A reminder to myself

On writing poetry

I would like to tell you

how I write poetry

Maybe you'll be inspired

encouraged to write some too.

For such a special endeavour

I plan some precious time alone

and bask in the solitude.

The room is tidy

but filled with precious treasures.

Beautiful candles are burning.

Sweet scents gently fill the room.

I relax, into gorgeous velvet cushions

and wait for the words

to start dancing in my head.

Gently I grasp some

as they are floating around.

Slowly I move to my special desk.

Words spill from my fountain pen

filling up space

on precious mulberry paper.

OK

So maybe you have gathered

that is not quite true.

In actual fact

I scribble a few words

on paper just grabbed from the printer.

Mess is surrounding me.

Then just as the pleasure

of a gorgeous line

dances in my head

while I attempt to tidy

I am being called

from the other end

of the house.

"MUM"

And it is gone.

I try to remember.

Will the words back to me

as I dodge toys and hair ties

scattered on the floor

step over dirty washing

while the machine keeps beeping at me.

After attending to the calls

I pass the table once again

A frantic search follows.

I look for some kind

of writing instrument.

Scribble a few words, remembered.

Then cross them out.

Then write them again.

I try to remember too, those lines

that sounded so good in my head

earlier in the day

during meditation.

When I was being instructed to

"return to my breath."

When my thoughts just kept wandering.

When I really wanted

to grab a pen and paper

and record them right away.

For now though

I am pleased.

I have something written down.

There will be time later

for revision and additions.

I am happy to have poetry

as part of my everyday life

both to write and to read.

Maybe for you

it can be that way too.

I wrote this poem in December last year. At the moment I am really craving some extended time alone to write but it's currently school holidays and not likely to happen for a while. So, I have posted this poem here today to remind myself how I write poetry (at least some of the time).

The garden - September update

I have begun some planting in the third garden bed. There are Nasturtiums (rescued from Bunnings for $1 for the punnet), basil, chilli and Roma tomatoes. They were all seedlings from Bunnings. The Nasturtiums didn't look very healthy for a while but are looking better now and have begun flowering. I added some (almost completed) compost at the end of the garden bed and have planted some seeds there - rocket, carrot and radishes. In the pot next to the garden bed I have planted some Sweet Allsorts Capsicum and the seedlings have just emerged in the last few days.

Not all of the changes observed in the garden are positive ones! I discovered this Chilli seedling this morning. The silvery trail nearby suggests a night time encounter with a snail or slug!

Last month I wrote a message to myself to pull out the marshmallow weeds. Well, I didn't get around to it and it is now definitely a job needing to be done. Taller than me now, the marshmallow weeds are currently providing shade to the first garden bed.

Another flower

Over the past week many more flowers have appeared in the garden. Here's a couple I found this morning. My flower identification skills are still developing. Maybe someone can tell me what it is? At the moment there are 5 flowers on the bush, which is covered in buds. I am sure there will be an explosion of pink very soon.

Mindful in Spring

Last Sunday afternoon I spent a few minutes being mindful and photographing some of the flowers and plants in my front and back yards. At some time in the past it seems a keen gardener lived here. I reap the benefits of some beautiful flowers with minimal (almost non-existent) effort on my part. This morning I enjoyed combining the photos that I had taken into this collage using an autocollage program that I downloaded (a trial version, hence the type at the bottom). Plus, here is the photo that didn't really look right as part of the collage.

From my garden!

Silverbeet, Italian parsley, broccoli, snow peas, carrots and spring onions.

Four words for me

I have certainly enjoyed reading and sharing my copy of Four Word Self Help over the past few weeks.

On page 152 Patti Digh writes "Though there are commonalities that make us all fully human and interconnected, each of us is living a different complexity, aren't we? And so the most important four-word self-help messages for you will come from you. What are the four-word self-help messages you need to remember in your own life?"

Here are some of mine:
-

Step boldly each day

--

Value your special uniqueness

--

Dare to dream daily

--

Say thankyou to compliments

--

Celebrate all baby steps

--

Write four words today

--

Laugh and play together

--

Visit the local library

--

Read to a child

--

State your own boundaries

Just give it a go!

It's good to try new things and sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. It's good to recognise that not everything will work out but it is worth giving it a go anyway. It is worthwhile to just start sometimes! Then sometimes success does happen when you were not sure that it would but had just started anyway.

