yesterday is a long way away away away

your parenting won’t define me

your legacy won’t be mine

it’s ashes and dust

your false religion with it’s asceptic speech

no cursing but much hating

a strong word on immodesty and a strong hand coming at me

it’s ashes and dust

it’s a long way away away away

I will have my day

a life I live and define Faith differently

I reject religious dogma

I will think and question and choose

regard all with human dignity and sanctity

see myself not in the lens of yesterday’s child

but as a woman, equal to a man, with a strong voice

regarding kindness, loyalty and courage as the measure of a good life

 

November is when leaves grow beautifully old

as colors twirl and dance in the reflection of the eye

orange, reds and yellows paint the crisp air with each leaf that falls to the ground

as I watch them fall

I drown in the Autumn cider sky

…by guest blogger Maddie (daughter & pictured in the photo)

I have been broken

in all the ways a human breaks

yet I stand

I look into the eyes of my demons

 

I will gather up the pieces

stare down those who would trample me

put a circle around me

not apologize for being strong

 

 

you’re flying away

where the stars can’t go

I hope it’s beautiful

I hope you know

you’re missed

you were loved

michevious, rowdy yet always a lady

twinkly eyes and smile

a kind word and a deep heart for us your friends

good deeds done to your patients

endless good words and love for your husband and children

I’m hoping God has your wine glass full

float above us in your heavenly hot air balloon as we remember you

may there be a sewing machine for you to cover the angels in your veils and quilts

and may echoes of your daughter’s singing float up to you

Terri

 

 

 

 

words like clouds

melt in and out of each other

taking shape

and trailing away

 

I can taste their sharpness

their salty sadness

their acrid rage

their musty lust

their rotting grief and sadness

their honeyed happy

their cotton candy hope so light

 

I love words

I love the way they taste and feel as they roll off the tongue

I love how they express the nuances and are a journey

 

words are the inside of me

on the outside

 

 

 

sometimes I’m the only woman

among the men

leg pressing as much as them

 

and my thoughts are

I can do anything

stand anything

overcome anything

I am strong

 

if I let it slide

then the discipline in my life slides too

mind, body, spirit all one

 

malaise gone

thoughts sharp

sadness and lethargy left with the last deadlift

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

meeting you

unexpectedly

your life so different from my own

with the commonality of good natured banter

and an interest in the world

 

wishing you well

on your journey in this life

as you wander in and out of love, work, play and family

a blessing, a smile, and a warm heart for our brief encounter