The Vibrant Channeled Creator

The Name of a Fish
by Faith Shearin

If winter is a house then summer is a window
in the bedroom of that house. Sorrow is a river
behind the house and happiness is the name

of a fish who swims downstream. The unborn child
who plays the fragrant garden is named Mavis:
her red hair is made of future and her sleek feet

are wet with dreams. The cat who naps
in the bedroom has his paws in the sun of summer
and his tail in the moonlight of change. You and I

spend years walking up and down the dusty stairs
of the house. Sometimes we stand in the bedroom
and the cat walks towards us like a message.

Sometimes we pick dandelions from the garden
and watch the white heads blow open
in our hands. We are learning to fish in the river

of sorrow; we are undressing for a swim.

Faith Shearin, “The Name of a Fish” from The Owl Question. © Utah State University Press, 2002. Reprinted with permission.

TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022
“Each vocation in the Church, and in a broader sense in society, contributes to a common objective: to celebrate among men and women that harmony of manifold gifts that can only be brought about by the Holy Spirit. Priests, consecrated men and women, lay faithful: let us journey and work together in bearing witness to the truth that one great human family united in love is no utopian vision, but the very purpose for which God created us… Let us implore the light of the Holy Spirit, so that all of us may find our proper place and give the very best of ourselves in this great divine plan!”
Pope Francis

Passage
by Marilyn Donnelly

He who
took the steps
by two
now pauses
on each tread
and I
who love him so
am filled
with dread.

Marilyn Donnelly, “Passage” from Coda. Copyright © 2010 by Marilyn Donnelly. Used by the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC, on behalf of Autumn House Press,

SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2022
“Faith deserves respect and honour to the very end: it has changed our lives, it has purified our minds, it has taught us the worship of God and the love of our neighbour. It is a blessing for all! But the faith as a whole, not just a part of it… We will show, in all humility and firmness, precisely in our old age, that believing is not something “for the old.” No. It’s a matter of life. Believing in the Holy Spirit, who makes all things new, and He will gladly help us.”
Pope Francis

It’s is the birthday of playwright, activist, and feminist Olympe de Gouges ( born in Montauban, France) (1748) who said that if “Woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum.” In the 1770s de Gouges moved to Paris and became interested in politics. She wrote several pamphlets supporting the French Revolution, although she soon became disillusioned when the plights of women were ignored.
In 1791, in response to the new French constitution, she wrote Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, which made the argument that the sexes were equal in nature, deserved equal sharing of property, and if both genders were treated as such, French society would be more stable.
Two years after its publication de Gouges was arrested for sedition and sent to the guillotine.

the Poetry Almanac May 7,2022

The Pleasures of Hating
by Laure-Anne Bosselaar

I hate Mozart. Hate him with that healthy
pleasure one feels when exasperation has

crescendoed, when lungs, heart, throat,
and voice explode at once: I hate that! —

there’s bliss in this, rapture. My shrink
tried to disabuse me, convinced I use Amadeus

as a prop: Think further, your father perhaps?
I won’t go back, think of the shrink

with a powdered wig, pinched lips, mole:
a transference, he’d say, a relapse: so be it.

I hate broccoli, chain saws, patchouli, bra—
clasps that draw dents in your back, roadblocks,

men in black kneesocks, sandals and shorts—
I love hating that. Loathe stickers on tomatoes,

jerky, deconstruction, nazis, doilies. I delight
in detesting. And love loving so much after that.

Laure-Anne Bosselaar, “The Pleasures of Hating” from Small Gods of Grief. Copyright © 2001 by Laure-Anne Bosselaar.

