Seder ’11: 20/30

Seder ’11: 20/30

As kids, the Seder experience
was an endurance test.
We sat as quietly as we could
waiting
waiting
waiting
for my grandfather(Zeddie) to
recite the Haggadah
and get us to dinnertime.

I couldn’t understand his reading.
No one could.
We could try and follow
but it was a challenge.
Others participated,
but he was the center of our ritual.

Now my brother Jeff
lead’s our service
And we all share the experience.
We read in English and sing in Hebrew.

But there’s no more waiting for sustenance.
In fact, we begin the holiday celebration with
a  Happy Hour and  Passover approved appetizers.

I remember my Zeddie fondly,
But I embrace our modern updates.

I AM a digital Learner

(Kevin Hodgson’s Illuminated Poem

I Am a Digital Learner

with giants to follow,

who satisfy my need to pursue

the NEW and EXCITING.

Just this morning,

I sit drinking coffee with my left hand,

Watching the news with my right ear,

And just one click to  Dogtrax waiting in my email inbox

With a link to our iAnthonogy and

He has something thrilling to

watch and wonder about in Kevin’s Poems.

Hey, how did he do that?

How can I do that??

There’s a link to authorSTREAM..

I click… create an account…

Write this poem

and

I’m ready to learn

SOMETHING NEW!

Ready…

set…

I’m gone!

Drying Up ?: 18/30

Drying UP? 18/30

It’s Day 18 and I’m exhausted.

A poem a day with an image?

This pic is fresh,

I swear!

As we returned home yesterday,

These yellow blooms brought

Spring to me!

And the deer,

They couldn’t help

but dance us all

into the season

in style!

Reseraching Loss: PAD 17/30

Researching Loss: PAD 17/30

I’m reading “A Widow’s Story: A Memoir,
Experienced and written by Joyce Carol Oates.
On my Kindle I have samples from other authors
Who have devoted time to write about their personal loss.

Last week I sat beside Tuvia
Breathing relief that we had dodged
A bullet.

But I’m thirsty to know more
From those who come before me.
I’m reading and walking with them.

Last week we missed a wedding in Cessaria
Tomorrow we will miss a funeral in Israel
A dear friend,
Who finally faded away
After a year of hard fighting.
This morning Eileen
Called to catch me up on her news of
Cancer lurking in her lungs.

Will my loss research help me
Live through my own eventual losses?

Back to the Scale: PAD 16/30

Back to the Scale:PAD 16/30
Last night
In a deep slumber
I must have been dreaming
DIET!

In those few moments
Between sleep
And real time
I had a
Vision.

Icy Pink and white sneakers,
Padded white socks,
Electric blue running shorts,
A red well worn HVWP tee.
Out and down to the river,
In cool sunshine at 8AM
Serious walking, a bit of jogging.

A vision of
Past success
10 years ago, 15?

April 16, 2011
Spring is coming in late
Still time to pivot
And take a familiar seat
In Nanuet’s Jenny Craig
En route to Premier Fitness.

All I needed was the vision.
Could it be this easy?

A New Family Member 14/30

A  New  Family  Member 14/30

Meet my new hippo.
He takes up a large chunk of bed space,
but he’s welcome,
Except of course, when Tuvia demands
He get kicked to the chair
Across the room.

He is a gift
From 6-year-old
Mihael.

He was living with Mihael
But out of
Unique generosity
Just before
He left with his family
For Israel
He brought me
Hippo but wondered
where he would
be living.

This documenting photo is on its way to
Israel to put Mihael’s mind to rest.

April 15, 2011 PAD 15/30

April 15, 2011

So far April has not been a month to spring into spring.
So far we are hoping and waiting for…
So far I am waiting for something good.

Yes, I did get a new toilet and a showerhead,
But on balance,
A stint in the hospital for Tuvia,
A postponed trip to Israel,
Gloomy forebodings for the NWP,
And the ups and downs in nature,

But we begin holidays next week,
The Maryland Writing Digital Retreat begins,
And I am hoping still for something good

Coming Home: PAD #13/30

Coming Home: PAD 13/30

Just on the other side of the Tappan Zee
Just to the left
Just up Mountainview Road
Just out of the car
Just grabbing camera bags
Just a walk across the parking lot with the river on my right
Just up one set of stairs
Just one front door to open

And my couch invites me for a
Sit down
Just for one minute to breathe.

Good Ole’ Creative Pressure: 12/30 SOLT

 

Good Ole’ Creative Pressure

Today, at 7:30 AM
With just a bit of a push
This group of Dover 8th graders
Felt some of that good creative pressure
A deadline on the 27th.

Good creative pressure
To interview,
To grab Flips and video,
To ask for help
To work with techie pros.

Clumps of kids everywhere
In this creative atmosphere
And I was grateful
for the early morning wake up
The rainy stop at the drive up for an
Extra large coffee en route.

I’m remembering
That creative pressure
During the last weeks of
Rehearsals before a play
Performance.

Can a high stakes test
Ever offer this committed
Creative pressure?

Relics: PAD 11/30

Relics: PAD 11/30

Pencils, CD’s, Books,
soon to become collectors’ items.

It’s easy to bid farewell to
the Pencil and the CD for the new technologies,
But the book?

After years of loving and living with and around
hard and soft backs,
I tossed this holy experience away
for the slim, backlit iPad,
filled with titles
waiting to be read paperless.

In fact, I’ve been stalling,
backed into a corner,
Before I step back
And take up my paper copy of
Because Digital Writing Matters
As we begin our iAnthology online book club

Why am I fighting
this return
to my old, loving ways?