Monday Finds "Growth Rings"

I find this poem interesting and wish to share it with you. Follow the link -- you may just find a poet or poem that sparks something inside you.

"Growth Rings" by Rose Dewey Knickers.

Poem - Surely, Where are you?

It is beautiful, isn't it!

This is a partial view of the 48 squares knitted or crocheted by 48 different human beings that was then labored over for hours by another human being(s), crocheting them together as one stained glass effect afghan for the Share A Square Project.

It is one of 140 afghans needed so each of the children who will attend Camp Sanguinity next summer can wrap themselves in our love and their own well-honed imagination.

Surely, Where are you?


Surely, you have a maiden aunt
or a boss that knits behind a rant?

Surely, your instincts are like radar
to detect a crocheter from afar?

Surely, someone owes you a favor
that knows a talented crocheting raver?

Surely, the young poet next door
would rather knit than clean a floor?

Surely, you know someone that rocks
to crochet a square smaller than infant frocks?

Surely, you know someone who knows someone
who will say "No problem, I'll get it done today, hon!"

MeeAugraphie
08/03/07

OK, enough, I felt driven to write ridiculous poetry to get your attention! Then just before posting it, I realized I had a better way to get your attention -- a simple photo of how beautiful the afghans are turning out! And, Shelly Kneupper Tucker gave me permission to use this photo. Unfortunately for you, the poem was written!

If you know ANYONE who can knit or crochet the tiniest bit, please, steer them toward Shelly at ThisEclecticLife.com. Encourage them to knit or crochet just one or two squares, tag it (with their name, town and state) -- and send them off to little old Denton, TX.

You see there, they will be joined together, to make a gorgeous afghan like this 1 of the 140 destined for the kids at Camp Sangunity. I'll leave the details for Shelly to tell, but you all do know how small 6 inches really is, right? So, it won't take long to make it. And her address is so easy, no long drawn out names of streets you cannot even pronounce -- just a simple PO BOX. . .

The idea is to have the afghan made by a minimum of 49 different people, 48 making squares plus the 1 or 2 workhorse human beings that then crochets them all together.

We can make a difference in a big way by doing a small tiny something. And it can be as tiny as finding the Surely persons!

If you are saying, "So what, what difference will an afghan make?" -- perhaps this list of 17 things to do with an afghan will explain it. Feel free to share it with others.

Read more >> Options >>

3WW - Tourist Trap

Gray -- Fathom -- Memphis

Those words were thrust at us by Bone to show our creativity with for his meme, 3 Word Wednesday. A simple mission? Perhaps not this time. Check out the rules and the links to other creative writers who took on the challenge, including Bone.

Tourist Trap


No Graceland pomposity for us,
we explored dreary
of another kind
wandering just another
street
in Memphis.

I could not fathom
Beale Street's allure
until magic enveloped
as he pushed open a door
into history
and replaced the gray
of a mundane march
along cracked sidewalks
with
the blues of B.B.King's.

A new color wangled its way into
my heart that night
squeezing between
pounding beats of Rock
and
dum dum tek-a-tek of Mid-Eastern
to connect heart with soul.

MeeAugraphie
08/01/07

Check out, "The story of Beale St" -- as told by Rufus Thomas.

Your brain can come up with your own word combinations, please, do not copy mine.

Note: please let me know if the picture is in the header or not, it keeps coming and going, and without it the blog title is hidden from view -- as is the evidence of my age as it is my graying hair in the photo....

Monday Finds "Going Home Again"

I find this poem interesting and wish to share it with you. Follow the link -- you may just find a poet or poem that sparks something inside you.

"Going Home Again" by Sue Turner.

Showing Not Telling Contest

I discovered a blog yesterday that was new to me. Had fun today jumping around in discovery. I enjoyed reading Missy's posts, a bit of this and that, you may, too! She has a writing contest going, with a prize, though, the fun will be in trying to do as she requests -- show, not tell. She has a sentence all ready for you to work you magic with, I won't spoil the surprise, you can click here to get the sentence and the simple contest details.

Am I entering? Of course, but the first "entry" I started -- well, I got carried away and wrote a story, one I want to polish and submit to an editor. So, I'll be writing a shorter one right along with y'all. You have until "12:00 p.m. cst on August 6, 2007". Now, I don't know if that is noon or midnight, I never accepted the rules for am and pm - I always use military time so there is no room for confusion. So, you may want to submit it sooner, especially y'all staying up all night for Blogathon 2007, you may use a few of those minutes to write your paragraph.

