Weeping Willow ~Courtesy of Sheep Purple

The Weeping Willow sings a somber song
Of distant seasons long past gone
Of present moments seeming far too long…
Of lovers gazing into each other’s eyes
Perhaps returning with sad goodbyes
Of mothers wishing upon far away stars
For safe return of sons and daughters in wars
Of fathers praying please send him home
Alive and well; safe from harm.

As I sat beneath the old willow tree,
I watch the children play freely
A priceless price was paid to watch them run
And jump, and skip beneath the sun
I know a war is over there…
But in my world war is everywhere
The war of boys who think they’re men
Killing neighbors’ sons; even their own kin
Senseless violence with no meaning…
Communities too afraid or complacent to intervene

Teens toting guns like boys with toys
No one’s brave or angry enough to make some noise
For every young man killed in Iraq
Might be two or three fallen around my block
Not for the freedoms we believe we know
But it’s the same old story; just a different show
Ego tricked minds taking what they feel is there’s
In Love and War, they say all is fair…
Youth brainwashed to take what’s not
The bigger the weapon, the bigger the lot

Gently, old Weeping Willow sways to and fro
Shedding dew drop tears for us below…
So here I sit under old Weeping Willow Tree
As she weeps good will for humanity
Lovingly we send a prayer with the passing wind…
God bring our children safely back home again….
And, if it’s not too much and in your plan
Please instill more love into the hearts of man

~Written by CordieB.

speaking of joy by ~marielliott

I am the soft tickle of bubbles blown in the air
I am the wind gently billowing through each strand of your hair
I am the lucky discovery of a lone four-leaf clover
I am the ecstasy of the first kiss from a new-found lover
I am the the amazed eyes upon the first look…
Of newborn babe, straight from mommy’s nook

I am the amused, confused on a roller coaster ride
I am the quiet majestic of the ascending tide
I am sweet rain gently falling to the ground
I am the whispers of the leaves heard without  sound
I am that which comes so often; yet we don’t understand…
the blessed dawn, as sunlight blankets the land

I’m seen in the stars, shining ever so bright
I’m heard in the voices of lovers each night
I’m felt in the kiss of a rose on a nose…
and the sweet, sweet aroma of that fragrant rose

I am laughter on hindsight of not going berserk
I am a hug and fresh sheets after a long day’s work;
The sun peaking through the clouds after a pouring rain storm
The rainstorm after a drout of love transformed
I’m more valuable than all riches, and everything
I exist in the little things and what they bring

I am the sensation of a Popsicle on a hot summer’s day
I am the innocence of life and love in children’s play
I am an Angel, often found in the eyes of a girl or a boy
I am most mystical, not egotistical, yet so simplistical…
I am….. (click below for riddle answer)

The Spirit of Joy

–Yes.  I made up that word, “simplistical”  lol.  So, tell me, what brings You Joy???  I’d love to know.

Peace, Light and Love, CordieB.

This Riddle was inspired by Simply Snicker’s Poetry Prompt. This weeks words:   Angel, Amazed, and Amused.

Quote for the Day:  It’s the little things…and the joy they bring ~India Arie

Art – Tree of life,  By Keith Haring ,  1985

The following poem was written in response to Simply Snicker’s  poetry prompt.  This week’s (Through May 10th) prompt prompts us to use the words, Jeer , Jump and Just in our poems. 

Also, we are celebrating the life of American pop artist Keith Haring , who was born on May 4, 1958.  A sample of his wonderful art is shown above.   Also, visit his site.  He was a most wonderful artist.

In light of the light-hearted, yet meaningful and deeply spiritual,  nature of Keith Haring’s art. .. I thought I’d try a little light hearted poetry to accompany his work.  Of course a spiritual lesson is spinned in the words too–I think.  Anywho…

Jump Back Juicy

Jump back Juicy, have no fear

Just becuz they jab and jeer

can’t you see the time is near…

when yo eyes seez crystal clear

Jump back Juicy, dry those eyes

look into the bright blue skys

nature’s bout to make allies

of those boys who make you cry

Jump back Juicy; have no doubt

You’ze about to step on out

You’ze beginning now to sprout

Ain’t no need to worry bout

Nothin that those boys a saying

they just boys who likes a playing

pretty soon they be prayin

for the comfort of yo laying…

Jump back Juicy, let’s go play

it’s another pretty day

Picked you flowers round the way

What’s yo real name anyway…?

