The Power of Song

Sing, let your voice

fly free and strong

joining together in

the power of song

Drum, heartbeats rise

echoing old ways

mothers listen

the spirits praise

Women and song

that is our way

drumming together

grandmothers say

They teach us the ways

to sing with our voice

drum with our hearts

love and rejoice

Women rise be strong

for girls listen

to the power of song.

©River Maria Urke 11/10

dedicated to Oshkii Giizhik and all women hand drummers Miigwech~ thank you

Moments of Sunrise

A vessel of flowing warmth

swirls of vibrant hues

uncovering dark corners

with moments of quivers.

Delicate petals waltz

around the guarded grotto

as solid walls, tighten

breathlessly with every twirl.

The waltz quickens

as waters churn,

the mouth of the cave

wets from within.

                ©River 12/10

 posted for One Shot Wednesday week 26 at One Stop Poetry
check out other poets 

picture thanks to Google images

Paralysis Times Three

Twenty-one

The first time, I woke all numb

 equally from my knees down

traveling up and stopping

 at the bottom of my ribs.

I found my own therapy

and in no time at all

I left the hospital walking

 all weak and tingly-legged.

We road tripped west and on the way

I built up my strength with Hackie Sacs,

 soaked my legs in Hot Springs,

then tingly I ran the Oregon coast.

~

Twenty-six

The second time, my feet hurt real bad,

my left big toe was numb.

Later that day, it moved

equally from my knees down.

It rose up my body and stopped

at the bottom of my ribs but

this time it jumped to my hands.

 I was three months pregnant.

They said it was caused by my head.

I perfected my own therapy

walking once more.

I left the Hospital knowing

it would be awhile until the tingly left again.

~

Thirty-one

The third and final time at last I knew why

I was numb and tingly, unable to stand.

I faced the battle more angry than afraid,

a relapse from MS different then the rest.

I felt tremendous pain

 to mind boggling extreme.

At times it could have flipped me out

however, I was stronger no doubt

with morphine on my side.

I pulled out my therapy like a pro ready to walk

even so, this time I changed, damage had been done.

I had a limp to the right and no feeling in the left.

That’s when I made up mind this was the final one.

~

Thirty-seven

An unexplainable pattern of age

has followed me for nearly twenty years.

Afflicting me every five,

leaving me temporarily paralyzed.

Until this last round of five

the pattern took a dive

and I flew right by

breaking

the pattern of five.

2010

Snow Crystals~ Sedoka

     Snow Crystals

tiny cold crystals

mystery of innocence

a fragile dance by thousands

ivory key notes

reveal treasures of beauty

they dance into formations

                              River 12/10

Sedoka is two katauta poems put together. Each katauta is a 5 7 7 syllable count and can stand on its own. They can be any length and are considered mood poems-for feelings and songs.

Echoes

The Stone Nordic Theater

by moonlight is barren,

except for the latest Graffiti

and once in a while a

drifter borrows a night,

soothed by crashing waves

and the hum of the city.

By daylight, the stone

reveals its cold, empty stage,

a webbing of jagged cracks

crumbling from neglect.

The stonewalls hold memories

wrapped  in aged grape vines

flowing from crevice to crevice

near a woman dangling her legs

over the edge.

An edge of the mossy wall

overlooking the mighty waters

behind the Nordic theater.

She contemplates choice

with tear streaked cheeks

watching the brewing storm,

the swell of rolling waters

crashing against rocks

wails against stonewalls

echoes through the theater.

12/10 

posted for One Shot Wednesday week 25 at One Stop Poetry ~ check out more poetry

rewrite~ between two realms~ video

This is a rewrite of between two realms presented in video. The original poem is in the archive.

posted for One Shot Wednesday for One Stop Poetry

between two realms

with every bend in the country road

the voice of a distant grace grows louder

guiding the woman forward as she nears

a field the voice becomes a whisper,

she stops in a cloud of dust and parks,

rising in the haze of an autumns dusk,

she ventures out into the field.

framed in pinks and hues of brown

a herd of deer graze on fallen corn

a gentle crisp wind sails

through grasses and layers pale

meandering footprints worn

a destiny laid out since she was born. 

darkening rays crawl across the sky

playing shadows with her eyes

she glides closer as they begin  

slowly moving, their pace quickening

she swiftly falls in behind, closing

her eyes, letting intuition guide

traveling towards the ravine.

winding down the hardened walls

passing through the door of realms

under the archway in between

they enter a timeless place of magic

where free verse rings true all classic.

gracing the powers of the unknown

she stands back watching, listening

a flutes sweet melody soars

waltzing notes of violins spinning

streams of conversations willing.

joining in thought and verse

one human among dozens of deer

contemplating life and walls of fear

around a table spread of a does delight.

dangling lanterns dim as beats quicken

to the pondering movements of the drum

pulsations of rhythmic echo’s

mingling trails of new beginnings

carry songs and dance with lots of cheer

an evening of festivities with the deer.

