Sorry for being absent so long. I’m working to obtain my graduate degree and it takes most of my off work time and my brain power to do so. My writing time has suffered so terribly. But, on the positive side…I get some time off in December, AND I’m now over half way finished. I should complete the program in April.
Thank you so much. Some of my earliest memories are of reproducing the world around me through whatever “thing” I could get my hands on to do so. Poetry, art and nature were my best friends when I was growing up. Mind you, I knew no great poets or artists, nor did I study them. I merely produced what was somehow planted in my spirit to produce.
So, painting and writing are the same to me. Two sides of one coin and I cannot imagine one being a part of me without the other. Your comments encourage me so much in my work and I thank you.
So true. SO beautiful. Everything that is born will eventually die. But it is through the same loneliness can we see that within us, our real self, which does not know birth nor death.
I really enjoyed this poem. Would you be willing to let me feature it in my blog section called Appalachian Voices Spotlight? I would include a short bio and a link to your blog. I could also include a few other poems, if you are interested. Feel free to contact me directly at morgan.redraven@gmail.com.
Beautifully portrayed, easy to bealive that it’s really you with this work. You’re an amazing poet, you painted your personal life like you’re murals, the resonance it alters is reflective to who you are, well i guess.
Really loved this piece and would be visiting your work as a poet friend.
You are so very kind. Thank you for your words about my work. I am glad you came and look forward to you coming here again. I am always thankful for another poetic friend.
Thank you so much. I couldn’t use the child’s real name because of legal issues, but still I HAD to somehow express how I feel about this little girl. Thank you for feeling it.
Purple,
Thank you so much for not expecting the ending. That matters a lot to this poetic person.
It is good to hear from another resident of “tobacco country”. My front yard and my back yard both face a tobacco patch…and a cow lot but that’s a poem for another day:)
Fights over land are rarely over land.
trust me I am a surveyor.
The day DAle Earnhart died I stopped by to see my friends the Smiths. They are monitored by a social worker because they are challenged in many ways.
Moses points to the TV and says the “the whole world has gone crazy ,he was just a man,he aint coming back.”.
Moses points to the picture of Jesus on the wall ,”He’s comin back!”
sorry to be long winded but as usual you got me thinkin.
I think you are right. There is something deeper in the on-going war between my neighbors. I think the land is only an outlet for years of pent up anger and disappointment at life in general. Thank you for the story of Moses…it is so real and exact about the way we really are as people.
I think you are too kind, but still, it makes me happy that you like my work! Also, your wife has chosen a humbling profession. It continuously brings me to my “spiritual knees”. Yet, I never regret choosing it.
I see a cross in the orb.
I have looked on it long enough that it is my focal point.
The monster has to be there.
The mask is telling me something that I dont want to hear.
That is a high compliment coming from you. I adore your poetry and also, I just visited your website. It’s fantastic. I love the press release with the black and white photo and the excerpts, all very fine.
Once stanza with the impact of seven. Beautiful and complete. I’ve just discovered you via opoetoo’s blog and if you don’t mind I would like to add you to my blog roll.
I’m pretty convinced that such people, often well-meaning, are abundant in everyone’s lives. And at times, all of us want to shout…just go away and leave me alone for a while. haha…thank you for your comment.
Not kindness, my friend, but your own merit makes you deserve every applause. You are gifted and humble 🙂
And I have missed being here too, I became extremely irregular with the internet and blogging. But now I am trying to be slightly more active. Looking forward to your beautiful creations 🙂 Peace.
my ugly hands…I enjoyed reading it…you, indeed have lived…put those beautiful hands on the table!!!
We have the same deal here in NC.
I always think of winter as the queen in “The Lion ,the witch and the wardrobe” but cold blooded fairy ,hey , I like that.
peace
Haha…thanks Opoetoe. I had heard that NC got it, too. I’m near the Tennessee line and I know that Tenn got even more than we did…wow…we can make snowmen and everything.
I like it and I think you nailed it.
There will always be a market for those things.
I lived here 10 years before I heard the train one overcast day . Its about 15 miles away and my kinfolk told me you could hear it sometimes.
Pretty cool , thanks for putting train whistles in my head today.
haha…thanks Opoetoe…to tell you the truth I was feeling pretty sarcastic when I wrote this. I was out feeding my dog and thinking…gosh, it’s cold, but he was just “dancing” around like he was the happiest he’s ever been. He’s a husky, so I guess he is pretty happy with the cold. So, I sort of wrote this in response to his “happiness”. Me, I like hot weather!
A branch line goes right behind our house, so we hear trains fairly often.
A lot of railfans probably fit the description in this cool poem. They’d all sell their grandmothers if they could just sit in the cab on a modern locomotive.
i very love your own writing choice, very interesting.
don’t quit and keep creating due to the fact that it just very well worth to look through it,
looking forward to browse through more and more of your own content pieces, goodbye 🙂
a fine tribute.
People like that do look great, they make us all look a little better.
It is easy to see and feel the love here eapecially in the last lines.
Historic Penn’s Store, just outside downtown Lebanon, Ky., has several great events, including the Great Outhouse Blowout. Check them out at http://www.VisitLebanonKy.com.
That’s fantastic. I don’t know which state you’ll be in, but alas, I may see you somewhere at a mom and pop diner or a gas station or a yard sale…haha…but not a flea market. I’m not going to any of those for ten days. However, I did buy my lawn mower at a flea market last year!!! So, you never know.
Thank you so much for your words and especially for the Proverb. That is SO true!
Ozy,
So sorry to be so slow about responding. For some reason the wordpress put your comment in the spam folder but I found it and got it out! I would not want to leave a friend with pyromaniac tendencies in there! 🙂
Thank you! I only wish I could capture the sound of her voice with my words. I think that’s the hardest thing to do and her voice was one of the things I liked so much about her.
Excellent imagery…. And so darned true!!
In response to all these emotions, is the work of the mind… which is ironic actually…cuz it’s the mind that causes these emotions in the first place! Ahhh … the tricks it plays ….
Keep up the good work..
I love walking my dogs and this is just like that, only for me the last line would be different ‘We Run” would be replaced with He dragged me. that was great asa
I wish I had a beach to comb! I guess a river bank counts to some degree? You are so right about the dragging part. Rocky is a husky and I think he believes I’m a sled. His inborn instincts take over when we walk. hehe. Thanks so much for your delightful comments!
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Happy Thursday!
Happy Poetry Reading and writing!
Hi, I’m taking part in Jingle’s thursday-poets-rally and am here to read your poetry
and to extend encouragement and my very best wishes and hopes for your writing success! 🙂
Your poem is sublime! I can almost feel myself there walking Rocky 🙂 You use such beautiful narrative. Well done, my friend!
ps: The below mentioned links will take you separately to Jingle’s page and to my own page where you can see my own poetry. Hope you like what you see there!
Thank you for loving Rocky. I have eight cats and so many dragonflies here!
Poet Traveler,
I’m so sorry I haven’t gotten to Jingle’s site in a while. I’ve been up to me ears in stuff, but I hope to get over there in the next little bit, what a beautiful site.
Oh Rocky! We love you already… me, my cat (well, maybe she doesn’t really love you), and my dragonflies. 🙂
Pets are such and important participant in our lives. They often help us deal with the drama around us, so that we can continue to survive it (and other around us can survive us as well!)
Your poem made me smile and want to meet Rocky. Loved it!
First thank you! and secondly, you have a point. Ants do tend to work all of the time. I overlooked that fact and made my ants into six legged humans. haha.
I think this perfectly exemplifies the power of succinctness and brevity that certain gifted people like you posses, along with an acute and deep sensitivity to bring together so many aspects of life and weave them together as gently as one garnishes a desert.
Without any exaggeration, Darlene, this is one of my favourite poems, right up there with my other favourites such as Eliot’s Four Quartets. You have a gift, and I honestly hope that the world sees it.
Thank you!!! I found the widgets and was able to retrieve my links.
Dustus,
Thank you, too. Poetry is freeing and it is fun and I feel that every now and then a poet should just have fun in the same way that artist just has to doodle.
nice poem,
The best thing I have read so far tonight as I am trawling wordpress idly!
I like the way you move from ‘frame’ to frame to frame, ending with you as a character simultaneously making your exit of the peaceful settting and your re-entrance to the world.
Taking on autumn the way you did sounded very appro to me. Since I have a little canine who I think has a lovely “voice,” but understand when other don’t share my enthusiam, i quite “get” your metaphor of six-year-old with a violin. Or is that a simile? I have had a bit of cheap California burgundy and it is my bedtime.
Thank you so much. My canine of 15 years left this world yesterday. I would love to hear his out of tune melody, one more time. Sometimes, the most beautiful singing is as unrehearsed and precious as a six year old on a violin. I hope your little canine sings to you for many years.
I love this poem so much. I had to post it on my FB under my notes. I’m glad you wrote this about him. It says so much about him in so little words. <3
I am proud that you pasted it to your facebook. That blesses me very much. This poem was written right after I had come in from walking him one afternoon. There were dragonflies all over the blacktop, warming themselves in the sun. He kept trying to catch one but they would fly off before he could do it. Hehe…I love that boy.
I am also glad that tomorrow is the start of a new week. This one has been unusually long and rough. But we are strong and have stuck it out. I thank God that I have such an amazing family. I wouldn’t know what to do without you all. I love ya momma.
Thank you, Rach. I love you so much and I am thankful everyday for my amazing family. I do not know how I became so blessed, but I’m glad to be surrounded by such beautiful spirits. I hope you have a fuzzy caterpillar and yellow butterfly kind of week!!!
A lot of understated love abides within the narrow confines of this piece of poetry. Life and death. We all understand the relationship, but find it difficult to celebrate both in the same manner. I suppose that is because life is learning and experiencing and trying to understand who you are. Death is . . .
I invite you to join our poetry community at http://jinglepoetry.blogspot.com/,
It would be great for you to take a look at our playground, sign in to follow if you wish,
our major event is Monday Poetry Potluck, you are encouraged to link in one of your favorite poem, or write a poem over the weekend that is related to our theme, (week 6 is seven sins), hope to see you stop by, do let us know when you do and leave us a note so that one of our officials gets back to you….
Our Monday poetry potluck is open from Sunday 8pm to Wednesday, 8am. you have 60 hours to submit one quality poem and share.
Writing your entry ahead of the time and link in as early as possible would get you more traffic and is strongly recommend…please let me know via email if you have further questions…
Nochipa: LOLsss
This ones so nicely written.. I too get very irritated with these noisy canines.. but writing a beautiful like this – how talented you are.. Good Read.. 😀
Thank you, Olivia. I would love to be a part of jingle poetry and have meant to for some time now. Ugh, life got in the way. Thank you for reminding me. I’ll right on over.
Remembering is a way to let the death rest in peace, it is truly what it all meant to be =D Glad that you think this way =D, they live within us and we remember them^^
I love this! It’s so simply put and direct. The line breaks and phrasing really come across as being just right and keep your poem tight while providing a sense of momentum. The nostalgic tone isn’t overdone, and I felt that you used imagery with great effect to convey the emotional depth in this piece. Great work.
I really appreciate your feedback. It’s specific. I think poet’s need that. I hope to follow your example when I read others’ work. Thanks again, so very much.
A lovely memory. The suit is telling, isn’t it? We had a friend who was buried in his jeans. I was kind of shocked, but then, he always wore jeans. Why do we insist on making death a dress up occasion? He’d spent so long facing it down at the cancer ward, I think death was just another old friend to sit with over the kitchen table. Death didn’t deserve a suit. (Oh. There’s a poem there, too. Thanks for the image!)
Shawn on the Rally http://shawnbird.com/2010/10/17/shes-gone
Thank you ever so much. I love the way you say it is a celebration! He never wrote anything down. He just carried this little harmonica in his shirt pocket and would pull it out at random and play Appalachian folk songs, the kind of stuff you might hear on that movie, The Song Catcher. Then he’d pull it out of his mouth and go to singing. Sometimes, he’d cry while he sang, especially if it were a spiritual song.
I’m sorry for your loss. You wrote a beautiful tribute here. I lost my grandfather recently, but I can’t seem to find the words for a fitting tribute to him.
Me gusta espanol por que es una idioma hermosa. Of course, I don’t know how to post with the proper accent marks without changing my blog language to Spanish. haha.
