The seeds are still growing

Everything we do seeds the future. No action is an empty one.
~Joan D. Chittister

Hi folks! Happy Poetry Friday!

photo by N. Chadwick

I'm not sure where I saw this poem by Leslie J. Anderson (did one of you post it?) but it feels like this is a good time to share it again anyway:

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Thank you to everyone who gave me poems for my Brave compendium. Elena is formatting it and it will be ready by the 20th.

I signed up for Coursera's Sharpened Visions: A Poetry Workshop but I can tell I am going to have a hard time getting myself to follow through. Does anybody else want to do it and hold each other accountable?

The Miss Rumphius Effect has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Tricia!

Harmony

I make collages. I join the shattered world creating a new harmony.
~Louise Berliawsky Nevelson

For Art Thursday, a painting and a collage that go well together and then a self-portrait in stained glass.

Marcel Duchamp trivia:
Upon his return to Paris in 1923, Duchamp was, in essence, no longer a practicing artist. Instead, his main interest was chess, which he studied for the rest of his life to the exclusion of most other activities. (Wikipedia)

La sonate (Sonata)
Marcel Duchamp, 1911

Au Vélodrome, 1912
Jean Metzinger

Self portrait
by Pauline Boty

Coloring

People are visual and hands-on learners.
~Wolfgang Puck

Today for Wellness Wednesday, I'm going to make an unexpected suggestion. If there's something you've been wanting to learn, consider coloring pages.

One of my goals is to learn more about plant identification. I wanted a plant ID quiz app, something like Duolingo, but it doesn't exist. Well, you can make your own if you upload your own quizzes, but that doesn't hold a lot of appeal for me at the moment.

A few days ago I remembered that I'd downloaded a medicinal plants coloring book a while back so I printed it and have been using it. Wow, so helpful! I use photos to make sure I get the colors right. Coloring pages would also work well if you wanted to learn geography or anatomy. Basically, if there's something that requires some visual memorization, you might want to color it.

Why is this a Wellness Wednesday post? Learning is food for the spirit, and so is succeeding at a goal (not to mention coloring!).

The Breaks

And if you deserve a break tonight
Somebody say alright! (All right)

For Music Monday, Kurtis Blow singing "The Breaks" live on Soul Train:



This live video made me think of Wings of Pegasus, where Fil Henley talks about who is really singing live and who is miming, who is using pitch correction, etc. If you're interested in authentic vocals, you might want to check his channel out.

Doing something gorgeous

I am a book of snow,
a spacious palm, a meadow,
a circle that lingers,
I belong to the earth, and to its winter.
~Pablo Neruda

Happy Poetry Friday! Today's poem "I Hope This Email Never Finds You" by Anna Stacy comes from Apricity Magazine, The University of Texas at Austin's lit mag. I heard about the word "Apricity" and that ended up leading me to the magazine. 'Apricity' means the warmth of the sun in winter and comes from the Latin word 'apricitas' (sunny).

photo by unixasket

I HOPE THIS EMAIL NEVER FINDS YOU
by Anna Stacy

I hope this email does not find you well.
I hope this email does not find you
And instead arrives to a desk overgrown with moss,
Lit quietly by a shard of light through your collapsed apartment ceiling
And that the silence that it finds there is simply deafening.

I hope this email does not find you
And that it goes around the corner to your kitchen
Where your discarded dishes stand like lichened towers,

read the rest here

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Kathryn Apel has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Kat!

P.S. Last call for Brave poems! Email me at tabatha(at)tabathayeatts(dot)com with them by the end of the weekend.

La Musique

Music always stimulates my imagination. When I'm writing I usually have some Baroque music on low in the background. Chamber music by Bach, Telemann, and the like.
~Haruki Murakami

For Art Thursday, a baroque painting by Michel Boyer (1668–1724). I like that he chose to place the music within a large space (click the image to embiggen).

La Musique
Michel Boyer

Some baroque music so you can feel like you're there while you're looking at the painting:

JAM

Have patience with every one, but especially with yourself.
~St. Francis de Sales

For Wellness Wednesday, JAM (Just a Minute) card:

What makes JAM Card so special?

​ Available for free in card or app form, JAM Card is a discreet, silent and easy device for telling others that you need ‘Just A Minute’ in any scenario.

​ It was originally developed by and for those with learning difficulties and disabilities, but has now expanded to include anyone with a hidden disability or communication barrier when they need more patience and space in a given situation.

​ Despite its simplicity, JAM Card has grown into one of the leading accessibility and inclusion tools for its service users. There are now over 1,800 JAM Card businesses and 168,000 service users across the world.

I love things that make our world more livable, kinder, so I am thrilled that this exists. Making space for someone needing more time should be an ordinary occurrence.