12/10 River Maria Urke

a rewrite can be found on video

Two Heartbeats

Two heartbeats steal innocent touches upon
cheek and thigh
undressing one another with their eyes.

He whispers sweet words between breaths

of everyday terms as she watches them form

on his lips, dreaming of their sweet kiss.

Two heartbeats borrow moments of time

snatching reasons of sharing presence,

knowing rings of wall stand in between

holding back thoughts clawing to be free.

Two heartbeats skip beats of forgetful rights

longing, he touches her flowing hair,

they pass quick glances of passionate desiring

sneaking kisses in shadows of yesterdays hiding.

Two heartbeats stand in the entrance of reality

stepping from the realms of fantasy,

they face their pasts of fear and choice

breathing free thoughts of wandering hands.

Two heartbeats trace the movements of the other

outlines of moist lips upon sweet nakedness

intertwined beauty of whispering wonders

two heartbeats are lost in the mists of the other.

posted for One Shot Wednesday at One Stop Poetry week 24
lots of poems to be read by awesome poets~ check it out 

Gaagaaiwa Enwed ~A Raven Calls

Ninoondawidiz gaagaaiwag inwe

I hear the Raven call

asaawe gichi miskwawakikaandag aka owabandanan

perched high in the great red pine, she waits

bizindaw. Nandotaw na’idaa azhigwa

listening. Listening for the right moment

googi niisayi’ii miniwa biidon nibwaakaa ikidowinan.

to swoop down and deliver a message.

Nibwaakaa ikidowinan ninoondawidizamin inwe,

A message for the ones that hear her call,

nindonjibaamin gichi miskwawakikaandag.

the ones that come to the great red pine.

Gaagaaiwag enwed

A Raven calls.

Ginoondaw ina?

Do you hear her?

The Raven Calls~

Grateful

I begin this post with a reading of the prose Grateful. I feel it is a piece that has to be heard not just read.

 

People ask me if it sucks to have MS. If life is really hard, especially; being a single mom too. What can you say to that? “No! It’s a snap!” or “I barely make it! I have no idea what to do any more.”

Neither of those answers works for me. I don’t want to be too revealing or a drama queen. I want to strive for balance and be more honest with fewer words. Is that possible?

I used to think MS was a burden upon my life. Always taking something away from me and leaving nothing in return. I felt my legs get weaker and my fingers loose feeling. I felt my pride lessen and my confidence dwindle.

Then one day, I realized I had it all wrong. My daughter and I were complaining about how much it sucked that MS interfered with our lives. I needed a relaxing quiet home day and my daughter wanted to spend the day at the beach. We were both disappointed in our own ways in our own corners. Then it dawned on me, it all mattered how you were looking at it. At another angle it could look quit different.

I began to reflect to the day my legs stopped running and I received the gift of a slow pace in all its entirety. I glanced down at my hands and thought of how they used to create works of beads and wood but clumsiness took root in them and now words bounce forth. I pivoted to be face to face with my daughter and remembered how lucky I am to walk with her throughout her day.

It took awhile for my eyes to open and for me to recognize the life teaching lessons that I am acquiring living with MS. It is so much easier to notice what is disappearing from ones life and a great deal harder to see what one is gaining from living with a disability.

I am grateful for receiving such treasures!

©2008

posted for One Shot Wednesday at One Stop Poetry week 23

click on the link there is a lot of good poetry

by many great poets

a chalice of faith~ duel poetry

This is the fourth poem Charlie/slpmartin and I have wrote together. 
Duel Poetry:  a prearranged poetry writing challenge  between two people to evolve a new poem where each writer must respond to the other writer’s lines  (4 -5 ) until both parties agree that the poem is complete.

 Charlie has an audio reading and 

below i have a video reading. 

A Soul Companion

                                                          




                               The evening arrives

                               in a downcast moment,

                               jabbing spears at

                               anguished hours of longing,

                               cynical wounds

                               bash the soul

                               of a romantic.

                               Struggling to breath

                               consumed by the emptiness.

                               Alone so very long …

                               desiring a gentle caress,

                               an essential need

                               a touch that awakens

                               the body’s impulse

                               to the hands of another.

                               Not just any other...

                               a soul companion

                               a match of the mind

                               a connection that

                               knocks me silly

                               that drives me crazy

                               that I cannot walk

                               away from easily.

