Weather

PhoebeMD Poetry Blog Inspirational Poem Weather

By Cynthia Cady Stanton | Featured Contributor

When fear is everywhere,
take a breath.
Remind yourself that
as real as the fear feels,
it is a passing storm.
You can see it but
you don’t belong to it.
Remember that you
are not the weather.

You are the sky.

We can choose to be blown away
and knocked off our feet…
or we can choose
to have the compassionate
and wise view from above.

We can be observant
while holding on to
who we really are.
Only by holding fast
to the good in us –
our expansive being –
can we truly be helpful
or even present.

So, keep your eyes open
while patiently riding it out.
Don’t allow yourself to get knocked over
or sucked into the whirlwind.
Be ever-present and calm
just like the blue sky
which endures every storm.

◊

Thank you, Cynthia, for these beautiful and timely words.

Wishing everyone a blessed day.

🌷

 

23

We Are Needed

PhoebeMD Poetry Blog We Are Needed Poem

By Cynthia Cady Stanton | Featured Contributor

It takes just a moment
to pause and let go –
to notice.
Presence always waits
patiently for us.
She is found
in the smallest of things…

The slow drip of water
off a rock
which holds
the riverbank in place…
Presence is there.

The thought that gives birth
to the word that spawns a tear…
Yes. There.

In that moment between
the reach of your hand
to the lifting of another –

Or when the homeless man
catches your eye and
a generous smile blooms…
There!

How short our time is.
We squander Presence
like we waste water…
We forget to look,
to hear the slow drip,
to speak the unspoken word.

We get lonely
in this poverty
of connection.

Continue reading “We Are Needed” →

15

To Not Lose Hope

PhoebeMD Poetry Blog Hope

We have highs and we have lows
The power is in our hands
We can dance or
We can cry
It’s up to us
To make the right decision.

Yes it’s hard
Like pushing a wall
That doesn’t seem to move
But once you look back
You’ll see you’ve come so far.

So don’t lose hope
When things are bad
Just hang in there
You are bound to reach
The top of the hill soon.

– Victoria Abah

◊

Thank you, Victoria, for these encouraging words.
Let us never lose hope.

Wishing you all a restful weekend.
🌷

23

Broken Womb, Shattered Soul: Living with Infertility (part 3)

PhoebeMD Health Poetry Blog Infertility

By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor

[Click for Part 1 and Part 2]

⋅

The bandage torn
From new flesh
Releases wails
The wound still
Imbibes air
The scab hides
deep repair
Let it rest. Wait
In time the scar
Records a fate

⋅

I learned that healing is a deep process. We may heal a physical wound, but to become whole, we need to heal emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. We need to dig into the old grout of our deep being. Moreover, we must trust help is available.

Continue reading “Broken Womb, Shattered Soul: Living with Infertility (part 3)” →

6

Keeping the Faith

PhoebeMD Poetry Blog Keeping the Faith

By Pam Kimmell | Featured Blogger

The road that we each travel
Is full of twists and turns
There are detours and temptations
Lessons each of us must learn.

If life was always perfect
And we never faced the bad
We’d have no real reflection
Of the happy times we’ve had.

Adversity brings the challenge
Of working towards new goals
Finding new solutions
Is balm for weary souls.

God never gives us more to handle
Than he knows we can take on
Remember following the darkest times
God provides a bright new dawn.

◊

Continue reading “Keeping the Faith” →

17

A Ballad of Hope Amid a Time of Crisis

PhoebeMD Poetry Blog Ballad of Hope Poem

By Forrest Rivers | Featured Author

The year was 2020.

The world was plagued by a pandemic
that inflicted mass casualties
across the land.
But set against this backdrop
of death, fear and deprivation,
A movement of higher consciousness
was well underway.

Driven into isolation
to control the deadly virus,
Citizens of the world
came to have gratitude
for all the little things
they had taken for granted:
Smiles from passing strangers,
Sentimental hugs,
Uplifting time spent with
dear friends and family
And the sweet joys of
live song and dance
Were all things sorely
missed and remembered
Nostalgically….

Continue reading “A Ballad of Hope Amid a Time of Crisis” →

11

The Beauty We Miss

Stop and smell the roses,
Smell that sweet aroma,
Admire the dew
on each crimson petal,
Simple pleasures
to let sink in and settle.

The beauty that you miss,
can truly be bliss.

Wake up to a gallery
of wonders every morning,
Marvel in every little detail,
it is ever so revitalizing,
In this busy world which we live,
we must remember one thing,

Slow down…life is for savoring.

– Duncan Hookey

◊

Thank you, Duncan, for this beautifully penned, timely reminder.

Wishing everyone a lovely day.

