Reflective thoughts and poems

I love the snow too. Not as pretty here in a downtown area after the cars and plows. But I remember the silence of the snow while living in the forest. Sometimes, my heart yearns for that and other special memories of living there. Winter time is one of those times.
 

katlupe said:
I love the snow too. Not as pretty here in a downtown area after the cars and plows. But I remember the silence of the snow while living in the forest. Sometimes, my heart yearns for that and other special memories of living there. Winter time is one of those times.
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I understand your yearning, @katlupe! I loved what you said, "I remember the silence of the snow while living in the forest." Yes, there is silence in the snow, and beauty at the same time.
 
Here is my latest creation. It is a poem converted into a music video on Youtube.


Golden Idol

The glowing sunset greets my eyes
Orange, burning fire does not die
This life enchants me, day and night
Where projects cascade left and right

Within my dreams, they fuel my sleep
Though they dance circles that run deep
And gather hopes like small rewards
To pin upon life’s open doors.

Though now I face the sunset years
Do I throw away all my cares,
And walk along the sun-kissed sand
Watching waves splash upon the land?

These waves sound the call of nature
They beckon, they tease with laughter
Pounding my resistance, no less,
Embracing me like a caress.

I turn back once more to the past
Hoping that my dreams will outlast
The glowing sunset that greets me.

As the waves bury my ego at sea,
I turn my back on the past and go with the flow
Eager to greet the new Me.

P.A. Jan 6, 2024

PS The poem was written several years ago. I recently adjusted the ending, adding a couple more lines.
 

I realize that it's been awhile since I posted on here. I have been extremely busy teaching classes online, going to the Senior Center in the mornings (a few days of the week), and participating in writing groups and a charitable organization.

At the Sr. Center, in the guitar class, I started bringing my violin during the Jan-Feb months and have been learning music that is totally different from classical music. It is country or Appalachian songs (like "Ole Joe Clark," "Arkansas Traveler" and "Golden Slippers") with people from the class playing guitar, mandolin, and ukulele. They do not play the music by reading notes but by ear. I have not been there since a couple of weeks (due to weather, ec.), but our music is attracting others to join us and we have been growing and having 'jamming sessions."

Other aspects of the Sr. Center are the art class and basic drawing class. I have been amazed at my growth and accomplishments in those two classes. But this last week, I have been too busy to attend classes. I will try and share some of my work soon.

My son had gotten me a Behringer soundboard (Flow 8) for my birthday that I have used a few times with Audacity to play music with. It gives your music a beautiful cathedral sound, and I was able to record myself playing a poetic hymn by St. Nectarios of Aegina. I have uploaded it to Youtube.

 
I forgot to mention in the previous post that the words in the Agni Parthene video are in Greek. If you are interested in the poem, click on the Wikipedia link in the discussion post below the video (on Youtube) and you can read the poem in English there.
 
Here is one of my latest creations. It is a pencil drawing of a mountain man (I copied the image from a drawing book). My rendition is a little biased because this looks more like a Greek mountain man! I added a light blue touch to the hat to give it a little color. This photo is taken using my Canon camera. I am not content with the photo, though. It's not as sharp or has as much contrast as the original. It might be my eyes, though, that see it that way. What do you think?


MountainmandrawingApostolides.JPG
 
This photo of a garden is a painting I recently did using watercolor. It was challenging getting all the colors right, with all the shadows, and making boundaries and keeping the boundaries separate. It took me about 10 hours to get it to the level I was comfortable with. I'm afraid to work on it anymore because if I make a mistake, it is difficult to fix. It is not like acrylic where I can just go over the mistake. Here, all mistakes are evident. I used Cadmium yellow on top of the manicured bushes to highlight the edges. Does the painting invite you to go and sit there and enjoy the flowers?




GardenpaintingwatercolorApostolides2024.JPG
 
palides2021 said:
I realize that it's been awhile since I posted on here. I have been extremely busy teaching classes online, going to the Senior Center in the mornings (a few days of the week), and participating in writing groups and a charitable organization.

