BEATING HEART

BEATING HEART
"Many a beating heart is silenced by the tyranny of indifference." ~Michael Faudet

THE PUREST PLACE

THE PUREST PLACE
"Retrace your steps and go back to the purest place in your heart… where your hope lives. You’ll find your way again.” ~Everwood (Trust Your Journey)

The Bible says

"a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth."

31 December 2021

MY PRAYERFUL THANKS

A Tribute

MY PRAYERFUL THANKS
(a grateful tribute to Ate Amy and Uncle Alan)

People in our lives may come and go
And life in time will cease to grow
But your loving kindness brings a glow
To my broken spirit you come to know.

When times hit hard you honored me
With love and friendship kind and true
Without condition and without fail
You give them all without a flaw.

For every goodness you've accorded me
To you with blessings returned tenfold more
And abundant life and good health implored
With prayerful wish I hail Long live!

Life will always be without travails
And our friendship grow from strength to strength
Thank you dear kind sweet folks I say:
To my grave your kindness with me will lay.

@Leah Dancel
Copyright©June 9, 2011
All rights reserved
SH-Australia
Kindness in Adversity Series 2

STORMS


STORMS

By Margie DeMerell

There will be storms, child
There will be storms
And with each tempest
You will seem to stand alone
Against cruel winds
But with time, the rage and fury
Shall subside And when the sky clears
You will find yourself
Clinging to someone
You would have never known
But for storms.

Photo: The smoke came from the firestorm that hit Australia in 2019-2020. Taken from a running train to Central West in January 3, 2020.

A NEW DAY

January 1, 2022
Pirouette 
Last of December 2021



A NEW DAY

The year past had been tough.
We met arduous stuff
Blown out of proportion,
The world has ever known.
Now we face a new day.
Now we face a new day.
May life be better than 
Before; hounded with strifes.
Hoping our world be free
From every devil's snares.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright©January 1, 2022
All rights reserved
ILA Magazine Lesson
#Last Challenge
#pirouette
#decastitch

(Chattel Quote: "It is the poetry of nature, it is that which uplifts the spirit within us. " ~John Ruskin)

ILA Magazine
Lesson Challenge
By Annette Nasser
Admin/Founder




DREAMTIME

DREAMTIME 
 
Ancestors dreaming 
projection of 
evanesced 
land mass 
lost. 
Lost 
land mass 
evanesced 
projection of 
Ancestors dreaming. 

©Leah C. Dancel 
Copyright©December 31, 2021 
All rights reserved
SH-Australia
ILA Magazine Lesson Challenge #decastitch 
#wow_evanesce 
#eggtimer 

NB. Last Challenge with ILA Magazine, Annette Nasser, Administrator-Founder December 31, 2021


29 December 2021

PHENOMENON

Photo: Google

PHENOMENON

The purest form of the spirit as I have just learned,
Is that thin film-like, white smokey veil
That leaves a dead person's body when he draws his final - last breath.
Was it a coincidence that I was blessed
To witness that phenomenon in a trance
When my last word of prayer was said.
I saw a figure of an Angel taking your hand as your spirit appeared out of nowhere 
It travelled from your feet and hovered over your face
And for a moment,  the white veil  evanesced into the air out of my sight.
It left me speechless; no one would understand me about what I saw.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright@December 30, 2021
ILA Magazine Lesson 
#DecastitchChallenge
#Wow_Evanesce
#brothersdeath

Author's Note:
This was my first-hand experience watching  my dying brother via video call. It was an inexplicable moment to witness such a phenomenon that involved a family member facing his own death. I asked the immediate family members who were physically with my brother on that very moment, but they told me, they didn't notice anything. It was my brother's 64th birthday. He died at 10 am, exactly on the day he was born. His twin sister followed 19 days later. Unlike her twin brother, I didn't see anything like that with her.

Date: February 23, 2021



28 December 2021

YOU'RE A WARRIOR

Lifted from Rosie Harpas
Women Over60 Australia 
Friendship Group
"Something to give us courage." ~RH


Source: FB


CONTRADICTION

By Melany Amante Mabao Maguindanao

In the world of contradiction, Imperfect people looked for perfection.
Claiming virtues, speaking values...
The very people who abuse.

The thief, the immoral, the corrupt and disloyal...
Proud, un-embarassed, arrogant and most vocal.
The pious, the chaste, the clean and the spotless...
Unbridles the lust, the greed
more than faithless!

In this world of contradiction,
What are your chances for salvation?
To live up what you teach...
You should practice what you preach!

Melany M. Maguindanao
12/27/2018
All Rights Reserved.

