The degree of restraint required depends
Upon the resistance felt
Remain relatively immobile
There is better recovery
Take measures to prevent errors
Deliberately limited
Release the negative
Some are frightened by the sound
Disconnection and reconnection
Can be visualized
Have more control
Respect the feelings

When chaos swirls around you it is sometimes all you can do to hold your ground. Trying to maintain your own inner calm is a struggle and it is real. I know that giving in to the emotional tidal wave will result in being swept out to sea. So my modus operandi remains that of distancing myself from their drama, focusing on doing my job well, keeping a positive attitude, and most importantly exposing myself to the chaos in small doses to prevent it from knocking me off my course. I am often the "Mother Thing" where I have to enforce the rules and at the same time remain the sounding board and sympathetic ear. It is a difficult balancing act and I have to choose my words carefully and remain neutral in their conflicts.

The above poem is a cento. A cento is a work composed of lines/passages/verses taken from other authors but written in a new form or order. All the lines above were taken from the third edition of the "Manual of Clinical Procedures in Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, & Rodents" by Steven Crow, Sally Walshaw, and Jennifer Boyle. I know that most poets use this form to glean lines from poetry but this was the text I had at hand and I figured there were plenty of good lines to be had!

Frozen beneath bark
The tree sleeps through winter snow
Awakes in spring warmth

This haiku (a three lined poem of 17 syllables speaking of nature) was inspired by the snow followed by the 70 degree temperatures this last weekend. The warm weather and sunny days have caused the trees to literally burst with leaves. The robins have started their early morning squabbling and the sparrows are in full chorus. Sunday was Passion Sunday aka Palm Sunday and we processed from the school to the church singing Alleluia and waving our palm fronds. It was glorious. The choir sang us into our pews and the sun coming through the stained glass windows bathed us in rainbows. This week is Holy week leading up to Easter Sunday. Most of my coworkers look at this as just another week. There are a few of us however that observe Christian tradition. I have continued to read the daily scripture and take a few minutes to pray and meditate. Although things have been in disarray and morale has been very low, I have been productive and kept a positive attitude.

Recipe secret
No matter what it is add
Lots of Velveeta

This is my poem for today - a senyrus. This is a type of haiku in that it is 17 syllables in 3 lines. However the haiku is a serious poem about nature and the senyrus is a about human foibles and are often cynical or humorous. I tried a new recipe that was given to me by a choir member after the last church soup supper. Sparky really liked the soup so I begged and was able to get the recipe.

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup
1 pound rice (can be part wild rice or any other exotic type but the wild rice is too expensive to use a pound)
2 cans Cream of Potato Soup
2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
10 oz bacon (most packages are either 12 oz or a pound - just use the whole thing) fried crispy and crumbled
1/2 onion diced - saute until tender
2 t. ground spider legs (optional)
4 c. milk + 2 c. water
black pepper to taste
1/4 to 1/3 pound Velveeta (secret ingredient)

Cook the rice according to package directions. Make sure you use enough water since you don't want it to be too chewy. Once the Rice is done, stir in the milk and water. Add the soup and stir well. Add the bacon and onion. Again stir well and bring to a boil. Add the spider legs and the pepper - it is hard to tell them apart. Once the soup is boiling add the thinly sliced Velveeta one at a time stirring constantly until the cheese is added and has melted. Immediately remove from the heat and serve. This is a very hearty soup and a bowl has enough dairy in it to kill someone with dairy allergies. If you are lactose intolerant this soup will make you and everyone around you miserable. On the other hand if you like cheesy thick soup this is the ticket!!

I know the time to clean has come in spring
The sun comes up no time to sleep away
I lift the sash to see the birds take wing
Open the door and sweep the floor this day
I dust and mop and scour the sink today
Eschew the fun of cards and games and books
To make my home more spotless than it looks

This is a Rime Royal, a form introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer way back in the middle ages. It consists of 7 lines written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-b-c-c. I have to admit that I dislike iambic pentameter. At least to write it. I look like I'm counting with Chisanbop when I write poetry in iambic pentameter. Sparky had to leave the room because it was bothering him. Truth be told it bothered me too. I was going through my notebook of the different poetry forms I've tried over the years but I'm considering skipping the sonnet, rispetto, and the English ode all of which insist on iambic pentameter!

