I hear them playing Auld Lang Syne...

2006 has been an exceedingly hard year for me emotional-wise, health-wise and poetry-wise (though I've finally started to write again -YAY!!-after a 7 month block). The only shining star was a rediscovery of my artistic roots, which I have now fully and gluttonously embraced. Making art has kept me afloat this past year by giving me a way to keep my mind occupied in a positive way - without it I would have been dwelling far too much on the loss of my mother and step-father, and how that loss turned my somewhat boring but comfortable previous life completely upside down in far too many ways. I am now faced with the task of redefining who I am, and what I want to do with the rest of my life - and I'm learning that this is both a joyous and painful process.

I must give thanks to all my friends - personal and web-centered and those of you at PFFA - who have shown their support and caring. Without you I would have surely had some kind of breakdown by now. I would've been swallowed whole by this heavy, black shadow of grief that refuses to fade away. But enough of that, because I really want to wish you all a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year. Let's hope 2007 is a real good 'un for everyone, and that I'll finally find my way out of this long, dark tunnel.

A new poem, the final one for 2006, that pretty much sums up where I'm at right now.

This Last Day of the Year

I go among rows of weathered teeth beneath the naked trees
on West Third Street to visit my parents, Michael and Stella;
"together again," as their headstone reads.
Two wreaths blanket their final bed and a small, wooden
"Merry Christmas" sign complete with tree and Santa
stands above their heads.

The steel breeze stabs as I try to begin
a silent conversation that starts and stops.
What can I say to them
that they don't already know?

Chilled, I walk back to the warmth of my car
with its welcome diversion of a radio
and drive away with my tears,
no resolutions made.

copyright by Cookala 2006

Thanks to Howard, I've discovered my blue-blooded roots
(an Imperial Majestry, no less)
*snort*

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Imperial Majesty Cookie the Crepuscular of Westley Waterless Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I had the good fortune to have my camera with me last night when the sun set - and as you can see it was an exceptional one. The only downside (if you can even call it that) is that there was a slight breeze, so I didn't get that perfect mirroring of sky on water. There were so many different colors and blends as the sun progressed from supernova to an incredible afterglow.
Four of the shots were taken facing west/southwest, one (shot 4)was taken facing east/southeast and one (shot 3) was taken at 40x telephoto facing due south. My favorite sunsets are the ones I see in the winter. The cold, clear air gets the pinks, blues and purples I so love. Summer sunets are generally lots of reds and yellows, which are beautiful in their own way, but they just don't have the same impact on me as the winter ones. Lucky me to be only five minutes from the bay. Blessings come in so many forms, we just have to be alert to recognizing them.

Late October

And so in fall to splendor we come;
nature at her peak mesmerizes me
with her kaleidoscope. She ushers me
into silent reveries, my eyes brimming
with her palette; and has me pleasuring,
gasp after gasp, as she wraps herself
in shades of gold and red.




copyright 2006 by Cookala