Category: poetry

Posted in Daily, Life, Personal Musings, poetry

Writing on the Asphalt

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“Even your past pain can be a blessing to someone. Hope-lifters are willing to reach back and pass hope on.” Kathe Wunnenberg

One of the perks of waiting in the city traffic, is that there are an endless sightings to view. From observing the roadside shops, their wares or whether they are new or already around, and doing a little bit of “window shopping” to noticing the passersby that walk on the sidewalks and reading the graffiti and artwork on the walls; these are the few things that keep the Thoughts, mind and eyes occupied during the traffic wait in the city as compared to the highway.

Yet what catches the eye and leaves an impression is the graffiti on the walls. Form the local city news to artwork defining the city or the town, to words of famous sayings; these have words that linger on in the mind imparting and affecting the mood of the day subtly. While walking on the sidewalk especially when the parking spot is a considerable distance away from the final destination, the writing on the sidewalk as well on the walls of the various buildings on the street; trigger old memories, feelings of nostalgia either of the fortunate or unfortunate events that we hold on to in our minds, giving a sense of thankfulness for the unasked or asked blessings given to us at the low points in our lives.

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All these words reflect the emotions of many and each word read with thought or subconsciously leaves an impact. While graffiti is usually frowned on, beautiful sayings leaving the sense of hope, kindness and love are needed to remind oneself of the distance we have journeyed, the struggles we had underwent and the unaccounted and saving graces that we have all been blessed with. Each one has indeed their own baggage, but by giving hope we not only lighten the burden of others’ but also learn how to carry and deal with our baggage better. For the light of one candle never loses out by sharing its’ flame with others, they all die depending on their length of time.

“Even one’s yesterdays could not continue to stir and move in a man’s mind unless there were a future for those yesterdays to make.” Mary Ellen Chase

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“Everything will be fine! I recognized! ”-
The inscription on the pavement chalked.
I stood for a long time in affection
And I admit, I did not want to leave.

Who wrote and for whom – I do not know,
But these lines have warmed my soul,
Like forget-me-nots in mid-May,
Like white snowdrops of April.

A simple and short phrase,
At first glance – so wise,
But how much optimism gives at once,
And lights up joyful smiles!

Everything will be fine? Of course it will be!
And I want to believe it boldly!
It’s great to give hope to people,
Even if it’s just on chalk on asphalt …

Natalya Smirnova

“Hope is not easily defined, but impossible to embrace without faith. The more we search for meaning in what seems hopeless; we realize that our “hopelessness” is a state of mind, not a reality.” Carol Bright

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Posted in Daily, Life, poetry, Quotes, Reflections

Yearnings before the Summer

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“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” W.B. Yeats

With the heat of summer approaching and spring nearing its’ end, a longing comes for the early pleasant winter days or the cooler autumn. While summer is indeed a time for beaches and water and cooler evenings making up for the oppressive heat of the mornings, one often longs to escape to the coldest part of the time for a few days.

“Happiness doesn’t depend on what we have, but it does depend on how we feel toward what we have. We can be happy with little and miserable with much.” William D. Hoard

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Looking back, the seasons do expose the strength of one’s endurance. During the extreme cold of winter, one harbours the longing for summer and reverse feelings in winter. These feelings bring to front the changing nature of the whims and fancies of man. Being human, one often tends to change one’s mind, thoughts and actions depending on the mood of the situation. Yet at times, we lose sight of the moral principle while engaging on the whims.

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” Charles R. Swindoll

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To transform, mature and to experience life, change is important. Yet if we are always on the lookout for change, without experiencing the moments of the present, we fail to learn what time and life has in store for us with every passing moment. Flitting from branch to another, we may always on the lookout for something better, brighter and more purposeful. In doing so, we tend to lose out on the meaning of the wonders of the present. Once lost, that Time would never come back. In His Timeline and among His Creations, one often learns that during uncertain situations, difficult choices or troubled times; stepping out and taking a breath of fresh air helps to find new perspective. The sooner we do so, the most difficult and rough season becomes an enjoyable one for the time.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God.
Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.” Anne Frank

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I See You Spring

I see you, spring,
In my double window.
You’re not very red,
and even a little dirty.

There is no greenery yet.
The earth is exactly two-colored photo,
And the snow only catches the moment
To disappear from us imperceptibly.

