Category Archives: Essays

July 17, 2016

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 July 2016

By Kat Myrman

What does one say about such a week? Our world witnessed another round of tragedy. As I reflect on this my mind is spinning. Was it just one horrible event this week or were there others? Or was it last week? 

The weeks have started to run together. We barely have time to recover, or to make sense of it, before another wave of sorrow swallows us, slamming us relentlessly into the crumbled shards of normal we once took for granted.

It is hard to catch one’s breath in times like this. How important it is to breathe! I forget to sometimes. And yet I know that breathing, consciously, deliberately, is the only thing that saves me. Breathing quiets my spinning head and centers me in the moment flooding me with calm, with peace. Mindfulness does not mean noticing the chaos around me. Mindfulness means focusing my attention on the moment at hand…on simply breathing. Slow breath in….hold …slow breath out.

No matter what the next week brings, I only need to remember to breathe…

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 July 2016

If only they believed
Sun light and moon beams
A storm
relentless, inescapable
it was every soul for themselves
growing befuddled
those silly quirks you hated
Only time will tell
Yep, the joke’ll be on them
How do you live with something like that?
I fear we’re all mad!
We Weep For France.
Winter was her favorite time of year.
Behold the Wild Rose
Life can’t be contained
In truth, he had grown accustomed to the weeds.

~ kat

The Shi Sai, (formerly known as a ReVerse) is a form created by Kat Myrman in April 2016. It is a poem created by taking one line of verse from several poems of an author’s own collection. The shi sai is done as a review of a series or collection of poems and therefore, each line should flow in chronological order of the dates the poems were written (from oldest to new). The lines chosen should be the author’s favorite from each poem. This form works best if the author resists the temptation to read the full new poem before all the verses have been added. (It helps one to resist the impulse to change a line to make it “fit”.

16 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Week in Review

July 10, 2016

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 10 July 2016

By Kat Myrman


I look forward to Sundays. I truly do try to pause, reflect and recharge. Especially on weeks like this when the world felt chaotic and nightmarish. I remember thinking to myself, as I wrote lines of poetry and prose throughout the week, that today’s ReVerse would likely evolve into a chaotic, incohesive jumble of randomness. Living through this past week was a chaotic mess with raging summer storms that sent us all seeking shelter and raging civil unrest against a backdrop of political firestorms that sent us seeking answers.

In retrospect, I wonder why I had a hard time imagining that this week’s Shi Sai would somehow make sense, because surprisingly it does. I don’t know how or why it does. But it does.

I could say, likevi always do, that I’m hoping we all have a great week, but that would be rude considering the elephant in my peripheral view. They say elephants never forget. Not forgetting for me means acknowledging the elephant. It’s not that I’m not hoping that you have a great week. I hope you have a spectacular week. I hope we all do. Including the elephant. Once he catches your attention he’s hard to ignore.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 10 July 2016

Forgive me for not giving you a proper goodbye
I am feeling slightly grounded right now and not in a good way
steamy sapphire sky
So…what do you think about all this rain we’ve been having?
tender waves, exquisite bliss
dreams flood the gray void
from endless nights of terror’s rage
What are you thinking Lady Blue?
they are afraid
desire growls in their belly like poison
hoping for love’s bliss!

~ kat

The Shi Sai, (formerly known as a ReVerse) is a form created by Kat Myrman in April 2016. It is a poem created by taking one line of verse from several poems of an author’s own collection. The shi sai is done as a review of a series or collection of poems and therefore, each line should flow in chronological order of the dates the poems were written (from oldest to new). The lines chosen should be the author’s favorite from each poem. This form works best if the author resists the temptation to read the full new poem before all the verses have been added. (It helps one to resist the impulse to change a line to make it “fit”)

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review

July 8, 2016

Friday’s Word of the Day Haiku

By Kat Myrman

selenotropism

Today’s Dictionary.com Word of the Day is Selenotropism. It’s a whopper of a word comprised of six syllables. This presents quite a challenge when tasked with writing a Haiku! I decided to use the adjective form giving me another syllable to work with and I also opted to take further creativity liberty in the application of the word. Selenotropism is a Biology term that refers to plant growth and movement in response to moonlight. The word entered English in the 1880’s and comes from the Greek “se”ēnē” for “moon” and trópos which means “turn”.

A bit about the biological term…

Most of us know that plants will lean toward light. If you place a plant in a window, you will find that you need to turn it every so often to keep it from leaning to one side. This phenomenon is called “heliotropism” (helio referring to the sun). A biologist by the name of M. Musset, intrigued by the  heliotropic movement of plants decided to conduct experiments on the influence of the reflected light of the moon. He chose three nights in February of 1883 to test his theory, exposing young plants to direct moonlight from 9 pm to 3 am. Almost immediately the buds of the plants bent the stalks in the direction of the moonlight and remained in a leaning position until the moon disappeared from view. He coined the term selenotropism, a nocturnal counterpart to the established heliotropism to name his discovery.

