Happy Hour

On April 26, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry2 Comments

Credit: www.lynnegolodner.com

Black coffee in bed

The morning quiet adding the sweetness to my first sip

My day unfolds with no set plans

A run in the rain

I lose myself in dreams

My body a zen-like stream

as I am carried over these endless rises

A heated cleansing

The ritual soothing to the double digit distance

Stomach empty- a primal hunger invades

I sip and sup listening to Saturday stories

The day turns raw

I shelter myself baking, laundering and dancing

A spontaneous urge propels me out the door

Seeking sustenance

I turn my wheels and spy two mates

We gather at the bar

Coffee, Tea for they and me

Tall tales Told (gosh are we getting old!)

Time flies by

We leave and say goodbye

I arrive at the stead new plans ahead

Dinner to make or should I bake?

The night is a pup

At five, I fill my cup

One needs to dine with a good fine wine!

Day 26 of the Challenge. For my friends L and J: Thanks for being a part of my day! XO

Sweet Summit

On April 20, 2014July 27, 2018 By buildingalifeofhopeIn Hiking, Life's Journey, memoir, poetry2 Comments

Air: A clean briskness as we commenced our ascent

The rugged and roughed terrain slick with mud

and granite waterfalls

and thick, melting snow

We bushwack our way off the trail

Avoiding the micro glaciers that are sure to plant us on our face

The breath and sweat from our exertions is soon evident

I slip my crampons on

Each step closer to the rock face warmth

Trail anointed by silver cairns and orange blazes

The subalpine space is 360 degrees wide open

A tristate view

Higher peaks still holding onto the fourth season

Yet their lower elevation cousins a blanket of purple-brown

We lunch by the lookout

A trinity already risen

Celebrating another resurrection

A luscious Easter Feast

My sons and I climbed a mountain on this Easter Day. This inscription was on the Lookout tower at the summit. Poetry at 3511 feet! (photos taken with my phone)

Why I Run

On April 19, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry8 Comments

Credit: davegetzschman.photoshelter.com

I run for no specific reason

I run because I like to feel the morning air on my face

The dark nip of winter

The welcoming breeze of spring

The heat of summer

and the tri-colored relief of autumn

I run to feel the aches

as I first shuffle my feet

and the sweet release as I enter my stride

I run to see the changes in my world reveal themselves bit by bit

I run to listen to the day’s first stirrings

and the night’s final slumber

to hear the coyotes’ howls

the red tail’s hunt

the snort of deer

and the yip of the fox

I run to peek at Venus, my morning star in the east

I run to watch the moon’s final rise at the first mile

and the sun’s first with one to go

I run to breathe, to think (or not)

I run because I want to feel alive

and take in my daily dose of peace

Lunar Tetrad

On April 16, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry4 Comments

I watched the Blood Moon rise tonight

Fighting to be center stage with the fierce Spring winds

Its appearance is a ball of dust in the gray black dusk

Shape shifting second by second

Securing its space in the sky

To the unknowing eye it is but a whiff of smoke

A vampy vapor vieing for luminosity

But the wind is hip to her vice

Shrouding her shame

Tamping down her flame

We’ll see then if the winds wins over this feisty dame

Monday and Tuesday night promised a lunar eclipse but the forecast called for rain overnight. I took this photo with my phone (thus the quality!) in order to at least get a glimpse of one of Mother Nature’s miracles. Sometimes my backyard is a slice of heaven!

Being in the Distance

On April 13, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry4 Comments

Credit: www.lululemon.com

I smelled the rain before I saw it

Butter in the air

The roads were still dry after yesterday’s Spring baking

A welcome sign then after Winter‘s marathon of cold

As I neared the pond, I could hear the first drops’ pings hit the leaves

Too late to turn back and I never would anyway

By mile 1 the roads were already glistening

I was stiff and moving slow

but not really thinking of when I would end this march into my daily reverie

Warming up the mind occurs at mile 2

When the bell tower was reached, I turned to hear a friendly beep

My white truck clad neighbor

An incentive to go further than planned

The rain drops seemed to miss me

as I descended the long hill

and turned left on the only flats I swear exist in this town

My cares and worries from yesterday fell to the pavement

melting with the sky’s happy tears

My Sunday expedition reminds me of why I lift my feet

take in my surroundings

watch my world change minute to minute

I take stock and notice with all of my senses

I seem to float on the next mile’s ascent

This town is full of hills

A runner’s speed work in disguise

I realize the rain has picked up but I am barely wet

This is a good place to be

Alone

To not worry about what’s coming next, to just keep moving forward

A Spring Namaste’

On April 11, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry4 Comments

Credit: peacesymbol.org

Daybreak, a new illumination

Night whispers goodbye

as Venus lights the sky

My celestial companion kissing my window

I breathe

Seeking my own inner radiance

before the day’s illusions break the spell

The scenery is losing its bleakness

The tough alloy of the dead season

surrendering to the still fragile newborn

I taste the softness of the new dawn

The air a crisp green apple

My breath white and warm

with the rhythm of my feet

The old beech that holds the bend

is surrounded in a yellow glow

My aching body is grateful in its movements

Each step a stretch and release

The coyotes call heard, but not seen

Fox and deer leave their traces invisible, but present

Do they watch me as I forge my morning path?

