Write About Love

"Love calls us to do the things in this world."  - Richard Wilbur

". . . migratory musicians,/one last/ word before /I go back with wet shoes, thorns /and dry leaves/ to my home:/ vagabonds, I love you/free far from the shotgun and the cage." - Pablo Neruda from, "Ode to Bird Watching."

Pablo Neruda, one of the most loving poets, forms an authentic attachment to life. Calling on unlimited sources of inspiration, he writes odes to an elephant, a pair of socks or a bar of soap. He calls them all to life and reminds us of the interconnectedness of all things and beings. Compassion and humor populate his poetry.

At the end of, "Ode to Bird Watching," Neruda leaves in frustration at not getting close enough yet he makes peace with his love of the birds' wildness and inaccessibility, " . . .messengers of pollen/matchmakers/ of the flower, uncles/ of the seed/ I love you,/ingrates/ I'm going home,/ happy to have lived with you/ a moment/in the wind.

What is Love?  Poets and writers have nose-dived and bellyflopped into its lakes and caverns for years. Everyone has experiences and expectations. Which are real? 

Has the notion of Love become a distorted part of our imagination and desperation? How does it transfer beyond the human form?

Peel the Artichoke

Love is an artichoke

all layered in secrets.

Hear the cricket snap of leaves

petals tipped in silky maroon.

White whiskers protect

the heart.

Cook warm,

squirt a tang of sweet lemon.

Push and pull to savor the green, 

see how the leaves fall away.

Once at the heart, 

ah the tingle, oh the sheen.

                      - Penny Wilkes

Creative Write:

What do you make of Love? Does the word by itself send ripples and thrills. Do memories bring shudders?

Where does Love begin? How do we learn to Love from the inside out free from expectations and doubts?

Write an approach to Love you have not considered before. Examine layers and textures.

Barriers of Uncertainty

 "There are things known and things unknown and between them, the doors." - Jim Morrison

Portals invite.

Often they
distract
the visiter.

Is it a question of protection or
seclusion?



Curiosity
scents the
difference in lilac.

What lurks or sulks in the silence behind the wood and brass?

House finches
with
a forest
of roses
rise.

Search
for
clouds.

Nurtured
by
freedom.

Stars spackle in shadows,
reveal the hieroglyphs
of spring.

Green arouses a
desire to seek
beyond.

Imagine the door open to
dreams.

Whoosh and once inside,

Taffeta gleams and seams
of organdy diffuse the light.

Dancers twirl and offer goblets.

Will you take a sip?

Seahorses shine in curves of silver.

Where will writing
lead beyond barriers
of uncertainty?

Will codes 
of memory

Open?

Do a Mental Shampoo

"Every day, give yourself a good mental shampoo." - Dr. Sara Jordan

The mind requires swishing and swirling for revitalization. This removes old patterns and habits. 

Try altering your mindset and point of view.

Let eyes, ears and fingers search for renewal.

Release emotions that clutter. 

Turn a corner and a bee diner appears.




Catch an elegant tern in flight.

Notice how nature colors and texturizes to fill cracks in the man-made world.  

Life sprouts with determination.

Mental bathing invites a search for what isn't seen, heard, smelled, or tasted.

Mysteries surround and energize the day.

Nurture. Wonder. Thrive.  Alive!

Delve into a place familiar but unexpected. 

Alter perspective to view the world in a slant or a shift not considered before. 

Try a view into the crevices. 

Sorrow, Silliness and Serenade

All sorrows can be borne, if you put them into a story. - Isak Dinesen

Choose a sorrow, a silliness and a serenade. 

You might begin writing about the loss of a loved one.  

Add the loss of a toenail with a tinge of humor.

Connect with the music of a landscape. Write into the weave and discover a story or poem.

Mine the Ordinary

"The beginner sees many possibilities, the expert few. Be a beginner every day." ~ Zen Proverb

Discover a miracle each day that inspires you to view the ordinary with a new perspective.

Strip objects and experiences of their habitual expectations. Allow them to attract the enchantment you felt before familiarity set in.

Observe the way a raven stands on its claws and how rainbows sparkle in feathers.

