Tag Archives: Week in Review

July 8, 2018

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 8 July 2018

By Kat Myrman

Well Happy Sunday. At least I hope yours is happy. The world has been quite dramatic. So many lives are hanging in the balance. There was a small victory for detained children at the US border (or wherever they are now….seems our Government has lost a few hundred of them). The courts found in their favor, ordering the Feds to reunite all the families within 30 days, 14 days for ‘tender-aged children. The government is already asking for an extension. Are you surprised? I’m not.

Meanwhile, football lovers the world over anticipate the final battles between teams that have risen to the top in their quest for the World Cup.

And then there are the young Thai players trapped from a spelunking excursion gone wrong, who have begun the treacherous journey from the wet bowels a mountain while the world watches and waits for good news…and monsoon rains loom. And speaking of hanging in the balance the US holds their breath while Trump tries to fast track the installment of his second narrow-minded pick for the Supreme Court; a selection sure to set the progressive course of this nation back 70 years or more.

World weather is hot, very hot and stormy. And the Brits can expect a visit from our not so great leader in the coming week. Please keep him, will you? We need a break from the maddening dissolution of our union. But I can tell you my British friends, we should not accept anything of substance from this meeting where one of the parties is not in their right mind. We’re already seeing the fallout from the Trump-Kim Summit. Full denuclearization you say? The terms were obviously spun in the translation. And then there is Vlad waiting in the wings to commiserate with his loyal puppet, our Colluder-in-Chief, post NATO. You just can’t make this shit up. Not even in our wildest imaginations does any of this feel real. But it is.

And if this all reads a bit like headlines, I can assure you, some of these sound bites are tearing my heart in two. Maybe I thought listing a few of the major events, in a matter-of-fact fashion, might take the sting away. It doesn’t.

At any rate it was a busy week, more busy-ness to come. If today’s reverse seems a bit disjointed, I suppose it’s understandable. The heat is on. Boy, is it ever! Because so much is happening I’m taking on headlines for my daily Terza Rima Poetry Challenge this week. See you next Sunday. Peace to you on your journey.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 8 July 2018

the foundlings were lost
waves rising from pavement, hot, smelling of oil
in sweltering shaded hollows, creatures keep
darkness, softly creeping
into an ocean spilling over…
odd ducks in a row
raindrops suspended
rush of rain drops plopping, puddles deep
there was a broken link in the chain.
stale air swirls in darkening rooms
they sought freedom / a better life
seconds to minutes the hours tic slow
“thank you for your service…”
cold front a-brewing, thunder rumbling low
the goal…not dying
alchemy of blue and yellow
prisoners of shade, at long last, set free
season of blossoms
as if it’s not wasted
devoured by the day
madness, a symphony

~kat

A 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 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, Shi Sai, Week in Review

July 1, 2018

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 1 July 2018

By Kat Myrman

I’ve stopped saying, “things can’t get any worse,” because invariably they do, and did again this week. (I won’t bore you with the details. You know.) It means, of course, that we haven’t hit rock bottom. Not yet. And that’s a sobering, terrifying thought. The world has gone mad. It feels like we’re all passengers on a runaway train heading for a wall and there is nothing we can do to stop it. It makes me wonder if things really have to get worse before they get better, or if the night really is darkest before the dawn. Stupid platitudes…

Sometimes I think, “I’m in no hurry for the dawn. I’m perfectly fine pulling the covers up to my neck, and sleeping through that dark dawn phase. Wake me up when it’s over,” as they say. It’s no fun pulling an all nighter sober. And waking up to meet the dawn is a scary prospect. Who knows what the hell we will find when the consequences of our lunacy are revealed in the light of day.

And yet…I know you were waiting for that “and yet”. Well, I got nothing this week. There is no “and yet” this week in retrospect to tide us over until it’s over.

All I can offer you in the midst of this chaos is a hint into how I’m managing with a plug for living in the moment and remembering to breathe. Both are important elements of survival. It’s all we have; a fragile lifeline holding us while everything crumbles into oblivion around us.

I can tell you I had moments this past week. A smile from a stranger, lemon merengue pie, a glimpse of the full moon in all her glory, getting to know our new puppy, fireflies, today’s ReVerse. That’s how I do it folks. I suspect that’s how we all manage to get through each day. And that other thing? Breathing? Be sure you take a moment to give breathing your all. Close your eyes and just do it. You won’t regret it. The dawn will wait for you to exhale.

Peace y’all. Peace.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 1 July 2018

crystalline stillness,
everything I can’t remember
not scheduled
how bitter the blow
daylight slips away
Death coming to call
ground a muddy mess
bird on cable line
a pittance for lauds
with a few lyrics yet to write
from sleepless tides of lunacy
the wind feeds not our bellies but our souls
who will keep them safe
sometimes we must reach,
justice cannot come
from atop his lush throne
in the beginning
dew diamonds misting
garden, honey drunk,
still, they danced
never fading…

~kat

A 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 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.

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

June 24, 2018

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 24 June 2018

By Kat Myrman

It’s a new day and with it, a new opportunity to leave a positive impact in the tiny space you inhabit here. As so many are, this past week was a roller coaster of emotional drama playing out on the world stage. People in the U.S. are beginning to wake up to the atrocities and lies being perpetrated by our government. Being woke is a good thing, of course, but with it comes responsibility and frustration too.

It can feel as if the solutions to our problems are too big or impossible to solve. Of course this can lead to feelings of hopelessness. But we can counter those feelings with tiny acts of good right where we are at. It may not feel like we’re doing enough, but I can tell you, it is more than enough when added to the tiny acts of others who fight the urge to give up and let their own little light shine.

