Panic

My first ever by line happened the week of June 21-27, 2007, in Santa Cruz's popular weekly publication, Good Times.  I entered their annual 66 Words contest and submitted a short story containing only 66 words.  I created the short story from a longer version written earlier that year at my first Holy Ink Writing Workshop and it's based on a true story about my two-year-old son.  I was thrilled to see my first by line in print!  Here's the story and a scan of the published page it appeared on that summer.


Panic
Panic swallows me as my toddler crawls towards a narrow storm drain opening.  Lunging to stop him, I fail, and he disappears into the pipe.  I try coaxing him back with my words.  He only giggles.  Seconds now take eternity.  I remember I have his pacifier.  Holding my breath, I offer it.  Manipulated by desire, he takes the bait and crawls out.  Holding him, I weep.

  

Laugh

I love this poem.  It reminds me that no matter how bad things get in your life, laughter is the very best medicine.

Written October 2009 at Cathy Warner's Holy Ink Writing Workshop

 

LAUGH...

often

boldly

outloud

in public

in private

in the car

in the house

at dinner

before breakfast

after your shower

in your sleep

when you least expect it

through your life

Just Laugh

Where I'm From

Written in May 2007 after attending my first Holy Ink Writing Workshop

Where I’m From

I am from spirit and light
  And dust and breath
Sewn with threads of time
  To become flesh

I am from heart and soul
  And thoughts and dreams
Fed with rivers of emotion
  To become life

I am from the past and the future
  The beginning and the end
Filtered through the eyes of the soul
  To become the present

I am from husband and wife
  And daughter and sons
Grown with laughter and tears
  To become family

I am from smiles and joy
  And sorrows and grief
Woven with virtue and choices
  To become memory

I am from notes and keys
  And voices and song
Matured with practice and patience
  To become music

I am from intimacy and desire,
  Needs and insecurities
Sifted with instinct and love
  To become woman

I am from sunshine and sand,
  Palm trees and blue water
Torn apart by mountains and heartbreak
  To become home

I am from knowledge and books
  And classes and lectures
Molded with experience and time
  To become wisdom

I am from heaven and hell
  And from Eden and the cross
Sacrificed with blood and thorns
  To become salvation

I am from verses and scripture
  And Psalms and the Word
Folded with worship and prayer
  To become peace

I am from all that there is
  And all that will be
Carried in the hands of God
  To become eternity