Cymbidium I. He gifts her an orchid. Says, Three ice cubes a week So as not to drown it. Her joints sound of cracked ice As she gingerly accepts My lush pink blooms Of wet lips open For drink & good light. II. The house has no sun. Unpruned branches of wild flora Cluster close […]
Cymbidium – a poem by Barbara Harris Leonhard — Amethyst Review
Image by JacLou-DL from Pixabay
I have a new poetry podcast on the Memoirs, of Susi Bocks. You can find it here – https://meelosmom.podbean.com/e/memoirs-of-susi-bocks/
This episode features the memoirs of Susi Bocks, who courageously shares her painful upbringing by a dysfunctional and abusive mother. Grief and anger hide in wait for illumination when Susi’s heart opens to reveal her self-worth, which was so beaten down over the years. Susi shows us that we can come to terms with our past and overcome parental abuse, which often results from transgenerational trauma.
Susi Bocks, writer/author/poet, has self-published two books: Feeling Human and Every Day I Pause. You can find her work at IWriteHer.com or follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MyHumanityInWrittenForm/, where she invites you to read her thoughts and get to know her. Bocks’ work has been published in the anthology SMITTEN: This Is What Love Looks Like: Poetry by Women for Women and in VitaBrevis, Spillwords, Literary Yard, as well as other literary magazines.
Editor-in-Chief: The Short of It
Website: IWriteHer.com
Links: Transgenerational Trauma and Epigenetics
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-me-in-we/201205/how-trauma-is-carried-across-generations
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190326-what-is-epigenetics
Barbara Harris Leonhard is a writer, poet, and blogger. Her work appears in Phoebe, MD: Medicine and Poetry, Well Versed 2020, Spillwords; FREE VERSE REVOLUTION; Heretics, Lovers and Madmen; Go Dog Go Café; Silver Birch Press; Amethyst Review; Pillbaby.com; and Vita Brevis. She is the author of Discoveries in Academic Writing, which is based on her years of teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Missouri.
Blog: extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Podcast: meelosmom.podbean.com
To submit your poetic memoirs and concerns to this podcast, follow this link for the submission guidelines.
Music for this episode: “Relaxing Afternoon”, royalty free music on Podbean
I have uploaded an episode featuring Ivor Steven to my poetry podcast, Poetry: The Memoir of the Soul. You can access it here.
https://meelosmom.podbean.com/e/memoirs-of-ivor-steven/
In this episode, I feature the memoirs of Ivor Steven, who writes of his loss of his wife to Multiple Sclerosis. His poems reveal raw and touching grief.
Ivor Steven formerly worked as an industrial chemist and a plumber. He is now retired. He has had numerous poems published in on-line magazines such as Vita Brevis, Spillwords, Drabble, Wolff Poetry Journal, Festival of Poetry, Slasher Monster Magazine, and Fae Corps Publishing. Recently he was appointed to the “Go Dog Go Café” magazine’s website team of Baristas. He is also an active member of the Geelong Writers Inc. and many of his poems are published in their anthologies. He started writing 19 years ago to help with his recovery from a stroke. During this time, and for the 30 years of his wife’s severe MS illness, Ivor was also his wife’s primary caregiver.
He produces his own poetry chapbooks, each of which contains 40-45 poems. The series of chapbooks is called “Tullawalla”, (+ Title). He has created ‘nineteen’ of these chapbooks. He sells them through his website, local cafes, Geelong Writers groups, and the Geelong MS charity shop. All the money raised is donated to the MS Society.
Websites: http://ivors20.wordpress.com and godoggocafe.com
Instagram: ivors20
Link: https://www.nationalmssociety.org/What-is-MS
Music: “I Will Be There” from the royalty free selections on Podbean
Barbara Harris Leonhard is a writer, poet, and blogger. Her work appears in Phoebe, MD: Medicine and Poetry, Well Versed 2020, Spillwords; FREE VERSE REVOLUTION; Heretics, Lovers and Madmen; Go Dog Go Café; Silver Birch Press; Amethyst Review; Pillbaby.com; and Vita Brevis. She is the author of Discoveries in Academic Writing, which is based on her years of teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Missouri.
Blog: extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Podcast: meelosmom.podbean.com
To submit your poetic memoirs and concerns to this podcast, follow this link for the submission guidelines.
