The effects of heritage – NaPoWriMo Day3

Posted on April 3, 2011 by moonbridgebooks

Today was even more beautiful than yesterday, so again I worked in the garden, this time doing more strenuous labor of weeding, edging, hauling big bags of mulch around, and pulling out a dead Japanese maple. Manual labor like this is something I’ve done since I was a teen – the only kid in the neighborhood tough enough to dig out an entire row of hedges by the roots. My sister is like this, too, tenacious and tough, not afraid of hard labor. Is it genetic or learned? What traits did you inherit from your parents?

My sister and I
Are stereotypes.
Japanese and Dutch,
What a combination.
The Japanese are known
For ganbare and gaman –
Do your best and persevere.
The Dutch are known
For their stubbornness.

Our husbands are lucky men
To be married to work horses
Who plow their fields
And put dinner on the table
That tastes better than hay.
*****
Who knows what this

bulbous plant is? It doesn’t bloom
but somehow appears in spots
all over the yard.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in heritage, poems | Comments Off on The effects of heritage – NaPoWriMo Day3

Cleaning out the garden – NaPoWriMo Day2

Posted on April 3, 2011 by moonbridgebooks

Today was so beautiful all the neighbors were out working in their yards. Me, too. Everyone was clearing away the old remnants of fall, making way for new growth and new flowers. Writing in a journal or writing your life stories can help you clear away old remnants, too, and your legs won’t be so sore you can’t walk the next day.

I cleaned out my garden today.
Took out the detritus of the past,
Removed old leaves
That were a comforting blanket
In the winter months
But now suffocate.
Snipped out rampant thoughts
That left alone
Would overrun my life.
Pruned out old ideas gone bad
Or neglected.
Suffered the thorns of those
That did not want to leave.

The best part of spring cleaning
Is discovering
That removing the old
Reveals the new,
Ready to start afresh
In the warm sun of a new season.

By the way, can anyone guess what this is? (I think I know)

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in journal, poems | 1 Comment

National Poetry Writing Month – Day1

Posted on April 1, 2011 by moonbridgebooks

I have signed up the Cherry Blossom Memories blog to the NaPoWriMo site. I can’t believe I did this. This means I am publicly committed to writing one poem a day for each day this month, National Poetry Writing Month. Now, I do write a lot of haiku, but I don’t like feeling I HAVE to. I mean, creativity must be inspired, right? Except if you ask professional writers, they don’t wait for that special moment; they work every day writing whether they feel like it or not. Just like we go to our everyday jobs whether we feel like it or not. And so it is with you who are inspired to write your lifestories. Get busy. Write something every day or at least one day a week. On schedule. And I will try to write a memoir poem a day. Here goes. And I don’t do rhymes.

Am I an April fool,
Signing up to write a poem a day
When I really am so busy
I sometimes can’t think straight?
But maybe in poetry
One doesn’t always have to think straight.
Usually it’s the crooked line
That’s most interesting.

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com
Posted in memoir writing, poems | 3 Comments