From an Upper Floor

    • Blog Archives
    • Contact Me
    • Kiss The Moon Poetry Drawing
    • Sitemap
Illustration of a bird flying.
  • Truisms. . . .

    The heart will determine what the head sees and put into the eyes the meaning of it all.

    *****

    Time is not of the essence, but quality of thinking is.  For the thought was already a thing in process before the action cemented it.

    *****

    By their actions you shall know them.   By their actions you will see the fruits of their days.  And by our action, the heavens know the thought processes involved.

    *****

    Some prayers are answered and some are not.  The final question should be, why not mine?

    *****

    To change even one behavior pattern will demand that all behavior patterns be changed.  And many are not equal to the work.

    *****

    It would also say that there was a deficiency in behavior and the need to say I was wrong.  And with advancing years can we wipe out a life while still living?

    *****

    Heaven is an earned order and until one approaches the place where admission is qualified,  one cannot enter.  The homework first has to be done and the mind alerted.

    *****

    Work has taken on an onerous meaning.  Play has taken on a sensual meaning.  Neither are correct.  Neither give full sway to the correct and apt meanings.

    *****

    A creative shining spirit is fun to watch.  It is one, on whom the heavens bank their monies.

    *****

    It is far easier to prolong a situation waiting for it to work itself out.  Confrontation is not for everyone.  Especially when history has shown  the one on whom the  workload will fall.

    ******

    Sometimes the need to be wanted is only bested by the want to be wanted.

    *****

    Kindness is never out of date nor is it old fashioned.

    March 18, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • Love Is The Answer. . .

    Love, But Not Without Work. . . .

    It was with derision that laughter came because I said love was the answer.  Naïve I was called and impractical.  I was told I did not know how the real world works.

    But not without work I added.  Love needed work.  Wherever we were,  the boots had to be put on or the thinking cap.  That is where we begin.

    By magic meals appeared on time, clean towels flew to shelves and clothes to closets hung all by hocus pocus.  The real work was the hand on the sick brow, emotions calmed, anger abated  and crises averted with lives prolonged by hearts transplanted.  Fears were laid to rest.

    So now I work and find some words to describe my feeling.  Yet I even wonder now if these words are mine, except I do know that they are of me, my fabric and what it is I have lived through.

    A romantic?  I am and just maybe I put into words what others think and cannot articulate.  Claiming my romance. . . I learned it somewhere.  I knew it at a time. . . but what time and where, this life does not tell me.  When we claim knowledge of a something and this life has not taught the principle, then we must claim it from somewhere.  Else how do we know?

    To know means the lesson was taught at some juncture, long ago or perhaps with such vitality  we could not forget.  It has become part of our fabric and knowledge and therefore we claim it.  It is not to be uprooted by an ill wind blowing from wherever, because the knowledge is innate.

    I write what I know.  At the moment I may not be cognizant of the fullness of the words, but they are brought up from that place where memories lay hidden and the greater self speaks.  And if the fences have been dismantled and the stones knocked down, it is with grace that the knowledge once again surfaces.

    Love Is. . .

    oh trembling soul,
    that has seen beyond
    to know the wonder of love.
    Whose magnificent hand has shaped
    the universe and all within with love?

    What visions have the eyes seen unfolded
    to cause the soul and mind a oneness,
    heretofore, unknown?
    Who loosed the shackles of
    the mind encaged and sent man’s
    Spirit soaring?

    Love that has impregnated and nurtured
    and caused man to grow upward

    Is. . . .

     

    artwork by Claudia Hallissey

    March 16, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • Kiss The Morning. . . wall quilt

    Because I love doing what I do and am addicted to learning new ways when my abilities diminish due to aging and its consequences,  I keep trying.

    And remember a teacher’s admonition,  that you are not a machine.  If you wish perfection,  buy a machine made whatever.  So I do not give up.

    I love this quote in particular;  Kiss the morning into Being for it has long won the battle over night.  A reader who works as a nurse with the elderly, said she loves to wake up looking at this wall quilt in the morning light.  It gives her hope for the day.

    I have the original that I wake to and have decided to work on a smaller version.  The center panel is 8 ½ in by 11 in.  And the borders according to what looks right.

    I am still working to photograph accurately.  When I concentrate on one thing,  I overlook another.  I seem to eye focus on one thing and don’t see another.  I remember when this was not the case and it is frustrating!

