another daydream

another daydream

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Clue Number Two

 

I made a promise to provide hints about an upcoming poetry collection. My photo capture of a plaque on the sidewalk of Library Way in New York City is the second clue. (If you missed the first one, it's the post dated August 29.) 

"If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people" is a quote by the writer Virginia Woolf. Intrigued?

Cheers,
Charise

Friday, November 17, 2023

"Earth Tone"

 Earth Tone

 

We set out to knead the mountain

while it gives,

before the crusty surface hardens,

while it leavens

orange yellow reddish leaves

while fall turns

round like the wind-up of a music box

while it plays

the same song yearly, more dear 

while we recall

forgetting how the season

waltzes in

 

 ~LCMH

 



 

  

 

Thursday, November 2, 2023

Reset

An immersive yoga retreat gave me a reset for... you name it... writing, meditation, outlook, and relating to the world at large. I'm celebrating twenty-five years of teaching yoga in the Washington, DC area (!). And this was my first international week long training. Life has its ongoing demands and obligations, after all. If you have the chance for a reset of some kind or another, take it. 


Ponta Delgado, Azores



Cheers,
Charise

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Nothing But Thanks

 

The kindness of people who don't even know they are walking into a poetry reading when they enter a streetcar is downright incredible. Thanks to passengers who listened intently and thanked me as they exited!

We had some finger snapping going on at the close of certain poems––ones that hit a chord, that were especially liked. My voice was hoarse and heart full. 

Cheers to unexpected art 
& poetry in communal places!




Your H Street Art All Night poet-in-residence,
Charise

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Poetry in Locomotion

 

 

It's that time of year, and DC is getting ready to celebrate the arts. I'm thrilled to be joining this event for the fourth go-around, sharing poetry with fellow riders of the streetcar. This is, literally, poetry in motion... or locomotion.


 
You can catch as little or as much as you like 
of "Let's Go Poetry!" from 8:00 to 9:00 pm September 30 while riding DC's streetcar on H Street.

Thank you to the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities for supporting local artists. 

Cheers,
Charise 


Thursday, September 14, 2023

"Cumbersome Summer"

Cumbersome Summer

 

Japanese maple masquerades

as an ostrich, those leafy plumes

bushing out atop the slender leg

 

… we did a new planting, digging in

where the grass gave up and died

 

now the coral bells, astilbes, hostas

rabbits ravage, yet I’m rooting

for this garden to astonish

 

to come back with a vengeance

the bite taken out of her

 

to prosper as I hover over

this scrappy patch,

skimpy plumes pining for water,

 

upturned worm wriggling dirt’s desire,

a tiny Eden in the making

 

and here are two sling-back chairs,

one for you… be my companion,

like the ostrich too heavy-laden to fly.  

 

~LCMH

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Up-and-Coming Book

Some say you can jinx a project with an announcement before it's a sure thing. I'm going to take a chance and give some credence to the work that's going on behind the scenes, a new book. The photo here hints at the title. Any guesses? 

I'll sprinkle some other hints along the way, in future posts... a treasure hunt of sorts, until we're publication ready. This will be a full length collection. Thank you for being present as an imagined reader. You're in this project with me from the get-go.

Cheers,
Charise