WITHIN THE NIGHT

Fireflies dancing

within twilight's early glow,

petaled butterflies floating by 

as they welcome me to the night.

At one with the flowers

of day and floating 

upon a dream,

all the chaos left behind

 as wandering carefree 

between horizon's edge

and coming of the dawn,

I float within that tranquil space

above the clouds 

and below the moon.

And on our way

from here to there,

I cannot help but hear

sweet music of the night,

lullabies and soothing songs

as they gently carry me along

toward morning 

when I will awaken

with the dawn 

and embrace once more

the reality of the day ahead.

(c) bak 3-23-11

barbara kausteklis 

And the reality of this day is

celebrating 37 years married

as I wonder yet again where

the time has gone.

Thanks always for your 

visits and precious comments.

Treasures all.

~barb~

Written for Spirit Free's "Surreal Picture Challenge."

Surreal Picture Challenge

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Surreal Spirit

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OCEAN SONG

The ocean calls,
I hear my name
whispered once more
as March breezes flow.
And I must go to the sea
with the coming of spring,
as listening again
the waves beckon to me.
At the edge of the sea
as I linger there,
the waves soothe my soul
with their peaceful refrain;
their song hypnotic,
a tranquil balm
as I've heeded their voice
calling out to me.

And as day turns to night
with the setting of the sun,
I promise to return
when I hear my name
in the song of the waves;
I'll return once more
as the ocean sings to me.

(c) bak 3-22-11
barbara kausteklis

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography

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I'm so very excited to have found my "Shallimar", one of the very first pieces I ever wrote that even resembled poetry and written just a few months after spending a most wonderful month of my life in New Zealand in November of 2008.

 Thanks so much for a poetic form that I was finally able to write in and begin to feel more confident about writing poetry, Shallimar Rose.  

I'm glad to be able to share it here.  

~Barb~

HOPEFUL

Treasure seeking

Nameless, voiceless

Invisible

The bottom line.

Faces blend in,

the crowd pursues

their broken dreams.

Uncertain times.

The same intent,

Survival mode.

Faceless, nameless.

Tears freely flow

Perhaps one day

the skies will clear,

the sun will shine,

And peace will reign.

(c) bak 3-1-09

barbara kausteklis

MONDAY Koffee Klutch w/Roses

A "Shallimar" is a form invented by Shallimar Rose

consisting of 4 stanzas, 4 lines each, 

4 syllables per line.

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Shallimar Photography

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PLAYING THE GAME

The seasons flowing 

from one to another,

winter finally left behind,

spring arriving,

new life begins.

And with the coming of the Spring

once again I stop to consider

this game of life 

and how it's played.

And as I reflect upon the game,

the game board and squares

in front of me,

the ones still left in front of me

I'm reminded once again

that how I get from 

the Start to the Finish

depends upon how

I play the game.

For every day I play life's game,

I'm a willing participant or not,

as starting at "Go" 

and heading  toward the "Finish Line," 

I make my way

around the board; 

step by step 

as I make the rounds

tossing the dice 

and taking my chances.

And as for me,

as I play this game,

I stop quite often along the way

between the beginning and the end,

lingering at each stop

as long as I can

before I must toss the dice

and move on again

along this 

game board called life,

between the beginning 

and the end,

one step 

and one day

at a time.  

(c) bak 3-22-11

barbara kausteklis  

Written for Legacy Writers II "Just Tuesdays . . . . .

~justtuesdays~ with ~justjudi~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Games Life

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Blogophilia 4.4 Topic: "This Has Been a Public Service Announcement"

Bonus Points:

(Hard, 2pts): Name three bands from the 1980s

(Easy, 1pt): include the words "take what you can... give nothing back!"

Final date to post: March 29th, 2011 GMT midnight

Final date to post ALL GUESSES: March 26th, 2011 GMT midnight

Please highlight or otherwise point out your bonus points attempts. Don't forget to guess who picked the topic and the bonus picture as well as guessing the secret word or phrase for a chance at more points.

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


REMINDING MYSELF


Today I must stop
and take a deep breath
and regroup and realign
my feelings and my mind,
before they get out of hand
and put me over the edge
into depression land
(where I don't want to be)
but which could easily happen
to each one of us and to me
as we consider the enormity
of the tragedy in the world
and even in America,
right here at home,
such terrible things
happening to folks just like us.
Whew! (Taking a deep breath)
So this is just a Public Service
Announcement from me,
taking a few short moments
to remind myself,
and all who stop by
and read these words,
to always be prepared
as best as we can,
with an Air Supply
and an exit plan
for what to do
in an emergency,
After the Fire,
doing all that we can
to take all precautions
for every eventuality,
every catastrophe
that could happen
under the sun,
and do what we can
to help each other out.
But in the midst of it all,
and again reminding myself,
not to forget to smile
at least a little bit,
to hum a tune,
to notice the beauty
that still happens to be about
in every direction I look
as I look around.
And in all that you see
"take what you can... give nothing back!"

