Writing 101 Day Eight: Death of the Adverbs

 

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Well, in this latest assignment, I was to write something about a public place and eliminate all the adverbs! That is often hard to do but I tried. I don’t believe I succeeded in eliminating all of them but you can let me know what you think. So here is my latest poem for you to enjoy and I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Along the River Trail

The other day, a friend and I together

Determined to stroll along the Minnesota River.

We started by the old town depot

Where the steamboats used to come and go.

But today double rail tracks remain

For the passing freight and cargo trains.

It was a warm and beautiful day

With the water glistening beneath the sun’s rays.

We walked along a narrow paved road

somewhat eroded from the last flood

The grayish flood wall on our right

Kept the city out of sight

While the flowing river remained

Stationed on our left side.

That is until we turned around

To return where we started from.

Below the cement trail galore

Stretched out a long and rocky shore.

The water flowed along in a gentle current

 Propelled by a soft and blowing wind.

As we walked along together

Enjoying the sunshine and warm weather,

A Canadian goose stepped along the stones

But lo, we found he was not alone.

For another meandering goose appeared nearby

And together they slipped into the water’s side.

They glided past us in gentle and quiet company

Until a roaring motorboat disrupted their peaceful journey.

While one fowl sprang and soared south the other flew north

And only one circled around returning to the rocky shore.

He glided into the water swimming near the stones;

Peacefulness had returned but now he was alone.

 My heart twitched and ached at this sight

To see this lone creature taking silent and solitary flight.

We continued to stroll along the Minnesota River Trail

Being met by other walkers with a dog and his wagging tail.

Soon my friend and I returned to where we started from;

It was time to go home and for this journey to be done.

So we left the old brick depot; a century aged place

Where time once was slower and life not such an urban race.

But what a splendid day we had decided to share

Blessed with hope and the fragrance of spring in the air.

Writiong 101 Day Seven: Give and Take

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In this Writing 101 assignment we were to write a comparison and contrast piece and with the twist of it being in the form of a dialogue. So, that is what I tried to do in this next piece of poetry. I wrote another one similar to this last year in which I compared and contrasted winter and summer. I hope you enjoy reading and that it may brighten your day.

I like Autumn, I like Spring

“I like autumn”

“Well, I like spring”

“What’s so great about autumn?”

“Well, what’s so great about spring?”

“In Autumn, you can take walks and enjoy the cooler weather.

You can also smell the woodsy fragrance as the leaves change color.”

“In Spring, you can stroll beneath the warming sun and feel the milder breeze.

You can also see hints of new life, new green grass, and buds on the trees.”

“In Autumn you can watch and enjoy the beauty of the changing hues;

You see deeper green, pale yellow, vibrant red and brilliant orange too.”

“In Spring you see new plants and many kinds of blooming flowers;

You see daffodils, violets, lilacs, daisies, and tulips of almost every color.”

“Well, yes, but in the spring you also worry about heavy rain, tornadoes,

Lightening, destructive thunderstorms, and damaging hail.”

“Well yes, but also in autumn you must prepare for what arrives later;

Freezing temperatures, snow, sleet, and ice with the arrival of winter.”

“I supposed that is all true, but I still enjoy autumn more than spring

When the last of the fields are harvested and we celebrate Thanksgiving.”

“Well, I will always enjoy the season of spring more than autumn

When we celebrate Easter; the glorious day of Jesus’ victory and resurrection.”

Writing 101 Day Six: A Character Building Experience

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I am continuing in this writing 101 course and for Day 6, we are to write about a person we have met just this year and try to study his or her character. Well, this is only April so it had not been a long year yet and being such a quiet and rather shy person who also works all evenings, I don’t get out very much and so do not have a lot of opportunities for meeting new people. However, I do go on long walks, visit a nearby gym, and occasionally browse through the mall.

