Thursday, August 25, 2011

Breakfast At Tiffanys



I couldn't put it down.



I finally sat down long enough


 
to experience the bite of the unknown


and chilling plunge

into the

first chapter.



Then, as if they had a say in the whole affair



the stringed lights in my garden

flickered in dim unison



like children joined hand-in-hand



whimsically chanting summer's 

END.




BUT

the tale endures.


For it is in the HEART of the story 


where the treasures are found








that ignite the joy






of knowing that the dreams of a child




and the insecurities of an adolescent





can flower into the wisdom of an adult.



Because when you follow the story of your life just remember that





My summer holiday is over 

but the plot thickens.

My students and I are waiting 





to learn that






So before I start on 

my way back to the classroom




 
I just want to tell you that 




Thank you



for a summer of 

letters
laughter
gift exchanges
emails
Skype 

and most of all for the confidence that I can collaborate

with you in creating a place to

forget the troubles of the world 


in order to remember 


what is close to your heart.

Anita

Photo Credits: Pinterest
               Tumblr
Sketches of children and Audrey Hepburn: Anita Castles Crowns and Cottages ©









Friday, August 19, 2011

Breathe It All In

I could feel it under my feet


while the fingers that dodged hammers to build

me 

a playhouse that summer






and that deftly 

upholstered furniture from nine to five 



fluttered over ivory stairs 

to the moon.




I heard every calculated measure and responded



 as Claude Debussy transformed mathematical form

into

MOONSHINE.


 But as my daddy played his piano

my young eyes would fill with wonder.



And to this day

my spent eyes well with tears

as I play


yet wonder still



WHAT WAS HE THINKING
 
when he composed

Clair de Lune?

 
Did Debussy behold

the Paris sky


and witness what I cannot see?




I believe he would he say to me,


"If you could only see what I hear."


I will never know what moved him.

But I do know that an artist just simply needs to 





Don't just breathe.


LIVE 

and love forever.


You MUST visit Dawne at Quiddity 2 who kindly allowed me to use her WHIMSICAL and original images of the Paris moon. Just click HERE to see more of her photography and travel log. It is a must-see!
MERCI BEAUCOUP DAWNE 
and my subheader is from her Pinterest board, too! 



OTHER PHOTO CREDITS: 

             

















Thursday, August 11, 2011

There's Room For Us All

Wouldn't it be a thrill if one day 

someone went shopping 






and came home with a parcel that they were eager to unwrap



that wasn't

a MUST-HAVE in the latest color




or a great pair of shoes





but rather

one of my 

published books?




Oh! 

To have my verse officially in print

enveloped and validated




standing at attention amongst other voices

waiting in line to be heard 



and sampled with sweet surprise.



But one August evening

I lowered my eyes from the clouds of high hopes




and fixed my gaze on the reality of each calculated step towards




room 325.




The relaxed mood of the room 
for the writers' soirĂ©e 


allayed my fears as I wandered in and 

wondered if

there would be room for me in this group of

new as well as experienced writers 

who came and went as the tide




casting their collections of 

diverse observations


and then
 ebbing into the night of the duty that calls.



I initially feathered in like a thin blank page caught in the wind

of blemished perception.

But I left CHANGED



as forgotten locals



were remembered by a published urban poet.

Some one's grandmother crisply read her romantic 

short story  



ready for submission to a nationwide magazine.
 
I gave constructive feedback.


We connected.

Maybe one day I'll publish something. Anything.




And maybe I won't.

But in the end, it doesn't matter

because if I




 

I will have lived to learn 

that 

there is room for us all. 




Please visit the talented artist, Patricia Cabrera at Woolytales Miniatures to see her latest creation of The Black Swan for which I wrote a guest post. She is gifted and her work says it all. Thank you, my friend, for allowing me the honor.


Photo Credits:

Pinterest:
Tumblr
Little Brown Pen
Brown Dress with Polka Dots