Words from the Heart

Photo Art: (c) 2017 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas Daffodils -  symbols of rebirth, national symbol of Wales Searching for your roots can be an enlightening experience.  What I have found over the 30 odd years I have been tracing my family's genealogical journey, is that there is most definitely what scientist call, genetic memory.  Let me give you some examples. My Slovakian ancestors raised and trained horses. They were, what we call today, horse whisperers - people with the ability to seemingly communicate via telepathy with horses. My mother, my brother and my granddaughter are all "horse" people.  (Like cat people, only with horses.) Another example is the love of poetry within my family along with the ability and love for writing it. I had always assumed this came from my Irish ancestors. After all, their name was O'Riordan, which literally translated means, the King's Poet.  While I thought this passion for the written word ended there, ...

Halfway to through the 30 Days in November! Challenge. As promised, this year, I am writing poems for each and every person who donates to my page as my thanks for believing in me. This poem was a joy to write. Hannah and I became friends through the friendship of our daughters. The minute we met, something clicked. We "knew" each other even though we had never met before. For me, this is a special kind of friendship...one that I believe comes from above when we most need someone who understands us.  Thank you, HH for all your support, love, understanding and kindness over the years we have known each other. You are a special Light in this world. Shine bright, my dear sister!!  Now, here is your poem:  Ties That Never Break  From the moment we met,  friendship - kinship wrapped  an intricate knot around us.  We are sisters of the soul,  best friends forever,  kindred spirits,  who giggle over cups of endless tea,...

November is only a short couple of days away and I am anticipating with much joy the challenge of writing poetry every day of the month. Those who know me know who much I love poetry. This challenge allows me, as I said in my profile, to promote "Liberty and Literacy for All!" Won't you help me by donating to the challenge?  A typical donation is $30 (a dollar a poem) but you can give whatever you can - every dollar helps and it won't go to waste!  Go to this link to learn more:   https://cnam.org/civicrm/pcp Here is a little glimpse of what you can expect through November from me.  This one is from the first 30 Days I participate in when I first joined Center for New Americans. AIRMAIL  I whispered -  an ocean away-  to la Luna Bella  hoping that you -  standing on another shore -  would hear the message  only meant  for the ears of  my “querido amigo”  © 2013  Linda M. Rhinehart Neas ...

While summer and fall play tag with each other, it is difficult to think about November. However, the mid-autumn season of gratitude and poem-ing will soon be upon us. Once again, I am taking up the challenge to write 30 Poems in November!   This is the major fundraiser for Center for New Americans were I teach English as a second language to adult immigrants and refugees. The event is community-based. Poets from 5 to 95 write poems everyday in November with others pledging their support for the writers. During December, there is a celebration at Smith College's Poetry Center, where poets read one of the poems they have written and attendees can sign up for copies of the anthology that is put together from poems written during November. This year, I will be focusing my poems on the journey of the immigrants and refugees. I will write about their hopes, dreams, struggles, joys and pain.  I will write about my own family's journeys that make me a third generation Ame...

Public Domain Through the ages, poets have kept hope alive by fearlessly recording in verse the histories of people and events. They have put into words the pain and glory of cultures. Their words singing in the annals of time. As a child, I learned more history from poetry than I did from history books. Something about a poem made the facts come alive for me. Verses from poems like Paul Revere's Ride and Old Ironsides stuck in my head. For my children and my children's children, I write these words, inspired by signs I saw on January 21, 2017 at the Women's March in Washington, DC (and around the world): I'M WITH HER From the four winds, they called us to rise from our sleep and comfort, to rise from our work and pain. Mother Liberty and Mother Justice called to us to raise our voices against iniquity, to raise our voices for freedom for all. From the four directions, they called us to come together, hand in hand, to come ...

Photo Credit: (c) 2016 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas The finish line is in site.  The 30 Poems in November challenge is at its end.  One more day of poeming and I will be ready to revise my poems, picking one to read at the celebration held at Smith College's Poetry Center in three weeks. Many, many thanks to family and friends who supported my efforts.  I am blessed, as are our students, by your generosity. For those who may wish to give but haven't yet, simply click on this link: 30 Poems in Nov! Linda Neas . Click on Donate Now and follow the directions.   Today's prompt was to write a love poem (my favorite!).  Here is my contribution: ANOTHER DAY  The alarm serenely plays  a gentle calling to awaken.  I roll over, gathered in by your arms.  Snuggling, we begin our daily ritual of life together.  Giggling over silliness,  we rise to greet the morn,  giving thanks for another day to dance  before breakfast;...