An Encounter at the Book Store

On one evening after work, I did go wander through the mall and made it a point to stop in a favorite store: the Barnes and Noble book store. I was in the mood to purchase a new book about writing. As I strolled down the main aisle, I became focused on a certain book display which included a variety of books related to the craft of writing short stories, writing poetry, character writing, and sketching. As I continued to look, I also found a book for writing music. This piqued my interest as I have attempted to write my own musical pieces in the past. I want to stress here that I am not an avid music writer but I have dabbled in it. Nevertheless, this book interested me as I opened it and found pages of blank musical staffs. I started to dream of writing music again.

“You won’t be sorry if you purchase that book,” a young and confident female voice called out. StartIed out of my daydream, I turned looking towards the voice and found a young blue eyed lady with long blonde hair approaching me. She walked in a determined and confident stride as she set her eyes framed by square-shaped glasses on me. Being that I tend to be a quiet and introverted person, I immediately wished I had such confidence as she apparently had. When she reached me, she continued in a friendly voice sounding very sure of herself, “What I mean is, that this book is great for writing your own songs because you don’t have to create the musical staffs and then write your notes. I don’t know about you, but I used to draw my own staffs using notebook paper and then write my music.”

Drawn in by her sense of optimism, brevity, and her warm smile, I couldn’t help but like this friendly young lady as finally, I found my voice, “Ah, well, yes, I have done that too. What I sometimes do is buy narrow ruled notebooks to use those lines to make the staffs. And I have used loose leaf music sheets. This is the first time I found an entire book of blank music staffs.”

“Exactly,” she replied cheerfully and, I knew, with hope of make a sale. She repeated, “You won’t be sorry if you buy it.”

In my mind, I imagined this young lady to be a college student attending the local university studying music. With her square-shaped spectacles and working in this bookstore, she certainly looked the picture of a serious and scholarly person. Therefore possibly being a student she might not even be from Minnesota but perhaps from a nearby state such as Iowa, Illinois, or Wisconsin. And quite possibly she came from a musical family and is now studying and honing her own musically inclined talent. She may possibly be in a choir group and play a band or orchestra instrument. I never had the chance to find out but continued to be amazed by her continuing presentation of self-assurance as if she could not be easily shaken.

I really wish I could be more like that. Too often I can be easily toppled or deflated by others’ unkindness. I can shrug off some unkind words and actions but sometimes it is too much. And once this has happened too many times, I seem to go into hiding for a while until I somehow determine to be brave enough to come out again. With God’s gentle help, I do emerge again in an attempt to rebuild myself in the confidence which I had just lost.

Now, right at that moment, I was not ready to purchase the book so I kindly replied to her, “I don’t know yet if I will buy it. Let me think on it while I look around the store.”

“Alright,” she answered and then strolled away to attend other customers.

With the book in hand, I wandered down various aisles thinking about my potential purchase. I gazed at other books that interested me and checked out some of the DVDs that were on sale. Finally making up my mind I went to check out and guess who I found at the register?

“So, you decided to buy it. You won’t be sorry,” the now familiar friendly and confident young lady told me for the third time. She carefully placed my book and receipt in a plastic bag and handed it to me.

And she was right that I never was sorry for buying the book of blank musical staffs. To me it provided another outlet for my creativity. And as I exited I couldn’t help but reflect on this recent but brief encounter at the bookstore. Although I never learned the young lady’s name, I was affected by her positive attitude as well as her sense of confidence and I have kept a picture of her in my memory.

Becky’s Haiku: Warmth of the Sun

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As I reach to feel the sun’s warmth,

I vie to instill it in my heart.

I have just attempted another haiku challenge from Ronovan Writes blog.  In this challenge we were asked to use the words “reach” and “vie”. If you like poetry and haiku’s then I invite you to also accept his challenge at this link: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/tag/haiku-challenge/

Writing 101 Day Five: The Unfinished Letter

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Years ago I sat down and wrote a letter

To my loving and devoted grandmother.

However, I did not take the needed time

To complete and finish every line.

Instead I took a break to run errands,

Return to work, and enjoy the weekend.

