Tag: poem

Beginning of Spring and Cleansing

We are within the first month or so of spring. I do not know what everyone else’s favorite season is, but spring is definitely one of my favorite seasons of the whole year. There is just something amazing about spring. I do not know if it is because there is more sun or maybe the fact that winter is finally over. It is interesting to talk about the transition from winter to spring both physically and mentally. In winter it is like you carry everything heavy and spring is usually light. Winter this year has especially been hard on me. We do have to thank winter for making spring such a pleasant feeling. There is this quote by Anne Bradstreet that explains it so well. She says “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” So yeah, as much as we try to hate on winter and curse it… we thank it too because without it we probably would not have spring.

I think I really like spring because it represents something symbolic. It is like our soul and everything within us is cleansed. It is like what we call “spring cleaning.” We get rid of the things that are heavy and we throw away the old junk. I think that it is important to have spring because it is a lot like starting over. As much as we want to not do any spring cleaning, it is extremely helpful and therapeutic anyways. William Morris says “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” There is something so beautiful and rewarding about spring cleaning. The last thing is that there is always going to be spring no matter what. Welcome it with open arms. I know that there is so much more I can say, but I will stop there. I will conclude by posting one more quote… it’s one of my favorites by Pablo Neruda “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.” So I advise my readers to accept spring. I hope that this poem puts you in a good mood. Happy spring and happy reading!!

Springtime

Your beauty always comes from behind the clouds,
Like a halo of light that has saved me from the tears
That poured down like raindrops of winter. Crowds

Of flowers that bloom like there are no bad years
Or days coming ahead. Eyes that still watch over me.
Your sunshine that leads me straight to the stairs

Of heaven. Nobody could ever predict or foresee
How important you are to me and how everything
About you helped me grow. Petals that hold the key

To living life, we cannot always hang onto or cling
Onto what holds us back. Everything from the past
And those things that are heavy belong to be a fling

Or temporary. There is a lot of strength that will last
Forever. There is everything bad that will unroll.
Darling, you have turned me into an enthusiast

Of everything spring and light. I have a clean soul
That is ready for giving and receiving. Love that
Is ready to be accepted fully 100%. Every hole

That is ready to be fixed. Your words, no longer flat
Or falling on deaf ears. That ice smashed with a bat.

Pain

First of all, I just want to apologize for being away for a while. I hope that you all did not miss me too much. We are all different so we all deal with things like pain, in different ways. That is a given. Pain comes in different forms like physical pain and emotional pain. We automatically associate pain with being hurt. They go hand in hand together. I am sorry to say this, but nobody can avoid pain forever. It is not so much about the pain, but how you deal with the pain. Marc Maron says it best. “You can’t avoid pain in life. It’s how you handle pain, that’s what defines you.” I deal with the pain by writing about it and talking about it. There are some times when I stay quiet and do not say anything about it. It is okay to speak up about it because like I said before, pain and being hurt go hand in hand.

As crazy as this sounds, the pain does eventually go away. It may not seem like it will, but over time it will and there will be some pain that may stick around. This quote by Philippos Syrigos says it the best. “Pain never really goes away; you just elevate and get used to it by growing stronger.” In other words, the pain never truly goes away, but you gets used to it and makes you feel stronger. It makes you feel tougher and maybe closer to being indestructible. Not quite indestructible all the way, but it makes you feel like you can handle anything once you handle and deal with the pain. You learn so much through the pain. One of my favorite quotes by Alicia Taylor says it best. “Sometimes you must to hurt in order to know, fall in order to grow, lose in order to gain, because life’s greatest lessons are learned through pain.” And she is so right. Things in life feel painful and hurt a lot, but you have to go through all of the pain to learn those lessons.

Like I said before, you should know at least how to deal with the pain. Some people know how to, but some people do not and that is okay. You eventually learn over time. You just sometimes have to simply deal with it. James Jones said it best. “He knew how to handle pain. You had to lie down with pain, not draw back away from it. You let yourself sort of move around the outside edge of pain like with cold water until you finally got up your nerve to take yourself in hand. Then you took a deep breath and dove in and let yourself sink down it clear to the bottom. And after you had been down inside pain a while you found that like with cold water it was not nearly as cold as you had thought it was when your muscles were cringing themselves away from the outside edge of it as you moved around it trying to get up your nerve. He knew pain.” In other words, it is acknowledging and knowing pain. Sometimes it may not seem as bad as it looks or feels. One of the best feelings is when the pain stops. For a lot of people, it may not, but for some it may stop all the way. It is like seeing again for the first time or like a new dawn or day or however you want to look at it. It feels so liberating. Here is to all of my readers, may you find a way to deal with the pain.

