~ To Oklahoma ~

image borrowed from sympathy-quotes.com

My eyes can’t stay dry,
My heart grieves tonight.
Like the lashing rain
From a deathly dark sky,
Hot tears fall, leaden,
Grasping, desperate
For a light…

In the muddied, broken glimpses
Of the storm’s aftermath.
Ground zero,
So many heroes,
Trying to weather
Nature’s wrath.

One storm changed the world,
For so many this day.
Outsiders, helpless,
Offer thoughts…
And to pray.

But we can’t give you
The things you want most,
I’m afraid.
No Lazarus powers,
No Time-Traveller’s trade.
Only the little comfort that our hearts
Break with yours.
We’ll send money, supplies,
An endless number of prayers…

I’m so sorry, I wish there was more
We could do.
Please know there are lots
Whose compassion grieves, too.
I know that tonight,
You’re all NOT OK.
I’m sorry, I don’t know if or when
The pain will go away.

I just needed to let you know:
There are strangers out here,
Who don’t know any of you,
But shed genuine tears.
And keep you in our minds,
Held safely and tight,
Wrapped in gentle, caring
Mental hugs tonight.
We, too, mourn your losses,
Hope you’re safe and warm,
And most of all
Pray for peace and calm
After the tragic storm.

~ C.L.R. ~ © 2013

It’s hard to serve two creative masters

The title pretty much says it all. Below is one reason I haven’t been doing much writing/blogging lately. You see, I also like to draw/paint/illustrate. Hence, my “two creative masters”: writing and drawing.

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none”, with the idea being that you’ll only be mediocre in any profession/hobby, etc. if you spread yourself too thinly and serve too many ‘masters’. This may hold doubly true when it comes to the creative arts, assuming that we all only have a certain amount of creative energy to work with at any given time. Once that energy is expended, usually one has to “recharge” or fill up the creative well again, somehow.

You also have to consider that phenomenon where you get in the creative “zone”. Once you’re in that zone, it’s good to keep the momentum and finish whatever it is you’re working on, if you can, because as any artist/writer, etc. will tell you – if/when you come back to it later, you’re probably going to be in a different ‘head-space’ and see the work with different eyes. Usually, (not always, but usually) there will be a change or difference in styles if you work on the same piece at two different time periods. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s very distinct. But it’s true.

I started this piece years ago (that’s right, I said years) and have finally gotten around to finishing it! My hope was to have it done by last year (The Year of the Dragon). That didn’t happen, but at least it is done now.

It’s a Tatsu dragon: a Japanese dragon type (“Tatsu” is a Japanese word for “dragon”), which only has three toes. The Japanese believe that Eastern dragons originated in their native homeland and that when the dragons began to leave Japan, they gained toes. The farther the dragons went, the more toes they gained. This explains why the Chinese and Korean dragons have more toes.

There are three key elements that I wanted to incorporate into this piece: a Möbius strip twist in the dragon’s body, the Infinity symbol and the Ouroboros. I have always liked the concept of infinity, so the Möbius strip with its “infinite side” and the Infinity symbol worked well with the shape of the dragon’s body. You’ll also notice that the dragon appears to be eating his own tail – the “Ouroboros”. The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol related to the idea of the endless cycle of death and rebirth…forever, into infinity.  Kind of like the legend of the Phoenix, but with a serpent (in this case, a dragon) instead.

The Kanji (the writing below the dragon) is the Japanese written sign for “dragon”.

In case you’re wondering, this is a mixed-media piece. The paper is a piece of stretched water-color paper. I normally use graphite and Prismacolor colored pencils (with waxy leads), but I used Prismacolor watercolor pencils on this one. Honestly, I don’t like the watercolor pencils. I like the look of watercolor paints, but apparently I don’t know how to use the pencils to make them give the same appearance (the result looks more like crayon to me), so I added some “extra” color with a couple of Sharpies. I can dig markers. I love the richness and vibrancy of color you can get with them. Of course, you have to be pretty sure of what you’re doing, given their permanency. The last thing I added was some gold filigree paint and gold leaf sheets for the horns and claws. Working with gold leaf sheets can be extremely tricky and this was the most frustrating part of the whole process for me. I see SO many mistakes and was “this” close to throwing the whole thing into the trash, but my mother said I should keep it and she offered to mat and frame it for me (though I still do not think it is good enough to warrant that).

