Tag Archives: essay

September 3, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 3 September 2017

By Kat Myrman

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This was not a good week for so many. Though arrogant Americans wail and lament over storm surge swallowing of its shining cities on the Texas Gulf Coast, other places on the globe suffered similar hardships…Niamey, Niger; Maharashtra, Mumbai, India; El Gezira, Sudan. Only the week before Sri Lanka suffered catastrophic mudslides. 

 

Now, I’m not going to bring up the topic of climate change…the fact that urban sprawl and the rape of natural barriers have contributed to our current troubles…that CO2 emissions and other caustic pollutants are wearing away the frail ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays…I’m not going to mention plastic…pesticides…nuclear sludge…coal dust…oil spills…Nope. I’m not going to bring it up because it should be obvious to any thinking, conscientious person who respects the earth and hopes to preserve its beauty for future generations.

 

Nature is resilient. She eventually reclaims what is hers. Silly humans, we think we are in charge. The truth is, we are here as guests. We are granted leased space, expected to leave the place the way we found it. Nature has no problem evicting us if we haven’t met the terms of our contractual agreement. That‘s the reality. And we’ll not be getting our deposit back. In fact, we will most certainly pay a great price for the damages.

 

My thoughts are with those who suffer from these natural disasters. May we all do everything we can to mitigate future catastrophes, which are sure to come if we continue on our present course.

 

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 3 September 2017

dark shade, wild souls
in rain-drenched hollows
giddy twirls beneath wet arches
shrill cicada crescendos
I heard he lost his marbles!
a heart surrenders, knowing
a prisoner of the castle
there is no safe place
so optimus prime
he often argued with a gun barrel
rain drops on roses
we need a hard stop
eternity is only
a thousand moments
roses wear diamonds

~kat

A shi sai or 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 shi sai features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

19 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Week in Review

July 7, 2017

Phenology – Friday’s Word of the Day Haibun

By Kat Myrman


Happy Friday. Today’s dictionary.com Word is Phenology. According to dictionary.com, “Phenology entered English in the 1880s as acontracted variant of phenomenology, with restrictionto climatic phenomena.” It is defined as “the science dealing with the influence of climate onthe recurrence of such annual phenomena of animaland plant life as budding and bird migrations.”

After a further bit of research I learned that the study of phenology goes back thousands of years and is in fact one of the oldest sciences dealing with the natural world. According to the website, Windows to the Universe, “The Chinese are credited with the first written phenological records dating back to around 974 B.C. For the past 1200 years, observations of the timing of peak cherry blossoms in Japan have been recorded.”

I also learned that there are a number of proverbs and sayings that refer to phenology. Here are a few that I found:

“If oak’s before ash, you’re in for a splash. If ash before oak, you’re in for a soak”.

And another version along this line…

“If the oak is out before the ash, ‘Twill be a summer of wet and splash; If the ash is out before the oak,’Twill be a summer of fire and smoke.”

“In like a lion, out like a lamb”

“Christmas in clover, Easter in snow”…

“Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.”

Windows to the Universe explains: “Phenological observations have been used for centuries to maximize crop production, prepare for seasonal allergies, and anticipate optimal wildflower viewing conditions. Today, this well established science is used to track the effect of global warming and climate change on organisms and to make predictions about the future health of the environment.”

Did you know that scientists have tracked and discovered that the beginning of spring starts a week earlier in Europe in recent years? I didn’t. It’s called “season creep” and it is the sort of things that Phonologists study. 

Phenology is obviously an important science…for those of us who believe in science. 😉 Some cool new scientific terms I learned in my research include “green up” and “brown down”, having to do with infrared wavelengths from the sun. Can you guess which phenophase is being described by those words? Tick tock tick… Spring and Fall of course. Clever! Tracking green ups helps to identify species of plants that contribute most to the “infrared reflectance values”; a process is called “ground-truthing”. Another cool term!

There is so much more to learn about phenology. Do rev your google engines and learn more if you are a nature lover…or just curious. Or peruse an Old Farmer’s Almanac for that matter. I, on the other hand have a Haiku to write! Have a great weekend!

What force spurs seasons
to greening flush and browning?
Phenologists know!

~kat

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Essays, Haibun, Haiku, nature, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

July 2, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 2 July 2017

By Kat Myrman


“Happy Sunday!”

“Happy, you say?!”

“Well, in a transcendental, metaphysical, quasi-spiritual, dreamy, optimistic sort of way, yes, happy. And it is a fact that it is Sunday…unless you reside in the Far East…then it is almost Monday…but I divagate.”

“You what?”

“Divagate….as in digress? Remember? The new word we learned this week.”

“You’re such a diva!”

“Am not! You are! But back to your original question, ‘happy, you say?!’ … yes, I take it you’re not.”

“Well, how can anyone be happy when everything in the world is spiraling out of control?”

“Take a Dramamine?”

