Enough of an Artist... Thank you, Albert Einstein

When I was participating in the Poetry Bus poetry workshops, one of the members asked us to follow these directives: 

1: Think of (or find) a sentence. 

2: Delete the second half of it. 

3: Think of as many different ways of finishing it was you can. 

4: Now, delete the first part of the sentence, leaving only a collection of "second halves". 

5: Play with these and compose a poem out of them. You'll probably want to mess about with   the grammar, leave bits out, put bits in, etc. Feel free. 

6: Post the poem.

I used a quote from Albert Einstein, and below is the result.

Photo of my window's view in Reims, France

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. ~ Albert Einstein

I am Enough of an Artist...

To make my way through this airport

and appreciate the artistry

in each human utterance and smile

creative impulses within,

felt without

To hear music

in the laughter of children,

the voice of God

in the knowing timbre

of an elderly sigh

To feel this train race, passing French villes,

A phantasmagoria of anxious yearning

in the muted colors of graffiti 

blended with determined drops 

of spring rain

To enter a darkened hallway,

and know that the painful hole

bitten into my lip from fear

will heal, 

bleeding into fortitude

So, I taste the blended harvest

in a bowl of vegetable soup

and ready myself for another day

with cherished goodness

of a night’s rest

upon clean, white sheets.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Sweet Dreams (Codladh sámh)

Sweet Dreams (Codladh sámh)

Softly the trees sway
breezes steadily pulsating
plummeting my senses 
DEEP DEEp DEep Deep deep
into a serene, sensory 
serenade of sleep
slowly sifting
through sands of 
discernment
into a sea of dreams
where fantasy releases
the genesis 
of truth

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(My reading of this poem is on Pod-omatic. Just click HERE.)

Midnight Blaze

For this exercise, I chose two titles from a list and created a brief, yet potent poem. The poem titles below are from the Table of Contents of the Norton Anthology of Poetry, fourth edition. I simply closed my eyes, turned to two different pages, and pointed.

Your Words my friend (Canto 21 from Astrophil and Stella) by Sir Philip Sidney

Frost at Midnight by Samuel Coleridge

Love is a Cosmic Force 

painting by Alex Grey

 Midnight Blaze

Your words, my friend

burn through 

the reverie

until frost at midnight

mystically transforms

our truth

into a unique blaze,

melding two dreams

into one

phenomenal aim.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

(To hear my reading of this poem on Pod-omatic, click HERE.)

Common Thread, Shared Bread

Photo from DuckDuckGo Images

Common Thread, Shared Bread

Friendship bound by a common thread

nourished with inspirational Bread

of kindness, humor, and stories we share.
How lovely! Someone actually does care! 
These are the blessings we unfold
honoring love as our version of gold,
refraining from giving annoyance reign
for a wintry soul has warmth to gain.
 Lifting hearts with a benevolent thread,
we stitch the tattered as we share the Bread.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

To hear me recite this verse, please click HERE. 

Power of Love

East Lake, Danbury, Connecticut

Power of Love

This Power of Love

electrifies, magnifies, clarifies

the Divinity 

within our living, human souls. 

Always moving us forward

through the darkness, the sadness

the vacuity, 

and into a peaceful sharing

of the Light, the Joy, 

the Promise.

Thus, I am eternally grateful 

for this Power of Love

that echoes through our lives, 

purifying us for the next

as this Love from our hearts,

overflowing,

carries us gently 

into the Peace, the Hope, 

the Blessed Purpose

of this Journey together.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos 

Arachnid's Aim

 Once, I observed a lovely spider, busily spinning her web, and I proceeded to write the poem below. 

A spider's web suspended from my deck

Arachnid's Aim

One by One by One by One by One by One by One by One,

she extends her reach into the world, 

Glad that she yet retains eight strong, healthy appendages. 

Her sisters' are damaged, maimed, broken, or lost, 

but hers are vibrant, able to take her

to any destination she beholds as sacred. 

Now, she extends her reach into the world.

Carefully, gracefully, she moves along this space,

arranging each extension in its proper place, 

allowing a Hopeful Touch to capture the attention

of one who will see her radiance

and share her iridescence with lasting, hopeful bliss.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

You can hear me recite this verse by clicking the link HERE.

Gray Day

Today has been a cold, early Spring day, with a cold rain falling occasionally throughout the day. It looks like we'll be having a chilly Spring this year, but the plants, lakes, ponds, and waterfowl do need the rain, so it is welcome indeed. After finishing some daily tasks, I jotted down this verse. 

Gray Day

Awakening to a cold, gray day, 
a foggy, dreary one, 

I contemplate the daily tasks ahead.
Raindrops can't even decide if they want to
fall from the gray sky...or not. 
The lakes, ponds, and streams
have thirsty banks, 
and the Spring waterfowl 
need a place to swim, nest, live. 
So rain, come along now! 
Cold and distant as you are, 

you are greatly needed, 
and now, I welcome you.

I'll put on the tea kettle, 

make a warm supper, 

and when you're finished,

I'll take photos of the well-filled lake

with the sun reflecting its lovely glow

upon the deep waters. 

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

To hear me recite this verse, please click HERE.