Anyway, this is my latest offering to my Drawing “master”. Now maybe I can get back to writing. Either way, I enjoy the time spent serving. And THAT (in my mind) is the important thing!

~ No Peace Piece ~

Image borrowed from Tumblr.com

Birthed in the minds of power-mad men,
Forged in the mouth of a dark thundercloud,
My sole purpose to kill,
I make murder a thrill;
The cause of many
A burial shroud.

A tool of war-mongers and lovers, alike,
Eat bullets, spit fire, life snatched in a flash.
Life of violence,
Ringing silence,
Endless echoes left,
Bereft and shrieking,
After the crash.

Image borrowed from globalwealthprotection.com

Were I not here, you’d find another way,
To continue to kill each other,
Each day.
Death-bringer, me.
“Equalizer”, I be.
Men, women, children…
None are safe from The Gun.

~ C.L.R. ~ © 2013

~ Now, Again ~

~ Now, Again ~

I skated the echoed edge of Shadow Country, tonight.
Perverse Curiosity overpowered Common Sense,
And I willingly walk-stalked my way in…
Unseen, unnoticed but not unmarked,
(Re)aquainting myself with the current version
Of a former flame.
A spider on the wall, me;
Web-crawling through the past
Half-dozen years of his life.
Complete with technicolor snaps,
Daily blurbs of his mundane,
I was able to observe:
Although in some ways he’s changed,
He is mostly still the same.
I’m amazed that the fresh wounds
To old scars
Didn’t hurt as much
As I expected.
But it was a poignant reminder:
Sometimes things
Are better left (past-protected)
Where the broken
Pieces
Fell.

~ C.L.R. ~ 2013

~ G.M.Oh No! ~

I tried to make this bigger, so it would be more readable, but then parts of the image got hidden by what I have on my sidebar (clock, etc.) SO…here is the poem:

Murder by genetic manipulation.
One poison’s as good as another.
No labels needed for the population.
Seeds to feed the corporate greed, brother.
Any independent competition: eliminated.
No naturally-grown harvests allowed.
Test-tube food, specially (re)created.
Opt out, if you can, of the guinea-pig crowd.

~ C.L.R. ~ © 2013

The info at the bottom regarding numbers involve the PLU stickers you find on produce, etc. at the grocery stores. Here is that info:

* 5 Digit Code starting with 9 – Organic. Grown Naturally, no chemicals.

* 4 Digit Code starting with 4 – Conventional. Grown with chemicals and pesticides.

* 5 Digit Code starting with 8 – GMO. Grown unnaturally, genetically modified.

This is a very important issue to me, and it should be to you, too. Why? Because you have a RIGHT to know what you’re eating. Maybe you don’t care what you eat, in which case, carry on, this doesn’t pertain to you. But if you DO care, you should also know that the U.S.A is one of the last countries in the world to NOT label GMO foods DESPITE the fact that 91% of Americans want them labeled. Why is this? Could it be that big GMO companies like Monsanto spend MILLIONS of dollars to make sure their Franken-food ISN’T LABELED?

Hmmmm…the more you research it, the more horrified you’ll get. But don’t take my word for it. Go check it out. Do a Google search on Monsanto, GMOs, problems, safety concerns, labeling GMOs in America…become informed. Do an image search on GMO side effects. And the next time you go to the grocery – take a look at the PLUs (if you can find them – the GMO companies have gotten wind of people looking at the PLUs now, and aren’t required to label them in this country).

Bon Appetit!

Regarding Friendship and Happiness…

This picture was taken on a trip to Asheville, NC several years ago. The Grove Park Inn Hotel is a fabulous place to visit and this was one of the stones used in their gigantic (floor to ceiling) fireplaces. Indeed, Wikipedia describes them thus: “Upon entrance, is the Great Hall which measures 120 feet across and features 24-foot ceilings and two gigantic 14-foot stone fireplaces and the resort’s grand lobby is famous for the elevators hidden in the chimneys of the fireplaces, which transport guests to their rooms.”

The trip was taken with a dear friend at the time and upon going through pictures from that trip, I was struck with a sense of bitter-sweetness at seeing this particular photo. You see, my friend and I parted ways not too long after the trip and not in an amicable way. There are times when I really miss him. We were very close. It got me to thinking about friendships and how they run the gamut between temporary and long-lasting. We never really know what kind of friendship it will be until time passes and the nature of it reveals itself. There is a poem called “Reason, Season or Lifetime” which talks about the nature of how/why people come into and out of your life. This is a post which explores that poem in greater depth and there is a lot of truth in it.