REMINISCES

December 29, 2018

Reminisces
By Melany Amante Mabao Maguindanao

Poems, love songs, and dances...
Courtships, dates, and romances.
Younger days of yesteryears...
Living my life without fears.

Now that those days are gone,
I have to face the setting sun.
Remembering my distant past,
Into the night, I hope will last.

Those good times...I had my part,
I'll keep it all inside my heart!
When gray colors my hair...
I'll be smiling in my rocking chair!

Melany M. Maguindanao
12/28/2018
All Rights Reserved.

OF LOVE and POETRY

By Epimaco Densing III
USEC DILG Philippines
2016-2022

Of Love and Poetry
By Ka Epi
Written while at the Home of the National Writers of Philippine Literature - Silliman University, Dumaguete city 
(Dec 28, 2018)


To write
Many times in the past
Poetry is the path, they say
To feed the human soul
With poems written in a bowl

To inspire
Amidst the beauty of nature
Creativity arouse and awaken
Secrets of the heart revealed
A genre of love redefined

To love
Alas, the inspiration of thy love
Like a dove flying from above
Could not profess like a gentry
So I say ‘I love you’ by way of poetry

Source: Facebook

VILLANELLE

A famous Villanelle by Dylan Thomas.

1914-1953.
~~~~~~~~~


Do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rage at close of day
Rage ,rage , against the dying of the light

Though wise men at their end know dark is right.
Because their words had forked no lightening they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men the last wave by crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a Green Bay.
Rage,rage, against the dying of the light

Wild men who caught and sang the men in flight.
And learned too late ; they grieved it on its way
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men near death , who see with blinding sight.
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay
Rage,rage against the dying of the light

And you my father there on the sad height
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


25 December 2021

A LONG WINTER

By Leah C. Dancel

A LONG WINTER

It's another year of long winter
Snowflakes drifting as I slumber 
It snows throughout the whole night
Strong winds blow the thin light
From a candle lamp
Standing ajar
On table
Nearby
Me.

Dark
And cold
There's no light
From a burning 
Fire in the furnice 
There's no chopped wood in sight
In this empty old cabin  
As storms are raging and flinging
Even the fiercest spirit takes fright.

Out in the woods the howling winds stop
It must be getting tired, perhaps
The relentless snow, slowing
When the moon comes shining
To shed light, to warm
My dear old cabin
And stranger
Who takes
Shield.

Beams
Of light,
Morning bright,
I yawn in chills
Of winter fresh smells
Coming out from log fires
Near by the woods with camp fires
Deers, rabbits, squirrels are herding
While old grizzly bears, hibernating.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright©December 26, 2021
All rights reserved
Winter in the North Pole
#Nonet

24 December 2021

PASASALAMAT

Galing kay Romeo 'Jhake' Morales Jr




mahirap ay dumadali kung may kasama
mabigat ay gumagaan sa pasaning may katuwang ka
 pasasalamat ko sa inyo'y walang dulo't hangganan 
nakatatak na sa'king puso't isipan .

bagyo ng buha'y nanalasa sa iba't ibang paraan
mga kamay na dala'y pag-ibig handog ay sisilungan
sa'king pagtangis yayapusing kay higpi't kay init
di man kadugo'y bisig n'yoy inialay na 'ko'y kumapit.

ihip ng hangin sa disyembre'y sinlamig ng nyebe
sing init ng kape ang pagmamahal na inyong ibinahagi  
sing pait ng  ampalaya ang danas kong pighati
inyong pagkalinga'y sing tamis ng kendi.

ngalan mo'y hindi ko isusulat sa kapirasong espasyo 'to
maluwag 'king isipa't aking puso
doon nananahan ang taong tulad n'yo
kasama ng dalangi't pasasalamat sa'nyo.

December 25, 2021 

ANGHEL SA LUPA

Ni Frandres Irean


ANGHEL SA LUPA

Wala kang pakpak ngunit ang tulong mo'y lumilipad sa mga mahihirap,
Sa mga nangangailangan bukas palad kang tumatanggap,
Ang habag sa iyong kapwa ay likas mong ipinalalasap,
Anghel ang iyong kapara sa puso mong busilak,

Sa bawat tulong walang hinihintay na kapalit,
Isang nang kagalakan ang ngiting masusungkit,
Sa mga pusong nagdurusa sa hirap at pasakit,
Haplos ay pagmamahal na hindi mabubura at mawawaglit,

Hinahangaan kita ANGHEL DITO SA LUPA,
Kabutihan ng loob ay tinataglay mong sadya,
Ikaw ang LAMPARA sa takipsilim na tinatamasa,
Sakbibi man ay lumbay hatid ay pag-asa ng pag-ibig mo sa kapwa.

By Erica Francis Toquiro
December 25, 2021

FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS by Sufi

By Sufi



Foreword:

How ironic that two and three months later after posting this, my twin siblings, Nonoy and Neneng, would pass away, unexpectedly. 

FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS by Sufi

"Only with TIME do we realise the importance of LOVE"

Once upon a time all Feelings and Emotions went to a coastal island for a vacation. According to their nature, each was to have a good time. Suddenly, a warning of an impending storm was announced and everyone was advised to evacuate the island. 

The announcement caused sudden panic. All rushed to their boats. Even damaged boats were quickly repaired and commissioned for duty. 

Yet, Love did not wish to flee quickly. There was so much to do. But as the clouds darkened, Love realized it was time to leave. Alas, there were no boats to spare. Love looked around with hope. 

Just then Prosperity passed by in a luxurious boat. Love shouted, 'Prosperity, could you please take me in your boat?"

No', replied Prosperity, 'my boat is full of precious possessions, gold and silver. There is no place for you.'

A little later Vanity came by in a beautiful boat. Again Love shouted, 'Could you help me, Vanity? I am stranded and need a life. Please take me with you.'

Vanity responded haughtily, 'No, I cannot take you with me. My boat will get soiled with your muddy feet.'

Sorrow passed by after some time. Again, Love asked for help. But it was to no avail. 'No, I cannot take you with me. I am so sad. I want to be by myself.'

When Happiness passed by a few minutes later, Love again called for help. But Happiness was so happy that it did not look around, hardly concerned about anyone. 

Love was growing restless and dejected. Just then somebody called out, 'Come Love, I will take you with me.' 

Love did not know who was being so magnanimous, but jumped on to the boat, greatly relieved that she would reach a safe place. 

On getting off the boat, Love met Knowledge. Puzzled Love inquired, 'Knowledge, do you know who so generously gave me a lift just when no one else wished to help?'

Knowledge smiled, 'Oh, that was Time.'

'And why would Time stop to pick me and take me to safety?' Love wondered. 

Knowledge smiled with deep Wisdom and replied, 'Because only Time knows your true greatness and what you are capable of. Only Love can bring Peace and great Happiness in this world. 
~~~~
The important message of this Sufi story is that when we feel important, we forget Love. Even in Happiness and Sorrow we forget Love. Only with Time do we realize the importance of Love. So, why wait that long? Why not make Love a part of our life today?


