To a Soul in Pain

sit in judgement not
smile but in understanding
compassion's wisdom
brings love as balm for your soul
there is no need to compare

Mystery

autumn leaves falling

trees smile in wintry sunlight

wind whispering still

knowing of transformation

when blossoms surround birdsong

 A Raven Flies

by Barbara Pease

A raven flies across wintry skies. The cold wind blows echoing cries.

People are shivering. The power is gone. Trains are full, and leaving town.

I sit at home. Dreams still haunt me. In fear I search the darkening skies.

Sirens sound. Men wait for guns. Brilliant flashes blind our eyes.

A father cries saying goodbye to a little daughter as he reaches down. 

A raven flies across wintry skies. The cold wind blows echoing cries.

A courageous leader stands his ground, in a call for weapons, not a ride.

Ordinary people learn to shoot. A brave army slows an invader down.

I sit at home. Dreams still haunt me. In fear I search the darkening skies.

Raisa said each day during the blockade six thousand people died

in the winter of '42. The young, fill the streets, ashamed, courage found.

A raven flies across wintry skies. The cold wind blows echoing cries.

Why war? Your nation knows such suffering. Can you not hear their cries?

They ate glue to live. There was no food. A child ate peels she found.

I sit at home. Dreams still haunt me. In fear I search the darkening skies.

A leader wandering lost, ambitions destroying him, in dark lit fires.

Such passion brings its own destruction, as he walks along this ground.

A raven flies across wintry skies. The cold wind blows echoing cries.

I sit at home. Dreams still haunt me. In fear I search the darkening skies.

Run Rabbit Run

We do not want to know
what haunts us deep within.
Run rabbit run. Shadow hide
the truth of what you feel.

Run through tree and branch.
Rabbit lost and searching freezes.
Terrain begins to ease the way.
We now know the path ahead.

Cougars fierce and graceful,
running, fade to spirit light.
Fear is gone. The path is clear.
We now know where we go.

Anguish sweeps through souls.
We know how wisdom grows.
It speaks to who we are
and where we need to start.

In God’s healing waiting now,
we cast aside our running ways.

Shadow and Light

Disappear
into the world
of our dreams,
my ethical daemon,
my spiritual healer.
Together
I am your poet.

Aqua Dreams

Under an umbrella tree
where rhythm in waves
of a jungle ocean
crash the shoreline
in hushed smokey foam
reaching for driftwood and stone.
I watch from a bamboo cafe
aqua clouds and shadow gold,
seeing you.

Our Land

Harsh and clear
wild geese cry
alive with sound
against subtle grays
in a low winter sun.

Finding Peace

Do not fear your past or who you are.
Forgive yourself and walk on.
Accept others, as they are

and forgive them
           all their wrongs.

for they, too, like you
                     are wounded.

Accept the world as it is.
Your restless ways belong to love.
The caring comfort God can make
will restore your soul in love.

In your deepest longing know
God can bring you home again.
I understand you can not see

this has always been:
         You are

                already
                        home
                              and
                                   have always been.

You may live your life on earth
You may even press for change,
risking what you feel you can
for yourselves and each other.

Nevertheless, remember:
     Your life's meaning lies
            in my love for you.

Snow Spring

A wind rocks early buds.
I wrap my jacket closer.
Through a damp chill
exhilaration smiles
- anticipation.

Wind Song

I sing crazy songs,
hoping all will hear.
Wind sweeps the shore.
Salty air touches me.
Green shutters slam
on a misty dawn.
A thick storm rising
cries a wind song
only periwinkles hear.

Flying

I dreamed I was dead. My friend was dead, too, only she didn't know it. She still tried to do things in the physical world. She stepped into the elevator. I did too, to keep her company. Her spirit moved as if she still breathed. I had stopped all that. I was dead and knew it. We both remembered her little daughter was still on the roof alive.  Terry  frantically tried to press the up button. I could get there faster, because I knew I was dead. I passed through the elevator wall. That worked extremely well.  I was encouraged. I flew up through rooms and ceilings at an angle allowing me to reach the little toddler directly. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Going where doors and stairs would take me was no longer necessary. I had the power of speedy arrival. The tiny toddler played on the flat roof of our tenement building while I hovered protectively above, wondering. What on earth could I do now, if the tiny girl tried to fly?

Muskrat Studio Home of muskratchatter

Check out my website. It is awsome. I am displaying photography right now - chapbooks of my best tweets in the future. www.muskratstudio.com

Senryu: Reflection on Desire

wandering through life

attitude formed in desire 

she gives her advice

Despair

Brittle leaves swirling,
branches stripped bare,
grey fingered limbs
reach to hollow despair.
Empty I stare.

Stones whisper.
I sit among them,
a wisp of fire smoke,
embers glowing then gone
in incidental frailty.

