Poetry for Ukraine ~ “The Sky”

“The Sky”

The sky belongs to the hazy moon and to the glowing sun
It wasn’t made for fighter jets, bursting bombs, or guns

That sacred space is for the birds to glide on wings and soar
It’s unnatural to be the scene of destruction, hate, or war

The place where God put rainbows, stars, and butterflies
Does not belong to greedy men and self-important lies

A peaceful sphere for passing clouds and for the gentle wind
Is best reserved for reverie and flying kites with friends

The wild blue yonder holds for us a promise up above
It’s good for prayers and wishes and hopeful thoughts of love

The heavens have watched over us since the dawn of time
When we are at our very worst and moments when we shine

The sky belongs to angels and people who can fly
For those set free from earthly woes and gravity defy §

-Alicia Woodward

Note regarding this poem’s allusion to “people who can fly” ~
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales is the title of a book written by Virginia Hamilton in 1985. It is a collection of 24 folktales including one called The People Could Fly. In this tale, slaves sing ancient African words and magically fly away to freedom. I’d like to believe people bound by chains of oppression, illness, addiction, disease, or poverty can defy all odds and break free. Maybe strength comes in knowing these are only earthly chains and will not last forever.

Read Alicia’s previous poems for Ukraine:
“With the Strength of Snowdrops” https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/02
“War Can Turn to Peace” https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/09
“Innocence” https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/16
“An Elegant Response to War” https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/23

“I thank you God for this amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.”
~ e. e. cummings

The Elegance of Being a Fountain ~ 10 ways not to be a drain

My friend Lisa, who lives in Arizona, texted me a picture of her front porch this week. She and her husband placed a small Ukrainian flag on their garden gate and decorated each side with cheerful sunflowers. “They’re Ukraine’s national flower,” she told me. When I clicked on the “live” photo, I briefly heard her porch fountain trickling joyfully. I immediately thought how my friend epitomizes the expression, “Be a fountain, not a drain!”

Lisa and I have known each other since junior high, but we’ve grown closer the past several years. She became a loyal supporter of my blog, and our friendship has blossomed over shared interests and views on life. I must admit, Lisa is more naturally positive and upbeat than I, and she inspires me to emulate her optimistic and elegant demeanor. The personal photo she texted me demonstrated her caring, empathetic nature, and the unmistakable sound of her garden fountain doubled its grace.

I love fountains, and I know Lisa does, too. The sound of running water and inherent symbolism bring us comfort and joy. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Water is the driving force of all nature.” Life can’t exist without water, and many of us find peace in its sight and sound. When I see a fountain, I hear myself humming that Sunday school hymn, “deep and wide, deep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide…”

As she often does, my friend filled me up at a time when I could really use it. People like Lisa remind us to be a fountain, not a drain. She inspired me to sit by our own fountain and contemplate these ten ways to live more elegantly.

Be calming. There are more than enough people in the world who like to stir things up and play devil’s advocate. Let your presence be a calming and helpful influence.
Be energetic. The water in a beautiful fountain is never dull and stagnant. Be full of energy and vitality.
Be hopeful. Where there is water there is life, and life is always full of hope and promise.
Be welcoming. A decorative fountain beckons all to come closer and rest in its hospitality.
Be cool. Angry, hot-headed behavior seems to be acceptable these days, but try to keep your cool.
Be refreshing. The world can make us weary. Do what you can to refresh your soul and pass it on.
Be cheerful. Bubbling water sounds a little like laughter. Make a joyful noise!
Be gentle. Aim for your words and actions to be soothing, like water flowing from a fountain.
Be clear. A fountain filled with dark, murky water loses its beauty. Be transparent and honest in your interactions.
Be peaceful. There is so much conflict and disharmony in the world about which we can do little, but we can all work towards creating peace in our homes, relationships, and communities. §

Poetry for Ukraine ~ “An Elegant Response to War”

“An Elegant Response to War”

how do I respond to war
with elegance and grace
when I know the pain and suffering
of my fellow human race

am I wrong to revel in
the warmth and hope of spring
to laugh and dance and celebrate
the joy that living brings

do I fill my days quite blissfully
with love and peace and light
do I still thank God for all the things
that bring me such delight

is it enough to stay informed
and weep and sigh and pray
to shake my head and make a wish
for peace to come one day

how do I respond to war
with elegance and grace
would it be okay to greet the day
with a smile upon my face?

-Alicia Woodward

“There never was a good war or a bad peace.” – Benjamin Franklin

The Elegance of Sympatheia

A news anchor broke down in tears while interviewing a Ukrainian father whose wife and two children were killed while trying to escape their city under siege. I know I’m not the only viewer who wept with them. In that moment, we were experiencing what the ancient Greeks called sympatheia, an elegant concept that all things are mutually woven together and have an affinity for each other.