Photo: Short voyage to Guimaras Island with Precy Bierbaum, December 12, 2019

21 December 2021

GOD'S GREATEST GIFT


©Mohammad Ali Aznabi 



God's Greatest Gift

 I get the touch of your loving affection
 In the depth of my heart, my Mother!
 Your memories arouse mournful delight
 Your magical soft eyes - a warm smile
 Brings the moon-beams in my heart-sky.

 Weary eyes in your sickness, 
 Weak trembling hands 
 Flash in my clear vision
And brings tears in my eyes.

 Mom!  I am fascinated 
At the touch of your affection
Tears fall from the eyes 
For a wonderful blessing.

Your patience is so soft sweet - 
Happy mind with a little!
Simple movements like an innocent child,
Indifferent mind from the world - 
Soft as a flower
I am superbly fascinated at your whole life.

Your touch I find 
Amidst the children and butterflies,
Green leaves, blue extended sky.
I find your mind in bounteous beauty
In the fountain, in colourful evening, 
And the dews of the dawn.

Departure of your body in a holy moment
Spreads white light in peaceful elegance.
Your delighted and radiant body
Rouses burning sorrow in the depth of mind!

 Mom! The light of God shines in your grave
 My inward eye sees the dawn of light here,
 The darkness of my mind flees instantly
 The lamp of love burns and the cheeks float
  in tears.

The mind is immersed in fragrance 
When I come close to your grave,
Peaceful wind blows in my limbs -
Swings the new leaves of delight.

You are my love and peace - 
Overflowing fragrance and divine light
Your feet are my heaven -God's greatest gift.

Source: Literature and Philosophy/FB


19 December 2021

FLICKERING HOPE

Repost
December 19, 2016



FLICKERING HOPE
By Duoi Ampilan

Again, I found myself walking down the Boulevard of Broken Dreams; watching the stars in the Valley of Tears and embracing this fortune in a Lonely Kingdom. I do feel the warm breeze of the Gulf of Aden bringing message of Hope. 

