Meri's Musings

I've been researching publishing options because I've made a commitment to myself to put my words into the world in a more impactful way. In the process, I've learned a few things. 1. I need to concentrate on creative non-fiction  or genre fiction if I want to be paid  for my work. Poets don't get paid  for published pieces as a general rule. 2. If you put a poem on your blog,  it's considered "previously published"  and poetry journals and zines  won't be interested in publishing it  again (with very few exceptions). 3. Because of #2, I won't be sharing some of my newest  and best works here,  at least until they've been published elsewhere  and the rights revert to me. 4. That doesn't include poems  in haiku form because there are so few  publications that will accept haiku works  that putting them online is the only way  to make sure that anyone reads them.  Besides, I love Haiku My Heart  Friday...

Because of your smile,  you make life more beautiful. – Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh Somehow, the weekend was swallowed  in a writing frenzy that I wasn't ready to share here, with you.  I have so many irons in the fire these days, it's hard to know which one  will leave the most potent mark. But I just want to say  that visiting with you,  at your place or mine,  makes my life more beautiful. Just like your smile brightens the world. Y'all come back now. Hear? 

For more Haiku My Heart Friday, visit Rebecca , a touch-er of hearts. his eyes speak of love but sadness is hidden there under the surface

Before you decide I've gone 'round the bend, let me explain. I was feeling camera-lust. I wanted to capture details. And you know how I love blue. And as for the You-Tube video, well it speaks for itself. I don't endorse the suggestion at the end, though I have discovered a strange Showtime series on On Demand called "Weeds." Goo goo guh joob. AND IF YOU WANT TO BE AMAZED by a whale birthing post, click HERE to visit Kendalee's Dance of a Painted Lady.

I've been writing up a storm the past few days. I thought for certain I'd have lots to say in my blog post today, but no such luck. There are several new poems, but they're all pretty long so I hesitate to post them. Instead, after I'd looked at what blog friends were doing, I headed out on a field trip to enjoy the sunshine. Sometimes images say things better than words. 

bits of sand and fire chatting, crackling in blue bubbles suspended Faux-tel California © 2009 Meri Arnett-Kremian

the world shifts daily topsy-turvy, upside down and then rights itself for more Haiku My Heart Friday, visit my dear friend Rebecca .

Passages. Movement from one place to another. Sometimes from a place of light to a place of darkness. But then, squeezing out the other end of sorrow, into joy once more. Sometimes we willingly travel the path. Sometimes we're sucked into the vortex by forces too strong to resist. All passages we must travel to arrive at growth and resolution.  

If you're in need of a five-minute break, a journey of pure relaxation, I've got a cure for what ails you. It's my new You-Tube video, a presentation featuring photos from my book Shooting Spree.  Sit back and soak in these ordinary, but sacred, moments. I hope you enjoy it.  Love, Meri

Haiku My Heart  is Rebecca's heart child. sometimes dreams slip in bringing tidings from the soul that you'd forgotten

You've seen this poem before in an earlier version, but it's been revised and polished. So here it is again. Bel Canto I suspect that love is an extraordinary guy dressed in everyday clothes, a wily clown that springs his tricks and slaps his knee, chortling in delight at coupled pratfalls. I'd love to greet him, "Ciao bello!" the moment he turns the corner, sticks out his foot and trips me, skinning my knee and making me feel like a kid again. He'd guffaw and offer his outstretched hand and I'd laugh too and shake it. I'd love to serenade him with a song or beggar Rumi's words recounting -- how fierce like a lion, tender like an evening star -- love dribbled warm and moist in the tender cracks of his soul. I know, I know, he was talking about God but love in all its forms is my god. Right now I'd rather read Rumi and rejoice, "I was dead, then alive. Weeping, then laughing," than recall how once my heart...

“   always with me, waiting inside. sometimes quietly, sometimes not. it is when i stop and listen that i honor your presence. it is when i follow what i hear that i honor my wholeness.   ” ~terri   st. cloud Listen to that quiet voice that has so much to say.

About time for a binge. . .  though I've already read  The Girl Who Played With Fire. I just finished The History of Love and have  The Lacuna in the "next" position. What are your favorites right now?

Sit in silence. "Levels of Being" © 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian Meditate.

Sometimes it just feels like everything is Upside down.

So for today, when I'm indulging myself in workshops to jumpstart my writing urge, I'll leave you with three words. Musing. Reflecting. Being. Life is grand!

I'm joining in the one-word/one-photo movement started by Susannah Conway. In the spirit of brevity, here's my word. Ruffles.