Sometimes my thoughts seem
to trace back to a thousand other voices,
to a hundred thousand images. . .
Are we not all
shaping each other?
Let us then be like the potter,
who with strong and skillful hands
creates beauty and utility
by building up
with patience
and with purpose.
Read more works by this author:https://www.amazon.com/author/morrisrk
Click the link below to view the entire virtual exhibit of visual art and poems from the Poetry Art Night Exhibit. This is a juried event. Judges awards are expected to be posted early next week. Voting for People’s Choice Award is going on now. Take a look and read, and vote for your favorites.
From Lish Brown, executive director of the Suzannes Haskew Arts Center, which hosts the event in conjunction with the Village Fine Arts Association “PAN is a juried and judged art and poetry exhibition and sale. The art must be submitted with a related inspirational poem. Art and original, unpublished poems are judged. VOTE FOR PEOPLE’S CHOICE! Links in the catalog or tell us here!”
A short read with mystery and humor, followed by points to discuss with your child.
Here is a brief excerpt from an upcoming work. The scene is a snow-covered landscape in a remote winter resort somewhere in the Midwest. Two friends, Phil and Frankie, are walking along the deserted trail, when they suddenly hear a strange sound that gets their imaginations running wild…
“Sure is quiet out here.” Phil said.
“Yeah, not a house, or a building anywhere in sight .”
“Look at the trail, Frankie . Looks like nobody has been out this way in quite some time.”
“Yeah, ours are the only tracks. Of course we did get a fresh snow last night. That would have covered any tracks from yesterday.”
“That’s right. Probably there were a lot of tracks here before that snowfall last night.”
“Yeah, after all this is the main trail. Probably lot’s of people walk this way all the time.”
“Of course. You’re sure this is the main trail, aren’t you Frankie?”
“Sure I’m sure. At least, I was sure. Anyway, It’s not like we’re actually lost.”
“No, not actually.”
“I mean, even if we don’t know where we are right now, we know the lodge is just over that way.”
“Probably just a mile or so away, don’t you think?”
“Sure a mile or so, maybe. “
“Sure is quiet though.”
A sudden sound stopped the boys in their tracks. It was a loud sound, unfamiliar and somewhat like a deep musical note blown on some fantastic kind of horn.
Phil looked at Frankie, “What was that?”
“I don’t know. Sounded like the call of a moose.”
“Do you have moose around here?”
“No. I was just kidding. There are no moose around here. At least I don’t think there are. Anyway, what if it was? Aren’t mooses vegetarians?”
“Yeah, that’s right, they are. So what do you think it was?”
“I don’t know.”
“There it goes again. Say, what’s bigger than a moose? That sure is a loud sound.”
“I don’t know. I think it’s coming from up ahead, just around this bend.”
“Maybe it’s one of those woolly mammoth things.”
“You mean those things like hairy elephants? Aren’t those extinct?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I guess I’m just letting my imagination run away with me. Besides the people at the resort would have noticed a thing like a big hairy elephant roaming around in the woods. I mean, what are the odds that you and I could arrive last night and out of a clear blue, without even looking for it, be the first one’s to discover a giant animal like that, trumpeting and stomping around here in the woods? The mere thought of such a thing is ridiculous.”
“You’re right, that would be ridiculous; our first day here and we discover a mammoth roaming the woods. Somebody else would have seen him first. Anyway aren’t elephants vegetarians too?”
“Yeah, but did you ever see one of those Tarzan movies and the way the elephants pick up the poachers or the ivory hunters or whoever they’re angry at with their trunks and just kind of toss them around like they were a child’s doll?”
“You don’t suppose it thinks we’re ivory hunters, do you?”
“I don’t know.”
“I mean, we don’t look like a couple of poachers or ivory hunters, do we?”
“Not to me we don’t, but maybe the mammoth has never seen a Tarzan movie. Frankie look!”
“A cabin!”
“Do you think that sound came from in there?”
As if in answer to Phil’s question, the sound repeated.
“I guess that answers that.”
“What do you suppose it could be? That cabins too small for a mammoth.”
