Ash Wednesday

 

“But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee.”

(Matthew 6:17-18) kjv

Bluebird Dream

Years ago, TFE's Poetry Bus  had Kate the Emerging Writer as its driver. She provided us with three excellent prompts, and I chose to apply my own version of l'esprit d'escalier for Prompt III and a little of Prompt II, too, so I guess this was a combo plate. For those unfamiliar with bluebirds, they are the most beautiful little birds on the planet. Below, I've included a photo of one that I took from my living room window... for your viewing pleasure.

Bluebird perched on a maple tree branch

Bluebird Dream

Letting the pen fall,

she sighed into a dream.

There, her responses

were perfectly timed

and no one left the room

unaffected.

She was strong, efficient.

Perseverance was her game.

Not one soul

would even consider

challenging her decisions.

They wouldn’t dare.

A bluebird awakened her.

So small, beautiful

iridescent blue

and sweetly chirping.

Suddenly, it darted past her

and again in the other direction.

Soon, she saw a pair of wings

much larger, bolder.

That bird flew high and away.

The bluebird perched

on a limb of the maple tree,

panting, confident, dreaming.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

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

Beoufed Up

Below is a poem I wrote a while ago after passing a neighbor's farm and seeing the cows getting loaded into a red cattle van. I was amazed to see the reaction of the cows across the street in the lower pasture, who were obviously distraught. On my next walk, I came across the farmer's wife, and she informed me that the cows were only on their way to their annual check up. Whew!!!

These are some of the cows that I saw. 

Beoufed Up

Brown cows loaded

into a red cattle van

One last bellow

to spare their ribs

Black cow shouts out

from the lower pasture

"Don't worry, Girlfriend!

I'll meat you on the other side."

This week, the 'girls' may be on the menu:

Porterhouse, Sirloin, Filet Mignon

"Medium Rare, au jus on the side, please."

I wonder,

as the restaurant patrons

pass the emptied pasture

in beefed up red sports cars

with their beoufed up selves,

will there be a longing?

© Jeanne I. Lakatos 

Happy Valentine's Day! From my operetta, Luminescence: Honeysuckle (Christine de Pizan)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I folded and stitched satin ribbon to create this floral bouquet heart.

Honeysuckle and the Bee 

photo from Google Images

From my operetta, Luminescence, below is the pre- and post- recitatives, accompanying the 'voice' of Christine de Pizan, represented by the flower, Honeysuckle: 

The lovely essence of Rose’s beauty entices a hungry bee to fly closer. Her petals form a co-mingled scent with those of Honeysuckle, surrounded by Lilies of the Valley and Forget-me-nots. Honeysuckle, through the mind-set of Christine de Pizan, reflects on true respect between men and women as the ultimate example of true love: 

I am the Honeysuckle.

The name given to me is Christine de Pizan. 

I believe that men and women can and should 

live in harmony with each other,

respecting the intellectual 

as well as the physical attraction 

of man to woman and woman to man. 

The bond of the Holy Spirit in one’s life 

holds this attraction together. 

The tradition of reverent love illustrates 

the necessity of the human race 

to display loyalty, wisdom, and understanding 

in all levels of love relationships. 

Through these elements, 

love becomes a reflection of the truest gift, 

given to us by our Divine Father. 

Thus, physical love must accompany 

emotional love and intellectual respect 

to be complete.

Rose understands this need to combine the elements of intellect and desire in pursuing love. She contemplates her own reaction to the bee’s advances and ponders the warmth she feels as this creature hovers ever so intently...

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Heart and Mind Coalescence

Art by Alex Grey, entitled, 

Heart Consciousness

In her 1807 book, Patriotic Sketches of Ireland, Sydney Owenson observes:

Political philosophy is an extension of the mind’s eye to the whole great scale of civil society, and demonstrating the close-linked dependencies of its remotest parts, affords to the benevolence of the human heart, and the comprehension of the human understanding, a social system, gratifying to the feelings of the one, and ennobling to the faculties of the other. (33)

The human heart and 'comprehension of understanding,' are two distinct entities, for the heart, aside from its organic characteristics, contains the very essence of human perceptions. 

In contrast, comprehension of understanding involves the assimilation of intelligence and critical analysis as they interact with the psycho-physiological structure to form a wondrous flow of human affability. 

Harmony

One heart ~

beating strong

beating true

sings

One song ~

through melodies sublime

envelops

Two lives ~

circuitous, refined

coalesce

Two souls ~

ennobled

by the One.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Mathematical Sets

photo from Google Images

Mathematical Sets

It all figures:

balanced equations

sets of added digits

occasionally subtracted

measured by common factors

multiplied by these too

percentages based on 

the configuration 

of a situated one

in relation 

to the core.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Winter Sky

This lovely photo by Tunc Tesel exemplifies my poem below: 

Winter Sky

Brisk night air,

unfettered firmament:

the stars whisper

ancient secrets

in this ancient sky,

reaching a distant eye

in silent concert 

 with eternal Love.  

© Jeanne I. Lakatos