Sympatheia reminds us we’re part of something much bigger than ourselves. You’ve probably seen a photo called The Blue Marble. It is an image of Earth taken fifty years ago by the Apollo 17 crew on their way to the Moon. It was shot 18,000 miles from our planet and is one of the most reproduced images in history. Astronomer Carl Sagan said, “There is perhaps no better a demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world.”

Maybe you’ve had a similar feeling standing on the ocean shore, on the rim of the Grand Canyon, or under a million stars in the vast night sky. This oceanic feeling happens when we allow ourselves to have a zoomed-out perspective. It’s then we experience a feeling of awe and realization that we are very small, but part of something incomprehensibly big.

Stoic philosophy is rooted in the concept of sympatheia. Roman emperor Marcus Arelius wrote, “Meditate often on the interconnectedness and mutual interdependence of all things in the universe.” The Stoics understood we are essentially all the same. We all suffer and cry, love and laugh, live and die. Sympatheia allows us to understand that our actions affect one another.

Ryan Holiday, author and host of the podcast The Daily Stoic said, “We are all unified and share the same substance. We breathe the same air. We share the same hopes and dreams. We are all descended from the same. And this is true no matter what race you are, no matter where you come from, or what you believe.”

My guess is sympatheia doesn’t come naturally to our selfish egos. Of course, we look out for number one. We probably care about family and those immediately around us. We might even feel a duty to those who look like us, live like us, and think like us. Sympatheia takes some work.

If we think about that photo of Earth and hold that zoomed-out perspective, our connection and our responsibility grow. We can see we are part of an interconnected world, where everything and everyone is united in a delicate relationship. It is this connection to each other that can push us to be and do what’s good, not just for a part, but for the whole.

Aurelius wrote, “The universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other, with an eye toward mutual benefit and never for harm.” In the big picture, our differences are insignificant. What unites us is our sameness. Our planet. Our humanity. What if our world leaders understood and practiced the concept of sympatheia? A better question might be, what if we all did? §

“What’s good for the hive is good for the bees.” – Marcus Aurelius

Poetry for Ukraine ~ “Innocence”

“Innocence”

the pale blue backpack
with a Disney princess
is far too heavy

to carry a stuffed yellow bunny
a fistful of pebbles from the yard
and a child’s dreams

it’s an adventure
mommy says
just a game

thank you for the cookies
and scratchy blanket
let’s go home now

to my pink bedroom
with butterflies
and daddy

is tomorrow a school day
why are you crying
who’s feeding the cat §

– Alicia Woodward

Read Alicia’s previous poems for Ukraine:
“With the Strength of Snowdrops” https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/02
“War Turns to Peace” https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/09

“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” – Anne Frank

The Elegance of Growth

The anticipation of spring has me longing to write about growth, that natural urge to enrich and improve ourselves and our lives. On this bright and sunny morning I decide, for some reason, the public library is the place that will bring inspiration.

Except for wifi, the C.E. Brehm Memorial Public Library hasn’t changed much since I came here as a child. I walk up the staircase toward the second floor where I sometimes studied in high school and become lost in the memory of a little girl in a plaid dress and ponytails reaching up to tightly grasp the oak banister. My hand slides along the railing, worn silky smooth from use, and I find myself on the third floor where the children’s section used to be, and still is.

My childlike voice surprises me when I timidly whisper hello to the librarian. I quietly position myself at a small table hoping to be inspired by an ancient budding elm tree just outside the window. Sitting awkwardly in a small wooden chair, I ignore my laptop and let every sight, sound, and smell of the familiar space wash over me like a spell.

Rising dreamlike, I slowly run my hand along a bookshelf, lightly touching the spines of Sounder, James and the Giant Peach, The Secret Garden, The Chronicles of Narnia. I smile at them like old friends.

For nearly an hour I try to focus on writing, but I’m distracted by a little girl I once knew sitting cross-legged in the corner lost in the big woods with Laura and Pa. I shake her out of my mind and read the quote I had jotted down by Mr. Twain.

“What’s the most rigorous law of our being? Growth. No small atom of our moral, mental, or physical structure can stand still a year. It grows – it must grow smaller or larger, better or worse – it cannot stand still. In other words, we change, and must change, constantly and keep on changing as long as we live.”

Springtime helps us understand what Twain was talking about. Butterflies and birds, flowers and leaves, offer tangible reminders of the miracle and beauty of growth. The transformation that comes each spring is easier for us to appreciate than the much slower moral, mental, and personal growth to which Twain refers.