    I remember a dear friend saying to me that she does not invite younger people to her home whose eyesight is perfect, especially when they are fashionable and fussy.  She knew she would then be the gossip of the day with her housekeeping and appearance.  Ahhh I can relate.

    She once asked me if she should wear the same outfit she had worn before to lunch with friends I was having at my home.  I was silent because I was blank.  After a minute she laughed and said to me you are the perfect friend to have.  You never see other than us,  the who we are.

    Fashion I am not aware of, but I do hope I notice when someone is in their ‘altogether.’  And cover them up!

    I know I  will become more adept using the modifications I have learned.  If you are interested in any of these small wall quilts,  contact me.  They are for sale and I will be putting them up as I photograph them

    March 14, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • We Need Balance. . .

     

    Inadequate.  They say I make them feel inadequate.  I require something of them but they don’t know what.  I tell them they do but they have misplaced the skill they had when they would grab thoughts and run with them.

    It was an exciting high brought on by them mastering life and know they were equal to it.  An exuberance within them that had them glad to be wholly alive.  Why had they let it be stolen?

    We struggle for balance.  We are not of the ‘suffering servant’ school nor of the ‘life can be beautiful’ one.  It need not be one or the other,  but remember this is a classroom.  Its purpose is unfolding and our potential is becoming.  What is the wonder and will continue to be the surprise.

    Prolonging life by avoiding life’s problems only casts them for another time.  Emotional discomfort, physical infirmities and mental upheavals are those things one grows on.  And growth in these areas are of prime necessity for human potential.

    We were taught since early times that the purpose of life is to learn.  It is not to be happy and to be in a perpetual la la land with no discomfort.

    How and what we do with the problems that life in this physical state doles out simply because the pieces fall where they do and form a puzzle,  is for our growth and maturity.

    Life is not meant to be one big romp in bed or a continual buffet table.   How we confront and use the common sense we were born with to meet problems and hopefully distill some good in our wake is the prime motive for life.

    It appears common sense is not so common, do you think?  Or prefer not to,  think, that is.

    Evolution I  . . .

    In my yesterday
    a thought was born.
    Suited to my self,
    we were complete, whole.
    Today I find the thought
    sufficient only for my yesterdays.

    Awakening now,  the mind itself,
    impregnated with yesterday’s truths,
    finds the spirit eagerly embracing
    tomorrow’s dreams.

    By what means and by whose devices
    are yesterday’s truths
    made today’s realities?
    Except . . . perhaps by man
    living out his dreams?

    Elusive substance, beclouding,
    misting, penetrable only
    by man’s eternal hunger.
    Satisfied only

    by man’s indomitable spirit.

     

    March 12, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • Life’s Observations. . . .vast. . . .

     

     

    Life’s Observations . . .

    Sometimes one tires of treading lightly on psyches with cushioned feet.  Perhaps there are times    to wear what once were called old army boots.

    *****

    Power comes to those who are able to bow down the strong.  And it happens at every level.  When knowledge becomes the tool, then it is apparent where the weapons of war are used.  It is called manipulation.

    *****

    Let others tend their own gardens.  They planted the seeds and now are unhappy with the fruits??   Poor babies. . . .

    *****

    We all find eventually that every day is a day of generous offer.  Need to say that again???

    *****

    Keep this thought in mind when complaints lace your language ad infinitum.  Ad nauseum.  There are lives lived beneath the furry evidential of every day life.  That there are memories of past lifetimes, of lifetimes still in the process of completion.  This is what is meant by the quantum theory that  All Time Is Simultaneous. Just an example of the past is still happening.

    *****

    Our narrow focus keeps us zeroed in on what is our reality.  And makes the lessons easier to learn.  Best we get on with what is ours to do today before tomorrow’s needs make the burden heavier.  Your language then might curl hair if heard.

    *****

    Words lacerate.  A bite that breaks the skin by either a child or puppy requires a tetanus shot.  It is too bad there is no tetanus shot for words that break hearts.  An I’m sorry is not enough.  Just doesn’t cut it.

    *****

    A change in values is the most difficult change to make.  Change directed at a value system, injecting it with heart is the only change that makes the difference.  A value system is how a life directs itself.

    March 10, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • Psalms of Love . . . in paperback now

    I am so pleased to be writing this post to let you know that the paper back edition of Psalms of Love is now available in the Amazon.com store.  I want to thank you for being so patient with the ambiguities of publishing and getting it altogether to match whatever the specifics were.  In this day of state of the art devices,  getting all factors working simultaneously and without conflict takes some doing.

