Category Archives: Spirituality

April 2, 2016

April Poetry Month – A Poem a Day #2

By Kat Myrman

Today’s poetry form: Free Verse

* Free verse poems have no regular meter and rhythm.
* They do not follow a proper rhyme scheme as such; these poems do not have any set rules.
* This type of poem is based on normal pauses and natural rhythmical phrases as compared to the artificial constraints of normal poetry.
* It is also called vers libre which is a French word.

I often write free verse at 3 am mid-REM. This is one of those brain-flushing poems, particularly poignant for me. Free form is my raw unfettered side with no boundaries to keep me from spilling out. Its form title, “FREE Verse” echoes the soul of this particular piece. Both of my parents suffered from severe, undiagnosed, untreated mental illness. Each eventually ended their own life to silence the madness. I have chosen life. The lunacy stops with me. I am free.

Childhood Crazy

He was obsidian in a naugahyde recliner,
a red hot cigarette tip, heavy with ash, suspended in the blank space between us,
Inconsolable shell of burdensome flesh smoldering in silence,
clock ticking, refrigerator humming, faucet dripping,
Sepia Jesus scowling from the frame on the wall.

He was white deafening noise.
A dizzy streak of laser precision, constructing pyramids of tin,
preoccupied with aliens, reincarnation and escape plans,
dismantling, rebuilding, obsessing over the unfitted, left-over parts,
ever seeking the subtle smiling approval of happy, golden-haloed Jesus.

Terrifying and thrilling, monster and superhero,
doomsdayer, naysayer, cheerleader, dragonslayer,
fragile broken parent figure, angel, demon, candle burning at both ends.
A short-fused powder keg, self-combusting,
disillusioned by fickle wishy-washy Jesus, pulling a trigger to end the pain.

His poison festers in my cells, lethal shards of DNA,
catching waves of white and crimson coursing through my veins, settling in my brain.
A childhood refrain of mania to gloom, neglected, undiagnosed crazy.
Daddy, if we had only known, we might have saved you.
Consoled with pharmaceuticals, severing the chain…at least I can save myself.

kat ~ 2 Apri‪‪l 2016‬‬

28 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality

March 27, 2016

Dark Night of the Soil

By Kat Myrman


I realized this morning, as I gazed at my barren flower bed, its parallel to Easter and Spring’s awakening.

Death of unruly weeds and a sweeping of rocks and debris was necessary to ready the bed for planting. It required pulling up some deeply imbedded roots of certain weeds who disguised themselves in delicate, colorful blooms, hiding their malevolent intent to choke, encroach and overtake my beautiful garden. If I left even a hint of root behind, my garden would be at risk. Just to be safe, once the soil was sufficiently churned, a barrier was laid and new enriched top soil was added to prepare for new seeds and plants. Of course, there is still a bit more to do, and keeping the weeds at bay is a daunting task, but it is a necessary step to give my beautiful garden its best chance to thrive.

My soul is like a garden. It is affected deeply by nature, the changing of seasons, the light and darkness, the raging tempests and gentle rains, sunrises and sunsets, the clear open blue canopy, the subtle embrace of foggy bottoms, the star-speckled night sky.

As I look at the empty flower bed of my soul, especially on this Easter weekend, I am reminded of the despair and revelation of humanity’s dark nature that led to death, but I am also filled with a sense of hope for the new life that is promised to me if I am faithful.

When darkness overcomes me, I know I should pause to reflect. Is my current circumstance a result of happenstance? It is true some things just happen. Or is it a debacle of my own doing? The latter, if I’m open to considering it, requires a bit of work. Like my garden bed, my soul must be swept of weeds, taking care to remove the roots. The soil of my soul will likely need a bit of churning. It will take a conscious effort on my part to employ the barriers required to prevent any weed remnants from rising again to choke out my best intentions. And it will also take laying a new foundation of “soil”.

My life has the potential to be a beautiful garden! To be a light and a blessing. As I consider the hope of Easter and Spring’s promise, I embrace the new life that grace affords me today and every morning!

Peace, grace and life in all its magnificence to you! May you thrive in beauty!

-kat

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Essays, Life Lessons, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

March 20, 2016

Losing Hope

By Kat Myrman

How easily hope drifts away
When we forget to let things be
In our attempts to have our way
We only trust in what we see.

Surrender serves our spirit best.
How easily hope slips away
Each time our faith’s put to the test
And fear demands the final say.

For no amount of power play
Will ultimately bring us peace
How easily hope slips away
To know our strength we must be weak.

Religiosity’s a trap,
Faux piety can lead astray
We learn to dwell on what we lack
How easily hope slips away!

kat ~ 20 March 2016
(a Quatern)

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

February 17, 2016

Just Remember to Breathe

By Kat Myrman
crook

PHOTO PROMPT – © Sandra Crook

It’s here to remind us of the day that time stopped. To remind us to breathe.  As I recall, the sun grew dark and the earth shuddered and heaved stopping on its axis for 60 seconds.

In the silence everyone breathed in deeply…so deeply that the ground sunk from the weight of the air filling our lungs. As we exhaled, gravity gave way and we floated. And then the earth jolted, the clouds starting drifting again and the sun sparkled golden once more. Though nothing seemed changed we all knew the truth. In that moment we realized we are one.

~kat – 17 February 2016
(100 Words)

A flash of fiction for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneer Challenge based on the photo prompt above by Sandra Crook. Read more stories or enter your own HERE.

39 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in 100 and Under, Challenges and Writing Prompts, Flash Fiction, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality

February 14, 2016

Tree Nymph

By Kat Myrman

 

nymph

Photo Credit: Kat Myrman 2016

I am obsessed with this tree! This is an image from a different vantage point. It actually looks like there are two branch antlers on her head. She just may be a tree nymph, which explains my obsession. I pass by her every day on my drive home and I can’t look away!

From the Theoi Greek Mythology Website:

THE NYMPHAI (or Nymphs) were female spirits of the natural world, minor goddesses of the forests, rivers, springs, meadows, mountains and seas. They were responsible for the crafting of nature’s wild beauty, from the arrangement and growth of the plants, flowers and trees, to the nurture of wild birds and animals, and the formation of rocky caverns, springs, wetlands and brooks.

Nymphs were also companions of the gods. Dionysos had his wild-eyed Mainades and Bakkhai, Artemis was accompanied by a band of huntress nymphs, Hekate by the dark Lampades nymphs of the underworld. Poseidon‘s court was attended by Nereides and sea nymphs, and the Olympian court by nymph handmaidens.

Other nymphs were nurses of the gods, including the Idaian nymphs that nursed the god Zeus, and the Nysian nymphs who cared for Dionysos.

Tree Nymph

Oaken Nymph
fair blushing Dryad
clinging there
evergreen
dance with us on frostbit earth
sing to us of spring!

kat ~ 13 February 2016

17 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality