Poetry and Potpourri ....... September 24, 2003

9-24-2003 | JustAmy, Mama_Bear, St.Louie1

[JustAmy]

.................................................................

The Poetry Branch has been in limbo since the prior hostess left FreeRepublic April 15th 2003. We've since learned that said hostess has lost her posting privilege. That being the case, and Jim Robinson having given his ok, I wanted to renew the thread.

FreeRepublic is blessed with many fine poets, and we look forward to seeing their poems posted on FR once again. There were many non-poet FReepers who visited the Poetry Branch for the camaraderie; we hope they will return.

I would like to invite everyone to visit and relax at Poetry and Potpourri. Hopefully you will renew old acquaintances for chatting, sharing jokes, telling stories, posting cartoons, etc. Everyone needs a place to escape from the everyday news, make Poetry and Potpourri that place.

...................

The Belvedere's Guardian Wolf ~
the always charming, lovable, huggable,
LouieWolf.

[Billie]

That's so sweet, Misty - be sure and get pictures in his cammo - and with the flag. We should make a pledge graphic with it. :)

[okimhere]

The Storm in My Heart

Like a short psalm. Thank you for "today's poem". My mind's output tends to resemble Burma Shave sign humor, but I deeply appreciate the meaningful ones I read here by such as you.

[MistyCA]

Wow, Amy! You are full of great recipes today!

[dansangel]

My mind's output tends to resemble Burma Shave sign humor, but I deeply appreciate the meaningful ones I read here by such as you.

Methinks you short-sell yourself.

Thank you for the kind words ((((oih))))

[MistyCA]

I like that one!

[Darksheare]

UH oh, gothic alert.
You actually liked it?
*Scratches head*

[dansangel]

More carbs? Gee whiz!! :-)

Too compicated for me. Ask .45MAN. If it doesn't come out of a box, I have no patience for baking it! LOL!

Now cooking meals, on the other hand - that I have a *lot* of patience for. I guess I'm just lacking in the "baking gene." :-)

[MeekOneGOP]

Hey this is the way I talk.

LOL ! :O)

[MistyCA]

I have some neat pics of him Billie. When his mom and dad took him to Arlington and surrounding sites, they got him a George Washington hat and a rifle. I have this awesome picture of him with the hat and rifle in his yellow rain boots! LOL. I will see if I can get the scanner up and show it to you. He´s a real character! If you can imagine Dennis the Menace, you can see our Dyl Pyckle!

[okimhere]

(*Visualize No Democrats*)

What a splendiferous thought!!

And thanks for my first hug of the day...now lunch is over and I'm leaving with a Potpourri smile on my face.

[dansangel]

I'm leaving with a Potpourri smile on my face.

Here's an extra.....

(((((((okimhere)))))))

:-)

[MistyCA]

Yes. I don´t usually like that stuff. My daughter use to hang out with the musical group, should probably not say which one. It made me nuts! They are good people, but the music often made me scratch my head and wonder what´s wrong with being in tune. LOL. Actually, some of it was pretty good, but some of it was waaay out there! And little of the lyric made sense to me. The female vocalist was absolutely awesome, but much of what she sang was in Latin, on top of the fact that it made little sense in English! I was so glad when my daughter got over that infatuation and came back to earth! No offense to goth, but its like flying...I prefer my feet on the ground.

Your verse made sense to me without too much effort. I have a good friend who talks about an out of body experience that she had after a car accident. And I have seen my mom have something happen once that was very similar to that. Plus, when my sister had cancer surgery 20 yrs ago, she was completely aware of what the doctors were saying and doing even though she was put under by anesthesia. The doctors couldn´t understand how she was able to repeat what she heard during that surgery. But she knew everything about it. Levels of consciousness are interesting to me, and because of some very strange happens I have seen with my own eyes, it is hard for me to overlook the idea that there are links in this life that can surpass proximity and ordinary awareness. Life is indeed strange, and your grasp of some parts of it is not without significance. Does that make sense......

[JustAmy]

Hey the place I found has other recipes, I may post a couple of them for you later.

Like I said, I'll stick to cinnamon toast. LOL

[Darksheare]

Yes.
It does make sense.
Once not too long ago, isn't that how some good fairy tales start, I could tell what direction my closest friends were in.
I could 'feel' where they were.
Now I don't feel that, they're all gone.
Or as one thing I wrote said, "I've thrown first earth on the shrouds of too many friends."
Unfortunately, just because they're dead doesn't mean they don't bother me.
My closest friend still bothers me in dreams.
She laughs and asks, "How did you get along without us before?"
Guess it's a reminder that I had a life before they came into mine.

A good portion of what I write deals with the loss of friends, and the shattering of a personality in freefall.
"The spinning shards of me glitter like so many tears falling in the void"
(perpetually unfinished as I don't like where it is going or what it implies.)

I did end one with the Latin comment: Nox Aeturnus en Pax.
(Night eternal in peace, as a direct literal translation.)

[dansangel]

Like I said, I'll stick to cinnamon toast. LOL

That's about my speed. :-)

[JustAmy]

The Recipe Book

I ran across a book one day
At a flea market seller's stall
I said, "What do you want for this?"
He sighed, "Fifty cents is all."

It looked quite old and dirty
But some recipes looked good
I put it on my nightstand
I would read it when I could

That night I wiped the cover
And took a peek inside
I found more than some recipes
This was a sweet surprise

The well-worn pages told me
About this woman's life
Each family member's favorites
Were marked and noted twice

Her first pot roast was stringy
She noted with shaky hand
Her new husband had eaten it
But said it was so bland!

Favorite cakes were circled there,
Sometimes there was a smudge
"This is Jimmy's favorite"
Had a trace of chocolate fudge!

Through the angel cakes and fritters
I saw a pattern form
Notes were made throughout this book
So tattered, and so worn

Old coupons were still in the back
I found a pocket there
And in the very bottom
A dry rose, a lock of hair

Bits of poems and sage advice
Were scribbled through the book
She took me through her life and past
I learned more than what to cook

I think what bothered me the most
Was the inscription in the front
"I give this book to my daughter Jen,

I hope it helps you some."

I wonder why the book was there
Obviously cast aside
It represented a mother's heart
All the love she held inside

From baby food and funeral pie
My eyes were close to sleep
I smiled and thought, "Don't worry Mom"
Your treasure I will keep

Next morning I wrapped the book
In tissue, clean and white
I look forward to my visits there
Each and every night

I knew I'd found some memories
Worth more than purest gold
I think I'll try the chicken soup
That cured Aunt Mabel's cold...

~~~~ Karen Shaw Matteson ~~~~
© 2001

[Darksheare]

Reminds me of an "Our wedding vows" rememberance book I saw in a bookshop once.
Stuffed full of odds and ends, it was sitting all alone like a cast aside bit of laundry.
I couldn't shake the feeling I got off it, as if it were a symbol or an illustration of what happened to it's owners.

[Darksheare]

a flight of fancy in a child's eye
to see a brief glimpse of days gone by
she stood alone on the gulf of forever
black winged and robed the tears fell
a memory of pain and things that can never be
to sit back and count all the days gone by

'All the days gone by'

[Jen]

Thanks Billie. I thought the colors were appropriate for the theme. Purple has always been one of my favorites too.

[JustAmy]

That poem touched me ...... maybe because I have been working on my genealogy. It reminded me of the treasures I've found in boxes, albums and trunks. Finding post cards written by family members is so special.