My word for 2018:
My Choice

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Gloomy days

These gloomy December days,
some so dark they don’t even qualify as days.
The ones that stay so dark that
morning transitions directly into evening.

These gloomy December days
that add more gloom to hearts
that are already in the dark.
Hearts that have been broken,
for so many reasons torn apart,
hearts that were on the mend,
but are repeatedly broken.

We are challenged to look
behind and beyond the gloom,
to look for the inherent flame in our hearts.

On each of these gloomy December days
let us negotiate this challenge
and win.
Let us see the spark and kindle it,
so the flame can shine through the gloom.

Later,
the flame can begin to replace the gloom
shadow by shadow,
until daylight returns.

© Inger-Marie Sæverud  10.12.14

  

One moment spills into another


One moment spills into another
a childish tumble
without looking back

Neglected days roll by without contents
just a flutter of pirouettes that
stain the passing nights

Dead hours hide in clouds of misery
and resolute decisions to escape 
are forgotten

* * * * *
Wordle 188 - playing with these words:
resolute, flutterspillsforgottenstainspirouettes,
children, miserable, decision, neglected, cloudy, moments

* * * * *

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Light breezes float


Light breezes float over gathering souls
scattered latecomers
hurry over the plains
unable to stop themselves
gazing up at sky splendor
listening to the rattle of stars in the crisp air
bent on making it
their skin deep secular minds suddenly turned spiritual
by harvest time approaching

* * * * *
Wordle 189 - playing with these words:
gathering, able, gaze, breeze, secular, skin,
rattle, plain, scattered, splendor, harvest, bent
* * * * *

Monday, December 01, 2014

The shift


The shift began subtly, 
quite some time ago, 
and my once anchored heart 
had already broken it's moorings 
and started to drift 
with a different current

My life's learning process 
turned around and became 
a feat of unlearning. 

Old truths became inherited lies. 

Once I saw that, 
in a moment of clarity, 
I could yield to new truths, 
received by the fertile layers 
of my now free range heart

Beams of light surrounded me, 
and as phrases of gratitude poured out 
I finally felt connected and close 
to my Universal Creator. 

* * * * *
Wordle 110 - playing with these words:
beamanchorshiftcloseheart, phrase,
rangeconnectcurrentfertilelayersyield

* * * * *




Sunday, November 30, 2014

Listen to the voice


Listen to the voice 
uttering the impossible words. 

Listen to the voice 
saying those scary words you hoped 
you would never have to hear. 

Listen to the voice 
that climbs up into your head 
and seeps out into every body cell,
and you know it speaks the Truth. 

Listen, 
as the pressure of the words hits raw nerve.
How can you protect yourself? 
Where is the smoke screen you can hide behind?

That thing you have feared, has happened. 
That thing that might happen, but never should. 

The order of life has been shaken.
But living and loving is risking just that. 

* * * * *
Wordle 116
The words to play with were:
voicesimpossiblescareclimbrisklisten,
wheresmokehappenspressuremightorders





Thursday, November 27, 2014

I was standing there

I was standing there
satisfied with life
the sun was in my back
I was warm and
and the way ahead was lit up
Then a grey cloud settled over me
and effectively slashed my joy

Now
while rain drenches me from head to toe
my mind is jaded from 
trying to fathom life
and the cold burns my eyes
as I look for something that will
spark a recognition of what life can be

* * * * *
Wordle 185
The words to play with were:
standing, satisfied, burn, jaded, spark, rain
way, sun, cold, grey, joy, slash




Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Bold, with sword in hand

Bold, with sword in hand
I climb the ladder of control
at the ninth threshold
I stop and sigh
the high and mighty often unwind here
by this threshold
and slightly skeptical
I breathe their saturated air

* * * * *
Wordle 104
The words to play with were:
saturate, control, bold, unwind, sword, often
skeptical, slight, might, sigh, ninth, threshold



With sublime patience

With sublime patience, we steal our heroic moments,
when our tears testify to the limits we think we have. 
And as we gather the last pieces,
we gaze into our dreams,
and we realize that all the prophets were wrong.
So still with sublime patience we rebuild our discipline
and keep on gazing into and out of our dreams,
and we fly and fly and fly....

* * * * *
Wordle 97
The words to play with were:
disciplinepiecesstealingheroicmomentfly,  
prophetslimitsgazingpatiencetearssublime




Monday, October 27, 2014

The imaginary door

The imaginary door had always been lacking from this vision. Still, naked feet scurried along the wall, as if searching for it. The faces that belonged to those feet had no root in reality, and in the candlelight they hid under dark hoods. From birth they had been forcefully held in this vision.

* * * * *
Wordle 96
The words to play with were:
undernakedscurriesbirthimaginaryhiding,
doorfacesrootcandlelightlackheld

Sculpture by Allan Hauser



Sunday, October 26, 2014

Thirteen old women

Thirteen old women sat around the root of a gnarly old tree. Their watery blue eyes peered out in all directions, and they breathed out audible sighs as they witnessed the circle of poppies that had started growing up around them. The pretty little flowers had first appeared in the east. They knew that something of an apocalyptic nature was bound to happen if the circle closed in the west, but they had no inkling of what it could be. The circle had already passed north and south, and time seemed to be closing in. 
Once upon a time they had been frivolous young girls. Their first speedy years had been unusual, even strange, but that was so long ago, few of them had any memory of those days. They had all been literary women, and their studies of ancient texts had at one point brought them together and then led them to this time, this place. Much had been revealed to them, but these final days, their lives’ epilogue, had always been kept hidden.

* * * * *
Wordle 184 
The words to play with were:
frivolous, speedy, audible, literary, inklings, epilogue, 
apocalyptic, strange, blue, gnarled, roots, poppies, thirteen



Sunday, September 07, 2014

One wire cut short

One wire cut short
seems to disturb the balance,
but the fence 
is 
still standing.
- IM Sæverud 


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

I Heart Macro

A fly on the window. 
Second best to being a fly on the wall?
Or better?

I love macro photography. 
If you photograph a flower, you can take your time, it's not going anywhere. With bugs and insect on the other hand, you never know what's going to happen. You may not get even one shot, or you may get all you want. 
You see your opportunity, and your camera may be inside, or in another room. You take a deep breath, and run for it. Maybe you even have to change the lens. 
Then you're back where you saw your motif. It may, or may not still be there. If it is, it's exhilarating. At least you have a chance. So you sneak up as close as you can. You start shooting. You realize you're holding your breath, and try to breathe. 1,2,3,4,5, adjust, hold your breath, the bug is still there, keep shooting, BREATE! Repeat. This is mindfulness, big time.
Download to computer. Did you get anything good? Never a given. But this time, one shot was a hit.

YESSSSS!






Monday, April 28, 2014

Meditative writing

When I walk in stillness 
I feel free.
My favorite place to walk in stillness 
is by the ocean.
I feel the breeze on my faze.
I observe my surroundings.
I listen to the waves
washing against rocks.
I look for an eagle, or a heron.
On a windy day
I hear the roar of the ocean,
but there is stillness in me.
On a windless day I think:
now I know what the sound of silence 
sounds like.


Saturday, January 25, 2014

Six Word Saturday, I Heart Macro

 ∼ First flu in over 10 years ∼

Curling up and sleeping under a woolly blanket for a week, while winds howl outside, was probably exactly what my body needed right now. Sometimes I've been awake long enough to draw. Sometimes I have forced myself to get out and use my camera.



Monday, January 06, 2014

January 6.

During weeks of incessant rain 
an occasional small greeting is left on my window.


Small Stone 2014

Saturday, January 04, 2014

January 3.

A sheet of rusty metal lies by the water's edge. Perched on a corner, a snail has retreated into it's shell. The setting sun sends a good night kiss.



Small Stone 2014