Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. ~Guillaume Apollinaire

I wish I could pause and just be happy. I’m not not happy. I’m just jumping from one breathless moment to another, blessings and hardships (which are just another kind of blessing) mixed up together in a tangle from my perspective, but designed by God as part of the complex story He has written for my life.

I’m a bit punchy after getting up at 5:30 this morning to take friends to the airport after a week-long visit which was punctuated by a side trip to Monterey, and San Jose for a Chalcedon conference. Yesterday I was on a doctor merry-go-round as we found out our 9-year-old has a broken arm after a tumble off a trampoline. At the end of the week I’m heading to Oregon to spend a few days with my mom who had to be hospitalized last week with some breathing problems. Those are only the major highlights in the plot…lots of side stories are part of the ongoing drama, as well.

For the first time in a long time, I haven’t felt compelled to blog much, perhaps because there isn’t much left over after my brain has been so inundated with such compelling events. On top of it all, I accidentally deleted some nice comments from the last post, and I sincerely apologize to whoever got the inadvertent axe. It was truly a mistake as I continue to struggle with my blogging platform. I’m trying to fit in some reading to fill up the well, which feels a bit empty right now, and I may take a break just until I return from helping my mom.

One thing I’ve learned after almost seven years of blogging is that it doesn’t make a big difference in the bigger scheme of things if I stop talking on the internet for awhile. That doesn’t mean I don’t have things to say, and I hope the Lord continues to use the things I say for His glory and furthering His kingdom. But He does that when I show hospitality to friends, when I comfort my little boy whose arm is aching, and when I let my mom know how much I love her and take care of her needs during a scary time. Doing those latter things is choosing the better part right now. Sometimes it seems there’s so much chatter about the world falling apart that nobody is doing what it takes to make the world a better place, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s better to be a busy body than be a busybody.

Do I hear an “Amen!” out there?

Perhaps one reason poetry is a lost art is because, like Shakespeare’s plays, much of it is meant to be read aloud, not just to oneself in a dark corner, and as poetry recitation has diminished, the enjoyment of the poem has faded away, as well. I do believe the love of poetry can be an acquired taste, like avocados and red wine. You just need to find a poem which is the right vintage for your palate. Not everyone has to like the same poems.

PBS has produced several videos of people reciting their favorite poems. My favorite of the ones I watched (there were several I wasn’t interested in watching) was former poet laureate Stanley Kunitz reciting “God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Watch it to see how a poem should be read. Even with his warbly old man’s voice, he beautifully presents one of my favorite poems.

Do you have a favorite poem? Anyone?

Well, I couldn’t even entice many with gifts to give me a little poetic license, but we had our drawing and will be sending Shakespeare (or a reasonable imitation) to my old friend Kelly, who shared a Chesterton quote which was quite apropos: “Shakespeare is quite himself; it is only some of his critics who have discovered that he was somebody else.”

In addition, Karen, Tambra, and Dana get a play, though Tambra and Dana need to let me know which one and where to send it…Taming of the Shrew is taken.

Jaime, I’d like to see what you could do if you had time to write some poetry :-).

I’ve had to do some creative tinkering to post on my blog, using a different editing program though I still have WordPress—an emergency, interim measure as my tech support hubby is very, very busy with real, real programming issues that are more pressing than my need to occasionally meld minds with my buddies in cyberspace. Eventually, he’s hoping to figure out why WordPress won’t let me directly save my posts…apparently it’s a problem with other people, too.

Since I’ve had to be creative, I think you should be creative, too, and give me a little encouragement to spark even more creativity. I love the submissions so far, and the original poetry is amazing, but I welcome even quotes and poems you find from other places, too. It’s all welcome, and I am looking forward to finding a good home for my Shakespeare journal. Here are some more views, the back cover and the inside covers, to tempt you to join in the fun.

For those ladies who correctly identified my Shakespeare references in the last post, Karen and Tambra, here are the Shakespeare plays I have available. Let me know which is your first and second choice and give me your address (carmon(at)softanswer(dot)com), and I will send you your play. There’s still one quote alluded to, left to finish and name the play:

At least, kill me with kindness, and thus curb my “mad and headstrong humor”–’tis the best way to…

Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet
Love’s Labor’s Lost
Richard III
Macbeth
The Taming of the Shrew
Othello
King Lear

My muse has left me. Oh for a muse of fire…

However, I have my daughter back, and with her may come inspiration. At least I will have less perspiration, as Anna’s absence made our hearts grow fonder for her magical abilities to contribute to the household economy. We all pitch in and do our part, but she somehow has a knack for pulling it all together. I am aware that one day there will have to be a shift in the balance of power as new alliances are formed, but for now I’m glad to have her home.

I’m so glad I feel like celebrating, and I have the perfect excuse: a birthday!

Five hundred forty-four years ago, April 23, arguably the greatest man of letters ever born, was born. It is also arguable whether the man born on that date in Stratford-upon-Avon in England was the author of the works of literature which bear his name, but for the sake of argument, we will let him continue to take credit. I want to give away a present for his birthday, so humor me. At least, kill me with kindness, and thus curb my “mad and headstrong humor”–’tis the best way to…

This is what I want from you: wax poetic. Poetry can be as varied as haiku and sonnets, Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson, alliteration and onomatopoeia. A phrase, a stanza, a quote about poetry, your own efforts or something you copy from somewhere else (giving credit where credit is due, of course). Leave your contribution to my quest for creativity in the comments, and Saturday night we will pick a name to receive the decorated journal I created a few months ago:

There are more lovely things on the back and inside of the journal, which I will try to post pictures of tomorrow, if things slow down to a petty pace, and the day is not too full of sound and fury…

For now, forsooth, I must away to bed,
Lest losing sleep I lose my mind instead.

Oh, one more thing: if you feel so inclined, finish one of the three Shakespeare quotes followed by ellipses above, and tell me what play it’s from, I will give the first three clever people to give right answers a copy of a Shakespeare play, your choice from a list I will send you of the ones I have available.

Farewell!