I had allowed other things to become more important

Than my grandma who waited for me with gentle patience.

I had started the letter stating that I was well and enjoying the sunshine

And that I hoped she was also doing splendidly fine.

And that was about all that I had written down

As autumn exited and winter entered town.

Then came Christmas and a visit with family

I visited with my grandmother then beside the ornamented tree.

I paid another visit to her as she rested in a nursing home

And held her frail hand that once was so strong and warm.

I returned home and back to my daily life

My letter still unfinished and even out of sight.

My father then called one day with the unwelcome news;

Grandma had passed in the night before morning was due.

Tears stung my eyes as I heaved with a grieving heart

Now emptiness grew in me like an abyss, very deep and dark.

“Do not be so sad,” my caring father tried to say,

“she passed peacefully and she wanted it that way.”

For my grandmother had lived her life in lasting faith in God;

She believed in his love, his guidance, his gentle staff and rod.

 And she had completed the special deeds she was given

And the Lord had rewarded her with a new home in heaven.

I remembered the letter that I had never finished;

Now it means nothing; a white page of emptiness.

Now with great regret I couldn’t help but think

about my grandmother waiting for it so patiently.

Then I thought of my grandmother with Jesus at her side

Who knew everything and was so very wise.

Perhaps he lovingly told her about my unfinished letter;

Though I never completed it, I also never stopped loving her.

In this way, I try to remain satisfied and steadfastly content

Knowing that my grandmother is alive and well in the kingdom of heaven.

Writing 101 Day 4: Lost

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I am continuing in this Writing 101 class and need to write about a loss. It does not need to be a sad story but it could even be amusing or comical if I could pull that off. Hum oh, hum. What sort of a loss should I write about today? Actually I am a day behind but am trying to make an attempt at completing this next assignment which will become a serial assignment with two more installments. I have experienced many types of losses in my life and so has everyone else. From the loss of my parents, grandparents, and others who were especially close to me to losing my keys, my glasses, and sometimes my mind as I forget what it is I am supposed to do today. Once while visiting the Mall of America I had forgotten my purse in the third floor food court and suffice to say, that wasn’t the best day for me.  I have also lost favorite pets, and favorite stories and other poems I’ve written after a computer crash. I have gotten lost just driving from one place to another thinking I know the way but I found out that I didn’t.  In fact, I think that is what I am going to write about today:

Lost in Wyoming (Part 1)

I once went on a journey from Minnesota to Wyoming as I was on vacation to visit one of my best friends and her daughter. Because I have driven this route before, I thought I knew the way by heart. And for the most part I did as most of the route was along Interstate 90 passing through Minnesota, South Dakota, and finally Wyoming. I enjoyed the journey very much as I like the sense of adventure which I experience whenever I travel. It doesn’t matter if I travel by car, bus, or airplane because along the way I relish this exciting taste of adventure; the flavor of doing something new or different and the thrill of having a change from my usual pace in life.

I packed my suitcase and stuffed that into my car with my hiking boots and my laptop and then headed out. I had my trip all planned and most of my route entered into my GPS unit. Since it was about a thirteen hour drive I decided to stay overnight in a small town in South Dakota which would  mark the halfway point of my journey; I am not one to drive 13 hours straight through and tend to take resting breaks along the way. My journey got off to a rough start in that it seemed I had eaten something that didn’t agree with me. Consequently, I needed to stop more often than planned to find a restroom so therefore, I had a dickens of a time just getting out of Minnesota.

But once I had crossed the border into South Dakota, my guest to make to my friend’s was in earnest as I seemed to feel better and could now drive a greater distance. Many described South Dakota as very flat and boring to travel through. To be sure, wide plains of grass and farm fields stretched out before me but I did not consider the scenery to be boring and because the journey was such a simple route, I had great confidence in myself that I would successfully complete this journey with no mishap. With the wide open highway and the sunlit blue sky before me, I bravely ventured on never dreaming that at some point I would become lost.

