[Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome]

Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome
Has many sonnets: so here now shall be
One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me
To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,
To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee
I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;
Whose service is my special dignity,
And she my loadstar while I go and come
And so because you love me, and because
I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath
Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:
In you not fourscore years can dim the flame
Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws
Of time and change and mortal life and death.

~Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894

Happy Mother's Day to my first love!  I love you, Gru!!!

The Young May Moon

The young May moon is beaming, love,

The glow-worm's lamp is gleaming, love;
        How sweet to rove
        Through Morna's grove,
When the drowsy world is dreaming, love!
Then awake!—the heavens look bright, my dear,
'Tis never too late for delight, my dear;
        And the best of all ways
        To lengthen our days
Is to steal a few hours from the night, my dear!

Now all the world is sleeping, love,
But the Sage, his star-watch keeping, love,
        And I, whose star
        More glorious far
Is the eye from that casement peeping, love.
Then awake!—till rise of sun, my dear,
The Sage's glass we'll shun, my dear,
        Or in watching the flight
        Of bodies of light
He might happen to take thee for one, my dear!

~The Young May Moon, Thomas Moore, 1779-1852, Irish poet and hymnist

The full moon this month (May 14) is known at the Full Flower Moon, also as the Mother's Moon, the Milk Moon, and the Corn Planting Moon.  The first quarter is on May 6th and the last quarter will be May 21st.

Image scanned by Simon Cooke found on the Victorian Web here

Begin Afresh, Afresh, Afresh

The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh."

- Philip Larkin, The Trees

She Shall Not Find Them

Behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.  And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then she shall say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

~Hosea 2:6-7 (KJV)

Praying this for a friend tonight.

This is Just to Say

I have eaten 

the plums 

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving for 

breakfast

 

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

~William Carlos Williams, This Is Just To Say, 1962

   Earlier this year I started reading a book on apologizing.  The Five Languages of Apology was written by the same guy (Gary Chapman, with Jennifer Thomas) that wrote The Five Love Languages.  In his intro he proposes that many marriages could have been saved if the partners had learned how to apologize to one another.  It seems to be a common problem that even though the offending partner apologizes, the other partner is unable to hear and therefore accept it.  Chapman suggests couples need to learn to apologize to each other in the other person's language of apology.

   I've had a window open on my desktop for about three weeks now.  It's a blog entry that a school teacher wrote about teaching children how to apologize.  In it she suggests that hardly anyone is teaching children the correct way to say they're sorry.  A parent or teacher will say, "Say sorry to your brother," to which the child replies, "Sorry," and that's it.  It reminds me of another saying I heard as a child, "Well, sorry doesn't fix it."  Which is true.  Sorry doesn't fix it.  The blogger writes,

...inside, however... the offended still feels bitter, because the apology was not sincere. And while it may seem like the offender got off easy– not even having to show proper remorse or use a sincere tone–he is actually the one who loses out the most. He not only learns a poor lesson that he can get away with lies and empty words, but does not have the opportunity to experience true reconciliation and restoration of relationships.

   When I read her article, I knew immediately that I wanted to write about it for my own blog.  After all, I've been on the receiving end of these sorry sorrys, and I did still feel bitter because the apology wasn't sincere.  And in fairness, I'm sure my sorrys have been lackluster at times as well.  I'm sure we would all do well to brush up on our ability to say we've done something wrong.  And who knows, maybe it'll save a few relationships as well.

   Here then are her tips on a better way to say you're sorry (I've taken these from her blog and I recommend you surf over there to read her whole article):

1) I’m sorry for…: Be specific. Show the person you’re apologizing to that you really understand what they are upset about. 

       Wrong: I’m sorry for being mean.       Right: I’m sorry for saying that nobody wants to be your friend.