I planted carrots on the 22nd of May and wasn't sure if they would grow or not. According to the back of the packet it wasn't really the right season but I thought I would try anyway. I was also unsure if I had the correct soil as prescribed on the seed packet - "an open airy situation with light fertile soil not recently manured." Yesterday I pulled this carrot up and I think they just need a little longer in the soil and they will be perfect. Hope they are yummy!

Writing a poem: being a work in progress

From red to green

--

These questions, the ones that keep forming in my mind

Holding no respect for the traffic lights of my life

No wishes to intrude and intent to be kind

But when the light is red, there they are; rife

Inside my head, pushing every boundary

Jostling with each other like a couple of young sons

It's a different case when the light is green

The invitation, "Do you have any questions?"

And they are gone. Nowhere to be found

From red to green, will they learn to stay around?

--

I wrote this poem in March this year. On Saturday I attended a Speed Poetry Assessment at the Noarlunga Library. What a fantastic experience to have. I took this poem and it was read by 3 established poets (Steve Evans, Tess Driver and Deb Matthews-Zott) and they gave me immediate feedback. It was an inspiring as well as challenging experience. Challenging particularly because I don't have a wealth of experience of discussing my work (in various forms) with others. I was a high achiever at school and did not really receive a lot of feedback over and above excellent work. With the exception of when I was studying Honours Psychology at University I also did not discuss my written work much at University. I am so glad I found the courage to go to the Speed Poetry Assessment on Saturday and actually enjoyed being challenged - "What do you mean by that?" Following the session I was inspired to do more writing and re-writing. One of my rewrites was of the poem (From red to green) which although still a work in progress I would like to post here. I also found it very interesting to hear three different poets comment on and discuss the same poem with me. The feedback was quite different but useful from all three. The rewritten poem is now titled "Traffic lights of my life."

--

Traffic lights of my life

--

These questions, they constantly form in my mind

Hold no respect for the traffic lights of my life

I have no wish to intrude upon

Nor hurt the feelings of another

But when the light is red, they are rife

Inside my head they push every boundary

Jostle with each other like a couple of young sons

The questions are there

Always the wrong place

The wrong person

The wrong time

The light is red!

Then the light turns green

And I am asked "Do you have any questions?"

But they are gone

Nowhere to be found

A Dr Seuss quote for today

and every day!

I love this Dr Seuss quote. I was reminded of it yesterday through a facebook post.

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." --Dr Seuss

Can you identify this plant?

My sister got this plant as a seedling at the Sustainable Living Expo in May. I have since planted it into my garden and it has recently flowered. Yesterday I saw the same type of plant at the Adelaide show but with smaller leaves and more flowers. I am wondering what it is. Can anyone help?

The Adelaide show, the weather and a garden report

Yesterday I was with Brianna in the Goyder pavillion at the Royal Adelaide Show. I was really looking forward to watching the "Jenny Gillies Blooming Marvellous" show, having enjoyed the performances so much last year. Just a couple of minutes after the show began, the lights suddenly went out. A group cheer when the lights came back on was quickly followed by a group groan when they went off again a second later. The lights stayed off so we headed out of the hall in the semi darkness. There was some emergency lighting but all of the stalls were dark and people were waiting and wondering what to do. Once outside we could see that the lights were still on in the showbag hall and it seemed many people were flocking there as it was raining and very windy. Some of the show rides had shut down for safety reasons and SES crews were securing loose objects. Police soon arrived at the showbag hall and it was closed for a while to deal with the overcrowding. It was strange seeing sideshow alley so quiet on the first Saturday of the show and outdoor entertainers playing to audiences of 10 or so instead of the usual hundreds. Once the showbag hall reopened we collected our showbags and had a pleasant trip home on the train. After the chaos I think many people left straight away (as we almost did) and others decided that if they were staying they might as well stay longer. There wasn't many people on the train at the time we chose to leave.

The wild weather continued into the night. This morning I checked the garden to see how it had fared overnight. There was some damage (to the snow peas and some of the broccoli was on a lean) but also obvious signs of the love of the rain. The broccoli has really grown and there is plenty of weeding waiting to be done. Maybe I will get out there later today?

The snow peas are so top heavy now. They are secured with some string and some curling ribbon (what I had on hand at the time!) and after last night I need to tie the frame up again and secure them a little more.

The broccoli has grown so much with the recent rain and there is the beginnings of broccoli florets on some of the plants.

Snow Peas - Yay!

freshly picked this morning!