A retired teacher and mother of three adult children, I live on the Gulf Coast of Florida with my soulmate, Robert. Leisure activities include discussing current events with Robert, watching movies, and playing Scrbble. Robert usually wins!
I also enjoy going to the beach and taking road trips with my daughters. One of our favorite pastimes is observing the wonderful wildlife that surrounds us.
I keep busy writing poetry, and I would be delighted if you visited my website!
Robert’s cataract surgery went well yesterday, and he has started to see improvements in his vision. Thank you to my fellow bloggers for their encouragement and good wishes. It means a lot to me. ❤
I wrote this poem to distract me and pass the time while I was waiting for Robert’s surgery to be completed. The form is a ZIGGERAUT: two lines of two words each, three lines of three words each, four lines of four words each, and five lines of five words each. The rhyme pattern is aa, bbb, cccc, ddddd.
Cultivated desert roses in a garden. Photo by Meggie from Pixabay.
A Desert Rose
Our little world envelops us in love,
transcending chaos that surrounds us now,
safe haven from earth’s dark duplicity,
a green oasis, peace in desert heat.
Affection in your eyes, my hand in yours,
a gentle word, a loving touch…encouragement
along our earthly path’s uncertainties.
Your inner strength sustains my fainting heart.
When threats of war surround on every side…
vile pestilence, pollution, and unrest,
ambition fades, possessions matter less,
but love endures and blooms, a desert rose.
This poem is dedicated to Robert, who fills my everyday life with happiness and joy.Robert in a park on the Myakka River. Photo by Cheryl Batavia.Desert rose in the African Sahel. Photo by bory67 from Pixabay.
Like the Shakespearean sonnet, BLANK VERSE is a sixteenth century form of poetry written in iambic pentameter. Unlike a sonnet, blank verse is unrhymed. It was used extensively by Shakespeare in his plays and is found in the work of John Milton and other poets of that time.
Robert’s cataract surgery is scheduled for February 1st, and the hectic schedule of appointments begins. I may be very erratic on WordPress in February. Thank you to all who sent good wishes to Robert.
Astronauts walking on the moon in 1969, Planet Earth is in the sky. Photo by Joe Han from Unsplash.
Beyond Earth
Hidden by the moon
are stars brighter than the moon…
our earth-perspective.
Beyond the boundaries of earth,
we explore wider vistas.
This morning I woke with a poem I wrote when I was about sixteen years old running through my mind. I wrote the tanka poem above, paraphrasing the poem I remembered from nearly sixty years ago, an update for today. I don’t have a copy of that old poem,”Stars,” but I have reconstructed it from memory and posted it below.
Full moon and stars. Photo by Josh Miller from Unsplash.
Stars
Hidden by the moon
are millions of stars
brighter than the moon.
Because we are small,
it is so.
Because we are wise,
we understand.
Space suit worn by a Russian Cosmonaut, Moscow museum. Photo by iman_os from Unsplash.
When I was eight years old, Russia launched Sputnik, the first satellite, and the “space race” began. Antique relics from early space exploration are on display now in museums. In 1969, when I was twenty, Americans landed on the moon. For the first time, there were photos of the whole earth taken from space.
Planet Earth from space. Photo by NASA from Unsplash.International Space Station. Photo by NASA from Unsplash.Space Shuttle. Photo taken in Mexico by Ivan Diaz from Unsplash.
Now, in 2022, fifty-two years after astronauts landed on the moon, unmanned spacecraft routinely photograph distant planets and send the images back to earth. Satellites are used for spy missions and international communication. They show us hurricanes from above, and help to predict weather. Commercial Space travel is in its infancy. Drones are used in warfare and by amateur photographers. Many dead satellites and other “space junk” orbit the earth.
Andromeda Galaxy seen from Russia. Photo by Tengyart from Unsplash.
Humans have much bigger dreams for future travel in space. Before us lie some important lessons about restoring and protecting this beautiful Planet Earth and living in peace with our neighbors. If, in the future, we settle in new worlds, we need to remember those lessons, respect and preserve those new environments, and live in harmony with any civilizations we discover. Star treks, yes…star wars, no!
Sunset in Goa, India, one of the beautiful places on Planet Earth. Photo by Ashutosh Saraswat from Unsplash.