2) This is wrong because…: This might take some more thinking, but this is one of the most important parts. Until you understand why it was wrong or how it hurt someone’s feelings, it’s unlikely you will change. This is also important to show the person you hurt that you really understand how they feel. I can’t tell you how much of a difference this makes! Sometimes, people want to feel understood more than they want an apology. Sometimes just showing understanding– even without an apology– is enough to make them feel better!

       Wrong: This is wrong because I got in trouble.
       Right: This is wrong because it hurt your feelings and made you feel bad about yourself.

3) In the future, I will…: Use positive language, and tell me what you WILL do, not what you won’t do. 

       Wrong: In the future, I will not say that.
       Right: In the future, I will keep unkind words in my head.

Now let’s practice using positive language. It’s hard at first, but you’ll get better. Can anyone think of a positive way to change these incorrect statements? 

       Wrong: In the future, I won’t cut.
       (Right: In the future, I will go to the back of the line.)

       Wrong: In the future, I won’t push.
       (Right: In the future, I will keep my hands to myself.) 

       Wrong: In the future, I won’t take your eraser.
       (Right: In the future, I will ask you if I can borrow your eraser.) 

4) Will you forgive me? This is important to try to restore your friendship. Now, there is no rule that the other person has to forgive you. Sometimes, they won’t. That’s their decision. Hopefully, you will all try to be the kind of friends who will forgive easily, but that’s not something you automatically get just because you apologized. But you should at least ask for it.

So, let's see...

Dear Wife,

I'm sorry
for eating
the plums
in the icebox

that you were
probably most definitely
saving
for breakfast

This is wrong
it was inconsiderate of me
to eat them
without asking you first

In the future
I will ask
before I eat
Will you forgive me

Blessed is the One Who is Not Offended by Me

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.  And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

~Matthew 11:2-6 (ESV)

10 Days Until Easter

Yesterday I took a day off, but we're back in business today posting prophecies from the Old Testament  about the coming Messiah and their fulfillment in the New Testament.  Shall we continue right along?

Prophecy: The Messiah would speak in parables
Old Testament: 

Psalm 78:2-4: I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

Isaiah 6:9-10: And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

 New Testament:

Matthew 13: 10-15: Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "Yo you is have been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ""You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive." For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'

Matthew 13:34-35: All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.  This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."

Prophecy: The Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted
Old Testament: 

Isaiah 61:1-2: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn...

New Testament:

Luke 4:18-19: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [Spoken by Jesus in the the synagogue

The Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek
Old Testament

Psalm 110:4: The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

New Testament:

Hebrews 5:5-6: So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." 

source: http://christianity.about.com/od/biblefactsandlists/a/Prophecies-Jesus.htm

 

 

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday

I found this old picture of me while trying to clean up the files on my laptop.  It's a fun photo because it hearkens back to the days when I was a teenager.  I'm guessing I was probably sixteen in this picture, and behind me is the wall of models (and the odd celebrity) that I had painstakingly assembled.  I had decided that I wanted to model when I was about ten years old, a dream that was encouraged when I was scouted on the street at the age of 12.  My parents were not supportive of that dream so it wouldn't be until a decade later that I would get to move to New York City and give it a go.  Lucky for my ten-year-old self that I actually grew up to be pretty tall and fairly thin-- two requirements for the job.

You can also see in the background a page from a coloring book that a friend had gifted me with (I wish I could remember which friend!), an Abbey Road poster (I was obsessed with the Beatles), my Cabbage Patch Kid's birth certificate (Fredrika Henrietta Winnie-- that's the name she came with-- not mine), and a high school poster with the dates of the football games. (I was never into football, but as a member of the marching band colorguard, I was required to attend all of the games.)  The dress was purchased at a thrift store, and if memory serves me correctly, about three sizes too big.  One of my then favorite models, Niki Taylor, whose smiling visage looms over mine in the photo, I got to meet and work with a few years later when I won a modeling contest on MTV.  She was the first celebrity I'd ever seen in real life, and a personal hero of mine, and I remember being so excited about seeing her and getting to talk to her.