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional,” said John Maxwell. But grow we must, as individuals, as a nation, as a global society. Going backwards, regression, is not growth, even when shrouded as nostalgia, heritage, or tradition. Growth is natural, essential, often painful, but ever so elegant.

We may find ourselves sitting in the same place, in the same chair, reading the same book as we did a lifetime ago. We should drink in the memories, yet delight in knowing every feeling, every thought, every word is new, because we are new. We are faithfully growing in body, mind, and spirit, like flowers in springtime. §

“Watching something grow is good for morale. It helps us believe in life.”
~ Myron S. Kaufman

Poetry for Ukraine ~ “War Can Turn to Peace”

“War Can Turn to Peace”

War
Ugly, Inhumane
Hating, Destroying, Dying
Explosions, Fear…Silence, Hope
Loving, Creating, Living
Beautiful, Compassionate
Peace

-Alicia Woodward

Like most Americans, I’m frightened and saddened by the inhumanity of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In my effort to find something positive I can do to to help, I’m writing poetry in support of the brave people of Ukraine which I will share on Wednesdays in my Just Between Friends post.

The form of poetry I’ve written this week is called a diamanté. It’s made up of just 16 words in seven unrhymed lines which form a diamond shape. Diamanté is the Italian word for diamond. The first and last lines are nouns, usually of opposite meaning. The rest of the lines are made up of nouns and adjectives related to the beginning and ending words. (I chose to divide my poem with ellipses.)

This relatively new form of poetry was created in 1969 by American poet Iris McClellan Tiedt. Studying and writing this simple form of poetry was always a favorite of my middle school literature students.

Writing poetry is, if nothing else, an elegant way to process and express our feelings. It won’t end a war, but it might offer a little comfort. If you’d like to try your hand at a diamanté poem, here’s the format:

Noun
Adjective, Adjective (related to first word)
Verb, Verb, Verb (related to first word)
Noun, Noun (related to first word)… Noun, Noun (related to last word)
Verb, Verb, Verb (related to last word)
Adjective, Adjective (related to last word)
Noun

Please read my previous poem for Ukraine ~ The Strength of Snowdrops at https://thesimpleswan.wordpress.com/2022/03/02

“No one in the world will forgive you (Vladimir Putin) for killing peaceful Ukrainian people.”
~Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The Elegance of Hope

Like a tired child, America is having a meltdown. Already overwhelmed by a pandemic, racial injustice, climate disaster, gun violence, political division, and inflation, an unprovoked attack on a free country by a frightening bully has sent her to the floor sobbing breathlessly. She needs an adult, someone like you, to pick her up and soothe her with a lullaby of hope.

Speaking of hope in times like these may seem excessively optimistic and naive, but Eleanor Roosevelt said, “It is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try.” Where can we find hope enough to calm ourselves, let alone ease others?

First, we can find hope in our country’s history. America has pulled through many times of darkness. In his book, The Soul of America, author Jon Meacham reminds us that periods of public dispiritedness are not new and offers reassurance that they are survivable. Through war, inequality, depression, and disaster, our nation has marched steadily forward to a hopeful chorus graced by what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.”

Secondly, we can find hope in our global citizenry. The past several days, we’ve seen ordinary Ukrainian citizens show immeasurable courage, selflessness, and fortitude. We’ve watched thousands of Russians take great risk to protest their authoritarian government. We’ve witnessed people in neighboring countries welcome more than a million desperate Ukrainians. Every day, all over the world, good people work tirelessly for the well-being of others, and good people always bring out the good in people.

Finally, we can summon hope within ourselves. Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” Her well-known poem celebrates the human spirit’s capacity for hope. Think of the times you mustered hope to get through a difficult challenge. Facing our personal and shared trials from a place of wisdom and sanguinity offers inspiration to those around us.

With everything that’s going on right now, we may want to throw ourselves on the floor in an all-out temper tantrum fueled by anxiety, anger, and fear. But we are adults, and children are watching. We must choose to face our struggles with strength and elegance, while bravely humming a song of hope. §

“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” ~Helen Keller

Poetry for Ukraine ~ “With the Strength of Snowdrops”

“With the Strength of Snowdrops”

Snowdrops pierce through frozen ground
Amid fiery blasts and artillery rounds

Tiny flowers so brave and bright
Show strength in their tenacious fight

Eager blossoms unfurl with glee
Like a flag flying free

Beauty and promise spring after spring
Despite despair the season brings

While man may sow hate and strife
Nature blooms with hope and life §

~Alicia Woodward

“Snowdrops: Theirs is a fragile but hardy celebration …in the very teeth of winter.”
~ Louise Wilder

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