~Written by CordieB.

Quote for Today:   All things blossom in due time.  ~CordieB.

I have a feeling you are in the mist of blossoming right now~  Just you wait and see!

Peace, Light and Love. . . CordieB.

I can spread like wild fires

From one to another

I’m highly contagious

Among family, sisters and brothers

I spread oblivious, at times paralyzing dread

Among unwitting lovers

Many fall so easily for me

Instead of falling for love

Leaving their souls in disharmony

minds and bodies devoid of

natural defenses; protection thereof

If one soul is infected

I can spread to the mass

I have no preference or penchant

to any race, creed or class

I multiply and mutate

With a mere, whispered suggestion

I frequently blow up to pandemonium..

becoming wide-spread infection

I can began as a simple idea

Quickly manifesting into reality

a mere negative thought passed on

is how I’m always first conceived

Deceptive; I am never what I appear

I am the root of all evil,

I am the spirit of fear…

Written by CordieB.

————————

Fellow blogger, phaelosopher, so clearly reminds us in his recent artlce, “A Matter of Choice, The Power of Fear or Love on Swine Flu .. that…

Love lifts the spirits, and with the lifting of the spirit comes an increase in life force energy within our entire being. These are not simply flowery woo woo proclamations.

Placing ourselves in a loving attitude has a calming, harmonizing effect on our cell physiology. It also increases circulation and has a structuring effect on the water that flows within the body, and the organizing effect on the energy field that flows around, and extends beyond it. This produces and enhances a field around us that ultimately influences what happens to us — what we actually experience — from one moment to the next.  More…

Freedom by  ~tatsu-subaru   ©2008-2009

There is a certain sadness one often feels when one has to relinquish control;

The sadness of a dying past…allowing the present to replace the old;

There is a certain anguish in realizing our grasp must be broken;

Like watching our children leave the nest…our real fears are seldom spoken…

Because we know that some of our desires die with our letting go;

But let go we must …in order that love ones can blossom and grow

So, our selfish motivations to hold our love ones near…

is often miscommunicated with sadness, anguish and fear…

If we truly love someone we must encourage them to be

Uniquely themselves by  ensuring they are free…

from our insecurity based limitations which may hinder their flight…

Open the window!  Allow love ones to find their true light!
~~Written by CordieB

The Measurement of a Man Lies in His Heart

When you can keep composure and know just what to do
While others are loosing theirs; while blaming it on you
When you can believe in self, when others say you can’t
Yet still love those others, regardless of negative affirmant

When you can remain patient without growing too weary of the wait
When you can make the best of dire circumstances  come what may
And realize your part; not blame others or blame fate
When being hated by others doesn’t cause you to practice hate
And evil deeds upon you is not dealt with in evil retaliate

When being lied about  doesn’t cause you to become a liar
and yet not believe or boast on being the the better or the wiser
When you can dream and not become a perpetual daydreamer
When you can solicit assistance without resorting to being a schemer
When you can think, while not being obsessed with your thoughts
When you can admit to mistakes without having been caught
When you can accept criticism without pointing fingers back
And not take all criticism as a personal attack
When you can summon courage in the mist of paralyzing fears
When you are not afraid to cry; as strength often comes with tears

When you can face disaster and triumph just the same
realizing they are one–just with a different name
When you can risk it all in the investment of a dream
loose it all; but not loose faith and start all over again
Keeping life in perspective, never bothering to complain

When you can walk in a crowd of evil, yet still keep your virtue
When you can not loose sight of the goodness within you
When you can have abundance, yet not forget from where you came
When you can be tied in bondage, yet your freedom still remains

When you can learn life’s lessons in all that come and go
Not ever falsely thinking you know all there is to know
When you can give all you can, still knowing when to say no
Realizing true friends count with you; not simply take and go

When you can give from the heart to those less fortune than self
And not measure richness on material wealth
When you can love, realizing love may not be returned the same
Then you shall possess a gift held in the heart of a real man
When you can realize the powers you so blessedly possess
Knowing with God’s Grace comes unique responsibilities
When you can converse with royalty with wisdom inner borne
And also communicate with beggars, realizing we are all of one
then life will start revealing light like a distant rising sun
And when you strive to master these truths, you shall be a man, my son

–Written especially for Sam, my wonderful son , pictured above.  Sam is 16.  I imagine you remember being 16 . . . no need to say more. . . lol

Inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s “If”

Mother and Daughter Relationship ~CordieB

Imagine if You Will . . .

