Tag Archive | Poetry

limits

Dec6

IMG_6463

 

What’s the difference between our interactions online
And those in person
Can’t pretend that the online world does not exist
That’s how we stay in touch with family and friends
Acorss the country and around the world
It’s like letter writing on steroids

The online community is as real as the people who live close to us
We get emotional support from both
We exchange ideas both ways
We bring others cheer both ways

The secret as always is moderation
Anything done to excess is not good
Some limits we need to create for ourselves
No one else can do this for me and you

So the challenge is knowing
When it’s enough
When to stop
When to go offline
I tend to write more when I do
And this poem came to be
Because…
I left my phone accidentally at home

Dec. 5th, 2017

Practice needed

Nov30

purple flower

Plans are sometimes unplanned for us in our lives
Flexibility and detachment are needed at such times
But when you have your heart set on something
When you have taken time to map things out
Flexibility and detachment are not easy
Maybe that’s why we get many chances to practice
Our lives are a series of letting go
Will it get easier with time?
I’m not sure
Will we keep getting opportunities to hone our skills?
There is no doubt

November 29th, 2017

Whole again

Nov26

When I can sit at the coffee shop by myself
And feel at peace
When creativity and the desire to write is back
When there is no trace of anxiety
When my feelings make sense again
When the fog I’ve been living in has dissipated

I can say I’m back to me
The me I know
The me I recognize
The me I’m happy to be
The me I was yearning for
The me that had escaped
And would not return despite my pleas…

Then I feel whole again

image

 

Nov. 22nd, 2017

When passion dies

Nov23

IMG_7283Yes, one feels helpless and sad
One feels out of control of one’s emotions
One feels weary and anxious
But the worst part is that passion dies…
One’s zest for life
One’s zeal to start projects and carry them through
One’s energetic nature and optimistic way of thinking
All of these things fall by the wayside

And when I see someone speaking passionately about a subject they are invested in
I wonder why they can do that and not I

I wonder where my energy and fervor went
Where my desire to create and build something new went
Where my joy of being productive went

And I mourn the loss of passion

November 22nd, 2017

Autumn leaves

Nov14

The colorful leaves of fall nestle against the grey stones for shelter
For warmth

They huddle and
Keep each other warm
Chit chatting among themselves
About their transition
The changes to come
showing off their beautiful costumes while they still can

November 14th 2017

IMG_7283

A letter to myself

Oct4

imageThis is a letter I write to myself
As listen to the birds chirp
As I look out the window
And see the buds on the trees

This is a letter to myself
To remind me that no matter how dark
Everything my seem
No matter how little hope may be left
The dawn will come

This is a letter to myself
I write it now
So I can read it in the darkness of winter
And the gloomy hours of life
To remind myself that things will change
Laughter will return
And the sun will shine

This is a letter to myself
And I know that one day
I will read it in disbelief
Because things have changed
And I’m walking in the shadows again
But I hope that what I write now
Will give me strength to carry on

This is a letter to myself
Signed and sealed
To remind me
That these are the challenges of life
And I will overcome them eventually
Maybe slowly
Maybe painfully
But each and every time

 

-written a few years ago

Jagged lines

Aug4

We want what we do to be perfect from the start
We feel the need to succeed right away

But no success has come without trials
There is beauty in the imperfect climb
People who succeed
Have failed many time
They know how not to get discouraged
And stay focussed

They keep their eyes on the goal
And keep climbing
Detours and road blocks are
Part of the climb

If we keep doing something long enough
And improve as we go along
There is no way we can’t succeed
And the jagged lines of our climb
Make our path beautiful and unique

 

March 2016inukshuk

Scars

Aug1

beach

Scars become part of us
And define us
Most times they tell the stories of hardships overcome

Scars upon our souls are invisible of course
But they have stories too

We walk around with visible and invisible scars
Sometimes we forget they’re there
Sometimes we relive old times

One thing’s for sure
We all have scars

Maybe we can learn to acknowledge them as parts of who we are

Not look at them with disdain
But as rungs of a ladder we climb

August 1st, 2017

Illusion

Jul31

IMG_2993

Sometimes, life seems unfair
Those who are honest
Don’t succeed
Those who lie brazenly
Get away with it

But do we ever consider the soul
Of the one who lies, cheats and climbs
Do we ever think of how they
Will be remembered
When they die?

Can they bring their power
And fortune with them?
I wonder if they’ve heard of Karma

The repercussions of our actions
Will be felt when we journey on
This world is an illusion
Reality awaits us

 

July 27, 2015

Sweets from Yazd

Jul27

imageThere is something about the familiar
Which is very comforting
No introduction necessary
Old feelings come to fore:
A box of Persian sweets from Iran
Brought by my cousin
Sent by my aunt
Takes me back to my visit to Yazd

I pick up the Sohané Ardi
And gently take a first bite
As it melts in my mouth
My senses take me years back
When one spring
My father, mother, brother and I
Drove to that part of Iran

My first memory is of gazing at the sky
Dotted thickly with luminous stars
So many stars that the sky seemed white

The endless dessert around us
Dust on the road
Dust in the car

The wide streets of Yazd
The numerous bakeries in town
Seeing pashmak* being made
Smelling the sweets all around

I take a second bite of Sohan
A feast for my taste buds

Now comes the memory of Naw Ruz
When we used to live in Iran
Where our Haft Seen table was prepared with love

The family visits
The sweets we ate
The shirini** my mom baked
The love we shared

And now…
The Haji Badoom, Baklava
Nane Berenjy and Sohan
Cause these memories to flood my mind!

Lida Berghuis
April 4th, 2010

Written after receiving sweets from dear aunt Badri

*pashmak is a Persian sweet resembling
cotton candy

**shirini is sweets in Persian