I can go on and on about pain. I could tell you why it comes and how to deal with it, but everyone is different in that, so why bother. All I can do is to make some final pieces of advice… Whatever you do, do not not ignore it because if you ignore it, pain will fester and may turn into something even worse. We can end up hurting ourselves or worse, unintentionally hurting others. Dean Kootz, I think says it the best way. “Pain can be endured and defeated only if it is embraced. Denied or feared, it grows.” So in other words, we should never ignore the pain. I am not here to say you should stay with it for long, but everyone is different. There are so many amazing quotes out there about pain and how to deal or cope with it. So I will stop there. Here is a poem to make everyone realize that there is almost always something good after the pain and that although it hurts now, it will go away after some time. I just want to make one final point which is although you are dealing with pain now, you should never give someone else pain on purpose. I just wanted to point that out. Cheers!!

When The Pain Stops

The tears stopped coming. For once it felt
Like both my heart and me could breathe
Again after all of the pain. I have dealt
With the devil, but no longer. I unsheathe
The anger and frustration. It is like I can
Finally see every color and sunrise again.
There is a change to every person and plan
I once had. I broke free from every chain
That bounded and tethered me to that
Bone splintering heartache. Everything
That used to make me want to take a bat
And smash it all into pieces that cling
To my skin does not hold that power
Over me anymore. I do not hide in
The shadows and darkness or cower
In corners anymore. I smile and grin
Like I have never been hurt before.
I stand and walk through that door.

Being an Introvert/Enjoying Solitude

I know that there are tons of people out there who will relate to this subject and topic, for I am one of those people too. I am talking about something that is on everyone’s mind and that is being an introvert. I want to start by saying that there is nothing wrong with being an introvert and in fact, people who are introverts are some of the smartest people we know. Famous people like Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt (another one of my heroes) have been known to be introverts. Yes, they may come across as shy, quiet, and someone who keeps to themselves, but nothing is wrong with that either. When you look up the definition there are many definitions, but one that sticks out is “a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings.” That, in my mind, clarifies who an introvert is to the t.

I think people are introverts for a variety of reasons. Maybe the primary reason is that they like silence in a world and society that is noisy. They enjoy the quietness, solitude and calmness of every moment. Although introverts tend to be quiet, they are observant of what goes on around them. They would observe rather than participating. Introverts are the ones who stay quiet, but that does not mean their thoughts are quiet too. Sometimes it is the quiet people we have to pay attention to. Stephen Hawking says it the best. “Quiet people have the loudest minds.” That is definitely something that is true and applies to introverts.

A part of being an introvert like I said before is enjoying solitude. To introverts it is important and vital like breathing. In other words, introverts need solitude to survive. Susan Cain says it pretty much the same way. “Solitude matters, and for some people, it’s the air they breathe.” People do not always believe me when I tell them I am an introvert because they think with the way I talk to people and socialize they think I am an extrovert. I am only that way around people I know and with people I am completely comfortable with. My therapist once explained that it all has to do with where you get your energy from and how you recharge. You either get it from being around other people or being by yourself and in solitude. I think I am right on the fence of being an extrovert and an introvert. I enjoy being around people, but more and more these days I enjoy the time I take to myself. I am not always the one who loves going out every Friday and weekend day. I wish people would believe me more on that, but each to their own I guess.

I wrote this piece for introverts and non-introverts alike because although a lot of us are introverts, there are also a lot of people who are not. I wrote this kind of as a rule book of what makes someone an introvert and how to deal with these kinds of people. This is a quote to kind of explain how to deal with someone like that. “Yes, I am an introvert. No, I’m not shy. No, I’m not stuck up. No, I’m not antisocial. I’m just listening. I’m just observing. I can’t stand small talk… But I’ll talk about life for hours. I’d rather be at home with a close friend or two than among a crowd of acquaintances. Don’t scold me in public. Don’t embarrass me in public. Respect that I am reserved. And if I open myself up to you, know that means you’re very special to me.” In other words, introverts should be respected just like everyone else. It does not matter what kind of introvert they are because they can have multiple layers. Respect and enjoy that!! Some of the best people are introverts, but that is just my personal opinion being one myself. This poem just touches some of the points of being an introvert. Happy reading and enjoy!!