As I traveled onward, I debated about taking a detour to visit DeSmet, South Dakota as I was an avid reader of the Little House on the Prairie books. DeSmet is where the Ingalls family finally settled after their years of traveling and moving westward. I decided not to do this on this trip because it is such a ways and I am so focused on being timely, but I am determined to visit it on another trip. I make various stops along the way to refuel my car, freshen up and just stretch my legs. After hours of driving, I arrived at my first destination, Chamberlain; a small town situated on the Missouri River. I chose to stay here for the night because this town holds a special childhood memory. Many years ago when my dad and mom took us on a trip out west we had stopped at a campground staying overnight in our pop up tent. The campground was right on the river and my siblings and I enjoyed it very much. We met other children camping there for night and had played a late night of tag with them. Much to my surprise, the motel where I was staying was also right on the Missouri River and it was a beautiful view. After being assigned a room and storing my luggage, I took a walk through the small town and visited a few of the shops there. It is a very warm and relaxing summer evening. Finally, I went to bed feeling very sure of myself along this trek of mine and still never knowing that I would somehow get lost tomorrow.

Stayed tuned for Part 2!

Writing 101 Day Three: Commit to a Writing Practice

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Four of My Favorite Songs

I am on day three of this blogging writing class which has already been challenging. Today I am to work on making writing a habit. Indeed, I need to work more on that. I need to set aside daily time for it and remain committed to it. More specifically for this assignment, I am to free write about three of my favorite songs. I am having a difficult time just selecting three songs because I have so many favorites. One favorite though that keeps popping in my head is an old hymn named, How Great Thou Art. That has been a favorite since my childhood when I and my siblings would attend this Vacation Bible School not too far from the farm we lived on. We rode our bikes there every day and joined all the neighborhood kids and our cousins there. It was always an enjoyable experience where we met teachers who traveled from Chicago to teach Bible school classes in this old one room school house. I loved the words and the majestic music of that song. Today I really enjoy hearing it played by an orchestra. I have a download of it on my computer so I can listen to it anytime I would like. The words of it are very special too starting off with a beautiful appreciation and description of all the wonderful things God had created to the verse of Jesus dying for our sins on the cross and finally the hope we have in anticipating Jesus’ return. That song always warms and thrills my heart.

Another favorite is an old Christmas hymn called Hark the Herald Angels. Again, this song sounds very majestic and beautiful and gives a sense of joy and hope whenever I hear it. I make sure every Christmas that I get to hear this particular song. I can’t remember the first time I heard this one but I make sure to listen for it at the end whenever I catch the Merry Christmas Charlie Brown program on TV. It also tends to show up on other old Christmas programs. Again, it is another favorite song resounding from my childhood years.

Hum, I need to consider another song yet. I do have two favorite patriotic songs; This Land is Your Land and God Bless America. Again, they both are from my childhood days when I attended elementary school. I liked This Land is Your Land so much that I had memorized three verses of it and never knew there was a fourth until recently. I liked the idea it conveyed of all of sharing this land, our home, in peace with each other. The first time I heard God Bless America, I was spellbound by it. I just loved the gentleness of this song and to me it is gentle prayer in which we are asking God to in his never-ending love, to bless our country. Every time I hear it, I feel a sense of calmness, peace, and a desire to be closer to God.

Writing 101 Day Two: A Room with a View

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I Would Zoom to Heaven

If I could go anywhere and see anything then

I would zoom to heaven to see my mom again.

She had left too suddenly and too soon;

Unexpectedly, her life on earth came to an end.

I cannot describe the pain and the void

That sometimes dwells inside my heart

All I can say is that I ache so deeply

As in my mind and thoughts, she is never very far.

I know she is well now with no more pain and

No more heartaches or streaming tears

No more illnesses or hardships and

No more thunderstorms or evilness to fear.

What would she being doing if I

Could fly this moment to her side?