I have found that translator’s often translate words but miss meaning. There are nuances in languages that cannot be literally translated. Ayiii…yaiii…that’s the trouble with them.
Brava! Very brave and pretty. Unfortunately, I suspect that the sixth line is awfully important for understanding the poem as a whole, and it’s the one I don’t understand (my Spanish is sub-elementary), but I did thoroughly enjoy what I did understand.
Haha!!! I love this! I must say that I have to agree with this 100%. You know this b/c I am the same way. I will sit inside the warmth of my home and look at the snowy cold world if I have to… and if I must go outside, I will complain! =]
every now and then my thoughts run deep and other times they’re no deeper than the dust on an OCD housekeeper’s coffee table. haha.
Yes, I would like to participate. I’ll send you a poem link and do my best to visit the blogs of at least 18 other poets this week. Thanks for reminding me.
When we moved to Key West, we decided not to subscribe to cable, or indeed even have a TV!! I have read more great literature and spent more time talking to my husband in the past 6 months than I have in the past 6 years!! I’m loving Lee Smith….
My favorite one of her novels is Fair and Tender Ladies. Also, I love the works of Sandra Kring, especially, How High the Moon. She is most known for the Book of Bright though.
Sometimes, I come into my house, close the door and just breathe in the quiet. Perhaps it is because I work with people all day or perhaps I just draw strength from the quiet moments. Either way, I think that without them, I would die young.
Your words speak so much truth. I immediately thought of all the reality shows and people wanting their 15 minutes of fame whether on the news, shows, etc.
Mrs. Darlene!!!! The trailer of the book was wonderful, I cant wait to read this book!!! I would like to read your other books too. I hope I get this book for Christmas! I will be thrilled if I do. This book will be one of my favorites. It sounds awesome just for you telling me about it at church and listening to that trailer! Hope it turns out to be a bestseller!
I’ll see you on Sunday. -Bethany
I’m also in KY, a very quiet part of Appalachia. So true, that so many want to be noticed and make so much noise. I think I just want to blend into the quietness.
I hope you love the book and that it comes in time for Christmas. I keep looking outside hoping to see a bunch of boxes of books on my porch, but alas, they haven’t materialized yet:( I hope it becomes a bestseller, too! If it does we will HAVE to have some sort of celebration. Oh, and bring yours to church so I can sign it for ya!
well said..I wonder sometimes about the adults today..it seems like we have raised a generation of children who have not had enough of their parents. They become tall but still are searching for love and acceptance in ways that can never satisfy. It is very sad.
I can only say, “Amen” to your statement. More apps and faster phones can never replace fishing, a picnic and skipping stones at the lake. It is the moments my parents spent with me that mean the most to me.
Excellent topic, its as if the worlds like that as of now, sometimes some even wonder off to negative ways, just to gain some recognition.
Nicely done!
Hi Nochi,
I finally found you. Please contact me at my email addy. I want to get your permission for sharing Your Melugeon papers at ARS Concordia. You retain all publishing rights; you insert a note. I have 20 pages that we wrote at that time. Let us talk. Lyd lydianna123@gmail.com
How do you do that…keep something in mind for so long! I’m ADHD and trying to learn, but I find, seconds in, that my minds gone somewhere else! Perhaps I have to begin to take notes before I write?
Anyway, this is gorgeous…January as ‘…a liar.’ Fantastic.
Thank you, Kolembo, for saying it is gorgeous! I’m unsure how I keep a thing in my mind. I think every brian works a little differently. When a notion hits my mind, it will not leave. It nags at me until I let it out and then when it comes out, it is in a long continuous stream that not even a tornado could shake loose. Literally, I can write with the washing machine going, television going, radio playing, kids hollering and people talking to me. I just block them all out until they’re white noise in my head.
The only trouble is that there may be numerous streams running in my mind all at the same time. That sometimes makes it hard to sleep or watch a television show! It makes it hard to pay attention when people are talking, too, unless they’re saying something that feeds one of the streams in my head. So, I suppose it’s kind of like ADHD, but different, too. I become fixated, but on many different topics all running along differen highways in the brain.
Oh, you said it so well. I endure January in North Dakota and we always say, if we could just get through this month we can make it through the winter…a winter that sometimes doesn’t end until April. I tried my hand on a poem about waiting in out here as well. http://veederranch.com/2011/01/13/until-were-warm-again/
I can’t even imagine how the winters are in ND. I see news clips on the television and I tell you the truth, I own up to being a weather “sissy”. I send you WARM thoughts. Thank you for your kind comments.
There is no need for that! Just went through your profile, I want to read your novel, I listened Momma! Can you help me out?
and I guess you visited the wrong blog – http://theleavesfall.wordpress.com/ is the correct link! (sorry for spamming)
If you want to order online just go to http://www.moongypsypress.com and click on I Listened, Momma. It shows a bunch of books on their home page and mine is one of them or you can purchase it from amazon.com.
However, if you want a signed copy, email me at nochipa@windstream.net and I’ll be happy to make arrangements to get one to you! Also, I really enjoyed visiting your blog. You’re not a spammer. Haha…you didn’t try to sell anything:)
Thank you for sharing this with us. We are truly sorry for your loss but celebrate the life of a wonderful father, grandfather and husband. I pray that you find comfort in the arms of our Lord as he carries you through this hard time and know that through Him, your dad continues to hold you close.
A good father is something that I wish every person on this planet could experience, but I know they don’t. You and I, and others like us, we are especially blessed.
Darlene, I have been reading your book as you deal with the loss of your dear father. The story carried me back to my childhood, growing up poor, suffering many hardships, yet with parents who loved God and loved my siblings and myelf. Thank you for sharing this story and for sharing the post about your father. My dad has been gone for almost 30 years, yet the memory of him explaining Heaven to me is fresh in my mind. I lost my mom 10 years ago to breast cancer. Thank God for Christian parents and for the gift of storytelling he has given you. May God bless you and give you his wonderful peace.
Your post has blessed me so much. I think it doesn’t matter if it has been three days or thirty years. I think that like you, I’ll never forget. Thank you. It does my heart good to hear so many people talk about how the story carried them back. When I was a little girl, nine years old, my daddy told me that he wanted me to be a writer. I promised him I would do it. I had a Gideon Bible with two blank pages in the back. I thought the blank pages were God’s way of telling me that Daddy was right, that I was born to be a writer.
I know that all of us, your mom, my dad, all those who die in the Lord, will be reunited one day and all of our separation anxiety will be gone forever.
You own the talent of brilliant writing I must say. Your posts incorporates the reality which we cannot even get it anywhere else. It’s my humble request to u please keep such brilliant contents.And yes i have digg your site nochipa.wordpress.com .
Darlene with tears falling down my cheeks I read your sweet, sweet message about your Dad. I didn’t no your Dad, but after I read your post I feel I do no him. He was a child of God that loved his earthly family, friends and neighbors. He loved the Lord and lived his life for Jesus. He left gifts to his family more precious than silver or gold. He taught you to love the Lord and not earthly possessions. When we love the Lord with all our soul and all our might and serve him he takes care of us. I feel sure that today he is rejoicing in his Heavenly home and looking down on his family with tender love and blessings for eah of you. You were blessed to have a Dad that taught you the most important things in life can’t be made by man. He was indeed a Hero. that raised a wonderful daughter. Darlene Franklin Campbell. God bless you for sharing this sweet and precious post.
Bless you for coming here. Your words touched my heart so deeply this morning and you brought tears to my eyes, because I know that they are honest words from your spirit, which is so precious and kind. Thank you.
4 17 07.Every year in honor and celebration of Robert Penn Warren?s birthday and the State?s designated Writer?s Day Jeanne Penn Lane and Dawn Lane Osborne open their hearts their property and their own pocketbooks to support musicians authors poets songwriters and any and all who want to come and perform their artistic works at Historic Penn?s Store in beautiful Gravel Switch Kentucky…Penn?s Store is the oldest country store in America and has been run by the same family since the 1800?s. For a real treat vist the website below and read its history and the history of the Penn family…Authors poets songwriters and musicians from all over Kentucky and even as far away as New York come to share the microphone and entertain the audience. I immediately fell in love with Gravel Switch Kentucky Penn?s Store and the people.
Saturday.Water on Sunday nearly reached the roof of another area landmark Penns Store in Gravel Switch Marion County and the store is closed indefinitely Jeanne Penn Lane of the store told the Advocate-Messenger.On Wednesday Gov.
You know, I really admire you. And in some ways I’m alot like you. This is a really great post. You are a weirdo. But that is something unique, I was voted most unique in highschool, not b/c I look so different but b/c I speak my mind and I stay true to myself( i try anyhow) but NEVER EVER lie to yourself & always speak your mind =] I love you momma,
Rach
You are an amazing and unique individual; I remember how you were voted most unique. I think that is something to me more proud of than most popular or most likely to succeed, because if you are true to yourself then you are already a success and you will always be popular with those who really matter in your life. I am so very proud of you. I’m so glad that you understand the value of being true to yourself, to your beliefs, to those that you love. I love you, because you are you.
Darlene, How have you been? I have missed your fabulous poetry for a long time, I have been so caught up with various things in life that I have become extremely infrequent online.
But I can so relate to your post here, I have for many many months been a fully fledged nocturnal animal for precisely the same aloneness that the darkness inevitably offers…
I hope all is well with you and your family.
That was one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever seen. I truly felt your heart as I read each line. You are definitely a gifted writer. It is a blessing to be able to enjoy your work!
It does me good to see you here, and Casey, too! Sometimes Colin drops in for a visit. It’s our old gang! It makes me happy every time I see you guys on here.
There is nothing finer than the richness that love provides! Enjoy your table, and memories that are ingrained within its fibers of love. I enjoyed your story which brought back many of my own memories which surround me.
maybe the rootless west is filled with possibility.
water falls in anonymous basements fueling single top stoves-tha self reliance surrounded by the fear consumption salvation.
it’s david and goliath and yet, so many transcend.
remarkable west.
Thanks Scott and Steven.
Congratulations on the book release! 🙂
Cute!
Thank you, Maggie Mae:)
Beautiful
it seems so simple,
just tell the people,
just speak the truth
and they will understand.
it seems so simple
just make a stand,
and the others
will see your point of view.
rev. h-f
thank you for your poetic comment and thanks everyone for the likes.
yes yes yes and a howdy to you
And howdy to you Mid-western poet!
gorgeous. Still – like good cognac! And I am as beautiful as it all. Good stuff.
Thank you!
This is so fresh. It’s so beautiful, like the smell of berries.
Hi Darlene,
My name is Kathy. I recently started a blog called TheMexicanHillbilly. I used to get teased and called this name as a child. Back then it hurt to be different so I cried a lot but as I have grown older I have learned to embrace this title. I was looking this name up to see if there was any more mexican hillbilly’s out in the world and was shocked to find a drink by that name! That’s when your website popped up and I got the pleasure of reading this post! I was hoping that we could possibly meet someday. I would love to interview you and feature you and your work on my blog. You are a wonderful writer and I definitely know I will be reading more of your work now that I have found you!
It is so nice to hear from you. You blessed my day. I didn’t know there was a drink by that name, either! Wow, the things people will name a drink. haha. I would very much like to have you interview me. Please feel free to email me at any time at nochipa@wordpress.com Maybe, since we both live in hillbilly country, we can work something out:)
I am not sure why but every time I send to your email it says the message was unable to be sent?
Hi Darlene,
My name is Kathy Roussel. I am the lady who commented on your blog last night. I am so glad to have found your work! I also am a mixture of Cherokee, Mexican and French and of course probably more that I don’t even know about. My dad was Mexican and my mom was a blonde haired, blue eyed lady country lady.
Also, I definitely want to purchase a copy of I Listened, Momma so that we can discuss it during your interview. I was reading about the loss of your dad and wanted to tell you I think it is great what you are doing towards the fight against cancer. Unfortunately, I was never able to meet my dad and I lost my mom to cancer a few years ago. There aren’t too many people who have not been affected by this horrible disease.
I am not sure if I was on the right site or not but when I tried to click on the book to see how to purchase it it said the link was broken. I would like to purchase a copy.
If possible can you email me at themexicanhillbilly@hotmail.com
I really enjoyed this post. “Failure isn’t final.” Thank You I really need to hear that more often!