Quiet Thoughts

In a noisy room, I want every moment that is
Quiet and peaceful. Darling, there is no need
For me or anyone else to be the one who says

Something just to fill the silence. You will lead
And I will follow right behind you. Take me to
Where the horizon meets the ocean. The seed

That nobody thought would grow. Give it a few
Drops of water. Watch it grow into something
Nobody thought would happen. A cut through

The serenity and something magical. A spring
By the waterside and a pretty flower that will
Unfold when you give it a place to grow. A wing

That uncurls and flies away. The quiet thrill
Just as the sun rises every morning and we
Are thinking every thought that keeps us still.

Disrespect of Women

There are so many topics we all get sick and tired of hearing about. One of those is the disrespect of women, especially with the whole thing around Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein. It is the 21st Century, but it makes me feel like we are back in the ’50s or something because we are still treating women with disrespect almost every single day. It makes me sick and tired because women deserve better. We have to do a better job as a country and as a nation to take better care of our women. After all, we come from women, so what gives us a right to disrespect women? Tupac pretty much says it the same way. He says “A woman brought you into this world, so you have no right to disrespect one.” And he pays homage to them in his song “Keep Your Head Up” where he raps about how women should be treated better. Here is a sample from that song. “And since we all came from a woman/Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman/I wonder why we take from our women/Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?/I think it’s time to kill for our women/Time to heal our women, be real to our women/And if we don’t, we’ll have a race of babies/That will hate the ladies, that make the babies/And since a man can’t make one/He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one!/So will the real men get up/I know you’re fed up ladies,/But keep your head up/(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things are gonna get easier/(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things’ll get brighter/(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things are gonna get easier/(Keep ya head up) Oooh, child things’ll get brighter…” So he is telling women to keep their heads up and telling the guys to respect women.

It really disgusts me how we can elect a president who disrespects women every day with rape, sexual harassment, etc. The list goes on and on. One thing about respecting women is believing them when they step forward and speak up about those things I just mentioned. That support needs to happen right now. That starts with women respecting other women. I know society has taught us to tear each other apart and to speak bad about each other. That all needs to stop. In other words, we need to have a strong community of women. Sophia Nelson says it like this. “Be a woman other women can trust. Have the courage to tell another woman direct when she has offended, hurt or disappointed you. Successful women have a loyal tribe of loyal and hones women behind them. No haters. Not backstabbers or women who whisper behind their back. Be a woman who lifts other women.” If we start there we can just do about anything. To continue more about this I want to throw in one similar like the one above, which I got from Amber Riley’s story on Instagram (she was in the TV show “Glee”). She wrote “Part of my 2018 focus will be creating deeper roots with my girls we really do need another creating a safe environment where we all feel we can share triumphs and failures.” In other words we need to make it safe for every woman.

I wrote this post purposefully almost exactly a year after the Women’s March. We went and participated in one in Oakland. It was such a wonderful experience. We went to another one this year (it was yesterday in fact). It was a wonderful turnout at this one and at other marches across the country, even across the world. I think the way to stop all of this disrespect is to continue to speak up, protest and do whatever it takes to be heard because like I said, it is something I get tired of hearing about. In fact, we should not even be talking about it today, but we are! We are going to continue to talk about it always. To quote my hero Maya Angelou “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” So in other words, once one woman or in this case, one group of women, can stand up for all women. It takes a lot of work, but I know we can do it. So here is to the end of the disrespect of women although there are many other groups that are disrespected like immigrants, Blacks, Latinos, etc. and we should not forget that. Enjoy and march on!! I am with you all!

