Greenery

Magpie167

                        Young Woman Picking the Fruit of  Knowledge, 1892 by Mary Cassatt





She is distracted
Removed from reality
Pushing her way
Through
Imagined branches
That hinder her progress

Thoughts don`t come
Brain  cannot retain
The enormity of
Living
In a world
Where foliage can scratch







Barbara M Lake
Trinidad WI
May 2013

A Wonderful Discovery

I am so excited.  I have just discovered Othello Bach.

I was looking for books to download onto my  Kindle HD and I found Cry into the Wind by Othello Bach.  The cover caught my eye and I thought it might be a "good read".

The burning news is that I have not been able to stop reading.

Although I am only half way through, I can tell you it's raw, frightening and not for anyone who shrinks at the abuse that adults dish out to children,

If you don't already know of this woman, after a traumatic start in life she overcame all the odds and went on to become a writer of children's books, a song writer and motivational speaker.

If you can bear the pain and the tears, read it.

From her website:  http://www.othellobach.com/memoir.php

Recent reviews from Amazon.com regarding Othello's memoir, 

Cry Into the Wind:
My parents told me stories about how their families struggled during the Depression, but they led charmed lives compared to Othello Bach's. "Cry Into the Wind" gripped me from the first chapter and held me mesmerized until the end. It is inconceivable to me how anyone could experience all the horrifying things that Ms. Bach did and survive emotionally intact. But not only did she survive, she became a brilliant writer and gifted teacher with an amazing capacity for forgiveness and love. Ms. Bach's story is a powerful example of the human spirit at its finest." - Sheilah Bower

and

Othello Bach has written one of the most heart-rending memoirs in existence. Home for her and her six siblings was the back of a truck, a trench in the field, or if they were lucky - a shack with no running water or electricity. For much of the time the family is without shoes, heat or food. Food, if there was any, was on most occasions "greens and vinegar." Othello's mother loves her children dearly, but Dad is an alcoholic who comes and goes like the wind. When Othello brought a school friend home for lunch, she was so appalled by the disgusting greens and patchwork newspapers covering the walls, she ran from the shack never to speak to Othello again. It was not uncommon for Othello and her family to be referred to by others as "white trash." What Othello really wanted in life was something to eat other than greens, a pair of shiny black shoes and a rubber doll. Her mother told her she might as well, "cry into the wind" because the possibility of getting any of those was next to none - hence the name of the book. When Othello's mother dies as a result of burns from a fire, the situation takes a turn for the worse, if that is possible. The book makes one take a look at their own surroundings and count their blessings, no matter how great or humble the conditions may be. "Cry into the Wind" is comparable to other books like "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt, "Change Me into Zeus's Daughter" by Barbara Robinette Moss and "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls - all of which are a testimony to the strength of the human spirit. Just make sure you have some tissues handy because all of these books are about survival in a world that has not been kind, compassionate or fair. "Cry into the Wind" is no exception. Othello's strength is an inspiration to anyone who has survived insurmountable odds."  - Sandra D. Peters

Complexity

MAGPIE 164

Spring, 1935 by Kuzma Petrov=-Vodin

Photograph courtesy Tess Kinkaid, Magpie Tales

He watches me too closely

Silently

Intensely

I wish I wasn't here

She sits there much too stiffly

Boardlike

Corrugated

I wish I hadn't asked her

Barbara M Lake ©

Trinidad WI

April 2013

Happy Easter 2013

To all my friends on Blogger, whether you celebrate Easter as a religious holiday, the start of Spring which is new life or just as a plain old holiday, Happy Easter.  May you all receive abundant blessings together with whatever you wish for yourselves, and more.

An Emotional Good Friday 2013

I went to our parish Good Friday Service at 5.00pm this evening.  

I was not having a particularly good day  and on my way to church, I realized that this always happens to me on Good Friday. 

I came away from the service feeling  so much better.  The hymns for this day are so powerful and I have to admit that I shed a tear or two when we sang 'The Old Rugged Cross' which when I was growing up, was not associated with Roman Catholics. I remembered today how my father and I would tend to take the mickey somewhat whenever we heard it - normally being sung by the Salvation Army on a street corner somewhere.

I was not only weeping for Him who came to save us but for my father who I still miss to this day. I think I was also weeping for those who have turned my religion into something it was not meant to be.

Quite an emotional day all round really!

The Start of the Easter Triduum 2013

Today, Thursday 28 March 2013 which is Holy Thursday (or Maundy Thursday) sees the end of the Lenten season and with the Last Supper, the start of the three day Easter Triduum.  

This, the most important feast on the Christian calendar celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

May those of you who are taking part in this Feast, have a wonderful experience.  

Intimate Reflection

Mag 161

Not to be Reproduced, 1937 by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte

Photo courtesy Tess Kinkaid, Magpie Taales

If I turn my back on you

I can pretend 

You are not there

But because I cannot see you

Does not mean

 I cannot feel 

The hurt

The pain

The sticks and stones

That almost broke my bones

If I turn to face you and 

Look into your eyes

The story that I'd see

Deeply buried in memory

Reminds me of 

Worthless self

Not good enough

Desires and hopes

Undreamed dreams

Coming to haunt  the other me

Barbara M Lake ©

Trinidad WI

March 2013