Month: April 2020

it took many years; much practice

to receive a gift graciously

most of my life, i’ve been a giver

it’s just who i was; how it was

i accepted that

a sage teacher wisely told me

it is important to allow someone

else the pleasure of giving

wow

i never thought of it like that

recently two gifts were given to me

one i cherished the other i ate

after i cherished it

both personal, handmade

a notecard showing a friend

reading my latest book

definitely cool

original

thank you Sandra

the other in a quilted jar

delicious strawberry jam

handmade with care

even one taste conjures up

wonderful feelings

memories from my past

thank you Tammy

both handmade gifts

given with the love of friendship

received with the love of friendship.

 released this week. This book is so exciting. The book is about women by women. Women, 42 in number, many telling their stories for the first time. Women coming from all directions of life, aflame to reveal who they are and how they came to be today’s woman! Some purr like a kitten, others bellow a lion’s roar refusing to hide the scars they survived. Women’s narratives are aired for the first time, in print, defiantly, daring you to challenge their choices in life whether they continued a contented life at home tending a happy family or strike out into the wilderness.

Archive Walking ~ arlene s bice

i took a little stroll

all through my house today

noting all the items collected

over the years, so dear to me

sitting out, none put away

these odds n’ ends

make my house a home

each one has a story to tell

warming my heart to remember

only a few here to form a poem

nothing expensive or special

to anyone but me, book included

this particular one is on friendship

carried around in my tote with others

friendships too, are special this i alluded

enjoy my little pile of goods shown here

they traveled distances far and wide

from the Caribbean, a mud doll 50 years

the newest, nearest, and dearest is the book

a pleasant foundation for Teddy’s hide.

Ode to a Cup of Tea arlene s bice

O teacup of fine china

so pretty in my hand

trimmed in gold

delicately painted

dainty roses, shiny

filled with hot, herbal tea

from the English teapot

what pleasure you bring

a friend across the table

shares a cup of tea with me

such aroma fills the air

with a scent so familiar

it brings back memories

of happy contented times

moments i sincerely care

continue on lovely times

let prettiness touch my life

sipping tea, reading poetry

let pen and paper in hand

floating with words and rhymes.

Not Forgotten, High School arlene s bice

forgotten! How could I ever

high school moments remain

the dreaded mimeograph machine

comes to me in my nightmares

dripping purple ink all over me

especially my new sweater, ugh!

hands splotched for days on end

what boy would want to hold ‘em

clothes ruined forever, Mom yells

right behind it is the typewriter

ribbon saturated with the same

ugly purple ink that replaces

mimeograph stains, frustration

in replacing, filling, or just getting

it to work

so I can work

thankfully those days are long gone

let me write with a pad and pen

or my precious home computer.

how do I tell a building I love it

you’re an old place but the best place

with some old lace, painted a new face

you are a fabulous historic home

with a remarkable, airy tower room

feeling to me like birth from a womb

your many doorways were out of square

I tell you that I didn’t give a care

beautiful, cozy as my own personal lair

windows that rattled in the winter

wooden trim that gave a splinter

or two, now and then a vintner

in the basement where wine was made

year after year while the walls did fade

you were dear to me, whatever shade

I’ll always love & cherish our memories

Music    arlene s bice

music, music, music

most music is favored

music is mood –setting

it can put me in a mood

or take me out of a mood

my favorite music as a teen

was the latest new recording

and that changed week by week

we played 45s and danced to everyone

IWWG   arlene s bice

early days before the explosion

classes at Skidmore, 10 years straight

annual conference, 500 women gather

the International Women’s Writing Guild

offered so many classes each day,

which to take. . . . which to take

tough choice, poets, creative teachers

Judi Beach beautiful woman, fab poet

Marj Hahn different road, fab ideas

guided, lead, teased my mind

woke my senses, sparked me

new words, new ways, poems

wow!

Skidmore IWWG 2008

stealing a heart  arlene s bice

there were times when nothing else would do

like stealing the heart of a boy when i

became a teenager

it wasn’t my intention, even then i knew

he was not the one; wisdom at thirteen

every day the boy sat on my front porch

Mom felt sorry and talked to him

i went out the back door