Category Archives: Essays

May 24, 2020

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 24 May 2020

By Kat Myrman

It’s Memorial Day weekend in America. A time when we remember the sacrifice of those who gave their life in service to our country, specifically those who wore a uniform in military service. It is right and good that we do. That we set aside a day to remember, in gratefulness and awe, their sacrifice to protect the liberty and freedom, the right to pursue life and happiness, that we hold dear.

But I wonder, what is liberty and freedom in the days of Covid 19? What are our rights in this life of new normal? It’s not so much about rights, my rights, but rather what is right and good. I have been inspired these many weeks of sheltering in by a new army of selfless servants. The healthcare workers, the restauranteurs who cooked takeout, the grocery store workers, the mail carriers, delivery drivers, trash collectors, power company employees, the supply chain employees that kept essentials flowing and us, rolling in things like toilet paper…who knew that would be a thing? I wonder if the powers that be will designate a day in memory of these tireless heroes. Some gave their all…it is right that we do.

In the meantime, even as I remember our military heroes, I pause to honor these new heroes. I do it in small ways everyday…by thanking them, by being kind, and by wearing a mask when I am out to let them and others know that I care about keeping them safe. It’s the least I can do because freedom and liberty are not about my rights to pursue my own happiness to the exclusion of others. Freedom and liberty is not about my right to get a haircut, to have my nails done, to pack into corner pubs to have a drink, or to get in the face of others mask-less, spewing hatred and disdain, indignant that anyone would dare try to fence us in, to tell us what we can and cannot do. This is not freedom. Freedom and liberty only work when everyone is safe and well. Freedom is exemplified by those who gave their all, whether on distant shores in combat or on a very different battlefield in selfless care and concern for others. We’re not there yet. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever get there. But I know each of us can do our part. It’s what I choose to do. It’s the least I can do. I embrace my power to be kind, considerate, grateful, and in awe of the selfless heroes around me. What freedom! What liberty! What happiness!

Be safe and well my friends. Have a wonderful week!

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 24 May 2020

morning will be here before we know

air, cool misty, damp

into the empty

bare limbs brushing the clay

finding joy in quiet moments,

in the eye of the storm

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

May 10, 2020

Another Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 10 May 2020

By Kat Myrman

It is week…oh I don’t know. Pick a number, 1 to 100, it doesn’t matter, any number will do, because the weeks run together now. No Monday morning angst when a day is like the one before, or the next. No hump day celebrations, anticipations of TGIF, no weekends, no Sunday day of rest. There is only sunrise and sunset, sunrise…sunset…sunrise…sunset.

If ever there was a time to learn to breathe, it is now. If ever a time to cherish the moment, to fall into the abyss of mindfulness, it is this. Sunlight streaming, a cool breeze tossing emerald treetops, the sparkle of dawn’s first light.

They call it the new normal, but I don’t want to be normal anymore. I’ve had a taste of the life I once left behind working overtime week after week after week, forgetting that I had a life once, or could have if only I had made room for it.

They are a gift, these blurry days that never seem to end but for the relentless cadence of day into night into day into night and again. I breathed just now, slow, deep, inhaling, exhaling. Truth. I am learning, with nowhere to be, that here is all I need and now is all that matters.

Have a lovely now my friends…look! There goes a butterfly.

Another Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 10 May 2020

when we reflect on how it was
dawn emerging through the trees
it took a tragedy for our broken hearts to mend
i can’t help myself, it’s an obsession, yes, i know
but I’m not sure they’re who they claim
there’s no sleeping in, no lingering
day after day, and instinct

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

April 26, 2020

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 26 April 2020

By Kat Myrman

Another Sunday, another week ahead, work from my home office/bedroom. I am grateful to be working. I am grateful for this shelter to shelter in, I am grateful that those whom I hold dearest on this earth have remained thus far untouched from the virus and are safe.

But oh, it is wearying to live with danger lurking just beyond the door. I wonder what will become of us if we break quarantine too soon. I wonder if it’s just a matter of time before we all get the virus. I wonder what life will be like on the other side, because the truth is, we’re just biding our time, doing the best we can, until this is over.

This has been a crash course in living in the moment, because that is all any of us truly have. I’m grateful for this moment. I’ve taken up a new practice. When I cannot sleep, I don’t count sheep; I count my blessings one by one. They offer me a glimmer of hope even on the darkest of nights.

