Monday, January 17, 2011

A day in the life



Yesterday, I climbed the little mountain in my town, as I do, and found rejuvenation waiting--the sky scrubbed by wild winds the day before, the earth sprouting where last month's deluge had soaked in, unseen birds singing. So words popped in my head to form haiku.
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a sudden trilling,

wild burst of exuberance

on a still morning
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ancient granite

yields a foothold to fragile

wild grasses

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Today, I have a crit group meeting all afternoon. Our stories will take me to Wales and India and the rural South. I will climb mountains with them and find hope along the journey, because that's what writing and writers bring to my life--a sense of new beginnings and wonder, words developed and shaped to form worlds where we make sense of ours.
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And, today, I remember a man of tremendous courage and foresight, who brought hope and rejuvenation to the world. May we all learn not to judge by the color of skin or country of origin or religious belief or physical impairment or anything except the content of character, the goodness of spirit. And may we all, someday, be free at last.
In memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

27 comments:

storyqueen said...

Lovely post.

And have a great time at your crit group. As for me, my butt has an appointment with a chair...and my hands will be meeting with the keys of a laptop.

Shelley

Donna said...

What a fine celebration of nature, poetry and the best of humankind.

Melissa Hurst said...

Beautiful pictures!

That's what I love about my CPs - their stories can take me to different places I haven't been to or probably won't get the chance to visit.

Catherine Denton said...

Gorgeous post. Your Haikus are fabulous next to those photos. And your memorial so honorably and beautifully written.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Shelley: Ah, yes, you have a holiday to write the wonder of your stories. Have a lovely day.

Donna: Thank you so much. Yes, he pointed us to be our best. Each step we take, I hope, brings us closer.

Melissa: It really is such a wonderful thing to have great CPs to take you places and lend a hand along the way.

Catherine: Oh, thanks so much! I'm glad it has an impact. Even writing it made me a bit teary.

Sherrie Petersen said...

Your photos and haikus are always so lovely :)

Golden Eagle said...

I love the haikus--and the pictures are wonderful!

Unknown said...

Thanks again for the great pics! I love where you live.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Sherrie: Oh, thank you.

GoldenEagle: Thanks to you, too!

Elle: Funny, sometimes I'm just dying to move, and other times I know how much I'd miss some of these things...

Wen Baragrey said...

That splash of green among the rocks is just gorgeous. I always love seeing your photos and reading your haikus. Lovely, as always! I hope your crit group meeting was productive :D

Stephanie Faris said...

All afternoon? That's a long critique group meeting!

Tabitha Bird said...

Beautiful photos. Love those rocks. That would make me write poetry too :)

VR Barkowski said...

What a beautiful post, the haikus, the photographs, and the heartfelt tribute to a truly great human being. Thank you.

Unknown said...

Beautiful post. Beautiful images and a great tribute to an extraordinary human being.

Jemi Fraser said...

Beautiful photos and tribute. MLK was an amazing man :)

Yvonne Osborne said...

It seemed attainable twenty years ago, or even ten. Now....I'm not so sure. Does it feel like we're regressing?

Thank you for writing this.

Megan Frances Abrahams said...

Lovely evocative haiku and beautiful images! A great post filled with wonder and hope.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Wen: It was another stimulating and productive meeting. I belong to a great group and feel very fortunate.

Stephanie: Yes, this group (I'm in two) meets all afternoon. There are six of us and often we all have chapters to read and discuss. But we eat yummy snacks, too!

Tabitha: I'm mad about those boulders. I've photographed them, written poetry and included them in one of my novels. They're awesome.

Viva:Thank you so much.

Wendy and Jemi: Thank you both, too!

Yvonne: I know what you mean. It does feel sometimes that we keep slipping backwards, but I've got to hope that in the big picture we are inching forward, bit by bit.

Megan: Thank you so much. It means a lot that you found the hope in my words.

Bish Denham said...

Lyrical as always, beautiful. And stunning photos.

Talli Roland said...

Beautiful photos and a very apt reminder of such a powerful man. Thank you.

Liza said...

Thank you Tricia. Wondeful.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

*sigh* Beautiful post! :-)

Jan Morrison said...

Thanks Tricia - for the thoughts and images.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Bish!
Talli!
Liza!
Shannon!
Jan!

Thank all of you for the lovely comments. :D

Linda Kage said...

Yah! Perfect post for today. Still lovin' your haiku.

Corey Schwartz said...

What a lovely post and tribute to MLK.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

*waves at Linda and Corey* Hi, my friends. Good to see you and thanks!