And sleepy shade carts,
Squeaking axes,
On the same trampled snow
They derive sleds in the autumn.

And chomping with a check,
And twisting the wheels with his hands,
And a drop of rain on his cheek
Suddenly feels like tears.

Varlam Shalamov

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Posted in Daily, Family and Society, poetry, Quotes, Reflections, Work

Far from the Blanket

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“Judgments prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.” Wayne Dyer

One of the benefits of shopping over the weekends is the discount sales that are commonly offered. Yet on closer scrutiny at the price list, our requirements, the discount amount with the manufacturing and expiry dates, at the end of the day; the weekend rush isn’t worth the effort for the offered discount. For the days when we need them, they do help. But when weekends are the only day to recuperate from the busy week, spending some personal time as well as family time may be more worth with the treasures of memories.

“It is with our judgments as with our watches: no two go just alike, yet each believes his own.” Alexander Pope

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Comparing this with few situations in our life, many a time we make judgments under the guise of certain notions or thinking. Yet on close scrutiny, one may discover that not everything is as it seems to be. Very often, we tend to put people under an umbrella. Like during school days, the scholarship as well as class toppers were believed to be geeks; yet imagine the surprise when their added talents ranged widely in the field of music, arts and some in sports as well. Similarly at the workplace or the community, when one is busy labeling the others; we lose out not only on their friendship but also the kinship that we would establish once we really get to know them. No one is like the other; neither do all fit under one blanket. When asked about ourselves, this dictum would be what we would prefer others would use to view us; then why not the same for them too. In life, open minds and kind words go a longer way than sudden opinions, quick judgments and hasty impressions.

“In our judgment of human transactions, the law of optics is reversed, we see most dimly the objects which are close around us.” Richard Whately

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Not everyone who is punished is guilty.
Not everyone who is acquitted is not guilty.
Not everyone who called himself a brother is a brother.
The unity of souls is not due to blood.

Not everyone is a friend who held a hand,
Not every enemy really hates.
Raised dagger is not so dangerous,
Like a thirst for revenge in the most hidden form.

Not everyone hugging is in love,
And standing on the side is indifferent.
Not everyone is inspired by the bright feeling,
Who flies his ears with flattery.

Not everyone falls under the pattern,
but each created it once.
And he does not suspect that he is the
same for someone “not everyone” ..
– Rus Svyataya

“Do not condemn the judgment of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong.” Dandemis

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Posted in Daily, Family and Society, Life, poetry, Quotes, Reflections, Work

From the Ashes to Hope

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“The darkest hours are just before dawn.” English proverb

Of recent times, the town had seen a couple of new start ups’, businesses that have been flourishing over the past three years. Initially they had started small, one had crashed in between and had later had caught on; while few others had stayed steady on from the beginning. Yet what comes to mind on walking down the market road, was how fragile time is and how we must learn to rise up every now and then from the ashes of our efforts, similar to the phoenix.

“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” Jonas Salk

 

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As per the Greek mythology, the phoenix (Ancient Greek: φοῖνιξ, phoînix) was a long-lived bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the Sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. The phoenix is believed to die in a show of flames and combustion, although there are other sources that claim that the legendary bird dies and simply decomposes before being born again. Among the different traditions concerning the lifespan of the phoenix, by most accounts the phoenix lived for 500 years before rebirth. Among the old records of Herodotus, Pliny the Elder, Pope Clement I, Ovid among others, the retelling and transmission of the phoenix motif has been done in detail. As per these historical records, the phoenix symbolized renewal in general as well as the sun, time, the Empire, metempsychosis, consecration, resurrection, life in the heavenly Paradise, Christ, Mary, virginity, the exceptional man, and certain aspects of Christian life”. In the Old English Exeter Book,  an anonymous 677-line 9th-century alliterative poem has been written consisting of a paraphrase and abbreviation of Lactantius, followed by an explication of the Phoenix as an allegory for the resurrection of Christ.