As for the topic I am not alone in the almost primal need to do spring cleaning. It has begun here with the ritual thinning of the closet. I am getting rid of some jackets that I bought and wore once or twice before deciding that I didn't like the way they looked or fit. I have no pangs of conscience since I spent $2.50 on them. I've bagged them and they will be placed in the neighborhood garage sale the first Saturday of May. Yes, Sparky has decided to do the garage sale this time around. We haven't done one since the boys were in middle school so we have plenty to sell. I figure what we don't sell we can donate to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The Rictameter poetry form was created in the early 1990s by two cousins for a poetry contest that was held as a weekly practice of their self-invented order, The Brotherhood of the Amarantos Mystery. The order was inspired by the Robin Williams movie Dead Poets Society. The Rictameter is a nine line poem with a specific syllabic count of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 where the first and last lines are identical. There is no rhyme or meter requirement.

Spring Comes
Winter lingers
Bringing snow in April
Robins puffed up against the cold
Yet I trade my coat for a spring jacket
Shifting my sweaters to storage
Certain the sun will shine
I am hopeful
Spring Comes

This is pretty self-explanatory. We have been waiting for spring. There was great excitement when the first robin was spotted followed by freezing rain and snow. The crocus and daffodils had dared to poke up through the dirt only to be coated in ice. The weather roller coaster that was March in Michiana was a brutal ride and I WANT OFF.

Appetite for life possess
Believe that all is good
Choose fun, avoid excess
Decorum is understood
Evict all vulgar thoughts
Find the ways to live
Go and find the peaceful spots
Hatefulness outlive
Instant gratification shun
Just as joy you hold
Keep close the victories won
Live life free and bold
Measure out the troubled days
No ill thoughts retain
Open the heart to kinder ways
Pursuing vengeance refrain
Quiet the mind to find sleep
Refuse addictions grasp
Silence angry critique
Take another’s hand and clasp
Until the danger leaves
Virtue of patience cultivate
While planting tolerance’s seeds
Xenophobia abrogate
Yearn to learn all your life
Zest retain for the afterlife

So this is an Abecedarian poem which is a poem of 26 lines where the letters of 1st word in each line are in alphabetical order starting with the letter A. The poem does not have to rhyme but I decided to do it anyway. I was working on a presentation to give to my coworkers on some new standard operating procedures - specifically safety processes. I read over some of my slides and realized it sounded like platitudes (a flat, dull, or trite remark, especially one uttered as if it were fresh or profound). It was a short step to this poem. I'm thinking that I should rename this to "proverbs" (a wise saying or precept) instead but that would be too much effort.

Use these eyes and heart
And my voice and will
To do my part

Finish what I start
Keep my promises
Use these eyes and heart

Build not tear apart
Bind up wounds
To do my part

Ethics sharp dart
Seek your love
Use these eyes and heart

Rewards listed on a chart
My duty and pleasure
To do my part

When Christian love demands
Take my voice and hands
To do my part
Use these eyes and heart

This is a villanelle. It is a poem with 2 rhyming sounds. The 1st and 3rd lines of the 1st stanza are rhyming refrains that alternate as the 3rd line in subsequent stanzas and form a couplet at the close. The poem is 19 lines long in 5 tercets (that is 3 line stanzas) with a concluding quatrain (4 line stanza).

It is Lent and that means I've been reading scripture every day. There is a reflection and a prayer along with a short description of the saint commemorated on the day. I've noticed a couple things about the saints that they all have in common. First they followed God's plan and not their own (this was not without struggle on their part) and secondly they didn't take the credit for successes - all their success, all the miracles, visions, etc. all belonged to God and it was by His power and love that they were able to save lives, build churches, cure the sick or drive out demons. They professed that they were weak but God was strong. Yep. That exactly.

Discarded
Disfigured exterior carefully examined
Deftly finger the anomaly
Determine the likelihood of repair
Details written in a plan
Damages weighed and analyzed
Decide if it is worth the effort
Deformed in body but not in soul

The above is a Pleiades. Pleiades is a type of poem invented in 1999 by Craig Tigerman. The format is that the title is a single word followed by a single 7 line stanza. The first word in each line starts with the same letter as the first letter of the title. There is no specified meter, rhyme, or syllable count. As is my usual style I am going to discuss what prompted this poem.