I like everything about this one…
Thank you, Scot!
No sweat, no blood … and no tears either. Tears are the surest sign that we are living the right sort of life – the surest sign that we are at one with nature and our creator
We no longer stand upon hallowed ground but on hollow ground.
We no longer build homes upon the rock but on the shifting sand.
We no longer philosophize of things greater but lament things lesser.
We no longer war against the gale but revel in our retreat.
True, Geoff, so true. I wish I had added that.
And Billy, wow, you share my heart with those words and speak from the very place that I’m coming from.
Thank you both.
A man I’ve once known was asked who was in charge. He replied, “Not me.”
“But aren’t you the manager here?” the man pursued.
“Yes, but I am only in control.”
I laughed.
I just love your story. Thank you! JTR:)
Very good.
thank you:)
that sound is peace
This is beautiful Darlene, and very much along the lines of my thoughts these days. Thanks for sharing <3
Thank you, Sarah. I like that we see so much of the world through similar eyes. I like to know that people can ‘connect’ across continents.
Reblogged this on ABStar- ology and commented:
By My dear and VERY talented Cousin . do give her follows and likes and sharing loves!
Not only exploitation but hubris . . .
Thank you, Tony! And Joyce, so true, so true.
Entirely beautiful!
Thank you, dear Michael.
Amen on the quiet time!
🙂
Have you left?
I have not left. Just got distracted for a while. Thank you for asking!
Joe pablio was my great great grandfather too. His son Zack my great grandfather, Zack’s daughter Ellen Curry was my grandmother and her daughter Amanda was my mother. I know very few of my relatives and would love to meet some of them. There are some of us in southern Illinois and also around Danville Illinois. There is a reunion in Bush Illinois September 19 2015 .
You can never go forward until you’ve looked back. I come from great grandparents on both my parents side who were orphans. Very difficult to trace. I’m very disappointed in my DNA analysis. It said I was more Great Britain 80% than true Englanders who are just 60% plus 7% Irish. I have my doubts about Ancestry.
Hey, What company did you test with? You have to take them with a grain of salt. Ancestry.com’s results are heavily Bitish Isles. I don’t know why. But there is a free third party site called GEDmatch where you can download your raw data and it gives you a much more in-depth look at it. I will be glad to help you and walk you through it. My email address is campbell.darlene953@gmail.com
You made me think more about where I come from. Maiden name – Murphy – Ireland to be sure, but what other conglomeration of nationalities make up ME? Something to ponder.
Thanks friend. Loved this blog.
I know one thing about you, Linda. You’re are a wonderful conglomeration of whatever you are and Ireland should be proud to have such a heritage in America!
Darlene I’m so glad u got to find out the truth about ur family . My family was the same way , last names got change. Found out Nevada Reno was named after my great great great grand pa wouldn’t know these things if it was for research. Keep up with ur dads stories that’s the one that r the best
Sharon, thank you so much. I hope you find out all about your family. Nevada Reno, what a beautiful name!
Yes, yes yes. I didn’t grow up that way but live in that setting, teach those children, hear the cats at night on occasion…I know that feeling.
Thank you, Scott!
I love it, every bit!
If I ever need a private investigator, I now know where to find one.
Haha…Thank you, Billy. That’s one of the best compliments ever!
My family got Melanesian too, and we believe it to come from a side of our family from Eastern Tennessee with possibly Native American roots. It’s so cool when I find articles like this since Melanesian is such a rare result, and hard to find a lot of people who have it, but since there’s so little admixture, even with Polynesia, as they’re all island people, and each population is pretty isolated, it’s like where is this coming from?? But I find it pretty amazing that every time I do find somebody else who got this result, they almost all seem to have the same story and geographic family background, usually from Tennessee or nearby area with some suspected Native American roots, but usually not much else is known, and then get little to no Native American DNA results, but get totally blind-sided by a Melanesian result instead. I have also read those 2015 studies, and after seeing that, I am pretty much convinced that somehow those Melanesian islanders got to Tennessee way back when. I mean, why else would Melanesian DNA constantly be popping up in people whose families come from Tennessee? Great article, thanks for sharing!
I agree, Elle. There seems to be a correlation between traces of Melanesian and tales of NA ancestry. I believe, more and more, that the peoples of this world are far more similar than once believed.
Maybe we (Appalachian Melanesians) should compare our kit #s together on gedmatch. And see if someone can come up with correlations?
That’s a really good idea.
Absolutely fantastic!
Thank you Darlene!
Great article and I love your final paragraph. Thanks for sharing with us!
I have about the exact same ethnicity as you. And a similar spiritual drive,
I have no known connection with melungeon other than being from East Tennessee.
I have not been able to figure out why a certain percentage of us who’s ancestors have been in the hills of Appalachia have Melanesian. I have yet to see a geneticist or historian recognize this anomaly or theorize on it.
Hi, I have 12,% Italy Greece, 9% Iberian Peninsula, 5% Ashkenazi Jew, and I also have Melanesian, has anyone found documentation of Melanesians being brought to rural Appalachia?
Hi Timothy, just doing my DNA test I have found many distant relatives contain Melanesian and Polynesian both.
I’m wondering when slave trade ended if they some how imported Black Birded Melanesians to the US. I found one interesting article where a woman traced an ancestor to a Melanesian woman brought to the Caroline’s, but she never went into any detail about it. One of my ancestors was a maid, one of the censuses claimed her birth place was Australia, then that changed to Austria this was the mid 1800’s. She could have been mixed Aboriginal possibly? Or it was a simple mistake? Who knows.
Hi my family is Appalachian and I also have Melanesian, if you are interested my Gedmatch kit number is A003489. I’m extremely puzzled about this.
I know what you mean, Timothy Heath. I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading since I posted this article, but yet have to come up with definitive answers. One thing I have become more and more convinced of though is that the ethnicity portion of genetic testing is still in the trial and error stages and they don’t always get it right. One book that I’ve been reading is called CHEROKEE DNA STUDIES: REAL PEOPLE WHO PROVED THE GENETICISTS WRONG. I’ve also been delving into history a lot lately and it is mind-blowing how much deeper and more complex people’s history is compared to what we were all taught in school.
I have also been rethinking my view of history. And how there is rarely a clear right and wrong ethnic or social group.
Some individuals don’t get along because they are too much alike and live in constant stressful competition.
Then where groups with radically different moral and cultural differences, those groups may be attracted to live together in harmony for a time but are eventually going to face fatal conflict.
Brazil and USA probably have the most dna diverse integration in a population currently. And a country like japan or North Korea have very little.
I kind of think both of these extremes are doomed to repeat the past, more quickly than a “moderately integrated” society.
I’m so glad I stumbled upon you all, I’m also a descendant on all sides of my family from rural Appalachia, East Tennessee, West Virginia, SW Virginia and North Carolina. I also have Melanesian DNA. I’m extremely curious to how I managed to get this DNA and many people linked to me (9 that I can remember) have Melanesian and some Polynesian mix I do have a Gedmatch kit A003489 I would really like to solve this mystery.
Here is a comparison between you and I. From what I understand some “experts “ say that some our ancestors were taken by Muslim pirates from Melanesia and brought to America to be sold as slaves.
The other possibility especially considering the Asian coastline prevalence is Asian, Polynesian, mekenesian people intentionally or accidentally made it to America and became Indians and we are those decendants.
Thanks so much, Tim. This is a really good explanation and quite feasible.
Facebook page:
Appalachian DNA American Indian melungeon connections.
Oh no Darlene the other story was so cool I came back looking for it because some folks agreed we should do DNA kit # research. Someone on another site shared their kit # so I started comparing. She and I aren’t related but the similarities are obvious. So if anyone wants to compare dna
Hello, I am sure you get a ton of this. Our heritage stories are identical. We were told that my gmother was Blackfoot (Hawkins County Tn) after research she was identified as Melungeon on a Census. Just thought I would touch base. Her surname was Eddards/Edwards. If you would like to email me: veravhayes@gmail.com
Vera, I just found your post. I’m sorry to have been so slow in getting back to you. It is awesome to find someone with such a similar trail.
Love this poem. Well done.
Very good.
Thank you, Joyce. I am so glad you got to read it.
Wise, and brilliant understanding and writing! Thank you!
Mary Keltner
Thank you, Mary. I so appreciate you reading and your comments inspire me.
Great description.
Thank you, Joyce. I found her dead by the porch over the weekend. I don’t know what happened to her. She was very old.
I feel both your pain and joy! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Billy Joe.
Good one 😍😍
Thank you!
“In a twinkling of an eye”! “Mud”, I like it. Randell is forever held in my heart. I love you and Phillip and all the family.
Thank you! We love you too.
I love you Darlene !!
I love yo too, Sonya!
Yes! Reality lives eternally there!
Sent from my iPhone
>
I know you have walked the banks of such creeks many times and understand my sentiments so well. 🙂
Yeah, these databases are messy. And I have been interested in archeological ancestry as well. Having no ancestors that have set foot in in America since Leif Erikson, I have 2% Amerindian, and of course significant Altaic, South Asian and South Indian. With hits on Rathlin1, Clovis, Ust-Ishim and so on, direct maternal lineage of Amerindian is supposed still in Iceland. Makes one wonder if it was a matter of souls, choosing war and leaving. Whether they would have stayed if not, and well, always been Q in Scandinavia. But yeah, would like to know which Amerindian tribe that was, and is likely a big data problems that will be answered eventually. Carvings of boats and Reindeer as seen in Norway share similarity with those found in Azerbaijan, something discussed by Thor Heyerdahl, but controversial.
Would just then point out that Amerindian, if you have Icelandic or Nordic ancestry could be false positives. Similar to a paper in Nature on genetic makeup of Norway, where adopted Korean’s had to be corrected for as false positives for Sapmi; biology is a mess. Should certainly be possible to work out exactly where this crosses with Vikings. There are many things involved that comes with confirmation basis making matters worse, which involve German ideas about Vikings. And seemingly including Ashkenazi, as this is extremely unlikely for me, where Amerindian isn’t.
Olav,
Thank you very much. The similarities between the Indigenous People of Siberia and Native Americans is striking. And you are right. The data bases are messy. Paper trails are still priceless as far as tracing our heritage goes. I think these tests can give us clues and hints but it’s the paper trails that tell us most. However, having said that, I did further DNA testing after this article was published and have come to the conclusion that these companies are lacking in samples of Native American DNA and that their samples are of modern populations rather than those existing 500 years ago. Still, they can offer some insights. I will try to do an updated post soon on this topic and discuss some of the newer revelations I’ve had since 2017. Thank you immensely for bringing this post to the forefront and fueling me to post again soon on this topic.
Chief Billy Cole, aka Chief Chenoska, was of Cherokee, Catawba and Creek Indian Tribes, about half Indian or more, living in East Kentucky, born in what was then Lincoln County, NC. Enrolled in perhaps three tribes. Cole Creek is or was near Hazard, KY, and he was also near Salyersville, KY, and around Jeff, KY and in NC at times. He is documented as a significant chief in the 1800s, likely born in very late 1790s and may have lived to about 1902, but maybe died earlier. Posted Nov 2022 cherokeeempire.bravehost.com
Martin, thank you so much for commenting and for the information. I’ve clicked on your website, and I look forward to exploring.
Oh how precious is the piece quilt that is each of us.
A menagerie of events, relationships, horrors and joys.
Pieces arranged by days, months and seasons
Then stitched together by the Hand of God
with golden threads of love, life and light;
The how of which, a mystery yet unknown.
Each quilt, alive and growing
Becomes brighter and eternal-
Each passing day it spawns and each piece and the whole
Warms the soul with joy unspeakable till this world can no longer contain it;
Till it is carried away by the Hand that stitched it.
I love this “piece” by you, Billy. Thank you for sharing. I thought of Herbert, Sim, A.Z., Ruth and of your parents when I wrote that poem way back in in 2004. I remembered the Labor Day housings most of all.
Clean, crisp. Very Nice
Thank you!
I like it, but I thought you would have used their Great Wooded South name, “Snake Doctor”!!!
oh, gorgeously touching scene! beautifully worded! Brilliant!
as it should be–mulch, mulch, mulch….nice image and thought
from death comes life
i tried doing that with people but it gets real stinky
Sumedh,
Thank you for your kind words!
Scot,
Yes, mulch! Thanks a bunch.
