Monday, September 21, 2009

A new adventure, from Molly

I have received some comments that have spurred me to indulge in what is perhaps the most dangerous use of a blog: the sharing of dubious artistic efforts. I will share some of the poems I’ve written recently. I have chosen haiku as a form, because it’s a length I can deal with, with my enfeebled mind and weak arms.

First, disclaimers. I’m no poet, and I’ve had no chance to study haiku form. Mom googled some of the barest guidelines for me–English haiku can be one to three lines totaling 17 syllables or less, with direct observation of nature, often two images with a meaningful implied contrast.

Maybe others will be inspired to add their own poems!

my cottonwood struck by lightning
no “why this?” or
“oh shit, what now?”

unable to go there myself
the mountains came to me
on the evening wind

glee at saving a spider from drowning
moments later, crushed to have rolled over a lace-winged insect.

pinons against moon-lit clouds
longing for the nights of
outdoor adventures

(From Marilyn on those trees:
stars peer through pinons
christmas in September.)

awakened by mouse on my bed
mournful hope for the springing
of Pop’s traps

four fresh
roadside crosses
wash of Milky Way shimmering

two tiny vases
of fresh cut wildflowers
mama loves me

This next and last pertains to Nature magazine’s cover story about a marmoset monkey that had successfully received a foreign gene. It was my first haiku effort and Pop sent it in for publication as a “letter to the editor”–but no luck!

biomedical supermodel
“hisui”
sad lost eyes

Papa, please post the ballad you have started for me upon my request at a particularly sad moment. Maybe others will be inspired to add verses.

14 comments:

  1. Hi Molly!

    Lovely. Life around home. Little life has big life. Life all around us.

    You mentioned a mouse. I have a story. My sister and I used to clean house as a business and we'd written a long, silly poem and published it in a small town paper in Wisconsin, as our ad for maid work wanted. It was probably 1978. It ended with the ultimate in poetry: "We'll keep out that mouse after we clean your house!"

    Our first customer, Elmer, had us clean-up his apartment and wash his huge cat--who was terrified of water and bubbles, of course. After lunch he announced he was moving, so we packed-up his stuff! He paid us with a gallon of shelled hickory nuts he'd gathered in the woods.

    That was prime profit, to us!

    Happy trails,

    Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Molly!
    I think of you often and appreciate Marilyn's emails. Thanks so much for keeping me in the loop.

    When i think of you I see your sparkling eyes. I just had a vision of your shining Self gazing across the world of form at my shining Self. Everything between us was a dance of manifestation in all its crystalizations.

    In our gaze, the crystalizations became luminous too.

    Warm, healing love to you Molly,
    Hope

    ReplyDelete
  3. Really loved the Haikus! I teach a Haiku unit to my students and have been looking for some good ones - I'd like to use some of these. Bless you Molly. Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Molly--
    Just a note from Clovis to wish you well. I know these times are challenging for you, but you've always been a person to savor a challenge...My best to you and your family. Paul

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is for Molly, mapletree-warrior, your grace and honesty inspire me! with love, Deborah


    the apricot tree
    begun with a seed
    stands tall
    a sudden fan of gold leaves
    stretching skyward

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Molly!!
    My apologies that it has taken so long for me to get on here and leave you a message. I am quite sorry to hear how you've been feeling.
    I will give you a brief update on my most recent adventures and goings on:

    I in the third year of my PhD at Cornell, and have made a niche for myself hear studing lipid biosynthesis in mosses. I am the only person currently studying mosses at Cornell, much to my colleauges' amusement, but I enjoy it very much.

    I work several nights a week at a classy restaurant/bar in Ithaca as a bartender (and sometimes server and bouncer). This work over the last two years has stimulated a great interest in alcohol, particularly whisky, and I have spent a lot of free time learning how it is made, aged, etc and how these things contribute to tastes. I currently host a scotch tasting at the restaurant every tuesday night, which has been a blast.

    My other great passion has been traveling. I am a very active couchsurfing member (as I know you are a member as well) and was made the CS ambassador of Ithaca last year. I host people frequently, and my latest trips have offered me some wonderful adventures, mainly because of the people I met through CS. This past summer I went to Chile, where I couchsurfed in Santiago and Valpariaso with some wonderful people. I then took a long flight to Easter Island in the south pacific and spend nine days exploring that incredible island, which is no more than a speck of land in the middle of the pacific ocean. More recently, I was sent to Cape Town, South Africa to present my research at an international conference of moss biologists. I spent a week at the conference, and then couchsurfed in Cape Town for a few days before renting a car and driving all the way across the country and back with a guy that I met. Africa is a pretty incredible place.