My thoughts wander much like me

Familiar with the way

Creating my own inner landscape

as I enter a new day

Morning Clarity

On April 3, 2014April 3, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry2 Comments

Credit: www.leemaysgardeninglife.com

Venus greets me before the sun

The day’s first star in the East

I step out the back door

Settle on the steps

Sipping, Listening Seeing

My stockinged feet welcome the chill of the cement

A runner’s massage before the road’s daily aches

Birdsong chatter a welcome cacophony

Drowning out Winter’s silence once more

Ducks make their way to their liquid oasis

Rapid beating of wings a thrilling urgency

A celebration of the newer season

I fill my lungs, the air freshly cold

Nary a scent:pure

My mind has yet to be cluttered

I sip my beany brew

Offering up peace, honoring the gift

for this brand new day

Lion and Lamb

On April 1, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn poetry9 Comments

Credit: www.thestar.com

Opening the window

Turning up the volume

on the wind and rain

drops beating

sounds: a metal drum

an unexpected rhythm

dancing on the chairs

elderly and youthful pines

swinging and swaying

an homage to one another

My world is a blanket of camouflage colors

Grays, browns, blacks and greens

Trees still lack their first season’s buds

I await the birth of their newest progeny

Winter’s white finally losing the battle

Snowbanks disintegrating and retreating

Transforming into rivulets

The earth beneath no longer stiffened

but softening, oozing a gorgeous liquid bronze

Sunshine Award

On February 5, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn Awards1 Comment

Nominated by the lovely poetress Annie @ http://anniesmuse.wordpress.com/

After writing and posting my 169th piece, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself nominated for the Sunshine Award! We sure could use some up here in the month of February!

So, onto the process: Write 10 facts about yourself and nominate 10 others as well.

1) I love to read and carry at least two books with me in my car daily. You never know if you’ll break down. Reading is a great thing to do while waiting for AAA!

2) I love running and have participated in the sport since I was 11. Took a break for a bit in my 20’s and love it even more in my 50’s.

3) I love yoga almost as much as running. My yoga mat is near my desk ready for use at all times. I go to a hot yoga studio weekly and am now into my 36th straight day of doing yoga with a goal for a full 365 for this year.

4) I also enjoy strength training but find it hard to do when my basement is 48 degrees. Plus, I spend a lot of time shoveling snow in the winter.

5) The ocean soothes my soul and it is in these long winter days that I miss it the most.

6) I make sure to see the sunrise and sunset everyday no matter where I am. The only obstacle is usually cloud cover!

7) I love getting my hair done. For years when I was married and the mother of young children, I kept my hair very short and got cheap haircuts. That ceased about 8 years ago when a good friend of mine paid for my haircut with her hairdresser. She spent the year convincing me to grow my hair and Voila’!

8) I am grateful to be in a healthy relationship with a wonderful man.

9) My two grown sons have turned into two good men. Very little fine tuning needed!

10) No matter what life has brought to my door, I have no regrets about the choices I have made-they helped to make me a stronger person.

And the nominees are:

1) http://dorothychiotti.com/ Consistently strong writing spoken with passion from the heart.

2) http://pinkwoods.wordpress.com/ This girl can write about pain so beautifully and with true honesty.

3) http://talichaj.com/ I love her spoken word poetry!

4) http://phylor.wordpress.com/ This writer blows me away every time!

5) http://jenniesaia.wordpress.com/ Jennie’s passionate opinions and energy ring true. I look forward to her posts all the time.

6) http://markschutter.com/ What can I say? I just love Mark. His appreciation for his life shows in all his posts and his art.

7) http://graypoet.wordpress.com/ A man with a gift for rhyme and more.

Well, I just have 7 because some of the ones I love no longer accept awards or have already been nominated for Sunshine! Quality writers here nonetheless!

Namaste’

Lover’s Creed

On January 25, 2014February 20, 2014 By buildingalifeofhopeIn Lovers, poetry17 Comments

trust[4]

Meeting for a late night meal

Not quite strangers, Not quite friends

But something else unborn and unspoken

A forward movement,

A relevant transition,

A certain shift

resonating between and within us

The repast remained barely consumed

Our hearts full of anticipation instead

The ease at which we came to be joined

An affirmation that it was meant to be

The darkness deepened outside

The air breathing its long December chill

But here in this space lay newborn warmth

Eyes wide open

Souls ready to receive

Two lovers sealing their covenant

A confident expectation

A credulous commitment

Thus, on this night,

in this blood-thin blackness

this achy, gasping vortex of interminable frost

A recollection of our whispered pact

soothes me in a blanket of torrid heat

#FWF Free Write Friday: Trust

Just one word this week. It can mean many things can’t it? I am grateful to have it back in my life. I took a trip down memory lane for this one. And I am glad that I still am making more with my beloved! Perfect way to end the week.

Building A Life Of Hope

Tag: northern climates