“I don’t know Frankie. I guess we’d better go find out.”
“Might be some kind of wild animal that’s hurt in there, calling to its mate.”
“Or its pack.”
“Its pack? You mean as in wolf pack? Phil, I don’t think there are any wolves around here either.”
“Yeah, and you also thought mammoths were extinct, but we still haven’t figured out what could be making that noise.”
“Do you think maybe it’s a small mammoth?”
“You mean like a baby, calling for its mother?”
“That’s it, like a baby calling to its mother.”
“If it is, then for our sake I hope the mother is nowhere nearby. “
“Gosh, you’re right! I don’t see anything. I think we’d hear her crashing through the trees if she were charging us.”
“We’re almost there Frankie.”
“What if it’s an injured wolf? I’ve heard wild animals that are injured and feel cornered can be the most dangerous.”
“We’ll soon find out. Duck down below these windows. We’re almost to the door.”
“Phil, I think I saw those trees move! Wait… wait… I guess it was just the wind.”
“Keep your voice low Frankie. Don’t want the wolf, or the mammoth–“
“Don’t forget the moose!”
All right. The wolf, or the mammoth, or the moose, or whatever is in there, to hear us. My hand is on the door. It doesn’t seem to be locked. I’m going to gently push it open. Stay to the side and give whatever frightening beast is in there plenty of room to charge out.”
“Right. “
“Ready? “
“I can’t look. Tell me when to run.”
“You’ve got your eyes closed Frankie? Okay. Here goes. The door is swinging open and I can see… I can see… To be continued!
Discussion points:
1. What do you think might be making the sounds that Phil and Frankie are hearing?
2.Have you ever heard or seen something that you could not explain at first? What are some of the things you thought it could be?
3. Phil and Frankie are funny characters in this story. One of the things about them that is funny is that they make a lot of mistakes that put them in humorous situations. Have you ever made a mistake about something that you could laugh about later?
4. The setting in this scene is a lonely, snow-covered trail. What were Phil and Frankie worried about before they heard the strange sound?
5. Do you think Phil and Frankie’s worries about being lost made them more likely to be afraid when they heard the strange sound?
6.Telling and sharing stories is a great way to spread joy. The story you tell can have the characters you choose, and be set where you want it to be. You can set a story right in the neighborhood where you live, with real streets and building that you know, or you can make up a totally new place; it is up to you!
7. Your story can be funny too, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some ideas for starters: You can tell about a character or characters who discover something or someplace new. You can tell about characters who help someone find something that they have lost. You can tell about characters who help rescue someone from a dangerous situation. You can tell your story with words, like the one you just read, or with pictures you draw and very few or even no words. You get to decide how you want to tell your story. Where will you go, where will you take your audience, and what new and interesting characters will you introduce to your audience? Craft a story to share with the persons in your home, your friends and family.
Click here for more free resources http://www.listenviewreview.com/teaching-at-home-free-resource-for-parents/
Parents teaching at home, here is a free resource. A little story-telling and discussion with the help of one of the most fascinating creatures of the ocean: the Octopus.You may choose to read this aloud to your child or student, or they may read it aloud with you. Once you have finished this short work, here are some things to discuss:
1. The octopus was using it’s natural ability to camouflage to blend in with a rock. Why did you think it wanted to blend in with the rock?
2. What was the action that the story-teller took to ease the fear or sense of danger that the octopus had?
3.How did the octopus respond?
4.Do you get the sense that the story-teller believes they have communicated with the octopus?
5. Most octopuses are not large. Make a fist for your child. The size of your fist is about the size of the body of the octopus
6.Think about some of the wildlife around where you live. Have you ever seen an animal that uses camouflage to blend in with it’s surroundings? Many insects uses camouflage.
7. What kinds of wild animals do you like to watch? What have you learned about animals by watching them?
8. Have you noticed that the birds are calling and singing much more now, during spring, than they were during winter? How many different kinds of birds can you identify?
9.The other day I saw a chipmunk gather dried leaves from the ground, stuff them into the pouches in it’s cheeks, and then take the leaves to it’s underground den. What do you think it was going to do with the leaves? Have you noticed any nesting behavior by the wild animals near where you live?