So, go on over to Missy's post of the rules at The Incurable Disease of Writing - I bet we can all identify with her blog title, can't we!

Monday Finds "Spaced Out"

I find this poem interesting and wish to share it with you. Follow the link -- you may just find a poet or poem that sparks something inside you.

"Spaced Out" written by Gataumi Tripathy. Check it out!

Monday Finds "Slippery"

I find this poem fun and wish to share it with you. Follow the link -- you may just find a poet or poem that sparks something inside you.

"Slippery" written by Clare Clare's Sunflower Sky. Check it out!

Make A Difference the EASY WAY

Stop! Are you thinking that to help Shelly get 6720 squares to have put together as afghans for the kids that attend Camp Sanguinity means you and your friends have to crochet or knit tons of squares, causing your fingers to go numb because of carpal tunnel, your children to be unfed, your husband to be ignored (more than you MEANT to? Guess what! It really doesn’t.

I think many of us - when we mention it to others or in our self conversations - come across as if we want LOTS of squares from them. We are so used to being asked to give all. Even I was thinking that way, losing sight of her REAL quest: to have each afghan show the love of FORTY different people. (Well actually make that minimum of 41 because someone has to crochet them all together).

So, what that means is as few as one or two per person and you have helped! Of course, you could do more, in case not enough people participated or in case they DID and she can start donating them to other camps. So, what is needed is LOTS of people doing VERY LITTLE!

With that thought in mind, if you can do lots, great! Others have and more will have the time, but many don’t have the time, why they are wasting it reading this - or are they? I may have an idea that will work for you or someone you know!

It is you out there that is willing to do just one or two or three that REALLY will make this project be as she envisioned it.

So, let’s rethink how we approach people, remind them that this is SHARE a SQUARE, not give us everything you have. Maybe then more people will have time to participate. All they have to do is make one SIX inch square, then make a little tag with name and location (or just use your business card) and tie it on and stuff it in an envelope.

Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t have that twinkle in your eye, that hint of suggestion in your voice, that smile on your face that says, “but I really really want to see you do a bunch!”

I know if you told me just one I would be more apt to do it than if you told me twenty, although I have managed to get eight done.

I give you, Ways to get more people to do it with you:

- The easiest way: simply ask, it actually worked for me, I was floored!

- Challenge your friends, coworkers, neighbors!

- Challenge the men to put out! (You know what I mean!)

- Invite them over for a desert and coffee and a knit just one square night/afternoon.

- Invite couples over and let the men (unless they do needlework) just do the guy thing and hang out by the pool or over the pool table or in front of the TV while you all knit or crochet a square. They will love the opportunity to spend just a few hours with the guys and you will get to chat without them rolling their eyes or saying, “yeah, right!”

- Bribe those that knit or crochet that have tons of kids and really need to relax - offer to watch the kids for a few hours so they can knit or crochet a square! (OK, I may be pushing my luck now with that idea!)

- If you can knit or crochet, offer to show your neighbors or friends how easy it is (OK, so I haven’t learned to crochet yet, I can knit though.)

- Teach your school age or teenage daughter and her friends. Once they have learned enough to pull off a decent square, let her have her friends over for a girls night, get them a movie for later, snacks, whatever teenagers are in to now. Then show them an easy pattern for a scarf or hat.

- Get the whole family involved on family night! The little ones can stamp or color tags, the one who knits or crochets can do his or her thing, finishing touches or making more, the others can write out tags or further embellish them, someone can punch the hole, tie it on, address the envelope, put the stamp(s) on, and the littlest can put it in the envelope. See how easy it is! Then have a fun desert or play a game the kids have been begging you to play, heck just do Ring around the Rosy or I spy. Make it fun. Count your blessings!

- Write a letter to a relative or friend you have practically ignored for years, tell them you just need ONE little square made, send them the yarn, send them a beautiful photo, a peppermint candy, a cute card. Here is your EXCUSE to write that note you have been meaning to. Send the website url if they use computers.

- Have your children write a letter or allow them to type their first email!