As for happiness, I think true happiness is a fleeting, elusive thing. Like friendship, it can sometimes surprise us with both its intensity and its transience. Contentment is different than happiness, in my opinion. Intricately tied together, perhaps, but different beasts. Can a person be happy without being content? Content without being happy? It’s been said that the key to happiness is acceptance and I would add that it’s a necessary ingredient for contentment, too. Life happens in moments, and those moments can shift suddenly.

Anyway, my point of this post is that like the stone above reveals, there are roses and thorns, and they are counterpoints to each other. Enjoy and cherish the friendships you have, while you have them, for they very well may not be around tomorrow, next week, next year. Enjoy true happiness while you have it – for the same reasons. If you are content, and that’s enough for you, then be content and let tomorrow take care of itself. Savor happiness when you find it (or when it finds you). And of course, take time to stop and smell the roses. Even if you get pricked by a thorn or two, the scent and sight are worth it!

Kindness vs. Judgement (Pay it Forward vs. Collective Negativity)

I have felt compelled to blog about something that’s been bothering me, in the hopes that it  might resonate with even one other person. I’m sure it will. There was recently a story about an NYPD Police Officer who used his own money to buy boots for a homeless man he encountered on his beat on a bitterly cold winter night. You may have seen/read it. Like so many others, I was touched at the kindness and compassion of the human heart and it renewed my hope in humanity once again. Here  is the story, in case you somehow missed it. So that’s all well and good, and ties in nicely with the spirit of Christmas and the general “Good Will toward Men” sentiment. Great!

A couple of days later, there was a follow-up story which let people know that the homeless man was once again without the socks and boots that the cop so generously had given him. 

“The $100 pair of boots that Officer DePrimo had bought for him at a Skechers store on Nov. 14 were nowhere to be seen. “Those shoes are hidden. They are worth a lot of money,” Mr. Hillman said in an interview on Broadway in the 70s. “I could lose my life.”

Mr. Hillman, 54, was by turns aggrieved, grateful and taken aback by all the attention that had come his way — even as he struggled to figure out what to do about it. “I was put on YouTube, I was put on everything without permission. What do I get?” he said. “This went around the world, and I want a piece of the pie.” He did not recall the photo being taken but remembered well the gift from Officer DePrimo. “I appreciate what the officer did, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “I wish there were more people like him in the world.”

At another point he said: “I want to thank everyone that got onto this thing. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. It meant a lot to me. And to the officer, first and foremost.” ~ New York Times, 12/03/2012

So I looked at the comments section (probably a mistake, but force of habit). I was appalled at how many people were condemning Mr. Hillman for getting rid of the boots he had been given and laughing at the cop for being ‘naive’. All I could think of was the vast difference in people cheering compassion and then turning that act of generosity into judgement against both the giver and the person who had received it.

No, it doesn’t take away from the cop’s good intentions. But I wanted to ask each and every person commenting with things like “You know he sold them for money for drugs or booze” or “The cop should have known he would just sell them. Why waste that kind of money?” etc. etc. – I wanted to ask them, “How do YOU know and who are YOU to judge?!”

None of us have walked in Mr. Hillman’s boots. We don’t know his story, we don’t know what demons he battles. And in the end, you know what? It doesn’t matter, because when you take it upon yourself to point fingers and judge someone else, just remember there are three fingers pointing back at YOU.

Now…the main reason I’m writing this is because it’s damned cold outside tonight. Twenty-seven degrees is the current temp and it’s not done dropping yet. Do any of you know of a homeless person who could use a blanket? How about thermal packs for their hands/feet? How about the notion of “Pay it Forward”?

 If we ALL just helped three people this winter, REALLY helped them, and then those three people help three others…it’s the power of 1 + 1 into infinity. We could really change the world and make a difference in so many lives. Please consider doing just ONE random act of kindness for someone who desperately needs it this season (or every day, if you’re of a mind to!). You see…kindness is a much better way to make the world a better place than passing judgement on others. Kindness battles the collective negativity of judgement. The world is cold and dark enough as it is. How about we all make it just a little bit brighter?