Peace all! Keep safe. Stay well.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 26 April 2020

sometimes I see it flash as I pass by
the changing tide, the ceiling cracking
a veritable lament
the wind sighs
normal’s not normal anymore
unless you’ve been living underneath a rock
there beneath the juniper tree
the night looms black

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

April 19, 2020

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 19 April 2020

By Kat Myrman

last cookie
It’s easy to feel disoriented these days as we settle uncomfortably into a new normal. I am coping best by modifying my former routine while keeping it intact as much as possible. I work from home now; my cubicle set-up is tucked into a corner of my bedroom. It’s quite possible for me to never leave this room for hours, day into night into day into night…6-8 hours spent sleeping, another 8 or 9 hours working, depending on the day. It would be easy, but I have not let myself go there. In this bizarre reality, I am learning to get up from my desk, sit outside for a few minutes, eat lunch, not in front of my computer screen as I used to do, but at the dining room table. It’s ironic. I am getting better at work-life balance now that work requires no commute than I was ever able to do before.  

Then, there is the importance of self care. Rolling out of bed straight into my desk chair in my PJ’s is not something I consider to be healthy in the long run. While I have changed my waking hour to take advantage of the absence of commute time, I have continued to maintain my morning routine…shower, dress, freshen my face, brush my teeth and my hair, take the dogs for a walk, feed the bird, make myself a few slices of cinnamon-raisin toast with butter, brew myself a cup of tea with honey, feed and water the dogs, take in a bit of news. I am surviving this time of sheltering in by showing up everyday. Not that there is anything wrong with having a PJ and slipper kind of day. But I am doing my best to limit those days so they remain the guilty pleasures they were intended to be. 

Obviously, the animals I live with are disturbed by my constant presence. It is impossible now for them to nap uninterrupted, to wander the halls without having to entertain me. I am learning just how much they sleep while I slave to put kibble in their bowls. I love being home with them. But there is one thing I miss. It is their tail-flapping, wiggle-butt dancing, smiling, slobbery-jowl greetings at the door when I return from a long day away. Now when I pass by, I might get a lifted head, half-eye glance. “Meh, it’s you again…” It’s strange and a bit sad, this new normal…

It’s been over a month since I left my house, except to take trash to the landfill or pick up a few groceries. My one consolation is that I am here another week, infection-free to write to you. I hope you are faring well. That you and those you love are safe and healthy. If the fates are kind, I’ll see you again next week. Peace.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 19 April 2020

the tea leaves in your cup have much to say
eat the last cookie
try to dribble out a coherent verse or three
the piper will change your soul…
everyone tells me it’s so, believe me
not trying to be distant
I had forgotten

~kat

A ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

April 17, 2020

I’ll Get Back to You – NaPoWriMo/GoPoWriMo Challenge, Day 17

By Kat Myrman

I’ll Get Back to You

if I don’t answer
your tweet, text, IM, or zoom
I’ll get back yo you

My perky, well-rehearsed, 7-takes to perfect, scripted voicemail message will cue up, giving you the illusion that I am not here; but, the truth, and we both know it, is that I am most definitely here, distancing myself from the world, from you, from eye to eye, flying-spit conversations, brushes with warm infection-riddled flesh, the scent of soap, putrid perfume, mouthwash and body odor stinging my nose. We have been practicing social distancing for a while now, but I am not very good at it, no not at all.

I remember when telephones had party lines, rotary dial disks that softly clicked, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, after each spin, one familiar ringtone and strobing busy signals; a time when no answer always meant someone wasn’t home, probably out shopping or working, living life. We had lives then. There was a certain comfort in that certainty, except…

“The coroner said she had been dead, from natural causes, for weeks, no one knew, no one but the cat…”

Still, we felt no urgency to connect; we’d just try again later. We were close in our isolation. We had rocking chair front porches, neighbors with first names, easy routines, Friday nights at the Dairy Queen, church on Sunday mornings. It was enough, until it wasn’t. Voicemail machines crept into our quiet lives, pagers hung from our belts and we mobilized.

These days we are never truly away, living life, doing, being. We are wired, on call, day and night, accessible to each other, robo-callers, spammers, phishers, work, and lost souls with wrong numbers, where not answering our phone is a willful act. No, I don’t want to talk to you right here, right now. Yes, it’s personal. I need a break. I’m busy doing something; it doesn’t matter what, anything. It could be anything or nothing at all. But here’s the rub, the grim reality of techno-enlightenment…I feel guilty, cellphone on mute, rumbling, rattling off the table, when I don’t pick it up immediately to say hello.

if I don’t answer
not trying to be distant
well, maybe I am

~kat

For today’s NaPoWriMo/GoPoWriMo Challenge, Day 17: “Move backwards in time away from modern contrivances as podcasts. Today, I challenge you to write a poem that features forgotten technology.”

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Haiku, napowrimo, Random Thoughts and Musings