- Do it for yourself if for no other reason, just get lost in the meditative qualities of knitting or crocheting, that quiet rhythm that slows your breathing and quiets your brain. . . and that quietness will envelope a child in love. You will have made a difference to one child by one square, a few minutes (hours?) of your time, even if scattered here and there over several days will affect more lives than just yours — obviously the child receiving the afghan will have the warmth and cuddle factor, the people around the child, especially, will appreciate the time involved and the love behind the time, as they probably have little to give others, and - you will have shown others it can be done, the children around you, especially will have seen that it can be fit in.

You may not be able to fix the world, but you can fix one tiny corner of someone’s heart and expectations of what can be. And that, y’all is one heck of a long term investment in someone’s life that will be passed on down the generations!

NOTE! This is one post you can copy, take pieces of, rephrase, whatever. You don’t need to give me credit or link back here, run with it. . . This does not just apply to Shelly’s Share A Square Project - but to any project. Brainstorming is my favorite thing to do other than tumble words out of my head onto a keyboard. I probably could have come up with more, but I have squares to tag and box up - and I have goofed off long enough! And yes, I am putting this on all my blogs, even their old versions still on Blogspot. Duplicate content, but, hopefully worth your time to read ONCE.

Share a Square, then take on the rest of the world!

And for you poets out there - a cute little haiku or poem would be a great addition to your card, write it on the back if need be!

Oops, Thank you, and Link to Brian's photos

No Poetry Thursday for me this week. Not much reading of yours either.

Tomorrow is for Share A Square and pretending I am a housewife.

However, the latter may go by the wayside as I attempt to change the colors in the coolest of
ALL templates I found for this blog as I migrate it to Wordpress.org. One poem per page and a slight of hand. Surprise! awaits, things are hidden! Will you be able to figure out how to get to the next poem?

As usual I want it NOW and could have it now while I fixed the colors -- but, I have to find out how to migrate from Blogger to Wordpress when I have blogger on my own domain already. If you know shout out the directions location, please. But I will also hunt!

Brian, if you stumble on this before I get to reply to the other comment - Thank you for your help! I will try to fix it in the few minutes I have tomorrow! And y'all, hop on over to Brian's and check out the photos he has been posting of Morikami Gardens. They are awesome.

Monday Finds "The night Research went on a joyride"

I find this poem interesting and wish to share it with you. Follow the link -- you may just find a poet or poem that sparks something inside you.

"The night Research went on a joyride" - written by Norma of Collecting my Thoughts. Check it out!

A stream of thought - minus opening remarks

Future Plotted


waNe
pLan
leaP
Stop
reGroup
suRge
gAin

~~~~~~

Only a Game


one two
four six
twenty-nine
thirty-six

four two
fifty-seven
thirty-nine
holding

~~~~~~~~

Just Thinking


bookmarks
activate
thought
trading
yesterdays

~~~~~~~

Head and Heart


song
in head
bursts
into flame
cooled by
nature

fresh air
uses leaves
as instruments,
their melody
accented by
gas engines
decelerating
before ascent

while sun
joins forces
to turn leaves
into flashes
of light
and contrast

song
of nature
swells
heart
into receptacle
warmed by
nature

MeeAugraphie
07/06/07

~~~~~

Leaf Song

wind blows trees
leaves sing out
in celebration
for it is not
an angry gust
that blows

yet
within
melancholy
stirs
and spills

not celebration

because
(or not?)
there is no
one to raise
joyful voices
with - today -
at this moment
I'm bored with
my silent voice

or because
(most likely)
leaves singing
calls up
those moments
passed over
or through
or by
many
years
ago

when loneliness
seemed forever
unlike today.

MeeAugraphie
07/06/07

The opening remarks missing here is the first poem in this group. These actually followed the one posted here: Self-Validation, a tighter poem.

Hey, you! (No, not you honest people, ya'll don't need to even read this.) Don't bother copying,
my style of writing will not reflect well on your personality. Copy yourself.

Monday Finds "The Sky Fell"

Today is the first day of my newest post type: Monday Finds. I'm going to link to poems written by other bloggers that I find interesting: whether formal, informal, short, long, or just barely poetry. I am not going to attempt to comment on or critique them here, just provide the link so you can just enjoy them as a reader, not spend your time proving or disproving my comments!

It will drive me crazy only to post one a week, so, if you are into taking diverse pleasure in my frustration, go for it! Let's get started with today's interesting poet and poem.