Þisses fugles gecynd fela gelices
bi þam gecornum Cristes þegnum;
beacnað in burgum hu hi beorhtne gefean
þurh Fæder fultum on þar frecnan tid
healdaþ under heofonum & him heanna blæd
in þam uplican eðle gestrynaþ. (In the Original Old English)

This bird’s nature is much like
to the chosen servants of Christ;
pointeth out to men how they bright joy
through the Father’s aid in this perilous time
may under heaven possess, and exalted happiness
in the celestial country may gain. (In Modern English translation )

Source:Thorpe, Benjamin; Corson, Hiram (1842). “Codex exoniensis. A collection of Anglo-Saxon poetry, from a manuscript in the library of the dean and chapter of Exeter”. p. 244.

 

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“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Helen Keller

In the various phases of one’s life, we have all our “phoenix” moments, to rise from the ashes of downfall. With the turn from winter to spring, nature teaches us time and again that hope will bear fruit as long as we aim to work for it. With the new crops planted in the last few weeks, one can hardly believe that few months ago it was the time of cold, dry and rainy days of the winters. As the season changes and time moves on, staying stuck lasts only as long as we allow it to be so. Like all plans and dreams that may be fulfilled or go astray; it’s the will to survive that beats the intermittent thunders and storms in one’s life as well as to dust ourselves from the ashes to start rebuilding.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu

 

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I will return as grass in spring,
I’ll try to reach you, germinating,
As buds reach forward to the green
When they are waiting to awaken.

To start the blossoming anew
One morning, secretly and shyly,
Already sparkling with the dew,
That dries away if sun is shining.

The sun arises every time
To warm the humid earth for seeding,
It reaches joyously your eyes
But I already do not see it.

It cannot raise my heavy eaves,
My closed eyelids, cannot force them.
And it’s ridiculous to grieve
For me as for a single person.

For I am grass and autumn leaves
That fly and fall to putrefaction,
But there is nothing new in these
Banal ideas and reflections.

It’s the eternal hope and dream –
To be, to stay, at least, as grass does,
To grow through the soil in spring
And join the life, the new one, lasting.

Gennady Shpalikov

 

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Posted in Christian, Daily, Family and Society, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes

Unexpected Rays of “Providence”

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“Every disability conceals a vocation, if only we can find it, which will ‘turn the necessity to glorious gain.” C.S. Lewis

Unexpected occasions arise in one’s life at different points in their time frame. Yet while one mayn’t look for it, help often comes by His Grace.

Often unexpectedly, at a good hour, one may meet a person who disperses the clouds that have gathered in our soul, unwittingly resolving some of our personal problems.

” “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? “They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? “Its measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.” (Job 11:7-9)

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Often it may be so that one happens to hear from another person a word that pleases them, or to say someone an encouraging word. Or suddenly one may receive a letter from someone, and precisely when it is necessary be it at a low point in one’s life or when one has been waiting for the “lost” opportunity for some time.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Often when one is deeply entangled in the circumstances life has thrown them into, when one is desperately trying to reason within their views and thinking, trying to get out of the hopeless situation; when suddenly something happens that radically changes the situation. Thus by inference unexpected meetings, kind words, cherished and promised letters and such situations as well as kind deeds towards oneself are all signs given to as reminders, lessons, admonitions, encouragement or as a call to remind one of the Grace of God and the gift of Providence.

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Mathew 6:26)

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Among the phrases handed down in the various cultures, there is a Chinese saying that all the darkness of the universe can not extinguish the smallest candle. It would do well to remember this during the dark phases of one’s life. When one knows and learns of this, the most ugly situations and the most terrible people may be viewed by different angles and seek out the spark of light. For Providence does indeed hold out the light, only it mayn’t be somewhere expected. When one believes in His Grace, Faith and Love; along the way one will find the rays that Providence throws offering the sparks and the rays to live.

“Numerous have been the manifestations of God’s providence in sustaining us. In the gloomy period of adversity, we have had ‘our cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.’ We have been reduced to distress, and the arm of Omnipotence has raised us up.” Samuel Adams

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“Life is but a Weaving” (the Tapestry Poem)

“My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.”
― Corrie ten Boom

“……and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation…” (Acts 17:26)

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Posted in Family and Society, Life, poetry, Quotes, Work

Time, Change and Addresses

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“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.” Anatole France

Like all events that come to an eventual close, yesterday had marked the farewell of two colleagues at the workplace. While attending the meet, what came to mind was the fact that predictability and stability works only for a time. During my younger years, with both parents working, transfers and promotions went in hand with address change. Although as kids we had met many friends and been to many localities, there was always an underlying feeling in me that certain things can never be permanent or sure.