At the Sr. Center, in the guitar class, I started bringing my violin during the Jan-Feb months and have been learning music that is totally different from classical music. It is country or Appalachian songs (like "Ole Joe Clark," "Arkansas Traveler" and "Golden Slippers") with people from the class playing guitar, mandolin, and ukulele. They do not play the music by reading notes but by ear. I have not been there since a couple of weeks (due to weather, ec.), but our music is attracting others to join us and we have been growing and having 'jamming sessions."

Other aspects of the Sr. Center are the art class and basic drawing class. I have been amazed at my growth and accomplishments in those two classes. But this last week, I have been too busy to attend classes. I will try and share some of my work soon.

My son had gotten me a Behringer soundboard (Flow 8) for my birthday that I have used a few times with Audacity to play music with. It gives your music a beautiful cathedral sound, and I was able to record myself playing a poetic hymn by St. Nectarios of Aegina. I have uploaded it to Youtube.

Click to expand...
Love it! Thanks, Patty.
 
oscash said:
Hate has 4 letters, so has Love.
Enemies has 7 letters, so has Friends.
Failure has 7 letters, so has Success.
Lying has 5 letters, so has Truth,
Cry has 3 letters, so has Joy.

You always have Choices, so Choose the better side of it. (unknown author).
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Thank you for this thoughtful poem, @oshcash! This reminds me of a poem I wrote a long time ago
with the words "fast" and "feast" in it and how one little letter like "e" can make all the difference. Have a nice day!
 
Lately, going through a phase with flowers. I brought some flowers from the Flower and Garden show at the community college last weekend. Some are perennials while a couple are annuals. They sit on my countertop, looking and smelling pretty. I am waiting for the weather to get warmer before planting them outside. I might paint them if I get the inclination.

Meanwhile, I have been painting gardens from a calendar that my son gifted me. I have been using watercolor
as my medium. Watercolor has a dream-like texture that grows on you. I noticed that I tend to be a realist in my paintings,
going after the exact shades, textures, and shapes. It is difficult to do this with watercolor because it is an unforgiving paint. You have to time your moments so the colors do not run into each other. Dry brush helps define the corners. I have learned to stop painting before I ruined anything. I am considering trying acrylic, and mixed media (watercolor and acrylic) in the future.

Anyway, here is a short poem on flowers followed by my latest flower garden paintings. I captured them with my Canon (have not had the chance to scan them to see if this provides a better photo).

Flowers Abound

Flowers abound in sheer delight
In gardens all over the world
They grow, absorb colors from sunlight
From Spring to Fall
Oh what a sight
Capturing the whole rainbow
Pleasing to the eye,
Pleasing to the senses
No matter the season
No matter the reason.

P.A. 3-21-24



FlowerGardenWatercolorApostolides-March2024 copy.jpegFlowerGardenWatercolor-2March2024Apostolides.JPG
IMG_1492.JPG
 
palides2021 said:
Lately, when I become too busy, I don't have time to write my thoughts and poems down. So I thought, I'd start
writing here, and it will give me the incentive to do so. You are welcome to come sit for awhile and read my words.
Hopefully, you will leave refreshed and feeling better than before.

When I write a poem, I usually sit still for awhile, and look out into space, and let words flow through my mind.
The words don't need to make sense. They come at me, and I picture them together. I can hear the sounds of
the words, and if the sound is followed by an image, the beginning of the poem has begun. It's almost as if I'm
in a trance. The same feeling I get when playing a musical instrument. I co-exist with this world and my creative world.
Sometimes I write a poem while listening to music, but then the music restricts me because I am moved by the music.
Freewriting seems to nourish my creativity better.

Recent poem:

Going Nowhere

I
The train left
And didn't take me
With it.
I sit and watch
The rails, hoping for
Another chance
Another hope
To leap ahead and grow
Through lessons learned.

II

Do show the time
And let me know
When the next train
Will come whistling by
Or will it chug along
Like grasshoppers, long-legged
Creatures blending in the grass
To be lost when winter comes
The train is late. I fear
It will never reach here.

