A Poet’s Canvas: Composing Amongst Cattails and Calm Waters

Tree with mixed green leaves in front of a lake shoreline of cattails.
Baby blue skies and long white clouds.

This summer, I will again embrace the beauty of nature and the joy of poetry during some tranquil breakfast picnics by the lake. Recently, I indulged in two blissful hours of reading and writing. The peaceful scene inspired me to pen some free verse that captures the essence of the moment. “The Grace of Silver Droplets” reflects the shared yet solitary experience of two people connecting with nature and themselves.

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**The Grace of Silver Droplets**

Lakeside, as morning unfurls with a gentle stretch,
my poetry finds form before the geese even herald the sun.
In this park, solitude is a shared presence with others, yet in essence, alone.

A fisherman,
in silent silhouette a stone's throw from shore,
hushes his vessel.
His boat drifts along, cradled by calm,
towards wispy cattails. 

Upon the grass,
soft silver droplets linger for the sun's warm kiss.
Each blade glistens,
as do the shimmering waves,
sparkling like silver sequins upon the lake's gown.

This day, we find our own harmony
and peace moves between us with the elegance of a passing dragonfly.
Our minutes unfold into memories and we enjoy this time.
His joy his, and mine is mine.

From Wishes to Witness: The Materialization of a Forgotten Dream

In the quiet corners of our digital archives, memories lie dormant—
the tiniest of seeds planted in the fertile soil of our imagination.

Do you ever scroll through your old Pinterest boards? I did the other day. I came across my "Tiny Homes" inspiration board while doing a digital detox to consider deleting old boards that may not be needed any longer.

Suddenly there it was, the Coho Cottage. Mr. Ross Chaplin's creation—a whimsical fusion of wood and wonder that captured my heart back in 2009. Its walls whispered of cozy evenings of reading by the wood-burning stove, warm breezy mornings on the porch, and moon views from a gable window. I used to picture myself there as a part of its story, weaving my own chapters into its timbered frame.

But life has a way of nudging us toward unexpected paths, doesn’t it? When the time came to choose a home, practicality won over whimsy. A brick 3-2-2 starter home became the best choice and my cottage dreams faded into the background, gathering digital dust.

Then today—a serendipitous moment when pixels and nostalgia collided. There it was, the little red cottage, resurfacing like a long-lost friend and in a moment of clarity, it dawned on me that the essence of the Coho cottage was mirrored in the charm of my Okie Blue Bungalow. My heart fluttered when I saw the similarities: bold colors met crisp white fascia and trim, gables stood confident each with three steadfast planks, and that enchanting front porch that beckons us to sit a spell.

Is it mere coincidence, or something more? Some call it manifesting—the art of creating reality from desire. Or perhaps God gave me a gift by weaving threads of familiarity into my memory when I was house hunting in 2022. Either way, my home now stands as a testament to the magic of reverie.

And I’ve realized that dreams, even forgotten ones, find their way.

So, my dear reader and dreamer, keep pinning your hopes and writing your lists. For who knows which ones await rediscovery and perhaps, just beyond the next scroll, lies one that has come to fruition which at one time you thought you could only have dreamed for.

 The tapestry of a home is woven with the threads of dreams once whispered to the night sky. - silver trumpets

 

A Drive to Remember: The Importance of a Get-Home-Bag

 

My Get-Home Bag (GHB) - shown in front but I usually wear it on my back

Today started like any other day. The sky was clear, and the roads were good, but the humidity was brutal. I have a 1-hour commute to work through rural areas and across state lines. I was about 40 minutes into my drive when Google Maps routed me to take an unusual exit. I know my way to work but always run Google maps in case anything changes and today there was a flood warning due to thunderstorms the night before, so I trusted it.

I'm glad I did. Google directed me to a side road to bypass a flooded roadway however, there would still be a 40+ minute traffic jam. Even with the alternative route, the traffic was slow, and fellow commuters were impatient. Some tried crossing over to the frontage roads but ended up stranded in mud so deep they couldn't even exit their vehicles. So I decided to just take it easy, crank up my music, and not stress.

Suddenly, while in stop-and-go traffic, my engine sputtered. The engine light came on and it struggled to accelerate. I turned off the radio and AC to listen, and it was clearly having issues. Since I was about to enter a two-lane construction zone with no shoulder, I pulled over. Then more warning lights appeared, and it stopped running.

So, there I was, stranded just outside a construction zone with the service road closed and miles of traffic around me. I knew it would take forever for my husband or a tow truck to reach me and I just couldn't sit there for hours. I checked the map and saw a high school down the road. If I walked there, then I thought my husband might be able to drive some back roads to get there and pick me up. The school was the only building in the area, with no other businesses for miles, and it was about a 10-minute walk away. So, I grabbed my cross-body purse and the get-home bag I leave in my car. I had to walk up the highway, cross a large muddy ditch in my business clothes [I'm sure the onlookers were amused] and backtrack down the closed service road to hike to the school.

