Go Forth on the Fourth

I've never really been able to be a "positive thinker." Anytime I tried, my brain would get in the way. However, the year is underway and there is much to do this year, so I am attempting yet again this year to do all those things that I have not managed to accomplish in previous years. I'm not sure how to twist my entire mindset, but I am working on it.

Hurricane it,
whipping my entire mind,
my entire life
to change it
but careful, careful
hurricane
not to damage
those parts
that really work.

Go Forth on the Fourth

I've never really been able to be a "positive thinker." Anytime I tried, my brain would get in the way. However, the year is underway and there is much to do this year, so I am attempting yet again this year to do all those things that I have not managed to accomplish in previous years. I'm not sure how to twist my entire mindset, but I am working on it.

Hurricane it,
whipping my entire mind,
my entire life
to change it
but careful, careful
hurricane
not to damage
those parts
that really work.

Games (Little) People Play

Jude and Sullivan both got games for Christmas and they both adore them: Connect Four, Operation, Chutes and Ladders. All games Jeff and I also played as kids, so we're enjoying them as much as the kids. Sully doesn't technically play by any rules, but Jude has learned the rules and is playing well.

The other game we indulge in is called What's In Ned's Head? This is a game that consists of a large head with openings at the ears and nose into which the game pieces are inserted. Then the players take turns picking cards and trying to pick out an object from Ned's head just by feel. It is a fun game and both boys adore it. Ned has an assortment of pieces: a tongue, rat, used cotton swab, spider, among others. But most of all, it is something we can all do together -- and there aren't many things like that!

Ah, Ned, you're so easy
inside you an assortment
of pieces
a head full of spiders
and lost lunch
a dirty diaper
and a space alien
but no tangled thoughts
in you
no confusing synapses
no crazy inferences
Oh, Ned,
to be Ned
just for a day

On the Second Day of January

We are blanketed by snow and I am feeling very warm and cozy just being inside the house. Whenever I look outside, I can't help but lament all the snow, but at the same time be thankful that I am warm and don't have to be outside.

At the same time, I think we all get a bit of cabin fever.

the day, endless,
stretches before us
limitless minutes
to err as never before
untold hours
to think and wonder
and worry
about how to fill
the minutes before us
and worry still more
about how we filled
the minutes behind us

Happy New Blog

As part of my desire to write when possible, I've decided to make daily updates to my blog and resume my poem-a-day. Last year, my writing schedule was erratic, but perhaps this year will be the year I finally figure out of the balance.

Our new year's eve was the quietest of quiet. A pizza picnic on the floor with the boys watching "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (Jude's pick, naturally). Then a game night as Jude and I played Connect Four and then Jeff and Jude played Connect Four while Sullivan and I played What's in Ned's Head? (A game both boys love!)

Unfortunately, I rolled into bed a bit after 9:00 with a stomachache, but that seems to have abated this morning.

Without further ado, my first attempt at poeming for the new year:

New year and new chance
to wake up
and in the hazy state,
the foggy ether
between sleep and wake
to turn the dreams
into reality
instead of turning reality
into dreams
to spend less time
in the haze
and more time
awake
and dreaming

Happy New Year to you. Hope it is a great one.