I am sure she’d be wandering through

Heaven’s garden and pause with a contented sigh.

Eagerly, she might follow a sandy path

Lined with tall grass and daisies of every hue

To the rim of a lake just to hear the choir

Of the frogs and the chirping crickets, too.

How she loved flowers, the birds, and

Droopy weeping willow trees.

Perhaps she’d relax in a patio chair

Watching, gazing ever so peacefully.

Just like at home, she’d sit just outside

Near a bubbling fountain pond

With the water glistening beneath

The sun’s warm, extending arms.

She’d watch for hummingbirds and

Perhaps an oriole would fly near

Their colorful wings would flutter while

They daintily sipped from the feeders.

Tulips would be in bloom in a

Nearby, carefully planted flowerbed

Some pink, some yellow,

And some vividly red.

Another flowerbed would lay

Across a grassy, shallow hill

Blooming with sunny

Yellow daffodils.

Cedar and oak trees would

Stand flanking the road

Concealing the yard and

Maintaining the quietness of

our century old country home.

Perhaps, a giant pine tree would tower nearby

As if guarding this new peaceful paradise;

This new home in the heavenly blue sky.

Then mom would reach to hug me so tenderly

Saying, “I know you are sad and so alone but

You mustn’t worry so much about me.

For I am well with Jesus always at my side

And here everything is as it was meant to be.”

I would sit a while longer feeling her

Arms gently and lovingly hold me;

Not wanting her to let go but knowing that

I must return where I am meant to be.

For whatever is my work and my purpose

On earth, it is not done; not yet complete.

So reluctantly I would return to finish

The special tasks, God has in mind for me.

Tasks of kindness and caring, and

Of sharing God’s never-ending love.

Tasks also of helping others

So they may have relief and hope.

For God has a purpose for us all

And a perfect, everlasting plan

I must choose to believe and trust him

Even when I don’t understand.

Knowing also that my mom is watching

And Jesus always helps me ever so faithfully

I’ll willingly return and quietly finish the

Special work God has in mind for me.

Writing 101 Day 1: Unlocking the Mind

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I came home today after a long drive past the woods, over some hills and finally across the prairie. Such a peaceful and quiet of just sitting in the car, driving and driving and looking at the scenery. Not that there is much to see since winter is barely over and spring has begun. Much of the grass is brown yet and the trees are as bare as they can be. Such a time of transition from winter to spring. Watching the last of the snow melting away and eagerly watching for the first hint of the grass turning green. Such hopefulness can be heard and seen in the birds as they flutter around from tree to tree singing and chirping so delightedly. Even when the day is gloomy as the sky is overcast in thick gray clouds, the melodious birds seem to have no worries. I saw robins, chickadees and even some geese as they all have returned in hopes re-establishing their homes. I wish I could be that contend and as cheerful as they seem to be. And not be so worried from one day to the next. Oh that is such a challenge for me! To choose to be content and let all my worries cease. I will keep trying to master that as I continue to watch my feathered neighbors fly and swoop from tree to tree ever so seemingly oblivious to the obstacles and challenges they do not yet see. Therefore, I will try to travel forward as my day transition to evening and then my even to late night. I will try to rest and stay at peace until morning light. Soon my days will transform into a week and my weeks will add up to a month and it will interesting to see, if indeed I have maintained this choice of remaining at peace in spite of whatever lies ahead of me. I will give this a try and we shall see if I really master the simple skill of choosing and remaining at peace in my mind, in my heart, and in the deepest part of my soul with true contentment and sincerity.

Easter: A Time to REJOICE

Easter Cross

Remember Jesus nailed on the cross

Ever willingly, he suffered and died for us

Joyfully he served and gently he shared

Of God’s love for man on earth

Individually and personally, he wants to be

Compassionate, forgiving Savior for you and me

Ever humbly he bowed his head and died on Good Friday

  And rose victoriously on Easter Sunday.

 

Philippians 4:4-5 (Holy Bible New International Version):

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”