You see I was scrolling through my feed on Facebook when I went to one of those quiz sites to see what kind of mythical beast I would be. At the end of the quiz there are a ton of additional sites all trying to get you to click and visit them. Being a bit bored, I clicked on one about the miraculous and life saving efforts of several people to rescue a dog that had been trapped in a collapsed sewer drain. I'm a veterinary technician so I am always interested in the animal stories. Well, one click led to another and pretty soon I'm reading about a snake that has tried to swallow a child. On this journey through the backwaters of the internet I start to see these stories about Doctors Without Borders, Americares, Operation Smile, and International Medical Corps. It was so overwhelming. The number of people, especially children, who needed medical attention and the limited resources available was heartbreaking. It made me realize how fortunate I am when I watched the doctors examine the children and have to decide which ones they could help - based on choosing the ones with the best chance of a successful outcome....

Today is April Fool's Day. I really don't much care for practical jokes. Most of the time they aren't funny. I've been on the receiving end on several occasions. Sparky learned quickly that he had better not prank me. He thought it very funny when a coworker put Saran wrap over the toilet below the seat. His pregnant wife didn't find it amusing when she had to use the bathroom and ended up cleaning the toilet, floor and changing her clothes. I was not at all surprised when she filed for divorce. The boys put salt in the sugar shaker once. They thought it great fun to watch me put "sugar" in my Cream of Wheat cereal. I again was not amused. That was the last time they tried a "practical joke" on me... Life has more than enough opportunities for us to make fools of ourselves. I do not need any help, thank you.

Today is also the first day of National Poetry Month. I will be posting a poem a day (except for Sundays when I don't blog). Because it is April Fool's Day I give you this foolish piece:

In the can wiggle, wiggle
On the hook jiggle, jiggle
Take a bite nibble, nibble
Reel it in dribble, dribble
Caught a boot giggle, giggle

I'm poking fun at my coworker, Mr. Fudd. He is anxious for the weather to get warm enough to go fishing. He took his daughter fishing. She was very relieved when she didn't catch a fish because she is a vegetarian and didn't want to have to eat it! This is a constant perturbation for Mr. Fudd who's greatest joys are hunting and fishing...

Growing up in Indiana I learned at a young age to play Euchre. Lunch time would be spent playing Euchre with friends. We would have tournaments. And we would laugh. Euchre is a game of many rules. Some are determined by Hoyle (my father was a stickler for playing "according to Hoyle") and others are not. We would play "No Face, No Ace" which meant you could call a misdeal if you had no face cards and no aces. Others would allow a misdeal even if you had aces. Sometimes they would play a version referred to as "Low No" in which there was no trump suit and the low card would win the hand. In addition to funky rules we had our own set of superstitions. You never cut the cards - "cut your luck" and the score cards were only the 4 and 6 of spades and hearts - never the clubs and diamonds. As for score cards it was considered bad luck to have "the horse riding the jockey" that is the 6 on top of the 4. A "loner" hand is when you play and your partner and their cards don't. The advantage is that if you get all the cards then instead of getting 2 points you get 4. That is a big deal when you are only playing to 10. Some people would gloat a bit which was OK but you never wanted to be mean about it because Karma will make you pay. Which is what happens when you make a suit trump by "ordering up" the card the dealer turned up on their deal and then failing to get 3 tricks. That is called being Euchred and the winning team gets 2 points! When the other team was on the verge of winning, needing only one more point, they would announce (with great bravado) that the barn door was open and the cows were coming home. When they would win, especially if by a substantial margin, they would "milk the cow". This is of course a silly thing but it is done nonetheless - one partner laces their fingers together with their thumbs pointing down and the other pulls on the dangling thumbs. You would think I'm describing the antics of middle school card players but YOU. WOULD. BE. WRONG!

We played in the church Euchre Tournament. Each person is given a number and must rotate to another table based on your number. That way you have a different partner every game. They play 8 games and you record the points your team won on your score cards (you also have to turn in the table score card). At the end of play they tally up the scores and a tournament winner is determined. The entry fee is a $10 gift card. The winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) are given gift cards and the lowest score is given a prize too. The person with the most "loners" gets a prize as well. Sparky came in second place and I tied for 3rd place. Sparky got a $25 gift card to Martins and a $25 gift card to Starbucks! I got a $25 gift card to Bath and Body Works. But even more importantly, we had fun and we laughed. I got to play with some people I'd only seen at church and had never talked to. That made it even better!

If you have never played Euchre (pronounced you-cur) there is a good description at Euchre for Dummies