Category Archives: Ann

Gratitude Vespers

Posted on August 21, 2016 | Comments Off on Gratitude Vespers

Gratitude Vespers

The crickets lead my evening hymnsRehoboth, DE 2010 125
The clock keeps rhythm
The  lovely air conditioner hums along
My keystrokes a soft staccato

A deep breath , belly rising
The soft chair beneath me.

I am Loved.
My family is well.
Amen.

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Posted in Ann, Poetry, Uncategorized

Chips & Sushi

Posted on June 27, 2016 | Comments Off on Chips & Sushi

July 19, 2015

The clouds didn’t deter us, sun not our only motive
Just the sound of the waves like a craving

Umbrella, blanket, towel, one chair
And a picnic – but it could wait

The boulders drew us over to explore the tidepools
The mystery of the other side luring us over the top

So beautiful

We returned to our picnic—
and a report from the next blanket over.

Seagulls took your chips!
We chased them away!

I eyed the reporters suspiciously,
The bags were unopened!

But later I witnessed another seagull incursion
a chee-toh feeding frenzy.

Poor seagulls

6989626-beach-waves-sea-bird-seagullI always felt a kinship with the seagull
the soothing song of waves, warm sand

And as I watched the seagulls I realized
if I was one of these seagull banditos

I would still be me, staring at the crashing ocean
feeling regret over more chips than sushi.

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Posted in Ann, Poetry, Remember the Day

Lift Off

Posted on March 27, 2016 | Comments Off on Lift Off

Ignition, support trusses fall away
Spectacular roar and blaze
The tremendous force to reach escape velocity.

Faces glued to the screen, bated breath
Lift-off the culmination of years of work
Any unnoticed deficiencies will manifest now
Sometimes with calamitous results
Nothing to do now but monitor

I look at the face of my daughter
I feel like I should read her a story and tuck her into bed
Years of research and labor behind us.
Nothing for me to do now but monitor the screen
Keep the communications open

She left with a blaze and a roar
Reaching for escape velocity

                                               ~Ann Fleming

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Posted in Ann, Poetry

The Peace of Wild Things

Posted on December 13, 2015 | Comments Off on The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things
by
Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of the wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

IMG_7662This morning as I hear the gentle surf in Saint Maarten, I marvel at the events of my life that made this trip possible. I shared morning coffee with my mother-in-law before she headed out to mass. Church bells chime the call of the faithful, but for me, the surf is enough of a sermon today – the aqua-blue sea my holy water.

I will let the peaceful sounds and beautiful sights soothe away my worries about my children and the crossroads they are approaching. I will breathe deeply and push aside thoughts of the troubles of the world that have made me grateful I canceled my newspaper subscription. Any ruminations of past offenses I will bury with my feet in the sand.

Water is my religion’s symbol of divine renewal. Today, I am baptized in the peace of wild things.

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Posted in Ann, Meditation, Poetry, Uncategorized