At night, we go to bed, and rest in to a world unknown.  A world of dreams, a colorful reality, and things that are far beyond the mind.  We are at peace and sometimes unaware.  Do you ever wonder…where we really go-when we are asleep?

when the night is dark, and the wild is out to creep?

…

Moonlight above shines so bright,

and the small children are in fright

within the darkness of the room.

….

Where do we travel in our dreams?

When reality just isn’t at all what the real world seems….

The nights that we fly so high above the clouds…

Touching the hearts of those we love,

and hoping to see perhaps those that have departed…

so long ago.

…

Sleep….

Sound sleep, in the silence-

In the peace, others creep,

while our eyes are shut, to see not a thing.

….

Our minds lost-somewhere else, or planning for the day ahead.

Where do we go when we sleep?

A poetry club that I formed in my area does readings at our local nursing home.  I began doing some of these readings on my own before the club, and found it very rewarding.  In all actuality, many people really do enjoy being read to.  If you are looking for an appreciative and attentive audience-try speaking with with the activity director at your local nursing home.

Our club probably reads at the home every couple of months.  If I get busy, or the home wants us back, the director usually ends up calling me.  When you are planning on doing readings, some people may not even think as a home as a venue-but this is a rewarding activity that I do within my daily life.

Gather up a few of your writing friends or just go on your own.  Find some of your poems and browse through them.  Find seasonal or holiday poetry, humorous poetry,  inspirational poetry, or even a few that have friendly humor about getting old.  Shy away from poetry that seems dark, sad, or speaks of death.  The goal for a poetry reading at a nursing home is to cheer the residents up.  And don’t forget to have copies of your poems.  You will be surprised at how many residents want copies.  Some read over them again later or have staff read them.

If you are interested in sharing poetry at a nursing home in your area, ask to speak to the activity director and set up a meeting.  Share some of your poetry with them, and let them know you are interested in entertaining their residents.  -Also– if you haven’t already guessed-this is strictly volunteer.  My club is non-profit-so we never ask for money when we do poetry readings.  The most we ask during a public reading is donations for the area food pantry.

So if you want to brighten someone’s day, share your poetry, or reach out to the community, spread the art of poetry.  It really can change someone’s life.

Fall offers so much to write a poem. The vibrant colorful leaves falling from the trees that seem to dance in the wind and the cool air that just tickles your face. Fall gives a great time to cuddle for warmth, and plenty of time to sip on yummy hot apple cider! There is so much to describe about fall. If you have ever had trouble writing a poem, take some moments to sit out in a park somewhere during the fall. Try sitting out about late afternoon and early evening-especially on a breeze day. Watch the the leaves twirl from the trees, and see all of the variety of luscious colors. Take a notebook and write down everything that you can see and hear. Think of the crisp breeze in the air, the crunch of the leaves, and the laughter of children playing and jumping in a just raked pile of leaves. Fall is such a pretty season and very easy to write about. It’s like our last touch of warm air before the cold of winter hits. Below I have written a mini poem that spells out the word, “FALL.” Maybe you can try to write one too!

A blast of crisp cool air tickles my chin.

Light a fire for warmth in the cool of the night.

L aze around and sip on hot apple cider and talk about those ole’ precious fall memories.

Hello fellow readers.

Just on a small note, if you are enjoying what you are reading here, and are thinking -”Hey-I could do this to, where do I sign up? ” Today is still looking for bloggers. I realized that I enjoyed writing poetry, sharing writing tips, and spreading my art to people all around. Writing a blog is fun, sparks your creativity, and gives you a place to “call your own.” Today pays for blog posts, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s also free to join . So while you’ve been having fun reading this blog-you could also be writing your own too! Imagine that! –But when you sign up to write your own blog -just don’t forget to come back and read me! Or you could miss out on all kinds of fun poems!

MONDAYS

We all love to hate them. While some of us may actually enjoy our jobs and careers, there just isn’t nothing like a good morning of sleeping in and staying in your pj’s till noon on some days. The weekends are always too fast, and we seem to be knocked in the head, once Monday gets here.  We hit snooze a few times on times on the alarm clock, and prolong the process of getting out of bed.  But we all know that to get paid, we must work-even if it is to just pay the bills.  

Mondays are not one of my favorite days, so I have written a short poem-dedicated to one of the days that I love to hate…Mondays

too much working can make our heart forget what is true.

