Category Archives: Poetry

February 19, 2016

Friday’s Word of the Day Haiku – Cosmology

By Kat Myrman

cosmology

Happy Friday! Today’s Dictionary.com Word of the Day is Cosmology. Originating from the Greek words kosmos (order/world) and –logia (discourse), it might surprise you to know that astronomers, philosophers and even astrologers have been studying Cosmology since ancient times. Through the years, mathematicians, engineers, physicists and even religious figures and politicians have weighed in on the ever evolving theories and philosophies of Cosmology. Here are a few names that you may recognize:  Plato, Aristotle, Copernicus, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Henrietta Swan Leavitt (one of the first women to enter the field of astronomy), Edwin Hubble, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

One of the most popular theories, of course, is the Big Bang Theory, but the evolution of the study of Cosmology has not stopped there. Other theories to be introduced in later years include the Oscillating Universe developed by Alexander Friedmann based on Einstein’s general relativity equations, the Steady State Universe (which opposed the Big Bang) and then a number of theories that have expanded on the Big Bang including, Inflationary Universe and Multiverse theory which see our organized, observable universe as one of many in an infinite cosmos that operates basically in a state of chaos.

The one thing we can know for certain is that as long as there are universes to discover, there will be great minds who seek answers to the questions, what, where, when, why and how. As for me, I prefer to gaze at the stars, become lost in their magnificence, and write poetry. BAZINGA! 🙂

Speaking of poetry…here’s my Haiku…

Theory not faith
Informs the Cosmologist
Starting with a Bang!

kat ~ 19 February 2016

 

 

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

February 18, 2016

As Smooth as a Milk Maid’s Skin – Haiku

By Kat Myrman

jenner462_best

Dr. Edward Jenner

Well…this is interesting!

The saying, “As smooth as a milk maid’s skin” has a very interesting history. At first blush one might imagine that it meant milk baths or sweet cream facials for milk maids who, because of their ready access to milk, had exceptionally smooth skin.  It is true that certain milk maids did have smooth skin, but the truth is more sobering.

I found this snippet in Wikidpedia:
The expression “as smooth as a milk maid’s skin” means exceptionally smooth. This phrase came about as a result of exposure to cowpox, which causes no serious symptoms, but does convey a partial immunity to the disfiguring (and often fatal) disease smallpox. Thus, milkmaids lacked the “pockmarked” complexion common to smallpox survivors. This observation led to the development of the first vaccine.[1]

The first vaccine, in fact, was performed in 1796 by Dr. Edward Jenner in Berkeley (Gloucestershire), England. He discovered that milkmaids who had contracted cowpox did not get smallpox. When his patient Sarah Nelmes presented symptoms of cowpox on her hand, Jenner  “took the pus from a cowpox lesion and inoculated an eight-year-old boy, James Phipps, the son of Jenner’s gardener. After the boy got a slight case of cowpox, Jenner exposed him to smallpox. As he suspected and much to his relief, young James remained unaffected by the deadly disease.  (Read more about Dr. Jenner HERE.)

The visions of milky white, soft, beautiful skin that I once imagined when I heard this saying are definitely not what those who initially coined the phrase intended! The truth is quite gruesome, what with cowpox pus scrapings and human experimentation. But I suppose it is the final result, discovery of a vaccination against a deadly disease, that matters most.  Here’s the Haiku then…

She was one so fair
“As smooth as a milk maid’s skin”
implied survival.

~kat – 18 February 2016

This Haiku is in response to Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Challenge with the Prompt Words: Milk & Smooth. If you would like to read other Haiku or enter your own, click HERE.