If all little girls were loved by their mothers . . .

If all little boys were loved by their dads . . .

Perhaps the world would be a better place, perhaps?

Is this not how the Bible teaches us that God loves us,

Yet .  . .the world is not a better place.

Why? 

Because for love to be effective in making our world better, there must be a relationship.

A relationship involves relating–communicating, and sharing of ourselves others.

Love from afar without any form of relationship bonding

is about as ineffective in making the world a better place as hatred.

Are not we all made of God? . . . Is God not inherit in each of us?

In order that we build a loving relationship with God, we must build relationships with ourselves and other human beings.

We must build  loving relationships with inhabitants of the Earth. 

Not to a far away supreme being in the sky.

~~Written by CordieB.

So full of mannishness, quite an impressive brave boy! 

He worshiped mom and dad; second only to his toys… 

that sparked imagination; making him noble like his dad.

His sword he proudly made himself; his armor, titan clad.

He knew he had a job to do; he had to do this on his own; 

for mom and dad were fast asleep; into the woods, he’d crept alone… 

to stop a fire breathing dragon from evading his family’s peaceful home. 

He practiced sorcery faithfully for weeks before this fateful eve! 

Although he feared the dragon’s fire; he knew he could not leave. 

He had to ensure this beast would not blow the house with fire… 

And so with magic titan sword in hand, he tipped into the mire. 

Although his skills were excellent on his Xbox 360, 

He knew an actual defeat might prove a bit more tricky!

As he moved deeper into the woods, near the beaver dam, 

he saw the dragon lying down, but upon closer exam . . . 

he realized the dragon was almost fast asleep… 

Suddenly the dragon opened one eye and surprisingly began to weep! 

"Oh boy, why must you slay me?  I mean no harm to you!" 

"I have no friends in this world, and wandered here to you." 

The boy swiftly stopped the sword in mid air, it would have pierced dragon’s lung!

Boy and Dragon began talking and playing; having lots of fun!

And that’s how a lifetime friendship of boy and dragon first begun.

~A CordieB Fable.

~Written for Rick Mob’s image promt for stories or poems sparked by the wonderful art above and for the artist’ brave son, Brodus .

The morals of this story: 

1.  Bullys are usually just reaching out for friendship! 

2.  Dragons and Boys can be friends too!  They just need to communicate!

3.  Fear can oftentimes cause our imagination to get the best of us.

Cordieb and BabyCocoa

I’m reposting this due to an interesting blog posting I read today on RawDawgB’s blog, entititled, "When the grandmomma’s gone "   Now, if you’ve been blogging with me for some time, you will know that I judge people for themselves, not based on color, religion, sex, or anything else.  But this topic is based on stats – and I’d appreciate any feedback you might offer, no matter your race, creed, or nationality.  Please be frank and honest with your opinions; however any opinion that are based on racisim or hatred will be deleted as they were on the first posting.  Peace, Light and Love . . . . CordieB. 

Why is it that African-American women tend to take care of their extended families and non-families more so than our caucasion sisters.   I visited my Aunt (who is 70+)  last weekend, and was amused, as always, at her streangth and her many stories of days gone by.  While I was there, two of her great- grand children were preparing to eat.   Now, my aunt, who is 70+ has raised her children, some of her grand children; and now – God bless her soul, she is raising two of her great grands!  These children are still in elementary school!   She receives very little assistance, –other than finacial help from her son who lives with her.    Most of the physical and emotional tolls all fall on her.  This same woman took care of my grand mother when she became too old to care for herself.  She would not have ever thought of putting Granny in a nursing home.  She took care of me when my mother passed away  (And I thank her for it).  She has taken in so many people with hard luck situations, and hardly ever complains.  But what’s so amazing about her is that she is the norm among African-American woman 50 years of age and older.  Now, some may feel that this is a myth or a belief that is not based on fact.   I made this observation based upon people whom I’ve encountered (my family, my friends)– and true enough, there are studies that show this to be true -  see below: 

