Category Archives: Week in Review

September 18, 2016

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 18 September 2016

By Kat Myrman

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It’s gorgeous in my corner of the planet this third Sunday in September. The seasons are shifting. For some of us this means cool morning snaps and shorter days. It is a time for gathering and for reaping what we have sown. It’s a time for celebrating life’s abundance and time to prepare our hearths and homes to see us through the coming winter and longer nights.

We don’t have a choice in the goings and comings of the seasons. They cycle in and out like clockwork, never looking back, never stagnant, always moving forward.

Unlike nature humans have a choice in how we meet the seasons of our own lives. We have a choice to move past our yesterdays; to use the present moment to decide whether we will stay mired in the past or learn from it, to let go and move forward. We can even choose to go backward. Freedom of choice is what sets humanity apart from other living things. It Is exhilarating but it is also a great responsibility, a burden even, because our choices matter. Like nature, despite our illusion of independence, we are connected to each other.

Our individual capacity for goodness as well as darkness affects us all. It’s something I think about. Especially now. May we all remember we are not alone in the choices we make. I’m counting on us to move humanity forward.

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Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 18 September 2016

Never forget
frost comes gently at dawn
feelings, reputations, spirits,
twisted, then snapped from their roots
to ensure the greatest good
clouds shape-shift by day
what will be will be
The things people collect, and the photographs that they display, often tell hidden stories that are never mentioned in polite conversation.
Oh, surely I knew
an overweening tyrant
a new ball of yarn
Plop, kerplunking, pitter, pat
you might be deplorable
fighting for my heart.

~kat

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The Shi Sai, (formerly known as a ReVerse) is a new form I came up with during Poetry Month in April 2016. I’ve actually been writing shu sai for years but was inspired to give it a prooer name. 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”.

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

September 11, 2016

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 11 Sepember 2016

By Kat Myrman


It’s Sunday and my usual time to look back at the week that was by lifting a line or verse from each of my postings from the previous week. The resulting “new” poem becomes a Shi Sai (re-verse) and often reveals an enlightening perspective of the previous week.

Normally I would share my reflections in this space, but this week I’d like to invite you to read my last post. You can find it HERE.

Of course no Shi Sai Sunday would be complete without the new/old verse. Here it is then:

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 11 Sepember 2016

as days rush to dusk and nights amble long
with wild seeds of secret
knowing…
by learning to bend
yes, it is a “thing”!

All birds sing in the morning, each one checking in with the others to let them know they have survived the night.

they won’t help me forget
lightness, serene calm and a swirling sky above beckoning her to fly
outshining our sun
can make onlookers edgy
weak knees and cold sweats
it’s an illusion
Yes, I know you and you know me.

kat

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

September 4, 2016

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 4 September 2016 

By Kat Myrman

Happy Weekend! For many of us in the U.S. It is a holiday weekend, Monday being Labor Day. For me it also meant having Friday off as well. It was an opportunity to catch up with family.

I am blessed to have a big family. Of course it is my own doing in part, having raised four daughters. Through them I have gained sons, grand children and grand pups. It is amazing how one person can sprout off in so many directions…from one to two, then four, then seven or eight, then sixteen and counting in a matter of a generation or two. I wonder as I get older if fate will allow me to see another generation blossom, launching me into “great” status. Would that be grand!

We have so little time that flashes by in a wink! We busy ourselves in passing with such petty concerns…He said, she said’s, I’m right, you’re wrongs’s, oh no you didn’t’s, can’t believe you just’s, I’m over it’s, talk to the hand’s or don’t talk to me at all’s. Our egos would like nothing better than to have us all to ourselves. There is a hefty price to pay for self-righteousness.

I don’t believe I have seen things quite as divided and contentious in my lifetime as it is right now. There are no fine lines, just walls…and we’ve become quite comfortable with crossing them.

In the end we all need to answer just one question. How we answer it makes all the difference.

Is being right and winning the most important thing?

If you can manage a “no” then it’s not too late…there is hope.

Be gentle with yourself and with those who share air space with you. Love while you can. Life is short and only as sweet as you make it.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse ~ 4 September 2016

we each hold a sacred trust
to become strong, resilient
love is consuming
with power to smooth rough stone
‘Twas a simpler time
let’s hope we can bridge the divide
I used to wish upon the brightest star
several minutes of polite conversation,
with open hearts
and minds
that quietly listen

~kat

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The Shi Sai, (formerly known as a ReVerse) is a new form I came up with during Poetry Month in April 2016. I’ve actually been writing shu sai for years but was inspired to give it a prooer name. 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”.

