transition

at the edge between summer and fall
there is a smooth transition
of warm winds and a rain which drops
gentle notes on a musical composition

at the edge between autumn and winter
there is a storm of golden leaves
turning to brown,
a misty gown
dresses the morning with fear
that the first frost is too near

at the edge between winter and spring
there are buds on a twig
daring to grow into the unknown
fast to change mood atmosphere

fidgety, tricky and awfully pretty
spring gets in our bodies the heat
that we missed and the light
our souls need to set flight

when you start to think
that finally spring is here
summer has already began
we missed this transition
and we happily sweat
for a couple of months
I have never had
enough yet.

wake

wake little elf wake
the morning is hear
and breakfast is near
wake little elf wake!

I still need to sleep
his little face said;
then a smile budded on his cheek
followed by a frown
which frowned
on his forehead;
but peaceful he stayed
in his bed and he slept;
for when elves sleep
they dream deep,
in the forest
where only sleep-waves can creep.
so I had to finally send
a giggle and a couple of words
to cut the spider nets
clouding his eyes
with sleepy syrupy veils;
and the giggles cut through
like green blades
that the grass knights use
to salute the light.

wake little elf wake
the morning is hear,
breakfast is near
and mama will bake
if only you wake
little elf wake!

make believe

do not believe that because
you got a lot of candy tonight
life must be sweet to you
and most everybody - always

do not believe that the girl
with sparkly shoes
can use them to fly
away from the witch taunting her

neither the witch
does not have magic tricks
up her sleeves
but just a scary face

incredible as it seems
they may not be
too different
from each other

(as you wander together
the distance from one heart
to another need not be long
unless you set yourself apart)

try to feel good
in your own shoes
but if they still
give you bruises and bumps

get out of them as fast
as you can; make a plan
and if it does not work
make yet another!

with you own hands, and your mind
turn your plan into real
life and work, believe in yourself
and that you have friends, always

permanence

--from http://chicagoblogger.com/--

..from artbyzaky...
---this one to LC---
because I have learned
to love your words,
waving on your ocean of songs
I want to believe
that at least certain things
and more importantly people
are here to stay
for good, in permanence.
what matters is
that people share
even if briefly
their wisdom and their love
with those around;
this time the town
has opened its arms
to welcome the old man
who has come to share
his calmness;
[the use of a cover
filled with calmness
to taper the deepest troubles]
over a concert,
tea and oranges

little kid

sweet sleeper
slow waker;
cheek kisser
heart breaker;
happy giggler
trouble maker;
nerve stretcher
joy giver.

stawars

little A can spell her (now) favorite movie(s) title: stawars (who can hear that "r" well anyway?). And she has seen these movies so many times (sometimes with interruptions for dinner or night sleep) that she refers to them in the following way: : "usually Obi Wan dies in this episode". You see, sometimes he does not get to die in that particular episode simply because we pause the movie and go to bed.

little flower

she said
if cannot all be roses
let us humble flowers
cover the ground with goodness
as our way to serve
the same Lord
that roses do
in their beauty.
since then till today
from flower to flower,
and through the bees
they are still spreading
and sharing
the honey of her sayings.

driving by a garden

the sudden smile of black eyed susans
growing widely and unpretentiously
at the edge of the road
follows the drivers into the otherwise gray
roads through the city;
you cannot really speed up
first of all because of the children
on the way to school or a baseball game;
but because of bikers and possible drunkards
all vulnerable and delicate in some way;
but mostly because you secretly peek
towards the the pink to purple cone flowers
echinaceas and others
like red monardas and colorful lantanas;
and the shy but sturdy asters;
and because your noise
may scare away the butterflies
that only live for a couple of days;
ephemeral and beautiful as they all are
the inhabitants of these permanent gardens.

southern garden

the gardens here never sleep
(their roots though may not run too deep)
because the air is so friendly and warm
that the bugs stay alive and merrily swarm
all year long they are busy
the gardeners do not have it easy
there is no time to rest
they must always work at their best
keep the pests in control
on their side of the knoll.
all give thanks to the sun
be are grateful for the fruit
and the flowers happily blooming
grace to its shinning.

new math

.......................this one is from and for my friend Miles...
I have been counting sticks and stones
but mostly my fingers so far;
then to raise the bar
I have learned higher numbers
some of them I can only pronounce
as letters: like google and billion
(I am not sure how long they should be
with their trailing zeros in tail
if I were to write them on paper let's say)
but in general I can write
and wiggle and juggle numbers around
with great joy, to the point
that I have invented
today a new kind of math.
I have shared it with friends
and they have decreed
that a new king of math was anointed
they gave me a crown!
from too much excitement
I think I'll chase numbers
in my dreams until dawn.

the prettiest tree

there is a tree
the prettiest tree
you can see if you look hard
and it grows in my yard;
it dresses in white
in the spring
therefore I think
it must certainly be
a lady tree;
but wait I am not sure
cause most of the times
it dresses in green;
the liveliest green
you have ever seen;
later when it is time for fall
it darkens to brown
and here and there
a patch of red
I see in her hair.
the strangest habit it has
when I dress in sweaters
my tree is bare
to the branches and bones;
so the squirrels must run
up and down the tree trunk
as hard as they can
to keep my pretty tree warm.

a mile long hike

step gently over these leaves
they are busy feeding the ground
with all the sugar they've gathered
during the summer;
they are quietly giving life
to the next year's crop
while we are here for the day
happily hiking;
a mile long hike
is not a long experience
but it does give a glimpse
into the depth of the water,
the steepness of the slope,
and the age of the stone.
the air may get a little rare
but the soil and the trees
help and breath back the life
that we need to see and to care for.

share the view and the sure way
you take a step
but gently, pay attention
to the delicate life that grows
everywhere, even under your foot;
be inspired, look up
keep in you this view from the top.
you can grow too
with little resources;
and your are still
able to give and to judge
and mainly to live
simply, gently
never boringly - plain.

be in harmony

be the change
you want to see in the world
give the spark
that will keep hope flaming hot
forgive sins
that keep enemies apart
bring your friends
together so they can see
different
views cannot set boundaries
harmony
is what we've been longing for

Herta Müller

This lady has won the Nobel Prize for literature. She can hardly believe it. We can still congratulate her!

young

being young I still need
your wing to raise me to the height of my dream
being young I still need
your shoulders to support my adventure or miss

being young I still need
your guiding hand to cross the forest in safety
being young I still need
you to tell me the sources to use for nourishment


being young I still need
to challenge you and your age appropriate wisdom;
being wise you still need
to make patience and teach me forgiveness

being up there you need not
look down on me but rather respect the potential in me
I will be the one to feed
you in your old days, to forgive you old age's mistakes

that is if you do
teach me the right things now, if you do think of me
i will think of you
highly and kindly and we can possibly share the path

or you can just wait
until I move out, and stop bothering you with my demands
for attention and love.
for your time as short now, as mine will be precious soon

honey

she will come running towards you
so softly her steps and her voice
will surround you, and as she leaves
she will have left your heart
happily swimming in honey
the little stubborn bunny.

team name

my soccer team was just forming
and we needed a name
to call ourselves during a game
so we did some thinking

we sat in a circle that day
and thought about rockets
and fast moving objects;
we made proposals, and I had my say.


but my teammates have chosen
among all pretty things
like ladybugs and butterfly wings
that we should ourselves monsters

sounds a yucky and scary thing to be
but this is it - jinx
we can live and play like this strongly
my team of monsters and me

today

he though today is a day as good as any
to make peace with yourself
and get going wherever you are going
with high hopes you will land on your feet

the train rider has as always a newspaper
in hands, but he does not read it today
while waiting for the metro train
he just looks at strangers

some of them, like him, must come at the station
everyday of the week, but he cannot recognize any
although they do look vaguely familiar
since they're connected by a common goal

going somewhere, fast
he'd go anywhere where the sun is warm
and the mind is fresh ... while the metro music
sounds like many small steps

then they all get sucked
into a tunnel that only seems dark
by the noise and the roar, the train they got
will take them somewhere

whichever direction they take
they will get a chance to stand
with their backs straight, tall on their feet
possibly interact, while time ticks - fast.