There was a young lady sitting outside the high school when I walked up asking if I could use the restroom. She agreed but informed me they were in a power outage! Ha, of course they were. Luckily, I had a flashlight in my bag. I walked down a dark hallway, fitting for a horror movie, to find the restroom. I also had a battery backup for my phone, water, and a small battery-powered fan, which was quite a lifesaver as it got very warm in the building but was too humid outside to wait for my husband.

As a mini prepper, I never knew if I'd truly need my GHB but today I was so grateful to have it! This all worked brilliantly. I was prepared and didn't have to just sit in my car helpless.

In the photograph above of my bag, you’ll notice a couple of things. First, my bag is a small cross-body sling. Because I also carry a purse, a smaller bag forces me to be selective and not overload myself in case I need to abandon my car--like today. Most GHB's you'll see people suggest are simply too cumbersome. Additionally, this bag seems less "survivalist," allowing me to blend in better if I had issues in an urban environment. By the way, this is the same bag I grab during tornado warnings, so it serves multiple purposes.

What happened to me today is why I encourage contingency planning! Make a get-home bag for your car. It's not just something alarmists talk about on YouTube; it’s practical. Here’s what I have in mine:

• Flashlight
• Knife, section of paracord
  
• Change of clothes; including socks
• First aid kit
• Hand sanitizer; mask
  
• Battery-powered fan
• Thermos of water
• Hat;  trinket box of essentials
  
• Battery power bank
  
• Spare pair of eyeglasses
• My medication
• Mylar blankets; Hand warmers (so I don't have to update it in the winter)
  
• Work gloves 

**Many items are actually in zip-lock bags, so I have those if I need them. I also keep a spare pair of old tennis shoes in the car but was already wearing tennis shoes so going through a few inches of mud was no problem.

I hope this convinces you that being prepared makes a huge difference. Don’t wait for an emergency to get ready. Make your GHB today!

 

Short view of my walk today.

 

Women's Quarter Series: Pauli Murray

 

Pauli Murray: The Intersectional Pioneer

"Give me a song of hope
And a world where I can sing it.
Give me a song of faith
And a people to believe in it.
Give me a song of kindliness
And a country where I can live it.
Give me a song of hope and love
And a brown girl's heart to hear it."
[excerpt from Dark Testament]

Another quarter to be inspired by this week! And yet, another amazing person I've never even heard of, which makes me sad. But this is one of the reasons I'm writing this US quarter series! So that I don't remain in the dark. 

It seems fitting, as we move into Pride month in the U.S., to share about Pauli Murray. Murray's life and work are a testament to the power of resilience and the profound impact one person can have on multiple fronts of social justice. In her twenties, she shortened her name to be more androgynous--from Pauline to Pauli. At the time she lived pronouns were still standardized but Murray was self-described with family as a "he/she personality" and had even asked doctors to do exploratory surgery on her to see if she was intersex. Likely because it was dangerous and illegal during the 20th century to be openly queer, Murray most commonly used she/her pronouns, so this is how I will refer to her. However, I encourage you to do your own research if you'd like to know more about the personal side of her gender identity.

Below are some interesting facts about her social and civil rights work.

Contributions spanned civil rights, feminism, law, and literature. You can hear her read an excerpt of her published volume of poetry, Dark Testament, here on the Harvard website.

Thurgood Marshall called Murray's book "States' Laws on Race and Color" the "bible" of the civil rights movement and John F. Kennedy, appointed Murray to the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.

 Murray graduated first in the class of 1944 from Howard University but she was denied the chance to do post-graduate work at Harvard University because of her gender. Murray was even rejected despite a letter of support from sitting President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She wrote in response, "I would gladly change my sex to meet your requirements, but since the way to such change has not been revealed to me, I have no recourse but to appeal to you to change your minds. Are you to tell me that one is as difficult as the other?"

Murray was the first African American to earn a J.S.D. from Yale Law School but also the first African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.

She addressed the intersections of race, gender, and economic status long before "intersectionality" was coined.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg named Murray as a coauthor of the ACLU brief in the landmark Supreme Court case Reed v. Reed.

Three different photos of Murray during different stages of her life.

 * An explanation on the label from the photo on the right that has "The Imp!" written on it. She wrote this on the photo herself. It's said that Murray was engaging in more than word play; she was exploring self outside the constraints of conventional identity categories. It is said, "The Imp!" provided temporary escape from confinements of many types, a chance to imagine herself as not of this world and so not thwarted by it. She also labeled other photos of herself as "The Crusader" and "The Dude." 

https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1256&context=etd