Books, Reviews, Short Stories, Authors, Publicity, a little poetry, music to complement...and other stuff including politics, about life... "Books, Cats: Life is Sweet..."
The sadness of our world is not to be believed; The happiness of our world there to be deceived. Two lamb ewes abandoned with the mother dead; Their little legs wobbly, their eyes filled with dread. A piece of the heart lost with every final goodbye; The air is quiet, yet the breeze utters a timid sigh. All the things left unsaid with every word spoken; All the hurtful things said our misery to betoken. The hopes left behind that once our dreams filled; The promises broken that once our minds stilled. A love once flourishing that deadened as love lost; An emptiness to face that our future days accost. The happiness of our world there only to deceive; The sadness of our world we must face and believe. - - - - - -
I met Autumn Rayne sharing her wonderful poem on Tumblr and I immediately knew I wanted to share it here... There is a very important message in these few lines--one that needs to be widely circulated, so I hope you will share to your friends as well...
My Mother was a wonderful woman who worked 24/7 to take care of her four children as a widow. She had little time to spend with us in normal mother-child interaction, but we always could feel her love and concern... At the same time, I had read that children develop their personality about the age of 4... Here's what WebMd says:
Do parents influence child's personality development? Common knowledge, parents influence their children's development and personality. Whether we want to admit it or not, parents are a child's most influential role model. As parents, we spend more time with our children than any other adult. We model to our children our values, as well as our likes/dislikes.
Without belaboring statistics, I'd like you to stop and reread this poem, without reference as to who wrote the poem; that is, whether it is a parent or a child. You can decide that, I believe. So what did I and my siblings learn in those early years... We all became involved in a religion, we all became career/work individuals and were hard workers in the chosen fields... At the same time, there was little communication at a personal level, so we each faced somewhat of a solitary period of moving forward in who we were... My being the youngest, without any time with a father--my father was killed in an accident while My mother was pregnant--I became and still am to an extent, a loner and a blacksheep of the family as a whole. All other siblings married, for instance...
With that as my background in reading the poem, frankly I was horrified at what was shared through these words. I immediately felt great sympathy for the child of this individual, the mother who let it be clear that she really didn't want that child she had carried... If you disagree, do let me know in comments, because I'll be moving forward based upon this assumption...
But I did talk a little with the author to let her know what I planned to talk about and she indicated she agreed it was ok... So, very simply, long before the recent issue of Roe being overturned, I had learned through books, my own personal experiences, or by talking with my peers, that it was clear that, sometimes, a woman, or family, didn't deserve to have children... It did, and still doesn't make sense for it to be a law that all women must have children. In fact, knowing that many children are often abused, including physical abuse, incest, and rape, I felt that "choice" was the only opinion IF A LAW HAD TO EXIST... Normally I would say, as many do these days, it is indeed a personal medical issue, but given the fact that white men have been in power for far too many years, I agreed that, yes, a law had to exist. Let's face it, the parents are often the very ones who are committing these abuses against their own children...
But, it was not until I read this poem that I realized that I had ignored one of the worst types of abuses!
Oral communication by parents--mother and father to child!
Of course, the poem was dramatized, meaning that the words may not have been those actually stated by the parent. However, the overall tone of the drama that the child faced on an ongoing basis is very clear, don't you think? In fact, the poem is so well done that I wanted to reach out and hug the recipient of such abuse--yes, abuse! To me, my opinion could only be that she should never have been allowed to have a child... Yes, what is done to our children has always been a thorn in my heart that I needed to respond to, actively and publicly... Our children, indeed, even into their adult lives have been pinpointed for ownership and abuse, just because they gave birth to that child. There is no way to imply that these issues are to be ignored...
Further, let's be very specific. Across the world are millions of children dying due to hunger, being caught in war situations and killed, or left without any major educational opportunities... Further if they are different in some way, such as due to race, religion, or nationality, many are purposely targeted! Resulting in pedophilia, oral demeaning communication, even, now, selling children within human trafficking that never seems to be legally stopped... And our present administration has made it much, much worse!
