Poetically Captured Moments From the Heart
I chose this quote for December 4th because I am missing summer more and more as winter approaches. The thought that living through the cold will let me appreciate the summer all that much more, allows me to tolerate the cold, short days of December.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
I stick to the beats as I move; following the notes of a song
I move steady as I go along
Sometimes I move fast like a racing train
Sometimes I move slow like a chorus refrain
But no matter the speed, I keep to the beat
Seemingly steady, as if following a sheet
Yet there is no conductor, no first chair
Just this faith the beat is always there
A constant lub-dub from within myself
A beat everyone holds within themselves
But most only hear it in times of stres or fear
While I’ve spend my life following it, year after year
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Floating in the pool
Viewing the stars
I couldn’t help but think
Of all that bars
Us from connecting to the universe
So grand and vast
Our cities and towns so full of people
Yet our lights cast
The opposite of shadows
A barrier of light
To keep us from seeing
The starry, starry night
I need to connect again
To the great beyond
This is what I think
As I float on a pool that should be a pond
(c) July 2023 Deanna Repose Oaks
I used to think rain drops meant the sky was crying
Wicking the pain from the heavens above
I used to think dew drops were tears left by fairies
Who missed their chance at true love
I always thought of them
As drops of sorrow
Until my own pain
Filled up my today and tomorrow
Now I see the way the water washes
Cleanses the earth beneath the downpour
I see the way the water sustains
Feeds the plants; flowers more
I need the rain to remember
To display the rainbow bright
So I can get through my sorrow
And bask again in happy light
The poem above was sparked by a line on page 350 of Vacation Wars by Meghan Quinn. Instead of using the word tears, Meghan used an euphemism I had never really thought of before, and it got me thinking of tears, and before I knew it, there was a poem pouring out of me. Hope you enjoy!
Lately, I’ve felt more disconnected from history than ever before. Researching historical facts keeps pushing me further and further into a rabbit hole of “what else don’t I know” … I started to think history books were rewritten somehow. Turns out, it might just be the Mandela Effect.
My example: “The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.” I picked this “fact” because I felt it cannot be refuted – right? The document is dated. In INK. For the past 247 years, Americans have celebrated Independence Day on July 4th, acknowledging our Declaration of Independence as the bearer of freedom from tyranny.
But was the Declaration of Independence SIGNED on that day? Nope! The actual copy with signatures wasn’t even approved to be “fairly engrossed on parchment” (https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-history) until July 19, 1776! Then, the handwritten Declaration wasn’t signed until August 2, 1776, and by that time The American Revolutionary War had already been raging for a year and a half – a year and a half!! The Revolutionary War started via the “shot heard around the world” on April 19, 1775, not after the Declaration was completed in 1776. (https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/lexington-and-concord-shot-heard-round-world)
So, what exactly happened on July 4, 1776? The wording and text of the Declaration of Independence was RATIFIED by 12 of the 13 states attending the Continental Congress. Immediately following (the same day), copies were printed with the date of July 4, 1776, and distributed for a vote.
So, every year on Independence Day, we celebrate the RATIFICATION and first PRINTING of the Declaration of Independence, NOT the signing of the handwritten document or the sending off the Declaration to England.
There is a bit of pressure I put upon myself to make this blog entertaining, enlightening, and readable. This pressure has been boiling under my skin for the past two weeks, because my bandwidth for engagement has been eaten up by editing and social media posts to the point that according to my writing buddy demanded a “factory reset”.
Now, here I sit with a bit less pressure trying to find something that will entertain the people who read my blog, but I don’t know what would entertain, as I don’t know who reads my blog. I only have these vague stats that thiry users viewed my home page. Who are you? What stories interest you? Can you throw me a bone so I can write something that will entertain you?
And yes, I’m still working on that story that I found in the bottom of my purse…