10.Since we can’t talk to wild animals with words, what ways can you think of to try to let them know that we only want to watch them and not hurt them? Do you think this is what the story-teller was able to do in “The Octopus and I”?
THE OCTOPUS AND I
The octopus and I
met quite by accident
as a rock appeared to have more to it
than a rock
so I paused and looked and saw that reddish knob
move
ever so slightly.
I knew her intent was that I should not see her
atop that rock
in daylight
in open water
for she maintained her imitation
of an outcrop
of a rock
most persistently
and I believe as her eye saw
the recognition
in my eye
she sensed danger
so I considered her predicament
and hovered away
ever so slightly
in my way to say to the octopus
“I am no predator.”
to which she responded
by stretching out her arms
and gliding away
slowly
beneath my gaze
in open water
in daylight
from her hiding place
atop that rock.
Click here for more free resources: http://www.listenviewreview.com/free-resource-for-parents-teaching-at-home/
Something new is in the works! Following the September release of Good Words and Sunbursts, I spent the next two months expanding and polishing Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer for publication in late November. There followed a period of relative inactivity, during which my brain was catching it’s breath, so to speak, but I am happy to say that the creative juices started flowing again sometime in January, really started picking up steam in February, and are still humming along on all cylinders; and several short works are the result so far.
I have a tentative title for the new volume, which I won’t share yet, but I will share the names of some of the individual works. They are, in no particular order:
1. Potter’s Hands
2. Nap Time
3. Siblings on the Savannah
4. Gilded
5. The Performer
6. Our Belligerent Personas
7. The Tension Between Just Being and Being Empty (tentative title)
Sometimes things happen very quickly. Our Belligerent Personas came to me compete last evening, without warning or even effort, it just sort of materialized in my mind, and it was all I could do to run for my folio and pen and get the lines down.
Gilded was much the same way, although that did not just come to me. Instead, I had the benefit of some inspiration provided by a special event here in my hometown of Milford, Michigan. Along with Nap Time, Siblings on the Savannah, and The Performer, Gilded is a work I have entered in the Village Fine Arts Association Poetry Art Night http://milfordvfaa.org/ exhibit and competition. Each of these poems is matched with an excellent painting by local Milford/Highland area artists.
Nap Time and Siblings on the Savannah are paintings by Paul Tibedeau. (Paul Tibedeau Fine Art on Facebook) Paul and I worked together for the first time at last year’s Poetry Art Night, for which I crafted a poem to accompany Paul’s lovely plein air painting Tracks in the Snow, and I have been looking forward to this collaboration for months. I had the benefit of seeing Nap Time many weeks in advance, so I was able to develop a nice, calm work to accompany this evocative painting by Paul . Siblings on the Savannah came later as a pleasant surprise to me, and I was further delighted that Paul suggest that I choose the title for his painting and my poem .
Gilded and The Performer are portraits by Sara Hadley, http://www.greenhandleart.com . Thanks to an e-mail from VFAA executive director Sue Gollon, this is my first collaboration with Sara. As I said above, Gilded really flowed once I saw the painting. The way I described it to the artist was “I think your painting made an instant connection with my mind and emotions…” The Performer also had a strong sense of story and drama to convey, but the painting had to work a little harder to drag it out of me!
I am pleased and excited to have contributed four works for the 2020 Poetry Art Night, and I hope that my poems complement and contribute to the high degree of quality seen in the visual art and poetry submitted by all of the artists.
All four of these works will be exhibited with the original paintings Gilded and The Performer by Sara Hadley, and Nap Time and Siblings on the Savannah by Paul Tibedeau, starting Thursday, March 19 through April 24 at The Suzanne Haskew Arts Center (SHAC) located at 125 S. Main Street, Milford, MI https://www.milfordshac.org/.
To learn more about the artists and view their wonderful works, visit http://www.greenhandleart.com for more by Sara Hadley,and on Facebook visit Pau Tibedeau Fine Art.
