Thursday, January 21, 2016

#16.002 My Poetry, Episode I



I've been wanting to share some of my poetry on this blog. 

I write in my journal, usually before going to bed. Not every night, but frequently. 

About a year ago, what started to come out on the page was some combination of poetry, prose, and spoken word. Images and feelings, sprinkled in. Metaphors and symbols. It's the sum of my thoughts and emotions, squeezed into words and phrases that kind of spill out on the page. I was starting to write not by thinking, but by following the feeling. It's more heart and stomach and less brain.  

Today's blog post is just here to share my most recent entry from a week ago. I believe it was late morning, and I was outside. 


The sun beats down  
The sun soaks
Drenches 
Coats 
Everything in its light.
Well, not everything.
Everything that dares to be seen.
Exposed.
Anything willing to stick its neck out. 
Flowers and trees grow in the direction of the sun. 
They crane, they stretch, stretch, stretch 
to get a drop, a peek
They put themselves out there. 
What about me?  
Am I getting the sun's rays? 
Am I heating up? 
Getting warmer? 
In the right spot? 
Or hidden... 
Crouched... 
Out of sight... 
Safe... 
If you want to see the light, 
feel the warmth, 
Step out.  

*snaps*

Thursday, January 7, 2016

#16.001 Go to Health

On January 1, in the evening, I began to feel a little soreness in the back of my throat.

Oh yes...there it is again

Oh no. 

I hadn't been sick in months, so it was only a matter of time. Plus, I should not have been surprised. The evening before, to celebrate New Year's Eve, things had gotten quite out of hand, what with all the sparkling apple cider and raucous board games. Fortunately, the police never got word of our family's wild celebration.

Now it is a week into the year and I'm still sick. I've spent all of 2016 under the weather. 

However, I'm not complaining. In fact, I think it's the perfect time. 

To appreciate health.

To appreciate time, especially time while I have my health. 

To be reminded of why I build habits to exercise, eat right, take my vitamins, and wash my hands. 

For me, it's a chance to slow down and remember to enjoy and utilize the rest of the year, when I'm not sick - knock on wood.

So here's to a healthy 2016. 

Now, as my Grandma Ellie would say: 

"Go wash your hands!" 

-----

Editor's note: Hey guys. Me again. 

A couple of things. 

1) Since it's a new year, I figure I should start a new numbering system. In 2015 I started numbering for the Your Turn Challenge, and then just kept it going, so basically it was a running count of posts in 2015, up to the most recent one, the 26th. Starting this year I want to keep numbering, but make it less confusing from here on out. So this is 16.001 and it will keep going up for all the posts this year, and next year will start with 17.001. So there it is. A new secret code. Shh, don't tell anyone.

2) I said I had a couple of things, so this item is what rounds out the list and makes that statement true. The second thing is that, like I said in my last post, I am committed to posting every two weeks before each Friday. It's a new rhythm I'm trying. So this post will go up before tomorrow, the 8th. The next one will go up before Friday the 22nd. And so on. Through the whole year. Maybe I'll go crazy and start writing every day. Maybe I'll write my first blog post in Spanish. Or Portuguese. Hey, it could happen. But the one thing we do know is that I'll be posting at least every two weeks. It's even on my calendar. 

Thanks for reading. PS. If you're reading this, and you don't tell me, then I will never know. and have no idea this got to you. So please let me know when you read, it would mean a lot. Thank you. OK, this is now almost turning into 3 things, so I'd better sign off. Adios!