“Come on! Global warming, a heath care bill that is going to kill people, an insane, mean old man running the country, Russia (need I say more?), collapsing infrastructure, the assault on our public schools, voting rights, gerrymandering, voter suppression, nationalism, travel bans, ageism, misogyny, racism, homophobia, religious profiling, insane tweets, the wall…”

“Feel better yet?”

“No, I’m just getting started. And just you wait. Tomorrow something else will happen to prove  we’re all up shit’s creek without a paddle. So forgive me miss giddy twinkle shoes if I can’t be happy right now! I’m mortified! It’s terrifying!”

“Oh, but you can. Be happy that is. It’s all a choice. It only takes a second.”

“Harrumph! Delusional you mean!”

“No. Happy. Right here, right now, this moment. Let me show you. First, close your eyes…now think about something that makes you happy.”

“You mean used to…”

“Give it a chance. And you opened your eyes…start over. Close your eyes…think happy something…anything. Got it?”

“Yeah. Okay now what?”

“Now take a deep breath in. Imagine yourself completely enveloped by your happy thing…don’t breathe out just yet…imagine…okay now…slowly…let it go. Feel better?”

“I do actually. I get it. I remember. Thanks self for pulling me off the ledge one more time.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re in this together you know. Happy Sunday?”

“Yeah, I’ll give you that. It’s happy enough, given the circumstances.”

“You’re exhausting!”

😳😊😟😉😜😀😢😣😐😘😌☺️😒😅😮

And…welcome to my world! My mind battles itself regularly. Yeah, the world is a bit, chaotic these days, but it’s important to unplug when it gets to be too much.

We’re gonna survive this, like we have survived every trying time in our history. I’m not going to tell you, “don’t worry, be happy”. That is a bit delusional, and it is important to stay engaged as a member of “we the people”. But…there is nothing wrong with divagating into your happy place every now and again.

Look! There goes a butterfly! A beautiful graceful butterfly…and there! Look! A flower! Oh, and I just noticed someone being kind…Wow! It’s not as hard as you think.

So…Happy Sunday y’all! I hope you can find your happy, if even for just a moment, this week. Just remember to breathe. ❤️

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 2 July 2017

If people only knew
never say it…only
smoldering remains
weeps perfume when crushed
from obsidian to glass
Some souls find heaven in hell’s corridors.
look! a butterfly!
divagating tweeted blips,
because that is what those with the truest hearts do
softly
magic is in the air
make love bloom
dreamers ask,
“why not?”

~kat

A shi sai or 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 shi sai 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, Humor, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review

June 18, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 18 June 2017

By Kat Myrman


What do you cling to? Or put another way, what clings to you? Either way you’re pretty clung-up. At least that’s my take on it. Whether I’m a clinger or a cling-ee, chances are I’m carrying around a heavier load than I need to.

It reminds me of the first time I went skinny dipping in a crystal clear, frigid Canadian lake under the golden glow of the full moon. It was several decades ago but I still remember how I felt. How the unabashed freedom of that moment made every cell in my body come aliv.

These many years later I realize I have layers upon layers of stuff that I’ve collected over time. Whether it’s clinging to me or I’m clinging to it doesn’t matter. What matters is that once I finally release those things, I’ll find that I get along swimmingly without them. Like clothes and skinny dipping. That stuff just weighs you down.

Come on in! The water’s fine! 😉

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 18 June 2017

o, how i could linger
but it’s brilliant…
it’s for the best
sucked into oblivion
no one can steal a soul
expostulators may rant
this game is over
the bloom undulating just below the surface
devouring me slowly
though you are crushed
a bit of chocolate
in stone
retrospect gleans the good from not

~kat

A shi sai or 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 shi sai features the words of one writer,providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Life Lessons, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Week in Review

June 1, 2017

The Crucible

By Kat Myrman

This week Rochelle gave us a rather bleak photo prompt for her Friday Fictioneers challenge. I ruminated over it for a day, fighting my first impression; one of heartache, loss and destruction because, quite frankly, I am weary of of reality this week. Every day small fragile men find new ways to trample on the things we hold dear. Today, not content to destroy just our nation, our horrible leader took steps to ravage the earth our home. So I needed a bit of hope.

PHOTO PROMPT © KARUNA


The Crucible

The massive brush fires expanded their reach into neighboring homes licking at their foundations before ravaging the stick frames that held them together. Fire doesn’t discriminate once it contorts into its frenzied surge, consuming furniture, clothing, family photos and other treasures.

Precious though they may once have been, they are dross, but the tempest has no power over memories that emerge in the hearts of those left behind.

Memories remain, cherished all the more by living survivors who realize while sifting through the ashes, that they, and those that they love, are the greatest treasure of all.

~kat
(97 Words)

13 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in 100 and Under, Essays, Flash Fiction, Random Thoughts and Musings, Spirituality