Tag Archives: recovery

Poetry, Writing

Lesson 16 The Way of the Wizard

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(Poem 143 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

“The straight lines of time are actually threads of a web extending to infinity.” – Deepak Chopra’s The Way of the Wizard    

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

No matter where I go,
there I am, at the center
of my universe, with
every vector of possibility
extending outward to
infinity and beyond.
When I can settle and
still the turmoil of my
soul, I can see the heavens
in my own being.
I know the sun does
not truly rise in the sky,
nor is the horizon the
edge of the world, yet
I live as though I believe
the earth is flat and this
is all there is to my being.
It is a lie that the past
creates the present and
the present creates the
future, when memories
of the future can inform
the present and change
my very perception of
the past I thought I knew.
I can live tomorrow’s
dream today if only I
choose to look beyond
the veil and accept that
I am a wizard, rather than
a human bound by fate.
I am the relationship
between nowhere and
now here because I have
localized eternity to this
point in time and choose
to focus on this present.

@Home Studio – 143rd poem of the year

Chopra, Deepak. The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons for Creating the Life You Want. New York, United States of America, Harmony Books, 1995, pp.109-115.

Runner ups for the Eternity photos to accompany my poem:

Poetry, Writing

Pre-K Graduation

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(Poem 142 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Photograph taken by Lydia Sullivan

My grandson graduated from pre-K
and I was moved, not by his adorable
singing and dancing and attempt at
the gestures to match his teacher,
but by the tears flowing down his
mother’s cheeks while watching her
sweet boy performing his heart out.
When I see her love for her children,
I am transported to similar moments
in our past when I watched her or
her brother with the pride only a
mother can contain, so full of love
and joy and fear and anticipation
that nothing else exists beyond the
perfection of their little contribution.

@Home Studio – 142nd poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

Erica Magic

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(Poem 141 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Selfie by Erica Smith

One minute she’s harvesting
seeds from dried flowers she
plucked from her own garden,
the next she’s trying on new
nails she got on sale from her
latest favorite glamour website.
She flits around handling
five children clamoring like
baby birds for her food and
her praise because nothing
is better than Erica approval.
Through it all she’s telling stories,
sharing the latest gossip, and
exclaiming such things as
I can’t,
ain’t nobody got time for that,
go lay down,
I got time today,
who are you talkin’ to,
not on my watch,
I can hear you, you know,
the call is coming from inside the house,
get somebody else to do it,
boy, bye,
they’re all broken.
And we laugh and cry and
sip tea and share our lives.

@Home Studio – 141st poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

I Started Back Swimming

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(Poem 139 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/FOeN3T

I started back swimming,
well, this illusion of me that
is twice as big as the real
me who is surprised every
time I look in the mirror
and see a fat lady there.
She is a lovely fat lady,
don’t get me wrong,
she has a kind expression and
sincere eyes that seem a little
sad the way they turn down.
Her face is not memorable,
but that is nothing new
since I often don’t recognize
people by their faces alone.
I need to see the way she
moves through the water
where even the biggest
sea turtles can float.

@Home Studio – 139th poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

Bullet Hole Drive Thru

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(Poem 138 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Is that a bullet hole there in
the drive thru menu board
at the McDonald’s off Mopac?
Maybe, maybe not, but what
does it say that my first thought
leans toward that being the case?
What is this world coming to?
is the thing older people say to
one another in these moments.
They shake their heads and
look at the ground, implying
life used to be less complicated.
When did I become them,
sucking my teeth in disbelief,
saying, As I live and breathe?

@Home Studio – 138th poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

My Cat and I Had a Little Talk

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(Poem 137 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Photograph taken by Rebekah J Marshall

My cat and I had a little talk
before she went into surgery.
I was warned by the vet that
this could be the end for Beauty.

Her heart is now much weaker,
not as strong as it once was.
Removing the growths on her
chest might need to be put on pause.

But my sweet girl is miserable,
I can tell because I know her well.
She needs help, comfort, relief,
my poor lovely, gentle belle.

I told her she’s been so strong,
served as my constant friend.
It’s time for her to rest for now;
let her body have time to mend.

@Home Studio – 137th poem of the year

(Update – She made it through the surgery and is doing ok.)

Poetry, Writing

My Husband Gifted me a Forest

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(Poem 136 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Photograph taken by David Marshall 5/7/24

My husband gifted me a forest
and a clearing of pale blue sky.
I keep it nestled in my cell phone
to comfort me any time I cry.

He knows I love tall evergreens
and can hide there in the woods,
take refuge from the scary world,
forget all the coulds and shoulds.

When the leaves begin to rustle
and whisper their daytime thoughts,
they ease my troublesome worries
and smooth out all my gnarled knots.  

The few seconds of rest I find
in this tranquil space of peace
soothe my soul, calm my nerves,
and help my anxieties cease.  

@Home Studio – 136th poem of the year



Poetry, Writing

Venus Car

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(Poem 135 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Photographs taken by Rebekah J. Marshall 5/3/24

What in the world
kind of space-age
contraption is this?
Not found on a
movie set or at a
Comicon convention,
a float in a parade
or on display in a
futuristic museum.
No, just sitting pretty
in an HEB parking
lot like it’s waiting
for its alien pilot
to finish grocery
shopping and climb
back in before lifting
off to start the long
flight home to Venus.  

@Home Studio – 135th poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

The Many Faces of Julian

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(Poem 134 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Photos taken by Rebekah Marshall 5/2/24

There’s nothing better than
candid shots of a 5-year-old.
The sublime modeling poses
inspire joy – pure silliness gold.

Everyone else might smile or
throw awkward peace signs.
Not a 5-year-old, oh no, their
forced presence turns to whines.

And if you know what’s good
for you, you’ll let them leave
because if you think you’ll get
good pics, you are really naïve.  

@Home Studio – 134th poem of the year

Poetry, Writing

You are an Audio Book

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(Poem 133 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/4TW5sw

You are not the kind of book with
a slick jacket I can collect on my shelf;
nor can I mark my place with sticky notes,
gum wrappers,
or old receipts.

You are an audio book with raucous
laughter, one-liner quips of witty dialogue,
random philosophical musings about religion,
and societies
latest great failings.

Sometimes I need to slow the playback
speed and crank up the volume to discern
the subtle nuances of your narration and tune
my ear to
your frequency.

Other times I realize you’re on full
blast in the middle of a raunchy scene in
public rather than coming through my headphones
like a
gentleman.

@Home Studio – 133rd poem of the year