🌷

13

Broken Womb, Shattered Soul: Living with Infertility (part 2)

PhoebeMD Medicine Poetry Blog

By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor

[Click here for Part 1]

Depression developed and flourished because I grieved so much over loss of fertility.

Women who are childless miss out on a great deal. They never feel what it is like to have a life growing, kicking and wiggling inside of them; to cry out during the birth of a baby (a rite of passage to celebrate with girlfriends); to watch over and even to grow with a child through sickness and health, all the milestones of birthdays, graduations, marriage, and the births of grandchildren. I have even grieved not being able to be the tooth fairy, help my kids find Easter eggs, read them bedtime stories, take them to the zoo.

Feeling apart from and not a part of the tribe still saddens me. I find I am left out of conversations about all those life passages women around me have. I feel I have little to contribute. I have attended and hosted many baby showers, but my mind always wanders to my losses, making it difficult to be fully present to the joy young mothers feel. Women form strong bonds with each other and share in all the rituals around birthing and raising children. I feel like an outsider at times, like I am more an observer than a participant in these sacred passages.

Continue reading “Broken Womb, Shattered Soul: Living with Infertility (part 2)” →

15

Just a Man

PhoebeMD Poetry Blog

By Colin Chappell | Featured Author

He listened;
He understood;
He befriended;
He cared.

All the courage he gave me,
By just being there,
Made me feel like
I wanted to live.
He gave me so much
Yet… had so little to give…
But his time.

I realized later
There was so much more.
I was indebted to that man
And… what’s more,
To experience the caring
of someone unknown
made me wonder.
Who else was out there alone?

Continue reading “Just a Man” →

19

Let Us Be Those

PhoebeMD poetry

When all are in trial,
When all are in denial,
Let me be the one
to share a smile.
Let me be the one
to share a dance.
Let it be an advance,
to be enhanced,
when all are weary,
let me be the one
to share thinking clearly,
to share being ever so cheery.

This is what I ask.
Because I don’t want us to wear a mask.
So let us join hand-in-hand, for this to be our task.

– Autumn H.

◊

Lovely words by Autumn reminding us to always encourage and uplift each other.

May we be those willing to share a smile…even from a distance.

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.

💙

14

Broken Womb, Shattered Soul: Living with Infertility (part 1)

By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor

As we grow and develop, we learn how to identify with many labels or roles, such as daughter/son, aunt/uncle, mother/father, and grandmother/grandfather, to name a few. It seems as though our stories are written before we are born to conform to these labels. In a way, these roles become rituals that comfort us as we agree to them and even expect our lives to go “as planned” based on our social codes and blueprints for survival.

I know I certainly expected my life to unfold much like my mother’s life did with marriage and family. She had seven children, and being the second oldest and oldest girl, I was able to help with all the babies she had. It never occurred to me that I would never be able to have my own children. Little did I know that my helping her at the ages of 9 and 10 with my youngest siblings would be my only times to experience at least part of what a mother does for her kids. I am not sure I appreciated this time because as much as I loved playing mommy, I also wanted to be with my friends.

Continue reading “Broken Womb, Shattered Soul: Living with Infertility (part 1)” →

16

Spinal Con-fusion: A Poem by a Survivor

By John Gregory Evans | Featured Author

There remains
a deadened,
freezing,
almost an anesthetizing
sense of dread
upon my fingertips and hands,
reaching deep into my leg’s nerves,
shattered spinal cord,
peeled away
as one peels an orange.

Walking,
now a challenge,
con-fusion of the fusion,
cervical cord,
Ruptured and bruised,
arrogance of the humanity factor.

Pain
within the eyes
like lightning fingers
to the crown
of God.

Continue reading “Spinal Con-fusion: A Poem by a Survivor” →

10

Respite from a Pandemic

By Cynthia Cady Stanton | Featured Author

When in isolation,
and the feeling overwhelms,
remember the love within you.
Look to your heart
and the fullness there,
the fullness that swells
with your sweet attention to it.

You are not alone.

You are the branch
which stretches and shades
from every tree you have sat under.
You are the sea spray
that has kissed your face
from every stroll on the beach.
You are the joy
of your beloved pet
who always blesses you
with pure affection.
You are the song
that the morning bird sings.
You are even the touch
of every hand held
and every embrace shared.

Continue reading “Respite from a Pandemic” →

25

Get Your Poetry Featured on PhoebeMD!

Do you write poetry and have an encouraging or uplifting poem to share? Would you like to inspire the PhoebeMD community while broadening your own blog readership?

If so, I welcome you to submit your poem to be considered for publication.

