New York City – penned in moon dust

Piere Chalory and the Twin Towers #911 #NYC #art

Today marks the 13th year anniversary of 9/11. Can we forget the horrific footage of planes banking into their final approach as they attacked the Twin Towers in New York City? Can survivors ever forget the confusion and fear as they felt the impact and the buildings shook. How difficult was it to find an avenue of escape when the air was poisonous and thick?

I have close friends who are survivors and they relive the maze of the Pentagon over and over. They ask “WHY?” Why was I away from my desk? Why was it my co-worker rather than me?” We should never forget this day. It was a day that terror took to the skies and waged war.

twin towers with copy right

597321_3593 photo of twin

I am honored to feature the work of French artist Piere Chalory. The above painting was painted in August 1998. If you look at the photograph of the fractured areas where the planes struck the twin towers, they are really too close for guess work. How did Chalory know? What vision did he see as he went about his normal routine of painting in the abstract world of science fiction? I’m not sure he knows but his work ( a total of 6 paintings) is an indicator of the inevitably of that day.

Titanic in NYC copyrighted

Please check out the link of Chalory’s 9/11 related work Here.

Tomorrow, I will be sharing more of Chalory’s art. I hope you come back to enjoy his inspirational work.

*****

The painting of the statue of liberty carries a message. I would love to encourage you to write something poetry, prose, reflection or haiku in honor of this day. Please link back to this post so I and others will enjoy your tribute.

Gnawing Nervousness … #shortyaward #twitter #atoz

a to z, awards

It was crazy. A “little blog”, that created a community (on Twitter) for poets, then writers and artists, got huge overnight. A team of 8 people (Adam Dustus, Pete Marshall, Brian Miller, Leslie Moon, Gay Cannon, Claudia Schoenfeld, Jessica Kristie, Chris Galford) who never met, got the notice in March 2011 – “You are going to New York. You are selected as one of the six finalists for the Twitter Shorty Award.” My heart soared, my stomach sank. It was too much to hope for considering we had just started in July. As I got out of the cab in Times Square, I saw the smiling faces of the people I considered friends and colleagues standing around dressed to the nines. I shook my head the illusion vanished. “Sad that all these artists/friends could not share in this moment with us.” I opened my eyes looking for Brian Miller and Adam Dustus wishing that Pete Marshall, our other founder, could have made it across the pond.

“It’s here. It’s now. I am really walking into the auditorium at Times Square.”

It’s not hard for me to imagine things, but this was one of those magical, real moments when they call your name and you’re actually awake. They were calling ours, “One Stop Poetry.” There was so much chaos they couldn’t get me to the front of the auditorium in time to join my friends and accept the award. It didn’t matter we (each member of the community) were (virtually) standing at the podium as a collective accepting the award.

We tweeted to our supporters “We Won the Twitter Shorty Award for Arts” That tweet circled the globe to poets, writers, and artists. Each of those folks were part of this. It was a moment to celebrate with them.

***

After the awards, I met some other entrepreneurial types who had worked hard to get recognized, and I met a few who obviously stood out in the celebrity arena. Today, I read the first tweets I sent after our name had been called and felt the same pride and excitement. One Stop Poetry had done what we had sought out to do which was creating a community and giving a voice to the poet/writer even if he or she was in the beginning stages of his/her writing journey.

To you who are waiting on the edge of your heels to find out who will be the recipient of tonight’s award – enjoy the moment and celebrate anticipation’s finest moment.

“And the winner is…”

Livestream from the ceremony

A Wall – Meaning Full #poetry #travel #history

Our World, Poetry

In this wall

you place your prayers

sorrows

beseiged

centurys

shared

where these hands

now touch your stone

another’s heat

another’s

groan

I stand with the ages

appealed

and weak

take these cares

to my heart

please speak

A tribute to a wall that has the sorrows of the ages in its morter

A new horizon

hope on each face

doubt and sorrow

there is little trace

we move forward

marked for a new stage

America

a grand place

***

look

there it is

the island in the gray

welcoming ships

persons from far away

a grand start

a new day

A tribute to Ellis Island and the beginnings it helped launch

“Just a road trip”

“going home”

“meeting my soldier in Cali”

“…not all roads lead to Rome”

she’s getting married

he’s a trucker who get’s paid

all on a journey

for the moment

it’s the same

route 66

a gem in disguise

old and narrow

it carried many lives

some to meet love

others to forget

I on a journey

a wall with people

I had never met

reminded me of others

a view of the past

lives joined by words

tomorrow please don’t forget

*****

On my road trip we saw many things. When I saw this poster on a wall I thought of timeless sentiments inscribed over the years .The wailing wall and the walls at Ellis Island just two of many walls conveying a message of hope, despair, tears, running away journeying toward new beginnings

Pick up a piece #911 #terrorism #tribute #memories

Our World

I stand with a lapel pin in my hand

it had stood proudly on a life swept away

A bar of medals lay on the ground

how many heroic deeds did you do?

“mama mama mama”

I heard the echo of a grease covered doll

“I missed my flight “

I heard through misty eyes

“Our copier broke down so I went to another cell”

“We should have been there with the dead” they chorused hand in hand

“What can we do for those who died in our place?”

the survivor’s guilt gnaws raw as each 911 looms

pick up a piece of 911 people

rally around the cause of freedom

look forward

do not let this happen to innocence again

photographs from stock photography and from http://highwindsroom.blogspot.com/2011/03/sometimes.html

This is just one piece written in tribute for 911 http://fragmentsof911.wordpress.com/

I Will Tango Tonight #New Year #2012 #flashfiction

55 Flash Fiction

A ball will fall

Happy- my lips will linger on

one who offers me

a dance

caring little for what I wear

what matters

the heat on our breath

New is our tango

lower me to the ground

smell my eau de chaud

I taste your latte

This Year

come in alone

but leave…

and as we see another year out an applause of thanks is given to Mr Know it All who manages to host a fantastic Flash Fiction every Friday and has done so for more than 4 years. Happy 2012 to All!!!

Ahhhh New York

Uncategorized

NYC

Rarely sleep

Dear Lady

Mr. Ellis

tower above the sky

MOMA

quite the Broad

Putting on

The glitz

Flushing

Balls and rackets

I look at you in

Awww

******

N.y.c.

I’m looking down on you

The Crowds

The fans

The Thrills

The jams

I Love

You

N Y C

*final dance step exit stage right*

******

FYI:I love the song N Y C – my daughter played Grace in a local production of Annie. It’s a wonderful song / memory….

That’s a piece of my NYC rendition

Susan at Stony River does great Monday Flash Fiction. Guess what our prompt was??? Join Us on Mondays