Poetry and Prose by #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow, Co-Author of #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women, and Jan/Feb 2022 Spillwords Press Author of the Month
Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: bereft, evening, solder, tangent. Follow me on Twitter here.
MasticadoresIndia/USA Publications
I am always honored to have my poetry in MasticadoresIndiaand MasticadoresUSA. It is a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Terveen, and Barbara for always supporting my work; and, thank you to each of you for continuing to read, like, and comment on my poems on these two exceptional online magazines.
Once I started reading Archery In The UK it was hard to put down. The book mixes poetic forms, inviting the reader on a journey of beautifully flowing language, touching hearts, and minds, and leaving me teary-eyed, joyful, and inspired. It is an amazing collaboration.
I highly recommend Archery in the UK, which you can purchase onAmazon here.
The Light in The Cave
The Light in The Cave, by Tricia Sankeyis a wonderful Novela full of richly crafted details, and characters developed with depth, and an intensity that fills the reader with a desire to read more, and more. I enjoyed the way Tricia developed the characters and the plot line in a way that left me guessing as to the story behind the story until well into the later chapters, which is where we find that the characters weโve come to know and love are not exactly who we thought they were. The Light in The Cave is an amazing work of science fiction. I highly recommend reading this wonderful book.
I am always honored to have my poetry in MasticadoresIndiaand MasticadoresUSA. It is a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Terveen, and Barbara for always supporting my work; and, thank you to each of you for continuing to read, like, and comment on my poems on these two exceptional online magazines.
Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: want, change, doppelgรคnger. Follow me on Twitter here.
MasticadoresIndia/USA Publications
I am always honored to have my poetry in MasticadoresIndiaand MasticadoresUSA. It is a blessing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Terveen, and Barbara for always supporting my work; and, thank you to each of you for continuing to read, like, and comment on my poems on these two exceptional online magazines.
I would be honored if you would read them when you have a moment, thank you!
OUT NOW! Hidden in Childhood, A Poetry Anthology, edited by Gabriela Marie Milton
Hidden in Childhood, A Poetry Anthology was released this past week, and it skyrocketed to the #1 spot on Amazon New Release for several days. I am honored to have two pieces published in this gorgeous anthology. Thank you Gabriela for always supporting my work, for being an amazing friend, and for continuing to create new opportunities for writers all over the world to have their voices heard, and their stories read.
If youโve not yet picked up a copy of this gorgeous anthology, please do so with the link above. Thank you!
We Are Poetry: Lessons I Didnโt Learn in a Textbook, by Kym Gordon Moore
I was elated to receive Kym Gordon Mooreโs new book about a month ago, and though Iโve only read a few selected chapters thus far, I can write here that it is an amazing read. Here is an example:
I Am
โThey say I am nothing
in my someone-ness
traverse into a flow
of the seen but not heard
nonexistent, divisible where liberty is not just
not considered worthy to speak,
or to be respected
just an invisible occupation of space,
you think that of me
yet my existence is more
than the archives of silence
I am.
Refusing to conform [โฆ]โ
Absolutely stunning. If youโve not yet picked up a copy of this amazing book, you can do so here.
Update on Me
It was great to catch up with many of you last night. I am doing very well, and enjoying the travels. There is so much beauty in the world, and it is a privilege, and a joy to get out and see it.
Today, I am off to see Justin, which will be a lot of fun. We will do some shopping, and farmerโs marketing on Sunday, and then we are going to see the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday night. Iโve not been to an event of this size in years, thus Iโm filled with excitement and some anxiety. Very normal.
I look forward to catching up with all of you again next weekend.
April was an exciting month filled with much activity, both in my personal and professional life. Itโs so much fun to watch life unfold, participate in it, and be fully engaged in every aspect of life. A true blessing.
At Home & Work
Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, Oregon
This month I spent time at the Community Garden, getting the soil ready for planting, which will begin in late May and early June. As you will read later in this review, I also spent a lot of time in April on my debut poetry book, and on book reviews. Itโs so much fun.ย
As some of you know, I had planned a trip to London in May of this year, alas, I have rescheduled this trip to later in the year. I am excited about the new timing of this trip, as I will end up in London during the holidays, which feels lovely to me.
I am contemplating a trip to Los Angeles to see my mother and sisters this summer, which is always fun for me. Itโs always great to see them and my nieces and nephews.
The team is busier than ever. The traction we have across all of the programs within Extended Learning is at an all-time high, and the services we are delivering are reaching a wider audience with each year that passes.
The Commercial Driver License Program completed its first cohort, with tremendous success; and the second cohort will begin training in two weeks.
A very busy month at home and at work, and I wouldnโt have it any other way.
My debut poetry book now has a title, and Ingrid Wilson, of Experiments in Fiction, is currently working on the cover design.
When the cover design is complete, I will update all of you on the cover design and the title.
Most of my writing time in April was dedicated to the book. I am excited to share that I have a rough manuscript, which I will begin to edit this month.
Once the editing is complete, I will send it to Ingrid, which will be in late May, or early June.
I am also continuing to send two poems each month to MasticadoresIndia, and MasticadoresUSA. I love being a part of both of these wonderful online publications. Gabriela Maria Milton and Terveen Gill are amazing editors and wonderful friends. Working with them is a blessing.
If youโve never submitted to these two online publications, I encourage you to do so. You can find out about submission details on the respective websites.
April also found one of my poems, Realization Dawns, nominated for publication of the month at Spillwords Press. Though the poem was not voted as the publication of the month, the mere fact that it was nominated, is a great joy and honor for me.
I would like to thank each of you for continuing to support my writing and for being wonderful friends. Whether you are a new reader of my blog or someone that has been here for years, I appreciate each of you for taking the time you do to engage with me. You are all inspiring, and wonderfully talented.
Resounding Lights, by Tanushree Taruchayatakes the reader through reflections, contemplations, and introspections on deep pain and brilliant beauty.
Making connections to a life lived, and to nature, Tanushree draws the reader into poetry weaved from the soul.
The poetry contained in Resounding Lights will speak to every human being on this planet, for weโve all known pain, and weโve all known beauty, and both of these attributes are created gorgeously in this book.
I highly recommend Resounding Lights, as it is a bright light in a world that can sometimes feel very dark.ย
A Poem
I dream of lavender & the sun rising over the mountains of your heart
may I to you, at last impart
a wish
whispered on the winds of time a thought held in mind
of you, my love
caressing a feeling deep inside of a heart clandestine
As I reflect upon 2021 and contemplate 2022, there are so many wonderful things to write about. Choosing among them is difficult, yet worthwhile. Letโs take a quick look at this past year.
2021
Living Alone
Personally, this past year was one in which I learned about living alone. Now that the boys are grown, and I am recently divorced, after being married for over 20 years, living alone has been painful and beautiful. Both, wouldnโt you know.
Itโs been a time of great reflection for me, contemplating my life up to this point. A time of grieving, and a time of great joy. Iโve learned more about myself as a human being on this planet this past year than I have in the past 20 years. Solitude is like that. A gift.
I am looking forward to more time alone, and to the learning that comes as the days, weeks, and months unfold this next year. I look forward to all of it.
The Team
The team is healthy and well, and is, quite frankly, one of the best noncredit education teams in the State of Oregon. Some would argue in the Nation; and, I wouldnโt argue, as it is quite possibly true.
Weโve been through a lot as a team these past 4.5 years, and the resiliency, innovation, and heart this team has displayed and continues to display is astonishing.
We are currently working on many new projects, the output of which will continue to increase access to education for many populations that face barriers to education in this country. That we continue to create bridges to education for our local community, and across the state, nation, and globe through our new remote program models fills my heart with joy.
Well, if someone would have told me in the summer of 2020 that at the close of 2021 the blog would have acquired almost 2,400 followers, which it has, I would have listened carefully, yet would have set a more realistic goal, which I did.
My goal to close this year was 1,600 followers, and we have surpassed this number quite substantially, and I owe that to each of you. You have built this blog and the wonderfully thriving space we share together, and I honor and appreciate each of you for being here.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me, and for creating a space full of love, light, and compassion.
Writing
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I would be writing poetry at the rate I am today. Writing poetry began in the summer of 2020 as a way to continue to process my own internal work, which is a part of my spiritual practice.
It started with a poem I wrote in response to another blog, I think, and from there began to blossom in my mind and heart, and today, I write poetry all day. Seriously. You should see the post-itโs I have laid out everywhere. Itโs quite comical, and lovely.
This year I was blessed to be a part of our beloved Asthaโs Anthology, Utmost Feelings, and several other Anthologies through True Dreamster. I was also blessed to have been published at Spillwords Press three times, at Word Weavings, and at MasticadoresUSA, and MasticadoresIndia, several times each. As you know, I am now a regular monthly contributor to MasticadoresIndia, which is a dream come true.
I am grateful to each of these wonderful editors for believing in my work, and for supporting me. They are amazingly talented people, and I am lucky to know them and to have my work published in their respective publications.
2022
I look forward to this coming year and know that there will be challenges, just as there will be many blessings. Iโve learned a lot this year, and I am grateful for each lesson.
I plan to continue to learn more about myself this year, continuing to dive deep within, uncovering more aspects of my human beingness, and the love I have for everyone and everything on this planet.
The team will continue to thrive and grow this year, as we set our sights on making 2022 another year of exceeding service capacities to our local community, by making noncredit education available to everyone, everywhere.