Continue reading “Get Your Poetry Featured on PhoebeMD!” →

2

Embracing a New Day

Every sunrise gives you
a new beginning
and a new ending.
Let this morning
be a new beginning
to a better relationship
and a new ending
to the bad memories.
It’s an opportunity
to enjoy life,
breathe freely,
think and
love.

-Nortan Juster

◊

Wishing everyone a beautiful start to a new week.
💙

8

Share Your Blog [closed]

Dear Friends,

Happy May! This weekend, I again open up PhoebeMD.com for another Meet & Greet event. Remember, this is your moment to shine! This was originally started on PhoebeMD as a dedicated time for you all to come together to share blogs and favorite posts, make new connections, and expand your blog audiences.

The guidelines, like always, are very simple…

Continue reading “Share Your Blog [closed]” →

Avoiding the Tragedy: A Look into Disease Prevention

By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor

Part 1 – Hope Was Not a Loss: A Story About Measles Encephalitis
Part 2 – Learning How to Walk Again: Barbara’s Story

Back in 1957, the year I almost died from the measles, my parents—unlike the parents of today—did not have to face the choice of vaccination, because there was no vaccine in existence (it wasn’t introduced until several years later, in 1963).

Therefore, it was important for me to share my experience with this condition because of the great controversy that currently exists over vaccines in general, and particularly the measles vaccine. Far too many children are not getting vaccinated against measles and other diseases owing to perceived risks, so now measles has returned as a virulent threat worldwide.

Continue reading “Avoiding the Tragedy: A Look into Disease Prevention” →

14

Just To Be Thankful

Gratitude
unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough
…and more.

It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order,
confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal
into a feast,
a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today
and creates a vision
for tomorrow.

-Melody Beattie

◊

May we each be grateful for today. Wishing you a beautiful week.
💙

19

The Strength in You

Never forget
how far you’ve come.
Everything you have
gotten through.
All the times
you have pushed on
even when you felt
you couldn’t.
All the mornings
you got out of bed
no matter how hard it was.
All the times
you wanted to give up
but you got through
yet another day… 

Never forget how much strength you have learned and developed along the way.

◊

Wishing you all a safe and lovely weekend.
💙

21

Learning How to Walk Again: Barbara’s Story

By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor

[Part 1 – Hope Was Not a Loss: A Story About Measles Encephalitis]

My experience with measles encephalitis taught me a great deal. The greatest realization was that I could change my destiny. I had every reason to remain in the wheelchair because of the attention, sympathy, and love that not only I but also my parents received because of their poor little girl. But the attention from others could not offset the loneliness, the feelings of being diminutive and helpless, and the boredom.

Continue reading “Learning How to Walk Again: Barbara’s Story” →

6

Loved Within

“Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves.

The healing comes
from letting there be room
for all of this to happen:
room for grief,
for relief,
for misery,
for joy.”

-Pema Chödrön

◊

You are beautiful. You are loved.
You are worth it.
Wishing everyone a blessed day.
💚

32

A Gift of Moments

“No matter how we think the future might be,
it always seems to work itself out.
Life is made of moments.
Learn to appreciate each moment.
Each moment is a fresh opportunity to be happy.
This moment is your change to walk in love with others.
Today is a gift to enjoy and to rejoice. 

We only have to teach ourselves to love the journey
and not the destination.” 

◊

Wishing you all a most blessed day.
💙

25

Hope Was Not a Loss: A Story About Measles Encephalitis

By Barbara Leonhard | Featured Contributor

In this article, I would like to share my story of how an illness I suffered as a child affected me. Particularly with the climate of today, I hope this will help inform people of the consequences that can develop in young children who are at risk of getting certain illnesses.

It was the summer of 1957, and it seemed to have happened all at once, where I turned from an active six-year-old girl to a helpless baby overnight. At that time, my family was living in Lewistown, Montana, where my dad was a Presbyterian minister. Mom was at home with three children, aged seven to four. That summer, all three of us contracted measles. But while my siblings’ illnesses took a more benign course, I developed a life-threatening complication: measles encephalitis—a serious and potentially fatal inflammation of the brain that can occur either during the rash phase of measles or following the illness itself.

I have often contemplated my own battle with measles encephalitis…because it did indeed nearly kill me.

Continue reading “Hope Was Not a Loss: A Story About Measles Encephalitis” →

21

Just One Heart

One tree can start a forest
One smile can begin a friendship
One hand can lift a soul
One word can frame a goal
One candle can wipe out darkness
One laugh can conquer gloom
One hope can raise our spirits
One touch can show you care
One life can make a difference…

Be that one today.

-BJ Gallagher

◊

May we be those willing to take the first step.
Wishing you a beautiful weekend.
💙

30

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: