Wednesday, August 5, 2009


I feel as though I have been away for a hundred years or more. My days have been rich and poor, sad and joyful, painful and euphoric, productive and destructive, tiring and exhilerating - and filled to overflowing with love and wonder.


I can only thank you from my heart and tell you how much I appreciate your standing by. Your comments were like little flickers in the dark of night. I hadn't really planned on returning today, but when I read that Rick was going to hold his breath - until he turned blue - waiting for my return, I got scared! (love you, Rick)


I am afraid I will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks in visiting your blogs and posting, but honestly, I do plan on returning in great profusion by month's end.


I leave you with this small, yet significant poem (for me anyway) - scratched in haste, as I sat in my flower garden this evening.



VENERABLE HOUR


in the last
chapter of summer


I find my existence
as with the bee balm’s


that's gone tattered
and shaggy now


with the constant
meddling of bees





35 comments:

Linda S. Socha said...

Welcome back!

Thanks for the lovely reflection! Am smiling to just see you here!
Linda

Rick said...

First- whew! I was turning blue already! So, welcome back, dear.

And I loved the poem, especially the lines "...gone tattered
and shaggy now with the constant
meddling of bees."

No wonder you're so well loved and so much missed.

Margaret said...

Good to have you back K. - missed you!
Sounds like your days were full of everything imaginable. So glad you found time to write and post this impressive short poem. I can visualize you sitting in your garden writing it. :D

Looking forward to having you back with us by the end of the month.

Take care... :)

Karen said...

I'm so happy you found time even to post a note and write this beautiful reflection. I hope the constant meddling of the bees is nearly over and fall will bring some relief.

Yay! So glad to hear from you!

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Linda - I am happy to be back, even if intermittently. I hope your summer has been wonderful, so far. I always appreciate your kindness and friendship here. Thank you so much.



Rick - lol...you always bring a smile! I have missed you and am anxious to get back to the dragons, soon now. Thanks for your constant support and encouraging words. I value your kinship more than I can say.



Margaret - I have missed being here and visiting all of you. I hope your days have been rewarding and agreeable. Yes, my garden is looking pretty good right now - well, except for the bee balm, which smells heavenly, even if it looks disheveled. Thanks, friend!



Hey Karen - yes, a little reprieve here. I can only hope that fall will be as you say, but with the start of school, I always find myself like a worm in hot ashes! Many thanks for your messages along the way, dear friend. xo

sarah said...

It is good to see you back, hope not too tattered. Enjoy your rest,

Sarah)

Julie said...

Yay! Kaye's back!!! I had to rush right over. Take all the time you need, honey. We'll be waiting. I hope everything's going okay. I imagine getting ready for school is so busy.

Your poem is awesome. The constant meddling of bees...well, that's a blue ribbon line. I love the poem, and I'm happy to see you again:)

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Hi Sarah, Thanks, my friend. No, I am not too tattered - lol. I am enjoying my last stretch of freedom before school starts. ;)



Hey Julie - Everything is going fine. I have missed everyone here. I see from everyone's blogs you have all been writing up a storm! I am too preoccupied to write poetry. As I told one of my poet friends the other day - when I don't write I get cranky! I'll be back in full force by the end of August. Good to see you and thanks, friend.

Bob said...

A beautiful poem to share with us, Kaye... good to see and hear from you again, I've missed you.

the walking man said...

Nice interlude from your interlude...balm of bees it is.

Anonymous said...

Be well, Kaye. Be well.

Sarah Hina said...

K, I can feel the flurry of activity and anxieties in this one small, but overflowing, poem. I have missed your talent and your friendship, and was very heartened to read this from you today. I send you a big hug and all my warm wishes.

Take care of yourself. We'll welcome you with open arms when you return in full force! :)

joaquin carvel said...

so, so glad you're back (in whatever capacity you're able at the moment) - and for this small & shimmering treasure. the "meddling of the bees" got me thinking - about what we give, and about what it becomes. venerable, indeed - and beautiful.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Hi Bob, hope you had a great time at VA beach. One of my sisters was there at the same time you were! I've missed you, as well. Glad you liked the little poem.



Walking Man - many thanks. I like the way you put that - very poetic! (no surprise)



Jason - thanks for your well wishes. It is so very sweet of you.



Hi Sarah, thank you so much for the warm wishes. You are such a great friend. I have missed you too! This community of bloggers is really wonderful. I'll be over to visit you later. xo

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Joaquin - I appreciate your friendship so very much, thank you. Your words are, at once, eloquent and far-reaching, and your perspicacity amazing.

Deedee said...

What a lovely poem. It has made my day. Welcome back!

RachelW said...

I'm glad you are back! (And that Rick is breathing again...)

S.L. Corsua said...

Seems like we're on the same boat. ;) 24 hours just doesn't seem enough to make the day count, these days, for me. Sigh. Bees are excellent time-managers; now, if only they could share the secret. (grin) Anyway, glad to see exceptional writers like you are still around, and I get to immerse myself in your poems, as part of my recharge-time. Thank you. Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Glad that you're back! :) And this poem is a wonderful slice of imagery. Those meddlesome bees...

