While We Were Away

I was reading and thinking, realizing so much was different; the past was irretrievably gone. This short piece begins to deal with it, but LIFE will never resemble those bygone days.

Haphazardly Alone

I felt this topic applicable and have not posted from my journal recently, so I shared this. While doing my Creativity Project on Chronicles, I entered a handwritten piece almost daily.

I have been having difficulty with handwriting for a while. I recently discovered my vision impacted that because, on a whim, I picked up a set of reading glasses. I wear contacts that are an adequate adjustment, but close work like writing demands a bit more.

Being a bit perfectionistic, I hate to bring anything not up to my standard here.

Prompt: Do something unusual in your creative practice; share it if you dare.

Gratitude:

One of my most challenging times of year ends within the next few days, Easter being the culmination of it, and I made it through without a major meltdown.
Back on track with handwriting.
I cooked from scratch the other night, and it was not all bad.
Having a dishwasher.
Running water.

Sometimes I wonder why I continue with this, but it is my practice. If I were not doing the Creativity Project, I would not work as hard to produce something viable every day. If you would like to follow the site, see the sidebar for three methods. Communication from you as a reader gives me some clue whether or not I am engaging you in a manner that pleases you.

I hope all of you who celebrate Easter have a blessed one. To those following other paths, may you find hope, joy, and peace in your daily realm.

Counsel

Be happy, wherever you are,
whatever you do today.
Reach for the joy,
let it invade.
Remember, you are loved,
no matter what your mind may say.
Time is too short
to waste on frowns.
Look at the sky,
see how wide and bright –
your future is expansive
and full of potential.
Please take my advice,
enjoy life while you are living,
and do not waste a moment.
Be kind, generous,
and love everyone
you can as a gift
and a friend.
The most love you gain,
as you more openly spend.

© Jo Ann J. A. Jordan

The above was a paragraph shared on my wall, I decided it would make a good poem.

Prompt: Take something you create for one purpose and re-purpose it for another use.

Emerge, To Be

A saber struck through
My heart, failing to understand –
Why I am here, and they are gone.
Tears cut furrows down my cheeks
My sobs the neighbors, awake.

Each one a star of heaven’s sky –
What IS this? Who AM I?
Others say, “It’s not your time!”
But why theirs, if not mine?

My soul quakes, aches, to call
Them all, bring them back
Their parts to play, the stage
Devastated with their absence,
The curtains fallen, crimson glory.

I could name them, one by one,
Those precious, who are gone
Through actions, they cannot unmake,
We cannot restore them, taken
By the working of their hands.

Please, please understand
No matter what you have done,
Been, seen, experienced –
There is still enough, still love,
Still more, friendship, joy in store,
You belong; you are pricelessly dear.

Reach out, find someone, let them
Be a heart to catch you, help you.
Reach, keep on until you find one
Who shows you there is meaning
And a hungry need for you to be.

Life without you is less shiny,
It is incomplete; your smile
Fulfills someone’s need, you are
A blessing indeed, and there exists
A purpose suited to your unique identity.
I know the battle is exhausting
But let us not give up; I am counting
On you to recognize life as a gift;
Stay, continue fighting, together
Everyone can make it.

Observe

If we celebrate
Anything, we should celebrate
Being here, being alive;
Because living is not a given
Life keeps passing, good-bye.
We are only the blinks
In the movement of eternity,
Breaths in a storm only
Sent once to live and die,
Sing as if you mean it; try.
I would not ask you
To participate if did not I,
The beauty of forever
You can grasp onto, hold, find,
If you reach for it, nearby.

Prompt: What compels your attention, takes you out of the moment?