Source: Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, Ser. II–Vol. III, 1883)

So now that you have a new bit of random information to log away in your brain, I am going to take this word on another twist. I propose that our dreams are inspired by the cool light of the moon. At least when I saw the Greek influence of the word, that is where my mind went…a “turning toward the Moon” and the way that moon glow influences our subconscious thoughts as we sleep. I suppose I’m taking full advantage of artistic liberty and freedom here, but then I am also prone to coloring outside of the lines too. Blame it on the moon!

To Dream Selentropic 

Adrift in sleepy
selenotropic currents
dreams flood the gray void.

kat ~ 8 July 2016

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Haiku, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

July 5, 2016

If we were having…

By Kat Myrman

There is this writing prompt here on WordPress that I see every now and again. It starts with the phrase, “If we were having coffee…”

Um, okay, I’m gonna stop you right there. I’ve been limiting my coffee intake, so I hope you don’t mind if I take a bit of artistic liberty here. 

Let’s start this again…I like herbal tea by the way…with honey…unless it’s Earl Gray…then I like my tea with cream and a bit of sugar. Where were we? Ah-hem…

“If we were having tea…um…I forgot to ask. Do you like your tea black? I think that’s the right term for it…or I could ask if you are a tea purist…Or…oops…you might actually be okay with having coffee. Cream and sugar? With your coffee? I hope you don’t use those artificial sweeteners…they are sooo bad for you!

Hot Chocolate, you say? With marshmallows? That works too! 

Back to the beginning then. This is the great thing about being an artist…the possibilities! Here we go…

“If you were having coffee…oops sorry, I have coffee on the brain right now. Do you think it’s possible to go through coffee withdrawal? Forgive me…Let’s start over. I got this. Okay.

“If you were having hot chocolate with marshmallows and I was having jasmine tea with honey…” If I’m being honest here, and I think that is the point of this exercise, tea really doesn’t cut it for me. It’s basically watered down leaves with no kick, but I do feel healthier when I drink it…I do like it I suppose. I love teapots. I collect them. Hmmm

One more time. I’m sticking with the program this time. (Deep breath)

” If you were having hot chocolate with marshmallows and I was having jasmine tea with honey…”

I think the goal of this writing exercise is to write a conversational dialog. Maybe we could talk about current events.

What is that? You make it point not to talk politics. You don’t watch the news? Well okay, I get that. 

Maybe we can talk about…oh…thanks for letting me know. You don’t talk about religion either…and you don’t believe in airing your family’s dirty laundry? Uh, I’m okay with that. We can pass on those topics. 

So…what do you think about all this rain we’ve been having? Yep crazy. You got that right!

Is your coff…uh hot chocolate cool? I can nuke it in the microwave for you if you’d…ah, you have an appointment? 

Well, thanks for stopping by. Good talk! Have a great day. We’ll have to do this again…soon. Or maybe not. Busy busy. I get it. 

(Sigh) I think I’ll drop the “if” or “we” this time. I am going to have myself a coffee with a dram of Irish cream. Ahhh!

I think there is a reason I’ve been avoiding this writing prompt! 🙂

~ kat ~ 5 July 2016

14 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Humor, Random Thoughts and Musings

July 4, 2016

Hello Snail, Fancy Meeting You Here!

By Kat Myrman

Hello there Mr…er…Ms Snail. Actually snails are both…hermaphrodites that is. How cool is that? And they are quite self sufficient, carrying their homes with them wherever they go. 

I did a bit of research on my little visitor this evening. When a Snail shows up, it’s a reminder to be patient. Check! 

They might also show up when things are moving too fast. Check that!

It also may indicate that things are a bit stagnant. Okay okay I’m listening! 

A Snail is associated with the moon and connects earth and water elements. Mmmm…Elementally speaking, for this air (Gemini)/water (Pisces) with water  (Cancer) rising girl (me)…I get this too. I am feeling slightly grounded right now and not in a good way. 

Did you happen to notice the baby snail tagging a ride on the bigger one? This sparks a bit of hope in me! 

I think there is a final message for me on this misty Independence Day from my friend the snail and her tiny sidekick. 

Don’t lose hope. Slow down, be patient…You’re not there yet, but you’re sure to get there ( yes, I do have a few goals in mind…😊). Pay attention. You might be overlooking the obvious. And finally, steady and slow is the key.

Check, check and check. 

Thanks for the chat my friend. I’m glad you stopped by when you did!

~kat – 4 July 2016

Do creatures ever surprise you, showing up in close proximity begging your attention? It’s not necessarily a random thing. The ancient and tribal civilizations found great truth and meaning in nature. If an animal or creature crosses your path, pause to consider what they’re saying to you! You might be surprised.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality