Winter Wonderland

Prompt Poets United: Winter
It's nearly summer here but I have never written a poem about winter so here we go

Winter Reflections

Colours have faded 
A grey curtain has been
pulled over the land
The leaves have left
The streets are silent
A clattering orchestra of
rain breaks the stillness
I sit by the crackling fire till
darkness wraps around me

In the morning the dim light and
fog meet in mysterious ways
Diamond dust has covered the land
Sun's feet walk over frosty grass
glancing through the windows
of dangling dew drops
reflecting itself into nature
Like our soul reflects our
nature into the world

A brilliant blue sky
announces beauty
we leave for the mountains
The cold breath of winter has
whispered into the starry night
Turning ice crystals into snow
It’s weight softened into
crevices, smoothing it into
a shiny silvery robe.
Fit for the majestic mountain
who looks at his likeness
in a serene glassy lake
Like my eyes mirror the
wonder of this winter land

Are we living in freedom

We had some free afternoons this week so time to write.
Prompt for Poets United: Authentic. When I think about being authentic I think about being truly yourself. I wrote a a few (simple) poems about that. The very first poem I ever wrote in my life was for writers island and was about being yourself. Therefore this time I got stuck on the word freedom lol

Are we living in freedom?

What is freedom
Is it freedom of speech?
Try to throw truth in the arena
One will let loose the lions
to draw your blood.
The truth is too threatening

for those who like living
in fool’s paradise

Is freedom the absence of enslavement?
Are many not magnetised by money
wanting to become the privileged
who grow opportunities in their garden
with no guarantee to harvest happiness
a few even dance with demons
in places where vultures circle above

A countless crowd is trapped in a web
shackled to sex, alcohol drugs, food
to fill the emptiness inside
big as a barren battlefield
to drown out the world which was
not the wonder we had wished for

So, is there freedom?
Yes, we can find it inside
the twilight of the mind

It’s at the crossroad of
the heart and the soul.
It’s on a golden path
illuminated by virtues
like wisdom and morality

That’s where truth and love resides
That’s where the authentic self was born.
The place where you choose
how to act, not react
Where you wish to serve the world
not wanting the world to serve you
Beauty walks there, into red sunsets
with white wings, among blue poppies
Beauty walks with the colours of freedom

Little River Flower Power garden trail

What a blessing this day was. On Sunday morning I found a pigeon in the garden, one metre from our cat. My first thought was that the cat got her. When I went close-up she seemed to be all-right. The first thing to do when I don't know what to do is find my husband. 

He never disappoints. He picked her up. She escaped but collapsed a few metres further. Otherwise she seemed ok so my husband thought she suffered from exhaustion. 

He quickly made a cage from pallet wood and we bought some bird seeds and got her some water and a piece of lettuce.

She lied there like a very sick bird for about 24 hours but when we checked at night she was a lot better, but it was already dark. This morning we released her and ti was a delight to see her fly up high and far.

Afterwards about 9.00 am we went off to Little River on this stunning labour day in Spring. We went to the Little River Flower Power garden trial which was absolutely fantastic. We saw 14 beautiful private gardens. There is a micro climate in little river so there were some exotic flowers on display. I was in love with all the Rhododendrons. You also see a picture of the silo's where you can stay and there is a cafe with beautiful art in Little River.
Hope you enjoy the impressions of this day and these beautiful flowers

Change

Poetry United Change

22 February 2011 earthquake

Change is the theme of my life as I went through quite some changes. One of them moving from the Netherlands to New Zealand and starting all over again. The biggest change was going through a major earthquake. I was lucky I lived in the “better” part of the city, as the damage we had was minor compared to the damage in the East and the people who lived on the hills. The 2010 Canterbury earthquake struck with a magnitude of 7.1 on 4 September.
I went to work asap. I worked for a charity who provided access to computers, internet etc Our computer network didn’t work, and I couldn’t reach the technicians. I called people randomly to ask for help and the support I got was amazing. Within no time the system was up and running. Many people had no electricity, so we were flooded with people to use the computer. We worked non-stop. I remember one morning heading to work. It was still quiet on the parking area. 

The after shocks kept coming and a lady looked lost walking around. I asked if she was all right. She said softly I lost my husband last year and now I lost my house. I gave her a hug and she looked startled and asked “Could I please have one again” We both smiled and moved on. That was the first hug of many.
I went inside and connected to someone from another charity in the area. Suddenly we all worked together, and we were one big force.
When home we checked up with neighbours who told us that they were so happy that all the damage they had was all material and that they were so blessed all the family was all right. That was the general theme. Connection, support, hugging, joking. It was almost a blessing in disguise. After the earthquake everything went slowly black to normal, but one thing stayed with me:

He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata

It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
(Maori proverb)

Awake from your coma

Poets United Prompt The food we eat

Awake from your coma

Are you, the food you eat?
I vanished behind a veil
as food saved me from living
it rubbed the edges of my anger
it swiped the sadness from my mind
it numbed my precious passion
Crispy bread with creamy cheese
pomodoro pasta, velvety wine
and chocolate oozing caramel
had softened me into content

Till I wished to wake up
I fought to free me from
the fixation with food and
faced an army of feelings
I conquered them with calmness
I found peace beneath the pain
I found lost dreams
where a pauper is prince
ruling the kingdom of his life

Awake from your coma
enter a room of gratitude
stack first world
problems in a corner
Line up thoughts
to match your soul
Toss the coin of perception
Throw windows wide open
Let in the wonderful world
and embrace it all
dark and light
defeat and victory
Lean into your challenges
Let it scatter you to pieces
and rebuild yourself
with your soul as centrepiece
as your sage resides here
It is made from soft love
the sort that makes you smile

Ashburton Lakes

Last weekend we went to the Ashburton Lakes. First we drove to Lake Clearwater. It is about a two hour drive from Christchurch The last part you drive on a gravel road. At lake Clearwater there are about a 100 baches. These baches were all rented by the Lord of the ring crew as only half an hour further down the gravel road was the Edoras set from this movie. Not a surprise as this part of the world is stunning.

Beautiful lakes surrounded by snow topped mountains. Around Lake Clearwater is a 3 hour track but we have to do that another day as my husband forgot his jacket and it was pretty chilly. The good thing was that therefore we had time to visit Lake Heron as well. We had a picnic and drove back to Mount Somers a small town nestled at the foothills of the Southern Alps. A bit further down the road is Staveley were there is a cafe and the road to Mount Somers forest where we walked part of a track.

        .


..