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
I wake up to you you remind me of the brilliance of afternoon sunsets and
of morning dew cascading
over a horizon filled with pain, and with healing
a presence of colors, ambiguous yet just enough to
fill the space left
by the absence of your touch
Photo by me, Oregon Coast
New Publications
I am pleased to announce that my poem, Misty Morning, is now available atMasticadoresIndia. Thank you to Terveen Gill, and the team at MasticadoresIndia for their continued support, and for publishing this piece. You can read the full poem here.
AND
I am also pleased to announce that my poem, Autumn Morning is now available at Spillwords Press. A big thank you to Dagmara K., and the whole team at Spillwords for publishing this piece, and for their continued support. You can read the full poem here.
I would be honored if you would read both poems, thank you!
Photo Gallery
My time at the coast is always precious to me. Early morning walks along the beach provide a space for deep reflection and contemplation. This year, I stayed at a small little motel right on the oceanfront. Amazing views from my room, and easy access to the beach, where walking for miles is possible. Beautiful, invigorating, and peaceful.
April was an exciting month filled with much activity, both in my personal and professional life. It’s 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. It’s so much fun.
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. It’s 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 wouldn’t 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 you’ve 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 we’ve all known pain, and we’ve 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.
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 it is officially Spring in this area of the world, I am preparing to participate in the Community Gardenagain this year. Last year was my first year with this garden, and I am excited to participate again. As you can see in the picture above, there is a lot of work to do!
This past month, I also completed the purchase of a painting from two of our blogger friends, Giada and Labrum, of Multidimensional Art. The painting was one that Labrum created specifically for me, and I love it. If you’ve not yet checked out Giada and Labrum’s site, I recommend you do. Giada writes wonderful poetry, and Labrum’s paintings are amazing.
Coast Trip
I also took a trip to the coast in March. I usually go to Yachats, OR, and did so again in March. I grew up at the beach, and so I like to visit the ocean every couple of months. I always have a wonderful time walking along the coast, contemplating life, and just being with myself and nature. It’s glorious.
Work
The department completed the spring schedulethis month, and I am excited about some of the new in person classes we have this term. We also launched our CDL (Commercial Drivers License) program this week, and it is going wonderfully.
Right now, we have more people registered for classes and training since the pandemic started, which means we are serving more people, and are reaching these same community members with access to education they need. A wonderful feeling.
As you know, I was voted Spillwords Press Author of the Month for January and February, which is a huge honor. I would like to thank each of you again for your continued support. You are appreciated immensely, and I am lucky to have each of you in my life. If you missed the Q&A Interview I did with Spillwords,you can find it here.
I am continuing to write for my debut poetry book, and am on a timeline that includes writing for the book through April, editing in May, and sending it to Ingrid Wilson, of Experiments in Fiction in late May, early June. Ingrid and I are currently working on cover design. Exciting!
Blogging
My blogging schedule has changed again this year, to make space for writing my book, and to write for the publications at MasticadoresIndia and MasticadoresUSA. I’ve created the goal of posting two to three times a week on my blog, which I am meeting at this time.
I would like to thank you all again for supporting me by continuing to visit MasticadoresIndia and MasticadoresUSA to read my poetry. The response to the poems I have published on these sites has been amazing, and I’m honored each time you visit these sites to read my poetry. Thank you.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been reflecting upon how I can give back to our writing community.
Over the past year, I’ve purchased many books that our writing community has produced, and this year, I’ve decided to write reviews of these books. I’m excited about this reading and writing project, and look forward to sharing the reviews with you.
My goal is to write at least one review each month, and thus far I am on par with this goal. Here are my reviews of two amazing books.
As Delicate As Snow, by Shobana Gomes
In the book,As Delicate as Snow, Shobana Gomes weaves a tale of magic, mystery, and suspense. Shobana’s use of snow as an additional character in this love story guides the reader inward, toward an exploration of wondrously delicate and beautiful imagery, and profound feelings, from the angst of meeting a new potential lover, to the love that blossoms in ones heart at the realization of true love. As Delicate As Snow will make you believe in true love again. I highly recommend this beautiful love story, by Shobana Gomes.
Being a Woman Forthcoming, by Michele Lee Sefton
Being a Woman Forthcoming is a collection of poetry and prose that stirs the soul.Michele Lee Sefton takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery, through important social justice issues, such as gender discrimination, and also reminds us to honor our mothers. Being a Woman Forthcoming is a powerful read, full of empowering prose and poetry, inviting the reader to look within and contemplate issues that affect us all, from the personal to the global. I highly recommend Being A Woman Forthcoming, and thank Michele Lee Sefton for gifting us this wonderful work.
These books are wonderful, and I highly recommend them.
I will continue to contemplate how I can give back to our community this year, and will have more ideas and insights about future projects and contributions I can make to do my part to ensure that the vitality and vibrancy of our community continues.
A Poem
dreams begin in a clear lake that I look within
depths unseen & a pool waiting to find beneath
the pain & trauma bubbling up
like raindrops upside down on the forest floor awaiting triumph
That’s all for this month. Thank you to each of you again for being such wonderful friends. I am honored to know you, and feel blessed everyday to be a part of this amazing community of talented and gifted human beings.
Sending you all my love for a wonderfully blessed April.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted a diary entry. I am excited about this entry, as I’ve got a couple of veggie pics, a blueberry picking adventure, and some news about traveling. Fun.
Last week, the team and I completed the team building I wrote about in my last diary entry. It went well. The theme of the team building was Back to the Future; yes, termed such after the movie, and the concepts we discussed were connection, continuity, and change.
We discussed these concepts because we know that there will be more change, there always is, every moment something is changing, we are all changing, yet, we also know that within this change, there is also continuity and continued connection.
An important paradox to understand and be at ease with.
Writing and Reflecting
The past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting a lot upon the internal work I’ve been engaged in these past 4 years, and how this work has shaped the man I am today. Transformational is the concept that comes to mind.
Transformational because when we look at the pain we carry, get in touch with it, work through it, we get back so much more. The only way to let go of something is to actually be in touch with it first, and to then work through it. Then, we can let it go.
I imagine my poetry will always be shaped by these experiences, because they are not static, they continue today.
Veggies and Blueberries
The garden is healthy and well, and is producing, and will produce even more in the next month. Exciting.
Here are a couple of pics.
Justin and I went to a local blueberry farm last weekend, and picked almost 40 pounds of blueberries, which are one of my favorites. I eat them everyday, and enjoy them most in my evening smoothies. Delicious.
As I wrote about a few months ago, I will make some changes to the site this summer. I’ve already removed the videos page, as it is very outdated, and am creating a couple of new pages, and condensing some of the other pages.
At this time, I am not planning on changing the overall site theme, yet, you never know. As I work through these changes over the next two months, if something occurs differently for you, or becomes difficult for you on the site, I would love it if you would let me know. You can get my email from the contact page. Thank you.
As I’ve written about before, I am excited to travel in the coming years; and, I’m excited to share that I’ve booked my first trip. It will be to London, next May. Since I’ve been at my current job, I’ve not taken off more than a few days here and there, and am excited to be in London for 12 nights.
That will be the 2022 trip, and in 2023? India; and, then in 2024, Japan. That’s the plan anyway. We all know that plans change, yet, having a plan is important. And, then? Let the change come. It’s all okay.
