’tis wrestling season, my eyes close for 2 months


I listened last night
cresting waves
you
a ship
the gymnasium floor
covered in ocean blue and harvesting gold
home advantage
there you were
every time I closed my eyes
imagining the sea
rather than watching you twist and be twisted

my heart opened them
I must be like you
brave
put myself out there
on the mat
face my fear, my folly, my foe, my friend
when did you become so you

my son

the little boy
I must one day
release into a hard world
with no soft wrestling mat beneath
should you fall
maxmy max is on the right, gold-stripe
so very difficult watching these wrestling matches
hoping none of these kids get hurt
but they do
must keep my eyes open

Tidy Bowl Man

dinghyI have a sinking sense sometimes
the cork in my dinghy will pop out
while getting sucked down into a watery vortex  –
a horrifying image…

Do you know what happened to the
Tidy Bowl Man?
I’ll tell you if you don’t know or can’t remember –
his career ended up in the crapper.

I don’t want to end up
in the crapper
wearing a white sea-captain suit.
I don’t want to spiral helplessly down, down, downward,
while desperately crying out,
“…it works so you don’t have toooooooooo–”

I vow to always work. I promise to never be lazy.
And I’ll always keep a plunger nearby, in case I hear the Tidy Bowl Man’s plea 😉

 

LoBoat Illustration created a few months ago and previously published.

Fellow blogger and friend, Deb of C-Dog & Company and I often discuss the merits of keeping our respective creative dinghies afloat 🙂 One must keep their sense of humor when discussing dinghies, corks and creativity 😉

sailing on terra firma

sadness
suspended by the cool sea
blue on blue

restorative
warm earth anchors
soil sanded tones

floating
directionless
ebb and flow

hope

believe
you can sail
on terra firma
caroline in ocean

Seabiscuit Shell

Seabiscuit Shell

delicate daughter as a wayward mermaid – one of my favorite photos
seabiscuit shell created a few months ago after staring at my Breyer’s horse collection that shares my studio (yes, I keep plastic horses – in my defense – they are very pretty)
Maybe a Triple Crown…

the ocean’s power

twenty lifetimes of burden for one to bear
is unjust
life asks so much of some
while requesting so little of others
the waves you cherish
float sorrow along
when you’re ready to let go
let the bad memories sink
to a place where they can no longer drown your thoughts
or consume your heart
perhaps there will come a time
where the waters won’t be so tumultuous
peace will ripple
and sailing on a cool breeze
through silent ocean blue
an aqua-eyed mermaid
with delicate feet
and hair spun of flaxen gold
will find you
welcome her with open arms
allow yourself
happiness
and the power of
the magical ocean
find the peace you seek

dolphindolphin created with markers, a touch of acrylic and some ‘ocean’ water 😉 for an upcoming project

House Mermaids

Dear Friends,
Look ’round your home. If you have a daughter, you have a mermaid. A beautiful, lovely creature who’s sometimes unsure of where she fits in. She is playful like the seal, but can be stormy like the sea. She adores her sparkling fin but pines for shoes. She is bold as the barracuda, when she’s not ‘hermitting’ within a vacated shell. She cherishes her hair, but would trade it to save the world.
lil mermaidMy little mermaid above, and my other little mermaid below.

Mermaid Girl

Mermaid Girl

Thank you. May you dream of swimming with dolphins and whales upon a sparkling sea…
Delicate Daughter Mermaid taken in Vermont 2007,
Earth Mermaid created after getting mad at daughter for her messy room.