April was National Poetry Month and I did not write a single poem. I did not join a Poem-A-Day Challenge or submit a single poem for publication. I am convinced I am an "Epic Fail" as a poet; and sadly I am way to comfortable with my own lack of poetic motivation. These days the only poems I write are of the transitory nature-those that skim the surface of my subconscious, tickle my brain begging me to write them down. I have one of those noisy brains-a pinball brain, that shoots out with force, ricochets off objects, skitters around for random contact; until momentum is lost. I am comfortable with my own random noise; calmed by the sound of it's sputtering engine, a raucous din of voices both familial and foreign.
The photo the sunset at Punta Gorda, Florida; a evening boat cruise with my folks and my husband. I love seeing the people in my life. I believe that as humans we are somewhat tribal in nature, and I miss my tribe. We have scattered farther than seeds in the wind, thousand of miles separate us, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews,mothers, and fathers. I want to gather them close to me. Modern life is odd. Actually it's fucking strange. Technology allows us to peek into each others daily life, to be current, yet I find myself wishing for direct human contact. I loved sitting on the lanai drinking coffee with my Dad, going thrift shopping with Barb, holding Michael's hand in a new place. So much is lost in technological contact, the timbre of voice, the scent of us, the glimpses of love between two people who have spent a lifetime together, the empty minutes. I love the empty minutes. How given opportunity we fill these moments. Stories well up and spill into these minutes. Stories you've never heard before. Stories as familiar as your face in the morning mirror, I wanted to weave these moments together into something tangible, something practicable, something to drape across the knee, or wrap around my shoulders- to create a familial talisman; a tribal symbol of love and acceptance for the tribe of the noisy brain people.