Category / Perspectives

by Cheryl Batavia

I Am the Moment

Repost of a Poem that will appear in Earthly Days

Sea turtle hatchling racing to the safety of the ocean. Photo by Christopher Farrugia from Unsplash.

I Am the Moment

I am that flash of green as the sun goes down.

I am the crest of a wave before it breaks on the shore,

a lightning bolt that ushers in a clap of thunder.

I am the moment of a butterfly’s first flight,

the rush of sea turtle hatchlings to the safety of the sea.

I am the moment when lovers’ eyes first meet.

I am that half-forgotten melody that lingers in your mind,

a half-remembered dream that eludes you when you wake.

I am that pang of regret for a kind word left unspoken.

I am the blink of an eye, the shadow of a smile.

I am that rare, pivotal moment when opportunity knocks.

I am the moment…and then I am gone!

Sea turtle hatchlings. Photo by Ricardo Braham from Unsplash.

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

Earthly Days is available

on Amazon & Barnes & Noble

https://a.co/51DGEok

Earthly Days Update

Earthly Days, is a collection of poems chosen from my blog posts over the last three-and-half years. My deep appreciation goes out to those who have posted reviews thus far. Watch for future reviews from your fellow bloggers. Check out their websites for outstanding content. If you missed their reviews of Earthly Days, you can find them at the URLs below.

Kaushal Kishore

< https://kaushalkishore.wordpress.com&gt;

gulfcoastpoet.com/2023/08/20/earthly-days/

Kritika Tanvi

<https://valorousbird.wordpress.com&gt;

gulfcoastpoet.com/2023/08/28/earthly-days-2/

Ritish Sharma

< https://theblogera.com&gt;

gulfcoastpoet.com/2023/09/02/earthly-days-3/

by Cheryl Batavia

Best Wishes from Mountain Girl to Delta Boy!

Cotton Field. Photo by Trisha Downing from Unsplash

Cornfield. Photo by Lucas van Oort from Unsplash

Best Wishes from

Mountain Girl to Delta Boy!

Our childhood memories of countrysides,

Victorian homes with yards where we once played.

Your life among the cotton fields so wide,

my life where corn grew tall and cattle grazed.

Like Tarzan, you were skilled at throwing knives,

while I was catching tadpoles, climbing trees.

Deploying fireworks, you blew up cow pies,

while I stepped barefoot onto honeybees!

Pursuing education on our terms,

you excelled at math; I wrote poetry.

You hid your crushes; I, in vain, liked nerds!

Trombone for you, and piano for me.

When biking days became old memories,

your driver’s permit fulfilled all your dreams!

When driving, I proceed quite cautiously,

and you still drive like you are seventeen!

Delightful swapping stories, Delta Boy!

Lives parallel in fascinating ways.

This Mountain Girl found a decade of joy

with Delta Boy, just living out our days.

You grew up eating catfish; I ate trout.

In spite of this detail, it all worked out!

Copyright © 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

Happy 75th Birthday, Robert,

Delta Boy !

❤

*We’ll be the same age, 74, until September 20th! Haha!

by Cheryl Batavia

Let There Be Light/ A Clean-Energy Future

Ruins of Great Western Iron Smelting Furnace, Tennessee, 1855-1856. The furnace burned charcoal, and temperatures in the furnace reached 3,000 degrees F. Photo used by permission of the photographer.

Let There Be Light

Where there is sunshine,

let there be solar farms…

Let there be light!

Solar farm in Germany. Photo by Marcus Spiske from Unsplash

Where there is wind,

let there be turbines…

Let there be energy!

Wind Turbines. Photo by Jason Blackeye from Unsplash

Where there is flowing water,

let there be hydroelectric plants…

Let there be power!

Vintage Hydroelectric Plant, West Virginia. Photo courtesy of the photographer.

Where there are ocean waves,

let there be wave-power generation…

Let there be electricity!

Gulf of Mexico, Florida Beach. Photo by Eve Ellen Maher

When people travel,

let them drive electric cars…

Let there be zero emissions!

Charging station in the Netherlands. Photo by Fer Troulik from Unsplash

Where there is imagination,

let there be innovation…

Let there be clean energy!

Photo by Alessandro Bianchi from Unsplash

Wherever children have dreams,

let their dreams be fulfilled…

Let there be clean energy for all!

Photo by Nathan Dumlao from Unsplash

A Clean-Energy Future

Although we might like an instant, one-size-fits-all source of clean energy, it may not exist. It seems that we need to work with mother nature to develop solutions using local resources. It also seems that reducing the use of fossil fuels will be a gradual process. We will continue using some fossil fuels for quite some time.