A heart with no love
knows despair.
Its richness
swept to crumbling leaves
on a chill November day.

Hunters' Frustration

Our group yields to marshland grass, gold in the afternoon sun. Snow crunching as we shuffle our boots. Ducks fly in from the tree line over the water. In the distance hunters patiently wait behind blinds in their hip boots. The ducks grow near. The hunters fire. The ducks elude bird shot, flying just out of range. More ducks fly in and this simple scene repeats itself again and again attesting to the wisdom of ducks.

Returning to God

We are spirit beings having a physical experience here as human beings. When we are ready to go home we know nothing here will distract us further. A silent mind will help us as the healing begins returning us to God.

When we can walk away from our notions where we see ourselves finding the perfect friends, the perfect partner, the perfect family our souls are ready. 

When a soul at last knows nothing here will bring the perfect love, understanding and comfort sought, and under no pile of riches will that love, immense joy and happiness be found, then that soul returns to God ending all sense of separation. In God we then find what we seek.

Centered in Gods love and knowing our own we can be a peaceful strong gentle caring friend, partner, family member.

The process begins when an energy awakens pouring through channels in our souls untangling of the knotted parts within. God returns us to Him one tangle at a time. A silent mind prevents our thoughts from interfering. It was our thoughts with their feeling putting the tangles there in the first place.

Mind body and spirit are one and inseparable. Untangling the spirit can change what we believe, what we feel and how we see ourselves. It can impact our bodies. God's work within proceeds at a pace we can tolerate. A silent mind is what we provide along with our willingness.

A Little Humor Trending

Let's Give War a Chance

Melissa Tuckey shared this poem with us today.  A friend of hers shared it on Facebook. She was struck by the timeliness of it as our country considers widening its involvement in war. Faiza Sultan is an Iraqi Poet living in Seattle.  

Let’s Give War a Chance by Faiza Sultan
1
كَيْ
يَمشِي الحُبُّ
حافِياًيَطرُقُ
أبوابَ الخَنادِق
So that
Love can walk about
Barefoot, knocking at
The doors of trenches.
2
كَيْ
تَلبسَ الفَراشَةُ
واقِيَة الصدرِ
عِندَ بوَّابَةِ كُلِّ زَهرة
So that
Butterflies can wear
Chest armors
At the gate of every rose
3
كَيْ
تُكَشِّرَ الشمسُ
عن أنيابِها
ويَحتَرِقَ الليل
So that
The sun can bare
Its teeth
And the night can burn away
4
كَيْ
نَبدَأبِالعَدِّ
كم رَأساً
نحتاجُ لِنُفِيضَ نهر
So that
We can start counting down
The number of heads
We will need to overflow the river
5
كَيْ
نَحْكِيَ
قِصَصاً لِأَطفالٍ مُشوَّهِين
عن "مُفَخَّخةٍ فِي بِلادِ العَجَائِب"
So that
We can tell the tales
Of disfigured children
About “A booby-trap in the lands of wonders”
6
كَيْ
نتَعَثّرَ
بِأجسادٍ مُنتَفِخَةٍ بِالأحلام
على أرصِفَةٍ سَوْداء
So that
We can stumble over
Corpses bloated with dreams
On dark sidewalks
7
كَيْ
نرى الوَطَنَ
مِثلَ السَفَّاحِيَطعَنُ أيَّامَنَا
على فِراشِ الحُلُم
So that
We can witness the nation,
Like a murderer, stab our lives 
On a blanket of dreams
8
كَيْ نرى
الدُولارَ يتَسَكَّعُ
مع امرأةٍ جميلة
فِي ليلةٍ خانِقة
So that we can see
Dollars flirting
With a beautiful lady
In a choking night
9
كَيْ 
تَفرِشَ الأمُّ
جناحيها علىأطفالٍ مَذعورينَ
وتَلتقِطَ القنابِلَبِأدعِيَتِها
So that
A mother can
Spread her wings over her petrified children
And catch bombs with her prayers
11
كَيْ تتَسَلَّلَ الوحدَةُ
وتحتَضِنَ الأرامِل
So that loneliness can sneak in
And hold the widows in its embrace
12
كَيْ
نَسمَعَ العَويلَ
مِن عَصافِيرَ
حُرِّقَتأعشَاشُها
So that
We can hear the wailing
Of sparrows
Whose nests have turned to ashes
13
كَيْ
نتَخَثَّرَمعَ الدمِ
ونُترَكَكأرقامٍ
فِي سِجِلٍّ بارِد
So that
We can clot with blood
And be left as numbers
In a cold record
14
كَيْ
يُوشَمَ السِياسِيُّون
عاهاتٍ سوداء
على جبينِهِمُ
المُتَدَيِّن
So that
Politicians can be tattooed
With dark blotches
On their foreheads
Of religiosity
15
كَيْ
نَلتقِطَ
قنابِلَ بشَرِيّة
خلفَأسوارِ الدين
So that
We can catch
Human bombs
From behind the walls of religion
16
كَيْ
نقترِبَ مِن الموتِ
ونتَحَسَّسَأظافِرَهُ البَشِعةِ
فِي ظُلْمَةِ الوطَن
So that
We can draw closer to death
And feel its disgusting claws
In the nation’s darkness
17
كَيْ نبقى
مَحصورينَ
في نُقطَةِ دَمٍ
سقَطَت مِن سُرَّةِ
التاريخ
So that we can remain
Trapped
In a drop of blood
That has fallen from the navel
Of history
18
كَيْ
ننامَ ونَحلُمَ
بِحُروبٍ جديدة
So that
We can sleep and dream
Of new wars
19
كَيْ
تبقى أغانِي الحرب
كعُشِّ الزنابِيرِ
في ذاكِرَتِنا
So that
The songs of wars can remain
Echoing in our memories
Like a hornet’s nest
20
كَيْ
نَسرِقَ لحظَةَ حُبِّ
سقَطَت سَهْواً
مِن جُثَّةِ مجهولةِ الهَوِيّة
So that
We can steal a moment of love
That fell off inadvertently
From an unidentified body
21
كَيْ
ننشُرَ الذُّعرَ
في قُلوبِ اليَماماتِ
وهِيَ تُصلِّي
So that
We can spread horror
In the hearts of doves
As they pray
22
كَيْ
نُلصِقَ وردَةً
على جُثّةِ كُلِّ شهيدٍ
لم يَتَمنَّى الشهادة
So that
We can stick a rose
On the corpse of every martyr
That did not wish for martyrdom
23
كَيْ
نُلوِّنَ العالَمَ
بِلونٍ جديد
خَلِيطٌ
من الدمِ
والقُبحِ
والجُنُون
So that
We can paint the world
With a new color
Blended with
Blood
Ugliness
And Insanity
24
كَيْ
نستَقبِلَ في بُيُوتِنا
ضُيُوفاً
لا نَعرِفُهُم
يحمِلونَ نُعوشَنا
So that
We can welcome in our homes
Guests
Unknown to us
And who carry our coffins