I just published a new podcast episode which explores the grief and loss we are experiencing mainly due to the current pandemic and social upheaval. Our wellness is at stake, and those with pre-existing conditions are vulnerable. How can we maintain good health and navigate our grief when we experience loss of loved ones and disruptions in our daily life? Poetry can help us nurture compassion and heal on our sacred journeys.
https://meelosmom.podbean.com/e/grief-and-healing-1596140188/
I hope you listen, like, and share the link. My gratitude!
Image: “New Day” ©Martha Harris, Martha’s Artistic Flarings, artisticflarings.blog
Clarissa Simmens is an Independent poet; Romani drabarni (herbalist/advisor); ukulele and guitar player; wannabe song writer; and music addict. Favorite music genres include Classic Rock, Folk, Romani (Gypsy), and Cajun with an emphasis on guitar and violin music mainly in a Minor key.
Facebook: facebook.com/RomaniGypsyBooks
WordPress: poeturja.wordpress.com
Amazon Author Page: t.co/JSvNROn15t (self-published)
Cynthia Cady Stanton is a hospice chaplain, bereavement specialist, speaker, poet and writer. She is a regular contributor to Phoebe. MD: Medicine + Poetry (https://phoebemd.com/).
Website: cynthiacadystanton.com
Blog: becomingandbeholding.blog
LinkedIn: linkedin.cynthia-cady-stanton-3599b823
Denise Fletcher is a freelance writer and artist. Her creative works have appeared in Bards Against Hunger, Kaleidoscope Magazine and numerous publications in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
Blog: Poetry Curator – poetrycurator2020.blogspot.com
Laura Kelly Fanucci, Instagram: @thismessygrace
I found her poem “When This is Over” here:
Barbara Harris Leonhard is a writer, poet, and blogger. Her work appears in Phoebe, MD: Medicine and Poetry, Well Versed 2020, Spillwords; FREE VERSE REVOLUTION; Heretics, Lovers and Madmen; Go Dog Go Café; Silver Birch Press; Amethyst Review (pending); Pillbaby.com; and Vita Brevis. She is the author of Discoveries in Academic Writing, which is based on her years of teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Missouri.
Blog: extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Podcast: meelosmom.podbean.com
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-power-of-positive-thinking
Phoebe, MD: Medicine + Poetry published my article on hypoglycemia and depression. Have you ever felt “hangry” (so suddenly hungry that you could push other diners away just to get to the head of the line at the buffet)? If so, you may have Hypoglycemia. Your blood sugar has spiked and dropped below normal levels. Here is my story.
By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor
Depression is a complex weave, and I have explored it in various articles on Phoebe, MD. The grief of watching my mom decline with Alzheimer’s and the grief of infertility. However, did you know that some symptoms of depression can also result from a diet high in sugar and simple carbohydrates, which in some people can lead to postprandial hypoglycemia (extremely low blood sugar after a meal)? This has been another life challenge for me.
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Thank you, Amethyst Review! 🤗
Reclamation
A stretch of river he paddles
smothers from impenetrable vines
spiky buds of the invasive hops stare
from the brisling mats of leaves
hungry alien intruders
ravage, over run
steal sun, suffocate, shroud
saplings and wildflowers
with dense tangles. Turbulent
flood waters thrust
into the dense plumage
with violent twists, wrench
the miscreant from the banks
there lays bare a pristine meadow
disrobed of a weighted corset
she gasps
catches her breath
from shock of sun
sparkles in her wet dirt, saplings emerge
with curious caution
dance with daisy fleabane,
ragwort, lush grass
depleted deer tread lightly
on her floral spring frock.
.
Barbara Leonhard is a writer, poet, and blogger at Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver. Her podcast Poetry: The Memoir of the Soul explores universal themes such as Grief, Kindness, and Presence. She taught writing for many years at the University of Missouri and is the author of
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Pillbaby.com asked me to write about my experience with infertility and depression. I had already written similar articles for Phoebe, MD: Medicine + Poetry. My pillbaby.com article does more with solutions to healing. They are looking for more articles related to this topic, infertility and depression, in case anyone has an experience to share.
Thank you, Meg, for this opportunity!