The blog will see a lot more poetry this coming year, and will likely see the Bloggerโs Diary post continue, yet I am reflecting upon iterating the latter. Iโve not yet had the insight needed to do so, however, so we will see.
I am currently looking for new publications to submit poetry to this next year, and have already happened upon one, which I will submit to soon. I was planning to compile a book over this winter break, alas, that is not going to happen. Thus, it may be in 2022 that a debut book is forthcoming. All I can write now is that I will know when the time is right.
I am closing this 2021 reflection and 2022 contemplation with a Twitter poem.
as the earth swallows me whole it is our love to behold
a spotlight drowned
like in the east the sun rising & the love deep within me arising
a destiny ground as mind & heart are brokered with peace no sound
needed for it is in this display of love where we are found
I want to thank each of you again for being a part of my life. Being here is a blessing, and I cherish each interaction I have with you. You are appreciated immensely.
Alright, thatโs all for now.
May the New Year bring you joy, peace, love, and many blessings.
Over the past couple of weeks, the team has been preparing for school to begin, which means the registration team has been, is, well, super duper busy, which is awesome. Instructors are prepping for classes, as the rest of the staff are doing things like, getting computers out to in-person locations for late registrations, and supporting instructors as and where needed.ย
Itโs been an amazing couple of weeks, filled with registration numbers the likes of which we havenโt seen since prior to the pandemic. Amazing.
The past couple of weeks, Iโve also been reflecting upon the concept of self-expression in relation to human beingness; and, then in relation to leadership more specifically. Iโll have a little more to write about that in a moment. First, letโs take a quick look at some writing reflections from the past couple of weeks.
About two months ago now, I switched my blogging schedule. Previous to that time, I was posting every day, which just became too much to manage. Now, I am posting an average of 4 to 5 times a week, and that is working well for now.ย
Iโve been thinking of possibly reducing it to 3 to 4 times a week, yet, we will see.
Iโve been writing a lot, as I always do; sometimes that means I write a poem each day, sometimes 3 or 4. It depends.ย
Most of my poems over the past couple of weeks have taken love at their center, which is, well, quite wonderful. I never really know what is going to come from my heart, through my fingers, and onto the page youโre reading; really, I never really do.
I usually begin with a concept, or more likely, a sentence or two, and go from there. It is so much fun.ย
For instance, the poem heart-related centeredness was a response to the WDYS photo prompt, hosted by Sadje, from Keep it Alive. I love to participate in this prompt, as I am able. The photo, to me, sparked an immediate response about the connectedness of all that we see, sky, clouds, sea, and, well, you; and me, of course. It just works that way for me today; it is what I see and feel.
And, the poem referenced above, from my heart, and through my fingers, was literally a reflection on the process of writing from my heart; and how it feels to me. Is simple, and quite beautiful to me.ย
Iโve also been blessed with another publishing opportunity, and have just heard back from Spillwords Press on one other submission. How fun!
I also just learned that my poem, Smoulder Now and Forever, has been accepted by Spillwords Press. Excited. When the poem is scheduled for publication, I will let you all know.
I also have a few more pieces coming up in bothMasticadoresUSA, and MasticadoresIndia. When those are scheduled for publication, I will also let you know.ย
If youโve not yet checked out these cool publication houses, please do so when you have time. Amazing people, and talented writers. Much fun!
Oh, before I forget, here is one of the poems that wasnโt accepted recently. I am including it here, well, because it reminds me of some of my recent reflections on the moon, which has been so beautiful in the night sky recently.
Alright, in my last diary entry, several of us had a conversation about blogs that we follow not showing up in our reader. I did contact WP, after some coaching from our friend Cindy, from Unique Times with Cindy, thank you, dear Cindy, and here is what I learned.
There is no solution at WP for this issue. Their suggestion was to do, well, what most of us already know how to do, which is unfollow, and then refollow. Usually this will work, and the blog posts will once again begin to show in our reader.
Therefore, I will be unfollowing and refollowing some of you. We will see how that works.
The past couple of weeks, Iโve also been reflecting upon self-expression. As a human being on this planet, it is so important to be fully self-expressed. I know this, as I spent some years not being fully self-expressed.
When we are fully self-expressed, we get out all of the ideas, concepts, and love we have for life. We experience aliveness, through the difficulty and ease that comes with life. And, for me, itโs inside of this aliveness, through all that we receive from life, where the beauty for and of life lives.ย
It is interesting to write about self-expression within a beautiful community that self-expresses continuously; yet, what I also know about being a human being on this planet, is that even those of us who are fully self-expressed, have times when we feel not fully self-expressed.
In those moments, I usually take a walk, sit quietly, and just detach myself from all things. Inside of this space lives the possibility of reconnecting within, which for me, means insights will arise, and self-expression will follow.
Develop. Inspire. Transform. 