After two failed root canals, a tooth extraction, and extensive testing of his eyes with different eye drop prescriptions, Robert has finally been cleared for cataract surgery. Numerous appointments have been scheduled for February. I may sometimes be absent from WordPress in the weeks to come. We look forward to Robert’s pre-cataract vision being restored. Many thanks to all of you who have expressed concern for Robert.
My Children…Ellen, Joe, and Katey. Joe’s service dog BABY.
Joe advocates for the rights of disabled people and disabled people with service dogs. During the pandemic, when homeless shelters closed their doors, Joe prepared hot food and delivered it to homeless people on the street. He helps homeless people whenever he can, finding information for them, giving them food, a pair of socks, or a haircut…
It’s time to pause, to reflect, to write, to make New Year’s Resolutions (or not). I will focus on these objectives from now until 2022, and may not be as active on the blog as usual.
Stonehenge. Photo by Jonathan Ridley from Unsplash.
Stonehenge is a Neolithic monument on the Salisbury Plain near Wiltshire, England. Human remains and evidence of prior construction at this site date back to about 8,000 BC. The monument, whose ruins we see today, is believed to have been built from about 3,000 BC to 2,000 BC.
Stonehenge is a popular tourist destination, and every year, thousands of visitors celebrate the summer and winter solstices here. Stonehenge has religious significance to modern Pagans and Neo Druids. It is one of the most important historical sites in Europe.
Source: Wikipedia. There is an excellent article on Stonehenge in Wikipedia, if you are interested in reading more about it.
Katey and Ellen visit their brother, Joe, and his dog, BABY, on their way home from my house.
Visits Then and Now
A couple of years ago,
when my daughters visited me,
we were on our way to swim with manatees…
All tours were cancelled!
On the road, we found
restaurants serving only carry-out.
Two hours before we arrived at our hotel,
the dining room closed…
The museum we had planned to visit
had closed the day before.
We walked around the city
for two days, eating carry-out.
Beaches had closed near my house.
My daughters caught
one of the last flights home to Texas…
Covid had arrived!
This year my daughters visited…
vaccinated, masks ready, restaurants serving,
beaches open, manatees waiting…
Happy Thanksgiving!
A Thanksgiving sunset at Blind Pass Beach. Photo by Ellen.From my beach chair, I watched Katey build this sand castle with a moat connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Ellen, meanwhile, was swimming enthusiastically in the cool water. She came out just in time to photograph the sunset and Katey’s sand castle.
A Tribute to My Daughters
My daughters, Ellen and Katey, visited a very elaborate Pumpkin Patch near their home in Texas.
A Tribute to My Daughters
Ellen and Katey volunteered at their church to help with Vacation Bible School, online this year because of Covid 19. They are standing in front of one of the sets they helped to build. Ellen was also involved in writing and other aspects of the project. Church members wrote the script, composed and performed original music, and videotaped the episodes with great skill! It’s a big church with a lot of talented volunteers.
Eve Ellen
makes her mother proud…
ambitious,
creative,
dedicated. Her life is
a labor of love.
Katey and Ellen frequently help out at a friend’s horse barn and enjoy riding the horses. All types of animals gravitate toward both of my daughters.
Katey Marie
makes her mother proud.
Her joy is
contagious!
Horses, dogs, friends, family…
life shared in photos.
Ellen and Katey enjoyed the sights and the rides at the fair.
Emails, calls…
My daughters have their
far-away
lives to live.
Times spent together, precious…
cherished memories!
Rez and Vibe love to cuddle. Vibe, in the foreground, is on his way to becoming a huge dog! Vibe and Ellen. Vibe loves the pool…Rez, not so much! Vibe also enjoys kayak rides, but I am afraid he may already be too big for that.Katey, Cheryl, & Ellen in front of “The Greatest Show on Earth,” a mural at the Ringling Circus Museum. The museum visit is one of the wonderful memories of our trip.
This is the final post about my daughters’ visit during Thanksgiving week!
The second poem is my attempt at writing sharadomas, a form of poetry featured on David’s blog, “The skeptic’s kaddish of a son.” The poem, “Warm love or: Glowing memories” was posted on December 7, 2021. Sharadoma stanzas have a syllable count of 3/5/3/3/7/5. I didn’t attempt a cleave poem, although David’s was lovely!
Gulf Coast Poet 