What Rosy Spectacle Is This?

•June 28, 2013 • 4 Comments

I bleed
Pain is not a problem
Anger is not an enemy
Reality is not negativity
Truth is not pessimism
Human is not shameful
Nor is any of it permanent
I will not deny life’s contractions
Or don again those amniotic lenses
Which serve only now to cloud this growing life
Both the hoped for and the grieved
I choose to see clearly
Speak its name when it arrives
And then live the life I birth
And hold the whole of it
Before it leaves
I choose the autobiography of me
Over the fiction of expectation
Life bleeds

— by me, April Resnick

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Through Rose Colored Glasses by Will Crane

Home

•June 26, 2013 • 1 Comment
The sticky air, bearable soon
Perfected by noon, palm trees, and a pool
Mossy oak an awning for picking tomatoes as a summer storm looms
Lizards, crested and smooth, dance from heat to cool
Frogs sing up the sun, crickets usher dark with their strings
Back porch, night creatures swoop and slink, fruit trees by the moon
Mother and daughter venture out with dusk to swing
Purple blooms wither and fall while we sleep
All are reborn by the morning

— by me, April Resnick

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Backyard Paradise by M. G. Gerlach

New Chapter

•June 26, 2013 • Leave a Comment

There once was a writer, retired
In her titles no more was she mired
Her life like vacation
She refused explanation
Character questions now so stale and so tired.

— by me, April Resnick

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The Pool by Kristoffer Zetterstrand

This was inspired by a funny conversation I had with my mother. This one is for you mom. 🙂

Tune Into Nothing

•June 17, 2013 • 3 Comments

“Like a note of music, you are about to become nothing,” Robert Bly

I am on the precipice of being played,
Pulled taut, prepared.
All of the making and manufacturing,
Has formed me precisely for this moment.
I am willing to be pulled from my rest,
Into that violent version of me.
With nothing then to do but resonate,
And fade away.

—————-

The music I make has changed,
With sitting still and age.
Sharp to flat,
Each tune that’s past,
Nothing now, but on the page.

— April Resnick

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flirting With A Violin by Anna Razumovskaya

This poetry was written during my meditation & expression group.  Thank you for the sitting and dialogue.  I always come away from the group inspired.

Dawn

•June 17, 2013 • Leave a Comment

Stillness before battle
A moment to be with my world
Before being buried in it

— April Resnick

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Gettysburg battlefield, dawn by Hal Morgan

Poltergeist Advice

•June 14, 2013 • 2 Comments

Everything I need to know about parenting,

I learned from watching Poltergeist.

When you are thinking of buying or building a house, perhaps just do a tiny bit of research on the history of the area first.

Falling asleep in front of the TV never leads to anything good.

Be grateful that there is no longer an end to the broadcast day.

When your child tells you someone “is here,” ask them “who?”

A pet dying while your child is at home is a pain in the ass, and rarely predicts anything great to follow.

Never take parenting so seriously that you can’t laugh when your child curses, but still make an effort to correct them even while you are giggling.

Be proud of your teenage daughter for standing up for herself, even if she has to be offensive to do it, especially so.

Take some time at the end of the day to chat, flirt, and “relax” with your spouse.

If your house violently shakes in the middle of the night, perhaps confirm with others that it was, in fact, an earthquake.

If your child is watching a TV channel without a broadcast, be slightly concerned.

Trust your dog when he barks at “nothing.”

Pizza Hut is always a good idea.

Trees WILL NOT, in fact, protect your home or your family.

It may actually be possible for your child to move through your soul…but beware of what might follow.

Know each of your children and what they can and cannot handle.

Threatening to spank your child,without actually having to do it, just might work.

Be willing to follow your child anywhere, to bring them home safely.

Do not necessarily trust someone when they say they “won’t let go,” but be brave enough to go alone anyway.

Never trust a stuffed clown. (A good rule to follow in general.)

The house is NEVER completely clean.

Never let yourself completely relax in the bathtub, when your young children are at home.

The hallway is always longest when your child is in danger, but keep running and you will get there.

When all else fails ask for help, scream for it if you have to.

Pick your battles.  Perhaps driving away from certain danger is more important than yelling at your daughter for the hickey on her neck.

— by me, April Resnick

Tweety

This is a bit of a departure from my usual creative writing.  But something I was thinking about today: parenting, pets dying, and Poltergeist.  My mother took me to see the movie when it first came out.  I was 7 years old, and somehow it has stayed with me, for better and worse, all of my life.

Monday (part 2)

•June 10, 2013 • 1 Comment

Today while I sat
Alongside sat my cat
We pondered and purred
And we listened to birds
He licked my arm, the bell rang
That was that

— by me, April Resnick

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The Woman and the Cat 2, by Nikolay Radulov

Monday

•June 10, 2013 • 1 Comment

Today the details are conspiring,

I’m not in control, they remind me.

Not human enough,

Perhaps human too much,

Mired in mess, back to bed, I’m retiring.

— by me, April Resnick

 

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The Mess of Emotion no. 12, by Rim Lee

Dance

•June 7, 2013 • 3 Comments

Partner, playmate, provocateur
I forget the power you hold
Transform this sullen sleep-walker
Into giddy, grande, and bold

Whether all alone and careless
Letting go and moving free
Or intricate instruction meant
To mold each tiny turn of me

You bring me living lessons
Self acceptance, courage, trust
If only I would not deny you
Save sacred space in me, for us

— by me, April Resnick

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Paintings are dancing… by ribhu on deviantart.com

What Makes Me

•June 5, 2013 • 4 Comments

There is a daily grind
That whirs and mills the dust and air
So close to my fragile mind
It stirs and pulls at loosened hair

Somedays I sit and feel the breeze
Its gentle tug at all my cares
Let it caress me wantonly
But keep my distance well aware

There will be times I get too close
A finger snagged, arm yanked and snared
Caught and crushed between the stones
Left pulverized beyond repair

Best those days to just jump in
Deep breath, head first, without a care
Let it grind me down and then
Rebuild myself from powdered air

— April Resnick

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Flour Mill Interior & doves by Michael Dumas