Ozy,
Hahaha…I’d say stinky is the word for it.
Sorry for being absent so long. I’m working to obtain my graduate degree and it takes most of my off work time and my brain power to do so. My writing time has suffered so terribly. But, on the positive side…I get some time off in December, AND I’m now over half way finished. I should complete the program in April.
good piece–your work is always strongest connected with the earth and sky…
grad work can be a grind with everything thing else–ed or writing?
So beautiful. So profound. So utterly true…
Scot,
Thank you! I do so love earth and sky.
Sumedh,
Thank you so much.
Nochipa
Vibrant, provocative and . . . beautiful.
Another Stunner.
Hello, Scott,
It is nice to meet you. Thank you for reading and for your words!
Sumedh,
As always, you humble me. Thank you much.
Nochipa
Words of refinement
Fragrant red cedar
In Saara Desert
Thank you, Beto,
for visiting and for your kind words.
wow. amazing. and you’re a painter too!! All your work is just so utterly beautiful! Lovely!
And the ending of your verses are always so powerful — I wished to say that even for your previous post.
Talent always shines with many faces, for those who care to polish it!
Sumedh,
Thank you so much. Some of my earliest memories are of reproducing the world around me through whatever “thing” I could get my hands on to do so. Poetry, art and nature were my best friends when I was growing up. Mind you, I knew no great poets or artists, nor did I study them. I merely produced what was somehow planted in my spirit to produce.
So, painting and writing are the same to me. Two sides of one coin and I cannot imagine one being a part of me without the other. Your comments encourage me so much in my work and I thank you.
Nochipa
lovely work– i had to read it twice just in case i missed something–they both are one
yes
Thank you, Scot.
I am so honored when you read my work.
Nochipa
Thank you:)
I love the way this one ends. Your poems have this open-air quality to them that I really dig.
Fantastic poem, and completely true. Nothing can replace the sublime sensation of a hard day’s work.
Thank you, Garrett,
for your wonderful and encouraging words. I am glad you understand where I’m coming from!
So true. SO beautiful. Everything that is born will eventually die. But it is through the same loneliness can we see that within us, our real self, which does not know birth nor death.
Just passing by.Btw, your website have great content!
_________________________________
Making Money $150 An Hour
Thank you, Sumedh,
Your words are always appreciated and so very true. Thank you for reminding me.
This site is great! I love how you’ve done everything… & you know I love your poetry… I should make me one sometime… I need to start writing again.
Thank you! I have fun with this site:) I hope you do make you one. I will come read your work all of the time!
Nochipa! This poem speaks volumes!
Thank you, Brenda!!!
Nochipa
Interesting anthropomorphic vision.
Thank you. I’m glad you stopped by.
Good enough.
I am glad to see you. Thank you.
Just do your best, Schoolmarm. Your best is much more than good enough.
Casey,
Thank you for your most understanding and kind comment.
I really enjoyed this poem. Would you be willing to let me feature it in my blog section called Appalachian Voices Spotlight? I would include a short bio and a link to your blog. I could also include a few other poems, if you are interested. Feel free to contact me directly at morgan.redraven@gmail.com.
Please join my Melungeon mailing list. See:
http://groups.google.com/group/melungeons?hl+en
Or e-mail me,
nmorri3924@aol.com
for an invitation and more information about the Melungeons.
Nancy
I think I know this place.
I would not doubt that. 🙂
Thank you for saying so, too.
Nochipa
Beautifully portrayed, easy to bealive that it’s really you with this work. You’re an amazing poet, you painted your personal life like you’re murals, the resonance it alters is reflective to who you are, well i guess.
Really loved this piece and would be visiting your work as a poet friend.
Nice…
I like this poem
Thank you, eye of mad. 🙂
Ephraim,
You are so very kind. Thank you for your words about my work. I am glad you came and look forward to you coming here again. I am always thankful for another poetic friend.
Reminds me of when I was a kid. I used to play in the creek alot.
Oh, me, too. I loved the creek. Still do.
“truth is in the details” and your voice is amazingly true. Whenever I drop in to read, your words make me feel something.
i feel like i was there.
i am in tobacco country.
excellent
if you are going to write incredibly sad stuff like this could you please do it in a lousy poem so i could ignore/forget it.
as it is you have captured my attention by setting a perfect stage and then stabbed me in the heart.
this is a wonderful poem.
i like it
great ending
didn’t expect that ending … heartbreaking
wow!
Opoetoe,
Thank you so much. I couldn’t use the child’s real name because of legal issues, but still I HAD to somehow express how I feel about this little girl. Thank you for feeling it.
Purple,
Thank you so much for not expecting the ending. That matters a lot to this poetic person.
Nochipa
Purple,
Thank you SO much.
Opoetoo,
It is good to hear from another resident of “tobacco country”. My front yard and my back yard both face a tobacco patch…and a cow lot but that’s a poem for another day:)
Thank you:)
Thank you. You are kind.
Fights over land are rarely over land.
trust me I am a surveyor.
The day DAle Earnhart died I stopped by to see my friends the Smiths. They are monitored by a social worker because they are challenged in many ways.
Moses points to the TV and says the “the whole world has gone crazy ,he was just a man,he aint coming back.”.
Moses points to the picture of Jesus on the wall ,”He’s comin back!”
sorry to be long winded but as usual you got me thinkin.
I think you are right. There is something deeper in the on-going war between my neighbors. I think the land is only an outlet for years of pent up anger and disappointment at life in general. Thank you for the story of Moses…it is so real and exact about the way we really are as people.
it kind of sounded like a haiku.
is love part of nature?
everyone gambles
with some kind of emotion
the brave ones choose love
i like yours better:)
Well, I have finished reading your entire blog now.
didn’t see much vanity here.
It is my favorite for many reasons.
some of them:
it is just so darn easy to read your writing.
i love the natural world.
my wife is a teacher.
you dont cuss , ha ha.
thank you for all of this
I think you are too kind, but still, it makes me happy that you like my work! Also, your wife has chosen a humbling profession. It continuously brings me to my “spiritual knees”. Yet, I never regret choosing it.
Thank you very much, Opoetoo. I so appreciate your comments!
Sorry for the loss of your Great Uncle.
It is a good thing ,the way you have chosen to remember, his gift that lives.
peace
Thank you, so very much.
good poem,
I like the three-line stanzas
and the bit about the songs he sang still being sung
Thank you, ocksblog
I really appreciate what you said:)
I see a cross in the orb.
I have looked on it long enough that it is my focal point.
The monster has to be there.
The mask is telling me something that I dont want to hear.
Thank you for those wise words!
Nochipa
I could spend hours reading your poetry, Nochipa. Wish I could write it as well as you!
Hope you’re well and life is being good to you.
Col
Thank you, Colin.
That is a high compliment coming from you. I adore your poetry and also, I just visited your website. It’s fantastic. I love the press release with the black and white photo and the excerpts, all very fine.
Once stanza with the impact of seven. Beautiful and complete. I’ve just discovered you via opoetoo’s blog and if you don’t mind I would like to add you to my blog roll.
I would be honored to be on your blog roll. Thank you and also, thank you for your kind words.
Nochipa
It has been my misfortune to have known a few people like this and you have brought them to live with your expertly chosen words.
Oh, Val,
I’m pretty convinced that such people, often well-meaning, are abundant in everyone’s lives. And at times, all of us want to shout…just go away and leave me alone for a while. haha…thank you for your comment.
“or call me when I’m late
to see if I went to Wal-mart…”
This really puts it in perspective for me, it really screams go away all by itself.
Great title.
Your ingeniousness with words continues to flow with such a beautiful vigour! Wow! Wonderful piece.
And you are so very kind. I have missed seeing you.
Not kindness, my friend, but your own merit makes you deserve every applause. You are gifted and humble 🙂
And I have missed being here too, I became extremely irregular with the internet and blogging. But now I am trying to be slightly more active. Looking forward to your beautiful creations 🙂 Peace.
my ugly hands…I enjoyed reading it…you, indeed have lived…put those beautiful hands on the table!!!
Thank you, Sumedh. Your site is so beautiful.
good one
We have the same deal here in NC.
I always think of winter as the queen in “The Lion ,the witch and the wardrobe” but cold blooded fairy ,hey , I like that.
peace
Haha…thanks Opoetoe. I had heard that NC got it, too. I’m near the Tennessee line and I know that Tenn got even more than we did…wow…we can make snowmen and everything.
just started reading your poems…so far..that one’s my favorite…you are so talented!!!
I like it and I think you nailed it.
There will always be a market for those things.
I lived here 10 years before I heard the train one overcast day . Its about 15 miles away and my kinfolk told me you could hear it sometimes.
Pretty cool , thanks for putting train whistles in my head today.
Thank YOU, Opotoe,
for knowing and understanding the place this piece came from!
Nochipa
This is a great poem. Thank you for sharing it!
Thank you so much! And thanks for visiting my site. I’ll come pay you a visit, too!
My dogs want to dance when it is like that and even though I am not a fan of killer cold there is something invigorating about it.
I really like it but it will probably read even better in summer. Too much cutting of clothes and wet boots for me of late.
haha…thanks Opoetoe…to tell you the truth I was feeling pretty sarcastic when I wrote this. I was out feeding my dog and thinking…gosh, it’s cold, but he was just “dancing” around like he was the happiest he’s ever been. He’s a husky, so I guess he is pretty happy with the cold. So, I sort of wrote this in response to his “happiness”. Me, I like hot weather!
tis good to remember to dance
Thanks, Ozy. It’s good to see you again!
A branch line goes right behind our house, so we hear trains fairly often.
A lot of railfans probably fit the description in this cool poem. They’d all sell their grandmothers if they could just sit in the cab on a modern locomotive.
Malcolm
Malcolm,
First, love your name and second, thank you so much. I really enjoyed reading your comment.
Nochipa
This is great.
The reader gets a glimpse into the narrator’s psyche with the phrase “forget the wrinkle warnings for once”.
That first real ray of sunlight after a cold winter is transformational. And I am completely envious of how you capture that in the last two lines.
http://edgarastonehill.com
Edgar,
Thank you so much. Your words have truly made my morning!
yes,
u will be entertained by that in March!
beautiful poem!
Thanks so much, Jingle!
Please visit my sites,
you may find something of interest.
Thank you, JasonScotPatrick
http://www.mindcrime2010.wordpress.com
http://www.jsp2010.wordpress.com
http://www.archetypesindustries.wordpress.com
http://www.whycrawlwhenyoucanfly.wordpress.com
I will come pay your sites a visit. Thanks for inviting me.
sunlight is like water
after days of only coffee.
beautiful and stunning lines.
love it very much!
smiles, 😉
Thank You so much!
enchanting indeed
enchanting as your words perhaps
Ozy,
It is so good to see you. A visit, a word from you always brightens my day. Thank you!
fortunatley you are a butterfly by day and a star by night.
surely such a being would starve as a spider.
Opoetoo,
You are too kind. Thank you.
and proud you should be
Thanks, Ozy!
I really do appreciate your words.
That’s awesome! Congratulations 🙂
Spectacular!! Both poem and photos. I love snow and we didn’t get any here this year. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, for visiting and for your encouraging words!
Thank you very much, Maureen.
i very love your own writing choice, very interesting.
don’t quit and keep creating due to the fact that it just very well worth to look through it,
looking forward to browse through more and more of your own content pieces, goodbye 🙂
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for this comment. I am sorry to have been so slow in finding it and responding.
i like this.
short but it expresses a lot
tis all a reminder
of the imperminance of things
embrace transcience
it is the essence of life
you know -some people couldnt work in a pie shop
ha ha
i like it
It catches time – in passing by…
Kseverny…thank you for liking such a short thing!
Ozy,
transcience certainly is a certainity.
Opoetoo,
Sigh…you are right. I do not want to work in a pie shop. I know myself. I would EAT them and go broke.
JS,
Thank you. I like that. 🙂
a fine tribute.
People like that do look great, they make us all look a little better.
It is easy to see and feel the love here eapecially in the last lines.
peace
thank you, opoetoo,
for being encouraging and for seeing the love and tribute intended.
wonderful, very touching!
js,
thanks so very much.
beautiful tribute nochi
tis no greater rememberance
than rememberance of love
how are those mountaintops holding up?
Historic Penn’s Store, just outside downtown Lebanon, Ky., has several great events, including the Great Outhouse Blowout. Check them out at http://www.VisitLebanonKy.com.
Yes, and it’s also just a wonderful place to visit when passing through KY! 🙂 Some of the world’s friendliest people I think.
ooooooh, i can scarcely wait
about to spend ten days in yon appilachian mountains
WOO HOO
Ozy,
That’s fantastic. I don’t know which state you’ll be in, but alas, I may see you somewhere at a mom and pop diner or a gas station or a yard sale…haha…but not a flea market. I’m not going to any of those for ten days. However, I did buy my lawn mower at a flea market last year!!! So, you never know.
i visited western north carolina, cataloochee valley to be exact.
have some pics up if you care to gander
Hey, I DID visit and they are amazingly beautiful!
wonderful pictures thank for sharing.
yes you must let them out but the hose and a good eye are essential 🙂
a good reminder for the “fly off the handle” , “wound up tight” individual that lives in my mirror.
concering one of my problem emotions:
Proverbs 16:32
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
thanks
boy
i was practically a pyromaniac at one time
i let loose some pretty wild fires
The header looks sooo much like hwy. 70 in Liberty. But then again… Much of home looks this way. =]
Love you momma,
Rach
It IS highway 70!!! Wow, you are GOOD. I love you, too, Rach. So very much:)
Opoetoo,
Thank you so much for your words and especially for the Proverb. That is SO true!
Ozy,
So sorry to be so slow about responding. For some reason the wordpress put your comment in the spam folder but I found it and got it out! I would not want to leave a friend with pyromaniac tendencies in there! 🙂
seems a disconnect twinxt in action and outcome
Love it! It’s just as beautiful as she was. Paints a perfect image of how she was. =]
Thank you! I only wish I could capture the sound of her voice with my words. I think that’s the hardest thing to do and her voice was one of the things I liked so much about her.
Wow.
Something about
“heavy loads carried
over trap-laden trails”
evoked a chill down my spine.
I like this and recall the ants in the ant farm I had as a teenager.
Very nice!
Thanks, Sherry!
very nice…
Thanks, Ozy!
Sumedh, Your words always bless me. Thank you so much.
Knight, I love ant farms. I have always been fascinated by ants.
Jingle, thank you very much!
Excellent imagery…. And so darned true!!
In response to all these emotions, is the work of the mind… which is ironic actually…cuz it’s the mind that causes these emotions in the first place! Ahhh … the tricks it plays ….
Keep up the good work..
Great imagery, well done :3
You have written the words so properly that it creates an invisible clip that readers watch as they read your post. nice one…Cheers!
Gally, thanks ever so much 🙂
Emmanuel,
You have no idea how your comment blessed my poetic heart. Thank you.
Very enjoyable.
I love walking my dogs and this is just like that, only for me the last line would be different ‘We Run” would be replaced with He dragged me. that was great asa
Diamonds and Dogs,
thanks for your comment and what a cool title!
Beach Comber,
I wish I had a beach to comb! I guess a river bank counts to some degree? You are so right about the dragging part. Rocky is a husky and I think he believes I’m a sled. His inborn instincts take over when we walk. hehe. Thanks so much for your delightful comments!
So beautiful and free….loved it!! 🙂
Buttercup, thank you so much. I appreciate your saying so.
FiveLoaf,
thanks!!!
nice..
beautiful words…
love the feeling along with your words..
Thank you, Jingle!
these are cool!
Welcome to Thursday Poets Rally Week 24:
First, please read the questions and respond:
http://thursdaypoetsrallypoetry.wordpress.com/agreement-between-jingle-and-thursday-poets-rally-participants/
Then, Post an original poem in your own blog, and place your link in under the following post to participate:
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/thursday-poets-rally-week-24-july-1-7-2010/
Now, visit and comment for a minimum 18 poets from week 24 participants list, after you are done, comment to let Jingle know, you are in perfect shape then…
Awards are given by Jingle via notifications….
Make sure that you: return favors to poets who have visited your blog
Have visited 18 poets NEW to you.
Thank You for the attention.
Happy Thursday!
Happy Poetry Reading and writing!
very nice
what a great moment well written!
breathtakingly beautiful… the imagery was conjured up well 😀
and happy dog-walking 😀
here from Jingle’s Rally
you can check my poem at
http://megzone.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/thursday-poets-rally-footboard-traveller/
Thanks, Amit, D.S. and Megzone,
Your words are very encouraging!
Very nice. Good job capturing the moment.
nice and lovely imagery.. love dogs .. wish i had one
I wish I had a dog too.. wonderful moment perfectly captured in your poem 🙂 amazing
Nice poem about time with man’s best friend. Heartspell
Yes,,, the dog walker– or is the dog really taking the owner on an adventurous walk about.
Fun.
Joanny
this was great imagery! 🙂
Great poem, beautiful simplicity in the last line seals the deal: “We run.”
Hi, I’m taking part in Jingle’s thursday-poets-rally and am here to read your poetry
and to extend encouragement and my very best wishes and hopes for your writing success! 🙂
Your poem is sublime! I can almost feel myself there walking Rocky 🙂 You use such beautiful narrative. Well done, my friend!
ps: The below mentioned links will take you separately to Jingle’s page and to my own page where you can see my own poetry. Hope you like what you see there!
John
Poet Traveler
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/thursday-poets-rally-week-24-july-1-7-2010/
http://poettraveler.wordpress.com/2010/07/02/dominica-i-shall-not-weep/
Hey Kelleygrrl,
Thanks so very much!
Dragonflies and Goosebumps,
Thank you for loving Rocky. I have eight cats and so many dragonflies here!
Poet Traveler,
I’m so sorry I haven’t gotten to Jingle’s site in a while. I’ve been up to me ears in stuff, but I hope to get over there in the next little bit, what a beautiful site.
Oh Rocky! We love you already… me, my cat (well, maybe she doesn’t really love you), and my dragonflies. 🙂
Pets are such and important participant in our lives. They often help us deal with the drama around us, so that we can continue to survive it (and other around us can survive us as well!)
Your poem made me smile and want to meet Rocky. Loved it!
I feel like I was on the walk too, thanks for sharing.
how hilarious can things get 😛
my link:
http://www.harshikaram.wordpress.com
Is fun, feel like joining it!
SK and Dancing Freak,
Thank you so much. It IS fun to walk that dog or rather let him walk me.
Your poem made me smile. I remember similar walks with my golden retriever years ago. Truly lovely. Thanks!
Thank you so much. My sister has a golden retriever named Baby. She’s a wonderful and intelligent dog, very faithful to her family.
Really really wonderful!
Thank you so much 🙂
What a great moment captured.
hope that you have fun reading poets who were here.
Happy Tuesday!
lovely entertaining poetry 🙂
wow, thank you:)
so descriptive for such a simple task… it creates a great image. nice job. 🙂
Thanks so much!
Excellent poem.
thanks so much, thomas 🙂
awe this made me want to walk a dog and I don’t even have one…keep writing!
I’m here from Jingle’s thanks for sharing hope you have time to check me out
http://peachpitproduction.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/love-manifested/
Thank you, Ms. Peaches,
Dogs can be lots of fun.
So clear to picture and get a feel for the scene through your words. awesome
Thanks dustus!
So like our walks, except, like I previous commenter, I’m more often dragged than running along, lol
You weave words like a spider weaves her web….beautiful!! x
Thank you for those kind and encouraging words.
Very simple, very powerful. It’s not cafes for me, but you capture the whole essence of escape. Great wording.
I love the wording and construction, but I may say, in my experience ants don’t work that way at all.
They LOVE coming into my bathroom at night when it’s dark. :-[
This is an “experiment” you should repeat. Awesome.
Thank you.
First two lines for the win.
… In fact, after reading this I spent some time this week retooling on old poem of mine and post it as a response to yours. Due credit is given for the inspiration here: http://weekdaypoet.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/odop-what-to-do-with-emotions/
Thank you, WDP
I really appreciate your comment.
First thank you! and secondly, you have a point. Ants do tend to work all of the time. I overlooked that fact and made my ants into six legged humans. haha.
I think this perfectly exemplifies the power of succinctness and brevity that certain gifted people like you posses, along with an acute and deep sensitivity to bring together so many aspects of life and weave them together as gently as one garnishes a desert.
Without any exaggeration, Darlene, this is one of my favourite poems, right up there with my other favourites such as Eliot’s Four Quartets. You have a gift, and I honestly hope that the world sees it.
Best Wishes for your dad’s cancer.
Peace.
Sumedh,
Your words bless me so deeply. Thank you hardly seems adequate, but they are the best words I have. You honor me greatly.
So poignant and beautiful. I wish you and your Dad all the very best. Thank you for sharing this.
Maureen,
Thank you so much for your kindness!
Did any of you see the Restoring Honor Rally 8/28 and if so, did you like what you saw and heard?
I did not see it. I am sorry that I did not.
Wow my friend, that comes from a deep place but oh, so very true. Your words have touched me so much. Thanks for sharing x
Buttercup,
You are so kind to say these things. Yesterday, I was in the “place” from which this poem was born.
I’m speechless again.
Sumedh,
How can I thank you for your kind words, your spirit, yet again? Thank you for just knowing.
at least our spirits know it 🙂
They should be at the very bottom when you go to widgets. They save ones that you have used before there.
Such things do happen. Like the way you turn it int a poem. Props for that. Hope you can recover your links somehow 🙂
Nathan,
Thank you!!! I found the widgets and was able to retrieve my links.
Dustus,
Thank you, too. Poetry is freeing and it is fun and I feel that every now and then a poet should just have fun in the same way that artist just has to doodle.
nice poem,
The best thing I have read so far tonight as I am trawling wordpress idly!
I like the way you move from ‘frame’ to frame to frame, ending with you as a character simultaneously making your exit of the peaceful settting and your re-entrance to the world.
Thank you very much. Your words are wonderfully encouraging.
Taking on autumn the way you did sounded very appro to me. Since I have a little canine who I think has a lovely “voice,” but understand when other don’t share my enthusiam, i quite “get” your metaphor of six-year-old with a violin. Or is that a simile? I have had a bit of cheap California burgundy and it is my bedtime.
Jerry,
Thank you so much. My canine of 15 years left this world yesterday. I would love to hear his out of tune melody, one more time. Sometimes, the most beautiful singing is as unrehearsed and precious as a six year old on a violin. I hope your little canine sings to you for many years.
I’m there.
Thank you, Caseybruks. Thank you.
I love this poem so much. I had to post it on my FB under my notes. I’m glad you wrote this about him. It says so much about him in so little words. <3
I am proud that you pasted it to your facebook. That blesses me very much. This poem was written right after I had come in from walking him one afternoon. There were dragonflies all over the blacktop, warming themselves in the sun. He kept trying to catch one but they would fly off before he could do it. Hehe…I love that boy.
As do I. And I loved the way he snapped at bugs!
I am also glad that tomorrow is the start of a new week. This one has been unusually long and rough. But we are strong and have stuck it out. I thank God that I have such an amazing family. I wouldn’t know what to do without you all. I love ya momma.
Thank you, Rach. I love you so much and I am thankful everyday for my amazing family. I do not know how I became so blessed, but I’m glad to be surrounded by such beautiful spirits. I hope you have a fuzzy caterpillar and yellow butterfly kind of week!!!
My heart is with you, Darlene.
thank you, Sherry.
A lot of understated love abides within the narrow confines of this piece of poetry. Life and death. We all understand the relationship, but find it difficult to celebrate both in the same manner. I suppose that is because life is learning and experiencing and trying to understand who you are. Death is . . .
Thank you, Jerry. I agree. Your words are a blessing to me.
Beautiful one.. xox
Hello,
How are you?
I invite you to join our poetry community at http://jinglepoetry.blogspot.com/,
It would be great for you to take a look at our playground, sign in to follow if you wish,
our major event is Monday Poetry Potluck, you are encouraged to link in one of your favorite poem, or write a poem over the weekend that is related to our theme, (week 6 is seven sins), hope to see you stop by, do let us know when you do and leave us a note so that one of our officials gets back to you….
Our Monday poetry potluck is open from Sunday 8pm to Wednesday, 8am. you have 60 hours to submit one quality poem and share.
Writing your entry ahead of the time and link in as early as possible would get you more traffic and is strongly recommend…please let me know via email if you have further questions…
Happy Weekend.