Ed Meers said...

Welcome back!

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Dee Dee - thank you for that very sweet comment. I appreciate your stopping by and hope you will visit again soon.



Hi Rachel, lol yeah... blue doesn't look so good on Rick, especially his face. Thanks a bunch. I'll be over to your place soon.



S.L. - Yes, sometimes, life gets pretty hectic! A lesson from the bees would be fruitful, I am sure. I appreciate your taking time out of YOUR busy day to stop in here. It is always very nice to see you. Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment. It means a lot coming from you. ;)




Joseph - glad to be back, even if it is a quasi-comeback for now. I appreciate your kind remarks, thank you. Hope you enjoyed your trip out west! ;)



Hi Minister - always good to see you. Thanks a million.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Hey there! Have to thank Rick for bringing you back.

Everyone of us is more or less on a break. The frequency of posts has greatly reduced for all of us. So you catch up with your life as much as possible. No one would blame you. :P

I too am seeking a balance in life. But with shifting cities and all things are pretty messy. Hopefully all would be sorted out by the time you fully return.

This was short and very very sweet one. You were thoroughly missed. :)

Vesper said...

What a beautiful poem... a gift, really... I can see you sitting among flowers and bees, and writing, writing, writing...

I do plan on returning in great profusion by month's end. - I love the way you said this, Kaye! :-) :-) :-) But do not worry, tend well to your days of love and wonder - we'll be here at your return and our friendship will not be lessened by your absence.

xoxoxo

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Hi Aniket, I know - So little to do and so much time to do it in - STRIKE THAT - and REVERSE IT! (Willie Wonka quote)

Are you moving? "shifting cities" Wish you luck with the balance you seek. If you find the secret share it with me. ;)

So nice to hear from you. I'll be over for a visit when I can. Thanks for the sweet remarks.



Vesper - Yes, I do sit among the flowers and bees and write - writing much less these days, but I try. I even pet the bees, very carefully, of course. I know it sounds incredible, but when they are busy with the flowers, they are tolerant. I truly love them.

Sounds like your trip abroad was exciting. Glad you had the oportunity to travel. I am sure you have been inspired in many ways.

Thank you so much for assuring me that you will be present when I return in full. That is a comforting promise, indeed, dear Vesper. xo

KGT (aka Cagey) said...

Excellent poem--- sometimes the scratched are best. As to the bees, they do go dormant eventually. Unfortunately so do the flowers...classic "good with the bad" yin yang kind of thing you have there...gardens are great for reinforcing these notions.

Just breathe.

Rick said...

All right, now. How about this?

I have a great Walt Whitman story and I'm not going to tell you til you come back to us again.

So there.

Catherine Vibert said...

Hi K, Love this poem. It is so true...

It's just been kind of a rough summer all around I think. I hope you are well. Big hugs.

Rick said...

All right, I'll tell you this much:

One night, when the moon was tinged with scarlet and great gray cloud stretched tight across the stars the way we used to thumbtack pillowcases across our bedroom windows to hide our flashlights from spying neighbors, I walked to a small restaurant on the edge of town to have dinner and edit a manuscript.

I had been there an hour or so by my estimate- two or more by the ownder's estimate- and was just about to toss my manuscript into a bin filled with scraps of meatloaf, half eaten dinner rolls, ignored vegetables and a congealed brown gravy when I heard the entrance bell ring and looked over my shoulder to see Walt Whitman himself walk through the door.

"Closing," snapped the owner. "This gentleman was just leaving."

"Actually," I said, I think I'll stay and have one last cup of coffee."

Of course, I know that Walt Whitman is dead and buried, but K he looked exactly like the photo of Mr. Whitman that graces your blog. My first thought that he was a re-enactor from a local high school production. I looked down at his shows as he strode past the owner whose lips compressed tightly as though to stop a leak, and you won't believe what I saw.

Unknown said...

sometimes no matter how we love blogging we need some break right!good luck and welcome back!

Vesper said...

You pet the bees... Ah, I'll remember that. Sounds so sweet and beautiful...
xoxoxo

Rick said...

Go ahead, K. Ask me what I saw.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Cagey - thanks! I think I will take your advice and just breathe. :)



Hi Cat - Yes, it was a very eventful couple of months - good and bad...you know how life goes. Thanks for the hugs.



Deola - thanks! ;D



Rick - what a remarkable story! I can hardly wait to hear the rest!



Shasha - you understand perfectly. Thanks so much.



Vesper - It is really sweet and beautiful - especially when their little bodies are all warm and shining in the sun.
Thanks, Vesper...xoxo ;)



Rick - yes, yes, yes, I am on the edge of my seat, dear fellow. Please, pray tell.

Karen said...

Just came by to see if you were checking in. Hope all is well.

Rick said...

He was carrying a leather bound journal, K, and his shoes were roughed leather caked with mud and smeared with what looked to be fresh blood. He walked to the counter with the underfettered strides of man used to open country and his cheeks were red as if they had been slapped by the wind.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Karen - much appreciated, dear friend.



Rick - and, and, and...(love the poetic feel of this) ;o