Summer Lightning

My arms and hands tingled during a thunder storm a little over a week ago, as I had to run several hundred feet through water along a dirt road back to my house during a torrential downpour. The tingling didn't stop until I arrived on my front porch under the porch roof. Lightning flashed with instantaneous thunderous claps. I was the only little spiky thing sticking up in the middle of an open area when all the tingling began. Feeling like a small lightning rod I kept moving. Some of my neighbors lost routers and other electronic equipment.

Here is some of the science behind all of that. For the purpose of this blog I am concerned only with cloud to earth electrical activity. You do not need a solid understanding of electromagnetism or thermodynamics to read this post.

Much research is still needed to nail every thing down as fully understood. However, what I write here is fine for us mere mortals.

A large dark grey cloud had just rolled in overhead. A charge separation had taken place within the cloud aggregating the negative charges at the bottom of the cloud. These charges induced a shift in charge placement within the earth's surface, placing the positive charges (positrons) near the earth's surface under the cloud.

A positron streamer found its way up me.  Likely the trees, and the building in the area were sporting streamers, as well. My streamer is what caused the tingling sensation in my arms and hands.

Now the thunder cloud sends out negatively charged leaders. These can strike downward towards a streamer. The air contains an uneven distribution of impurities creating paths of varying resistance to electrical current. The leader will follow the path of least resistance creating the branched step leaders of what we think of as lightning. When leader connects with streamer a plasma channel is formed. Keep in mind plasma is what constitutes stars. Owing to resistivity considerations the leader may ignore the forty foot tree's streamer in favor of the tiny human being running up the muddy dirt road.

Once the plasma channel is formed a blinding flash occurs as positrons flow from the ground up to the cloud to equalize the charges. The temperature is close to that of the sun's surface. A shock wave extends from the lightning strike outward knocking anyone in the vicinity out cold. To complicate matters a lightning strike sends out an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) scrambling electronic equipment. Sometimes shutting the equipment off completely before restarting will restore proper hardware state, if nothing is completely fried.

All ended well for me, but not so well for some neighbors who lost routers and switches.

My Reason for Joining One Billion Rising for Justice

Oppressing half the world's population is the largest and most pervasive form of oppression there is.  Rape and beatings are symptomatic of how greatly we as women and girls are devalued.  We must change this as our priority. For in liberating ourselves we liberate all. When people over the world value women and girls as themselves it will be impossible to maintain any oppressive system that would devalue anyone. Here are some other heartfelt and remarkable views:

http://bit.ly/1aSt0AT