I watch the crows every evening flocking at the nearby palms. I listen to the fireworks of wedding ceremonies at night infused with gun fires. I wake up at dawn hearing the 'Call to Prayer'. The noise of the crows on the corrugated roof welcomes my new day.

Everyday is a cycle of things. Nothing is certain except the uncertainties. With the change of season, good fortunes must come. The barren land is waiting for the rain. The innocent souls are longing for that mighty Peace to reign in a land fraught with sadness and agony.

I witness the ruins of war. I listen to the saddest stories and to the sweetest dreams too. I see the shadows of poverty engulfing the place but I also notice the Silver Lining over the horizon.

Each passing day is a testimony to the calls and prayers echoing from the hearts of many. People are not losing hope. They keep on believing that even the smallest prayer penetrates the doors of Heaven.

In a beautiful land, that has been devastated by a civil war, life is a journey of no return. Who knows, life may never be the same again, tomorrow. In this corner of the world, everyday is a walk to remember.

18 October 2016 
21:15
Port City of Aden
Southern Yemen

Comment:

"Hope springs Eternal. Yes we need to believe that there is still Hope after the Deluge. A call to Heaven will Ease the Pains of War. Believe in God, the Giver of Eternal Hope and Rest Assure that Peace will come in the End. "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit now and ever shall be world without end. Amen🙏🙏🙏."
~Papang Napoleon Torres III

16 December 2021

OUTBACK TWILIGHT

By Leah C. Dancel


My penchant for travelling, as opportunity arises, takes me to places where I constantly marvel in the existence of life far from so-called “civilisation.’

➖💠➖💠➖💠➖

OUTBACK TWILIGHT

Subtle in sobriety
The outback twilight skimming
Through the fields
Of grasses and bushes
Life in existence subdued.

Fair weather summons
The larks singing lullaby
Darkness in horizon
Hurried in descending gloom
Night birds adrift.

A clandestine affair
In solitary confinement harks
The secret beauty
Of peace temperance
Tranquility doth prevail.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright©October 28, 2019
All rights reserved
SH-Australia

PHOTOGRAPHER’S SONG of WINTER

By Annette Nasser

Sharing a “Memory Poem”…
of Photographers and Winter...
...............................


PHOTOGRAPHER’S SONG of WINTER 

Weekends of color 
kindle mind’s eye
and rustic camping lodges
sit on majestic mountains,
tapestries of woven hues,
created by Hands of God,
seen within depth of heart and soul.
Photographers perform magic,
traveling from place to place,
unseen at times,
leaping synapses
firing impulses chemically induced
electrically charged energy 
in spirited dance, frolic in clusters.
Craving beauty 
as much as life, itself,
drawing closer, 
driving pathways of hills,
countrysides, 
embraced by a season of glory.

Infinite stars in Winter night’s glow
diamonds on velvet black with hints
of deepest blues, violet hues.

Iridescent, pristine,
spectacular display of clouds
and blinding snowstorms fall
upon spirited conversation with eyes
gazing beyond, never wanting to leave.

Road trips along back roads,
shutterbugs catch up on events
and moments of the day,
spiced winds of enchantment 
sparkle under Khione’s opalescence 
caressing reflective memories
spent along life’s way.

Annette Nasser
ILA Magazine Founder



Comment:

Mesmerizing kaleidoscopic imagery that dances with mixed feelings of enchantment and excitement for nature blazed beyond rapture of the reader. I don't drive myself, but that's a bit scary an adventure for me. I experienced travelling through a deep snow and whoophing blizzard. 😊 ©Leah C. Dancel, December 17, 2021

LOVE IS ETERNAL

By Mohammad Al Aznabi
 


Love Is Eternal

Love is eternal, immortal, inexhaustible
Love is ever-old, ever new and ever-known.
Everything will be decayed
But love survives, 
The lamp of its radiant glory shines
Even at the end of life.

Wherever great, where holy, where glorious
There is everything bright, 
Radiant in the light of love!

Materialistic thought of the greedy people
The desire of the material world
Will be exhausted in the course of time,
The bitterness of suffering
The heart and the brain are afflicted,
Love is the haven of great peace.

Love among people, 
Love between man and woman
Love of nature and human
Love of the limited mortal being 
With the Infinite -
All are the sub-branches of the same ocean!

As the sun and the moon are the symbol of
light for this earth -
The source of energy,
As such Love is the Sun, Moon, Stars 
In the sky of human heart.

If the light of love does not burn
The birth on this earth is in vain- 
The whole life will be spent in the darkness!

