The next in a series of BFF themes
inspired by song titles:




HEARTSONGS

As darkness begins
to envelop the night,
the music of day,
often bold and bright,
begins to sing softly,
embracing my heart
and nourishing my soul.
And the dance of the day,
often frenzied and quick,
changes tempo once again
with the setting of the sun,
waltzing toward midnight,
along with the moon,
dancing slowly to
velvet melodies,
soothing rough edges
and emotions worn thin.

And in the faintest
wisps of sound,
in a dream,
in a moment,
in a fleeting glance,
inaudible,
imperceptible,
vague and fleeting at first,
magic emerges,
the miracle of night,
music unending
transporting my soul
to morning's first light
and lifting my spirits
as the music of day
begins once again,
as Night's hushed
and muted darkness
meets the lavish break of Dawn
symphonic splashes of color
welcoming the newly risen sun.

And gentle ocean waves whisper
the sweetest song of morning,
peace settling upon my heart
with the music
the morning sings.




(c) barbara kausteklis 5-10-11

Written for BFF #98/
"Unchained Melody."

http://www.myspace.com/bff4fun/blog/542888477

Thanks always for your visits and comments.

While I actually have to be somewhere in about a half hour, I look forward to catching up with the blogs I've missed since I last commented on them as soon as I get back. 

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography BFF

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Because they're such a fun and fascinating Monday Night challenge for me . . . .

Blogophilia 11.4 Topic: "The State of Insanity"

Bonus Points:

(Hard, 2pts): mention 1 of the 5 Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario)

(Easy, 1pt): incorporate "moxie" in your blog

Final date to post: May 17th, 2011 GMT midnight

Final date to post ALL GUESSES: May 14th, 2011 GMT midnight

**********

SOMETIMES

I'm sometimes happy,
sometimes sad,
sometimes angry,
sometimes mad,
depending on my mood,
you see,
which,
in turn
depends
so much
on me.

Words sometimes
can't begin to say
why in the world
I feel this way or that
on any given day --
sometimes wound up like a top,
spinning 'round and 'round
such a frazzled state I'm in,
a can of Moxie
necessary
to calm me down again;
sometimes as serene
and placid as can be,
as calm as Lake Erie,
on a midsummer's afternoon,
happily shipwrecked
upon a sea of magical dreams
and never coming back.

Sometimes I'm steadfast
and so very strong;
sometimes fragile,
my emotions always
so very obvious,
worn on my face
for all to see.
And sometimes,
whether I like it or not,
they even manage to get
the very best of me.

And as I look in the mirror
at who's looking back at me,
I see insane sanity
and sane insanity
together alive and well,
friends forever bound
within myself.

And every day
that they're together,
those two parts of myself,
they manage to get along
and make their way
the best they can
proving to me,
just one more time,
that the state of insanity
within the me that is me
is sanely and insanely well,
two friends getting along
just Me and Myself.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-9-11

Moxie = one of the first mass-produced
carbonated drinks in the United States
originally thought to be effective
against nervousness and insomnia.
Proclaimed the official soft drink
of Maine in 2005 because that's
where its founder was born.



Written for Blogophilia 11.4/
"The State of Insanity".

http://www.myspace.com/blogophilia/blog/542891826

These are such a lot of fun
on my Monday nights.

Thanks always for your visits and comments.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Blogophilia

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EACH MORNING DEJA VU

Each morning as I awaken,
the sunlight on my face,
the finches singing in the trees,
the dewdrops on the leaves,
I have a special feeling
that I've been here once before.
And indeed I have . . . .
just yesterday I witnessed
the very same thing,
the sunrise that so warms my heart,
the sweet birds as they sing,
and the dew that glistened
on the leaves and every blade of grass.
Today they mean as much to me
as they did just yesterday.
And I look forward to the evening,
as the sun once more bids adieu
and to tomorrow morning,
and deja vu once again.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-9-11

Written for CPC ""Magic Mondays/
The Magic of Deja Vu."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/35078/magic-deja-vu-w-jt-mary/

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography

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BECOMING ONCE AGAIN

I loved it while I was there
in the classroom every day,
my students and their sweet smiles,
the funny things they would say,
their journals and their drawings,
the games they loved to play,
counting on their fingers at math,
whispering to their friends,
hoping I wouldn't see or hear
but they just didn't know
that teachers,
like parents,
know just about everything
there is to know.
And the other sweet things
they did during the day,
the ladybugs that they loved
as recess was their favorite
time of the day.
So many things they did and said
brought (and still bring)
a smile to my face
and my heart.

But now that I'm no longer there
in the classroom every day,
I've gotten to be so much
more like them than
I ever thought I would . . . .
as I write to prompts in my journal
and illustrate each page
and count upon my fingers
(counting syllables, you know)
sometimes even under the desk
hoping that no one sees.

What they were then
I have become
and joyfully proclaim
that I'm having
the time of my life
starting all over again.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-9-11

Written for "Drips of Ink/
Surreal Picture Challenge - Laurie Lipton."

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542881568


Wishing everyone a great week ahead.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Drips Surreal

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JUST PARENTS AFTER ALL

Just parents, after all,
and doing what parents do,
I've tried my best to do for mine
what parents are supposed to do.
and on this Mother's Day once more
I think back and recall the role
my mother played in
who I am today.