The Disrespect of Women

Women of every race, religion, shapes and sizes
Getting mistreated everyday, not making the same
Amount of money that men are. We are no prizes
To anyone but ourselves. When we have no game
Or hustle, but we bust our asses off just to get food
On the table and make a name for ourselves. Catcalls
From the street when we just simply walk by. Nude
Bodies admired when we are a size zero, but falls
Short when we have any extra body fat. Being called
Bitches and whores when we show off too much skin.
Being threatened, beaten, blackmailed or being hauled
Away when all we said was no thank you. When we grin
We are too easy. When we are frowning we are told to
Loosen up and smile. When we are supposed to please
Men and never ask any questions of why? The queue
Of men allowed to abuse and rape us repeatedly. Sleaze
Balls staring at us and asking us for our numbers when
We said we are not interested or already have a man
At home. They think they can write all over us with pen
Like we are their property and thinking they think they can
Hit us all they want to because we are small fragile creatures.
They lecture us when we have sinned and are too much of
A temptation for men. They think they become preachers,
Luring us into traps. We are told we are not worthy of love
Or respect when we want to be alone and without anyone
Else. Those lies we are being fed will always be outrun.

Meeting People

We all cross paths with people on a daily basis. Whether it is simply strangers passing by on the street or friends or people we know or meeting someone when you go out on a date, etc. there are very few days when we do not meet new or old people. There is no accident to meeting these people either. It reminds me of this quote that I got on one of my birthday cards this year, which is one of my favorite quotes. “We don’t meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason.” What I am saying is that these people we meet or come across, whether it is simply for a minute or an hour or a day or weeks or months or years, they come into our life for some reason. In other words, they teach us something whether it is about ourselves or about them or about the world all around us. That brings me to this quote. “You will meet many types of people in your life. You will meet delicate flowers, raging oceans, quiet forests, towering mountains, and colourful skies. You will meet thunderstorms, you will meet lightning. They will knock you down, they will leave you breathless. You will meet sunrises, you will meet gardens. They will give you light, they will take you on adventures. Explore them. Get lost with them They all have something different to teach you.” That quote describes what I am talking about so perfectly.

Like I said, there are so many types of people that walk this Earth everyday and we are blessed enough to meet these people as well as sometimes getting to know these people. It is true that we may find and meet people who are very similar to us, but we also meet people who are different. Those people all teach us something. There are people we never see again. There are people who we meet but then lose touch with. There are some people who come into our lives but then leave again. Some of those people we do not want to think about ever again. C.S. Lewis puts it in a better way than I can. He says “In your life, you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again. But you do.” He brings up a lot of the points I already made. We think about people, that is a given and we have a tendency to think about people we never want to think about to begin with. No matter if you do not want to think about them or not, that still teaches you something.

What I am saying is that even if you cross paths with someone who only stayed in your life temporarily versus permanently they still taught you something. No matter if they end up hurting you or if one or both of you ends up getting hurt they still taught you something. Even if there is anger there, that still teaches you something. Like I have said before, there is no accident in meeting people. This quote says it the best way. “You don’t meet people by accident. There’s always a reason. A lesson or a blessing.” There is simply no other way to say it other than that. We can go on and on about this subject matter, but I will leave it at that. I just want to let my readers know that they should be thankful and grateful for whoever they cross paths with. This is the post that I want to conclude 2017 with because that is a big part of what my life was about this year and for the previous years. I want to conclude by wishing everyone a happy and slightly early 2018 since I will not be writing my first post of 2018 for a little bit. Enjoy this last poem of 2017!

Crossing Paths With Different People

There is never the right time to meet people. They come
Into your life like a hurricane or a gentle breeze or the sun
Behind the clouds. There is always something about them
That will either make your heart race or will make you run
The other way. They will calm your spirit or will make you
Want to be wild, reckless and live on the edge. Some of
Them you never think about again and others you want to
Know because they are intriguing. They teach you to love
And respect this Earth we walk on. They may even teach
You something about yourself you did not know otherwise.
Darling, they will be some people who will help you reach
For the stars and your dreams. You will look them in the eyes
And for some reason you will feel like you are finally at home.
It is there you can finally rest and you can become yourself.
Darling, they make you want to stop trying to find and roam
This world to find ourselves in those people. The high shelf,
They will help you touch and feel it. Those are the good
People who will make your soul feel whole and satisfied.
There are times when you feel misguided and misunderstood,
So keep away from people who will keep you on the curbside
Like yesterday’s trash. You do not belong there. You possess
A heart of gold. Some people will help you realize and fulfill
That. Sometimes you will be looked at like you are a mess.
Never let that bother you because it is okay to be like a spill
Across the canvas. Chaotic, sloppy and muddled is what we
Are always going to be. Some people might join us in our
Unorganized and crazy life. Some people just might see
That we are anything but normal. We learn in every hour
And moment. We learn to knock down every tower.