We long to stay in the comfort of our precious blanketed beds,

but some obnoxious alarm keeps sounding in our head.

It’s difficult to get back in that working groove,

but that paycheck is what makes us get up and decide to move.

Get ready  for another working Monday,

Just go get me a cup of coffee,

Before I know it, I’ll be celebrating on Friday.

Society is made up of a hustle and bustle.  We rush to be at different places at certain times.  Sometimes time rules our life-and we can forget to just live in the moment….

Families spend time taking one child to a practice here, or taking another to a birthday party.  We only allow ourselves so much time to read, spend outside, or to do an activity that we might enjoy.  While planning is good, some spend more time planning that actually living.  We are a fast moving society, always on the run, and having somewhere to go-and afraid of being late.  While traffic jams upset us, unruly customers in the grocery line, or waiting to be seen by the doctor are some of our pet peaves–have you ever just taken the time to breathe while waiting? ….Perhaps some of us should re-evaluate time…..

Read the poem below, and take some thought-what does time mean to you?

With no more entries, and personally, I think the poem probably is finished, I think our first project as a community written poem is done.   I want to thank everybody who participated.  If you contributed to the poem and would like a copy of it mailed to you, let me know, and I will mail you one.I think the next community written poem will be an autumn themed poem for those of you who enjoy the fall season.  Be thinking of falling leaves, back to school, hot apple cider, the pretty colors of the tree, cool weather, and football…So those of you who didn’t’ get a chance to participate and you love fall, come on over and participate in our “create a poem” section to see what you can come up with this time :)   Good luck! 

BE READY TO WRITE SOON

And now…for the finished poem….

 

Into the darkness, I wept, so one could hear my tears.
My soul is forever broken.
Pieces that can never be repaired,
a hole that has been shattered into a million slivers.
Longing for the touch of the one I loved,
Whom I will never see again.

Life can be hectic sometimes. Life just gets in the way and sometimes we forget about everything around us. With reports to be done at work, bills to pay, family gatherings to attend, organizational meetings-we can forget what life really feels like. Sometimes we move through life without really breathing.

We may even feel like we are sleep walking through life. It’s easy to do since our current generation is constantly on the move, and they feel the need to be connected at all times. Have you ever really thought about being connected to a higher power-or perhaps being connected to something other than an electronic device?

—Read the poem, “BREATHE” below–and take it all in-and stop to look at life-if you can find the time. Sometimes-we all forget the meaning of why we all are really here.

Be in the moment.

Hear the breeze dance in the trees.
Listen to the songs of the birds.

Forget about the traffic,
And the crazy life that we may all lead.

Millions of years ago, the world was a quieter place of harmony.
Search deep and block out the madness of the world.

Listen to your heartbeat…

The peace is out there-

Somewhere.

Stay calm.
Life is moving.

Remember to

Breathe…

So many hours and days are spent in life worrying about tommorrow, next year, or even years from now.  We admit that the future can be a scary place. Sometimes its best to just live in the moment and try to enjoy what we have around us.  Although, at times the present time can even be scary…

The poem below is just a reminder to take a moment-enjoy life, and try not to worry so much–even when things aren’t looking on the up side.

Don’t worry about the minutes,
And don’t take time to count the seconds
Enjoy the now-

Not later.
The past is left in memories
And sometimes they arrive in our dreams.
Just remember to not get lost in it.

Remember today,
This second
This minute.
Because tomorrow is hours away.

We never will know when it is our time.
Today could be our last tomorrow.
Or maybe perhaps
Even in an hour.

Cherish this moment.
The beauty of your life.
Right now.

Surround yourself with love.
Forget about any illness, money, debt, or stress.
And take the time to breathe.

God is with you.

I am the storyteller.
The one who brings fairy tales and dreams,
And spreads the fairy dust when we sleep. 

I am the storyteller,
Who listens to your hopes,
And grants you wishes from the magic lantern.
Because sometimes…
Fairytales really do come true.

I am the storyteller.
I bring you lands from far away places,
And tell you of all the many scary things that
Hide in those dark scary spaces. 

Come along, and bring your favorite pillow and a blanket.
Dress for comfort, bring snacks, and perhaps a friend. 
Listen to the storyteller tonight for a fun filled adventure,
As we travel to a mysterious and far away land…

Where your mind will take you to a place that perhaps-

You have never been….