Common Threads

he’s always guilty

when we hear noises camping…..

we know….treat bag down!

Church Dogs

three
schnoodles
sit with us
watching church on
Sunday morning like
they haven’t bickered all
morning at the heels of my
broken ankle, just like children
all dressed up, behaving one small hour

I broke my ankle in two places last week, falling down the stairs at work as I was bringing a box of writing supplies down for a workshop this coming week. My husband has been waiting on me hand and foot, but there’s no one else like Mom to soothe the pain and reassure me that this will all be okay. I was missing her so much, but then I heard a sweet sound and looked up…..there she was, a spirited message: you’re going to be fine, Kimmie.

Sunday Morning Songbird Nonet

one tweeting Sunday morning songbird
singing peace through my green-leaved wreath
a healing greeting from Mom
Heaven knows I need her
to soothe this broken
ankle, to lift 
my weary,
aching
heart

I missed the last step ~
couldn’t see in the stairwell 
X-Ray: two fractures 

London: rainy day

a colorful umbrella

can’t change history

On National Love People Day, it’s a day to treat others with kindness. I can’t think of a better word to end a two-month study of words for a better world than with the word kind, because in a world where we may not always love others or agree with them, we can still be kind. In fact, as I look back over each word in Dictionary for a Better World this morning, if I had to choose a word to begin making the world better, I would choose kind. It’s a starting point, and even if someone found it difficult to get to the point of love or respect or acceptance, being kind is one of those investments that costs nothing but yields big returns. I also believe it may cultivate the other words and allow them to take root in our lives as we grow. We can all be kind.

Today’s poem introduced on page 54 is a cherita, a three-stanza poem that has one line in the first story, two in the second, and three in the third. This poem tells a story. Here is one cherita that I wrote during Verse Love earlier this year. And today’s…….

I missed the last step.

She propped my ankle,
grabbed an ice pack.

Her kindness 
was what I needed,
what the world needs.....

*During the months of August and September on days when I’m not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world – or the whole world – needs. I’ll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don’t have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let’s turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

On Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day, it’s important to consider our green spaces and safe spaces as an etymology of progress on the journey to a better world. Safe spaces for all life is important, and we celebrate this refuge and sanctuary today. As I’ve read through Dictionary for a Better World, I have had the most insightful conversations with my father, who read the book and joined me on my journey. We discussed words that we might add if we were adding to this lexicon. While we wish that we lived in a world without the need for refuge, we both understand what it’s like to feel that need, and how deeply we appreciate a refuge when we need one and find it.

Equally as satisfying is the ability to provide refuge for others in times of need. And that includes our pets. Among my mother’s last coherent words before she died were, “You take care of these dogs.” Though the dogs about which she spoke have since crossed the Rainbow Bridge after living long, happy lives, there are new ones who have come to us as rescues, and we carry on Mom’s legacy and her love of animals by loving our pets as family members. We provide refuge.

And we, too, often ask ourselves who needed the refuge – – just who saved whom?

*During the months of August and September on days when I’m not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world – or the whole world – needs. I’ll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don’t have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let’s turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

Having a good neighbor is a blessing, but being a good neighbor can set the tone for changing the world. On National Good Neighbor Day, we can add to the etymology of progress in Dictionary for a Better World by being good neighbors. I wrote an acrostic today to celebrate our good neighbors in my community.

Good NEIGHBORS

Greeting others
Outgoing spirits
Offering a hand
Doing our part
Not being petty
Exchanging good wishes
Inquiring to understand
Going the extra mile
Helping with projects
Being there
Owning solutions 
Reaching out
Smiling

*During the months of August and September on days when I’m not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world – or the whole world – needs. I’ll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don’t have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let’s turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

On this National Day of Forgiveness, it’s time to release grudges and free our spirits – to grant forgiveness and move forward without harboring ill will or resentment. The poetry form introduced today on pages 36 and 37 of Dictionary for a Better World is a quatrain, or a stanza of four lines that may have a rhyme scheme such as aabb, abab, or abcb – or no rhyme scheme at all.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness allows us to move on
To live more fully before we’re gone
To release bitterness and hate
To let go of hurt before it’s too late

*During the months of August and September on days when I’m not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world – or the whole world – needs. I’ll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don’t have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let’s turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.

Along the journey to a better world, we could all improve in our practices of situational awareness to promote personal safety. On Situational Awareness Day, the concept of withitness to know what is going on around us at all times cannot be underemphasized.

Situational Awareness

awareness of place
awareness of happenings
awareness of needs

situational 
awareness is the practice 
of full-circle watch

*During the months of August and September on days when I’m not participating in the Open Write at www.ethicalela.com, I will be writing in response to the pages of Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. The poems, poetic forms, narratives, quotes, and calls to action to make one small difference might be just the medicine my world – or the whole world – needs. I’ll be inviting insights in the form of an immersion into a 10-minute-a-day book study (just long enough to read the page, reflect, and connect). If you don’t have a copy of the book, you can order one here on Amazon. I invite you to join me in making August and September a time of deep personal book friendship. A few teachers will be following the blog and engaging in classroom readings and responses to the text. So come along! Let’s turn the pages into intentionally crafting beautiful change together.