A Poem Video - The Path that Skis Take

Re-post of a Poem from March 1, 2013 - Searching for Evolution

Searching for Evolution

by Marlene G. McNew*

Where did I leave my keys?

I gave them to you, didn’t I?

You keep trying to throw them back.

And I keep walking in prayer circles,

my head bowed, eyes closed

wishing for stunted growth,

an oath I took to keep myself small,

insulated from the harsh,

never- ending echoes

of lightning’s song

misunderstood.

I keep myself tiny as if

wishing to fit through the magic

keyhole, the promised land

of breathing clouds and unrestricted air.

The truth is I am too nebulous

to gather my cells into cohesive flow.

So raging large and unkempt hues,

I float in unbound circles,

bumping into concrete walls,

as predictably as waves seeking rocks

to crash against.

But I begin to hear a vague melody

on the other side of this blue wall of  hail.

It is a siren song, my composition

of broken pieces melded into harmony

I hear the whispered words that call:

Hey you!  Toss me those keys back!

They are mine to keep.

I asked you to watch them, to treasure

my trust in you.

I did not intend to nail you behind a shut door,

to keep you hostage, to gift you my divinity.

I did not mean to lose my way,

to overstay this sweet visit

with your voice, so seemingly steadfast.

I did not mean to trip into your

weary rest from rocks.

Hand me those keys please.

I will find the road to sunrise

on my own, alone but not,

adrift in purpose,

the saving of my own life.

A Poem for Artists

Simultaneous Contrast

What is the color of sincerity?

I always thought of it as pale blue.

When did it become so grey?

Finely sharpened honey,

a strange salve to seek

for sunburned eyes.

I am the queen of authenticity,

though I live a lot

in darkened rooms.

Nothing is ever black and white.

Have you noticed that ochre

can be the finest spun gold?

Hues are relative,

based on their neighbors.

Values are so difficult,

sometimes,

to divine.

Another Poem - Melting the Ice

Melting the Ice

The brat pounds on the door.

“No one’s home, “ I yell.

“Go away.  You’re not welcome here.”

She wants to be picked up and soothed.

I feel it in her wail.

“When will Mama come back?”

“Never, I scream.”

“Never, she died in her cocoon

and resurrection is a dream!”

I hear her small cry.

The door is frozen shut,

covered in ice.

It looks red to me,

brittle, hard, unmoving…

“I am not a coward,”

I scream at the door

And then I call the police,

the fire department,

the snow plows

and the gathering smiles.

Even Glenda, the white witch

makes an appearance.

And, at last, the ice has been cleared.

“Come little girl,” I say.

“Come inside and stay.”

“You are safe now.”

Snow

Snow

Trembling inward, skin attempts to sink

far below the waterline

but the skiis lift, 

they glide forward toward the sky,

a horizon of heart populated by fur paws,

a universe of smiles

and the wonder of snow.

A Poem With Skiing as its Metaphor - Facing Into the Fall

This is a poem about Parkinson's Diisease that uses skiing as its metaphor.  I've attached explanatory notes.

Wiithout the notes, non-skiers seem completely lost.  

Facing Into The Fall

I am watching

from the lip

above a steep cornice

visualizing my body

facing straight down the hill,

falling into the turn.

But ahead I see a line

of shabbily dressed neurons.

They are disappearing,

one after another

over a ledge,

dropping into their last

no-fall zone.

I ski after them.

But I cannot watch.

My body hugs the mountain,

shivering,

turning away.

Where is the cavalry?

Where is Doug Coombs?

There, among the rocks,

motionless,

they stare at the sky,

smiling.

Author notes

Poem prompt:  The Way Home - the path to truth.

 Facing down the hill in skiing - a metaphor for fearlessly facing the truth.

"body hugs the mountain" - a phrase used in skiing to describe feeling so much fear that your body is oriented backward toward the mountain (virtually guaranteeing a fall) rather than forward into a controlled fall downhill.

Doug Coombs - a famous extreme skier, known for the sheer beauty of his turns and his ability to read the mountain.  He lived into his 40's until he slipped in a no fall zone while trying to help a friend.  

For Henry....

I Carry Your Heart from Grigoryev Gleb on Vimeo.

