Michaelangelo and A Little Girl

Inspired by the image and sound bite of the Gatineau man hanging tightly to the hand of his daughter who was being swept up in last Friday's tornado - refusing to let go of her, I was reminded of Michelangelo's famous painting, The Creation of Adam.  It depicts the finger of God reaching to give life to Adam - Not quite touching - imparting the spark of life.  So many messages can and have been interpreted in this  powerful image;  I chose to see in it the creation of God's great love for man - His never letting go of us.   We have a Father who is constantly reaching out for us, and when we happen to lose our grip at times, He reaches even further and bridges the gap when we call out to Him.

We build our bridges,

Strong and wide

To take us to

The other side

Of the space between

The here and there,

An abyss unknown

And fraught with care;

Don't look down!  I cried;

Please don't let go,

I am so small,

So afraid that

I will fall;

I need some help

To cross this path

My faltering pace,

Guide with your grace,

The strongest bridge of all;

I'm reaching for

Your hand, Father,

As you reach out

For mine;

You calm the waters,

Cruel and wild,

You bridge the gap

And guide your child,

Across a bridge divine.

Nan Is Going Crazy!

I don't always have the answers to our grandchildren's  questions, or the energy to join in their requests of  'Let's play!', but the little child in me is still delighted when I am invited;  It's a beautiful thing to be included in their world, to be looked up to and believed in.   We could all benefit from putting their gift of total acceptance to work, believing in ourselves.   They will pick up on our positive attitude and build on that example of self-confidence, a valuable gift that keeps on giving.

Nan Is Going Crazy!

"Paint my fingers,

Paint my toes,

Wrap me up

In whacky clothes!"

I'm not sure,

You don't suppose

Nan might be going crazy?!

She's on the floor,

She's off the wall,

I hope she knows

That she could fall?

She doesn't act adult at all,

She's certainly not lazy!

Pop was laughing,

Now, he's not,

He's heading for

A safer spot,

Too much energy

She's got,

She's going oopsy-daisy!

He doesn't know

It's just in fun -

Pop is dialling

911!

Hold on  Pop,

Our Nan is back,

Safely on the adult track,

No danger of a heart attack -

Our playmate isn't crazy!

Someone once said, "It's the start that stops most of us."    That has certainly been the case for me lately; I find that my great intentions at the start of each day end up somewhere between full-stop and the back of the distraction line.   Focus Edie focus!  For all of you trying to share your own artistic or writing gifts with others, I encourage you to just start with one word, one line, one doodle at a time.   In my case, I worked out my frustrations by writing a literary doodle, a little poem that you can probably relate to:

A Literary Lull

Hello page -

It's me again,

I've had another coffee;

But all it did was make me shake,

No inspiration in its wake,

No powerful ripples for me;

So, I'm back

To think and sigh,

Heavy head and heavy heart,

Filled with words that won't leave home,

Hanging on, afraid to roam,

Lest faults they might impart;

For words have power

To hurt or heal,

And that is no small matter,

And so, in matters literary,

Some re-write is necessary,

But first -  I need to start!

Step 1 - Eat The Frog!

Step 1 - Eat the frog!

 I have a beautiful little Friendship Book, given to me when we first moved to Prescott by a lovely neighbour who took one of those meaningful first steps; Elizabeth and her husband, Michael came over to welcome us to the neighbourhood.  Little did she realize that reading one excerpt from that little book each day has become part of my morning ritual - It gives me a boost from sleep to smile.  I especially love its one reference to an old piece of folk wisdom that states, "If the first thing you do each day is eat a frog, then nothing worse will happen for the rest of the day."  How many of the things that we fear are as scary as that?

We will never know how far our unique ripples will flow until we take that first step into the stream each day, and carry our own personal frog to higher ground.

One Tiny Step

The first tiny step

Is the one that will lead,

That will start your whole process of growing;

It's the one to encourage,

As it breaks from its bonds

And carries us into unknowing;

Though the road be unclear,

The tools not too near,

They will come to your hand

By and by,

If you say to that step,

"I give you permission

To drive my life forward, to try";

For each tiny step

Has the power to move,

To make ripples of hope

In life's stream;

You may fall off the track,

But, at least looking back,

You'll be further ahead

Than you've been!