Mine cave-ins, black lung, oils slicks, acid rain, micro-plastic waste in our food supply and our bodies, toxic petrochemicals in insecticides and household cleaning products, landfills filled with non-biodegradable plastics, water pollution, smog, and climate change are a few of the problems associated with fossil fuels. Fossil fuels threaten our environment and pose risks to our health.

Clean-energy solutions have problems too. Dams can disrupt ecosystems and cause extinction of species; solar panels require rare minerals to manufacture them and have a limited lifespan; some wind turbine designs are hazardous to birds.

Heat pumps, geothermal heating systems, and river turbines are examples of clean- energy systems that may be useful in certain locations. Older river turbines were hazardous to fish, but newer designs don’t harm them.

Electric cars, one important clean energy measure, currently have a top range of 300-500 miles. There are insufficient numbers of charging stations at the present time. Batteries have been manufactured with toxic ingredients that present disposal problems. Scientists are currently developing batteries with cheaper, non-toxic chemicals and greater range between charges. A too-rapid increase in the number of electric vehicles would overburden energy grids.

Atomic power plants, which use nuclear fission, are subject to melt-downs and radiation leaks. Fission has great destructive potential. Nuclear fusion holds promise for the future as a safer alternative, if it can ever be made practical.

There are no simple fixes. Solving our problems requires dedication and commitment. It requires cooperation among many professions and among all nations.

Atomic Power Plant, Belgium. Photo by Frederic Paulussen from Unsplash

*My thanks to Robert Snyder for consulting on this article. There are many YouTube videos about developments in clean-energy technologies.

Copyright © 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

by Cheryl Batavia

The Egg & Antipoverty

Photo by Tengyart from Unsplash.

A “news junkie” I am not…well, not quite. I do follow the news on a regular basis because I believe democracy depends on informed citizens.

Recently, I watched a documentary about US President, Lyndon B. Johnson. I was unfamiliar with the unflattering stories that had circulated about his political career. As I watched, I remembered learning about the “Great Society” and the “War on Poverty” initiatives that marked his presidency.

As a sixteen-year-old girl with no TV and no newspaper at home, I just knew that Johnson’s “Great Society”sounded great to me! I probably learned about the “War on Poverty” from reading Life Magazine in the school library. The poem I wrote may have been inspired by a photo in that magazine…I can’t quite remember.

The Egg & Antipoverty

A child sits on broken, creaking stairs

eating an egg,

a child who needs more new life

than an egg.

Today, I am alarmed as I watch news about book-banning and political censorship of curriculums, even at the college level, in my state of Florida and in several other states. Teachers are leaving the profession because of restrictions imposed on them, and there is a growing teacher shortage in Florida.

A knowledge of history and science is essential in a democracy, in spite of the desires of some politicians to sweep inconvenient facts and ideas under a rug. Yes, today’s students need more new life than an egg! Curriculum should be age-appropriate, but access to, and free discussion of, information and ideas is crucial to developing independent thought. Education is the birthright of all students in a democracy! “Knowledge is Power.”

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

by Cheryl Batavia

Fatigue; Time to Take a Break!

Sleeping Hippo. Photo by Tim De Pauw from Unsplash.

Fatigue

Refusing to stop,

counting on powering through;

just keep on going!

What arrogance to ignore

the body’s urgent message!

Living in a fog,

forgetful, disorganized,

zero energy.

What arrogance to ignore

the body’s urgent message!

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

Time to Take a Break!

Stress, medical and dental appointments, health issues…all easily resolved problems, I believe. It’s time to pause and regroup.

I will miss my blogging friends every day. ❤

by Cheryl Batavia

Beautiful Ukraine

Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo by Chaiwat Hanpitakpong from Unsplash.

For Eugenia’s Moonwashed Weekly Prompt #143-5/16/23, Picturesque

https://MoonwashedMusings@amanpan.blog

Beautiful Ukraine

Pastoral landscapes,

wheatfields and sunflowers…

Exquisite Ukraine!

Picturesque small towns,

lovingly tended gardens…

Enchanting Ukraine!

Modern cityscapes,

historic landmarks, green space…

Elegant Ukraine!

Brave Ukrainians

enduring, working, defending

Beloved Ukraine!

Envisioning peace,

time to restore and rebuild

Beautiful Ukraine!

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

War Image. Drone Photo above Lutsk, Volyn, Oblast, Ukraine. Photo by Ivan Serediuk from Unsplash

Beach, Odessa, Ukraine. Photo by Sasha Mattveeva from Unsplash.

Honeybees Pollinating Sunflowers, Ukraine. Photo by Audrius Sutkus from Unsplash.

