Tag Archives: Shi Sai

ReVerse Poem – Sunday, 23 July 2023

Well, it’s been a week. In review I realized I even missed a day! I had no idea! As I mentioned today, I have several unfinished poems. I present them to you here…Fibs minus 1. Feel free to finish them in the comments … 8 syllables, or not. Maybe they don’t need to be “finished”.

Fib Minus 1 Poem Dump

1-
no
one
ever
said it would
be easy, but that’s life

2-
break
of
dawn when
light meets dark
dreams fade into mist

3-
storm
clouds
blossom
into view
slow, intentional

Fib Minus-2 Poem Dump

pale
moon
crescent

And…a Full Fib that didn’t make the cut.

when
truth
threatens
opinions
lies gain a foothold
distorting all reality

You get the picture. This week was a little scattered!

But most importantly, my lesson this week as a full time caretaker with a full time job is this: don’t forget to be kind and take care of yourself while you’re taking care of others. It’s a good reminder.

I’m so grateful, truly, for this oasis, where I can pour my thoughts out. Have a wonderful week.


ReVerse Poem - Sunday, 23 July 2023

wind whips through the trees
birds
emerge
out loud
the air lingering, flower blushed

what ails you?

~kat

Oh, and before I send this…an update on the Carolina Wren brood…it’s been one week since they emerged from their shells! Mom and dad have been stellar parents providing the chicks with plenty of bugs (it’s what’s on the menu). I managed to get a peak into the nest. We’re thinking four…maybe five hungry mouths to feed. One more week before they fledge… amazing!!!

Carolina Wren Chicks – one week old

ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday, 16 July 2023

I couldn’t decide this week. I liked several lines in each poem so I wrote two ReVerse poems…or maybe it is one poem with two stanzas with a refrain line in each stanza midway through. For that poem there was one clear favorite…waiting for answers…

That single line captures this past week for me. Actually we did get some answers this past week. Which has led to more question of course. But answers are always good, even if it’s not the answer you wanted or hoped for.

I hope next week is a good one for you. I haven’t decided what form I’m going to explore this coming week. Figure I’ll sleep on it and see what my dreams conjure up.

Peace, love and happiness to you and yours.


ReVerse Poem ~ Sunday, 16 July 2023

unwinding at dusk
spinning swirls of cream
it’s still dark outside
waiting for answers
flashes of as
maybe tomorrow…
rising from the loam

birdsong in the air
the sound of you leaving
when the alarm screams
waiting for answers
that rattle the walls
where dreams go to die
no relief from the heat

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) 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 ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.


A ReVerse Poem Sunday, 9 July 2023

Do you ever wonder if other generations faced times like these? The growing polarization, mass shootings, book banning, rewritten history, hatred, lies, lost rights and freedoms for certain groups, unprovoked conflicts, injustice…I’m sure there are more grievances to be listed here. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. But we humans have been around for eons. We have survived, plagues, unscrupulous leaders, civil wars, injustice, crusades, and the like before, and I dare say we will survive this chapter of our checkered history.

If you think this time is something new, it’s not really. A different cast of characters and situations perhaps but it’s the same fatal flaws that have plagued previous generations. We say that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. It’s simpler than that really. History repeats itself again and again because we are who we are. Humanity hasn’t changed much, just the scenery. So what does that say about us? Hang in there…don’t lose hope…we’ll get through this season. If history can repeat itself, so can our resiliency to emerge, to overcome and to thrive! Peace to you…we’ve got this!


A ReVerse Poem Sunday, 9 July 2023

I should take shelter but I’m transfixed
by an an invitation to pause, to breathe, to be
freedom for the chosen
at least to me it’s not a thing
a flash of crimson caught my eye
we say we miss the good old days
no amount of sun will burn this fog away

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) 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 ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.


A ReVerse Poem ~ 2 July 2023

What a surprising ReVerse this week, with so many things changing in our world. And not entirely for the better here in the U.S. Don’t worry, I’ll refrain from spelling that all out here. Those who are “woke” are experiencing lucid nightmares and those who aren’t are having wet dreams. Enough said.

At any rate, a lot of change is happening. Wildfires in Canada are sending smoke signals south of the border connecting us despite our attempts to set ourselves apart. We are humanity. One world. All of us reaping what we have sown. And in the midst of all this, life goes on. An update on the wren family who took up residence in my peace lily pot…we’re expecting…twins!!! I’ll keep you posted. Nature has not always been kind to the fledglings who got their start in the eaves and hollows around my house. We’re hoping for a healthy brood this time.

And I am hoping this post finds you happy, healthy, and hopeful. Never lose hope dear friends. Nature has a way of reminding us what is important if we forget.

Peace and happiness to you!

~kat


A ReVerse Poem ~ 2 July 2023

braced against winds of change
toes dug deep in sand where it’s cool
we breathe the same air
inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly
daubs of blood and nectar
eating up memory
making peace in the lily pot

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) 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 ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.


ReVerse Poem – Sunday, 25 June 2023

Something told me to wait a second week before attempting a reverse poem last Sunday. It was probably the Muse. I don’t give her enough credit. Though I’m ready to blame her for forsaking me. At any rate, the last few years have been a challenging season for us. Last year…the loss of four beloved fur family members. I still don’t feel I have grieved them properly, each one leaving so suddenly just a month or two out from each other.

This year started with a bang on December 31st…my wife’s health plunged considerably after major emergency back surgery, post op complications, and what now may be a chronic disability, having lost the use of her right leg. Life as we had planned, interrupted. Me, working a demanding full time job, while learning how to manage full time caretaking, our new one income budget and all the other household tasks…with grace. Honestly, it is only grace that has gotten me through this. Grace, and forcing myself to stop, to breath deeply often, and to write.

I would be a nutcase without this platform to spill my thoughts. You may have noticed that I have focused on short forms…micropoetry. Short does not always equate to easy. Some forms are structurally complex, but I take comfort in the boundaries imposed. It grounds me. Gets me into my head and out of thinking too hard about every what’s next scenario. We still don’t have conclusive answers…4 MRI’s, X-rays, CAT scans, ultrasounds in, and a few more specialists to see for third, fourth and fifth opinions. We just want a plan that moves us forward. The status quo is understandably not working for us.

All this to say, I am so grateful for this moment today. I baked a lovely Lemon Blueberry cake today. The house smells sweet and citrusy. There is a Carolina Wren pair nesting in my peace lily planter on the back porch, my other fur kids are content and happy. And the world is so very green, the wild blackberries are growing plump and dark on the vines. All this sustains me…sustains us as we traverse this challenge together. I can’t decide if this is the for better or for worse part …a little of both perhaps. I am learning it is not an either or condition. Life is not a rollercoaster if you take time to enjoy the wind tossing your hair.

And I just have to say…I’m so glad I gave today’s ReVerse an extra week to percolate. It is exquisite. A perfect snapshot of my brain. Makes me smile.

Peace, Love, and Good Health to you and yours. 🥰


ReVerse Poem - Sunday, 25 June 2023

the world blurs from view
before all doors were locked
her glance will pierce you through
adorned in gray, mourning
long held dreams, forsaking
sets tongues a-twittering
i know you well, your truths,
golden streams breaking through
but a breath away
amidst fleeting bursts of bliss
blue as insomnia
falling with every breath
I think too much about nothing, rent free
I write stories about them in my head
i heard from a friend who’s friends with a friend

~kat

A ReVerse poem (a practice I started many years ago) 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 ReVerse features the words of one writer, providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time.