How do you record life? Today I wandered through a journal dated August 1, 1999 to August 29, 2004 and found some poetry gems. It’s a large sketch book I dragged around with me those five years, writing poetry, taking notes and wondering about my life. I haven’t revisited it in years, but as I prepared for this blog post, something deep inside nudged me, “Look, browse! Be surprised!”
So, I did, and I am!
As I look at this chronicling of my life, I see a twenty-year time lapse. Yet, I recorded what was going on it the time, what I thought important! I have a stack of journals I’ve filled out over the years. I thought I had typed up all the poetry that had meaning, but my spirit knew treasures awaited me in this journal. That makes me wonder about those others on the shelf.
A Sampling of My Early Poetry
These three poems address attitudes of life and a specific life experience—branding.
Experience Life Totally July 24, 2000 Anticipate the joy Toes on the edge Lingering ever so slightly Life in its fullest Step up to bat Step into the swimming pool No dive in head long! Step out of the crowd Step into the crowd I must participate I can’t watch Wasn’t made to watch, To be a spectator I want my hands dirty My neck sweaty My feet wet I want to experience life totally! The Sound of Her Voice August 24, 2002 The sound of her voice Saying my name, Reverberates back to The very first time. The time she held me in her arms For that first time And said my name. No fruit tastes sweeter, No bell rings clearer. Nothing soothes my soul Like hearing my mother Saying, “Larada.” That Smell I Will Never Forget August 29, 2004 Burnt hair Burnt skin A tradition A part of our work. Branding day on a ranch Is a day of celebration of ownership. These are my cattle My property My destiny My life! The smell stays with me Many years later The stench The smoke The bawl from the calf The wrestle to get free! It was painful But necessary! One day, I slept by the campfire Three or four years old I couldn’t miss today, But I was sick! Diarrhea Mom put me in a diaper And let me go To our special day. I slept and smelled The campfire The branding.
My approach to life stays the same today. I look at life and capture it in poetry to record the feelings, the nuances. These three topics still resonate in my heart.
How do you record life? Do you write poetry? If so, what do you do with it? Leave a comment below.
Visit my website to find out about my new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? and my other five books and three cookbooks: https://laradasbooks.com
After parking the car, we walked through this amazing town with medieval buildings and modern cars side-by-side.
Our next stop was the Guildhall of Corpus Christi – “By the late 15th century, Lavenham was at the centre of the East Anglian 
The rock walls of the fort fascinated me.
Look at those green fields!
The playful statue of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara from The Quiet Man.
Lin and I enjoyed The Quiet Man museum and all the memorabilia from the movie.
We crossed this bridge over the Carrowbeg River on our walk, enjoying the beautiful flowers and all the water.
The drive through the countryside in Ireland dazzled me with all the variety of greens!
Lin waited in line to get on the ferry. Yes, he drove on the left side of the road–some say the wrong side, but he did a great job.
The ferry we rode across the River Sharon.
Arriving at the other side of the river, the scenery was breathtaking with cattle grazing in lush green pastures. The hedge fences accentuated the symmetry of the pastures–a magical line drawn around each pasture.
I loved to focus on trees or plants in the foreground on a picture like this.
The beautiful cliffs unobstructed.
Another one of my pictures with something in the foreground.
The path we walked to arrive at the sheer cliff below.
The birds soaring between the rock face and me highlighted this view. This was our destination. Standing on the edge of this cliff overwhelmed me–usually I’m OK with heights but the sheer drop off took my breath away.
On the walk back, I marveled at the cattle grazing on such lush green grass and tried to get this picture. Being a rancher’s daughter, I’m always captivated by green grass and cattle. I reached down to focus on the grass and touched a hot wire and was electrocuted, screamed and blacked out for a second. The pain was piercing!
Lin rested his elbow on the fence that electrocuted me! He didn’t touch the hot wire like I did!
One of the cows that caused me to reach across the fence and get shocked!!