Sky Poem

When feeling sad or feeling down

I gaze to the sky to turn it around.

With kids in the yard we flop to the ground

watching skyward as the cloud circus passes our town.

Storms roll in, sun shines down

depositing a beautiful rainbow without a sound.

Endless sky should make me feel small

instead it leaves me feeling part of it all.

Prideful Share

Weeks worth of emotions, thoughts and words are ruminating in my brain, their current consistency too thick to plate (upon the page). With a bit more time to marinatee they will become tender and more favorable a dish to pass.

For the time being, I am sharing a poem written by my eleven year old son. Bloody brilliant if you ask me! This mom is so impressed!

Element Poetry

by Carter Retzlaff

Gold

Shiny, rarity

Melting, freezing, bending

Jewelry, electricity, dentistry, bedrock

Dissolving, reflecting, shaping

Valued, attractive

Au

 Poetry © Carter Retzlaff

(I had to ask what "Au" meant. It's the elemental abbreviation for gold on the periodic table. He is already learning chemistry, a subject never presented in my education.)

Guinea Pigs

     My daughter's teacher is on maternity leave. The class has a long-term substitute. The class recently completed a poetry unit in which the teacher told the students that she adored bacon and promised if they produced enough bacon poems, she would throw them a bacon party. The children came through. The teacher claimed they had run out of time. No party.

     This week my daughter was Star Student. Star Student is allowed to bring a treat. We decided to surprise the kids with bacon cupcakes. A mini-bacon party! I have never tasted a bacon cupcake but have read about them several times (internet of course). 

Fact #1 - Everyone loves bacon

Fact #2 - Sweet and salt are the best combination evah

Assumed Fact #3 - bacon cupcakes will be a hit with a group of children deprived of a promised bacon party.

     

     The cupcakes were painstakingly lovingly made from scratch with the finest ingredients (organic butter, grade A maple syrup, preservative free bacon, etc...). A full evening later, the cupcakes were done. I sampled. They were... interesting.

     Not being a cake eater myself, I served a cupcake to each family member to ask what they thought. Here are the results...

They're good!  X3

Interesting  X1

Don't care for  X1

     That's when it occurred to me. Yes, at 9pm the night before treat day, it occurred to me that a group of 24 third graders might not appreciate being guinea pigs for a new recipe. I asked Darling Daughter if I should run out and buy some pre-made cookies (just in case) and she insisted on the bacon cupcakes (which she adored). I left the decision up to her, suggesting she not take offense if no one took them or liked them!

     Thursday, Darling Daughter arrives to school with more than two dozen Bacon Cupcakes. They were a hit! Only one child declined the offer. Everyone who tried them liked them. One boy asked if he could have the extras (which were delivered around the school to teachers & staff).

     I will share the link to the recipe website but I would suggest adding some applesauce or honey to the batter as they turned out a bit dry. They are officially kid approved!

I am NOT nor do I claim to be a food/product photographer. Please excuse the distasteful picture!  ;)

Darling Daughter's Bacon Poem #1

Makin' some bacon

Sizzling, jumping bacon

Bacon up high

Bacon down low

Bacon everywhere

That's how to go

~Madelynn Retzlaff

Full

My head is full

swirling and twirling

mixing and hurling

words then thousand at a time.

Thoughts created

ruminated

settling in my mind.

I open the page

the cold blank stare

who will care

about the words they find.

The depth of thought

I ought not,

better to leave behind.

Write what you know

is what I'm told

but what I know

isn't always kind.

There is pain and fear

and horrors to hear

most wish to stay blind.

Perhaps write what you learn

little bird as you grow

the seeds that are sown

are much more refined.

Share the joy at the end

of the lessons my friend

then you'll do just fine.

But I know what I know

and perhaps others will grow

if they open their mind

and see life through my eyes.

The one thing I fear

yet pray to hear

"You have been found and you are divine."

I dive into the page

slowly finding my way

fear subsides as I transcribe

the mess from which I hide.

Balance

life

balance

finding center

dancing without falling

playing, praying, searching

moments overflow with pleasure

crash into each other with such force

finding self upside down and inside out

unable to breathe, unable to find the light

twist and turn, find footing, stand tall and firm

the light above shining down with such love

always there for the taking, just waiting

to be noticed again, grasped again

shines down onto crown

filling you whole

entire soul

lit up

Soak

Soak

Permission granted, photograph and poem © E. H. Thumm

Soaking away the worries

washing away the tears

leaving behind the hurries

drowning all my fears.

Hot water calming

candlelight fills the room

underwater sounding

comforting like a womb.

Meditation finds me

unsteady feelings relax away

peaceful, calm and free

praying for ease to stay.

Naked, raw and real

it is a moment of truth

sacred space to heal

all the pain of my youth.

~ E. H. Thumm

The Climb

I am a vine

climbing toward glory

clinging to my path the best I know how.

Dark skies move in carrying dangerous winds.

I am tried and tested.

I cling tight.

Reaching and stretching, gaining and growing.

My roots may be short but my reach is long.

I climb on.

Unwelcome guests may enter my space

pulling and tugging,

attempting to sabotage my growth.

I see the light and climb

higher and higher

drawing sustenance from that which grounds me.

Some days leave me tattered and torn.

Weathering storms and droughts

my will is strong.

Do you see me as weed,

as leaf, as vine?

I know God sees me as purely divine.

With Faith, I climb on.

Love

A well of love

with depths untold

heart sinking deep

feeling the cold turn warm

as the love transforms

heart to soul

feel it all

to the bottom together we sink

and it is good.

Play Day

A magical play day.

Visions of dreams.

Good eats, loads of laughs, art abound, all around.

hey

play

day

Imagination awakened.

Heart light.

Happiness flitting about like leaves in the wind.

hey

play

day

Weekend gone.

Play day done.

Back to the daily grind.

hey

play

day

Look back now

on shadow self

wondering where she went.

hey

play

day

Life lacks lustor

during everyday tasks.

Back to the daily grind.

hey

play

day

Make new mission.

New life position.

Make every day a play day.

hey

play

day

play day with a friend