Tag Archives: Shi Sai

May 24, 2020

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 24 May 2020

By Kat Myrman

It’s Memorial Day weekend in America. A time when we remember the sacrifice of those who gave their life in service to our country, specifically those who wore a uniform in military service. It is right and good that we do. That we set aside a day to remember, in gratefulness and awe, their sacrifice to protect the liberty and freedom, the right to pursue life and happiness, that we hold dear.

But I wonder, what is liberty and freedom in the days of Covid 19? What are our rights in this life of new normal? It’s not so much about rights, my rights, but rather what is right and good. I have been inspired these many weeks of sheltering in by a new army of selfless servants. The healthcare workers, the restauranteurs who cooked takeout, the grocery store workers, the mail carriers, delivery drivers, trash collectors, power company employees, the supply chain employees that kept essentials flowing and us, rolling in things like toilet paper…who knew that would be a thing? I wonder if the powers that be will designate a day in memory of these tireless heroes. Some gave their all…it is right that we do.

In the meantime, even as I remember our military heroes, I pause to honor these new heroes. I do it in small ways everyday…by thanking them, by being kind, and by wearing a mask when I am out to let them and others know that I care about keeping them safe. It’s the least I can do because freedom and liberty are not about my rights to pursue my own happiness to the exclusion of others. Freedom and liberty is not about my right to get a haircut, to have my nails done, to pack into corner pubs to have a drink, or to get in the face of others mask-less, spewing hatred and disdain, indignant that anyone would dare try to fence us in, to tell us what we can and cannot do. This is not freedom. Freedom and liberty only work when everyone is safe and well. Freedom is exemplified by those who gave their all, whether on distant shores in combat or on a very different battlefield in selfless care and concern for others. We’re not there yet. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever get there. But I know each of us can do our part. It’s what I choose to do. It’s the least I can do. I embrace my power to be kind, considerate, grateful, and in awe of the selfless heroes around me. What freedom! What liberty! What happiness!

Be safe and well my friends. Have a wonderful week!

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 24 May 2020

morning will be here before we know

air, cool misty, damp

into the empty

bare limbs brushing the clay

finding joy in quiet moments,

in the eye of the storm

~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. I use it as a review of the previous week.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

May 17, 2020

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 May 2020

By Kat Myrman

It’s been a good week here in the foothills. We have three new Phoebe chicks nesting just under the eave of our house. My peace lily has four blooms…FOUR! That’s a first for me. The money tree is thriving. Got tomatoes and cucumber plants sprouting in a little back porch garden, the roses are blooming, blackberry buds are emerging, the weeds are blooming, clover is abundant, including a dozen or more four leafers, and I saw my first woodpecker! I’ve been on this earth over 60 years and never saw one in person until this week! And I actually had time to start reading a book. Oh my…a book!

It’s the little things, isn’t it? The little insignificant things that we missed when we were so busy going here and there, working from dawn to dusk in windowless cubicles and offices, the hours spent commuting, stuck in traffic. The virus has been disruptive, terrifying and devastating, but it has also forced us to slow down. And if we are wise, we take a moment to notice. Just notice. The little things will do the rest. They’ve been there all along waiting for you.

Have a week filled with little things my friends. Stay safe, stay healthy…peace.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 May 2020

I remember every first moment
i am like the wind
everything is gray
head in the heavens
I don’t need a new normal
diminutive perfection

~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. I use it as a review of the previous week.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

May 10, 2020

Another Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 10 May 2020

By Kat Myrman

It is week…oh I don’t know. Pick a number, 1 to 100, it doesn’t matter, any number will do, because the weeks run together now. No Monday morning angst when a day is like the one before, or the next. No hump day celebrations, anticipations of TGIF, no weekends, no Sunday day of rest. There is only sunrise and sunset, sunrise…sunset…sunrise…sunset.

If ever there was a time to learn to breathe, it is now. If ever a time to cherish the moment, to fall into the abyss of mindfulness, it is this. Sunlight streaming, a cool breeze tossing emerald treetops, the sparkle of dawn’s first light.

They call it the new normal, but I don’t want to be normal anymore. I’ve had a taste of the life I once left behind working overtime week after week after week, forgetting that I had a life once, or could have if only I had made room for it.

They are a gift, these blurry days that never seem to end but for the relentless cadence of day into night into day into night and again. I breathed just now, slow, deep, inhaling, exhaling. Truth. I am learning, with nowhere to be, that here is all I need and now is all that matters.

Have a lovely now my friends…look! There goes a butterfly.

Another Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 10 May 2020

when we reflect on how it was
dawn emerging through the trees
it took a tragedy for our broken hearts to mend
i can’t help myself, it’s an obsession, yes, i know
but I’m not sure they’re who they claim
there’s no sleeping in, no lingering
day after day, and instinct

~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. I use it as a review of the previous week.

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

May 3, 2020

Sunday’s Week in Reverse – 3 May 2020

By Kat Myrman

When I was researching yesterday’s poem I learned a thing or two about passerines. (AKA: perching birds or songbirds. Passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by the arrangement of their toes (three pointing forward and one back), which facilitates perching.) That robust singing you hear at dawn, especially in spring, and sometimes well before dawn, is produced with great effort and prowess by the males only. These lusty gents sing to let the world know that they survived another night, to establish their territory, and ultimately to woo a mate. I never knew that. Now you do too!

But what does that have to do with this morning’s ReVerse. It’s simple…simply this..every morning, if we are fortunate enough to see another day, we should do as the passerines do. Breathe deeply and sing heartily, “I made it through another night, I am here, let’s get on with living life!”

Normally, in addition to choosing lines from the week’s poems, I choose a favorite graphic as well. Today you get an original snapshot! I could not ignore the magnificent show this morning as the sun crested the mountain just outside my window. The sun seemed to be echoing the message of today’s ReVerse. “You made it through another night, you are here…get on with living life!”

These days when the days meld into weeks, into months it’s a good thing to pause as the sun is rising, to breathe, to embrace the moment, or better yet, let the moment embrace you, before heading off to do whatever it is you do, holding the memory of dawn to reflect upon throughout the day when the hours blur. It is good to pause to remember you survived another dark night and you are here. Celebrate it!

Sunday’s Week in Reverse – 3 May 2020

scent of blossoms on the breeze
pleasures stolen now and then,
won’t send a soul to hell
golden sunlight streaming
you have nothing to fear
the world stopped spinning,
life stopped living
imagine it with me
dawn’s first light, a symphony

~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. I use it as a review of the previous week.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review

April 26, 2020

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 26 April 2020

By Kat Myrman

Another Sunday, another week ahead, work from my home office/bedroom. I am grateful to be working. I am grateful for this shelter to shelter in, I am grateful that those whom I hold dearest on this earth have remained thus far untouched from the virus and are safe.

But oh, it is wearying to live with danger lurking just beyond the door. I wonder what will become of us if we break quarantine too soon. I wonder if it’s just a matter of time before we all get the virus. I wonder what life will be like on the other side, because the truth is, we’re just biding our time, doing the best we can, until this is over.

This has been a crash course in living in the moment, because that is all any of us truly have. I’m grateful for this moment. I’ve taken up a new practice. When I cannot sleep, I don’t count sheep; I count my blessings one by one. They offer me a glimmer of hope even on the darkest of nights.

Peace all! Keep safe. Stay well.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 26 April 2020

sometimes I see it flash as I pass by
the changing tide, the ceiling cracking
a veritable lament
the wind sighs
normal’s not normal anymore
unless you’ve been living underneath a rock
there beneath the juniper tree
the night looms black

~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. I use it as a review of the previous week.

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Week in Review