People Who Did Us Wrong

I just want to talk about something, especially after doing another competition on DUP. Like I have said before, there are people we come across. Some people treated us right, but there are people who have been a part of our lives and have treated us horribly aka they did us wrong. It does not matter if they are an ex, a former friend, or someone in our family. I know that we should all behave proper, but in this moment it is okay to bash them, just a little bit and not too much because they are still only human after all. Even if they did you wrong you still have to be a better person while forgiving them and then just moving on. Dwelling on something takes too much energy. Some things you can fix and other times you cannot. This quote says it the best. “Hating is for the weak, loving is for the strong. It takes more to love someone who did you wrong than it does to hate them.” So no, I do not hate anybody, but I forgive and say thank you because I would not be where I am today without them. This is a short post, as all of it is pretty simple. I want to conclude by strongly encouraging my readers to dig deep down and forgive those who did us wrong. Cheers and happy reading! Just a side note that this is directed towards an ex, but can be applied to anyone else who did us wrong. I decided to go with two poems. The second one actually won me a competition on DUP.

Did Me Wrong

My first love… why did you have go ahead and break my heart?
You took it all and tore everything into pieces. Everything was sore
And hurting so much. You knew that everything was falling apart,
But you did nothing, except taking back your promises, your
Words and actions. I was left feeling empty and with a gaping
Hole, but I had to replace you. I could not let the sadness
Wash over me while all of the anger was slowly escaping
From my body. I should have every right to be in the madness
And be pissed off. I am sorry and all the other apologies will
Not be enough. I could have burned everything, but be glad
I am not that kind of ex that is psychotic and crazy. The thrill
And chase of that teenage love is done. We could be friends
Is bullshit. We were down different roads and ends.

 

Everything That is You

I hate you and everything that you truly are.
I once thought that you were the shining star,
But I was a fool because you became a meteorite,
Having everything around me burn red and white.
You said that you loved me, but I was just a pawn
And soldier in your game. Even before the dawn
Came I knew that things could never be the same.
Deep down rooted within me there is pain, shame
And fiery anger. If only you could understand it all,
But you are too selfish to care. I was your rag doll,
Only being pushed around and trying to please you,
But nothing could make you completely happy. To
You I am just another person you can throw away.
But I cannot let you treat me that badly. I still pray
To forgive you because I know that nobody could
Ever truly ever be that bad intentionally. The good
Parts of you are there even if you cannot see them.
I have become sturdy like a flower and its stem.

Natural Beauty

I feel like we live in a world where there is too much people being fake and plastic, as in plastic surgery. We see too many celebrities getting bigger boobs, butts, facelifts and other kinds of surgery. We want to be beautiful I get that, but natural beauty is so much better. Women want to cake on makeup, get their hair straightened and do all sorts of things to make them beautiful, but they are naturally beautiful is what I am saying. This quote says it in a great way. “Natural beauty is the best beauty.” It is simply put. If others cannot come to appreciate us when we are in our natural state like having naturally curly hair or wearing glasses or wearing sweats or having no makeup on then they do not deserve us when we are the opposite. Those people clearly do not know what natural beauty may look or feel like. Those are the people we should not be around.

A lot of the time when someone thinks of beauty they might think of the physical part of beauty, but there is a mental part to it. In other words, it is not just about the physical beauty, but also about what is inside that makes a person naturally beautiful. I think it has to do with personality as well as being real and being yourself. You should never try to pretend to be someone you are not. I think it also has to do with the fact that you should believe that you are beautiful. In other words, if you believe that you are beautiful then others are going to think that too. People will love you for being yourself and for what is on the inside. There is so much more I can say about this, but I think I will leave it at that.

Natural Beauty: Letter to Myself

Green eyes and a smile that shines.
Dark brown hair that falls in curls.
Wrinkles, frowns, and worry lines
Of yesterday are forgotten. Pearls
Of beauty sparkle. Forget about
The stretch marks and every scar
Across your flawless skin. No doubt
That you are the brightest star
Out there in a fake world. Your
Natural body and face should not
Be envious at all. Do not start a war
You know is pointless. They forgot
You because they thought you were
Just one of the several “pretty”
Girls out there when you are the blur
That passes by. You are that city,
Country and beach girl all rolled
Into one. Someone who is really
Unforgettable like a diamond or gold.
Just a simple girl with nothing frilly.