    I want to thank my family, all of them,  for allowing this sometime not very state of the art mother and grandmother the idiosyncrasies commensurate with my lack of knowledge about how things work.  It seems that a workable language should be understood but life today requires more than that.  Aahh well,  I try.  I try.  And they are good people to put with my foibles.

    I am proud of this work and if I think about it for more than a minute I will make another ocean.  There is something about a creative endeavor that brings on the tears,  however much of it is a Given.  I said that I reached very high for this work,  so high and the cost was dear.  But the result has been a peace that surpasses understanding with a knowledge that has no meaning except to me.

    For this time and this place,  it is done.  In another place,  another something will be demanded,  and because this was accomplished,  I may approach with trepidation,  but I will approach the task.  I have been gifted magnificently with our sons and the loves they have chosen.  There is nothing this world could give that matches all of them.

    I will continue to write until I know it is time to lay down the pen.  To have a voice has been another gift that I do not take lightly.  It is a responsibility as well as deeply satisfying to be able  to state my views from a lifetime of thought and study.

    I have no credentials, just accumulations of classes and books that fueled the beating of my heart.   Even two cardiac arrests and two strokes convinced no one my work was finished, least of all the cosmic element.  So  we begin again.  And again.

    The daughter of one of my best friends asked to hear me read and said in a whisper,  why do I think God is talking to me in your words?  I don’t aspire to her beliefs but I reached for the highest and best in my belief system.  I hope I help you to relate what is highest and best in yours.

    March 6, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • Upon Entry. . . a warm fire. . .

    So much weather and all else happening that it is time for a light repast.  It is time for a warm fire and a hot something with a bit of spice.  It would be looked upon favorably.  It is time for the head to rest and the body to recline.  But only for a time.  And then again we pick up the cudgel to make a new path.  For that is our destiny.  And we revel in it.  With a large ahhhhMennn!

     

     

     

     

     

    Upon Entry

    Upon entry, we shed
    the mufflers and the gloves,
    the vests and boots,
    ready as any warrior to fight the cold.

    The hot tea is
    a choice companion for us,
    as we sit and warm ourselves
    before the fire.

    A promised relief
    we find in each other,
    as we no longer find the joy
    in battling winter’s discontent.

    We know our blood thins
    and our patience ebbs
    since we do not run and jump
    with glee as snow inches up.

    We remember though
    this once held joy in things
    not common to advancing age.
    A straight shot of something

    would not be unwelcome in the cup of hot tea.

    March 3, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • Kindergarten. . .

    To Play the Child. . .

    For whatever is not made peace with, will piece the person.  It will break them into a million parts, never knowing it can be peaced, nor seeing how they contribute to it all, will leave the adult body still playing the child.

    When one operates from a child’s reference point, one does not see one’s contribution to a problem.  And there is nothing within a closed memory that would make us accept responsibility if we are not equal.  It is a mess but how truly remarkable for the protection of the individual .

    But how god-awful for those around.

     

     

    Kindergarten. . . .

    It is kindergarten
    this place of play that tells us
    that we are just boys
    and girls and everyone
    wants us to be happy.

    And we vow again
    like the tinker bell that
    we play the girl at heart
    and like the peter pan
    we will not grow up.

    And we are adored
    to be just as we are.
    Never growing up to do
    those things of pain we see.
    Never growing up
    because to grow up means
    to grow old and hurts not only bodies
    but feelings we drown in.
    There is no one to save us so
    to grow old means we die.

    We all know that song, don’t we?
    There is no fun like ours
    when we stay young to play
    with the wind in our hair and
    someone pushing the swings higher and higher.

    Nothing is expected then, is there?
    Everyday is a day to play.
    And if we are lucky we will die
    in our sleep and never have to think.

    Where is the fault in that?

    February 28, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • The Bread Knows. . . .

    Some days. . .

    are a wipe out.  Only to do what one can.  The Rabbi Teacher asked only one thing.  ‘Feed the children.’  Sometimes the simplest command is shrouded by a complex system of thought.  Think so?

    The Bread Knows the Feel of my Hands. . .

    I know the dust of the flower
    as the bees skin the petals
    and suck the juices off their spines. . .

    I know the touch of your hand
    on the shoulder of my tunic
    as I bend to kiss
    the child of our union. . .

    And know, however much I know,
    the feel of the heart
    beating against mine and know
    to whom it belongs. . .

    I knead with no passion
    but stir lovingly into
    a loaf of wonder. . .
    crisp to the knife blade
    it will be as it slices. . .