    I hope very much that things improve for you soon. I know my Mom would ask me to pass her love to you. Please pass mine to your parents.

    be well molly,
    greg

    ReplyDelete
  7. M, Thinking of you today, and wanted to share a piece that I wrote a couple of years ago. It is one in series of experiences that I had as 'the wedding singer'. I hope that it makes you smile...
    Blessings
    C
    Chapter 09: "Oseh Shalom"
    New York City Subway - November 2005

    So, I was on my way to rehearsal one night, riding the L train. I took the train going in the opposite direction, and got off at 6th avenue to catch the train going my way (easier to board when you get on earlier).

    As I'm standing on the platform, I see/hear musicians. 2 Elderly Jewish men playing traditional Jewish songs (on violin and accordion).

    As they were finishing Oseh Shalom (He who makes peace), I put a dollar in the violin case, and the accordion player thanked me. My train was pulling in, and I felt a little like singing so I did. I sang the last line of Oseh Shalom, and As they began Shalom Aleichem (Peace be with you!) I went right with them.

    The accordion player's eyes nearly exploded out of his head, as he jumped up, and we stood on the platform singing together
    "Havenu Shalom Aleichem,
    Havenu Shalom Aleichem,
    Havenu Shalom Aleichem,
    Havenu Shalom shalom, shalom Aleichem!"

    As we were coming to the close of the chorus, I stepped onto the train, we shook hands, and exchanged blessings. His smile warmed my heart.
    I didn't even mind the surprised stares of my fellow passengers.

    Oseh Shalom bim'romav
    Hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu
    V'al kol yisrael
    V'imru imru amen!

    "May He who makes peace in the heavens,
    grant peace to us and to all our people;
    and let us say amen"

    .... Only in New York

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Molly! it's been a while since I have corresponded with you. I now live only 20 minutes away from Aunt Margery, so I get to see her and Atticus more than I used to. I study Aikido every day and work every morning at a stable caring for eight horses, all of whom I adore. I'd never had much experience with horses until this job, but I seem to have a knack for them. There is one in particular, Gunner, who is an incorrigible trouble maker for everyone except for me. He used to try and squish me against the wall, but I finally gave him a stern talking to and he behaves for me now if I ask him to. Work at the stable, Aikido, and classes keep me very busy so I haven't had much time for anything else, but come January my boyfriend and I will be taking an 18 day road trip to Utah, to go backpacking in Zion national park. And to Denver, Colorado to visit some of his college friends and go snowboarding. Pennsylvania is very wet this time of year and chilly, but Autumn is beautiful. Japanese Maples seem to be popular here and amidst bright oranges and yellows there are shocking RED trees all along my route. Speaking of: loved the haiku, especially the one about the mountains.
    Light, Love, Laughter, and Luck
    -Lyssa Buda

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love your haikus--they really give me a glimpse of your life of the mind. Here's a first effort in response:



    leaves plummet

    earth a carpet of color

    tree stands firm, roots questing deep

    ReplyDelete
  10. Marilyn, Molly, and Frank

    I'm sending prayers to the skies. The birds are here to carry them. I am sending prayers beyond the skies. The stars are there to carry them. May you all have peace, and comfort, and may Molly heal. May you not continue to suffer so.

    Love to all of you in this difficult time and in the better times which we pray are fast approaching. You have all been so brave for such a long time. Such bravery deserves response. It will come, we hope sooner than we even dreamed. May Molly's healing journey start today!

    June

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Molly ---


    "Do not be afraid for I have overcome the world" --- Jesus


    So many of us are praying for you and believe you will have a successful outcome. The uncertainty you experience now is certainly understandable and it takes a truly brave person, a Maple Warrior person, to overcome those feelings with a firm belief in the future. I have no doubt that your Mom and Dad have secured the very very best medical help they can get you and the doctors will apply everything at their disposal to help you. The powerful combination of faith and medical expertise has been documented in many studies. The faith is the part you supply and I know you can do it!


    Love
    George & June

    ReplyDelete
  12. White flowers in dark rooms
    for Molly so she can see
    them anyway

    ReplyDelete
  13. Down in the secret dark
    Crystalline ice spears crisscross
    The surface of the quiet brook
    Above, sun warms the camp grounds

    Snapdragons snap
    Hollyhocks become ruffled doll skirts
    Clover flowers weave bracelets
    You help me remember

    ReplyDelete
  14. Land masses will collide
    to make mountains and Haiku
    Our love comes to you

    ReplyDelete