Click here to read the other published books by the author, Rick Morris: http://amazon.com/author/morrisrk including the collection Good Words and Sunbursts, which features Tracks in the Snow, the award-winning poem that accompanied Paul Tibedeau’s original painting at the 2019 Poetry Art Night, and the novel Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer, a delightful romantic comedy with the Greatest Generation.
Thanks for reading!
Exciting news! I am happy to announce that both the paperback and e-book versions of my book “Good Words and Sunbursts” is available now at Amazon. I hope you will visit and purchase a copy for yourself, and extras as gifts to share with loved ones. This is a great way for you to support the work and art here at LVR.com and listenviewreview.com, plus get a volume of original poems to read and to keep for future enjoyment. Thanks for visiting and please purchase “Good Words and Sunbursts” by Richard K. Morris at http://amazon.com/author/morrisrk, and don’t forget to leave a review that will encourage and lead others to discover and enjoy these vivid verses!
As summer weather continues and the temperatures rise to the level commonly referred to as a scorcher, there are many ways you can beat or enjoy the heat. One way is of course to cool off in the water, be it a lake, the ocean, a swimming pool, or perhaps your neighbors bird bath, if they happen to be away. Where these options are not available, you may choose to stay inside as much as possible, with the shades drawn and the air conditioner blasting. There is of course, the option of sitting in front an open refrigerator, or the methods I often employed as a child, going out beneath the shade of a tree, or running through the sprinkler. While all of these options have their own merits, there is another I would like to propose, which, while not actually cooling your body, has proven to be a very effective way to enjoy the summer weather while it lasts.
I am referring to the colorful, cool, and relaxing experience of watching an Ester Williams water spectacular motion picture. For those of you unfamiliar with this iconic Hollywood motion picture star, there is no better time than a hot, hot summer day or sultry evening to pour yourself, and perhaps a loved one, if you are fortunate enough to have a loved one handy, a refreshing beverage, collapse into a comfortable chair, and enjoy the splashing, synchronized swimming, and technicolor glory of an Esther William film; and there is no better place to start this rewarding pursuit than with her first starring film, Bathing Beauty. This 1944 MGM release features Esther looking lovely and athletic in a bathing suit, with some great water numbers that will transport you to cool poolside. Bathing Beauty also stars Red Skelton, who is both hilarious and full of pathos as Esther’s falsely discredited love interest. Basil Rathbone, familiar to many from his role as the villainous Sir Guy of Gisbourne in 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, and from a whole series of pictures playing the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes, gets a break from his heavy and serious roles to play a likeable cad who starts all the trouble for Red .
With romance, comedy, music, brilliant costumes and sets and of course Esther Williams swimming and diving, in cool, refreshing water Bathing Beauty is a great way to the make the best of summer heat.
Speaking of music, Bathing Beauty delivers with a top-notch roster of musical entertainment. Not one, but two big name bands, Harry James and his Music Makers along with arguably the top vocalist of the era, Helen Forrest, and Xavier Cugat and his orchestra, with Lina Romay! Plus, not one, but two top individual musical names: organist Ethel Smith, and singer Carlos Ramirez. Besides her usual wizardry at the organ, we also have the treat of hearing Ethel Smith utter the immortal line, thought by some to be attributed to an unpublished work of William Shakespeare, “Cheese it, here comes Piccolo Pete.” Just one of many minor touches that add to the enormous entertainment value of this film. One of the musical highlights of Bathing Beauty is the rendition of Loch Lomond, adapted to a contemporary swing score, performed by Red Skelton and an ever growing ensemble, and ultimately played by Harry James and His Music Makers.
If you can’t get to the water, get to a TV monitor and cool off with Esther Williams and the entire all star cast of MGM’s 1944 technicolor treat Bathing Beauty.
During last night’s near full moon we had a bonfire. Here is how I experienced it.
A full moon and fireflies,
a bonfire, a cloudless sky;
beauty written
upon this night.
Upon my heart even more
the Word of the Lord .
I am awash in light.
Soft breeze is blowing,
birds distant calling,
bees buzzing on in their way.
I am awake, just barely;
seeing orange through my eyelids
on a perfect summer day.