I find this poem interesting and wish to share it with you. Follow the link -- you may just find a poet or poem that sparks something inside you.

The Sky Fell - written by ClockworkChris of Tears Shed On Paper. Check it out!

Poetry Thursday - Wasteland

(I have to thank Gay, her comment on another post about how quickly I write had me hunting for this post, I found it still sitting in the drafts. Stop by and read her words. She us up to Episode 12 in Norbert and Smedley! It is good stuff.)

I wrote this for Poetry Thursday this morning. We are being given free rein. Check out what everyone else wrote by following their links in comments at the Poetry Thursday link above. . . interesting stuff!

Wasteland


None bloom in the wasteland
that is his alone
Neither past nor present
seeds sent more than
naked stems for him
to gather

Touch, like that
of a baby's bottom
or a young woman's face
was unknown to his
withered hands

Voices raised in laughter
or choked in tears
remained elusive
blown away
in perfumed air
that never stopped
at his door

MeeAugraphie
06/27/07

This draft written in six minutes, I stumbled a moment on the wording of the last verse. For a fun look at what parenthood COULD be, if we would all only allow ourselves, click on this fictional poem written just moments before I wrote this one.

Mostly Untapped Power of Parents

After writing that one I thought about how much many of us fail to remember they are just kids, that melancholy came out in the next poem I wrote Wasteland. It was written from a prompt of ten words. I love prompts of any kind.

For that one or two of you out of thousands lurking in the blogosphere and preparing to grab someone else's words as yours - don't. It is unbecoming and plain rotten. Besides, only I can be me or any other poets/writers be themselves. Our words just wouldn't be a good fit for you!

Good Morning

I am otherwise occupied, but may get a few posts in! You could stop here and check these out:

While I am Watching Leon Work

Poetry Thursday - Prayers Unheard?

Poetry Thursday, vacationing, left us to our own devices. One of my favorite prompts in the short time I have participated was to use a random line from another poet's work, with permission, of course. Well, this time, I chose the line, and, well, begged Chris to use it here. So, once you've read this and stopped by his site, stop by Poetry Thursday and grab a link to the other awesome poets and discover what was in their minds this week.

Thanks to Chris @ Tears Shed On Paper, Clockwork Chris Returns for allowing me to use a line from his poem, Pillow, in mine, written because I fell in love with this line of his:

"An angel's suffocating tear. . . "


Prayers Unheard?

An angel's suffocating tear
shed because you did not hear
the words whispered in the breeze
as you got up from bended knees:

Who will brush back your hair
or absorb the quiet words you bare
when you helmet one and choke the other
to turn your back to yet another?

An angel's suffocating tear
shed because you did not hear
the words whispered in the breeze
as you got up from bended knees

MeeAugraphie
06/20/07


Chris often comes up with interesting lines and writes of life, as it is, hard and soft. Don't take the long way to his words, click on his line to get to his poem. While you are there, he has taken the time to publish many of his words in book form. Check them out.

My words are not for copying. And since Chris' words are in this one as well, permission would need to come from both of us to reuse! Links, however are fine.

Charity Path Visited

Charity Path Visited

A single
vision
thought
sound

emotions
invoked
in your heart
charity
begins

then

moves
to your brain
to shut down
procrastination
so

giving
can begin

your brain commands
your fingers to work:
on telephone keys
on keyboards

they hold ink
needles
shovels and brooms
money or food

just

one variable
controls
the outcome:

How fast does
your heart shut down
the signal to your brain?
Before it make it all the
way to your fingers?
Or?


MeeAugraphie
06/14/07

This poem was inspired by the first sentence that popped out of my head this morning while writing a post to spotlight Shelly's Share A Square Afghans for Kids with Cancer campaign.

Even if your fingers will not make the move to a crochet hook, just putting a button on your side bar or posting on it might bring those that do flying out of their chair and to their stash of leftovers.

Of course, the real reason to participate in some way is comfort. There is not a writer among us that doesn't understand that word.

If you are hesitating in the least, jump here to read my real attempt at promotion of her idea. Aren't you the least bit curious how my mind would work around that! ? (I think I came across as a drill sergeant rather than a promoter - not that I have natural skills at either.)

I'm not even posting the don't copy notice on this one, because I KNOW anyone reading a post with the word "Charity" in it is NOT one of those people that would.