Showing Grace

I know that I have talked about forgiveness in one of my previous posts, but you may have to go back a while ago to find it. I am going to talk about something very similar, but is kind of different at the same time and that is grace. On the first and third Sunday of every month I work at the Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church in Alameda, CA where I help with child care services. We tell stories right before we go to our classroom. This one focused on grace. There was a girl who went to the beach with her dad. Her dad gave her money to go get ice cream. On her way back she fell and dropped the ice cream on the pavement. She went back to her dad and her dad said to go get another one. She did not have any money, but her dad said to ask for another one. She went up and explained to the woman that she dropped her cone, could she get another one. The woman gave her another one.

The moral of the story is explained in this quote I found as well. “There is nothing more classy or powerful than showing forgiveness and grace to someone who does not deserve it.” So for example, like in the story the girl received grace although she did not deserve it. The moral is not only to give grace, but to also receive and accept as well, especially in today’s world. In other words, we have to make room for grace in our hearts because we need it. There is too much cruelness in this world, so we need to be accepting, especially of people’s mistakes and imperfections. I feel like grace, especially receiving as well as giving it, is what makes the world go round. I feel like there would a lot more anger and misunderstanding if there was not any grace at all. When people think of grace, they automatically associate it with religion, especially Christianity, but you do not have to be religious to believe in grace. I just wanted to point that out, especially since I am a non religious person myself.

The whole point of this post is to tell people to open up their hearts. I encourage everybody to do that and to forgive, as hard as it may be, especially if they really hurt you. I want everyone to give grace, as well as receiving it with open arms. Isn’t that what we want to teach the next generation? They look up to us and the best thing we can do is to teach them to do the same. I am posting this right around Thanksgiving because it is that time of year to think about grace, although we can do so much more of it year round. There are many definitions of grace when you look it up in the dictionary. This is one that stood out to me. “The exercise of love, kindness, compassion, mercy, favor; disposition to benefit or serve another.” We should show grace because it is our duty as human beings to do so. There is so much more to say about grace, but all that I have talked about sums it up. I just want to leave you all with one more quote. “Grace changes everything.” I think this quote shows how important grace is. I will leave it at that. Here is a poem to enjoy by yours truly. Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving in advance.

Everlasting Grace

Darling, I always want to live with grace
And forgiveness in my heart even when
The apology is not given. I am in a place
To be living and starting all over again.
Darling, I have been in a place of being
Able to accept everyone’s past mistakes.
I am no longer running away or fleeing
From the pain and hurt. Someone flakes
Out on you or will make you really mad,
And you make the best out of it, no matter
What happens in life. Nobody can be a bad
Person willfully. We have all made a splatter
And a mess out of things in our highly flawed
Ways. You keep your grace from going numb.
You have always broke, fought and clawed
Your way through life, so do not let some
Messed up situations take you back to where
You were before, another place of being
Unwilling to ever accept the idea of
Forgiveness. However, you are now seeing
Things differently, including grace and love.

Namesake

Every name has an importance or meaning. My name, for example is Elena Waller. My first name Elena comes from Helen, a cousin of my dad’s who died before I was born. For people who do not know already, it is a tradition in the Jewish community to name your kids after someone who passes away. My brother’s name, Mikael, comes from my grandfather’s (on my dad’s side) Yiddish name and my sister’s name comes from my grandmother’s (also on my dad’s side) name of Florence. I should mention that my last name came from my mom’s side of the family. On both sides we have strong women.

The reason why I am bringing this up is because my dad and I recently met with Helen’s son a while ago. They were both telling family stories including about Helen. I was thinking to myself and I also asked my dad about this…”Am I living up to my namesake, Helen?” I have heard all of these stories about her over the years. There must have been some reason why I was named after her. As it turns out, I may have at least one thing in common with her. We both love working with children. She was a child’s psychiatrist and Henry (Helen’s son) was telling this story of his mom always being the children’s magnet. She would take any children who were crying and would find some way to make them stop crying just like that. I must say that she is a strong woman because she put herself back through school, especially as an older woman. So to answer my question, I would say without a doubt, absolutely yes!