Historic Opera House, Lviv, Ukraine. Photo by Pavlo from Pixabay.

Ukrainian Child in a Field of Poppies. Photo by Viktor Kondratiuk from Pixabay.

by Cheryl Batavia

Work Songs

Know any Sea Shanties, anyone? Tall ship, Europa, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Photo by Wayne Linton from Pixabay.

Written for Colleen M. Chesebro’s

TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge No.320, 5/15/23

https://wordcraftpoetry.com

Work Songs

lonesome drudgery

comraderie of work songs

brings exuberance

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

About Work Songs

Work songs are traditional songs found in many cultures that coordinate the efforts of people working together. They also provide relief from monotony and form bonds among workers.

I first became aware of work songs as a nine-year old piano student learning to play “The Volga Boatmen.” As a young adult working in a clothing factory and in a printing company, I heard other workers singing along with Loretta Lynne and Elvis Presley as they did their routine work.

Here are some examples of work songs:

Wellerman (Sea Shanty)

Nathan Evans

Pick a Bale of Cotton

Lead Belly

The Song of the Volga Boatmen

(in English and Russian, with beautiful paintings)

Paul Robeson

by Cheryl Batavia

A Message to My Children

My three children: Ellen Maher, Joseph Batavia, Katey Batavia, and Joe’s dog BABY.

A Message to My Children

To my oldest daughter,

Before you existed, I wanted you.

You were conceived in love;

The next morning, I sensed your presence.

Before you were born, I loved you.

When I felt you move, I was overjoyed.

As your father placed his hand on my belly

and felt you move, I knew we were a family.

Hearing your first cry, I cried tears of joy.

You were named for my beloved Grandma.

As I nursed you,

I wished you a long and happy life.

When you gripped my finger in your tiny fingers,

I was filled with wonder.

Watching you first begin to crawl,

I knew I would have killed to protect you!

Your first word was not “Mama” or “Dada;”

You looked me straight in the eye and said, “Hi!”

Oh, the delight of that first conversation!

For a while after that, you mostly listened.

People wondered why you were so quiet…

Then everyone was amazed to hear you

suddenly speaking in complete sentences.

As you took your first steps,

I was proud of your growing independence.

With every little illness, every accident,

I felt your pain.

When you went off to kindergarten,

I had high hopes for your future.

As you grew, your every milestone

filled me with pride.

As you made a life of your own,

I watched with admiration!

To my adopted son and daughter,

though you were never in my body,

I always loved you, just the same.

You were often in my arms,

and always in my heart.

I loved you before I met you,

and I have loved you every moment since.

Your father loved you deeply

for the rest of his days.

As I have watched you grow,

your struggles have been mine.

Your every accomplishment

has earned my admiration.

Your wishes for the future

have always been my wishes for you.

Your kindness and empathy,

your courage and determination

fill me with pride.

To my three children,

Thank you for loving me.

Know that I am grateful to be your mother;

You mean the world to me!

I will always love you equally,

always be proud of you, always hope for you.

I will be cheering you on

with my final breath!

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

Happy Mother’s Day to Mothers Everywhere!

We celebrate our mothers. ❤

We honor the memories of our mothers. ❤

Photo by Waldemar from Unsplash.

by Cheryl Batavia

Of the Water

Gulf of Mexico, Englewood Beach, FL. Photo by Eve Ellen Maher.

Of the Water

We exist, submerged

in the womb, that inner sea,

until our first breath.

In our veins flows blood

with the sea’s salinity…

seas…where life began.

Water in our cells,

water in our mother’s milk,

water in our tears.

We are of water…

bodies more than half water.

Water sustains us.

Water in rain clouds,

streams, rivers, lakes, seas, oceans,

aquifers, ice caps.

Beauty of water

soothes our spirits, inspires us…

Water refreshes.

Every living thing

needs clean, life-giving water

for body and soul!

Boat wake in Biscayne Bay near Miami, Florida. Photos by Eve Ellen Maher.

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

by Cheryl Batavia

Saving Mother Earth

Mother Earth. Image by Vogue 0987 from Pixabay.

Saving Mother Earth

We find ourselves now

in daunting circumstances…

No time to give up!

Optimism propels us…

Innovation and effort!

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

Image by Jasmine 777 from Pixabay.

For a cautiously optimistic view of saving our planet, go to YouTube and type “Chasing Carbon Zero/PBS/NOVA/Full Documentary.” in the search bar. This worked for me. (When I tried posting the URL, there was a message that the video was unavailable.)

Photo from NASA.

Make Every Day Earth Day!