As for me…this week, when faced with the horrible situation at my county’s southern border I did my little part. I wrote about it, contacted my congressmen, contributed to an organization devoted to reuniting families…and, while I hadn’t planned it, found myself presented with an opportunity to save a life. Here is the little life that presented herself to me …

In her short life this little soul has suffered so much. She was dumped at a “kill shelter” (that’s an oxymoron if I ever saw one…) with her three puppies. Yes, at one year of age she had already had puppies, while a puppy herself. A rescue group saved them and contacted us with a request…”would you consider adopting this little girl?”

This week, when all my little actions felt like they were not enough, it was as if the universe was letting me in on a very big secret. As big and as powerful as the ocean is, it is made of tiny drops of water, the earth is made of specks of dust and a blizzard, millions of snowflakes. And sometimes, sometimes, the tiniest thing can make a huge impact.

How could I say no when this little opportunity arrived. Granted I am not changing the world and all its ills, but I did save a life this week. Her name is Gabriel, Gabby for short. Named for an archangel who just happens to be a patron for children and mothers, and writers, communicators and artists (I discovered this AFTER we named her…synchronicity at work? I love it!). Perfection. She is the angel that helped me see that doing what we can, where we are, no matter how small, is more than enough.

Have a great week. Do what you can to make your corner of world brighter, better. If we all do our tiny part, we will overcome the darkness by letting our little lights shine!

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 24 June 2018

when walls aren’t talking
all it takes is people
so alive…
don’t look behind
i have watched you
when innocence roars
where are the babies
gloaming in the wings
routine ‘midst chaos
righteous cries of the innocent
submerged in pellucid pools
heaven’s tears

~kat

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

June 17, 2018

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 June 2018

By Kat Myrman

I realized that I started two of my magnetic poems this week with the phrase “there is no sanctuary”. It was completely accidental, or perhaps it was subliminal. I think it was most likely the latter. I have felt helpless against the recent atrocities perpetrated by my government on innocent people in my name as an American, and now most egregiously in the name of God as well. We are learning more and more about the Trump/Sessions’ “Zero Tolerance” agenda for those crossing our southern borders; the horrors experienced by families seeking asylum in the U.S.; children being ripped from their parents’ arms and shipped to holding facilities, some even lost in the system. A system that uses intimidation and fear to dissuade people from coming here. And now we have a president who is using these innocent children as ransom for his ludicrous border wall.

To be honest, I don’t know what to do. I made a contribution to a legal defense group who is working to reunify families at our southern border. I’ve contacted my senators and congressman. I’ve voiced my concern in poetry, and by linking to help organizations on social media. But I still feel helpless.

And the thing that disturbs me the most is the continued complicity, even support for this president and his ilk from so-called christians who put these monsters in office in the first place. How can they still support an agenda that serves the rich with massive tax cuts that most of us will never see; an agenda that is intent on destroying health care for all, most especially the poor, the sick (in the repeal of pre-existing conditions coverage), and the elderly; an agenda that would like nothing more than to cut off all “entitlement programs” to pay for the massive tax breaks bestowed upon the rich; an agenda that has no respect for the care of our environment, seeing only profit in selling off our precious natural resources to the highest bidder; an agenda that cares more about supporting the gun lobby and its small base of gun enthusiasts, than for the children and others who die from gun violence in increasingly alarming numbers; an agenda that disrespects our international allies while schmoozing with dictators and terrorists…sadly, I could go on, but I won’t. It is too, too much.

But I also refuse to be silent anymore. Fair warning to you Trumpsters. Don’t tell me “all” politicians lie, don’t tell me Hilary would’ve been worse (she lost, we’ve gotten over it…it’s time for you to get over it too), don’t tell me Obama was the worst president in history; dont tell me the Russia investigation is a sham and a witch hunt (20 indictments does not a baseless witch hunt make); don’t tell me christians are being persecuted and that you need laws to protect your rights; don’t tell me it’s good that we are now putting America first. That is not who we are. It has never been who we are. And please for the love of all that is right and good and true, stop using your god to justify your hate, misogyny, prejudice, racism, and privilege. While I may have tempered my angst and outcry the past few years to play nice with you…I’m over it. Stop your whining and suggestion that I should give Trump a chance. I am declaring a “no tolerance” policy on your bullshit. Your actions have put evil in charge and your ignorance and complicity keep them there. It’s time for you to own it.

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 17 June 2018

in simplicity
never ending rain
nightmares fading to dust
there is no sanctuary
eyes deep as pools
greet the dawn,
power feeds on souls
yet we save for eulogies,
midst a tyrant’s oppression
burdens we carry
to be livable
we have lost our souls
when god was love
heavy with tears

~kat

A 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 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.

13 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Reverse Poem, Shi Sai, Social Issues, Spirituality, Week in Review

June 3, 2018

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 3 June 2018

By Kat Myrman

Happy Sunday. I’m on vacation this week, on “holiday” as some of you call it. I haven’t vacationed in years, using my allotted paid vacation days taking care of my partner post-back surgery, or my daughter post-c-section after the birth of my youngest granddaughter. I hardly know how to act or what to do with myself, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out just it in time for my re-entry back to work.

I like this week’s ReVerse. It’s an easy read…the perfect way to start my week of leisure. I’ll post at least once daily, but I have limited WiFi here. That’s a good thing I believe, forcing me to unplug.

Have a lovely week then. For now, I have an appointment with the screened-in porch with a view of the lake and a cool breeze! ❤️

Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 3 June 2018

the sunlight’s soft, muted, no shadows to swoon
scent of blossoms, earthy musk
…a sweet time
in a dusting of dirt…
ironic, how greatness has become our undoing
you know I’ve always dreamed of it
rollicking mirth
nudging closer, closer
i am persuaded
liberated souls gather
flush of the morning
rooted deep, prevailing,
a thousand diamonds
outside my window
find me there

~kat

A 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 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.

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