Commitment

I've been researching publishing options

because I've made a commitment to myself

to put my words into the world

in a more impactful way.

In the process, I've learned a few things.

1. I need to concentrate on creative non-fiction

 or genre fiction if I want to be paid 

for my work. Poets don't get paid 

for published pieces as a general rule.

2. If you put a poem on your blog, 

it's considered "previously published" 

and poetry journals and zines 

won't be interested in publishing it 

again (with very few exceptions).

3. Because of #2, I won't be sharing

some of my newest and best works here, 

at least until they've been published elsewhere 

and the rights revert to me.

4. That doesn't include poems 

in haiku form because there are so few 

publications that will accept haiku works 

that putting them online is the only way 

to make sure that anyone reads them. 

Besides, I love Haiku My Heart 

Fridays with Rebecca.

5. I'm open to suggestions on how 

best to keep my commitment to myself. 

I'd really love to combine

words and photo images.

Anybody out there have some wisdom to share?

Smiles and Irons in the Fire

Because of your smile, 

you make life more beautiful.

– Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

Somehow, the weekend was swallowed 

in a writing frenzy

that I wasn't ready to share here, with you. 

I have so many irons in the fire these days,

it's hard to know which one 

will leave the most potent mark.

But I just want to say

 that visiting with you, 

at your place or mine, 

makes my life more beautiful.

Just like your smile brightens the world.

Y'all come back now. Hear? 

Haiku My Heart: Nameless Saint

For more Haiku My Heart Friday,

visit Rebecca, a touch-er of hearts.

his eyes speak of love

but sadness is hidden there

under the surface

I Am the Walrus

Before you decide I've gone 'round the bend,

let me explain.

I was feeling camera-lust.

I wanted to capture details.

And you know how I love blue.

And as for the You-Tube video,

well it speaks for itself.

I don't endorse the suggestion at the end,

though I have discovered a strange Showtime series

on On Demand called "Weeds."

Goo goo guh joob.

AND IF YOU WANT TO BE AMAZED
by a whale birthing post,
click HERE to visit Kendalee's
Dance of a Painted Lady.

Not Much to Say

I've been writing up a storm

the past few days. I thought

for certain I'd have lots to say

in my blog post today,

but no such luck.

There are several new poems,

but they're all pretty long

so I hesitate to post them.

Instead, after I'd looked at

what blog friends were doing,

I headed out on a field trip

to enjoy the sunshine.

Sometimes images say things

better than words. 

Blue Haiku

bits of sand and fire

chatting, crackling in blue

bubbles suspended

Faux-tel California © 2009 Meri Arnett-Kremian

Haiku My Heart: Topsy Turvy

the world shifts daily

topsy-turvy, upside down

and then rights itself

for more Haiku My Heart Friday,

visit my dear friend Rebecca.

Passages

Passages.

Movement from one place to another.

Sometimes from a place of light

to a place of darkness.

But then, squeezing out the other end

of sorrow, into joy once more.

Sometimes we willingly travel the path.

Sometimes we're sucked into the vortex

by forces too strong to resist.

All passages we must travel to arrive
at growth and resolution.  

A Cure for What Ails You

If you're in need of a five-minute break,

a journey of pure relaxation,

I've got a cure for what ails you.

It's my new You-Tube video,

a presentation featuring photos

from my book Shooting Spree. 

Sit back and soak in

these ordinary, but sacred, moments.

I hope you enjoy it. 

Love,

Meri

Haiku My Heart: Unexpected

Haiku My Heart 

is Rebecca's heart child.

sometimes dreams slip in

bringing tidings from the soul

that you'd forgotten

Revisions

You've seen this poem before in an earlier version,

but it's been revised and polished. So here it is again.

Bel Canto

I suspect that love
is an extraordinary guy
dressed in everyday clothes,
a wily clown that springs his tricks
and slaps his knee, chortling
in delight at coupled pratfalls.

I'd love to greet him, "Ciao bello!"
the moment he turns the corner,
sticks out his foot and trips me, skinning
my knee and making me feel like a kid again.
He'd guffaw and offer his outstretched hand
and I'd laugh too and shake it.

I'd love to serenade him with a song
or beggar Rumi's words recounting --
how fierce like a lion, tender like an evening star --
love dribbled warm and moist in the tender
cracks of his soul. I know, I know, he was talking
about God but love in all its forms is my god.

Right now I'd rather read Rumi and rejoice,
"I was dead, then alive. Weeping, then laughing,"
than recall how once my heart beat wild and fierce
until the assassin struck and love bled out.
But here you are, you miracle maker.
So unexpected on this close side of death.

Poem and images © 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian.

All rights reserved.

Inner Wisdom

“ always with me,

waiting inside.

sometimes quietly,

sometimes not.

it is when i stop and listen

that i honor your presence.

it is when i follow what i hear

that i honor my wholeness. ”

~terri st. cloud

Listen to that quiet voice

that has so much to say.

One Word: Stash

About time for a binge. . . 

though I've already read 

The Girl Who Played With Fire.

I just finished

The History of Love

and have 

The Lacuna in the "next" position.

What are your favorites right now?

Prescription

Sit in silence.

"Levels of Being" © 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian

Meditate.

Topsy Turvy

Sometimes it just feels like everything is

Upside down.

A Woman of Few Words

So for today, when I'm indulging myself

in workshops to jumpstart my writing urge,

I'll leave you with three words.

Musing.

Reflecting.

Being.

Life is grand!

One Word

I'm joining in the one-word/one-photo

movement started by Susannah Conway.

In the spirit of brevity, here's my word.

Ruffles.