ODE TO A SUNRISE

           [Photos Source and Credit: Dave Wagenblatt   dave@getgrandresults.com ]
{These beautiful photos of Nature's Sunrise were taken in Grand Lake, Oklahoma, by Dave Wagenblatt, and are posted here for your viewing  enjoyment.  Dave is a Family member.  Thank You Dave for sharing your LOVE of SUNRISEs!  dht}

(8 DEC 2011 -   With the Birth of a New Day, one has but to look to the Sun Rise over the eastern Horizon to feel its Blessings and to somehow have the myriad tangle of emotions soothed.  dht) 

The other worldliness of daytime's shrubbery engenders an eerie ire for those who would brave a stroll -- as Nature assumes its nightly cloak.

There is a cautious stillness that accompanies one's shallow breath while perambulating around the neighborhood.

The only audible sounds – those of ducks and birds at their evening ablutions.

My Spirit proffers an inaudible reply to Nature's call for "Taps," as the sinking sun slips into slumber.

The soft breeze, rustling in the leaves of the Oak Trees, gives a final fare-thee-well.

The "storms" of the day find their rest, and a quiet mood settles down upon the Land.

The night holds the land in quiet slumber.

The night is black – silver threads of moonlight tease the shadows to a melodious serenade.

All too soon, the new dawn will awaken – as the stars that held vigil through the night, begin to fade, yielding their tour to the sunrise's hint of color across a morning's eastern horizon.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

WHISPERS IN THE WIND

                         [Photo Source:  Google online images]

(There are so many mysteries in my Daily Life, held secret behind Nature's veil.  The Blessings and gifts served on the wings of a new Day, are as Whispers in my Ear that remind me of the Promises in my Christian Bible, for which my daily prayers give Thanks.  dht-OCT 2011)

Nature holds many of Life's secrets –

The Promises in a New Dawn our Blessings –

The Word of GOD reveals to those
whose Heart listens --

The Sounds of a moment's passage --
but Whispers in the Wind.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

AS I WALK THROUGH MY DAYS

                                  [Photo Source: Google online images]

(24 APR 2011 – Every day I find something in the New Day that calls to mind the many Blessings that are bestowed upon my Life.  My maternal Cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson used her genius with words to wrap her feelings and thoughts in over a thousand writings, which she wrote for her own Joy.  Nevertheless, since her death, her Joy is now shared with those who find meaning and inspiration in her poetry and writings.  Below is one short poem that speaks to my Heart – and that inspired me to speak with my own Words.  Enjoy!  dht-2011)

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If I can stop one Heart from breaking

I shall not live in vain

If I can ease one Life the Aching

Or cool one Pain

Or help one fainting Robin

Unto his Nest again

I shall not live in Vain.

[-Poem #919 by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson]

[Poem #919 -- My sentiments and my Maternal Cousin Emily's words. dht-2011]

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Every day I am Blessed

Anointed by the dawn

Kissed by the sun

Lulled by the moon light

Til dawns anew a kaleidoscope of Hope.

[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

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Emily Elizabeth Dickinson – Dawn and Door

[Photo Source: My photo, my camera, my backyard capturing a fleeting beautiful Dawn.]

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POEM about 'Dawn and Doors'

(Below is a short poem written by my maternal Cousin Emily Elizabeth Dickinson that I first read 5 Feb 2011.  I have a fondness for poetry and prose that use "doors" and "sunrise" for thoughts and feelings.  A door used with sunrise, to me, means 'beginnings'.  Enjoy this short poem, again or for the first time, and let's see what it means to YOU !! Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011)

Not knowing when the Dawn will come,

I open every Door,

Or has it Feathers, like a Bird,

Or Billows, like a Shore –

[ Emily Dickinson, Poem # 1619]

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Emily Elizabeth Dickinson -- (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) "The Belle of Amherst", was an American poet.  Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life.  After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Although Dickinson was a prolific private poet, fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime.  The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time.  Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.  Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.

Although most of her acquaintances were probably aware of Dickinson's writing, it was not until after her death in 1886—when" Vinnie" Lavinia Dickinson Norcross  (1833-1899), Emily's younger sister, discovered her cache of poems—that the breadth of Dickinson's work became apparent.  Her first collection of poetry was published in 1890 by personal acquaintances Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd, both of whom heavily edited the content.  A complete and mostly unaltered collection of her poetry became available for the first time in 1955 when The Poems of Emily Dickinson was published by scholar Thomas H. Johnson.  Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet. 

SOURCE:    [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickinson  ]

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Tribute to Cousin Emily – A Kindred Spirit

I am honored to share with Emily Dickinson the same many-Great-Grandparents (Moses Payne [1581 England-1643 Massachusetts, USA] and his wife Mary Benison Payne [1585 England-1616 England]); they were my Maternal 9th Great Grandparents and they were Emily's Maternal 6th Great Grandparents.  I feel as a kindred spirit with Emily for we both endured the day-to-day tasks of keeping house while caring for dear ones and making time to pursue songs of our heart.  Emily was an artist and used her genius to write beautiful poems as she used words to weave her thoughts and feelings of nature and life.   

Emily enjoyed the early hours of the day, and wrote many descriptive passages that included imagery of nature, sunrise, birds, and the hopes of what would be revealed in the new dawn.

WHAT THIS POEM sings to my heart

The newest addition to my bookshelf is a book of Emily Dickinson's writings.  It is a wonderful way to spend a few moments in the early hours opening to a random page and letting her poetry flow over my heart as she shares her thoughts on her daily life with poetic observations of time, nature, death, love, hope, society, and dawn.

In this particular poem, I can feel the myriad possibilities and opportunities that are available anew with each sunrise, as a 'new door is opened with the dawn of a new day'.
[Dorothy Hazel Tarr - 2011]

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