Tag Archives: essay

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 30 April 2017


It’s been another interesting week. They’re all interesting in their own way, don’t you think? That’s what is so great about living and life. Stuff happens. We get distracted and busy and sidelined but the clock keeps ticking. Each moment gone in a moment never to return and we barely notice their passing. How sad is that?

Moments. What does one make of them if one even notices them at all? What makes them so special? You don’t have to answer. I’m just thinking out loud. (Or writing it out, as it were).

What I do know about moments is that when I am able to notice one, I breathe a little deeper, I often smile to myself, and I am overcome with a sense of wonder. It’s like the feeling you get when you witness a magic trick and all you can say (or think) is “Wow”. And then it’s gone. Just like that. Oh, there is another moment in the wings ready to be; ready to dazzle you, but it is not the same. Nothing compares to the moment you just had a moment with.

I’ve had a few of those kinds of moments this week. I’m having one right now, now that I think about it. Like fireflies in a jar, they pulse pale yellow-green and eventually fade. Fireflies aren’t meant to live in jars any more than moments are meant to be saved from dying. But that’s the beauty of it…and the wonder.

So savor the moment when you can. Let it warm you, inspire you, then set it free. There will be new moments to have a moment with, in the blink of an eye, in fact. I promise.

Peace, love and moments to you!

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 30 April 2017

each moment is a gift
If there is a message, what could it be?
Only once
fill jelly jars with fireflies
greyscale just won’t do
I think it’s time we got reacquainted.
what wonders do you behold?
slow, smoldering burn
…ultimately undone
what are you whispering for?
wispy pastel clouds of sweet fluff
demand to be
honey and tobacco tinged
in a loopy sort of way
include peaches and cherries
the fish are dying
my heart…it is ferocious
there is no stronger force than an empowered “miss”

~kat

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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.


Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 23 April 2017


Happy Sunday! It’s been a soggy week here in the mountains. I love the rain, but in small doses…I need sunshine. Oh and did I mention Mercury’s in retrograde? Given that I’m a Gemini, mercurial to begin with, it’s a wonder I have been able to come up with anything coherent this week!

What that has meant is that things have been a bit wacky. This week’s ReVerse is reflective of that retrograde lunacy. It’s a bit nonsensical…which I suppose makes sense.

Mercury gets back on track on May 3rd. Until then, expect more spinning, sleepless nights and scrambled words. But I am not daunted. Writers write and I am determined to keep the words flowing, even if right now it is an annoying drip!

Have a great week! Keep moving forward…keep writing! 😜

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 23 April 2017

I wonder where you spend your nights
withering
rock-a-bye hush, the children sing
do you see them
booger butt, slobbery schmush
I couldn’t sleep
and truth was just an inconvenient blur
‘neath shallow skin-deep façades,
cursed are your fragrant blossoms
endless drops of rain
ultimately, “do no harm”
I thought, ‘how ironic is that!’
we should all be so jammy
it’s what lies beneath
she murmurs gently

~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.


Essay Assignment – Souvenir 

So like a leaf, with a transparent white stem that had been battered by a storm; frayed fluff and separated barbs in shades of silvery gray, ochre and indigo. If I hadn’t been looking down I might have missed the feather.

I wondered if the bird who lost it, missed it, or if it took its passing as a commonplace event, like clipping one’s fingernails.

I picked it up and headed home with a lilt in my step; me and my tiny single wing.

©kat – 28 January 2017

Written for an essay writing exercise at the Roanoke Regional Writer’s Conference – 28 January 2017


D-Day Memorial – Echoes of my Neighborhood

Happy Thursday and welcome to my neighborhood. It’s been a few weeks since my last post to Jacqueline’s Echoes of my Neighborhood Challenge. To be honest I ran out of micro, macro, oddities to show you…and it is likely very clear that I do not get out much! 🙂 Besides my day job and taking care of my critters, I rarely wander past my front door. But this past weekend I had the honor to visit an historical site to hear a concert. With all the unrest in the world today, it is good to reflect on the past to realize that we have the capacity to come together, nation to nation to defeat a common enemy. Even when the price is great, good eventually overcomes evil. And that gives me hope!

From the National D-Day Memorial Website: On June 6th, 1944 United States soldiers, in one of the most pivotal battles of World War II, invaded the French coastline in order to propel German soldiers out of Western Europe and lead the way for victory against the tyrants of that era. Dedicated on June 6th, 2001 by president George W. Bush, the National D-Day Memorial was constructed in honor of those who died that day, fighting in one of the most significant battles in our nations history.

It is located in Bedford, Virginia (about 45 minutes from where I live). Why Bedford? Here is a second excerpt from the Memorial’s website:

Bedford, Virginia… 
Like eleven other Virginia communities, Bedford provided a company of soldiers (Company A) to the 29th Infantry Division when the National Guard’s 116th Infantry Regiment was activated on 3 February 1941. Some thirty Bedford soldiers were still in that company on D-Day; several more from Bedford were in other D-Day companies, including one who, two years earlier, had been reassigned from the 116th Infantry to the First Infantry Division. Thus he had already landed in both Northern Africa and Sicily before coming ashore on D-Day at Omaha Beach with the Big Red One. Company A of the 116th Infantry assaulted Omaha Beach as part of the First Division’s Task Force O. 

By day’s end, nineteen of the company’s Bedford soldiers were dead. Two more Bedford soldiers died later in the Normandy campaign, as did yet another two assigned to other 116th Infantry companies. Bedford’s population in 1944 was about 3,200. Proportionally this community suffered the nation’s severest D-Day losses. Recognizing Bedford as emblematic of all communities, large and small, whose citizen-soldiers served on D-Day, Congress warranted the establishment of the National D-Day Memorial here.

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All photos by Kat Myrman – July 2016


WanderLost – Three Day Quote Challenge – Day 1

Happy Tuesday! My friend from “down under” Elsie,  kiwinana from the blog Ramblings of a Writer nominated me for the Three Day Quote Challenge. It’s been a while since I did one of these. Thanks Elsie!

I like to choose a theme for each day of the challenge. Actually, today it picked me, lured me in actually when I was drawn to this quote:

anonQuote

I love this one. It is so true and speaks to my gypsy soul!

Did you catch the theme? It has to do with wandering…and even getting lost, or what I like to call WanderLost! 🙂 This, of course led me to my next quote…a favorite of mine. In fact I have this tin plaque over the door in my room:

lost

This is soooo me. Life is an adventure! I really don’t worry when I get lost.  Sometimes I even linger for a bit. You never know what treasures you might find in a strange new place!

Finally, I will leave you with this little gem I found with the help of my friend Google.

heartmind

I have to say, this is a new favorite now. I need to post it somewhere I can see it the next time I am laboring over a decision. My heart knows the answer. I just need to pay attention.

Have a great day! I know the rules say that I need to name three people every day to play along. But true to my wandering nature, I think I will throw the invitation out to everyone. This is a fun challenge. Doesn’t take a lot of brain power. Actually, I consider inspiration brain fuel. So if you do want to give it a go…Three Quotes/Three Days, all I ask is that you ping me back so I can be inspired by the treasures you find!

Blessings and Peace! 🙂