Anyways, I know that I have talked a lot about the importance of names. I know mine has a lot of meaning and I am sure that others do too. I just want to take this time to acknowledge those who came before us. I am taking the time to do that because it is that time of year when we celebrate Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos in Spanish, which celebrates those who came before us. It especially honors those who have already died. We honor their memory by creating an alter with pictures and mementos. I am concluding with a quote by one of my heroes, Michelle Obama who says the following. “We’ve got a responsibility to live up to the legacy of those who came before us by doing all that we can to help those who come after us.” That ties this post all together because it is about the previous generation, this generation and the next one to follow. That is how we live up to a legacy and the people we are named after. It is a lot of responsibility, but I know that we can do it. I am wishing everyone a happy Halloween and Day of the Dead (let me know what the proper way to say this in the future).

Praise to Helen of Troy and the Name of Helen

“…the face that launch’d a thousand ships…”
– From Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlow

What do we know about Helen?
We know that while married to another,
She was desired by Paris. The Trojan prince.

Her rare and perfect beauty. Like a flower,
Which blooms on a rainy day.
Daughter of Zeus, ruler of all
Gods and goddesses.

Helen. A name that launched a war
Lasting 10 gruesome years.
When her husband raised an army
To reclaim what he had lost,
All for this one woman.

Her name is still among us
Although it takes on different forms.
The root, Helen
Coming from the Greek Helenē
Often meaning
“Light”, “torch,” or “bright.”

I share her name, Elena. One of those
Amid the list of so many others–
Ellen, Elaine, Alana, Yelena, Helen, Eleanor.
We are all the “bright ones,”
The one worth fighting for.

When Natural Disasters Strike

I know that I have talked about storms in one of my posts from last year, but nevertheless I am going to talk about something far beyond that…natural disasters. We have all dealt with natural disasters at some point in our lives whether it is an earthquake, a hurricane, a fire or something along those lines. When these types of disasters tend to strike, I know a lot of us tend to panic, but what is amazing is that we all come together, whether it is to help or just be there for each other. Nevertheless, we should be coming together anyways as a nation.

I know that it is nothing to joke about, but about a month after I was born was when the big fire in ’91 happened in Northern California and about a month after my brother was born is when the big earthquake in ’89 happened. It is not something I want our family continue on with when the next generation has kids. I am bringing you to my point which is that there was wildfires in Northern California this month in October. Everyone came together to help fight it, whether it was being one of the first responders, the people who came afterwards and everyone else who spent their time helping. Daryn Kagan says the following about those kind of people. “Bad things do happen in the world, like war, natural disasters, disease. But out of those situations always arise stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” I honestly do not think that it should take having a natural disaster to help people because people should be helping other people anyways.

Let me move on further into my point is that when natural disasters strike, it should be a wake up call to us because as humans it is our responsibility to take care of this earth. After all, we live on this earth and we are its caretakers. That leads me into one of my quotes right here by Lora A.R. who says “Natural disasters are a wake up call to humanity that they should stop fucking with the earth!” So yeah, it should definitely be a wake up call to us and to stop messing with this earth because we may not have it for much longer. I cannot help but think of a song Pink and Kenny Chesney did together called “Setting the World On Fire.” Some of the lyrics go like this. “We were strikin’ the matches right down to the ashes/Setting the world on fire, setting the world on fire.” In honor of the wildfires that happened in Northern California, I wrote this poem, which also includes an image to go along with it. Enjoy!!

Catching On Fire

The sunlight shines orange like it is caught in flames
And embers that glow. Maybe this is the end of
The world as we know it. Mother Nature’s claims
And hold on us is strong. She will push and shove
Us to fight against it because isn’t that what we do?
Fight and defend this world that is ours? We cannot
Our earth be taken away. We are sitting on every pew
Praying to the gods and to never give up. We caught
The world in an apocalypse, but we cannot stay there.
We cannot let Mother Nature punish us for making
Mistakes and committing sin. We should always swear
And promise to protect our lush nature. We are waking
Up those who have slept their lives away in a deep
Slumber. We are protectors of every piece and bit
Of rich soil that our roots grow in. We try to keep
Our world away from all that tries to harm it.