Sandy Hook

For the families mourning in Connecticut:

Because words are stronger than bullets
We will keep hate on the run with love
And our children shall return to us.
You will see your faith renewed;
The darkest cloud of doubt
Can only rain so long.

Sun will shine and fill your empty beds with light
I promise it will come. I promise you.
Just as dusk gives way to dawn,
Your heart will beat again.

Today's Tragedy

Today I was heartbroken. The news hit hard. Over twenty people in Connecticut dead; eighteen children. I clung to the radio in my car, trying to understand. Why? Is it the lapse of federal gun laws? Is our mental health system so deteriorated in this country as not to get these psychopaths the care or seclusion they need? I was angry. I wanted to blame the killer, I wanted to blame society, myself and everyone. Is this something that will keep happening until everyone is numb? Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine… it feels the same and yet it doesn't. A grown man decided to enter an elementary school and commit a vicious act of evil beyond comprehension.

I thought all of this on my way to volunteering at a local elementary school. I expected lock down but no one else had even heard. It was better that way. The kids carried on much like they always do. I played games and pushed two young girls on the swing, thankful they were okay. That’s all any of us can really do right now. We can only be thankful for our children and the ones around us and pray that they stay safe.

When someone takes the life or innocence of a child it shatters us. Maybe it’s because we see in them the ability to extend our own mortality; maybe it’s because our hope for a brighter future is tarnished. I know for one, when I see my niece or any young child, I see hope; the potential for someone to live and do the things I never could. I doubt often I can change the world but never them. They are free; vulnerable but free. And when society fails to protect them it fails everyone.

Help Children This Holiday Season with a Paperback of The Funny Adventures of Little Nani by Cinta Garcia

Author Cinta Garcia recently released an amazing collection of stories involving a witch whose attempts to help people often go awry. It was easily one of the best books I read this year. The imagination, the heart, as well as the cultural and environmental insights make it a must read. But, particularly, this month, you cannot miss the opportunity. Cinta Garcia is donating $10 of every purchase to help disadvantaged children this holiday season.

In her own words, “I donate money every year to a children's charity of my choice, and this year I was going to do the same. So I decided to use my book in order to make people be more aware of those children who don't have happy Christmas, those kids who don't get presents under the tree, or who maybe don't even have a tree, those kids who have to spend Christmas time in hospitals.” I was particularly touched by this generosity. We clearly need more people like her. Be sure and get the paperback! It’s a tremendous book and a fantastic cause. You can find it on Amazon and Createspace.

Haiku in the Night

I recently released a book of haiku titled Haiku in the Night. It's an eclectic mix of free-verse and traditional divided into four colors: green, red, gray and blue. I took inspiration from the Japanese legend Basho and his separation by season.  Also, I thought I would share a few of my favorites with my lovely readers.

We are lunar martyrs

Dying by our telescopes

Lost in constellations.

I moonwalked

once upon a time

without you.

When your kisses lie

Whispers and your touch deceive

I am left alone.

Get it on:

Amazon Kindle

Amazon Paperback

Smashwords

Finding Truth

I'm trying to put my feelings for my grandfather into context. I think there was much unsaid and unresolved between us at the time of his death. The first step, obviously is being as honest as I'm able with my feelings.

For Grandpa 
your heroic days were stories
that I never saw but I believed.
I wish I knew you then and
not the hardened man
I can’t remember having
a sincere embrace with.
then again, I wish I took the time
to understand the way you were;
why you cried when grandma died
and then remarried not long after.
it didn’t make sense and neither
did the illness that took over
when she didn’t love you
the same way or much at all.

1999

At the turn of the century, I was 13

Almost half the age at which I write

I don't remember very much, except

Our bubbled drinks not quite champagne

The thrill of staying up past bedtime

And New Years Rockin' Eve, that now

I just can't watch without Dick Clark.

Image Source: Juiceboxxx.com

Posted for TimeWarp 1999 ~#WWUC @NWCreativeUnion

Waxing Poetic by Amber Norrgard

Waxing Poetic The 2012 Collected Poetry Works

by Amber Jerome~ Norrgard

My rating 5/5 Stars

It was refreshing and emotional to read through Amber Norrgard's poetry in one collection. Color of Dawn, In the Gloaming and 11:59 p.m. strike a powerful chord together as they do apart. You will be shaken, touched, torn into and reassembled by her words of pain and perseverance.