Poetry Wednesday: Old and New...

 Here is a new poem I wrote this morning:

Little Piglets

Three little piglets

Naming our summer delight

Then Christmas dinner

My uncle in Wisconsin raises three little piggies every summer.  My kids have loved visiting and naming them(even if they already have names!).  I love showing my kids around the family farm where my dad grew up.  I found much joy there when I was younger.  

I am submitting some writing again this year to Salt Lake Community College's writing competition.  This year the poetry category is a short collection(no more than ten poems).  I have found about 12 poems about grief and death that I will be editing.  I am having a hard time deciding which ones should stay.  If you are a fan of my writing and would like to help, let me know, and I will share those poems with you.  I also will gladly take any feedback you have for the following poems.  Please comment or contact me with that!  Here is the first and last poem of my little collection:

Cemetery Contemplation by Alice Ficklin

I sit feet away from a baby girl

Who died about three months before I was born.

I wonder what she would have been like today.

         Would we have been friends?

 

I sit yards away from an open pit

Expecting its occupant’s arrival today.

Whose partner has waited nearly thirty-three years

To meet his sweetheart again.

I wonder what that reunion would be like today.

         Would seeing their glorious reunion bring comfort to the broken hearts of those who lost

                     Mom, sister, or grandma?

 

I scan the hundreds of faded, weathered and worn headstones

Each of them representing a person,

Each of them important to somebody.

I wonder if the memories of those departed begin to also fade with time.

         Will I one day be forgotten?

 

I see flowers and trinkets

On or near many of the markers

Only the most recently erected have such tokens

I wonder about those who leave momentos.

         Will their giving hearts ever be mended?

 

I realize that this sanctuary is for us, the living.

Here we come to remember and to reflect.

This spot is not for them; the dead are not present.

I wonder if they ever look down on their own graves.

         Would they find our gatherings and rituals strange and unnecessary?

 

I notice walls surrounding this memorial.

A separation allowing us to leave our world behind for a moment.

A holy site giving solace from problems, worries and cares.

I wonder if everybody feels this same peace within these walls.

  Are these bricks enough of a separation from the distractions of the world for all?

I feel the stillness

As I contemplate my purpose here on this planet,

The fact that I too will one day die

Leaving this world and all my earthly possessions behind.

I wonder what I’ll see as most important on that last day.

Will I be scared?

I reflect on what is truly significant in this life.

The flowers and trinkets mean nothing to the dead,

But the people who visit do matter.

I wonder who will visit my future grave.

         Will they know I loved them enough?

Emerging by Alice Ficklin

Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon,

I’m rising from my deep slumber.

The grip of grief 

The depths of misery

Slowly release their force around my neck.

The journey from deep depression

To the surface has at times seemed like eternal eons

And at other times it seemed to flow quickly like raging seas.

Time really does heal

Yet the length not prescribed or set

In fact, 

Time can lapse differently,

Possessing its own personality.

For one,

Time speeds along

Like a cheetah to its prey.

For another,

Time slowly slacks,

Like a sloth to the next branch.

But time 

Whether quick or slow

Chisels at grief

Changing one’s soul

It never truly leaves

Just makes the griever fortified.

So , I  slowly will fly like a butterfly

Bouncing from flower to flower

Taking my time

Embracing all feelings

Healing at my own pace.

Emerging.

Travel Planning.

 Did you know that planning a trip is good for your mental health?  The actual going on the trip has no impact on your mental health.  Just kidding...it also is good for you, but if you plan a trip and don't actually go on the trip, you still reap mental benefits.  It's true.  Science.  

Dopamine, the brain's feel-good chemical, is produced while you are planning. Anticipation through planning makes the dopamine flow and you feel good.  You should try it sometime.  (Also, check out these articles explaining this phenom: The Transformative Power of Travel on the Brain,  and How Planning a Trip Can Improve Your Mental Health. )

Right now I am in the middle of three trip-planning dopamine flushes.  It can be overwhelming and exhausting but is totally worth it.

