Bliss - "Grasshopper"

Take rest on this beautiful day.

~B

Walking With Wanderers

Sitting on a hillside, I look out over a river. I squint at it through sunglasses as the sun is always too bright on mid-summer days. My skin smells of tanning oil and my toes are sandy. The earth below me is cool which feels nice.  It radiates off of the land onto the backs of my legs.  The ground seems to be breathing.  I stand and wander down to the river bank.  The water is loud, crashing against rocks, but the air is quiet and peaceful.
I always stand right next to the water line. Perfectly out of its reach as it expands out nearly skimming the fabric on my shoes.  This is an empowering feeling but I am not sure why.  I crouch down to examine the rocks embedded in the water.  Apart from this sight I see tiny tadpoles swimming frantically.  As I lightly skim the water with my finger tips, I swish the tadpoles away so that there is a clearing for my feet.  I stand and dip one foot into the water.  The other one follows.  The water is cool and this makes me smile.  Around me people of all ages seem to be gathering as they play, laugh, and skip rocks.  I walk further and further out.  The liquid is deep and shocks my skin as it climbs up my body. Soon my entire canvas is submerged.  I bob up and float at the top.  The current takes me down the river as I allow it to. I float past a bridge that rests above me.  People are walking back and forth on it.  Some are standing and talking.  I wonder why they aren't in the water too.
A child is following me; he laughs and smiles at me.  We are the only two drifting.  Soon we hit a shallow bed of water and I sit up.  The boy joins me.  He asks me what I'm doing and I tell him I'm sitting in the water.  He giggles and asks me why.  I tell him that it's nice to sit here and it was fun to float down the stream.  He agrees.  He takes my hands and asks me to walk with him.  We walk out of the river to the bank where green grass rubs sand off of our feet.  The boy tells me about his grandfather who taught him how to fish the day before.  He had caught 3 fish and released them.  I walk with him back to his parents who were playing with his younger sister.  He waves goodbye and runs to them.
I proceed to walk in the other direction and I think about what it is to be free.  To let your soul become liberated and walk around where you would like.  To pass anyone at any time regardless of age or ethnicity or status.  We walk, we play, we smile.  We are free.  The feeling can really get to you. Trust can circle around to become a touching moment.  Anywhere at any time, you can meet someone that will forever imprint on your memory.  The point is made that we are always moving, learning, and loving.  We live our moments and we tread forward.  As we walk with wanderers.

2/16/2013
~ B

Dear Love I Forgive You

Captivated by the feeling
Of your soft lips as they center
Perfectly with mine
And we stand quietly
With our noses squished together
Our blood pulsing heavily
With fingertips longing for a moment
That lasted longer than what is always granted
I held this moment, Dear

In the morning I feel you against me
The sunlight is held back by nothing but a window
A pane we wish we could hide from
But I couldn't be happier
And you are quietly sleeping
Your eyelashes curl upwards
As your eyes trace the colors of
The back of your lids
And I couldn't be happier
Nor more afraid
To lose someone so soft and peaceful
Keep dreaming, Love

You awake to gather your mind
A few moments go by
I know you remember
That hot and cold balance
That fixed us into a
Slow rhythm of bodied time
I traced your heart in the sunlight
Which lead me to the lines on your palms
My gaze then reached
The depths of your eyes
Only for a moment
All of this in silence
As my mind tried to make sense of it
A feeling that I...I

I didn't know how to say it
So on a peaceful night we drove quietly
When we got home I kissed you
I held those lips far longer than I should have
Longer than it is was good for
I almost fell asleep like that
You know
And while you always seemed to test
The strengths of my mind
I never imagined that these moments
Would be something
I would have to forget
That you would be someone
I would have to... Forgive

I made you a promise
Above, beyond, to the top
My heart wept but I didn't speak
As you brought me back to the light
Laying in the depths of my soul
Our soul
It's me 
You said
The truth that rattled my inside
But only in the moments you were gone
The moments that would haunt me
When I would dream about You.

2/14/2013
~ B

PAH

An apple bobs down the oil ocean
No one reaches out to grab it
Yet everyone is starving
The apple is plump and red
Floating... drifting
A woman jumps in and grabs it
She takes the seeds
She plants a tree
And her family reaps the fruits of her labor
Soon the woman gets sick and dies
But the tree still grows
Tainted with hydrocarbons
The family spreads the news of a growing tree
And soon they are feeding the world
With the fruits of their mothers labor
And the wealth of her discovery is accumulating
As quick as the world is responding
Suddenly the tree begins to die
And everyone begins to get sick
But the family continues to sell their seeds
And the people continue to buy the food
Now everyone is weak
And they drink liquid to survive
Yes, they drink from the oil ocean
Their mouths are filled with droplets of filth
And their teeth are rotting
Numerous bodies are dying
But no one seems to think about
Where the problem started
Only how far it has spread
And all blame the mother
For an entire ocean filled with oil.

2/12/2013
~ B

Dandelion Death

It is the beginning of summer
My light blonde hair is freshly brushed
I am sitting in my yard
Surrounded by lush grass and dandelions

It is quiet out
All I hear are birds chirping
A few cars are passing by
In my own focused thought I hear nothing

I lay down for awhile
My summer dress is hanging loosely from my body
My plastic sandals are melting on the pavement close by
The Earth is warm, the sun is too bright

Ten minutes have gone by
I sit up feeling light headed
All around me are soft pedals
All around me are grassy blades

I reach down massaging the stem of a dandelion
My favorite flower at this age of seven
They are everywhere I look
They are dainty and beautiful; like me

This is what my mother tells me
She doesn't like the common flower though
She calls them weeds
She says they don't make the lawn as pretty

I pluck the yellow flower
Examining it closely with large blue eyes
Eye that expand and contract in order to get a precise image
Liquid runs down my fingertips from the hollow stem

The yellow blossom smells of pollen
Its petals are countless
Sprouting out of the head of the plant
Like the hairs sprouting from my head

I twirl the flower around my fingers
And place it upon a rock
I lay back down
And try not to look at the sun

I often lay here alone in silence
My parents did not give me siblings
I grow up as my own best friend
Comfortable only knowing the likeness of me

I look at the dandelion with sympathetic eyes
I should have let it stay with its flower family
Attached to the soil
The only means of life that allow it to grow

The dainty flower has started to wilt
Its stem has flattened
The yellow petals are turning translucent
I cradle it in my hands

As a memorial
As the sun goes down
I lay the dying flower with its family
In my mind the dandelion whispers to me

All around me are soft pedals
All around me are grassy blades
Soon the whisper fades away
Soon the flower is forgotten.

2/12/2013
~ B

Bow Headband

Hello Everyone!

As you know, I have recently taken up crocheting as a new hobby for the year of 2013. I was excited to find out that this hobby takes more then a little effort, concentration, and time. So far I've made two headbands (one gray, one white), three head-warmers (a white one, a pink and purple one, and a blue one), and I have learned a few different types of stitches.

In the last project I did, I decided to challenge myself by adding a bow element to the classic look of the head-warmer. I also made the entire thing without a loom aid. It's pretty amazing what you can do using only a crochet stick and yarn!

The idea itself actually opened my eyes to something I had never thought about before. I have never thought about how the vast majority of Americans take clothes for granted.

The fact is... making anything in general takes time and effort. And the things we cover our bodies with in this material world are forever in high demand!

Remember to acknowledge that when you don't put the work in yourself, someone else did. Just for you!

02/03/2013

~ B