by Alys Caviness-Gober
A Rootless Tree Needs To Be Upheld by Ndaba Sibanda Some names are historical, yet other labels are personal, maybe most names are cultural. Certain names reflect a history of one’s parents, their deeds, desires; yet other names are transcendent. They embody, endorse an identity, self, self-acceptance, self-worth and … one’s community, culture and cosmos. The association and mention of self, is central, revealing and instructive; some say naming is fundamental. Naming is as psychological as it is spiritual, it is a social practice and a futuristic and ritualistic act. Culturalists would caution one that a name which doesn’t have a cultural basis is like a nondescript tree without a root. Would you slam them and say naming or ‘misnaming’ is not their business? or you would take it as a wake-up call? Sometimes names are a likeness of the bearer, an echo, or a mismatch! be that as it may, names aren’t petty tags. Indeed they carry and connote self, they distinguish and define oneself, for names name meaning and value.
by Patty Hunter
Spring Flowers 2022 by Patty Hunter Chinese Crimson-White Lilies, one of the prettiest of the lily family. They herald in the spring months which is part of our God’s plan. During the other seasons, we nurture and cultivate its soil so when the right time comes its buds would burst into flowers. Like bright trumpets they shineth bringing in the spring’s warmth thus there is life in the garden. As it is written in God’s book.
by Alys Caviness-Gober
The Children Who Never Were (through choice or chance) by Marilyn J. Wolf I miscarried my first pregnancy. We were teenagers. It saved us a decision. I felt a low-level grief, at the time, though I didn’t realize that’s what it was. My then boyfriend felt no grief, as far as I know. As with many things, he wouldn’t have told me if he did. It wasn’t until after my daughter was born that I felt a loss for who that child could have become.
by Alys Caviness-Gober
We Are Nature by Ndaba Sibanda tell me, how do we rescue ourselves from our propensity for self-destruction? from self-hatred, self-delusion, self-infliction? an investment to save the natural world is a welcome development to save life, for we are inseparable from nature wetlands are no longer wet, for humanity has become brutal, no longer loving, caring and romantic, do we see the trees’ tears when we tease and hack them for no reason or for the fun of it? do we hear the poor animals’ pleas when we pester and poach them for the love of money, meat and abuse? do we appreciate the importance of trees? do we recognize the damage of tossing litter around, or plastics around beaches? rainforests are unfriendly, furious, and fiery, coral reefs are quarrelling with extinction because life`s support systems are stressed! nature is glory and glory is nature but nature calls for regeneration, determination, not decimation trees, rivers and oceans cry foul, they say their ruin is our tragedy, indiscriminate tree-cutters , heed! there is no place for plastic polluters, for plastic pollution is harmful to humans, animals, and plants as it affects the food chain is the protection of the planet not the protection of the people? is a bulge of natural ruins not enough? a sick planet dogged by polluted air, water and soil, struggling with floods, fires, hunger and starvation: global warming is real and scary please poachers and polluters, precious is life, fragile is our planet, we plead on the edge of extinction all peoples should be preservers, put our planet before pride and greed, deforestation, devastation, extinction are we ready to consume less, use less water, upcycle more, turn trash into treasure, compost food scraps, shop secondhand, walk, bike, not drive?
by Alys Caviness-Gober
Spring (written by my 8-year-old-self) by Mona Mehas Spring is the season of happiness and joy, when children play, every girl and every boy. Spring is the season when school gets out, when kids go fishing and catch lots of trout. Spring is the season for little pets, for children to catch butterflies in meshy nets. Spring is the season for hanging out clothes, and every mother knows that it never snows in Spring.
Mona Mehas (she/her) writes about growing up poor, accumulating grief, and climate change. As a disabled, retired teacher in Indiana, she spends most days at her laptop with two old cats as chaperones. In the past, Mona used the pseudonym, Patience Young. She’s published in Fairfield Scribes, Moments Between, The Polk Street Review, and others. During the early pandemic she watched every Star Trek show and movie in chronological order and many online concerts. Follow her on Twitter @Patienc77732097.
by Alys Caviness-Gober
(One of Alys’ wooden Tarot boxes with painted lids, they are called Tarot boxes because a standard pack of Tarot cards fits in them, but they are great for all kinds of little treasures! Boxes are 5.9” x 3.9” x 1.97”. Tango box is for sale $45 at Nickel Plate Arts; prints available at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/tango-alys-caviness-gober.html)
Let`s Dance, That’s Right! by Ndaba Sibanda On April 1, I noted a neat note from a funny footballer of note, It got me sitting on the edge of my stool, It was curiously titled: from footballer to fool! He wrote: I’ve been a victim of the day`s trickery, Tricksters abound, my ground seemed slippery, I’m fine now, they played the prank well, I was gullible, They dribbled past me, sold me a dummy, incredible! We`re fools, whether we dance, or not, so we might as well dance, so goes a Japanese proverb, right?
by Alys Caviness-Gober
A Long Story in a Few Words (a Twittle*) by Marilyn J. Wolf “You have cancer,” he mumbled. No compassion or emotion. Wait! What! Routine to him, I suppose. NOT to us! Two years later it was over. * A twittle is a four-line micropoem consisting of exactly 100 alphabet letters.
