PR9: Untitled Haiku Couplet

I wrote this pair of haikus during March of 2012, my second year working in Honduras.  The first word "bulla" is a term our kids used to describe noisy situations.  It somewhat translates to white noise in English.  The word "camino" in line 2 is a reference to the Camino of Santiago, a hike I completed in 2009.  The poems are about finding peace during times of doubt.

bulla continues
peace found in the camino
peaceful heart beating

new self acceptance
not quite balanced but closer
grateful for support

--Gertrude Rose
Personal Journal
3/14/2012

ST12: "The Country Roads" by Robert Bly

This is a piece by Robert Bly that I enjoy.  I find it has different meaning each time I read it.  I therefore hope you enjoy it as many times as you want to.

"The Country Roads"

Last night in my dream, I drank tea steeped

In iron that had failed; at the bottom

I saw ruined tines of an old pitchfork.

Everything we leave behind is testimony,

Even our nail clippings.  Then my old clothes

Are testimony of my love of nakedness.

During the months everyone spoke badly of us,

Then I had the fiercest love for you.

People still try to encourage us by speaking badly.

So many times this week I've felt like weeping.

It's natural, like the cry of Canada Geese

Who call to each other over the darkening reeds.

In my early poems I praised so many lost things.

The way crickets' cries in October carried

Them into the night sky felt right to me.

Every way of knowing is blessed by bootleggers.

Because the government does not allow delight

To be sold, you have to find it on the country roads.

--Robert Bly

Source: Bly, Robert. 2001. The Night Abraham Called to the Stars. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

RW7: "Wave in, Wave out"

I was at the beach in Delaware for the majority of this past week.  While I cannot share salt water taffy via my blog, I can share this poem that I wrote after some quality time on the shore.

"Wave in, Wave out"

Wave crashes,
Sea foam topped salty water rolls in,
Engulfing and cooling my feet,

Now the water washes away from my feet,
As it returns to its home in the great sea,
Leaving my feet calmed and even more grounded in the wet sand,

Waves continue to roll in and roll out,
Some strong, some choppy, some soothing,
All part of the same great sea,

Each wave engulfs and cools,
Feet become more and more grounded with each one,
Ever healing,
Ever mysterious,
The great sea's waves never fail,
To meet your feet where they are,
And carry away all they are willing to let go.

--Gertrude Rose
Personal Journal
7/29/2014

PR8: "Let go, let it be"

I wrote this poem in late July of 2012.  I was approaching my last few months of work in Central America at the children's home, and attempting to embrace the many waves of emotions I was facing. 

"Let go, let it be"

Let go, let it be,
You have a peace in your heart,
Trust that, hearts don't lie,

Intense emotions,
Feel every last ounce of them,
They are real and true,

Do not hide in fear,
But embrace your time still here,
There's still 4 months left,

Fruits of growth blossom,
Let us presently love them,
Seeing them daily,

God's love carried you,
carries you, will carry you,
Let go, let it be.

--Gertrude Rose
Personal Journal
7/20/2012

ST11: "The Eglantine" by Nathaniel Pearce

I was putting a book away on my bookshelf this week and remembered about this gem of a book that I have.  It is a collection of poems written by citizens of Sierra Leone after the civil war.  Its words are incredibly powerful and speak to the depths of one's soul.

"The Eglantine"

A perfect image, all I knew.
The season changed and she was gone.
And now I searched that past of plenty
Digging stones with painted fingers.
Sometime in dreams she tells the story
Of what the future meant to us then.
And now I search that past of plenty,
Find beneath it only shadows.
Yet I search through all the seasons
Not for what is past, but promised.
Soon to find the present hope
That was at that pure beginning.

--Nathaniel Pearce

Source: Rian, Kirsten, Ed. 2009. Kalashnikov in the Sun. United States: Pika Press.

RW6: "Dear Dad,"

I am both a citizen and currently reside in the United States, where today we celebrate Father's Day.  I have a truly wonderful father.  I know everyone says this, but I can honestly say I do not know where I would be without him.  In his own sense of humor he loves to write "Roses are red..." poems on cards, emails, letters, what have you.  They always have a somewhat comical tone, but always communicate deep care.  In honor of him, I wrote my own "Roses are red..." poem for him today. 

"Dear Dad"

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Lucky as a four leaf clover am I,
because the man I call dad is you.


--Gertrude Rose
Personal Journal
6/15/2014

PR7: "Joy, Gratitude, Beauty"

I wrote this triplet of haikus during a visit this past January to the children's home I used to work at in Honduras.  After a full day of just playing around with the kids I love so much, my heart was filled with gratitude for the gift of time with every last one of them.

"Joy , Gratitude, Beauty"

Finding such pure joy,
In tablas, crayons, movies,
Honest gratitude

Beauty in nature,
Solace and Peace in water,
True grace in smiles

Thank you loving God,
In ever true gratitude,
Thank you loving God


--Gertrude Rose
Personal Journal
1/11/2014