Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2012

A Wave of Words

Hi Friends, My mind isn't always as glib as I'd like it to be, but every now and then, I get a nice trickle of thoughts that actually conveys what I'd like it to say. I haven't posted any paintings in a while, but I will soon! For now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the next few poems I post. This first poem is inspired by a National Geographic article on vanishing languages. One part of the article described a man who was literally the last speaker of his language. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/vanishing-languages/rymer-text There was such an exquisite sadness to this thought, of being the only one left to speak your mother tongue, not to be able to communicate in the language you learned the world in. Thus, this poem: ~Last Speaker of My Language~ It is far too quiet now In my prairie home I wander between hand-built houses Remembering the laughter of so many lives. Little pursuits carry so much Mean

Fire and Creation

After what seems like months of nothing, I've finally been able to do some poetry writing, painting, and art making... my soul is delighted! Below, I share with you a poem I wrote this evening. For some reason I had the phrase "We lost everything in the fire" stuck in my head today- it was obviously something I needed to explore, and this is what I got: "We lost everything in the fire," they say. Haven't we all? Does not the fire of anger passion love consume us from our writhing insides to our crackling flesh? Bones burned down like house frames; wisdom and knowledge reduced to ashes  like hundreds of well-thumbed books; a bit of soul wandering about the ruins of our mind like a singed cat mewing at the loss. The earth is indelibly scorched... as are we when we burn and lose everything in our fires. (Poonam Desai, 6/10/2012) Beyond that, I also tried out a technique I learned in high school: transferring a

Running in the Rain

Friends, What exhilarates you? What brings a fresh, blooming smile to your face? There are so many things I love in this world: cooking, hiking, painting, reading... but also rain! Rain has this amazing capacity to brighten my face and invigorate me, much like it does to the ashy trees that line a street, which suddenly turn vibrant green after a storm. I used to "shower" in the rain when I was little; and let's face it, if I had my own backyard, I probably still would. It was wonderful- feeling cleansed by nature's own bath. Once I climbed on top of my parents' brick mailbox and sat through an entire storm. I watched the birds fly frantically to find shelter, I heard the hot humming of Texas insects cool in the moist, chilly air. I saw sky darken, the lightning crack in the deep gray air, and felt the rolls of thunder reverberate through me. The sky opened and I was SOAKED from head to toe, just like the rest of my street. The pounding rain quickened and then

A New Year!

Dear Friends and Family, Happy new year to you all! What I hope this new year brings for all of us, but especially me, is balance. I find this is something I constantly seek, but never quite get right. A friend once told me, though, "balance is not a tension-less state." Perhaps what I seek is not the peace and calm associated with doing nothing, but the peace and calm associated with doing the things I want to/ love to do well. I, like so many of the other "go-getters" I know, want to do everything perfectly and end up failing. Perhaps, this year, I will allow myself some balance by prioritizing the things I need to do with the things I love to do- not trying to make all endeavors equal. This year, I want to make more time for family/friends, dance, and art, as well as self- care (meditation, cooking, exercise...etc). The other things will get done. How do you want to bring balance to your life? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts and/or any suggestions.