42 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Haiku, Poetry

February 17, 2016

Magnolia Dawn

By Kat Myrman
tree

Photograph and Digital Enhancement by Kat Myrman 2016

but for the soft coo-cooing
wooing
of mourning dove cry
nigh
the earth is hushed
crushed
under a blanket of snow
glow
magnolia tree towers
flowers
roots burrowed deep
sleep
until spring’s first kiss
bliss.

kat ~ 17 January 2016

An “Echo Verse” for Jane Dougherty’s weekly poetry challenge. The following describes this poetry form:

Echo verse goes back centuries but it has a very modern feel about it. The concept is simple—after each line there is an echo, of the last syllable (or two), or a word that rhymes. In the instructions it doesn’t say what the poem has to be about, line length, or whether there has to be any other kind of rhyme pattern.

If you would like to read other Echo Verses or enter your own, click HERE.

30 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Poetry

February 17, 2016

Tattoo Folly

By Kat Myrman

tatt

Old Pete had a hankering for booze
Spending many a night quite confused
But he vowed he would quit
when his wife threw a fit
She was Joan, but his tattoo said Sue!

kat ~ 17 February 2016

A limerick for Rashmi’s of Mind and Life Matters weekly Limerick Challenge. The Prompt Word is “Apsire”. Today I am using the synonym “Hanker”. If you would like to read others Limericks or enter your own click HERE.

19 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Humor, Limericks, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings

February 14, 2016

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 14 February 2016

By Kat Myrman

 

creeper2

Photo Credit: Kat Myrman 2014

 

Happy Valentine’s Day Sunday! If I may wax poetic, this week’s ReVerse is rather poetic…poetic in its melancholic musings, sentimental walks down lanes of memories wrapped in chocolate and flowers. Did I plan this? Most certainly not! It is a game the Muse plays with me. How very clever of her, don’t you think?

Not to worry, the week wasn’t all sappy and sweet. There were hints of poetic justice as well. Enter the scoundrels…the handsome blind date (or was he just a rude stalker!), politicians (no comment…), time…if time was a scoundrel (I have no doubt that our modern electronic clocks have an evil plan to drive us all crazy!), scary nature (requiring a safety net of creature comforts for those brave souls who venture off the grid), the corporate scoundrel…jerk! creep! *#%%%*#!!!!! (forgive me…too soon), and finally Jack Frost (well, he was certainly implied. Soon to sweep the blush from the daffodils.) As exciting as all this has been…what do I do? I take photographs!

I’m going to digress for a bit…but I promise to bring it home…trust me.

The greatest technology of the 21st Century for me is the phone camera! A few decades ago, I did labor in the bowels of my amber-lit basement, elbow deep in smelly chemicals developing my own photographs. Editing required cutting and pasting (really!…cutting with scissors and pasting with glue), re-photographing and developing. All things being digital has opened up a whole new world to us all.

But here’s the thing…yes, there is a thing…

My last story this week reminded me of a lost art that needs a revisit…letter writing. Lovely handwritten notes on pretty paper penned by one’s favorite pen (for me it is a fountain pen loaded with cerulean blue ink). I even read last week that schools are considering dropping cursive writing lessons from their curriculum! A very sad turn of events indeed!

And so as I look forward to next week, I’m planning to pen a few letters to those friends who do not frequent social media…and maybe even a few who are digitally savvy. I have become woefully out of touch with them. What better day for inspiration than today, Valentine’s Day!  Join me if you’d like. If there is one thing I’ve learned in life it is this, those who love you don’t want your chocolates or flowers…they want your words…<3

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 14 February 2016

A treasured timepiece,
here or hereafter.
sweet dreams to all you dreamers.
They are forever etched on my heart
She always reserved room for chocolate.
He knew she was lying.
fair blooms in waiting.
you certainly cannot win
abstaining from all pleasure
take a moment to breathe
proving their own lack.
She had the last laugh.
to appear able
a luddite’s nightmare!
But not without a backpack of creature comforts.
He took credit for her work.
So I took a photograph for you.

~ kat

If you’re new to this blog, a bit of background to explain the verse above. It is a line from each poem or prose from the previous week. Lifted and placed in the order written. A snapshot review of the week. It helps me to prepare for the upcoming week with a clean slate.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Humor, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Week in Review