U Rock!
xoxox
~*~*~
Nochipa: LOLsss
This ones so nicely written.. I too get very irritated with these noisy canines.. but writing a beautiful like this – how talented you are.. Good Read.. 😀
Thank you, Olivia. I would love to be a part of jingle poetry and have meant to for some time now. Ugh, life got in the way. Thank you for reminding me. I’ll right on over.
To link in a poem to our potluck today, click here:
http://jinglepoetry.blogspot.com/2010/10/poetry-potluck-seven-deadly-sins.html
thanks for the support.
Happy Monday!
Thank you much, Olivia!
letting go is a must,
yet it takes time,
wise move on your side.
Welcome to our potluck party by linking in a poem, old one works well. Thanks!
http://jinglepoetry.blogspot.com/2010/10/poetry-potluck-seven-deadly-sins.html
lets hope that whatever you expound shall one day come true!
Thank you, Fiveloaf. What a world it would be!
sharp envision,
well done.
thank you!
You painted a very nice .
Yes
but
you are also
risking
having a boring world.
i mean
no
mosquitoes?
Nope, only peaceful, not boring…a mosquito free world would be…well, too wonderful to express. 🙂
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/thursday-poets-rally-week-31-october-21-27/
I invite you to attend Thursday Poets Rally week 31.
sign in, link in a poem, visit and comment for 18 poets, get yourself known to the community.
let me know when you are ready.
Thanks a lot.
Hey, Jingle. I am ready. I’m going to give it a try right now. 🙂
Hoping this picture doesnt remain only in a poem…cos it is so beautiful. Nicely done.
Cheers!
Thank you, Emmanuel.
Remembering is a way to let the death rest in peace, it is truly what it all meant to be =D Glad that you think this way =D, they live within us and we remember them^^
Thank you, Riika.
I appreciate your visit and your words.
Sorry for the loss.. This is good one..
Someone Is Special
Happy Rally
–Someone Is Special–
Thank you!
make a place for music to live,
how divine?
cute poem!
Thanks, Jingle.
Music can be a legacy.
Thank you for the participation,
your major target is to visit and comment for participants from my list,
get them like your work.
have fun!
xx
I love this! It’s so simply put and direct. The line breaks and phrasing really come across as being just right and keep your poem tight while providing a sense of momentum. The nostalgic tone isn’t overdone, and I felt that you used imagery with great effect to convey the emotional depth in this piece. Great work.
xacrest,
I really appreciate your feedback. It’s specific. I think poet’s need that. I hope to follow your example when I read others’ work. Thanks again, so very much.
A great tribute to your Uncle
Thanks so much.
Wishful and hopeful, I enjoyed reading!
Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
A RIP goes out to your uncle as well as my condolences
My entry for week 31
http://hindawy.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/the-other-side-of-the-sun/
thank you
A lovely memory. The suit is telling, isn’t it? We had a friend who was buried in his jeans. I was kind of shocked, but then, he always wore jeans. Why do we insist on making death a dress up occasion? He’d spent so long facing it down at the cancer ward, I think death was just another old friend to sit with over the kitchen table. Death didn’t deserve a suit. (Oh. There’s a poem there, too. Thanks for the image!)
Shawn on the Rally
http://shawnbird.com/2010/10/17/shes-gone
You’re right. Death didn’t deserve a suit. I love that. It should definitely be a poem. Thank you for your words!
Simple, straightforward and very telling.
Thank you for saying.
I read so many poetry blogs. most are disappointing. this was good!
Marit,
Thanks so much. Your words have just made my afternoon.
This is rather a celebration than lament.
He’s surely a blessing. =)
I hope you can share some of his verses?
I’ll be more than happy to read them.
Luvluv,
B
Here’s my share for this week’s Rally:
MOVING ON AND LETTING GO
HAPPY RALLY!
Thank you ever so much. I love the way you say it is a celebration! He never wrote anything down. He just carried this little harmonica in his shirt pocket and would pull it out at random and play Appalachian folk songs, the kind of stuff you might hear on that movie, The Song Catcher. Then he’d pull it out of his mouth and go to singing. Sometimes, he’d cry while he sang, especially if it were a spiritual song.
http://thursdaypoetsrallypoetry.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/the-perfect-poet-award-week-31/
award for you…
let me know after you find time to post it.
nominate a favorite poet after you post.
a simple yet beautiful tribute. thanks for sharing.
Siubhan,
I appreciate your words. Thank you.
That’s quite a vision…felt.
Thank you, dasuntoucha.
I’m sorry for your loss. You wrote a beautiful tribute here. I lost my grandfather recently, but I can’t seem to find the words for a fitting tribute to him.
Thank you for your kind words.
I am sorry to hear that you have lost your grandfather.
I am sure the words will come, mostly, your tribute to him will be in the life you lead. I have no doubt.
http://thursdaypoetsrallypoetry.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/the-celebrate-poet-of-september-award-nomination-announcement/
please vote for fellow posts,
you are nominated, you win one vote, if you vote for other poets, you win another vote.
upon join the voting, you win at least a runner up award .
Thanks for the attention.
this is so beautiful…
lovely imagery.
nostalgic and sentimental. great work
wow.
Jingle,
That word means so much to me, thank you.
Yes! Kudos for this one.
Hey, Jamie,
Thanks a bunch!
Thanks, Jamie!
I bet if I understood Spanish I would love this one, no need to translate because if you do, it may loose that beauty
Thank you, Glory!
Es posible, Se!
Welll done. Happy Rally days …
Thank you, Jamie!
Me gusta espanol por que es una idioma hermosa. Of course, I don’t know how to post with the proper accent marks without changing my blog language to Spanish. haha.
um..
never understood a word.. but loved the lang.
so what’s this about?
let me know if you wish to be in poets rally week 33.
Thanks.
dancing freak,
Thank you so much. It basically translates something like this:
I like to write
Spanish words
because I think
the grandfather
of my grandfather,
in a large hat
sings Spanish words
in Heaven.
It is possible, no?
Ok, had to pull out the trusty translator but I am glad I waited… hmmmm some words just didn’t look right 🙂 good poem
Thanks, Scott.
I have found that translator’s often translate words but miss meaning. There are nuances in languages that cannot be literally translated. Ayiii…yaiii…that’s the trouble with them.
Certainly so.
Thank you 🙂
Brava! Very brave and pretty. Unfortunately, I suspect that the sixth line is awfully important for understanding the poem as a whole, and it’s the one I don’t understand (my Spanish is sub-elementary), but I did thoroughly enjoy what I did understand.
As a matter of curiosity, do you really think this can happen? Or is this the best you can ask for?
And how long music lasts!
Haha!!! I love this! I must say that I have to agree with this 100%. You know this b/c I am the same way. I will sit inside the warmth of my home and look at the snowy cold world if I have to… and if I must go outside, I will complain! =]
I know you are this way. This one is for the both of us and for all those who do not love the feel of winter.
:/ Thank you for that. Hit a little too close to home, but I needed that today. Definitely you were inspired by grace and not vanity with this one.
Thank you so much. I get to feeling overwhelmed sometimes by the lights, whistles and dog and pony shows!
lovely reflections,
Glad to see you view life in deep meanings..
best wishes for the year.
Merry Christmas.
Let me know if you wish to be part of poets rally week 35.
😉
Thanks, Jingle,
every now and then my thoughts run deep and other times they’re no deeper than the dust on an OCD housekeeper’s coffee table. haha.
Yes, I would like to participate. I’ll send you a poem link and do my best to visit the blogs of at least 18 other poets this week. Thanks for reminding me.
When we moved to Key West, we decided not to subscribe to cable, or indeed even have a TV!! I have read more great literature and spent more time talking to my husband in the past 6 months than I have in the past 6 years!! I’m loving Lee Smith….
Oh, Lisa, I LOVE Lee Smith, too.
My favorite one of her novels is Fair and Tender Ladies. Also, I love the works of Sandra Kring, especially, How High the Moon. She is most known for the Book of Bright though.
love it…
you have said something I wish to say yet did not find the best way to say it yet…
Glad to have you in, dear.
beautifully expressed work,
clear vision and vivid imagery..
Happy Rally!
🙂
Thank you, Jingle.
Sometimes, I come into my house, close the door and just breathe in the quiet. Perhaps it is because I work with people all day or perhaps I just draw strength from the quiet moments. Either way, I think that without them, I would die young.
Growing up where you did, I can understand your appreciation for the quieter part of living.
Booguloo,
Thank you for your understanding.
Your words speak so much truth. I immediately thought of all the reality shows and people wanting their 15 minutes of fame whether on the news, shows, etc.
L,
Thanks so much. I know what you mean. I can’t believe the hoops people will jump through for their fifteen minutes in the sun.
This is wonderful!
Definitely hits home. Thanks for sharing:)
Thank you, Shea!
Mrs. Darlene!!!! The trailer of the book was wonderful, I cant wait to read this book!!! I would like to read your other books too. I hope I get this book for Christmas! I will be thrilled if I do. This book will be one of my favorites. It sounds awesome just for you telling me about it at church and listening to that trailer! Hope it turns out to be a bestseller!
I’ll see you on Sunday. -Bethany
I’m also in KY, a very quiet part of Appalachia. So true, that so many want to be noticed and make so much noise. I think I just want to blend into the quietness.
thank you, Bethany!
I hope you love the book and that it comes in time for Christmas. I keep looking outside hoping to see a bunch of boxes of books on my porch, but alas, they haven’t materialized yet:( I hope it becomes a bestseller, too! If it does we will HAVE to have some sort of celebration. Oh, and bring yours to church so I can sign it for ya!
It’s nice to meet you! I love our home state. Although, I’m not fond of the weather we’re having right now. Still, it COULD BE WORSE. haha.
well said..I wonder sometimes about the adults today..it seems like we have raised a generation of children who have not had enough of their parents. They become tall but still are searching for love and acceptance in ways that can never satisfy. It is very sad.
Thanks, Dee!
I can only say, “Amen” to your statement. More apps and faster phones can never replace fishing, a picnic and skipping stones at the lake. It is the moments my parents spent with me that mean the most to me.
Very good job. Keep writing
Thanks, Glory!
This is great and so very true. An interesting look into the vanity of human nature.
Thanks a bunch. I appreciate your encouragement.
Really like the atmosphere, stark, hectic and empty..
Thank you, Roy.
Excellent topic, its as if the worlds like that as of now, sometimes some even wonder off to negative ways, just to gain some recognition.
Nicely done!
Don,
First thank you and secondly, you’re absolutely right in what you say.
the world would be a much better place if t.v. hadn’t been invented..
well writtem powerful and really good.
Thank you so much! Also, it’s SO nice to see you again.
you always amaze me with your poems 🙂 i hope you are well. wish you much love, as always
Wonderful, I love it!!
Thanks, EVERYONE,
for always coming to visit
and read my ramblings and poetry.
I feel like this blog is a place of sharing
and talking, a place for friends to gather,
kind of a like a coffee house
where friends chatter or
and old country store
like the one where my dad
used to sit and gossip
with his farmer pals…
thank you, guys and gals.
I appreciate you so, so much.
Much love,
Darlene/aka. Nochipa
Whoa. Very dense. Absolutely lovely.
Thank you, Kolembo!
Hi Nochi,
I finally found you. Please contact me at my email addy. I want to get your permission for sharing Your Melugeon papers at ARS Concordia. You retain all publishing rights; you insert a note. I have 20 pages that we wrote at that time. Let us talk. Lyd
lydianna123@gmail.com
I’m glad you found me, too. Lyd. I’ll email you from home tonight. We used to have fun over there didn’t we?
Que bonita esta poema. 🙂 Lovely.
Gracias, amiga. 🙂
How do you do that…keep something in mind for so long! I’m ADHD and trying to learn, but I find, seconds in, that my minds gone somewhere else! Perhaps I have to begin to take notes before I write?
Anyway, this is gorgeous…January as ‘…a liar.’ Fantastic.
Thank you, Kolembo, for saying it is gorgeous! I’m unsure how I keep a thing in my mind. I think every brian works a little differently. When a notion hits my mind, it will not leave. It nags at me until I let it out and then when it comes out, it is in a long continuous stream that not even a tornado could shake loose. Literally, I can write with the washing machine going, television going, radio playing, kids hollering and people talking to me. I just block them all out until they’re white noise in my head.
