Hershey’s Blog Hop for Children’s Miracle Network

My friend slpmartin

is participating in the Better Baskets Blog Hop. I am following his example and wish to pass along the following info:

For every blog post written today and linked up, the Hershey’s Corporation will donate $10 to the Children’s Miracle Network. What a worthy cause!!!

* You are not expected to donate money, but if you’d like, please do. _________________________________________________________
Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals. Countless individuals, organizations and media partners unite with Children’s Miracle Network hospitals to help sick and injured kids in local communities… (read more)
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Rules of Acceptance :

* Copy and paste these *rules to your blog post.
* Create a blog post of giving a virtual Easter Basket to 1-? bloggers – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
* Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
* Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
* Leave your link at  http://betterbasket.info/bloghop/ where you can also find the official rules of this  #betterbasket blog hop and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s.
* Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).

* Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.
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I wish to extend a gift basket to the following bloggers:

http://janfree.wordpress.com/

http://taramillerwrites.wordpress.com/

http://samanthayeh.wordpress.com/

http://ithoughtitup.wordpress.com/

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Stolen Years

By Michele Spector

Droplets spiral earthbound,

Mourning all fallen heroes,

Umbrellas blossoming,

Veiling hearts wounded.

Draping red, white and blue,

Embracing cold onyx box,

Small measure of precious lives,

Bright lights extinguished eternally.

Another dead end war,

Comrades immortalized upon,

Engraved slabs of stone,

This grimly reminds us that,

The dead cannot change their minds.

Strangely enough this poem was spawned from the graveyard scene in the movie “The Watchmen”. I was so profoundly moved by it, that as soon as I walked through the door, I ran to the computer to write it down. It took a few weeks to finish.

I wish I could march on Washington to protest all the wars we are still fighting. They’re all senseless, people don’t want to fight them. We’ve been dragged into the ones we are in by pretexts later found out to be untrue. Now, they’re barely making headlines while drones, bought with our tax dollars, are killing families in droves in Pakistan, and Aghanistan. And hardly a word now about Iraq, as if it fell off the map. This country cares more about fighting wars then about helping its own citizens.

The wars won’t stop unless we all march on Washington and say enough. But because we are a volunteer military, and at least half of the fighting force is Blackwater, it won’t stop. As long as corporations run the world, it won’t stop. Perhaps if we’re reminded what’s going on by watching coffins being unloaded off military planes on the nightly news, or see young children being slaughtered and maimed in other countries with our own bullets,  will it stop.

Creative Courage

By Michele Spector

Chaos dares courage,

Through intense struggle,

Passionately tames,

Receives its oracle,

Risks madness itself,

Honor bound it seems,

For love of the gift,

To carry these dreams.

It takes courage to dare to be creative. We, who have the gift, will live with anxiety, not knowing, just to have it. But I always remember what my mentor told me, “There’s no such thing as genius, only hard work!” Sometimes it comes easily, willingly, sometimes only after struggle. I have to put my feet on the road to coax it other times.

How do you coax your muse?

.

Promising Poet Award!

By Michele Spector

Promising Poet Award

at

Jingle’s Thursday Poets’ Rally.

Thank you so much Noah for nominating me for this award!

Be sure to visit her site, it will definitely make your day!!!

The Book of Noah

This won’t be easy. There are too many talented artists but you must place these on your list to visit:

Make sure you check out:

http://www.charlottehutson.com/ Art is (just) a way of living

http://slpmartin.wordpress.com/ shipwrecked…

http://caribbeanfool.wordpress.com/ mmm hmm. yeah. guess so…

“grey-eyed blonds from London“

http://www.waystationone.com/  55 – dust to dust

http://www.betterthansleep.com/Autumn.html

http://janfree.wordpress.com/ Lost and found

http://lkthayer.wordpress.com/ “I Am Not…” by L. K. Thayer

http://raysharp.wordpress.com/ So We Lived to Tell the Tale

http://annachill.wordpress.com/ Something lost…

http://yichinglin.wordpress.com  the standard orchids

http://poetryperspectives.wordpress.com/  WHEN I WAS LITTLE

http://gerardinebaugh.wordpress.com/ Beneath the Willow~Poem For Jingles Thursday Poetry

Not Alone

By Michele Spector

In separateness,

We cannot fathom,

Subatomic particles,

Earth’s signature resonance,

Stand upon it’s magnetics,

Know we are not here alone,

But with all our relations.

Recently I pulled a book from my shelf that’s been there for years. I can’t remember where I got it, and never bothered to venture into it, till recently that is.

