Tag Archives: Health

Health, Poetry, Writing

Good Morning

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(Poem 69 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/gEjF5X

Good morning leaves decaying in layers in our little yard forest. You have carpeted the ground beautifully with your life donation. Each of your sacrifices is appreciated, honored, and revered by many paws padding over your graves. Good morning birds singing to the gallery of the gods. You cheer the space where silence was lonely and fill the trees with invisible color. Good morning cool breeze gently swaying the boughs. Waving, nodding, welcoming all of us to your open-air cathedral, we are in awe of your generosity. Good morning ghost white sky. I suppose you don’t feel cornflower blue right now, and that is okay. You are lovely just as you are and have every right to express yourself however you like. Good morning big red barn with peeling paint. Your strength and shelter have protected many generations. You have been a foundation upon which lives were built. Good morning wood pile. What a lovely stack you’ve made of yourself, artistically skewed like an artisanal centerpiece for the yard.

@Home Studio – 69th poem of the year

Fiction, Poetry, Writing

Law & Order: SVU

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(Poem 68 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

https://images.app.goo.gl/1AQSkHQq8cYWGWkw5

Crimes against the most
vulnerable in society
often go unreported,
unsolved, left in the dark
where they were committed.
Shows about the people
who work tirelessly to
defend the weak and
catch the perpetrators
of evil provide comfort.
Each episode should probably
elicit fear, shed light on
terrors I never even thought
of before, keep me up at night,
but instead, something about
the procedural repetition of
violence, discovery,
investigation, interrogation,  
Stabler wrestles with demons,
Benson saves the day,
the criminal goes to jail,
and I can fall right to sleep.

@Home Studio – 68th poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

Life Is Hard

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(Poem 65 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Kenji, Aiko, Beauty (Starting at 12 o’clock and going clockwise)

Life is hard for protectors
who must bark endlessly to
deter potential enemies.
Anything could be a threat-
that leaf fluttering menacingly
toward the fence line,
the plane flying over head,
even the car passing on the
street that can’t be seen,
only heard and understood
to pose a danger to all.
It is only right that well-earned
naps take place at regular
intervals throughout the day.
How else will they manage
to continue their missions,
patrol every inch of property,
smell every conceivable
danger before it could
possibly occur, and protect
the peace with dignity?
The cat just likes to nap for
no good reason; she has not
honorably earned her sleep,
nor has she contributed in
any way to the security of
her family beyond gazing
disinterestedly at the hard
workers as they tirelessly
performed their duties.
It is a thankless job with
only contentment as reward.

@Home Studio – 65th poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

I Fell Today

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(Poem 61 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/7pYBlB

I fell today while walking Kenji
the short distance to the dog run.
I did not trip, stumble, collapse,
slip, stub my toe, nor faint dead away.
It was as though the earth moved
from beneath my feet and there
was nothing left to do but lie down-
the slow motion forward momentum
reminiscent of a tree felled by rot.

My shocked dog panicked, then
sprung into action and proceeded to
administer CPR square in the middle
of my back while head-butting me,
attempting to bring me to. Trouble is,
I was not in need of any of these
ministrations; my breathing was
startled, but sure, and adrenaline
ensured no loss of consciousness.

I’ve dreaded this day for over a
year; “Whatever you do, don’t fall,”
the surgeon’s only instructions
like telling a bird not to fly, a fish
not to swim, a dog not to give CPR
to its helpless person in need.
So, fall, I did, but break, I did not.
A little scraped, a lot bruised, but
no longer dreading the first fall.

@Home Studio – 61st poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

Old Tin Can

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(Poem 60 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/VMtRBA

An old tin can has myriad uses.
It can hold almost anything
that might need holding.
Used bolts, nails, and hinges,
extra screws that might come
in handy someday or never.
Paper clips, tacks, coins, even
a drink once given a good rinse.
There’s no end to its sense of
purpose when put to task.
It can keep seed safe ‘till the
next planting time comes,
trap danger in the form of
stinging things that scurry,
send sound with nothing more
than cotton string pulled taut.
It can be stacked and rolled,
kicked down the road,
thrown, crushed, and buried,
endure flame, flood, and cold.
The thing of it is the absence
of any thing that makes it
so useful because it can be
filled, drained, cherished, forgotten.
Its essence is what many
spend their lives trying to
imitate, emptying of self
opening to the possibility
of receiving and being filled.
I ‘reckon it would be quite a
compliment to be compared
to an old tin can because you
could hold your head high
knowing someone recognized
your inherent worth.