                               Cynical thoughts

                               creep in trying to

                               pollute and weaken

                               a romantic’s heart.

                               It wins some days

                               most other days

                               the optimist lives on.



posted for One Shot Wednesday 22 at One Stop Poetry

Never had a Chance~prose/poetry

 The tale of a barefoot girl with stringy hair and filthy torn cloths. The only child of an almost grown young woman. 

A mother stands in a faded red bathrobe in the doorway of a rundown trailer looking ten years older then her measly sixteen.

 A man in a suit scurries to a black shiny car avoiding eye contact as he passes a girl sitting in a mud puddle. He never looks back.

~

The tale of a girl with loosely permed curls sitting properly in ironed clothes upon an ironed chair. Eyes of decaying steel.

A mother stands with plastic form and purpled face in a living room of false order. Invisible trembling hands confirm the loaded gun of fear.

A man ringed of jelly, stricken white abandons a black shiny car on the edge. Molded by others, lost of self, he dives beneath waters, never appearing again.

 

Theatrical Limbs

One night I learned the secret!
Why my body uncontrollably
stretches and twists,
outward one minute
springing back the next
like a tight rubber band.
My foot doesn’t lift.
My knee forgets to bend.
My muscles cringe
as my hand curls
to form a claw.

It was a night I was alert
open to the unknown
while my body hurt.

I felt the presence of what I could not see,
then..the shadows revealed strings
that led to me.

I watched the shadows for their source.
They all traced
to one that ran their course.

The shadow was a massive blur.
That resembled..
my words were one big slur.

I nearly fainted from the sight.
Am I dreaming?
Is this right?

A Giant held the strings connected to me
as if I was a puppet
for his glee.

At that moment he became aware
of me peering
opening his mouth with a scare.

I cowered as he spoke
afraid
that he ate folk!

His voice shook the room
by surprise
like a flower in bloom.

“You are my marionette for the theater,”
the Giant exclaimed.
“I picked you amongst the rest
because you were the best.”

The doctors call it Spasticity!

River © 2010
inspired by Shel Silverstein.

when the night winds blow... ~ duel poetry

This is the first poem Charles and I wrote together. 
Duel Poetry:  a prearranged poetry writing challenge  between two people to evolve a new poem where each writer must respond to the other writer’s lines  (4 -5 ) until both parties agree that the poem is complete.

posted September 9th on my old site

when spirits touch… - duel poetry

the call of a lone wolf
echoes
through the deepest corners
of the northern forest
a sound so primeval
from a forgotten soul
a wanderer of time
a time before men
walked the mossy path
alone, separated
and divided from all
now their relative calls
out their names
pleading for them
to return to the old ways
when men knew their brothers
and walked with their sisters
a time they lived side by side
no blades between or
tar soaked earth
only the warmth of love
for one another
a deep respect
for all who shared this place
and walked upon this path
a thousand miles far
the call of a lone wolf
resonates, passing through
earth, water, fire, and air
a girl lifts her ears
and speaks to the wind
brother I hear you
your voice is my voice
your sadness is mine
the lone wolf replies
young one, I carry
too heavy a burden
for your soft back
the girl smiles
and says to the old one
then let us do as before
and share the burden's
of this world

by Charles Martin & River Urke

Charlie and I did it again! A duel poetry challenge. We were finished in less then a day. 
Duel Poetry:  a prearranged poetry writing challenge  between two people to evolve a new poem where each writer must respond to the other writer’s lines  (4 -5 ) until both parties agree that the poem is complete.
posted September 14th on old site

Their Eyes (Rictameter)

Their eyes

lock in longing

across the sun lit room.

He stands dazed, moving to her side,

an entrancing bright flash of two bare souls.

They speak of their love of old books

and deep woods, passions rise

captured within

their eyes.


Rictameter - the meter pattern (syllables per line) is 2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2.. First and last lines are identical.
posted for One Shot Wednesday 21 at One Stop Poetry 

 

A Zoo in the Middle of a Jungle

6 am: I sit with my morning coffee looking around our living room,

breathing in the familiar, catching glimpses of memories among the
decor, absorbing the beauty of the Hibiscus opening its flower petals.