but he'll step out of the train today
at a station out of the way to taste the passing of time
to look perhaps for simple things like water drops,
or the shape of clouds when the sun hides;

he thought of these and he got out in the rain,
under the anonymity of many umbrellas
he could sense the joy
the rain had brought to the city today.

he though today may be a day as good as any
to make peace with yourself
and get going wherever you are going
with high hopes you will land on your feet

curiosity

curiosity is a question itself
most people think it needs words
and it opens pathways to knowledge;
for some it only has fingers
and eyes, a general restlessness;
and it opens the mind to new games.

quote of the day

"involve me and I will learn!"

summer's school

open the windows wide, or better go out and play
while summer is here the kids of today
are free to go swimming in the pond,
splashing in the mud and that helps them grow strong

they build strength in their mind, strength in their body
they take a break from thinking just straight;
but they think laterally as well, they make connections
and choices (even mistakes) so the time they have is just swell.

and they play and they learn
a different lesson this season
that we need a bit of summer outside
to build a bit of sun on the inside

they were taught to play by the book
now they learn to play without rules
they are the makers, the breakers of rules
just the basic perhaps even this may be changing
summer is here, just the parents are only watching
perhaps the beauty in you, the change in the world
while you are busily playing,
and building tomorrow.
tomorrow

lessons in friendship

I've read Stan Toler's book - The Secret Blend. Let's see if I can remember the ten lessons in friendship:
1. like yourself or be a friend to yourself
2. if you want to have friends you have to be a friend
3. be a good listener (that's why you have two ears and only one mouth :))
4. encourage people
5. learn to forgive
6. it takes some good chemistry to make a relationship work (that part is slightly mysterious but you can influence a reaction right?)
7. bring out the best in people (that's a direct derivative of point 6).
8.
9.
10. teach others the first nine points :)

night and they

night and they
won't go to sleep,
morning comes
and they rise up.
one is ready to go
excited about
where the road
will take him today
(but I have to forgive him
cause not matter what
I have cooked or not
he's not having breakfast today
anyway).

one is ready to stay
five minutes longer in bed
and dreads the immplacable truth
that most any day
is a school or work day;
but when she's finally up
she wants for herself
a big fat omelet
that she'll always enjoy
while charging her
batteries with
the high voltage she needs
to burn everyday

like night and day
so lovely they
hang together and hug
before we all have to pack
lunchboxes and stuff
then I start the engine
and we're gone away from the house
for the day.

golden

---this one is for Misha---
she would sit close to me for hours
silently watching over me,
whether I was sick or healthy
with the same patience
and same dedication;
she would wait
for the touch of my hand
but mostly she would be
ready to give
calm reassurance
that everything should be
the way we want it to be;
oh how I wish she would be
here with me whenever I shiver
lonely and fearful
without my golden retriever.

walk

the man walked the gray street as if
there was nothing to do but soak in the sun
perhaps meet a friend at the corner bread store
share a story over a cup of coffee
but mostly just walk for the pleasure
of walking on his own two legs,
gently balancing his own free hands
raising his head in the sun
clearing his mind; but more importantly
he should for a while
forget all the talking, the problems
and plans, and just do the walking.

link of the day - top 50

the local food scene on a pedestal

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/multi/top-50-food-magazine

time

time is what you make of it!

