Poems and Ponderings

This is one of my favorite poems of the english language and I shall restrict my postings to those only, unless requested otherwise... Annabel Lee     It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of ANNABEL LEE And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me. I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea; But we loved with a love that was more than love- I and my Annabel Lee; With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven Coveted her and me. And this was the reason that, long ago, In this kingdom by the sea, A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling My beautiful Annabel Lee; So that her highborn kinsman came And bore her away from me, To shut her up in a sepulchre In this kingdom by the sea. The angels, not half so happy in heaven, Went envying her and me- Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea) That t...

No poems can please for long or live that are written by water-drinkers.   ~Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus), Satires With that in mind: where is my wine then?

I started reading veeery early, some of my early memories are Peter Rabbit, Pooh Bear and a  story book with  Fairies. Because I grew up with an older and a younger brother I got to read Karl May, Jules Verne and the like. I still remember when my mother gave me one of her books, I must have been 10, Gone with the Wind. Well after all the boys books it was definitely something different and it took me a long time to start reading this one but once I started I could not stop. Later as a young woman I read this book again and took a lot of courage from it. Once when I was ill my father came home with a book just for me, what a treat!!!   Little Women by Mary Alcott, which is still  my absolute favorite book , and my favorite character was Jo! Jo is a very unconventional person, a free spirit if you wish, she has a big heart and is the writer to be, she would always withdraw into the attic to write equipped with apples... In the years I have read many boo...

There is so much going on in our lives that we seem to think we don't have time to write, trust me you have time, 10 - 15 minutes a day is all you need. You could get up 10 minutes earlier in the morning, write in the bus, in the train, in your break, after lunch, after dinner, you WILL find time if you WANT to write, trust me. And always, always have a little notebook in your hand/bag, pocket or car. The other day driving to my hardware store, I had a strong sense of my late husband sitting next to me and as I was <talking> to him a few lines for a poem came to mind. I recited it over and over again until I could stop and write it down. Then I kept this little booklet of A6 in my hand, wrote down some more lines with my booklet on the bonnet of my car and  a some more while I was in the hardware store... Looking back it must have looked quite funny, but then again being at the hardware store one could imagine I was writing down my list... lol

Visit wikihow on how to Freewrite at the following link: http://www.wikihow.com/Freewrite I was introduced to Freewriting during workshops I attended and found it to be a valuable tool in opening up to write. Usually I have a vague topic in mind  which I write on top of the page and then I start writing, nothing planned, nothing organized, just allowing the words to flow. Quite often I find I drift away from my chosen topic and that is fine as well as it shows me there is another story lingering in my subconscious mind wanting to come out and be written Freewriting is an exercise to help to get your muse flowing.  Write - do NOT stop until your timer goes off. Do NOT lift your pen from the paper, even if this means writing, "I don't know what to write," over and over again. Write nonsense, write anything, but don't stop writing . Look back over what you've written and see if anything sparks your interest. If so, use it as a point of departure for anoth...

When I lived out in the Valley, Riebeek Valley that is, ever so often I would hear the Eagle's cry and would watch them for as long as possible. It is a love I shared with my late husband so whenever I hear the Eagle calling I would be thinking of him as well.  So here is my little poem in freestyle. Eagles soaring in the sky Majestic, free, soaring high Calling for its mate to join In a dance of love and life Calling, soaring, endless sky   2008, © JSZ, Angelique   

Dance Entrancing, enchanting Return of happiness Fairies dancing all around Magic © JSZ,Angelique, 2011 or taken from my previous poem Be Dance barefoot Feel the earth Be in the moment Now © JSZ,Angelique, 2011 There seems to be some different opinions in regard to the structure of a Cinquain , but I think I got pretty close here. Try it yourself it is not that difficult... As you can see I love creating poems and poetry!

When writing as a therapy a person uses both hemispheres of their brain, which enables their experiences to become completely integrated into the mind. Writing has been proven to be an excellent form of stress relief for many people. All you require is a pen and journal, or even a piece of paper and a quiet area where you can explore and write down your thoughts. This makes it one of the most inexpensive forms of therapy, or where it is impossible to get to a therapist due to distance Writing can release the tension in your mind by providing you with self-knowledge and allowing you the chance to heal emotionally. So go and get some paper, make a cup of coffee or tea or hot water, sit comfortably, be sure you won't be interrupted and start writing. Start with something  like: Here I am sitting now and am supposed to write... no idea what I am supposed to write... -continue like this for a minute and two and you will see all the sudden you have finished a few page...

By nature I am a planner, it is very difficult for me to be just in the moment, so this poem is somewhat of a reminder for me to -Just be in the moment- I am getting there.... ;) This poem below is Pantoum Style   Be in the moment Feel the earth Dance barefoot Smell the roses Feel the earth Travel light Smell the roses Leave worries behind Travel light Cycle of ebb and flow Leave worries behind Look into the future Cycle of ebb and flow Dance barefoot Look into the future Be in the moment Pantoum, ©JSZ, Angelique, 2008

Why write?  ...A professor at a Kuwait University, brought together a group of  women.... to write out their psychological and social suffering... They found release in expressing themes of hidden emotion and inner turmoil. No matter where in the world you live, no matter how broken your life seems to be, the message comes through loud and clear: Writing heals. From HA Klauser , With Pen in Hand, Introduction Page xiii "I write because I am alone and move through the world alone. No one will know what has passed through me... I write because there are stories that people have forgotten to tell, because I am a woman trying to stand up in my life... I write out of hurt and how to make hurt okay; how to make myself strong and come home, and it may be the only real home I'll ever have." — Natalie Goldberg ( Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within ) 

  Now I am taking this poem I posted yesterday and I reverse it, meaning my last sentence is now my first sentence and so on. First the poem as posted yesterday then the reversed and we have what is called a PALINDROME One day, I know, One day, Not today or tomorrow, But one day  The pain will disappear And so one day I will rise like the phoenix out of the ashes. I will rise like the phoenix out of the ashes And so one day The pain will disappear ( But) one day Not today or tomorrow One day One day I know... © JSZ, Angelique, 2011                                                       Isn't that just cool??? 

A favourite quote of my late mother was, Rising like the Phoenix out of the Ashes. She would  use this quote in order to describe her feeling after a heavy migraine attack. This poem below was written whilst I was in Germany, after leaving South Africa for good or so I thought, and I remember vividly that day, it was the day before my birthday, 17.February 2009, a dark winter's day, the heater trying its best to combat the - 10 degrees outside and my 2 beloved Ridgebacks gently snoring in front of it. I had just sat down and written my daily pages about my experiences in this country of my birth, which had become so strange, leaving me feeling like a foreigner in my own country. Tears were streaming down my face as I wrote, feeling abandoned, rejected, lonely, and in emotional and physical pain. The last sentence and here I quote directly from my journal: ... It is a lonely path and a painful one, but eventually and this I also know, I will emerge like the proverbial Phoen...

I am feeling a bit anxious about this one, almost like standing in front of a new white canvas with an idea in mind yet hesitant, where do I begin, the first stroke is almost like a plunge into the cold water. But this is not another art blog;  these are my pages dedicated to my writings, poems and ponderings... I started writing in 2006 after attending a creative writing class with established writer Anne Schuster and have been writing ever since, read more about me here