“People lose people, we lose things in our life as we’re constantly growing and changing. That’s what life is is change, and a lot of that is loss. It’s what you gain from that loss that makes life.” Thomas Jane

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Change, development and growth go in tandem in life. People change, addresses change and routine alters, yet nature remains true to its’ unpredictability. As literature and history, unfolds the story of the great conqueror of their times, Alexander the Great, the truth that we come carrying nothing and we leave empty handed too holds true. But what we do leave behind, is the legacy of our work as footprints behind. Every man will disappear, but leaving those marks for the future to learn from them, is dependent on each individual alone. One always has the choice to change, either for the better or worse. The wiser we act, think and live; the happier, serene and at peace, we will be.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” Lao Tzu

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Addresses Change

The people change addresses, move,
They part and leave and disappear,
And only an autumn grove
Is permanent, it will be here.
And only an autumn grove
Is permanent, it will be here.

What in the very end remains?
Not idle talks or strained relations, –
– A mowed field, the vast of plains,
A forest road to a train station.

The path by empty villas winds,
The homes of wealth, prestige, renown.
An old dray-cart left us behind –
A guy was driving to the town.

And this is what, for sure, stays:
The river, white in the night haze,
It is bewitched and charmed by mist,
Adorned by a camp-fire shimmer
And beacons twinkling in the midst –
All for the safety of shipping.

The people change addresses, move,
They part and leave and disappear,
And only an autumn grove
Is permanent, it will be here.
And only an autumn grove
Is permanent, it will be here.

Gennady Shpalikov

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” William Shakespeare

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Posted in Daily, Family and Society, poetry, Stories Around the World

A Mother’s Love

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“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” William Makepeace Thackeray

Traditionally celebrations honouring motherhood have existed since the beginning. Like the Greek cult to Cybele and the Roman festival of Hilaria, both honouring mothers’ in the form of the the mother goddess in Asia Minor area, Cybele, similar to the aspects of the the Earth-goddess Gaia, the possibly Minoan equivalent Rhea and the harvest–mother goddess Demeter. Similar Christian tradition of Mothering Sunday was started and celebrated mostly by the Church of English, Anglican parishes and the churches in the UK, wherein the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Day; where people would visit their mother church (baptized church or local parish church or the nearest cathedral). Of late, this celebration also marks as an occasion for honouring mothers’ and giving them presents.

“Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

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However, the modern Mother’s Day celebrated in many countries as the second Sunday of May, was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Her mother Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist, who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. Her daughter, Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she had started and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”. Her campaign had set off the tradition of honouring mothers’ on the second Sunday of May.

“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” Mitch Albom

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To honour one’s mother goes beyond buying ready made cards and gifts. It involves doing something physical and creatively giving a personal touch as handmade simple gifts, writings, remembrances and memorabilia; marking this day, not as a part of global celebration, but more of a personal and emotional nature. For appreciating and honor their mothers through handwritten letters or personal efforts expressing their love and gratitude, would carry a more emotional note of acknowledge the significant effort, contribution and molding they had played in our lives.

“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” Rudyard Kipling

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Mothering would be in all senses physical, emotional, mental and spiritual way in which we have learned to trust, lean and rely on, in our early days. While all of us may have not had the best childhood or the perfect “mothers”, celebrating this day by paying a tribute to that special person who had moulded us, would be parallel to celebrating this special day.

“A mother’s happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.” Honore de Balzac

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The yellow moon is sleeping behind the clouds.
I look into the sky, as if in a dark forest.
Somewhere among the stars mom got lost,
And she looks with love at me from heaven.

Somewhere among the stars mom got lost,
And she looks with love at me from heaven.

How many years have passed, I’m still the same:
I never expect miracles from fate.
In the most difficult hour I have a mom,
And she looks with love at me from heaven.

In the most difficult hour I have a mom,
And she looks with love at me from heaven.

If my heart is both melancholy and autumn,
I drive myself from the usual places:
Mom will ask the Lord for me,
After all, she looks with love at me from heaven.

Mom will ask the Lord for me,
Because she looks with love at me from heaven.

Andrey Vasilyev

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