(original painting: The Last Unicorn)
by Alys Caviness-Gober
Climate Change Calls And Africa`s Needs by Ndaba Sibanda The realist called them CCC, an acronym for Climate Change Calls, sweet-sounding words in the face of a man-made climate change crisis the claimant claimed he would speedily reduce the use of fossil fuels, of unclean energy sources, he talked about the glory of the green energy, The use of renewable energy sources: wind power, solar power, and biomass, of net zero emission transport sectors, of cleaner technologies and electric cars, but the pragmatist told him to balance the drive for the green agenda with Africa`s energy needs, he reminded the claimant that the continent contributed least to global emissions yet is most at risk from a heating planet, a troubled earth, he pointed out that Africa struggles with energy poverty, with a number of Sub-Saharan Africans who have no access to a reliable source of electricity.
by Alys Caviness-Gober
Trees Talk Back
by Marilyn J. Wolf
When I talk to them I talked to our trees; they talked back – several species: magnolia, crape myrtle, palms, cedar, live oaks, and others. I regularly picked up sticks and checked the plants and trees for whatever should not be there: fungus, bugs, parasitic plants. I got to know them individually.
Palms were self-sufficient, wanted to be left alone, and were fine with only an occasional visual scan. Crape myrtle took a year to begin to thrive and liked being noticed; we both enjoyed my hands caressing its smooth bark. Young magnolias had been raised in a nursery with little individual attention, like babies in a crowded orphanage. I cared for them but got nothing in return. Most of the cedars were dying. I trimmed and talked to them, but all were very low-key.
Ah, the live oaks! They had personality! Each was an individual. One just wanted verbal acknowledgment, not touch. One wanted to be handled lightly and talked to. A couple wanted full-on hugs and caresses. The others varied by the day – even trees have bad days. They all liked attention.
When I sold the house, I told each tree goodbye, assuring them they would be okay. I felt skepticism as I walked away.
by Alys Caviness-Gober
So, So Many Changes (A senryū through Grief) by Marilyn J. Wolf February 6, 2022: Six years today he died. So, so many changes. Growth: Necessary.
by Alys Caviness-Gober
No, It Was Nosiness That Killed A Cat
by Ndaba Sibanda
Similarities Between Curiosity And Nosiness
Both curiosity and nosiness seem to have a thread that has words like: interest, concern, desire, inquisitiveness, and attentiveness. Both are synonyms which are associated with a desire to investigate or find out.
Differences Between Curiosity And Nosiness
I think the two major distinctions between curiosity and nosiness lie in their intentional and behavioral manifestations and implications.
What Does A Curious Person Seek?
A curious person (e.g. a researcher) seeks knowledge, information, and ideas for enlightenment and development. Curiosity is a strong desire to know or learn. It leads one to make an inquiry. Hence an act of curiosity tends to be positive, creative, developmental, unselfish, and well-meaning. If curiosity is the urge to explore, interest is the reward potential in learning.
What Does A Nosy Person Seek?
On the other hand, a nosy person (e.g. a timewaster or a gossip) often invades personal and private spaces for selfish, foolish, and dubious reasons. Nosiness is an eager desire to find out about things that are usually not one`s business. It has an annoying, worrisome, meddling element. Such meddling or poking tends to chase away friends or even family. Hence an act of nosiness is likely to have negative, destructive, selfish, and even obsessive connotations and implications.
Did Curiosity Really Kill The Cat?
When people ask prying questions about something that is none of their business, are they not nosy? Or they are simply curious? If curiosity killed the cat is an idiom that seeks to warn people that being curious can get one into trouble, then wait a minute – is it not a misfit? Not being nosy? Well, maybe like matters of the heart, matters of semantics are subjective, etymological, and problematic. What is your take?
Of Pursuers And Priers
For instance, I think of a journalist or a researcher as a person who pursues and pries. Their job demands that they should have a measure of movement, investigation, inquisitiveness, and attentiveness. Attentive to detail. I also believe that poets and authors, to some extent, are pursuers and priers too.
Let If Clauses Conclude
Suffice to say if curiosity is likely to win one friends, nosiness is a sure way of winning one fiends. If curiosity is professional, nosiness is unprincipled. If curiosity is careful, nosiness is tactlessly eyebrow-raising! Again, who am I to say one is nosy, not curious? Matters of semantics fascinate and fuddle me, too.
(original painting: September Reverie)
by Alys Caviness-Gober