Poetry: FLAT CHAMPAGNE

Sunday, when we were together,
The energy of our connections
Bubbled like champagne.

But Monday we looked at the bottle,
Read the label and wondered:
Is this stuff good for us?

We re-corked the bottle - to save the
Effervescence - but it didn’t work.
By Tuesday, the fizz was gone.

GUEST BLOG by SGT. SHERRILL on the CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE'S BLOG

In this season when we anticipate the birth of the Prince of Peace, this heartfelt poem by Sgt Sherrill expresses my own hope for the work that is going on in Afghanistan below the drones with the next generation - children so eager to learn and grow in whatever direction they are bent. What kind of education are they getting about the United States? Will the Central Asia Institute, Women for Afghan Women, other NGOs and the Sgt Sherrills of our military presence prevail or will the messages of the Taliban and our drones win the next generation? How will you participate in the outcome?

Behind the Wall
by Sgt. M. Douglas Sherrill, Jr.

I hear the voices behind the wall,...

The Kitchen Sink: THE MOST POWERFUL AMERICAN POET

What do you think is the most powerful, most influential poem ever written in this country? Which one has changed our American culture, our economy, our relationships, influences our state of mind and behavior whether we know it, like it, or not, and continues to impact our children's lives more than we may want to acknowledge?

Poetry: GIFT

 

I would give you strength,

But you are too strong already.

Then let me give you of my weakness,

That you may rest a moment from your earnestness,

Lean against the walls you build, and play with river lights.

A poem written by my grandmother, Florence Mariah Piper Way to her husband, Charles Henry Way.

During the depression, my grandfather, an architect out of work, cleared his fields of boulders and rocks and built over a mile of mortarless rock walls around his fields and garden. I wonder if this poem was written in reference to his labors or his quiet reticence.

GIFT a poem by Florence Mariah Piper Way (1880-1952) is published by Abby Freeborn and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. For permission to use contact randmxcentric@gmail.com

Poetry: GIVEN TO

by Ruth Berbermeyer

I never feel more given to
than when you take from me –
when you understand the joy I feel
giving to you.

And you know my giving isn’t done
to put you in my debt,
but because I want to live the love
I feel for you.

To receive with grace
may be the greatest giving.
There’s no way I can separate
the two.

When you give to me,
I give you my receiving.
When you take from me, I feel so
given to.

-

Song “Given To” (1978) by Ruth Bebermeyer
from the album, Given To.

Poetry: NIGHT ON THE SANDBAR

Here we sit, friend, you and I, silent,
Alone with the sea on a moonless night.
I look for the line where water meets air.
It isn't there.

Have you ever completely lost faith in facts,
In what we all preach about Life, Cosmos, God?
Ever lost touch with your body, with Earth -
Your reason adrift?

Poetry: WEDNESDAY OUT OF SYNC

Have you ever found yourself
someplace you thought you wanted to be
but didn’t,
and wanting to be where you wish you didn’t
but did,
so then tried to be where you wished to be
but shouldn't,
then tried to be present where your body was
but couldn’t? 

Go home, sleep it off.
The cure for this problem is Thursday.

Annapolis, Maryland - 1979
Wednesday Out of Sync by Abby Freeborn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. For permission to use contact randmxcentric@gmail.com