But do pass it on to your friends
and all those you know
to keep the smile going
as far as it can.
And remembering once more
that even when the skies are gray,
as they are in Southern California today,
there are bright colors amidst the gloom
and something to smile about
if we just look around.

(c) bak 3-21-11
barbara kausteklis


THEME

Dave Coon

IMAGE

Ruggi




BANDS FROM THE 80's

America, Air Supply, After the Fire


PHRASES

Running around
Running around the blog
Running around the block
Getting the run around
Leaping forward
Jumping ahead
In unison
Fleet of foot
Olympic Games
Antiquity
The big race

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

http://www.myspace.com/blogophilia/blog/542453612

(also posted on Facebook)

Wishing you a most beautiful day ahead.

Thanks always for reading and commenting.

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Blogophilia

6 comments View Entry

The first in a new series of Blogging For Fun Topics
inspired by song titles, BFF #91 . . . .




UPON THE SEA OF LOVE

Setting sail with every intention
of getting everything just right
and making it safely to every port
with smooth sailing
every step of the way.

The sea of love
is a lot like that, I'd say,
for like the waves on the ocean,
sometimes placid and calm,
the sea of love a pleasure
within sweet breezes flowing
feeling the warmth of the sun.
Until it's not.
And then sometimes love's voyage
upon that once placid sea
is a much riskier one,
anything but sweet,
so many obstacle to meet
and getting in the way.
Amid turbulent seas churning,
storm clouds looming up ahead,
what should be smooth sailing
upon this sea of love
is interrupted instead by
hostility, fear and pain.
And sometimes while sailing
upon that deep and very wide sea,
there is a mighty disconnect,
two ships passing in the night,
two vessels lost at sea.

And at those times
when things might seem
so very wrong,
the rudder broken,
the compass askew,
the sails simply torn apart
and feeling very lost,
friends and family appear
from nowhere, it seems,
reaching out to lend a hand,
pointing the way
in the darkness,
a beacon of light
at just the right time
when everything else had failed.
And once again the ship sets sail
and there's more smooth sailing ahead,
thanks to precious friends and family,
beacons of light
in the darkness of night.

(c) bak 3-21-11
barbara kausteklis

Written for BFF #91 (Blogging For Fun).

Thanks always for your visits and comments

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry BFF

16 comments View Entry

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography

22 comments View Entry

FROM DAY TO NIGHT

Dark descends upon the day,

Light to darkness giving way

as it captivates my sight,

Daylight giving way to the night.

As joining in the evening song

For peace and comfort do I long,

not giving in to fear or fright,

Daylight giving way to the night.

Fading with the evening's glow

with the darkness my thoughts flow.

And knowing that things  are right,

Daylight giving way to the night.

Dark descends upon the day,

Daylight giving way to the night.

(c) bak 3-20-11 A Kyrielle Sonnet written for Legacy Writers II "Sonnet's Saturday Sound."

Kyrielle Format:

AabB ccbB ddbB AB

8 syllables per line.

Sonnet's Saturday Sound 

 Thanks always for your visits and precious comments

on this piece and the others I post.

 And thanks also for visiting and participating in each one of the Legacy Writers Groups.

 ~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Photography Sonnet

6 comments View Entry

IN CELEBRATION OF BOOMER

There is a place 

I celebrate today,

a place I'm thankful for

in so many ways.

And in this place 

I find folks much like me;

I find friends who have 

so many good things to say

and also love to meet here 

and play for a bit of time 

now and then through the day 

and even occasionally

in the middle of the night

as in this place we congregate,

getting together to write,

to say what's on our minds

when so inclined,

to lend an ear,

to cheer each other on,

to express our fears,

as for so many reasons

we all come here.

And the friends I find here,

some I've met before

in other places 

along the way;

and many new,

since coming here,

all so much a blessing to me

as the encouraging words

you all share with me,

always moving me

and making me smile,

lifting my spirits,

each and every one.

MyBoomerPlace has become 

so dear to my heart

in the few short months

I've been coming here;

and I'm thrilled that my friends

invited me as the Boomer Express

stopped at my station

so I could hop on board.

So thanks to each 

of my Boomer Friends

as I give (((Giant Hugs))) 

to each Boomer Friend,

One and All.

(c) bak 3-20-11

barbara kausteklis

Written for Legacy Writers II "Sunny Sunday/Boomer."

Sunny Sunday with Spirit Free

Thanks so much for your visits and comments and for your friendship here on MyBoomerPlace.  

Wishing you a peaceful day/evening and Happy Spring.  

~barb~

Tags: BarbaraK Poetry Boomer Friends Spirit

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