Birthday Letters: Nine

Dear Satchel,

I can hardly believe how much you've grown this year.  You are just 12 inches away from looking me in the eye.

You have grown in many other ways too.  You have become adept at math and your illustrations are filled with extraordinary details.  You are a kind and loyal friend to your pack of pals.  Your sense of humor remains steadfast as your repertoire of jokes expand. 

You are still Mother Nature's Son, and say that you feel most peaceful sitting in a tree top.  You love catching and releasing fish as well as the many other creatures you so skillfully find. 

While you still enjoy skateboarding, you've taken a new interest in magic and  Kung Fu and I am amazed by your effort in practicing your moves.  I can watch your self confidence growing with your widening smile.

You are such a big boy now that I have to look a little more closely to find hints of the baby I gave birth to 9 years ago.  The boy who changed my life forever in the most profound ways imaginable.  The boy who came through me to teach me why I am here.  The boy who reminds me who I really am so that I can never forget. 

I celebrate this day -  the day that filled my life with joy.
I celebrate you -  for you are the greatest gift in my life.

Happy 9th ride around the sun, Satchel.
Thank you for being my son.

All my love,
Mama

(Posted at the time of your birth)

And Still I Rise

Godspeed, Maya!  Thank you for the many ways you've touched my life without knowing.  And still you rise!  I rise in honor of you.

‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Nine Rides Around the Sun: Gone Creekin'

“And the walls became the world all around.” - Maurice Sendak


He wanted to celebrate his 9th ride around the sun with a Creekin' party.  When I asked him what his favorite part of the day was he said, "All of it...it was so much fun".

We built boats and sailed them in the creek.

When we returned, we feasted on a fleet of hummingbird cupcakes and a dirt cake with gummy worms.
 

And a good time was had by all.

The Light of Things

Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher. - William Wordsworth

I Am the Whole Dream

I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows
I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest star
I am the cold of dawn
I am the roaring of the rain
I am the glitter on the crust of the snow
I am the long track of the moon in a lake
I am a flame of four colors
I am a deer standing away in the dusk
I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche
I am an angle of geese in the winter sky
I am the hunger of a young wolf
I am the whole dream of these things
You see, I am alive, I am alive
I stand in good relation to the earth
I stand in good relation to the gods
I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful
I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte
You see, I am alive, I am alive

- N. Scott Momaday (The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee)

The Luna came to visit.  A male.  He must have been knocked from a tree during the heavy rain.  He climbed onto my hand.  I tried moving him to a shrub, but he wouldn't go.  He stayed on my hand for quite some time then he began to vibrate his wings.  It felt like a cat purring.  Suddenly he flew into the tree top.  So short a life in the heavens.  His sole purpose is to mate.  He doesn't even have a mouth.

Big Magic

She's small, but she weaves big magic.
It's Spring and the L.Venusta is back and there are new talismans in the shop!

Of These I Sing...

Spring has returned.
The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Morning Meeting with the Ghosts of Poets: Walt

Morning meeting with the ghosts of poets:

In the milky morning light joined by Walt.
He said, "I place my hand upon you that you may be my poem".
"Thank you" , I said then I wove a wool dreadlock in his hair.
We drank strong coffee and told each other everything.
He tapped my knee each time for emphasis.
I said, "I love the way your eyes smile even when you're not".
He said, "I love the way your face looks worried even when you're not".
We laughed.
We ate cheesecake and called it a meal.

And the Winner is....

It’s no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these.
So- I’ve brought you a mirror.
Look at yourself and remember me. - Rumi

What I love most about this giveaway every year is connecting with you - AND - reading about your fond memories.  It is a lovely gift for which I thank YOU! Happy Mother's Day to all!!! 

The winner is Barbara from DIY Home Staging!  *Please contact me so I can begin creating your piece and ship it to you before the holiday.

Wild Parties