, stay busy,
Converse with loves far away,
Read something, then more,
Celebrate this fragile life,
Do things to make the dogs happy.
Sing like you know how
No one is listening, just music be,
Do not cry that your job is gone
Hopefully only temporarily,
Recall so many better times.
Remember God is in Control
His love is eternal, never fades,
No tragedy can prevent Him
From being Lord of Lords and
King of Kings, these wrongs we suffer
This casting us into night, Christ
Knows and He will in time
Set it all right, He is our Hope
Our Defender and I will turn
To Jesus and I shall stand
For no virus, calamity, power of man
Can ever remove my soul
From the Master’s hand.

Today’s prompt on Poetic Asides is “Hope.” I am a bit preoccupied with circumstances at the moment, but I have Hope.