The only trouble is that there may be numerous streams running in my mind all at the same time. That sometimes makes it hard to sleep or watch a television show! It makes it hard to pay attention when people are talking, too, unless they’re saying something that feeds one of the streams in my head. So, I suppose it’s kind of like ADHD, but different, too. I become fixated, but on many different topics all running along differen highways in the brain.
Lovely, Darlene.
Thank you, Sherry!
beautiful…
Thank you, Jingle. You are beautiful.
You have explained the winter and the January month beautifully ….
Thank you ever so much, Uma. What a cool name that is.
Oh, you said it so well. I endure January in North Dakota and we always say, if we could just get through this month we can make it through the winter…a winter that sometimes doesn’t end until April. I tried my hand on a poem about waiting in out here as well. http://veederranch.com/2011/01/13/until-were-warm-again/
Thanks for sharing.
I can’t even imagine how the winters are in ND. I see news clips on the television and I tell you the truth, I own up to being a weather “sissy”. I send you WARM thoughts. Thank you for your kind comments.
I like your take on personifying January… though I feel we need her visit to make us appreciate the warmer months 🙂
thanks. 🙂 but shh…I would appreciate the warmer months if I never saw another cold day for the rest of my life! haha…I am not arctic by nature.
Gr8 Thought …
Take a look on my work
A Poetry for the Nation ..
http://ashbeezone.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/blood-and-sweat-form-patriotism/
!! Happy rally !!
you speak like you met and hit it off with January, like you’ve met her! wow!
That is really impressive!
Love and Light!
Thank you so much!
How are you?
Please keep in mind to:
#1: return favor to poets who visited you
#2: complete 18 comments to your peers…or fresh poets to explore..
Thanks for the lovely contribution, it is fun when everyone gets the job done…
Happy Tuesday!
xxx
fantastic…
http://loveamongotherthings.wordpress.com/
Smooth and evocative! Nice job!
Thank you, Vishwas!
Thanks Darlene for your words of encouragement and your voice of experience. I am looking forward to your next effort.
Thank you, Billy!
Congratulations Darlene – very well deserved and about time too! 🙂
Thank you, Colin. I so appreciate that!
Brilliant work Darlene! Short but very deep, liked it a lot!
–
Juan(The leaves Fall)
Juan,
Thank you so much.
There is no need for that! Just went through your profile, I want to read your novel, I listened Momma! Can you help me out?
and I guess you visited the wrong blog – http://theleavesfall.wordpress.com/ is the correct link! (sorry for spamming)
Juan, I surely can help you out!
If you want to order online just go to http://www.moongypsypress.com and click on I Listened, Momma. It shows a bunch of books on their home page and mine is one of them or you can purchase it from amazon.com.
However, if you want a signed copy, email me at nochipa@windstream.net and I’ll be happy to make arrangements to get one to you! Also, I really enjoyed visiting your blog. You’re not a spammer. Haha…you didn’t try to sell anything:)
I sent you an email 😉
As someone said, we are spiritual beings having a physical experience, not physical beings who sometimes (rarely) have spiritual experiences.
Elizabeth,
As always, your words are profound and true. Thank you:)
My son recommended your post. I’ve bookmarked your blog.
Thanks so much. I do hope you enjoy it 🙂
I am sorry for your loss, Darlene, but rejoice with you that you had such a wonderful father.
Thank you, Sherry.
I so appreciate your understanding and insight.
Darlene, I am so sorry for your loss. I wish I could have known him.
I know the two of you would have swapped a hundred stories if you had. He was a fabulous storyteller.
Darlene and family,
Thank you for sharing this with us. We are truly sorry for your loss but celebrate the life of a wonderful father, grandfather and husband. I pray that you find comfort in the arms of our Lord as he carries you through this hard time and know that through Him, your dad continues to hold you close.
Thank you, Mindy. I appreciate your kind thoughts and words. I sense his presence always.
I’m sorry about your dad Mrs. Darlene.
Thank you, Ms. Bethany.
I am touched by your post more than words can say. My heart is with you.
Thank you, Lisa.
A good father is something that I wish every person on this planet could experience, but I know they don’t. You and I, and others like us, we are especially blessed.
Darlene, I have been reading your book as you deal with the loss of your dear father. The story carried me back to my childhood, growing up poor, suffering many hardships, yet with parents who loved God and loved my siblings and myelf. Thank you for sharing this story and for sharing the post about your father. My dad has been gone for almost 30 years, yet the memory of him explaining Heaven to me is fresh in my mind. I lost my mom 10 years ago to breast cancer. Thank God for Christian parents and for the gift of storytelling he has given you. May God bless you and give you his wonderful peace.
Jelaine Harlow
Jelaine,
Dear Jelaine,
Your post has blessed me so much. I think it doesn’t matter if it has been three days or thirty years. I think that like you, I’ll never forget. Thank you. It does my heart good to hear so many people talk about how the story carried them back. When I was a little girl, nine years old, my daddy told me that he wanted me to be a writer. I promised him I would do it. I had a Gideon Bible with two blank pages in the back. I thought the blank pages were God’s way of telling me that Daddy was right, that I was born to be a writer.
I know that all of us, your mom, my dad, all those who die in the Lord, will be reunited one day and all of our separation anxiety will be gone forever.
I love poetry and I really enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for sharing this post. Feel free to stop by sometime.
Raining Purple Rain
I will gladly stop by. Thank you for the invitation and the kind words.
You own the talent of brilliant writing I must say. Your posts incorporates the reality which we cannot even get it anywhere else. It’s my humble request to u please keep such brilliant contents.And yes i have digg your site nochipa.wordpress.com .
Thank you. Please keep coming back to visit.
Darlene with tears falling down my cheeks I read your sweet, sweet message about your Dad. I didn’t no your Dad, but after I read your post I feel I do no him. He was a child of God that loved his earthly family, friends and neighbors. He loved the Lord and lived his life for Jesus. He left gifts to his family more precious than silver or gold. He taught you to love the Lord and not earthly possessions. When we love the Lord with all our soul and all our might and serve him he takes care of us. I feel sure that today he is rejoicing in his Heavenly home and looking down on his family with tender love and blessings for eah of you. You were blessed to have a Dad that taught you the most important things in life can’t be made by man. He was indeed a Hero. that raised a wonderful daughter. Darlene Franklin Campbell. God bless you for sharing this sweet and precious post.
Alice,
Bless you for coming here. Your words touched my heart so deeply this morning and you brought tears to my eyes, because I know that they are honest words from your spirit, which is so precious and kind. Thank you.
4 17 07.Every year in honor and celebration of Robert Penn Warren?s birthday and the State?s designated Writer?s Day Jeanne Penn Lane and Dawn Lane Osborne open their hearts their property and their own pocketbooks to support musicians authors poets songwriters and any and all who want to come and perform their artistic works at Historic Penn?s Store in beautiful Gravel Switch Kentucky…Penn?s Store is the oldest country store in America and has been run by the same family since the 1800?s. For a real treat vist the website below and read its history and the history of the Penn family…Authors poets songwriters and musicians from all over Kentucky and even as far away as New York come to share the microphone and entertain the audience. I immediately fell in love with Gravel Switch Kentucky Penn?s Store and the people.
This comment originally went into my spam folder, BUT it so nicely backs up what I have been talking about that I felt it should be seen and read.
Saturday.Water on Sunday nearly reached the roof of another area landmark Penns Store in Gravel Switch Marion County and the store is closed indefinitely Jeanne Penn Lane of the store told the Advocate-Messenger.On Wednesday Gov.
You know, I really admire you. And in some ways I’m alot like you. This is a really great post. You are a weirdo. But that is something unique, I was voted most unique in highschool, not b/c I look so different but b/c I speak my mind and I stay true to myself( i try anyhow) but NEVER EVER lie to yourself & always speak your mind =] I love you momma,
Rach
Thank you, Rach.
You are an amazing and unique individual; I remember how you were voted most unique. I think that is something to me more proud of than most popular or most likely to succeed, because if you are true to yourself then you are already a success and you will always be popular with those who really matter in your life. I am so very proud of you. I’m so glad that you understand the value of being true to yourself, to your beliefs, to those that you love. I love you, because you are you.
Darlene, How have you been? I have missed your fabulous poetry for a long time, I have been so caught up with various things in life that I have become extremely infrequent online.
But I can so relate to your post here, I have for many many months been a fully fledged nocturnal animal for precisely the same aloneness that the darkness inevitably offers…
I hope all is well with you and your family.
Darlene,
That was one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever seen. I truly felt your heart as I read each line. You are definitely a gifted writer. It is a blessing to be able to enjoy your work!
Talana
Thank you, Talana.
That means a lot coming from you, a true artist in your own right!
This is classic “Schoolmarm.” I would recognize it anywhere. Heartfelt.
Casey
Thank you, Casey, for your words
and for stopping in to visit and to read.
You should record this one and let the world hear it 🙂
Okay, Colin, but only if you promise to come back and visit. 🙂
Nochipa, this is beautiful.
Brenda,
Thank you.
It does me good to see you here, and Casey, too! Sometimes Colin drops in for a visit. It’s our old gang! It makes me happy every time I see you guys on here.
There is nothing finer than the richness that love provides! Enjoy your table, and memories that are ingrained within its fibers of love. I enjoyed your story which brought back many of my own memories which surround me.
D-
Happy Thanksgiving
nobody can tell a story like john prine
I heard some folk singers performing this at Kentucky Writer’s Day and I absolutely fell in love with that song.
maybe the rootless west is filled with possibility.
water falls in anonymous basements fueling single top stoves-tha self reliance surrounded by the fear consumption salvation.
it’s david and goliath and yet, so many transcend.
remarkable west.
Thanks Scott and Steven.
Congratulations on the book release! 🙂
Cute!
Thank you, Maggie Mae:)
Beautiful
it seems so simple,
just tell the people,
just speak the truth
and they will understand.
it seems so simple
just make a stand,
and the others
will see your point of view.
rev. h-f
thank you for your poetic comment and thanks everyone for the likes.
yes yes yes and a howdy to you
And howdy to you Mid-western poet!
gorgeous. Still – like good cognac! And I am as beautiful as it all. Good stuff.
Thank you!
This is so fresh. It’s so beautiful, like the smell of berries.
Thank you, Kolembo. I so appreciate your kind words.
Hi Darlene,
My name is Kathy. I recently started a blog called TheMexicanHillbilly. I used to get teased and called this name as a child. Back then it hurt to be different so I cried a lot but as I have grown older I have learned to embrace this title. I was looking this name up to see if there was any more mexican hillbilly’s out in the world and was shocked to find a drink by that name! That’s when your website popped up and I got the pleasure of reading this post! I was hoping that we could possibly meet someday. I would love to interview you and feature you and your work on my blog. You are a wonderful writer and I definitely know I will be reading more of your work now that I have found you!
here is my blog url I hope to hear from you 🙂
http://themexicanhillbilly.blogspot.com/
Kathy,
It is so nice to hear from you. You blessed my day. I didn’t know there was a drink by that name, either! Wow, the things people will name a drink. haha. I would very much like to have you interview me. Please feel free to email me at any time at nochipa@wordpress.com Maybe, since we both live in hillbilly country, we can work something out:)
I am not sure why but every time I send to your email it says the message was unable to be sent?
Hi Darlene,
My name is Kathy Roussel. I am the lady who commented on your blog last night. I am so glad to have found your work! I also am a mixture of Cherokee, Mexican and French and of course probably more that I don’t even know about. My dad was Mexican and my mom was a blonde haired, blue eyed lady country lady.
Also, I definitely want to purchase a copy of I Listened, Momma so that we can discuss it during your interview. I was reading about the loss of your dad and wanted to tell you I think it is great what you are doing towards the fight against cancer. Unfortunately, I was never able to meet my dad and I lost my mom to cancer a few years ago. There aren’t too many people who have not been affected by this horrible disease.
I am not sure if I was on the right site or not but when I tried to click on the book to see how to purchase it it said the link was broken. I would like to purchase a copy.
If possible can you email me at themexicanhillbilly@hotmail.com
Kathy Roussel
I really enjoyed this post. “Failure isn’t final.” Thank You I really need to hear that more often!
I like everything about this one…
Thank you, Scot!