Copyright©
Mohammad Ali Aznabi

Source: Literature and Philosophy
December 16, 2021

13 December 2021

ASYMMETRY

By Leah C. Dancel



ASYMMETRY

Father and son
Brother and sister
Their pulses, their hands
Hold steady with brushes
Assorted paints in the palette
I see no rainbow
Their strokes flow
A river of idea
In one direction
Obsessed with creativity.

I sneaked in
And took one of the contaminated brushes
I thought I could do a mango
Ripe, thin skinned and sweet
With thought disarrayed
I dipped the brush in the palette
The colours came on
Heck, the brush said
"Just go with the flow."
Oh well, at least I've tried.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright ©December 13, 2021
All rights reserved
Glenfield-Australia

Photo: Mango Artwork 
© Leah C. Dancel
December 13, 2021


MANGO
 Summer Fruit
December 13, 2021
At NAF's Home

9 December 2021

The Beauty of Trail Running

By Hannah Dancel Occena Bernardo

The Beauty of Trail Running

When you're feeling down and blue
When you think nobody cares for you
When your body is weak and low
Your soul is simply telling you to

Step outside and free yourself
This is your moment,
so take a deep breath
Set your feet against the ground
Run for your heart and never 
let it get bogged down.

Allow the sun to kiss you
The breeze to hug you 
With open arms
smell the scents that 
flowers have to offer.

The birds are singing
The sky is smiling
One can't help but celebrate.

A healthy mind resides 
in a healthy body 
When you let all your senses
enjoy the astounding beauty of God's grace.

© ladyhanndor

WANGIS NG AGILA

Tula ni Frandres Irean



WANGIS NG AGILA

Kapara ng agilang lumilipad sa kalawakan,
Tinitingala kita mula dito sa kalawakan,
Tayog ng iyong lipad aking hinahangaan,
Dahil taglay mo pa rin ang magandang kalooban.

Sa pagkamit mo sa tagumpay ay hindi ganun kadali,
Maraming beses na inilugmok ka ng pighati,
Maraming beses na ikaw ay humikbi,
Ngunit nagpatuloy ka nagsikap, nagpunyagi,

Sa bawat balasa ay pagsugal mo sa hamon ng buhay,
Kahit walang katiyakang ang alas ay dadampi sa iyong mga kamay,
Ang mahalaga ika'y lumaban at buong puso iyong ibinigay,
Hanggang sa makamit mo ang hinahangad na tagumpay,

Hinahangaan kita hindi sa kung ano ang iyong yaman,
Hinahangaan kita sa angkin mong katapangan,
Sa pagkampay mo'y hindi ka sumuko bagkus iyong nalampasan,
Ang maitim na ulap na sa'yo ay humadlang.

Piping saksi ang bakyang pananggalang,
Sa matinik na daang iyong nilalakaran,
Paulit-ulit mang nadapa patuloy lang sa paghakbang,
Kumapit ka sa pananampalataya at nagtiwala sa Poong Maylalang.

Ngayo'y nahawi na ang ulap na madilim,
Silahis ng bukang liwayway tila sayo'y naglalambing,
Kaginhawahan ang tinatamasa ligaya ang umaalipin,
Bunga ng mga pagsisikap mo'y kaytamis mong aanihin.

December 9, 2021

8 December 2021

MY MOTHER

Photo:From the Treasure Chest 
Late Precy Dancel Bierbaum 
February 23, 1957 - March 14, 2021

MY MOTHER
(Renku)

Tamed in poverty
Motherless childhood mem'ry
A pang of sadness.

Responsible child
Looking after her siblings 
Her maternal role.

They grew together
And left town to another
Place of adventure.

Time came they parted
On each own without ado
Life took them away

To places beyond
The border of their old home.
So far far away.

They all got married
With a growing family.
They all multiply!

My mother is gone
A woman of great influence
She's a pure substance

A proverbial mum
Resting in eternal home
I'll see her one day.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright©December 7, 2021
All rights reserved
SH-Australia
#mother
#haiku

7 December 2021

HAPPY GRADUATION DAY

By Leah C. Dancel


HAPPY GRADUATION DAY
(A dedicatory prose)

To Basali Baniaga Baybay:

I love you Girl
Your stature may be small,
But your world and dreams are big.
You're  not a woman yet, of earthly experience,
But your perspective in life is beyond my grasp.
You never hesitated sharing me the wonders
And appreciation of the blessings you've attained;
You never showed a hint of doubt in trusting me;
A person, a complete stranger, whom you've never met before.
Yet, you're there in flesh and blood
Running to me like I was a long lost Aunt, 
Or maybe a Mom, who stood long hours under
A Eucalyptus tree on a cloudless sky
Comforted by a Spring breeze
As I waited for you till your duty was over.
Now your mission is accomplished 
Without doubt with flying colours
As your Marching Day is near.
I have no jewels to crown you
Only my wrinkly aged hands to clasp yours
To greet you an old-fashioned Congratulations !
Of course I'll miss you, but,
Let me shed my tears of joy
Raising a glass of cheers
To your success, health and happiness.
Now and hereafter, and to the future.
Till We Meet Again!