In it the author explains to the reader that certain words have no equivalent in Native American language. Words such as: waste, guilt, should, it, we, them, us, forget, could, free. But, rather, it is rich in terms of relationships and individualism.

I wonder if we didn’t believe we were separate as we are brought up to believe, but were connected to everything: the earth, every human, animal, plant, etc., would there still be as much senseless war, oppression, and destruction of the environment?

What do you think?

Ideas Come

By Michele Spector

When ideas come,

My hands are on the wheel,

I must look ahead and behind,

My brain is on fire,

I have no recourse,

But try to unburden my mind.

I have other things to do,

No time,

I jot thoughts at lights,

Between shut-eye,

I need to sleep,

It’s plain useless.

Why can’t they visit

when I’m alone?

Not now,

A friend’s on the phone,

I can’t assign time,

To write them all,

They come like a flood,

I welcome them all.

My best ideas come before I am about to fall asleep, or when I’m driving–which is the most annoying. I have to keep paper and pen handy if that happens, and hope for a long red light.

Where and when do you get your ideas?

Circle of Friends Award

http://dustus.wordpress.com

Adam Dustus has passed this award along to me! His blog is a very interesting place, full of art and poetry. If you visit his site you’ll see what an incredible eye he has for color, balance, composition and the written word. I want to thank him for nominating me.

http://dustus.wordpress.com/

Rules to accepting this award:

1. List 5 things that make you happy.
2. Try to do at least one of them each day.
3. List 5 bloggers who brighten your day, let them know you have the award and will pass to them.
4.Link back to the person who give you this award.
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Five things that make me Happy

1. Finishing my novel, hopefully to be signing books for a long line of kids!

2. Working on poetry for this blog, and talking with other  incredible writers and artists

3. Playing the piano

4. Being with the people I care about

5. Doing something nice for someone everyday

Five bloggers who brighten my day…

http://asmalltowndad.wordpress.com I just love looking at his artwork–very talented.

http://lifeblazing.com a new blog I just discovered and her story about trusting your first instincts (they’re always right).

http://www.waystationone.com/ Love Brian Miller’s poems

http://shewritesherenow.blogspot.com/  I just like how she writes.

http://annachill.wordpress.com/ Such great poems!

The Creative Zone

By Michele Spector

Venture you now,

Where words dare not,

And feelings vanish completely,

Walk quiet lanes with egoless thoughts,

Where creative sparks of life are spawned.

Before the words, there’s an inkling of something. As yet it can’t be defined, and we walk around with it for a while. Then it happens like a shockwave, and we are taken along for the ride.

Another Sunshine Award!

By Michele

I greatly appreciate being nominated for the sunshine award yet again!  Thank you to:

http://megzone.wordpress.com/

and

http://laurenmichelleotheim.wordpress.com/for nominating me for the Sunshine Award! I’m really honored you enjoyed my poetry that much!

And thank you to jingle at: http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/

For hosting this poetry slam!

Rules to Accept the Award:

• Put the logo on your blog in the post
• Pass the award onto 12 bloggers
• Link the nominees within your post
• Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blogs.
• Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

My nominees are:

http://tragicgenius.wordpress.com

http://inspiredsyntax.wordpress.com always brilliant poetry!

http://dustus.wordpress.com/

http://justthinkingloud.wordpress.com/

http://laurenmichelleotheim.wordpress.com/ what can I say. I really like your poems too!

http://gilliancarpenter.wordpress.com/

http://poetauniversalis.wordpress.com/

http://shewritesherenow.blogspot.com/

http://sweiv.wordpress.com/

http://mrmoonman.wordpress.com/

http://jackroth.wordpress.com/

http://dragonflypoet.wordpress.com/

The Other

By Michele Spector

A jigsaw puzzle we are,

Peaced together, but whole,

Not alien beings,

Unrelated, apart,

Demonized by schemes.

We mirror each other’s,

Desires and dreams,

A sum equal to its parts,

Unjudged by others’ reasons,

Utterly torn from our seams.

We are part of the same whole. Peaced is actually not mispelled. There are peaceful alliances but under that cloak  exists great oppression. Many have been killed for being viewed as less than everyone else, and for not fitting in with the popular concept of who the favored were. Some benefit, but most do not. Every society in the world has their other. Even in the U.S. we still have our others. Who decides that I wonder? I have to hope humans will eventually outgrow this. If we keep fighting amongst ourselves for scraps nothing will change.