III

I sit in the train
Peer out the window
To have a look, sitting,
Watching, seeing
The sky from inside
Moving forward slowly
Chugging along,
Long-legged creature
Going nowhere.

P.A. 10/25/22
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Where has your diary been all these months I've been here and who else has made such a wonderful diary that I haven't yet discovered. I did a search which turned it up and I am grateful. I will be following now!

Now I'm curious to know all about how you got to this point in your life so intact, creative and open. Very glad to cyber meet you.
 
Thank you for your kind words, @MarkD! I hope you enjoy my diary! I've been busy lately, so I don't write in it as I used to. As summer approaches, and I don't have to teach classes, I will probably write more.
 
Today, I listened to songs by Ennio Morricone.


This particular song "Le vent, le crie" inspired me to write the following poem:



The Joyous Cry

Joyous beauty abounds all around
Swelling heart knows no bounds
Flowers, grass, open sky, love
Run to greet the sunlight
Capture it in your hands
Never let it go.
Let the wind caress your hair
Free you are, like a bird
To soar above the clouds
Reaching heights unimaginable.

There is beauty in movement
There is beauty in your soul
Pure like a white dove, untethered,
You soar until there is no more heaven.
You soar until you meet your Maker.
Reaching for the stars -
Throw a star down my way
So I can soar with you to those heights
So I can dream all night.

P.A. March 31, 2024
 
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This year, our Greek Easter is in the first week of May. I am currently experiencing Lent, so I decided to do something about it. Besides giving to charity, I have made this video for Holy Friday Lamentations (Eggomia) which are sung on Holy Friday in Greek Orthodox churches and other Orthodox churches. This is Stasis 1 and consists of 18 stanzas. Here, I play the violin and added a piano (synthesizer) accompaniment. I inserted the words on the video. It is a beautiful, emotional, and moving hymn. There are two more "Stasis" and I hope to have them up soon.

 
davey said:
thank you P - @palides2021 - beautiful violin - very moving and solemn and uplifting!! glory ; glory; glory to the risen Christ!!
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Thank you so much, @davey! Our choir would sing these hymns every Holy Friday with the church organ, and I've wanted to do this with the violin, so I finally had a chance to do it. It is a learning curve for me as I balance the sounds and the "echoes" from the Behringer Flow 8 that connects my music to be recorded on Audacity. But this has been a beautiful hymn that I've loved for a long time and never fail to tear up when singing it. There are two more sections, so I will start practicing them to record.
 
please do we should always be in praise of the Risen Christ - [ps was once a lay preacher so never get tongue tied!!] when I heard your recording I wanted to write so poetry immediately - but got a bit lost but it will come eventually - maybe today?
 
Well seeing as this is the poetry thread I may not be breaching any other rules??


The Risen Christ!

Some children are brought to the Risen Christ!

Some go by different routes?

Was once a ritualistic smudge?

But now a holy truth!



“In the name of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Ghost”

I baptize this child with the holy water

and the sign above the post!



Some knew the Christ from night to day

Perhaps not fully understanding

But when they hung him on the cross

they were kneeling not found just standing?



There is a mystery in the crucifix

Some say it has been hidden?

A message from the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost

To say “come you have been risen”?

© Davey 2024





​
 
davey said:
Well seeing as this is the poetry thread I may not be breaching any other rules??


The Risen Christ!

Some children are brought to the Risen Christ!

Some go by different routes?

Was once a ritualistic smudge?

But now a holy truth!



“In the name of the Father and the Son

and the Holy Ghost”

I baptize this child with the holy water

and the sign above the post!



Some knew the Christ from night to day

Perhaps not fully understanding

But when they hung him on the cross

they were kneeling not found just standing?



There is a mystery in the crucifix

Some say it has been hidden?

A message from the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost

To say “come you have been risen”?

© Davey 2024





​
Click to expand...
This is so beautiful, @davey! Thank you for sharing your poem!
 

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