TREASURED MOMENTS

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry

16 comments View Entry

INVITATION TO SWIM

In the warmth of the sun
of this spring afternoon,
they simply couldn't resist
the shimmering waters
of the pond inviting them
to test the waters,
to take a little swim,
to cool off after lunch.



So step by step
together they took
those tentative steps
toward the pond
one by one,



and found it at last,
the cool water so inviting.






But they weren't quite ready
to take the big plunge
and lingered there
for a while
at the edge of the pond,
cooling their feet
and their feathers for a bit



and then turned around
and headed right back
step by step



to safety and family
and decided
to take
a little snooze instead



and wait for another time
to accept the pond's invitation
to an afternoon swim.

(c) barbara kausteklis 5-1-11

Written for "Drips of Ink/Sunday Inspirations/ Greetings and Invitations."

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542801198

Thanks always for your visits and precious comments.

Happy May 1st!

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Photography Poetry Drips Byways

14 comments View Entry

JUST ONE MORE SPIN

Putting one more nickel in,
listening to the life tunes
in my head spin.
Round
and round
and round
they go,
the melodies I hear
and love them so.
All kinds of tunes
make my heart sing,
the sad ones,
the glad ones,
the classics,
and the fads;
the ones I can sing
in the shower out of tune
and the ones I'll even dance to
when I'm all alone
and at home;
the ones I can skip to
when I'm feeling like a little kid;
the ones I can cry to
when I'm feeling sad and blue.

I could listen to the tunes all day,
in fact, that's what I do,
listening to them every which
and wonderful way,
on the turntable vinyls,
the CD's and DVD's;
on the computer,
in my earphones,
in a digitally-remastered way.

There's simply no way
they'll ever leave,
the tunes I love so much,
for all I have to do
is to put just
one more nickel
in that jukebox
in my head,
and turn on my
imagination
where I know
the tunes
will always be.

(c) barbara kausteklis 4-30-11

Written for "Drips of Ink/Saturday Music."

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542790356

I simply couldn't resist a second music write yesterday and really was paying attention

Tags: BarbaraK Drips Music

8 comments View Entry

AROUND THE WORLD
(And Then Some)

The lights grew dim
in that drafty old gym
as from that makeshift platform
they fondly called "the stage"
I could hardly see,
the lights almost blinding me
as I stared out into the haze,
of that blurred sea of faces
that stared right back at me;
my friends, my teachers,
my parents,
and even worse,
my friends' parents,
my brothers,
my sisters . . . .
What was I thinking?
My knees shook,
my hands shook,
my teeth chattered,
the sweat poured
down my face
and into my eyes,
I just wanted to cry.

What WAS I thinking?

Apparently
not thinking at all
is what
at that
particular
moment
I thought.

But as blinded as I was
by the lights and the glare
and the faces staring
through me
(at least that's what I thought),
 I tripped to the center
of "the stage"
and reluctantly took them
out of the case,
my beaten-up violin
and newly-rosined bow.
And trying to ignore them
by closing my eyes,
I'll never forget that song
I played for them that night.
"Around the World in 80 Days,"
went the words and the tune,
my one and only solo,
Fourth Grade.



And little did I know
way back then as a child,
that I'd still be playing
that fiddle every day
and still loving it now.

(c) barbara kausteklis 4-29-11

Written for "Drips of Ink/
Saturday Music."

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542790356

Thanks so much for
your visits and comments
and for the opportunity to share
this "fun" memory with you.

Back to fiddling . . . .

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography Drips

16 comments View Entry

TIME-TRAVELING

Those were the days,
I remember them so well,
the stories I could tell,
of daring adventures
so brave and so bold

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Drips

12 comments View Entry

SPRINGTIME INFUSION

With the first light of the sun,

as the morning streams in

through my half-open window,

I can't help but feel 

the magic of springtime

infusing the room

as intoxicating fragrances 

of lavender and lilacs

gently awaken me,

a soothing balm for this heart

grown weary of winter white.

Waking up with the birds

and their sweet morning songs,

as I hear their delicate notes

I simply must join in 

with the melody they sing 

as they welcome the dawn.

And as the morning glories

of pale blue and white

open up to the sun

and rejoice in the day

I can't help but notice them

and feel the same way.

(c) barbara kausteklis 4-29-11  

Written for Legacy Writers II "Friday Byways."  

Thanks always for your visits and comments.  

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography Byways

12 comments View Entry

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

Emily Dickinson
(American Poet, 1830-1886)

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

THANK YOU, AMHERST'S BELLE

Thank you, Emily,
Belle of Amherst,
woman of few words,
whose few words
are such powerful nuggets
of wisdom and grace
whose few words
shine so brightly
as an example
to each of us
of the power
of brevity
and clarity
and economy
of thought
within
exquisite
gems
of poetry.

(c) Barbara Kausteklis 4-27-11

Written for Drips of Ink
Favorite Writer Share.

http://www.myspace.com/drips_of_ink/blog/542760736

Thanks always for your visits and comments.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Drips

10 comments View Entry

As the breezes of this early morning
caress the wildflowers,
golden and blue,
painting distant landscapes
as night becomes day,
my thoughts are once more
transported above
this place where I stand
on this morning in the Spring.
And as the sweet fragrance
infuses my heart,
the showers of springtime
refreshing my soul,
I reach for the raindrops
and seek out the rainbow's end.

And as the morning mist lifts,
my thoughts begin to seek
that place above the cotton clouds,
that place where my words
flow as easily as the dreams of night,
that place with no secrets,
with dreams big and bright,
that place where life
is the way
it's intended to be.

And as the Winter
flows into the Spring,
the seasons converging
one with the next,
the colors of springtime,
blossoms pink and golden
glisten and glow,



radiant and vibrant anew
in the blue-sky hues
of this early morning in the Spring.

(c) barbara kausteklis 4-29-11

Written for Legacy Writers II
"Along a Springtime Colors Byway"

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography Byways Harmony

13 comments View Entry

This is posted now over at

the Legacy Writers II "Friday Byways" Group.  

I'm happy to be able to post it here

as well, as a preview and a post and

also in the event that takes a long time

to access the groups . . . .  ~barb~

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

Create a MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com


FRIDAY BYWAYS WITH BARBARA K

ALONG A SPRINGTIME COLORS BYWAY

BYWAYS #22 -- (Posted 4-28-11)

Welcome to "Byways" this week as the spring weather continues to be so very unpredictable. All who have been affected by the storms and tornadoes are certainly in my thoughts and prayers.


I do love the transition times within our calendar in so many ways, the storms excluded, of course.


I love the way the seasons flow one into the other.


And what a rich palette of color with which they are painted.

Painters have painted them and writers
have eloquently described them:

The seasons are what a symphony ought to be: four perfect movements in harmony with each other. ~Arthur Rubenstein~

I invite you to come back and share with us at the group link below (in any form you prefer -- prose, image, poetry, music) how the colors of the seasons are combined and expressed as you see them.

I always treasure this time with you and look forward to what you bring back to share with all of us. Please feel free to use any of the photos you find here (or to bring your own to share) and to write to any of the previous themes posted as you scroll back through the previous weeks' postings.

~barb~

P.S. Please post your entire pieces as new posts in the forum and feel free to add a link to your blog along with your post. We all look forward to what you will bring back to share.

And a reminder to scroll back through the pages to find all the beautiful postings. Thanks always for commenting. ~bk~

Tags: BarbaraK Byways Photography Writing Harmony

12 comments View Entry