    It is with love
    I fold the dough onto itself
    and it melds selflessly
    into a loaf. . .

    knowing all the while
    the touch of my hand
    with love caters
    to our natural heritage. . .

    both of us part of All That Is, life itself.

    February 26, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
  • Earth Held Hostage. . .

    Time Now To Grow Up. . .

    There are times that call men to action and this is one of them.  It is time to give way to new ideas  that have been incubating for a long time within the hearts and minds of those given to thought.  We are long delayed in giving space to different kinds of consciousness.  Long delayed in giving space to those whose minds and physical brains have doors open to places the average person does not.

    The quiet mind is a comfort zone for most.  The comfort being in the place where the meals are hot and the days fall into a pattern that give little leeway for the eventful to happen unless taken into hands of those of ill intent.

    Long past the time now we have gone expecting man to become zealous in his attitude to bring peace and  growth to those of us on our Earth.  The human is not only physical but is divine.  The  human had his beginning with the stars and is intent on claiming this innate knowledge.

    With every event that comes to life in the human sphere seems to bring calamity in large doses.  Wars are taken as common within the boundaries of the race that prolongs the anguish of ancients.  And little reason lies behind the events except giving action to desires that look to give meaning to the life that has little in it.

    Long has man looked for reason to add adventure to his day.  And leaving the children and spouses behind to do so in the names of work or patriotism or to hunt seemed reason enough.  We take to task these reasons.  We take to task the lazy minds that look for physical adventure and not the considerate thoughtful work to give life meaning.  Why the need to be entertained than for minds to look for answers that would give meaning to the purpose of life?

    Long has man preferred to fight wars over boundaries instead of looking to what unites the human race.  Instead of looking to what unites the spirit in manner to bind one to another.  Is it so boring for  man to look to what will prolong and give impetus to the progression of humankind?  Is there so little love between man that there is no common ground?

    From a cosmic view, other worlds must look to see what they can invest in the dailyness to spur man on to promote this planet to growth and progress.  We look to see where we can inject some adrenalin to make the intensity work with fervor.

    It is time long gone that the one god, the one world, the one man, the one consciousness be held onto with such religious fervor.  It is time to expand the thinking to include the divine within each human giving access to the spiritual energy and psychic fulfillment which permeates and upholds the universe and universes.  It makes for accountability of the each in his life with the knowledge that names are attached to actions that will demand restitution.

    For too long man has reclined in his comforts with the god he created who will forgive and forget all his transgressions.  That with forgiveness because his beginning was less than ideal and the burden was a heavy one to carry that he would be forgiven whatever transgressions he committed.  The news now is that names are attached to these errors in judgments and these errors must be accounted for.

    Misdemeanors are different than sins.  Sins are different than psychological impairments.  And impairments of judgments are still not dismissed but lessons must be learned so that progression in human lives will not be held in abeyance but will have  time for full potential.

    Babies born are wondering why they are in kindergarten when they have knowledge of worlds in attendance to the great god of wonder that is the rolling thunder of the universe.  Why they are not part of the action that rules other worlds with motion and movement toward great progress.  But are lost in the illusion of slow motion that seems to immerse the adults in such pleasures.  They come to us as twigs already bent with a history ready to teach and we step on their heads.

    We are in the midst of worlds looking at this planet and wondering the outcome of its wondrous elements.  It should have been held as graduation for souls becoming stars again.  Instead it is held as the playground of souls who have learned the sophistication of its accoutrements and given them a place to play forever.

    Time is now that changes will be evident.  Time is now that much will be demanded.  And the young whose memories now of the violence that has taken their friends and innocence will demand restitution and behavior that comes with adulthood.

    The children shall lead us.  And force the children in adult bodies to grow up and let loose  the behaviors that have kept this beautiful planet hostage.  It is time and the children shall lead because they have memory.  Of the worlds they have come from and where they exhibited behavior that showed accountability.

    It is time for all of us to grow up.

    February 24, 2018
    Veronica Hallissey
    Veronica Hallissey has been writing since the 1960s, with her poetry published in a variety of small press magazines. Born into a farm family in Lockport, NY, and educated at the University of Buffalo and other midwest institutions, she brings and unusual point-of-view to her poetry, combining strong natural images with a deep spiritual language. She lives in Ramona, CA.
←Previous Page
1 … 62 63 64 65 66 … 133
Next Page→

From an Upper Floor

Proudly powered by WordPress