Goodman and Silverstein (2001) found that compared to grandmothers of other ethnic groups, African American grandmothers were more likely to have more life satisfaction and lower negative affect. However, further empirical research has pointed to other reasons that suggest the issue of grandparents as caregivers for their grandchildren is especially relevant for African Americans. In the United States, the largest percentages of children living in a grandparent headed household are African American (Pebley & Rudkin, 1999; Pinson-Millburn & Fabian, 1996; Fuller-Thompson & Minkler, 2000; Caputo, 2001). Studies have found that compared to White grandparents who are caregivers to their grandchildren, African American parenting grandparents are more likely to be unemployed, live below the poverty line, and have more grandchildren for whom they provide care (Sands & Goldberg-Glen, 2000). Similarly, others have found that living beneath the poverty line, being African American, and being single raises the probability of becoming a grandparent who is a caregiver to their grandchildren (Roe & Minkler, 1998). Fuller-Thompson

To read the entire study, see http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/tlmills/pub/Mills%20Publications/Mills,%20Gomez%20Smith%20&%20DeLeon_Grandparents.pdf

If you read the whole report you will see that among grandmothers raising grandchildren, African-American grandmothers make up for 69 percent of the total. 

Now back to the question.  Why?  I have more than a few answers of my own, but the best one that I can give is because we are expected to. 

Now expecting a 70 year to raise an elementary school aged child is nothing to brag about–in fact it is ludicrous.  I find  this type of expectation is what oftentimes leaves whole generations without proper guidance and discipline.   Where are the mothers? God only knows where the fathers are.  What are we teaching our children when we give them the expectation that we will always be there for them and for their’s-no doubt.  How many borderline unfit mothers would straighten up if we threatened to call social services and not do the work ourselves? 

Now I know that I might pee a lot of my beautiful people off by saying this; afterall – it’s not only that we are expected, we also have those spiritual virtues of love, caring, and being responsible for others who are less fortunate. 

However, love sometimes has to be learned the hard way.  Caring means, sometimes no matter how hard it might be, we step back and let our children or friends actually pass the grade and not do the work for them.   By doing the work for them, we are making  a contribution to a new generation of ignorance and complacency.

The Bible says, give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. 

There is a difference between helping and "enabling."    Enabling is a term that I, until recently, only associated with addiction.  However, when we allow self sufficient adults to become totally dependent upon us, we are not helping them at the least.   In fact, we are enabling them to become addicted to a cycle of dependency.

We can’t stop this cycle overnight.  But we can stop it by gradually putting our foot down and not allowing people to make so many unhealthy and unloving demands on us. 

We have to again teach our children and our neigbors self-sufficency by providing tough love–that which will have lasting and significant assistance. 

Peace, Light and Love. . . CordieB

I am a cool mist alikend to a newborn baby’s breath -
softly blowing against your ears
I am the cup that catches your blood to endless depths
It is I who eases your silent fears;

I am a fountain of knowledge and wisdom; . .
I am with you from beginning till end
I am a blissfull vase full of mystery and wonderment
I am strong, yet I easily bend

I have the essense of the morning’s first dew
Like the spring’s first warm rain
It is I to whom the birds first sing at the break of dawn
I’m the mystery of midnight - yet I am not vain.

I watch over you in your travels
and pray wishes of wellness many times
You feel my sweet presense along your journey
Even through eternal space and time . . .

I bring laughter and happiness to you often
I can warm your heart with a smile
I have the fragrant alure of morning’s sweet honysicle
Come sat by my side for a while . . .

I often sat back and watch you in wonderment
Always loving througout the ages
But the essense of my real beauty
Lies in the joy in the children’s faces

I taste like sweet cotton candy dipped in lemon juice
My eyes were created to reflect peace and seduce . .
I’m easily chilled like snow flakes on the last rose of summer;
I’m remnescent of the last vision seen before slumber.

I am a colorful mozaic of joys and sorrows.
My tears help cool my soul.
The essense of serenity lies in my powers.
My true powers are yet to unfold;

I can radiate the coolness of a kiss on a foggy windowpane.
Or be as sensual as a shallow warm summer’s wave
Although I’m the ultimate protector -less I go insane,
It is I that you feel you must forever save!

I am happiness, sadness; rolled up into one
My presense is such – I’m all but I’m none

I am like the vision of a rainbow
Reflecting rays of color on a transluscent sea
I’m a trusted comfortor and nurturer;
Your humble beginnings were born within me.

I dance with the rythem of leaves blown at the first sight of fall
Sometime I do tumble, at times I might fall
Yet, I am the will of the powerless, the strength of the man
I’m God’s beautiful miracle . .
I am . . .        (click below for the riddle’s answer)

The soul of a woman 

Written by CordieB