I painted this for an auction coming up on March 20th. She told me she wanted to sleep on lilacs and clouds with silver linings. When I tried to paint her “normal” fleshtone she corrected my choice. She prefers hyacinths to mum’s.
Winter Daisy
My dear friend Miss Sharon Crane gifted me with a little solar powered daisy that dances in the sunlight. I put it in the window that I stare out when I’m writing. All day long, each time the movement catches my eye, it’s made me smile. I wrote a short little poem about it.
Miss Sharon Crane’s gift to me brightened my winter scenery.
Pass it onward!
These Are My People: Oshun Avani
Oshun’s birthday was just a few days ago. After rereading this, I thought, what a lovely poem. Sometimes what I write comes as a surprise to me as much as it does to others.
http://www.monzeeki.com/
New York, New York
Photographer
Monzeeki
Just for today,
I will honor the knees at which I kneel
Taking preservation in wisdom dripped
From oceans of tears and millions of stars.
Just for today,
I will offer my actions without expectation
To those who suffer poverty in all ways
In their bodies, in their actions, in their spirits.
Just for today,
I will be grateful as I prepare my meals
Mindful of the preparation in my hands
Filling plates with sustenance, love, laughter.
Just for today,
I will hold a my tongue from anger
Keeping tolerance at the forefront of my mind
Defending against injustice with a considered heart.
Just for today,
I will hold the brothers and sisters of my spirit tribe
With compassion and kindness in the Light
That guides us to one another in graceful exchange.
Pass it onward!
Entering The War Zone
Although this essay is lengthy, I hope that you’ll take the time to see into “The War Zone” that I watch around me.
This link will take you to an interesting article about poverty in America.
http://economichardship.org/peter-edelman-on-why-its-so-hard-to-end-poverty-in-america/
Let me preface the following piece with my current observation that although I’ve moved into a larger place in the same neighborhood and the characters (my neighbors) have changed names, the situations are as accurate now as they were then. There are several personal experience notes about myself that I included to show just how someone like me got into this situation. I do not write it with hopes of pity or a firm case of I’m-glad-it’s-not-me’s but to demonstrate how easy it is to fall between the cracks.
I have since been able to secure health insurance which has allowed me to take care of myself better, but the deductibles from my unemployed standpoint are just as daunting as knowing I have heaps of medical bills left over from when I didn’t have it. I…
View original post 5,145 more words
Pass it onward!
These Are My People: Marge Swenson
This is not Marge Swenson. This is my friend Alicia. I love this picture.
This is an abstract interpretation of the original picture, minus my friend Alicia. It was taken with my phone, so I apologize for the quality.
There she is with her cheeks shining diamond smiles
Her eyes laughing blue sparkles of periwinkle
She ripples with giggles that bubble fountain-like
Barely restrained by her excitement to honor her calling
I unquestioningly obey her request for open arms
I pull her close to me in spirit love and protection
Warmth and true affection.
“How are you today, my beautiful friend?”
She pushes me away but doesn’t release me
She looks up into my eyes declaring, “I love you, so much.”
We share mutual admiration, forever, for a moment.
I jest with her of how much I love to learn at her knee
To greet, to host, to welcome, to embrace our community.
She laughs at me as if I were the village idiot
I’m inept compared to her. She’s a Mistress of Greeters
I, her apostle.
When the torch is handed onward, I pray I can continue
To honor her beautiful spirit with jovial conviviality
That she displays with the grace of whispering breezes
The dance the spring time brings that blesses each blossom with life
In tandem with the warm embrace of the sun.
This is Marge Swenson. She’s one of my favorite people, hands down. She’s just lovely.
Pass it onward!
He Loves Me
I don’t have to worry,
He remembers my name
He knows me by heart
And still loves me the same.
Mare Martell, 2015
Pass it onward!
Who I Am
I love to see your lumpy, bumpy bits that you hesitate to show.
I love your imperfections because I see you and know I’m not alone.
I love you when you cry in front of me apologizing for your tears.
I love those honest moments with your heart so crystal clear.
I adore you when you’re mad at me and you call my butt to task,
because being that authentic is all I’ve ever asked.
I love when you allow me to hug you with open arms so true.
But best of all, I love who you are and who I am when I’m with you.
Mare Trout Martell
Pass it onward!
Be Still
Be still.
Think of it.
Remember them.
Allow the trees to educate you in the language they speak.
Be still.
Listen to silence.
Cherish truth.
Allow the ideas to drift like the white wisdom of dandelions on a breeze.
Be still.
A blank slate.
An empty canvas
Allow your ideas to bleed onto every surface with cleansing clarity.
Be still.
Hear your truth
Recognize your voice
Allow yourself to trust your own instinct that begs for recognition
Be still.
You are important.
You are worthy.
Allow yourself to remember your destiny in snapshots of faith.
Mare Trout Martell
Pass it onward!
Deepest loss
Today is his 20th birthday. I don’t much miss him, but I miss who I was because of him.
In my experience there has not been a greater loss felt than that of a child.
I’ve loved you since before you were born
When I saw your face pressed
Like a violet captured
In an ultrasound I know longer have
But cherish as a vivid revered memory
As in fairy tales of old
Many lies were told
And you were stolen and kept far from your home,
from my active loving heart.
And I wept.
I’ve loved you since the papers crumpled
Unused, only to be recycled,
When the death of hope is heard
In the confetti shaped heart
That is irreparable, devoid of cohesion
Bleeding the tears of mourning
That burn with the lies told
The familial curse stood as firmly as a parapet.
And still I wept.
I’ve loved you since I witnessed your slavery
Removed with greed, falsehoods,
Shifting legends of half-truths expressed
Under the guise…
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Pass it onward!
Spirit’s Light
Ignite your spirit with passion
Mare Martell 