©Leah C. Dancel
aka EDiesel
(nom-de-plume)
Copyright@ December 8, 2018
All rights reserved
SH-Australia

BEACHCOMBER

By Keith AndDi Hansen
Photo: CTTO

As seen from afar alone with the tide
working the beach time now on-side.
Walking the drift-lines scanning the shore
harvesting treasures passed-by before.

A shell or crustacean a well weathered rock
discarded artefacts add to lifes stock.
The highest of prizes driftwood so fine
carefully crafted by nature and time.

What drives the passion the finds or the chase
or time to invest in a mythical place.
For treasures appear as born from the beach
shrouded in mystery origins past reach.

The wind waves and waters the sands and the finds
all energy sources in series aligned.
To draw on these forces is time-out to breathe
time to recharge
time to believe.

KHansen

Source: Poetry Australia

GIVING THANKS

By Robert Langley

What is it you’re lacking
What is it you have
Are your cupboards barren
Or do you bear the fatted calf

So much the accounting
By things that take up space
But this is not the measure
That defines the human race

Are there those of value
Who brighten up your day
Has someone shown you kindness
Or helped you on your way

It’s there that we find gratitude
It’s there our worries cease
For where we know what matters
It’s there that we find peace.

Lifted from Don Luman-ag
December 8, 2021

6 December 2021

ETHEREAL GLOW

Published at ILA Magazine
By Annette Nasser - Founder/Admin

"Ethereal Glow", a poem by Leah Dancel, chosen among the December 10th's Biweekly Picks, published on ILA Blog. This is truly a soothing poem, and the fondness the poetess embraces of Nature.


"There is so much Nature has to offer to mankind. Let not humans destroy it, for it was the very first thing that God created in the beginning; when He separated the Light from Darkness  out of the voidness of the earth. When it did, came that First Ethereal Glow ....and God was very pleased!" ~Leah C. Dancel, December 23, 2021


Photo by Lito Thion Dancel

ETHEREAL GLOW

The glory of the morning mist
Looks dainty in the east,
Morphing into ethereal glow;
Its delightful sight meets my eyes:
The vision of God's beauty 
As seen in the sky.

The cornfield is wet with dewdrops
Some nestling on every leaf that laughs
For each sweet refreshing reverie
How happy am I to greet this new day! 

Nearby I heard the skybirds singing.
Belting a melancholic song that rings in the air.
Their plumage are in molting spree
Into a melange of variant colours.
Up into the sky they fly,
Brushing a palette shade of pastel blue.

Soon the sun slowly rises
As gently it creeps into the light.
Beneath the veil of purplish blue halo,
Softly it spreads the ethos of Nature's glow.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright©December 7, 2021
All rights reserved
SH-Australia


SHE LET GO

By Rev. Safire Rose


She Let Go

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.
She let go of fear. She let go of the judgments.
She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.
She let go of the committee of indecision within her.
She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely,
without hesitation or worry, she just let go.
She didn’t ask anyone for advice. She didn’t read a
book on how to let go… She didn’t search the scriptures.
She just let go.
She let go of all of the memories that held her back.
She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.
She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.
She didn’t promise to let go.
She didn’t journal about it.
She didn’t write the projected date in her day-timer.
She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.
She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.
She just let go.
She didn’t analise whether she should let go.
She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.
She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.
She didn’t call the prayer line.
She didn’t utter one word. She just let go.
No one was around when it happened.
There was no applause or congratulations.
No one thanked her or praised her.
No one noticed a thing.
Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.
There was no effort. There was no struggle.
It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.
It was what it was, and it is just that.
In the space of letting go, she let it all be.
A small smile came over her face.
A light breeze blew through her.
And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.
Here’s to giving ourselves the gift of letting go…
There’s only one Guru ~ you.

―Rev. Safire Rose

Source:
WILD WOMAN SISTERHOOD

Lifted from Estelle Cortes 

5 December 2021

DREAM ON


Dream on
So many dreams we heard
Many have been fulfilled
Under irrepressible conditions
Amidst unrelenting obstacles.
Dreams are like riverwaters
that know how to find 
a way where which  to flow
Besides the cracks of broken
Waterpots...

