Poems and Ponderings

Sometimes, just sometimes no matter how strong you are, if you are a man, woman or child you just want to be held knowing that when you let go you will be safe Sometimes, just sometimes you need to let go to find yourself your strength your will to life Come, let me hold you Let go and feel safe c J. Schulte-Zurhausen

My child I gave life to you; I held you in my arms, a prescious gift indeed. Everything I wanted to give to you, I wanted to do right to you! And then life happened, life with it's twists and turns... Unpredictable life, lesson's to be learned, re-acting to situations as they were thrown at me. I did not choose these lessons my child, but I always tried to do my best as I knew how. My best might not have been enough for you, but you will, may be, do everything better with your child... until life throws it's lessons at you... So when you when you think of your mother today, remember: She ALWAYS tried her best! Happy Mother's Day to all mothers! c    J Schulte-Zurhausen 13.May 2012

Yesterday evening I decided to enter one of my poems into a competition. First time ever! So let's see...  I have also been made aware of the fact that a lot of the competition organizers/publishers request material that has not previously been published, web or otherwise, so in future I might only publish bits and pieces of my poetry.

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

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!

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

  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