Since Roe was overturned, women are dying during childbirth, women are being kept alived for months while a child within her dead body is born... We have seen that this is not a racial issue--women of all races are being affected... The white men in the republican administration are denigrating women, such as me, for being single, without children, or worse, claiming that all women must bear children, even if the family can't afford even one or especially more children...
Obviously I could go on and on... But the majority of women across the world are already aware of the problems created by decisions made by those who have no real way to make their own decisions based upon reality, but, as some political tool to be manipulated...
I want to thank Autumn Rayne for allowing me to share her powerful words... Finding music to explore this important problem was difficult... Instead, what I decided was to provide songs of encouragement, as, surely, Autumn has found in some way to get past the oral abuse she lived with, but was brave enough to speak out so eloquently at a later point in her life...
Finally, because it is Memorial Day, I want to use this closing to spotlight both the soldiers and innocent adults and children who had died and continue to die based upon authoritarian leaders who have only one concern--to have money and power over others... I spotlight the leader of Russia, the prime miniister of Israel, the loss of so many in Ukraine, the devastating hatred, retribution and power and money seeking of the president of the United States, whose first act was to take food away from starving children and let it rot rather than allow it to be used (USAID) as well as using OUR money $6M to send non-white men to a different country where they live like chickens in cages... as well as, all the children in America who are targeted for sexual exploitation by those who should be helping them to grow and prosper...
Thank you, Autumn, for becoming a guest poet and, hopefully, allowing your courageous words to be heard or read across the world... You've made a big contribution to helping us move forward rather than backwards as many are trying to do...
God's Blessing to Those Hurting
Gabby
Hey Autumn, I've already picked out the next poem--My Ghosts and Me... Want to Share? Pretty Please... LOL
throwing in spirit, as well as body and soul (above)
Who am I to know what is in the heart of John
How can I understand what he means by soul
Surely I am comfortable knowing what a body is
Yet, when spirit is thrown in, do they mean the same?
The thing is, I can appreciate the fludity of poetry
while not understanding the writer's exact meaning
Is that good or bad, since I'm a reviewer, but
books are different. There is enough to tell
But in a poem, I often wonder...
Once I thought I understood the Holy Trinity
Father, Son and Spirit as three entities
But now I'm learning so much more
So is soul and spirit interchangeable?
Or not even relevant?
Since it is Christ
Who liveth in me...
So, I go google soul vs. spirit and got
“Soul” when distinguished from “spirit” means that which gives life to a body. “Spirit” when contrasted with “soul” simply means those aspects of human life and activity that transcend our bodily limitations and so open the soul toward the supernatural life of grace.
So, does that help? (Me, I'll keep thinking...)
Because right now in America, a word I used
all my life--Christian--is "now" Christian Nationalist according to some
Can we ever expect to truly understand another?
Should we try? I think So...
Because seeking Truth is always important
Knowing how to Speak Truth is even more important
May we all keep reading and searching for Truth
The better to effectively communicate with others
So, if you have questions regarding Words Used Today by either John or Me. Just Ask... or Ponder the words yourself...
Every Once In A While, You'll See One or Two of the Haikus that Regis is known for... So I've included a couple for you to learn about as well. Violin Love almost demanded that I provide complementary music to go with the words of a man who has loved deeply, a woman of the violin, and who misses her now as she has left his life... So, too, his words reminded me of my mother who ensured that we had some basic piano skills--enough to play in our local church--and, even more, to be able to play for her as she sat or laid nearby in her older years. Most of the songs we played were those she would recognize from church and occasionally, she would hum or sing a few words to show she knew the song that one of us had selected... So I wanted to especially thank Regis, one of our ongoing contributors to Book Readers Heaven, for this special poem of remembering... Words and music are so much a part of our lives, aren't they? I hope this post will bring some special memories for you as well.
