When words fail me
When silence is all I hear
When emotions stop the flow of words
When I’m overwhelmed by what I feel
My smile hides my anxiety
My mask is back on me
I’m back in my actress mode
I pretend that nothing is wrong
When in fact I’m falling apart…
Lida Berghuis
July 24th, 2013
My poems are my diary
What I’m thinking about goes in there
What I’m reading inspires them
The questions I have are stated there
The things I’ve learned are recorded there
My highs, my lows, my serious and silly moods
Are reflected in them
Like a diary
They are dated
Like a diary
They are re-read later
Pages and pages
Notebooks and notebooks
My notebooks make
A colourful tower on my shelf
The covers are different and varied
Reflecting the variety I seek in life
Some are smaller
Some bigger
Like the different chapters
In my life
But collectively
This sea of words
Represents me
My spirit
My mind
My emotions
My thoughts
My hopes
My dreams
And that’s why
My poems are my diary!
Lida Berghuis
May 26th, 2013
Girls and women have been told to use
Their inside voices for a long time
Men may scream and shout
And their roars of laughter
is somehow not met by surprise…
Girls on the other hand
Have to be demure
Soft spoken
And even suppress loud laughter
How dare they be loud?
Men can gesture and speak
At the top of their lungs
No one will tell them
They are out of bound
Girls however will be criticized
Or thought of as not refined
Of course, all of this is not surprising
Considering that not too long ago
Women could not leave the house alone
They needed protection
Or were they being controlled?
Not too long ago
Women could not vote
Or be elected to office
No wonder they were expected
To speak softly
Seen but not heard
If at all possible…
Women have made amazing strides
Since then
They now lead, set policy
Demonstrate for their rights
Then why are we frowned on
When we speak or laugh out loud?
I’ve decide I’m not going to wait
For permission from society
To use my outside voice
Some people may feel offended
I may get some strange looks
But that’s OK
Times have changed
And I have changed too!
Lida Berghuis
July 15th, 2013
A few of my favorite things
What makes me happy are simple things
Reading, writing, talking to friends
Laughing and being silly sometimes
Walks with Albert
Hugs from my kids
Early mornings
Sitting in the sun
Learning new things
Meeting new people
Traveling
Nature walks
Flowers
Beautiful things and
Art!
Lida Berghuis
July 11th, 2013
Confusing, because
It is unexpected
unexplainable
Often times unreasonable
And impractical
Joyous, because
It makes you smile
It cheers your heart
It gives meaning to life
Confusing, because
It often does not make sense
It’s complicated
It involves trials
Joyous, because
It brightens your day
Makes you feel wanted
Gives you wings to fly
Confusing joy
Is what love brings
And what welcome confusion
It is!
Lida Berghuis
July 8th, 2013
*quote from Rumi
Sometimes I need to escape
The clutter of my thoughts
The chatter of my to-do list
The routine tasks of life
And let myself float
In that etherial space
That has no name
I have to quiet my mind
Open my heart
And listen to what is normally
Drowned by the noise of life
I have to go that placeless place
And wonder a while
I have to read words that inspire me
Write what comes to me
And get lost in that place
I can’t describe
All I know is that
I return from that place
Feeling refreshed
Feeling calm
Lida Berghuis
July 10th, 2013
What makes us rich is our relationships…
A house, a car, a piece of jewelry
Can all be gone in an instant
But friendship remains no matter
The circumstance
A job can be lost
A career can take a down turn
But a friend will stay
No matter what
Storms come and go
And so will the crises of life
And what is the thing that gets us through
No matter the circumstance?
Not the material possessions we have
Our fancy job or
Our fancy house
It’s our friends
Who will give us
The gift of friendship and support
The gift of love and kindness
And a reason to hold on
Till the storm is gone!
Lida Berghuis
June 30th, 2013
*Inspired by a poem of Maya Angelou
When it pours
Dance in the rain!
You can complain
But dance instead!
When life gets busy
Take one step at a time
You can get overwhelmed
But count your steps instead!
When confusion reigns
Just relax!
You don’t need to know
All the answers right now!
One step at a time
Dance the dance of life
Sometimes slowly
Sometimes quickly
Sometimes with grace
Sometimes awkwardly
Dance in joy
Dance in sorrow
Dance your worries away
The secret is to hear
The music when others may not!
Lida berghuis
June 28th, 2013
It is what it is
It was what it was
Accept what is
If you can’t make it ‘was’
Accepting is not giving in
Is not giving up
Accepting is not fighting
When fighting does not give results
It is what it is
It was what it was
The past can’t be rewritten
And it need not!
Good experiences
Sad experiences
Make us who we are
Happiness, sadness
Part of life
It is what it is
It was what it was
It’s all good
And as it should be
March on!
Lida Berghuis
June 24th, 2013
We are the cup that floats on water
Water outside
Water inside
Gradually we drink our fill
The cup fills up
At that moment
The cup sinks and
The water inside
Joins the water outside
Is this annihilation
Or returning home
Is this he end
Or the beginning of freedom?
Lida Berghuis
Oct. 20th, 2011