Dream on
To fulfill whatever 
You have envisioned.

Padayon

 ©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright@2021
All rights reserved
December 6, 2021
For Master Weaver Napoleon Torres III

BEHOLD THE ROSES


BEHOLD THE ROSES 

And the rain kissed their cheeks:
Supple and delicate to a hungry lips.
Scent and fragrance excite the weary,
But angry thorns push them away.
Dare not touch their gentle beauty 
As dainty as a glass.
Behold the roses!
They fall apart and die
To be reborn at another time.

©Leah C Dancel 
Copyright@April 4, 2017
All rights reserved
SH-Australia
#roses
#garden
#flowers

FARM LIVING


Thank you The Passion of Poetry for this recognition. 

"Farm Living " 

It's a cold morning.
Mountain dews blanketing the sorrounding.
The day is turning out well.
It will be a good harvest for fruits i can tell. 

Fruit baskets are ready.
It is sunny.
My grandkids are happy.
They will be the harvester today. 

One by one they picked the fruits.
Shout of glee follow suit.
Happy lives in the garden and orchard.
Even though living is hard. 

We have to work hard to survive.
We are natures tribe.
Fruits from trees is our sustenance.
Planting vegetables helps in food maintenance. 

In the farm there's healthy living.
Fresh vegetables and fruits are life saving.
I don't want these kids live in the city today.
Cities are over crowded and sometimes are dirty. 

Clean fresh air and sparkling water from a spring.
Safety for my darlings.
After harvest the kids bathe in a nearby river.
Clean unchlorinated water is better. 

Seeing them enjoy happiness i feel.
When the fragrance of the flowers i smell.
In the garden they grow so well.
Farm living is swell.

Napoleon Torres lll
12012021
@ All rights reseeved.
Post: own wall
Picture: Google

Lover's Menu


Lover's  Menu

A cup of very hot hugs
A plate of nice caring dishes
A spoonful of sweet smiles.
A slice of my burning kiss.
A lovely breakfast for you my love.

A dish full of love
A side dish of happiness 
A warm rice bowl of hugs.
A flavoured soup of kisses.
A joyful lunch for you my better half.

A soft blanket that will keep you warm.
A warm pillow that cuddles you through the night.
A bed that will give you comfort as you lay down.
A nightingale that will sing a song of love as you sleep tight.
A kiss, full of love as we bid goodnight, my love.

I will always prepare for you a meal full of devotion.
A menu that is full of love and affection.
I'll often asking you honey, 
"Coffee, tea or ME!"
That will thrill you all the way!🙈

Copyright©2021Rosie B.Licudo(1129)

INVOCATION TO RETURN

By Mohammad Ali Aznabi
via Self-Published X Movement


Invocation To Return

 Invocation to return is being echoed everywhere
 Get ears, listen - not with mortal ears but the ears of heart
 The sound is coming from the Unseen to this mortal earth.
 Grave sound- a warning sign of thunder-aglow invocation.

 The dread devouring claws of darkness have spread to every soul
 Evil spirits have spread thousands of wings on high towers,
 People are being swept away by the current of ignorance
 Fools today want to build a palace in the abyss.

 The witch of the world's glamor is quite beautiful
 Inside her crooked, bloodthirsty hyena
 Incessantly  destabilizes the human mind - awakens hatred
 Finally drags into the blind hole - from which no one returns.

 Man is of unequal power - 
 The source of all mysteries of the Creator
Your nature is to soar high in the boundless sky,
 Which temptation has tied you in this illusive   dilapidated cage? 
 You have forgotten yourself,
 And got this useless impermanent fascination!

 Not only in body, but in soul you are the astranaut of infinity
 Why are you unconscious inside-busy with a lot of outside?
 If you want eternal life - the garden of happiness - fragrant atmosphere
 Come back to the realm of the soul - forget the false luxury.

 The world is deceitful and ungrateful 
 She never keeps her words sincerely,
 O friend!  Where there is no faith-
 Why is there inclination?
 Listen to the call for peace in the depths of the heart - 
There is flowing always a fountain of joy,
 Forget the selfishness - be exalted - for you open the door to heaven.