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

August 28, 2016

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 29 August 2016

By Kat Myrman

by Kat 2016 ~ A yellow rose invites us to remember…”

Sometimes a week can whiz by in a flash, and then there are times when the week crawls by at a snail’s pace. This past week was the latter for me.

I feel I should be glad for weeks like these the older I get. Why in the world would I wish for days to fly by. I’ve passed the halfway mark based on average life expectancy. I have less days left than I have lived. And yet when a work week drags on like it did last week, I kept hoping it would go faster because I had big plans to take a trip to celebrate my grandson’s sixth birthday. It was so worth the wait and a wonderful fun time!  Like many good times, over way too soon!

Many of us live for the weekends, for vacations, for mornings we can sleep in and for cool starry summer nights, for break time, lunch time, for the closing bell. Just thinking about all this makes me want to slow things down and focus on savoring every moment of everyday. And I am thinking, the next time I try to wish my work week along, I might actually need to pause, breathe deeply and count my blessings.

It’s Sunday and this week’s Shi Sai has nothing to do with my present reflections. But it was the week that was just the same. To summarize, I was very focused on world events, which always hits me in the gut. My deepest wish is that each person would know their value and be treated with honor, respect and acceptance. We all deserve love by virtue of our humanity. So that’s what last week was about, according to my ReVerse. And I almost missed it waiting for the weekend.

This coming week I’m adding to my to-do list. When the world starts crawling by, I shall imagine it to be a great opportunity to notice my surroundings…to notice who happens to be sharing that space with me and to extend kindness. It’s not enough to breathe deeply and count my blessings…I need to be a blessing too!

Have a wonderful week my fellow WordPressers. I’m smiling right now just thinking about you. Yes, you! ❤️

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 29 August 2016

curl your tongue and twist your face
cut deep to the heart
this end can be avoided
anything less is showy fluff
but I have to yell you
rhyming soothes the soul
how high would you climb
for love of neighbor
for there is inspiration to be found
and a dusty old tradition was shattered by an antique, just like that
worth every penny
what a bloody mess this is
all of our blood runs red.

~kat

The Shi Sai, (formerly known as a ReVerse) is a new form I came up with during Poetry Month in April 2016. I’ve actually been writing shu sai for years but was inspired to give it a prooer name. 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”.

11 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Random Thoughts and Musings, Week in Review

August 21, 2016

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 21 August 2016

By Kat Myrman

image

It’s another Sunday, another week for the history books, another week of tragedies and triumphs, truths and lies, smoke and mirrors, all fueled by our amazing technology that blasts it all uncensored into our living rooms, cars and earbuds.

Try as we may to avoid it, by taking a break, diverting our attention to blue skies, baby’s breath, wild flower-speckled fields and la-la-la happy thoughts, it is impossible to completely shut the monster we have created down. Even in moments of sublime zen the cacophony rages relentlessly on, its mesmerism droning like a train wreck. We cannot turn away once it has dipped a toe into our shuttered hearts.

I believe those of us who live live’s of good will and gentle intentions, who are most horrified, should fight our aversion and take it all in, letting it rip our souls asunder. Not because we are masochists, but because only the meek are promised earth’s inheritance. The drowning do not realize they are drowning once instinct kicks in. Fierce survival takes over causing the victim to flail and fight for air, taking even their rescuer down under with them.

It is wishfully indulgent of me to think I can avoid it. But with feet firmly planted on dry land I am compelled again and again to offer my hand in rescue. The greatest tragedy is that some will refuse my hand to be swallowed into the abyss.

These are wild and weary times for so many of us. May those of us who still have embers of hope left in our hearts fan the flames and not be afraid to let our light shine.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 21 August 2016

remember without lingering
and don’t get too comfortable here
evil lurks in carry-ons
of souls longing for warmth
and fiery sun glows red at cusp of day,
people get jumpy
had a mind for something sweet
fire and ice collide
‘tis mesmerism
breaks my heart to see it like this
let’s leave this withering world and stroll along the ancient path to eden’s sacred garden…

kat

The Shi Sai, (formerly known as a ReVerse) is a new form I came up with during Poetry Month in April 2016. I’ve actually been writing shu sai for years but was inspired to give it a prooer name. 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 Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review