I Carry Your Heart

from Grigoryev Gleb PLUS 4 months ago ALL AUDIENCES

Filmed & Edited by Gleb Grigorev
Shot on Gh2 in Thailand and Cambodia during vacation
The poem by E.E. Cummings was read by Tom O'Bedlam, you can checkout other reading at his Youtube Channelyoutube.com/user/SpokenVerse
Music by Rhian Sheehan

Poem - ".....to cool in the peppermint wind........."

Where the Sidewalk Ends from Rodrigo Riedel on Vimeo.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

from Rodrigo Riedel 9 months ago NOT YET RATED

I'm having fun playing with my Canon T3i and recording my daughter.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Music: Hope by Tony Anderson
VO: Tom O'Bedlam (youtube.com/spokenverse)

All the Way - Poem

Directed, filmed and edited by Willem Martinot
Based on the poem "Roll The Dice" by Charles Bukowski
Voice: Tom O'Bedlam
Music: Tony Anderson
Shot in Andalusia, Spain
Actor and assistant: Imre Tigchelaar
Inspired by Salomon Ligthelm

limestonepictures.nl

All The Way - a Charles Bukowski poem from Willem Martinot on Vimeo.

Gossip

WHO AM I?

I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted the more I am believed.
I flourish at every level of society.
My victims are helpless; they cannot protect
themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and ruin marriages.
I end ministries set up by God.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion.
I spawn suspicion and generate grief.
I make headlines, headaches and heartaches
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses.

---Author unknown

Why do people gossip?

The person who is laughing out loud, capturing the attention of everyone in the room while gossiping about someone is not as happy as he seems.

From the outside he seems strong, popular, interesting and in control but if you peaked inside his mind at the time he was gossiping you would have found things that you would have never expected to find.

You would have found low self esteem,jealousy,frustration,anger and weakness. Does this sound serious? Then read this article to know the truth about gossiping.

I couldn’t do it there so I will do it here

Sam was treated badly by a guy he barely knows but he couldn’t reply back or do something about it right away. Sam went home frustrated, angry and eager to revenge.

Since Sam didn’t have the courage to settle this problem face to face with that person he decided to go out with his friends to change his mood and when he arrived there he started gossiping about him!!

Do you know why Sam was gossiping? Because he couldn’t take revenge directly and so he
was trying to take it indirectly. Yes Sam was feeling weak and frustrated and this was the main reason behind his gossiping.

I am worthy, believe me!!

People who judge others, who try to put them down or who gossip sometimes have the goal of making themselves appear more worthy. What does a phrase like: "Did you see that guy,
he can’t even do anything right" mean?

It means, "Did you see that guy? He is nothing compared to me, I can do everything right while he can’t, i am worthy!!"

Sadly when people feel less worthy than others or when they feel inferior they start gossiping about others in order to feel good about themselves. After all if everyone become incompetent then surely they will become better than them all!!

I am jealous

Sometimes the main reason behind gossiping is jealousy. When someone feels jealous of someone else he might gossip about him in order to let people hate him.

Sadly jealousy stems from lack of self confidence and gossiping about someone because you are jealous of him only means that you need to fix your self confidence.

Accept me, please, I beg you

Lovers buy gifts for each other in order to strengthen their love and this is a very good thing but can someone give a big gift to a stranger in order to be accepted by him?

Yes it happens, people who feel worthless can do such a thing. By sacrificing some of their core principals and by gossiping about someone in front of a person they just met they hope to get one thing from that new friend which is acceptance.

Going down on your kneels and telling that person "Accept me, i beg you" is the same as scarifying your principles just to get a sign of acceptance as tiny as a smile.

No, its not related to boredom

Some people might try to defend gossiping by saying that its the result of boredom but this is incorrect. The truth is that boredom will lead to gossiping if the person is weak, frustrated, feeling inferior, lacking confidence or jealous.

However if the person was free of psychological weaknesses he won’t gossip even if he was bored simply because gossiping won’t be an option.

If you still gossip then its time to stop, be strong.

Source:

http://www.2knowmyself.com/Why_do_people_gossip

My Opinion:

    When someone knowingly sets out to harm another through gossip, I believe the victim should also consider whether their own behavior (conscious or not) has spurred this result.  If possible, a direct discussion would be good though somewhat unlikely,

    Ultimately, you are who you are, regardless of what other people think of you and perhaps the strongest response you can have is to remember that.
It seems the most empowering thought I can find at the moment,  Though, also, one should aim to be a little bit more conscious of one's own behavior and the impact that may have on others.