Stay ready and eager for an outbreak of curiosity with a burst of surprises and fun.

Tune your eyes and ears.

Let your fingers and toes explore.








Around every corner, adventures will enliven the day.

Be aware. Care and share.

Write about Becoming and Belonging

Talent reveals what we can do. Artistry shows how we become.

Becoming involves a lifelong excursion of curiosity, stumbles and discovery. Everyone has a talent that blooms with time and nourishment. Life's process involves a search for ways to become and belong.

Identification of ability begins the process. It involves how one unfolds into his or her talent. 

During childhood a tree climb, a scent of rose or a taste of honeysuckle might enchant and encourage exploration. Curiosity reigns. Finding wriggles under rocks and searching into the earth's secrets fosters imagination.

One returns from the excitement of an experience. The excursion's translation into writing or art captures the ideas and images.

A moment of observation sets it up.

Connection with a mentor nurtures the development of artistry. Often a negative influence will motivate and help one gain strength and maturity.

Hearing a rejection activates a change of direction or encourages the desire to pursue a goal. The chance to get fierce motivates!

Questions to consider about becoming and belonging.

When did you first feel a belonging with a talent, skill, or art form?

Did you sense a longing-to-be-something and a belonging?

How did it relate to becoming who you are now?

Write into becoming and belonging and becoming with insights and imagery.

Six Word Memoir

Try writing a six word memoir.

Rescued Dog. Saved Dog. Universe next.

Loved self. Shared it with others.

She hurt me. Buried her deep.

Reconceive Creativity

How many ways could you use a pine cone? Make connections beyond the obvious and pursue innovations.

In Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson documents how pathbreaking innovations derive from inventors’ ability to notice previously unrecognized connections between related fields.

Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press developed from his understanding of the screw press in wine-making and his understanding of metal-typeface design. When he connected the synergies of two fields, he thought of the printing press.  

Creativity reveals the potential to make connections and conversions. Ideas move from abstract to concrete and weave possibilities.

Reconceive a pine cone and innovate beyond the shape and texture. What productive use follows?

Try for five.

Would the cone's scales become replacements for a disabled turtle's shell?

Turn them into nail files for a group of gray squirrels.

Use them above windows to capture bird droppings.

Tune the scales for a rendition of your favorite song.

Combine with . . . ?

Play with pine cone reconceptions. Recycle. Reuse. Replenish!

Write Reflections

Discover a site for reflections.

Name the stones for those who have passed from your life.

Respond to each. Bring family and friends back with a memory.

Add situations to the stones. Include those you enjoyed and others you would alter.

Include an observer.

Add another point of view

Use writing as a meditation to investigate and innovate.

Find Emotion in Writing

Delve into the use of emotion in writing inspired by taking a bird's eye view of several scenes.

What do pink geraniums on a post evoke?

Create an image for a snowy egret alone near the surf.

Find a heart at twilight.

End the day
in tangerine
gleam.

Spring Renewal

The vernal equinox enlivens growth. 

Make time to renew and revitalize. 

Review your diet and exercise. 

Avoid negative influences.  

Turn them into possibilities.

Sport laughter and creative thoughts. 



Invite a friend to play. 

Expand the mind by reading a variety of literature. 

Explore the natural world and write the sensory details. 

Focus on what works for you.

Give yourself a day's retreat to evaluate how you want to spend your life's moments.  

If you can't avoid technology for a day, do it for an hour at a time. 

Take to the pen instead of the keyboard. 

Breathe in spring's messages and write to discover.

Let joy enliven the air.

Springing in March 20th

How do they know the timing?

Without the benefit of calendars, clocks and watches, who reminds them of their spring performances?

The vernal equinox arrives with the dawn.

News travels from the roots to shoots, bulbs and seeds.

Green and colorful ones, it's show time!

Did a team of wizards stay up all night to paint these new faces?

Sensitive and alert, they smile and make their entrances.

Sap rises and leaves pulse from the branches. Yellow, oranges, pinks and brights emerge dappled with sunlight and dew. They sway  and bow with the breeze.

Standing ovations!

Never enough curtain calls will end this performance!