I am so excited to have my friend and fellow writer/minister, Teal Gray here on Words from the Heart to introduce her new book Shades of Angels . Teal, what drew me to your book, before I even opened it, was the title. Can you explain how you came up with the title and what it means?  That’s a great question Linda that nobody has asked before. I had interactions with angels throughout my life and they were never the same. There were definite and subtle differences. In life, I believe everything can’t be divided into either a black box or a white box. People, entities, situations, whatever you are dealing with has its own unique traits and perspectives, shades of who they are, if you will. Some are darker shades; some that are more towards the light, would have shades of that end of the spectrum.  I believe we are in between an unseen battle between angels of light, darkness and other entities between those extreme polarities. Some are battling to protect us, wh...

Photo:  Public Domain After a lifetime of writing musical poetry, Bob Dylan has been recognized for his contribution to the Literature of the World by the Nobel Prize committee.  I am so happy!   There are some critics that argue that Dylan does not deserve this most honored award.  These naysayers mainly complain that what he wrote isn't any better than other songwriters.  What they don't get is that the other songwriters' works were not the anthems for generations of freedom fighters, peacemakers and social activists from around the world.   BBC demonstrated just how poetic Dylan's songs are by posting a r ecording of several of their famous actors reading the words of the songs we have come to know so well.  The poetry is more than obvious.  The fact that the words Dylan wrote inspired people to seek peace, seek change, seek connection is the foundation for why the Nobel committee honored him. For me, Dylan's words , his son...

Writing a book of poetry is, in many ways, a thankless task.  Yet, we poets continue to write and re-write in order to publish our humble offerings in the hopes that someone somewhere will find them worthy. Poems are a labor of love. My latest book is one such labor of love.  I carried it, like my children, close to my heart for many years before it was ready to be delivered into this world of words and phrases.  Like many labors, it was difficult.  The gestation of this book was longer than I had hoped.  The first poem was written many years ago, when I first contemplated finding my Irish roots. It was the seed from which all others grew.  These poems quickened as we traveled through Ireland and later, after I was home, ruminating over the hundreds of photos I took. Where the Heather Meets the Stone is finally available to the public.  If you purchase it, I hope you will find something within the pages that will touch, inspire, enlighten o...

As a little girl, I loved to read Nursery Rhymes.  One of my favorites was, Mary, Mary Quiet Contrary .   When I asked my mother what contrary meant, she explained that it was a word used to describe someone who didn't do things the way everyone else did.  I liked that idea!  Being contrary meant you could be different. As the years passed, I realized that Mary was being hard to get along with, she simply wanted a garden that grew wild and free.  No neat rows and carefully coiffed hedges for her! Inspired, my garden is a WILD-erness, too!  Here are some pictures to brighten your day, along with the poem. Mary, Mary, quiet contrary How does your garden grow? With cockershells and silverbells, And pretty maids all in a row.  

I love to write and have done so professionally and academically for years.  But, not everyone knows that I also am a photographer. Back when my daughters were young, I worked for the York County Coast Star in Maine, covering local events as well as providing the photos to go along with what I wrote. Recently, I have combined my two loves - poetry and photography - and have created memes for my Facebook pages.  What a delight to marry these two art forms into something that others can see instantly and enjoy! The idea of marrying passions isn't new.  When I decided to finish my bachelor's degree several years ago, I enrolled in the University Without Walls (UWW) at UMass Amherst.  In the process of creating a portfolio of the work I had done, my professor pointed out that I had three different, yet overlapping, interests - writing, spirituality and health. Eventually, after spending almost a year honing my portfolio and culling through all the evidence of work ...

April is here and one of the things I like best, besides spring flowers, is that it is National Poetry Month, which means I participate in the Poem-a-day challenge on the Poetic Asides site . Robert Lee Brewer is the editor of Poetic Asides. Each morning, he gives the participants in the challenge a prompt to inspire their writing.  He has a gift for giving prompts that really get the old brain cells churning first thing in the morning! As I have done in other Poem-a-day challenges, I am sharing some of poems with you.  CELTIC TRIUNE  innocence with red curls  magically grown to bear  a nation of beauties  until wizened, only eyes  show what is essential  MISREPRESENTATION    His note  short  three words  I miss you  Her reply  florid  heart opened  I am yours  His mistake  thinking  he won  this precious prize  Her choice  leaving  ...