Lament For Friendship

Life is always both unpredictable and precious, and friendship is to be cherished.  It saddens me to see and hear the damage to the very special friendship that we have held with our neighbours to the South.  Let us pray that respect and healing will gain the upper hand.

Lament For Friendship

 What a sad thing,

When friends fall out,

And lose togetherness,

Becoming less;

When our common goals and aspirations

Become frayed - torn at the edges,

When talk is for show,

Fleeting bravado,

That weakens our bonds,

Leaves us struggling to cope,

Grasping at hope;

Why plant seeds of doubt,

What's this fear all about?

And what thanks do we send

To our struggling earth  mother,

As we feign to defend

Each from the other;

What do we gain

By inflicting pain;

In the glare of  'beware!',

How do we repair?

'Neath the weight of our words,

Our hearts long for peace,

For hurts to be healed,

For struggle to cease;

Then, let our falling out be ended,

And hands of friendship be extended;  

Around this world, our common home,

Let's build a wall of toleration,

Made up of every tribe and nation's

Hands joined together in respect and love;

That would be a wall

That we could all get behind.

For Dad - A Father's Lullaby

With Fathers' Day approaching, I tried to put myself into the mindset of  today's young men who are trying to be strong husbands and role models for their children in the midst of so much change in society.

  I was extremely lucky to be blessed with a father who gifted me with many tender memories.   Most of those memories are happy musical ones, but one is a very poignant one:  The occasion was the celebration of life for my brother-in-law, Gary; That was the day Dad's flood gates overflowed, overpowered by waters that were just too heavy.  As I watched him trying to hide his tears, I felt such immense love for him - I wanted to tell him that men are allowed to cry, that fathers are allowed to cry; Tears act as a release valve for all of us when the flood waters of stress threaten to overwhelm us.

 I hope dad knows how much influence his tears had on me, both the ones that came from heartache and those that rolled down his cheeks as he indulged in wonderful belly laughs.

I wish all of you fathers a Happy Fathers' Day - Kleenex is optional!

When night falls hard upon your dreams,

And wakes you from your sleep,

And you contemplate the echoes,

For the meaning that runs deep;

When your ship of hope has run aground,

On fears you can't get past;

When you cry aloud for rescue,

From troubles that hold fast,

Then lay your burden down awhile,

And fill your lungs with air,

And when you take it up again,

Know that He'll be there;

A loving guide to clear away

Each rock along your stumbling way,

Who understands the load you bear,

And listens to your father's prayer;

Father help us all to heal, to  look beyond our pain,

To let go of hurt, and prejudice and to let love start again;

let us speak tender words to each other,

 And let our song somehow

Soothe the hearts of those who are crying,

For the world needs a lullaby

 Right about now.

Happy Mothers' Day - Why Worry?

Mothers' Day is coming up on Sunday, and there are wonderful tributes flowing from all sorts of media - mothers are the inspiration behind some of the most beautiful songs and poems.

 I decided to address one of the down-to-earth feelings that we all share as members of this human race, and one that mothers are particularly susceptible to - worrying!  

Sometimes, when we can't seem to get a handle on our problems or get past the bad feelings that pull us down, it can be helpful to write it all out - perhaps in the form of a poem?   And, perhaps in the process, we can have a good hearty laugh at what's bothering us - after all, it can't write back, and I'm not letting it touch my keyboard!

Why Worry?

"Worry, my old friend,

Where've you been?

Where've you been?

It's been minutes since

I've seen your sorry face!

Worry, where'd you go?

For it seems

I've missed you so,

That I couldn't cope

With happy thoughts

That tried to take your place!"

So, worry came back, knocking

At my door,

At my door,

Just when I thought

I simply couldn't

Worry anymore,

"I can see that you've

Been working out,

How wonderful!

How wonderful!

I almost fell asleep

In pleasant dreams,

But, I was worried

That a whole night's sleep

Without you,

Yes, without you,

Would leave my life a bore,

Livened only by my snore!"