Trip one will be to Wisconsin to see the family.  We will make our annual stops at Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug, and The Corn Palace.  Routine and repetition also help the brain. My son loves this routine, and interestingly enough, he is also one who experiences occasional anxiety. You can also read about how going to familiar places helps bring comfort here: The Comfort of Familiarity: What Happens in Our Minds When We Return to Familiar Places?

The ice cream is always tasty too!

We are also planning an epic road trip adventure with my sister via the shortcut through Oklahoma on our way back to Utah.  E got a National Parks Passport and is looking forward to getting stamps, like this one:

And last but not least, we are headed to Disneyland this summer.  This has been a dream of ours. I didn't realize how much Reub wanted to take the kids.  I think he has fond memories from his childhood going with his family.  I don't remember much of Disneyland.  I was there when 12, and it will be fun to see my own kids experience the magic.

I will keep reaping the dopamine benefits as we plan and experience these fun trips this summer.

Oh My Garden!

I have officially made it to older lady status.  I find great joy in my garden.  This year, we decided to get some new dirt.  Big Yellow Bag creates perfectly formulated garden soil for your area(if you are lucky to have a location near you).  I have a friend in my neighborhood who gets The Big Yellow Bag delivered to her driveway every year, and I have noticed how beautiful her flowers are in her front yard.  I also have seen how generous she is with her vegetables every year.  She has a garden that produces!  Our garden has not been the best the past few years and it was time to change it.  We are cheapskates so we brought the truck north to Salt Lake City and saved about fifty dollars without the delivery fee.  

Words don't need to describe how well this miracle soil has worked, here are pictures:

The Squash Box: Pumpkins and Cucumbers

Tomatoes and Peppers

Pole Beans

Flowers Galore!

This city girl has a bit of the farm still running through her veins.  The beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, and carrots(pictured below) were all planted from seed.  The soil makes all the difference! Thank heavens for Big Yellow Bag! This little garden makes my soul happy. 

And bonus Pumpkin and Pepper pics.  I actually picked the first pepper today!

Turn to Light

 

My garden is a magical place.  The past few weeks I have noticed something happening during the day.  In the morning my sunflowers face toward the East, in the evening, they are facing toward the West.  They follow the light of the sun.

The Bible talks much about light.  In Psalms 27:1 it reads: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Our source of light is Jesus Christ. He is who we should be following. His perfect example of love and compassion is the way.

Isaiah urges us to: "...walk in the light of the Lord" Isaiah 2:5.

I like that my sunflowers remind me each day to remain focused on the light and that light is the Son! I want to be a Sonflower!

When we try to be more focused on The Savior, we find a peace and comfort that we cannot find anywhere else in this very distracted world.  

Hope you were able to have a restful Sunday(Sonday) today.

Sports are awesome, but can break your heart!

If you are reading this, you probably know two things about me.  First, I love sports.  Basketball was one of my coping mechanisms as a kid.  I spent hours on my driveway court, shine or snow.  Back in the day, my mom took me to a Harlem Globetrotter game and I was in heaven.  I had a blast and wanted to be a Globetrotter.

The second thing you probably know about me is that I love baseball.  It is so much a part of me that I think my white blood cells may look like baseballs!  Well, if you haven't heard about the Savannah Bananas yet, you are missing out.  I will share a link at the end of this post to allow you to enjoy a small glimpse of how amazing that team is.  They are the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball (with a little bit of the circus mixed in)and I love them.  

I was excited to learn they were coming to Salt Lake this fall, and I got myself into the ticket lottery.  I was hopeful that my name would be picked and I would be able to take my family to the game in August, but...

dreams do not always come true. The Bananas are so popular right now that tickets are hard to come by. It will have to go back into a dream.  For now, I will have to enjoy clips online and keep dreaming of the day I get to be a Banana supporter.  Enjoy this small clip from when the Bananas were at Fenway Park:

If you are excited to know more about how The Bananas started check out this clip: