OBW 174 ~ Worn

Song: Memory, hither come
by William Blake

Memory, hither come,
And tune your merry notes;
And, while upon the wind
Your music floats,

I’ll pore upon the stream
Where sighing lovers dream,
And fish for fancies as they pass
Within the watery glass.

I’ll drink of the clear stream,
And hear the linnet’s song;
And there I’ll lie and dream
The day along:

And, when night comes, I’ll go
To places fit for woe,
Walking along the darken’d valley
With silent Melancholy.

What are you thankful for today?

I am thankful for things worn and old, like the pocket watch that was passed on to the son by his greatgrandfather, historical places we have been, old photographs, memories that stays in our hearts.

For: OBW 174 ~ Worn , 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 23

Welcome!

welcome to our house
fence surrounded by roses
such a lovely day

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

Home Thoughts
by Claude McKay

Oh something just now must be happening there!
That suddenly and quiveringly here,
Amid the city’s noises, I must think
Of mangoes leaning o’er the river’s brink,
And dexterous Davie climbing high above,
The gold fruits ebon-speckled to remove,
And toss them quickly in the tangled mass
Of wis-wis twisted round the guinea grass;
And Cyril coming through the bramble-track
A prize bunch of bananas on his back;
And Georgie–none could ever dive like him–
Throwing his scanty clothes off for a swim;
And schoolboys, from Bridge-tunnel going home,
Watching the waters downward dash and foam.
This is no daytime dream, there’s something in it,
Oh something’s happening there this very minute!

What are you thankful for today?

I am thankful for our home, home sweet home!

For: Mundane Monday Challenge #85 : Learn Photography, 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 21, Tell Me Something Good #32

Remembering Dad on his birthday

years
have passed
saw you last
still have tears
the space you left was vast
today we’re remembering you
memories still in our hearts as we grew
had you were here we’d celebrate it with our cheers
we miss your voice, your cooking, that is true
your kindness, your belly, that, too
it could still be a blast
for what was due
love the past
went fast
cheers!

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: Thank God, It’s Monday! — Week of November 14th 2016

Also for: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 14, Tell Me Something Good #31

Ten Things of Thankful 178 (Election Week Thankfuls)

Hello everyone! Hope you are all fine. Cold here in Bavaria, had some snow in the morning, now melted. Him Indoors and I are both coughing like crazy, but we’re glad it’s the weekend, we can relax and hopefully, get better. Ten things of thankful, yes, I’ve got loads to be grateful.

Starting with my Mom. For three weeks, she didn’t have any companion to assist her in the house. Her PA left without saying anything and there was my mother, waiting for her until she rang and said, she didn’t want to return anymore. So panic, panic, everyone asking around if they knew anyone who could help and voila! Found one. One of the nieces of my friend, so we sent her some airfare ticket from the province to come to Manila. Happy with that result.

Aurora is my mother’s name
Daybreak she came
Such a beauty
Out in the sea

Creating an aura of hope
She always cope
Always has been
Serves with a grin

And in our lives she’s the centre
Perfumed with myrrh
The love she gives
Superlative!

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

HRH the son and his beautiful bride are happy on their new place/new town. She started with her PhD, he is volunteering in a charity foundation for three months and then he’ll try to look for a job next year. Good luck to them.

Yesterday, we had a phone call from the in-laws. He was taken to the hospital for some kidney stones. He’s back now, was given some medicine and asked to wait. He goes back in two weeks to be scanned and see what the next procedure is. Hope it works and he gets better so they can come here for Christmas.

Thankful for freedom and all men and women, generations after generations, all over the world, who sacrificed their lives to give us our freedom.

Thankful for my job, I’m still enjoying it and I still see it as my hobby.

Thankful for the memories. It was my Mom’s birthday last week and next week, it would be my Dad’s, bless his soul. We miss him.

Thankful for the autumn this year, now welcoming winter.

I woke up this morning, the air was fresh, cool breeze and dark time. Fog all over our garden, children on their bikes, waiting for each other to go to school. Summer is over, children are cheerful with their back packs. The wind whispering as crispy leaves fall from trees, heaps of gold, brown and red on the ground. It’s also time for harvest, our grapes by our front door and the two apple trees at the back. There was not a lot of harvest this year, enough to stew the apples for apple crumble and pies, and the grapes for some juice. We are very grateful for the produce. It’s also the time to take some of our plants, like olives, banana and palm plants in the house, as well as our pet tortoises. No more garden paradise for them. They are staying in with us.

autumn like a dream
when the wind brushes the leaves
fairy tale that weaves

kids back to school
cheerful to see each other
summer is over

harvesting apples
crisp copper leaves falling off
chilling the air

(c) ladyleemila 2016

For: Ten Things of Thankful 178 (Election Week Thankfuls). Also for: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 12, ALL SEASONS -NOVEMBER ENJOYMENT (November 13)

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 11

Freedom by Helen Hunt Jackson

What freeman knoweth freedom? Never he
Whose father’s father through long lives have reigned
O’er kingdoms which mere heritage attained.
Though from his youth to age he roam as free
As winds, he dreams not freedom’s ecstacy.
But he whose birth was in a nation chained
For centuries; where every breath was drained
From breasts of slaves which knew not there could be
Such thing as freedom,–he beholds the light
Burst, dazzling; though the glory blind his sight
He knows the joy. Fools laugh because he reels
And weilds confusedly his infant will;
The wise man watching with a heart that feels
Says: “Cure for freedom’s harms is freedom still.”

What are you thankful for today?

I am thankful for freedom and for all the men and women who fought for our freedom.

How do we remember the men we’ve lost?
How can we tell them they’re still being missed?
That every day, especially on this crisp autumn day
Their memories still linger and they’re not forgotten
That what they’ve done are truly appreciated
Would wearing poppies and lighting candles do?

Lest we forget, lest we forget

Men of valour and courage going to war
Every generation, there are some reasons
Of why men waged wars against each other
We send them there, some still boys and girls
Not knowing whether they’d still come back
The experience they’ve got, we don’t really know
And when they come back, are they still whole?
Our heroes, our loved ones, their sacrifices

Lest we forget, lest we forget

And so we remember them
We appreciate what they’ve done
To our countries and to our freedom
Wars are ugly, wars are unfair and wars are ruthless
But then they are necessary sometimes
Let’s just hope that peace and understanding come

Lest we forget, lest we forget

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 11

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 10

To Autumn by William Blake

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain’d
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; there thou may’st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

‘The narrow bud opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And feather’d clouds strew flowers round her head.

‘The spirits of the air live in the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.’
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

What are you thankful for today?
I am thankful for autumn, my favourite season and the joy it gives me.

I woke up this morning, the air was fresh, cool breeze and dark time. Fog all over our garden, children on their bikes, waiting for each other to go to school. Summer is over, children are cheerful with their back packs. The wind whispering as crispy leaves fall from trees, heaps of gold, brown and red on the ground. It’s also time for harvest, our grapes by our front door and the two apple trees at the back. There was not a lot of harvest this year, enough to stew the apples for apple crumble and pies, and the grapes for some juice. We are very grateful for the produce. It’s also the time to take some of our plants, like olives, banana and palm plants in the house, as well as our pet tortoises. No more garden paradise for them. They are staying in with us.

autumn like a dream
when the wind brushes the leaves
fairy tale that weaves

kids back to school
cheerful to see each other
summer is over

harvesting apples
crisp copper leaves falling off
chilling the air

(c) ladyleemila 2016

For: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 10

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 9

Friendship IXX by Khalil Gibran

And a youth said, “Speak to us of Friendship.”
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

What are you thankful for today?

I am thankful for friends – close friends, old friends, real and virtual friends, friends I have coffee with, friends I call when I have some good or bad news, colleagues, school friends, high school and college friends, etc.

Happy am I when friends listen to me
They tilt their heads and lean closer to me
Especially when we’re talking about love
While munching our crisps and olives
Gossiping about breakups, without doubt
Going out Friday nights, having our freak-outs
Happy am I when I know they are authentic
We may be all different, somehow we all click
Real friends, my allies, my critiques, too
Sticking with each other like glue
Meeting with them, shopping, having coffee
Going through a lot, ride smooth or bumpy
Telling about our pain with wild abandon
Crying together but most of the time, fun

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 9

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 8

What are you thankful for today?

I am thankful for our family, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. all different characters and we all belong together.

Look at this black and white photo
Golden anniversary of our grandparents
We were all there, some not even born
Most of them were not with us anymore
And so with this in mind, my homage

Tatay was my idol, a great reader
Died of Parkinson’s disease, still reading
He put the meanings of the difficult words
Wrote them in pencils at the side of books

Nanay, still beautiful in her old age
Long wavy hair, deaf as a post
Her cooking, shall we say, creative
Mixing things we normally don’t mixed

Tia Carol and Tio Fred, both in heaven
Both doctors, humble as pies
Good storytellers, took life leisurely
Spoke the dialect I cannot understand

Tio Alex, bless his soul, only brother
Worked in Customs, good looking
Tia Ludy, still with us, still elegant
Brought the kids on her own

My Mum, my darling mother
Pregnant with our youngest brother
My Dad, I still miss him, now gone
Memories in our hearts and souls

All siblings and cousins
Now all with own families
We used to play together
Our own family portrait

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 8.

Also for: NaNoPoblano Day 8

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 7

Home Thoughts
by Carl Sandburg

THE SEA rocks have a green moss.
The pine rocks have red berries.
I have memories of you.

Speak to me of how you miss me.
Tell me the hours go long and slow.

Speak to me of the drag on your heart,
The iron drag of the long days.

I know hours empty as a beggar’s tin cup on a rainy day, empty as a soldier’s sleeve with an arm lost.

Speak to me …

What are you thankful for today?

I am grateful for my two homes, the Philippines where I was born and bred and Germany, where I am happily living with Him Indoors.

The shore that call us home
Was the title of the poem
By Samuel Hazo in 1949
Makes me think about my life
Every time I go home and meet my
Family, friends and relatives again
After some time when I’m here
And they are there living differently
Yet parallel to each other, there’s this
Nostalgic feeling, of being home again
This land or these islands I miss so much
It doesn’t matter where I am now, and
I’m building a home with my family here
But over there where I used to call home
Full of childhood memories, of school,
Of college, of my first experience at work
First love, first kiss, first of everything
These experiences made me and taught me
They gave me a solid foundation of how
It is to be me, all the trials and errors
They gave me the confidence to try and
Explore different things and I have proved
That I can do it no matter where
So even when I’m happy here
I’d still be a girl with a fringe
I’d always go back to the shore
That calls me home, the Philippines

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

yacht

lavender

tortoises

home is happy
home is cosy
home is warm
home doesn’t regret
home doesn’t mind sharing
home grows with love

it doesn’t matter
where or what is home
home is with Him Indoors
and HRH the son
our three tortoises
our flowers in the grden
things we share
experience and memories
I love our home!

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: 30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 7. Also for: NaNoPoblano Day 7

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 6

Brother And Sister
by Lewis Carroll

“SISTER, sister, go to bed!
Go and rest your weary head.”
Thus the prudent brother said.

“Do you want a battered hide,
Or scratches to your face applied?”
Thus his sister calm replied.

“Sister, do not raise my wrath.
I’d make you into mutton broth
As easily as kill a moth”

The sister raised her beaming eye
And looked on him indignantly
And sternly answered, “Only try!”

Off to the cook he quickly ran.
“Dear Cook, please lend a frying-pan
To me as quickly as you can.”

And wherefore should I lend it you?”
“The reason, Cook, is plain to view.
I wish to make an Irish stew.”

“What meat is in that stew to go?”
“My sister’ll be the contents!”
“Oh”
“You’ll lend the pan to me, Cook?”
“No!”

Moral: Never stew your sister.

What are you thankful for today?

I am thankful for my sister and two brothers, and of course, their families. They’re my allies, my critiques and I love them dearly!

A big brother, me, a little sister and the youngest brother
That’s us, the siblings, in one photo the youngest wasn’t even there
I thought our mom looks beautiful and we’re like kids from the block
In another photo was the youngest with our Dad, who was handsome
And in another photo was just me and the big brother in cowbow suits
They were my playmates, my enemies, my allies, my critiques, my fans
I wouldn’t be here without them and I wouldn’t know who I am without them
We may bicker, squabble, and not talk to each other for quite a while
But when someone was hurt or in need of support, we’re there
My siblings, I love you, wherever you are right now
One in Canada, one in England, another one in his ship and I’m in Munich
Whatever you’re doing and has achieved, I’m still here
My brothers and sister

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For:30 Days of Thankfulness: Day 6. Also for: NaNoPoblano Day 6