Tag Archives: week in Reverse

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 21 May 2017


I’m not sure what to make of this week’s ReVerse. It started out so sweet, twisting into darkness but in the end, a glimmer of hope.

It’s rather like looking into a mirror. Sometimes our best intentions go awry. Sometimes when we think we’re doing the right thing for all the right reasons we realize the reasons become more important than the right thing.

I apologize if all this seems a bit nonsensical. I don’t mean for it to be. One thing I do know for certain. There is always hope. No matter how dark things get. No matter how bleak the prospect of overcoming the impossible seems, there is hope for healing and restoration.

And if things don’t eventually work out as you hoped they would, there is grace in tiny doses to help you through your dark night of soul. There is always grace.

We are complicated beings. It’s true, we sometimes appear to be one extreme or the other…good or bad, dark or light. I suppose the honest truth of being authentic means recognizing that we have the propensity for both sides. It is the stinging stark reality of looking in the mirror and seeing ourselves as flawed that leads us to the greatest revelation of all. And eventually to grace, forgiveness and healing. Not from some ethereal other, but from ourselves. Only then can we find it in ourselves to love others truly, unconditionally. Only then.

Peace, love and healing to you this week. Be gentle with yourself. ❤️

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 21 May 2017

She cares for us always
Pure Love feels like this
She glanced at the glass of water
la femme bête noire
nested they, in great arch-trees
when you are at a crossroad
…it was bedlam
Something sweet, but not too sweet.
leave mothering to others
fools with no conscience
always open to healing

~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.


Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 14 May 2017

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It is Mother’s Day in many parts of the world. If you are a mother, I wish you a wonderful day. You deserve to be loved and honored. If you are missing your mother I wish you warm memories, healing, and grace. And if you are a child or mother whose relationship is fractured, I wish you hope and reconciliation.

Life is complicated isn’t it? So complicated and so fleeting. How many minutes, how many hours do we spend each day worrying, working to survive, taking up space, wasting time? How many breaths do we consciously take…how many moments do we savor?

I am woefully caught up in the whirlwind of life’s distractions. I spend most of my days in a an oblivious, vapid haze. My existence is a breathless blur. Each day is like a bulbous speck of mercury colliding into the blob of previously squandered days. But it doesn’t have to be.

Being present is hard. Sometimes it’s painful. But it is also what frees us from the blur. A single moment of mindfulness can open the door to wonder, gratitude, peace, and healing. It is balm for our fading souls.

Of course, when I get to thinking about all this I always resolve to do better, to be better at being present in the moment. I’ve been through this head-talk enough times to know that even my intent is a fleeting wisp of hot air. But every now and again a moment catches me unaware and I am captivated. Another memory blooms from the sludge.

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. As for myself, I need reminding…

Breathe in deeply, slowly; savor the moment. Smile at your incredible fortune to be alive right here, right now. Exhale even more slowly. Let go. You are magnificent. You are a miracle. You are living proof of grace. This moment is everything.

And here’s the thing. There is nothing stopping you from having another moment and another. So go ahead. The cares of the world can wait. You know you want to…breathe…

Love and Peace to you…

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 14 May 2017

dawn rustles beneath
when the heat is on
some find comfort in it’s warmth
fleeting as a blink
but dreams die hard…
…and i smile though my heart is sad
needing no imprimatur
draw me like one of your French dogs
don’t ask me why.

~kat


Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 6 May 2017


It’s the first weekend in May after a busy week on the world front. Sometimes I wish I could live each day blissfully oblivious to current events; wrapped up in friends, family and fun stuff. You know, the everyday normal that is possible because you know you have elected good, decent people to be in charge of managing the workings of our government, and the details that make our society civil.

Occasionally I do have weeks where I can do that. Where no one has gone over the edge, taking innocent people with them, where my job is secure, where everyone close to me is happy and healthy, no drama, where I actually manage to get some sleep at night.

This was not one of those weeks. I wish I didn’t care, but I do. The people who voted for this are likely not paying attention. Their engagement ended the minute they cast their vote. But for those of us who feel compelled to be involved and part of the process, who take democracy and “we the people” seriously, this was not a good week.

In times like this I need to remind myself that we, the collective we, have survived other weeks like this; darker times than what we are witnessing today. But even if I post happy pictures, flowers or kittens on social media, even if I smile and wave at the neighbors, even if I laugh and engage in happy conversations, never crossing over into anything deeper than the weather, my mind is burdened with truth and reality’s heavy presence and I know that I am lying when I say, “I’m fine.

I’m not fine. Things are not fine. But no one wants to hear that. So I post pictures of flowers and kittens and smiley faces.

Have a great week. Not lying. I really hope you do.

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 6 May 2017

forget the pain | and hopefully,forgive ourselves
it’s the magic of poetry
one moment, she’s warm and bright
Making all that racket, crapping everywhere!
the elusive missing link,
verdant roots planted in soil
a beautiful sunset spoilt
embrace with your heart
dreams of girls aching

~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.


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.