My mind begins drifting in my morning haze

 pondering people’s worlds, their realities

 our responses to their realities

the eyes of a stranger

peering into our

homes our

souls

A full size piano in an apartment.

for my daughter’s musical skills

Books galore filling bookshelves

that almost touch the ceiling.

for my life addiction of reading

and smelling paper in my hands

A jungle of plants settled

in front of sliding glass doors.

for my love of life and flowers

A cat strolls into the room meowing insistently

we think he has an eating disorder
  

A girl is next stumbling in half-asleep

with messy hair, and dreamy eyes.

she still comes and sits on my lap in the morning

even though she’s as big as me- I love it
 

Right behind her, a dog follows with a look of, “I have to pee.”

he has never left her side

when she sleeps since we rescued him.
 

  I fondly smile at my growing daughter and our fury companions.

   Hearing the stranger’s eye perceive my full precious life and decide 

a crammed apartment

to many books

to many animals

to many plants

a zoo in the middle of a jungle

A contagious giggle escapes me infecting my daughter,

we both burst in laughter

I shake my head no.. It isn’t that crammed.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One Happy Loving Family

Our zoo in the

middle of a

jungle.

A White Tail Feather~ revised

The still of the lake calms my soul                    
as I wait beneath the willow.
A light breeze moves through her branches
lightly touching my face,
sweeping the hair from my eyes.
An Eagle calls in the distance.

My mind races with pictures and words,
adventures and quests of self and we.
Along the horizon lined with dark blue waters
bursts colors of red and orange.
I offer my asemaa.
An Eagle glides above calling my name.

Morning rises as I answer my old friend.
A gentle ripple forms on the lake
as the wind delivers our greetings to the other.
I hear his calls carried to my open arms,
his words pass through me.
I hear the call of an Eagle leaving with the wind.

He lands on the broken arm of an ash
on the sands of the shore near the willow.
Praising me for walking the path
many have guided me towards for years.
A choice of life destined to be.
My first tracks are laid down.

He lifts his wings and stretches
to a magnificent size of honor and respect,
wisdom and truth with humility.
He tells me to listen and be open
to what crosses my path
for this is just the beginning.

Rising with every flap of his powerful wings,
he lifts into the blue sky calling his goodbye.
I answer with gratitude and love
as I notice something lying on a rock.
He has left for me a piece of him,
a white tail feather.

  ©River Maria Urke 8/10

thanks to Google images

Death to the Plain

An ancient time, a time of Pharaohs

leisurely wishing for aesthetically pleasing,

eye capturing, breath taking marvels of beauty.

No, peasant bore brown branding by glance

only glory  of color for birthrights by chance...

Death to the plain!   (said the Pharaohs

Rulers ride the line of place and time   

designing cultures of waxen mold

defining beauty as their own

courted talent for privileged eyes

captured musings of a phantoms guise.

Centuries pass, royalties fall      

freedoms of expression for all!

Beauty lies through the artist’s eyes 

sketching their nameless muse

feverishly absorbed in creation

lost within a bliss of elation

truly mastering their formation.

The willing observer deafened by years  

innately knows his growing tears...

Flow centuries long for all people

denied the beauty known now

taste the waters of the lands

walk through expressional sands

feel the magic of an artist’s hands.    

Beckoned by our silent cries

driven by their passions

clutching works of pure devotion

varying forms of aesthetically pleasing

pieces of deep meaning...

Writings of poetry, sculptures of design

paintings of landscape, photos of line

whispered melodies of modern day jazz…

Aesthetical dimensions

freedoms of expression

  Death to the plain!

                                         ©River Maria Urke 11/10

posted for week 20 - One Shoot Wednesday at One Stop Poetry
click on the name and be swept away to a doorway with many links to some great poetry.

My Eccentric Mother

I remember as a girl going to Cybil’s house

So you could learn the old Astrology

After you brushed the old woman’s hair

I remember thinking her and her husband were ancient

Now I know they were wise

I remember you running with me and laughing

When everyone else’s mothers were sitting

Gabbing about each other

I remember thinking I was lucky

I remember you heading my Girl Scouts Troupe

Fighting for equality to enter the old school

Trying to give the gift of nature to the girls

I remember how proud I felt that you were my mother

I remember you cheering the loudest

At my basketball games

I remember you standing up for me

Telling that sexist Gym teacher off

I remember your face when I punked myself out

The twinkle in your eyes

Your daughter was her own unique self

The flash of fright across your face

Knowing it would mean hardships

I remember your disappointment

When I almost got in big trouble

You had me read Gibron

You understood I had to move on

I remember you trying to understand

Your adventurous daughter

Not ever relating but still giving me

The room to fly

I remember the fear in your eyes

The first time I was paralyzed

The second time when you

Told that doctor he was wrong

I remember when I realized

All you had ever done for me

The day I became a mother

You are the woman in this world

That means more to me than any other

You have always been at my side

You will always love me

I have always looked up to you

I have learned from you

How to be the eccentric woman

I am today

Mama you are my Best Friend

I Love You!