Copyright@ 
Mohammad Ali Aznabi


4 December 2021

VIBRATIONS

By Don Luman-ag


VIBRATIONS
By Don Luman-ag

Vibrating at high frequency
like the sound of wind chimes
slowly engulfing me
As I meditate in restful solitude
without distractions 
from the outside world 

Reverberations echoing 
across time and space
Filling me deep within 
with pure calm and peace
Resonating in my consciousness..
Harmonizing with the universe

ALONE IN PEACE

Photo:
Solitary Feast

ALONE IN PEACE

I knew from the start that Christmas
Is a universal event people love to celebrate.
It's a time for rejoicing over a feast-ive gathering
Of food, drinks, family and friends.

The rich have more in abundance.
While others rely on happenstance.
Each have its own ways to make do
Of the season to be happy and merry.

Aussies' yuletide is nothing more than a tradition
Of roasts and veggies, booze and gifts.
Others beam with cheers and carols singing 
Alone at home, I have peace on my own.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright©December 5, 2021
All rights reserved
SH-Australia
#ILAMagazine
#SecondDecemberPrompt
#christmas


KINDNESS

Photo: 
Marco and Big Boy
Author: Leah C. Dancel




KINDNESS

Kindness is an innate quality of a person;
A gift from above embedded into your soul.
It is a springwell of compassion and empathy
Towards fellowmen without prejudice.

Kindness is felt, seen and manifested
In someone's silent action without the
Glare of publicity nor scream from a 
Town crier who roams the streets.

The virtue of all character inventions,
It is a way of showing love in simplicity.
No word is necessary, action speaks for itself.
Kindness rewards those whom and when it is due.

©Leah C. Dancel
Copyright©December 5, 2021
All rights reserved
SH-Australia
#ILAMagazine
#FirstDecemberPrompt
#kindness

SILVER

By Jeannette Encinias

"How many years of beauty do I have left?
she asks me.

How many more do you want?
Here. Here is 34. Here is 50.

When you are 80 years old
and your beauty rises in ways
your cells cannot even imagine now
and your wild bones grow luminous and
ripe, having carried the weight
of a passionate life.

When your hair is aflame
with winter
and you have decades of
learning and leaving and loving
sewn into
the corners of your eyes
and your children come home
to find their own history
in your face.

When you know what it feels like to fail
ferociously
and have gained the
capacity
to rise and rise and rise again.

When you can make your tea
on a quiet and ridiculously lonely afternoon
and still have a song in your heart
Queen owl wings beating
beneath the cotton of your sweater.
Because your beauty began there
beneath the sweater and the skin,
remember?

This is when I will take you
into my arms and coo
YOU BRAVE AND GLORIOUS THING
you’ve come so far.
I see you.
Your beauty is breathtaking.

THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS


The Chambered Nautilus

BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, SR.

This is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign, 
Sails the unshadowed main,— 
The venturous bark that flings 
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings 
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings, 
And coral reefs lie bare, 
Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair. 

Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl; 
Wrecked is the ship of pearl! 
And every chambered cell, 
Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell, 
As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell, 
Before thee lies revealed,— 
Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed! 

Year after year beheld the silent toil 
That spread his lustrous coil; 
Still, as the spiral grew, 
He left the past year’s dwelling for the new, 
Stole with soft step its shining archway through, 
Built up its idle door, 
Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more. 

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee, 
Child of the wandering sea, 
Cast from her lap, forlorn! 
From thy dead lips a clearer note is born 
Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn! 
While on mine ear it rings, 
Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:— 

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, 
As the swift seasons roll! 
Leave thy low-vaulted past! 
Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 
Till thou at length art free, 
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!

Source: Poetry Foundation

3 December 2021

LUCIFER'S FALL

By John W. Flournoy



LUCIFER'S FALL
By John W. Flournoy

In the battle for heaven the angels came forth
With their scimitars gleaming, their eyes burning bright
And the Archangel Michael did rally his host
And he rode forth in glory; a figure of might!

But Lucifer rallied a third to his side
And his angels fought angels in uncivil wars
And he gleamed like the sunlight atop his cold steed 
While the fallen fell earthward like showers of stars.

And the heavens were shaken to hear their bold cries 
With the clanging of armor, the flashing of steel 
And though he led fewer dark angels to war
Old Lucifer battled with absolute zeal!

But Michael was canny and fought for the truth
'Til Lucifer fell from the home of his birth 
Which falling the prophet Isaiah laments;
The Star of the Morning has fallen to Earth!

The Star of the Morning has fallen to Earth!

Note: 

JWFlournoy is the owner/administrator of The Rhyming Place. I first knew him from Poetry Castle, now a closed bridge. I was privileged to met him and his lovely, equally talented wife, Tammy, on their invitation to be their house guest at Lago Vista, Texas in April 2013 along with my friend and daughter. On that visit, he gave me his self-published book of poetry: Across the Miles and Years.