 Maybe a huge mall will be built outside town but it’s hard to imagine Wabash giving up magnificence for modular. I walk around this town and sense my own conservatism. This is a town where people keep their houses nice and go next door to visit. These are my people. Tonight when I perform at the Eagles Theatre, I’ll ask the audience to sing “America” and they’ll know the words and sing it in harmony, and also “It Is Well With My Soul” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” I could live here happily. (Harrison Keillor)

FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022
“Dear brothers and sisters, today the Risen Christ invites us to a new impetus – everyone, each one of us – he invites us to dive into the good without the fear of losing something, without calculating too much, without waiting for others to begin. Why? Do not wait for others, because in order to go out to meet Jesus, we need to be put off balance. We need to be put off balance with courage, restore ourselves, but restore ourselves unbalanced, taking risks.”
Pope Francis
 
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Psalm 117
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Praise the LORD, all you nations;
            glorify him, all you peoples!
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
            and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2022
“Jesus does not reproach, he touches the heart, always… Brothers and sisters, when our nets are empty in life, it is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves, to have fun, to return to old pastimes. It is time to begin again with Jesus, it is time to find the courage to begin again, it is time to put out to sea again with him… He is waiting for you. And he is thinking only of you, me, each one of us.”
Pope Francis

On my ass

On my ass
is mashed grass

On the blades
are lady bugs braids

On the braids
are larvae shades

pea green, blue green
lime green, gray green

on my ass
and all….

poem by Jeanne
5/3/22

“You choose to be a novelist,” she once said, “but you’re chosen to be a poet. This is a gift and it’s a tremendous responsibility. You have to be willing to give something terribly intimate and secret of yourself to the world and not care, because you have to believe that what you have to say is important enough.”
May Sarton

Poetry Almanac

May 3, 2022

“Let us ask ourselves: am I capable of an outburst of generosity,

or do I restrain the impulses of my heart and close myself off in routine,

in fear?

Jump in, dive in.

This is today’s word from Jesus.”

Pope Francis

MONDAY, MAY 2, 2022
“One of the most beautiful things about grandmothers is seeing the grandchildren – when their children have children of their own, they come alive again… Do not forget, may young people speak with their grandparents, may the young speak with the old, may the old speak with the young. This bridge must be rebuilt in a strong way – there is a current of salvation, of happiness there. May the Lord help us, doing this, to grow in harmony with families, that constructive harmony that goes from the oldest to the youngest, that beautiful bridge that we must protect and safeguard.”
Pope Francis

SUNDAY, MAY 1, 2022
“We pray for all young people, called to live life to the fullest; may they see in Mary’s life the way to listen, the depth of discernment, the courage that faith generates, and the dedication to service.”
Pope Francis

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” e.e cummings
Self-belief is easier said than done. We tend to absorb all the words, emotions and experiences thrown at us, very often dwelling on the negative. 
Give yourself an emotional ‘Spring clean,’ throw away any fear, longing, and broken feelings you’ve held onto; now is your time to shine. Why not take a moment to focus on the positive aspects of your life? Focus on the beauty of your soul, the goodness and kindness of your being. 
Step out into the world brimming with curiosity and wanderlust, experience spontaneous delight and the beauty of your spirit. Live and love fully, believe in yourself, after all anything is possible! 
Big love and hugs,
Ravenous Butterflies XXX

“Love for the human person that is common to us, including honouring a life lived, is not a matter for the old. Rather it is an ambition that will bring radiance to the youth who inherit its best qualities. May the wisdom of God’s Spirit grant us to open the horizon of this true cultural revolution with the necessary energy.”
Pope Francis

Little Soul
after Hadrian

Little soul little stray
little drifter
now where will you stay
all pale and all alone
after the way
you used to make fun of things

W.S. Merwin
in The Shadow of Sirius

Garrison Keillor

So my bookstore floated away on red ink
and I thought of having my head examined but shrinks
don’t deal with dumb, it’s beyond their scope.
Bookstore ownership was my dream and when we’re asleep the mind takes its own path.
The most righteous are capable of dreams they could not confess to others for fear of excommunication.
St. Paul had dreams he didn’t include in his epistles.
Solomon did dumb things.
Wisdom comes from experience, and experience includes stupidity.
Theology is about truth but life is about banana peels.

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2022
““Honour thy father and mother” is a solemn commitment, the first of the “second tablet” of the Ten Commandments. It is not just about one’s own father and mother. It is about their generation and the generations before, whose leave-taking can also be slow and prolonged, creating a time and space of long-lasting coexistence with the other ages of life. In other words, it is about the old age of life… Today we have rediscovered the term ‘dignity’, to indicate the value of respecting and caring for the life of everyone. Dignity, here, is essentially equivalent to honour: honouring father and mother, honouring the elderly is recognizing the dignity they possess.”
Pope Francis