round

take a few steps on the streets
where nothing unusual happens;
only the soccer the ball rolls
round as always between kids

soccer players dreaming of stars
or at least their autographs
they roll the ball, shoot and score
and nobody notices how they grow

their pants and shoes grow shorter
their torsos grow stronger;
they start having ideas
that they could go out and dance

as good friends they go out holding hands
making jokes about the cool guy on the block
and they grow, and they know
the team will scatter, as they will have to go


as they grow each will follow their way
the ball may well pass to the new kids
if the new times allow enough time to play
they should learn how to roll.

crepe myrtle

dressed in white
just like a bride,
holding in hand
a pink lacy drink,
purple with shame
for playing this game
in the hot summer wind
to make the bees come
getting drunk with the nectar
then leave well before
they are ready to sting
this crepe myrtle lady
may well be
the summer's favorite tree,

summer day

when the morning came with car roars dampened by dew
she was getting fresh water and coffee ready to brew;
the newspaper was ready to pop out of the mail box
before she could put on her glasses and sox;
a trip to the market was a high point of her day
at times letting herself attracted to the bakery
by the smell crossing her way;
with fresh bread and brioches in the bag,
back home came the lady before the high heat of midday.

Midday was slow, mildly boring, sometimes nothing more
than a transition towards a well deserved nap;
from which shed wake up looking out the window at the delicate lilac
ready to digest the news on TV, with cookies and tea, always close to the phone.

when the afternoon decided to shake the curtains and demand attention
she was playing cards by herself, chasing boredom with a wave of her hands,
waiting for friends to bring news from the town
like who got married, had babies, is still alive or recently gone?

when evening come, covering trees, streets and roofs with its shawl
loneliness dropped its shade as as well but she could still set her goal
on teaching her nieces an nephews, armed with a dictionary, and a sense of fun,
the vocabulary, accent and grammar in English, French, and occasionally German.


at night there was time for the colored TV to set the background tone
with a book in one hand, and a puzzle crossword in the other
she was lulled to gentle sleep, her mind never tired preparing to dream
the thoughts and the plans of a far away trip.

- buttons, lavender, coins

the memory of roses - Ti

My romanian aunt would use rose petals to make a jelly - or more something like the gliko toy koutaliou. She was not using just any kind of roses, but a very flavorful kind. I remember the color as mauve-pink but there may be other colors too. The sweet syrup was wonderfully flavorful and the petals squeaked when crushed by the teeth. The jars were stored in old unused brick heater (soba). Not for long cause they were gone after just a couple of 5 o clock coffee visits from her lady friends.
(i wrote this as a comment to Maria's blog, and thought I would keep it as a personal memory, thanks Maria for the occasion).

sharester

there was a time when art was flying freely
circling over the city she was, high in the sky
ready to cross any borders, rivers and oceans
and the children sung as if they had been promised
that they will be forever young

the children were sharing their music and getting curious
because of them the the artists were becoming famous
all over the world, their fame spreading by work of mouth
and mostly by means of web mediated sharing

as an artist I would be very very complemented
if my words wold now fly digitized via web
from node to node, from headphone to headphone,
from brain to brain - my words would spread

i would also probably be rather poor
cause there are no means to track
the happily bouncing digitized art
but then this had been always the case

for the practitioner and creator of art
were mostly poor but protected under the wings
of some rich art lover and patrons
expect that today we have agents and record companies

most shameful of that we have trials
to punish today the grown up children
of the sharester generation
but not enough judges who did not have a part

what is it fair I do not know
I just wish art could fly again from sould to soul
I wish I would be the wing to support art's free flight
with the unconstrained beat of my heart

child at heart

music now -

all his life he wanted to find out who he was
and the quest took so long he had to postpone growing up;
he tried many faces, he tried many voices
he danced between worlds, but he kept his own heart

through his big black eyes, and piercing voice
poured out imaginary creations of better but possible worlds;
golden images gathering love and hope from many years in the past
projected onto small screens were swung by his music
right into the hearts of so many teens
they danced on the streets and they dreamed
music translated in images, and they felt like golden felines
ready to jump on life's back - be it in harmony or conflict

but he had to grow up and this was somehow a sad, long postponed jump
into real life. why would one do it if he still feels
he is a child a heart. not knowing what to do this life's pump
stayed for a while in limbo and then suddenly stopped.

kids poured out on the streets, fit felines ready to shout
they wanted him back, they were ready to fight - but there was no one out,
reality was placid and mute and they only thing they could do
was remember and then somebody realized the best thing to do was to just sing out loud

music poured out on the streets like a river of light
forgiveness was throwing its shade on the asphalt
the chorus of people some old and some young
felt somehow like him - for a while allowing to be children at heart.

tabula rasa

a vacation is for the mind
like a wave is for the beach
an opportunity to get clean
peaceful and open wide
to a world of opportunity.
who knows how many sand dollars
and star fish are left behind
and need to be thrown back in the ocean
by a kid with a pail;
before is too late for them
to get lost for life
paying dearly for the sin
of exploring too much, too far
dangerously ignorant
of the passing of time.
deep down on the dark bottom
of the ocean they are given
another chance to refresh
to resurface if that is
what they really wish

lessons for a kid

If you want to teach a kid a valuable lesson for life what would it be? I try to make up my mind and lots of things come. Still thinking...

- sleep well
- eat healthy
- stay clean (and dry)
- find comfort in doing good things like sport, and being with friends
- do not fear to be alone but do not over do it
- be cheerful, it does not hurt anybody
- walk happily
- attend to live's important events
- be there for your friends when they need you most
- be respectful of others and yourself
- be helpful
- learn whatever you can where you are before you move on and most of all learn to love
- keep your word
- life is precious, you are precious - you are life!

river

between us is a river flowing
sometimes with a serene humming
sometimes growing
out of bounds with nervous growling

it can come rolling stones
and breaking twigs one second
to calm down later sparkling clean
dancing so sweetly you forget it was mean

let's work to tame the river
so it can never hurt, but be forgiving
teach it love and peace so we yearn
for our river to keep flowing.

hope

Hope that the trip will be smooth
that the sun will rise high
and brighten your day today
as in many other days has done

hope that your legs will be strong
to take you far away;
many roads in front of you lay
so you need your shoes to last long

take a friend by the hand
give each other support
if the road get tough and the weather rough
or if you step by mistake on dark land

some light will chose to stay
within your heart at all times
use it when you need it
burn it with care - to feed hope

light will come again
most likely you will be there
to soak it in and if you share it
it will double its value

wallk in beauty

walk your walk in peace
may the winds' harsh blows not touch you,
may the storms not bend you
may you grow tall and strong;

choose to grow in peace,
do not fight imaginary fights
which are not worth the wounds
do not keep deep wounds on your body;

do not keep wounds on your memory
walk in beauty and prepare
to flow into love and shine
get ready to dance for joy in your life.

rest when you need to rest
to keep your balance;
and if you need support call
I will raise from the ground up

to hold your head up
to wipe your forehead clean bright
with my branches; and the strength of your roots
we'll walk in balance

one step at the time
this trip is worth taking
even if you need to go to school for a while
you learn your stride on your own

walk in beauty

sweet magnolias

image from http://www.basdenfamily.com/
at the end of spring, at the budding of summer
it is the time when the air smells sweet
from everywhere you are surrounded
by the aroma of southern magnolias

stately and green they mark the south
with imposing and statures. Graciously
they offer globes of white surprises
as their gift to the coming summer.

they share their shade with growing bunnies,
their branches with aspiring climbers
their skinned knees growing strong
with each run on the lawn, with each climb and each rest
in the shade of sweet magnolias

open your flowers and open your hearts
to the heat of the summer, and the songs of robins!
open your eyes and see the white lights
brought to us today as they were before hundreds of years
from the old good times by the sweet magnolias.

literary start

going, blowing ...Ana makes poems - with rhymes and rhythms!