Image: by Jelly on Pixabay.com
I finally have a new episode up on my poetry podcast, Poetry: The Memoir of the Soul. Even though I have gotten some poems published, I lost my focus and momentum with the podcasts because I felt waylaid by COVID-19.
https://meelosmom.podbean.com/e/grief-and-race-unmasked/
In this podcast, produced on Juneteeth, (June 19th), 2020, I recognize and honor the grief of African Americans, especially in light of current events with the murder of George Floyd and other African Americans by police. Racial discrimination is as lethal as another contagion we are fighting at present with COVID-19. Unless we turn to love and compassion, how can we heal? I selected poems that express different aspects of racial discrimination against Black citizens.
Poets read today: Phillis Wheatley, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Priscilla Jane Thompson. Their works read today were found on these sites:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
Juneteenth (Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, and Cel-Liberation Day)
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-juneteenth
Racial Disparities in Our Medical System
https://time.com/5855756/covid-19-racial-injustice-health/
Ahmaud Arbery
George Floyd
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html
Rayshard Brooks
The image for this podcast was found on harpersbazaar.com, “Here’s How You Can Demand Justice for George Floyd”, by Chelsey Sanchez, May 28, 2020.
I notice that I haven’t completed a poetry podcast since April 2. However, as you can see on my WordPress blog, I have done some publishing. It seemed easier to publish in on line sites than on my own poetry podcast in my own voice. I have to admit, everything of late has stunned me. I have lost focus to some degree when it comes to the intimacy in my podcasts.
Meanwhile, Podbean informed me my site design would not be supported, so I have chosen a new theme. Simple and clean. Kind of like life could be at this time…at least in an ideal world. https://meelosmom.podbean.com/
What the heck happened? What have we become? I was once a young girl riding my bike and playing with dolls. Now I’m hiding from a pandemic and bullets.
Does this pandemic represent our diseased minds and hearts? COVID-19 has forced us to retreat to the silence of our souls, our heart minds. Can we stand to be with ourselves? Can we cultivate our beautiful garden? Or can we only find comfort in noise (distractions, addictions, possessions). Can we truly see ourselves, love ourselves? Can we truly see and love others? And what about the Other, those who are from different tribes (families, societies, races, cultures).
What is hidden eventually rises for healing as is shown in the response to the murder of George Floyd at the knee of a cop. Racism, social inequities, corporate greed, and other forms of social, economic, and ethical/ moral malaise are symptomatic of another pandemic hidden in our Deep. George Floyd was strangled to death for passing a fake bill, but what about white-collar crime and all the money doled out to corporations while the average American can’t put food in the table with one job? With this pandemic, we suffer from huge losses in income. Our economy is flailing.
Everything that happens daily becomes the memoir of our society and our world. It’s all recorded not just on film (owing to technology) but also in our DNA. The ugly can make us ill. As Caroline Myss writes, “Our biography becomes our biology.”
I want to avert my eyes and deny all that is aberrant. However, I’m simply storing it away, like I do old journals, letters, and photos. Some things trigger joy, while others uproot pain. I think that if I don’t see it, it isn’t there, but it is creating illness.
It’s no coincidence I have taken to memoir writing, exploring my Deep. What have I buried from view? What do I need to heal? Looking at the truth is visceral and, I am told, bold maybe even courageous and healing. However, it is also dangerous. Being truthful to our word can create loss. These kinds of shifts occur because ‘all that is not aligned will fall away’.
I have feared excavating my soul because of judgment and fear of alienation and abandonment, but I see my life from my lens while others, especially members of my tribe, have their perspectives, which they can explore in their own memoirs.
I hope to continue to explore these themes in my poetry podcast and other wetting, and see my morning awaken, as the featured image of this post shows.
https://meelosmom.podbean.com/
©Barbara Leonhard, extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Image “Morning Awakening” ©Martha Harris, Martha’s Artistic Flarings, artisticflarings.blog
The final section of my article on infertility is up on Phoebe,MD: Medicine + Poetry. Links to the other sections are provided. I am grateful to Phoebe and her beautiful site for being a major part of my journey with memoir writing.
By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor
⋅
The bandage torn
From new flesh
Releases wails
The wound still
Imbibes air
The scab hides
deep repair
Let it rest. Wait
In time the scar
Records a fate
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I learned that healing is a deep process. We may heal a physical wound, but to become whole, we need to heal emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. We need to dig into the old grout of our deep being. Moreover, we must trust help is available.
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