No sweat, no blood … and no tears either. Tears are the surest sign that we are living the right sort of life – the surest sign that we are at one with nature and our creator
We no longer stand upon hallowed ground but on hollow ground.
We no longer build homes upon the rock but on the shifting sand.
We no longer philosophize of things greater but lament things lesser.
We no longer war against the gale but revel in our retreat.
True, Geoff, so true. I wish I had added that.
And Billy, wow, you share my heart with those words and speak from the very place that I’m coming from.
Thank you both.
A man I’ve once known was asked who was in charge. He replied, “Not me.”
“But aren’t you the manager here?” the man pursued.
“Yes, but I am only in control.”
I laughed.
I just love your story. Thank you! JTR:)
Very good.
thank you:)
that sound is peace
This is beautiful Darlene, and very much along the lines of my thoughts these days. Thanks for sharing <3
Thank you, Sarah. I like that we see so much of the world through similar eyes. I like to know that people can ‘connect’ across continents.
Reblogged this on ABStar- ology and commented:
By My dear and VERY talented Cousin . do give her follows and likes and sharing loves!
Not only exploitation but hubris . . .
Thank you, Tony! And Joyce, so true, so true.
Entirely beautiful!
Thank you, dear Michael.
Amen on the quiet time!
🙂
Have you left?
I have not left. Just got distracted for a while. Thank you for asking!
Joe pablio was my great great grandfather too. His son Zack my great grandfather, Zack’s daughter Ellen Curry was my grandmother and her daughter Amanda was my mother. I know very few of my relatives and would love to meet some of them. There are some of us in southern Illinois and also around Danville Illinois. There is a reunion in Bush Illinois September 19 2015 .
Beautiful. I love it.
Thank you, Scott. I just now found this:)
You can never go forward until you’ve looked back. I come from great grandparents on both my parents side who were orphans. Very difficult to trace. I’m very disappointed in my DNA analysis. It said I was more Great Britain 80% than true Englanders who are just 60% plus 7% Irish. I have my doubts about Ancestry.
Hey, What company did you test with? You have to take them with a grain of salt. Ancestry.com’s results are heavily Bitish Isles. I don’t know why. But there is a free third party site called GEDmatch where you can download your raw data and it gives you a much more in-depth look at it. I will be glad to help you and walk you through it. My email address is campbell.darlene953@gmail.com
You made me think more about where I come from. Maiden name – Murphy – Ireland to be sure, but what other conglomeration of nationalities make up ME? Something to ponder.
Thanks friend. Loved this blog.
I know one thing about you, Linda. You’re are a wonderful conglomeration of whatever you are and Ireland should be proud to have such a heritage in America!
Darlene I’m so glad u got to find out the truth about ur family . My family was the same way , last names got change. Found out Nevada Reno was named after my great great great grand pa wouldn’t know these things if it was for research. Keep up with ur dads stories that’s the one that r the best
Sharon, thank you so much. I hope you find out all about your family. Nevada Reno, what a beautiful name!
Yes, yes yes. I didn’t grow up that way but live in that setting, teach those children, hear the cats at night on occasion…I know that feeling.
Thank you, Scott!
I love it, every bit!
If I ever need a private investigator, I now know where to find one.
Haha…Thank you, Billy. That’s one of the best compliments ever!
My family got Melanesian too, and we believe it to come from a side of our family from Eastern Tennessee with possibly Native American roots. It’s so cool when I find articles like this since Melanesian is such a rare result, and hard to find a lot of people who have it, but since there’s so little admixture, even with Polynesia, as they’re all island people, and each population is pretty isolated, it’s like where is this coming from?? But I find it pretty amazing that every time I do find somebody else who got this result, they almost all seem to have the same story and geographic family background, usually from Tennessee or nearby area with some suspected Native American roots, but usually not much else is known, and then get little to no Native American DNA results, but get totally blind-sided by a Melanesian result instead. I have also read those 2015 studies, and after seeing that, I am pretty much convinced that somehow those Melanesian islanders got to Tennessee way back when. I mean, why else would Melanesian DNA constantly be popping up in people whose families come from Tennessee? Great article, thanks for sharing!
I agree, Elle. There seems to be a correlation between traces of Melanesian and tales of NA ancestry. I believe, more and more, that the peoples of this world are far more similar than once believed.
Maybe we (Appalachian Melanesians) should compare our kit #s together on gedmatch. And see if someone can come up with correlations?
That’s a really good idea.
Absolutely fantastic!
Thank you Darlene!
Great article and I love your final paragraph. Thanks for sharing with us!
I have about the exact same ethnicity as you. And a similar spiritual drive,
I have no known connection with melungeon other than being from East Tennessee.
I have not been able to figure out why a certain percentage of us who’s ancestors have been in the hills of Appalachia have Melanesian. I have yet to see a geneticist or historian recognize this anomaly or theorize on it.
Hi, I have 12,% Italy Greece, 9% Iberian Peninsula, 5% Ashkenazi Jew, and I also have Melanesian, has anyone found documentation of Melanesians being brought to rural Appalachia?
Hi Timothy, just doing my DNA test I have found many distant relatives contain Melanesian and Polynesian both.
I’m wondering when slave trade ended if they some how imported Black Birded Melanesians to the US. I found one interesting article where a woman traced an ancestor to a Melanesian woman brought to the Caroline’s, but she never went into any detail about it. One of my ancestors was a maid, one of the censuses claimed her birth place was Australia, then that changed to Austria this was the mid 1800’s. She could have been mixed Aboriginal possibly? Or it was a simple mistake? Who knows.
Hi my family is Appalachian and I also have Melanesian, if you are interested my Gedmatch kit number is A003489. I’m extremely puzzled about this.
I know what you mean, Timothy Heath. I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading since I posted this article, but yet have to come up with definitive answers. One thing I have become more and more convinced of though is that the ethnicity portion of genetic testing is still in the trial and error stages and they don’t always get it right. One book that I’ve been reading is called CHEROKEE DNA STUDIES: REAL PEOPLE WHO PROVED THE GENETICISTS WRONG. I’ve also been delving into history a lot lately and it is mind-blowing how much deeper and more complex people’s history is compared to what we were all taught in school.
I have also been rethinking my view of history. And how there is rarely a clear right and wrong ethnic or social group.
Some individuals don’t get along because they are too much alike and live in constant stressful competition.
Then where groups with radically different moral and cultural differences, those groups may be attracted to live together in harmony for a time but are eventually going to face fatal conflict.
Brazil and USA probably have the most dna diverse integration in a population currently. And a country like japan or North Korea have very little.
I kind of think both of these extremes are doomed to repeat the past, more quickly than a “moderately integrated” society.
I’m so glad I stumbled upon you all, I’m also a descendant on all sides of my family from rural Appalachia, East Tennessee, West Virginia, SW Virginia and North Carolina. I also have Melanesian DNA. I’m extremely curious to how I managed to get this DNA and many people linked to me (9 that I can remember) have Melanesian and some Polynesian mix I do have a Gedmatch kit A003489 I would really like to solve this mystery.
Hi Kat, https://www.facebook.com/637999343241275/posts/638776596496883/
Here is a comparison between you and I. From what I understand some “experts “ say that some our ancestors were taken by Muslim pirates from Melanesia and brought to America to be sold as slaves.
The other possibility especially considering the Asian coastline prevalence is Asian, Polynesian, mekenesian people intentionally or accidentally made it to America and became Indians and we are those decendants.
Thanks so much, Tim. This is a really good explanation and quite feasible.
Facebook page:
Appalachian DNA American Indian melungeon connections.
Oh no Darlene the other story was so cool I came back looking for it because some folks agreed we should do DNA kit # research. Someone on another site shared their kit # so I started comparing. She and I aren’t related but the similarities are obvious. So if anyone wants to compare dna
Hello, I am sure you get a ton of this. Our heritage stories are identical. We were told that my gmother was Blackfoot (Hawkins County Tn) after research she was identified as Melungeon on a Census. Just thought I would touch base. Her surname was Eddards/Edwards. If you would like to email me: veravhayes@gmail.com
Vera, I just found your post. I’m sorry to have been so slow in getting back to you. It is awesome to find someone with such a similar trail.
Love this poem. Well done.
Very good.
Thank you, Joyce. I am so glad you got to read it.
Wise, and brilliant understanding and writing! Thank you!
Mary Keltner
Thank you, Mary. I so appreciate you reading and your comments inspire me.
Great description.
Thank you, Joyce. I found her dead by the porch over the weekend. I don’t know what happened to her. She was very old.
I feel both your pain and joy! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Billy Joe.
Good one 😍😍
Thank you!
“In a twinkling of an eye”! “Mud”, I like it. Randell is forever held in my heart. I love you and Phillip and all the family.
Thank you! We love you too.
I love you Darlene !!
I love yo too, Sonya!
Yes! Reality lives eternally there!
Sent from my iPhone
>
I know you have walked the banks of such creeks many times and understand my sentiments so well. 🙂
lovely
Thank you so much!
beautiful, just beautiful
Ben Arnold MPH, PhD arnold@image-analysis.com http://www.image-analysis.com
Thank you so much.
Yeah, these databases are messy. And I have been interested in archeological ancestry as well. Having no ancestors that have set foot in in America since Leif Erikson, I have 2% Amerindian, and of course significant Altaic, South Asian and South Indian. With hits on Rathlin1, Clovis, Ust-Ishim and so on, direct maternal lineage of Amerindian is supposed still in Iceland. Makes one wonder if it was a matter of souls, choosing war and leaving. Whether they would have stayed if not, and well, always been Q in Scandinavia. But yeah, would like to know which Amerindian tribe that was, and is likely a big data problems that will be answered eventually. Carvings of boats and Reindeer as seen in Norway share similarity with those found in Azerbaijan, something discussed by Thor Heyerdahl, but controversial.
Would just then point out that Amerindian, if you have Icelandic or Nordic ancestry could be false positives. Similar to a paper in Nature on genetic makeup of Norway, where adopted Korean’s had to be corrected for as false positives for Sapmi; biology is a mess. Should certainly be possible to work out exactly where this crosses with Vikings. There are many things involved that comes with confirmation basis making matters worse, which involve German ideas about Vikings. And seemingly including Ashkenazi, as this is extremely unlikely for me, where Amerindian isn’t.
Olav,
Thank you very much. The similarities between the Indigenous People of Siberia and Native Americans is striking. And you are right. The data bases are messy. Paper trails are still priceless as far as tracing our heritage goes. I think these tests can give us clues and hints but it’s the paper trails that tell us most. However, having said that, I did further DNA testing after this article was published and have come to the conclusion that these companies are lacking in samples of Native American DNA and that their samples are of modern populations rather than those existing 500 years ago. Still, they can offer some insights. I will try to do an updated post soon on this topic and discuss some of the newer revelations I’ve had since 2017. Thank you immensely for bringing this post to the forefront and fueling me to post again soon on this topic.
Chief Billy Cole, aka Chief Chenoska, was of Cherokee, Catawba and Creek Indian Tribes, about half Indian or more, living in East Kentucky, born in what was then Lincoln County, NC. Enrolled in perhaps three tribes. Cole Creek is or was near Hazard, KY, and he was also near Salyersville, KY, and around Jeff, KY and in NC at times. He is documented as a significant chief in the 1800s, likely born in very late 1790s and may have lived to about 1902, but maybe died earlier. Posted Nov 2022 cherokeeempire.bravehost.com
Martin, thank you so much for commenting and for the information. I’ve clicked on your website, and I look forward to exploring.
Oh how precious is the piece quilt that is each of us.
A menagerie of events, relationships, horrors and joys.
Pieces arranged by days, months and seasons
Then stitched together by the Hand of God
with golden threads of love, life and light;
The how of which, a mystery yet unknown.
Each quilt, alive and growing
Becomes brighter and eternal-
Each passing day it spawns and each piece and the whole
Warms the soul with joy unspeakable till this world can no longer contain it;
Till it is carried away by the Hand that stitched it.
I love this “piece” by you, Billy. Thank you for sharing. I thought of Herbert, Sim, A.Z., Ruth and of your parents when I wrote that poem way back in in 2004. I remembered the Labor Day housings most of all.
Clean, crisp. Very Nice
Thank you!
I like it, but I thought you would have used their Great Wooded South name, “Snake Doctor”!!!