She taught me to listen very well,
as she listened so well to me;
she taught me to open my eyes
and explore the world,
that despite all the pain and suffering,
there's also so much beauty to see;
she taught me to love the flowers,
her peonies and tulips her pride;
she taught me not to criticize
and accept others for who they are;
as she taught me how to look around,
to step outside myself,
to put myself in the other person's place,
to respect everyone and understand
that they are just as important as me,
and what they have to say
deserves to be heard as much as me.

My mother (and my dad as well)
taught me so many things;
the list is long
and I'm so very thankful
for what she taught to me --
how to look
and how to listen,
and, more importantly,
how to hear;
how to be fair
and how not to judge
and how to know
what's important in life,
the love my parents gave to me.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-8-11

Written for Sunday "Inspirations" @ Drips of Ink/
All About Mom."

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542873621

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers
and wishing all my friends a peaceful day.

Thanks always for your visits
and precious comments.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography Drips

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"Jean and Greenlee" by Heidi Foley


IT'S SIMPLE

Simple,
uncomplicated,
so easy to understand,
that place where magic happens
when we might not expect it to.
And in that place that's hidden away,
that secret secret spot known only to us,
we find shelter from the storms that threaten;
we find harmony and sweet connections;
we find no strings or hidden agendas;
and we find friendship and love,
the most enduring kind.
We find that magic
happens after all,
safe and secure,
friendship
and love
forever.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-7-11

Written for CPC "A Simple Sunday"
featuring the Heidi Foley's "Jean and Greenlee".

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/35103/simple-sunday-featuring-art-pal-inky/

Both Inky and Jean have been
treasured friends here for a very long time.

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments.

Wishing all mothers a Happy Mother's Day
and wishing everyone a peaceful day today.

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Friends

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LIFE SONGS

Down country roads,
the high ones and low,
down city streets
and where rivers flow,
my heart dancing with the music
I hear within the wind,
singing along with the melodies
as they touch my soul each day.
As varied as the day is long,
the music of my life,
as I listen I can't help
but hum along,
and cry and laugh and smile
as they soothe my soul,
when frazzled,
and lift my mood
when it needs a boost.

I hear music in the moonbeams
and the healing strains at dawn;
I hear the birdsong symphonies
as they welcome the morning sun;
I hear a gentle whisper
in the waves caressing the shore;
and the rhythms of the rustling leaves
of autumn as winter is ushered in.

I seek them out and love each one;
I'm inspired by them all,
these melodies that
always bring so much joy
to this sometimes weary heart.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-7-11

Written for "Drips of Ink/Saturday Music."

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542865271

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments.

Wishing all a peaceful weekend ahead.
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers everywhere.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Drips

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WITHIN A DREAM

BY BARBARA

A CHERYLS PALS COLLAB

Diamond rivers flowing
through starlit skies
and walkways paved
in moonbeams bright,
as they often do
in your dreams
when you sleep,
as floating gently
upon clouds of fantasies,
my dream fades
into shadows and mist,
where nothing is ever
quite as it seems.

And just when I begin to think
that I shall never find my way,
lost as I am within the mists unknown,
I find myself once again lost
in the beauty of heaven's expanse,
transported by angels' wings
and soft midnight breezes
as dreaming in muted pastels
and dreamscape wonders,
in technicolor rainbows
lingering into the dawn,
I'm lost within sweet velvet dreams
until golden rays of sunshine
welcome me home once more.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-56-11

Thanks, Fellow Dreamers: Lady "Cheryl" Death,
Sheila A, Sharonlee, Falling Feather,
Marthamagenta, and Me, Barbara.

**************

Link to the Saturday Share and all the Collabs
as they're posted:

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/34874/cheryls-pals-saturday-share-one/

Link to all the lines if you'd like to try one
(choose lines, add your own and create
a brand new piece).

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/33808/33808/

It's such a lot of fun.


***************

The lines I used in addition to my own:

In your dreams, when you sleep (Lady Cheryl - required)
lost in the beauty of heavens expanse (sheila A)
rivers running through starlit skies – (Sharonlee)
Rays of sunshine start to seep (Michelle K)
floating on the cloud of fantasys dream (sheila A)
not all is as it seems (falling feather)
My dream fades into shadows (marthamagenta)
Dreams linger in the day (marthamagenta)
I think I shall never find my way (falling feather)
lost within the mists unknown (falling feather)
dreamscape wonders in technicolor rainbows – (Sharonlee)

These are always such a lot of fun to try.

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry

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SUMMERTIME NECTAR

Just a nickel a glass,
or maybe a dime,
what better way
to have a sweet time
than squeezing lemons
on those sizzling
summertime afternoons,
classrooms and school
but distant memories
as summer vacation
ruled the day.

Much more fun
to make some cash,
as we held up our signs
and waved at cars
from the best
lemonade stand
on our block.

And every once in a while
a car would stop
and we ran all at once
to fill a tall cup
with the best refreshment
on this steamy summer day,
guaranteed to bring a smile,
if not a pucker,
to their face.




And the neighbors driving by
simply couldn't resist
the concoctions we made
and hardly ever drove by
without stopping
to take a sip
of pure sweetness in a cup,
poured over crushed ice,
from the best
little lemonade stand
in all of the land.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-6-11

Written for "Drips of Ink/
Blast From the Past."

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542855748

Thanks for your visits and sweet comments.

Cheers!

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Drips

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