@Home Studio – 60th poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

Boaz Birthday

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(Poem 56 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

My adorable baby boy
took his sweet time
arriving on this day
28 years ago after a
long few days of labor.
Being the know-it-all
new mother who
planned a water birth
with a midwife in a
birthing center rather
than the traditional
route, we of course,
ended up in hospital.
No drugs, all natural,
no cutting…became
the opposite of all that.
When life is on the line,
baby’s life, that is,
do whatever needs to
be done; that is all this
mother in labor was
thinking, having done
all I could on my own,
for my body was unable
or unwilling to end her
mission of her own volition,
having spent ten months
fiercely protecting,
I had to force her to set
aside her desires, her will,
and trust the saviors in
scrubs provided by
God to save the gift,
so I could celebrate
the man you are today.

@Mema & Grandad’s Back Porch – 56th poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

I Provide

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(Poem 55 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

“Who can find a virtuous woman? For her worth is far above rubies.” Proverbs 31:10

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com  https://gencraft.ai/p/ozljx8

I provide an excellent income.
This priceless life has maintenance fees.
My husband dreams of being
a kept man, a trophy husband.

He knows I have his best interests
at heart and will provide if I can.
I find good deals on stylish threads
and am willing to roll up my sleeves.

I do the grocery shopping
with my own money, and cook
for four generations sometimes-
dark to dark are often my hours.

I buy land, cars, investments,
houses, furniture, animals,
goods (essential or frivolous),
and keep the lights on.

I am generous with my earnings,
always willing to share, ready for
winter and summer alike;
my home is a welcome oasis.

Our needs are met, as well as
many of our wants; my children
look to me for strength and
guidance as they make their paths.

My beauty is love, peace, work,
and teaching kindness through
craft – creation of story –
words strung together like pearls.

@Home Studio – 55th poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

I learned a new trick

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(Poem 54 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

“I learned a new trick to make the world look brighter.” – Erica Smith

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com  https://gencraft.ai/p/hXZuMQ

“I learned a new trick to
make the world look brighter.”
Literally, press on your eyeballs
and when you release,
everything in your field of vision
will look a little lighter.

You can also take a nap or
drink a full glass of water.
Pet your cat, walk your dog,
sit under a tree, laugh.

And if all else fails, go to bed
because tomorrow is a new
day with no mistakes in it yet.

@Erica’s – 54th poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

I am immersed in creativity

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(Poem 53 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com  https://gencraft.ai/p/Eq3Mn5

I am immersed in creativity daily
the way my dog is absorbed in the
smells of the morning leading him
on a one-track hunt for something
novel, and if all else fails, to discover
again the thing he found yesterday
that probably needs to be bothered
some more because when inspiration
strikes, one must follow the nose.

@Home Studio – 53rd poem of the year

Health, Poetry, Writing

I Do Work

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(Poem 52 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com  https://gencraft.ai/p/JAMCjk

I do work that I feel confident doing.
It stretches me and can be a complicated
puzzle that feels unsolvable at times,
but I am fully cognizant of my abilities,
able to slow my pulse, take a deep breath,
and start at the very beginning because
Julie Andrews says that’s a very good
place to start, and she knows things.

Old dogs can learn new tricks, though
they might need some accommodations
to help them master the same skills.
Honestly, whomever thought to suggest
phrases like neutral face and thinking-face
when hovering above emojis not only
blessed those of us who struggle to
read faces, but those of us unaccustomed
to reading little circular yellow faces
as part of our regular workday because
we grew up with rotary phones, and
being able to metaphorically clutch my
pearls by clicking on a gasp emoji
might come in quite handy someday.

My grandmother worked in the tech
sector via telecommunications back
when switchboard operators used
call signs like Capital 5 instead of
area codes and you could call an
actual human to ask for the time of day.

She never imagined she would add
butterfly emojis as her call sign in messages
she would send to her great-great-
granddaughter someday, and I never
imagined I would be helping AI
improve her reasoning skills, but I
come from a long line of women who
know how to adapt, are not afraid of
exploring the unknown, and will learn
what we need to learn to take care of
this next generation of forward thinkers.

@Home Studio – 52nd poem of the year