                                                           ©5/10

To Dance in Heels

Here and there blogging women are writing poems about red shoes. I happen to have wrote a book about women and their love for shoes. It is my baby that I have been trying to get published. An anthology of nonfiction short stories. I included my shoe story which is below....

~

I joke I found my feminine side at the age of thirty. I began learning how to put on make-up, and get all dolled up for an evening. In no time at all, I came to realize I loved shoes, especially the feeling of dancing in heels. Some people might have thought I drank some funky drink or motherhood had put a spell on me transforming the woman they knew suddenly overnight. A woman they last remembered as a shoeless, nonchalant dresser strolling up to them outside the coffee house wearing Nine West pumps, a pretty dress, and a splash of lipstick. I believe it was simply my time to bloom.

I had three years of enjoying the feeling of walking down the street wearing heels before my life dramatically changed physically. I reached a point with my disease and I became disabled from the progression of Multiple Sclerosis. My balance and leg strength had worsened and I had to start walking with a cane. Wearing heels occasionally turned into a pleasure of my past and a goal to be reached with patience and hard work. Once, I told my physical therapist that wearing heels is one of my personal goals. She looked at me shaking her head not agreeing with my choice at all. I keep that goal to myself now and I tell her my other goal of dancing.

Over the years, my style of dress continues to integrate a feminine twist to its funky fusion of Trendy and Bohemian style. My love for shoes has continued growing with knowledge and new pairs even with my shoe limitations. I focus my captivation on low heels, non-risk boots, and cute flats depending on how I am physically any given day. I do test my limits with height from time to time as I strive to reach my goal to dance in heels again.   

~Gichigami ~

Gichigami ~

Oh powerful Nookomis!

You take my breath away
Every morning when my eyes set upon you.

One day you will be gentle and soothing
The next day you are raging with passion.

At times people fear you
At most they are in awe!

You are Nookomis to all!

Then why is respect lacking for you?
Why every day are you poisoned?
Why do people fight over what is left of you?

Oh powerful Nookomis!

Are you laughing or crying at us humans?

                                                                    ©River 1996

One of my favorite poems I wrote many years ago. I grew up on the very tip of Lake Superior in Duluth Minnesota. The lake is a big part of who I am along with my Anishinaabe/Ojibwe heritage. I use a couple of Ojibwe words in the poem. Gichigami means Lake Superior and Nookomis means grandmother. There was a battle over the big fresh water lake at the time I wrote the poem. Some Southwest States wanted the States around the lake and Canada to agree to pipe water down to them because they were running out of water. In my opinion and many others they choose to abuse their water so they could have green grass in desert conditions and other reasons. We did not go for it. I have no idea what they ended up doing with their water shortage.

~ ~

A friend asked me this question.  

I was wondering about the initial line “Oh powerful Nookomis!”… in my cultural view “grandmother” is wise and gentle….so I didn’t fully understand the line…but that is my weakness not the poems…which was well crafted. Would you mind expanding on your intent with that phrase?

I guess to start, I should explain water is female and animate in our cultural view. Nookomisag or grandmothers are wise, strong, and gentle. They are the teachers and traditionally were part of the council. “Oh Powerful Nookomis” Lake Superior is one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world. It is part of the St Lawrence Sea Way and the huge ocean liners carrying loads follow the water trail dropping off cargo on their way to Duluth. A bunch of those ships lie on the floor of the lake. The storms are intense. Once a friend and I were knocked down by a wave that crashed against the shore rocks walking on a boardwalk. My old dog that was 110 pounds got away in time but we were on the ground soaked. That is on shore. Anyways, Lake Superior is a Grandmother and very powerful. “Oh Powerful Nookomis” 

On other days, her beauty delights nourishing with peaceful bliss. I feel spiritually woken. I absorb her unconditional love and feel renewed by her waters. Miigwech!

One Stop Poetry- One Shot Wednesday
posted for week 19
Check it out- there's lots of good work to be read.  :)

Time Stands Still

Vanity

When young we don’t care at all

at mid ego’s can fly

When old we don’t care again. 

 

Nokomisag

Nokomisag

I land in the cradled arms of a river

touched by her grace

embraced in her love

I bathe in her waters

under a full moon

praying to my grandmothers

nibi minowa giizis

for strength and guidance

for their teachings of

releasing and healing

cleansing and cycling

singing

songs

gathering

medicines

replenishing

lost strength

 Miigwech Nokomisag

                         

                            River 10/10

posted for One Shoot Wednesday wk 17 on One Stop Poetry

* thanks to google image for the picture