Le deuxième café

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” – L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

“Home isn’t where you’re from, it’s where you find light when all grows dark.” – Pierce Brown, Golden Son

Le deuxième café

There is a second café now, in

Villeseque

C’est petit

Not so grand as the first

Cosy – like that favorite old sweater

Clung to on autumn’s first chill

Across the road, a large wooden table

Around it are six stools – room for twelve (stacked nearby)

Another small table just outside the door

The pattern is repeated inside

Tapas, wine, beer as you like

No extra charge for welcoming service

From your first visit,

You have come home

Bisous,

Léa

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Villeseque Café

L’ete

The veil between my beloved summer and autumn has once again descended. Like last year, it has tumbled earlier than in the past. I’ve learned to find delights in each season but summer is where my heart sings. The quotes below, for me, reflect that sentiment. 

 

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned  that within me there lay an invincible summer.”  –  Albert Camus

“In summer, the song sings itself.”   –  William Carlos Williams

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”   –  F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

 

L’ete

Slowing down my mind

Halt the eternal quest

For tomorrow, next week

Or a favorite holiday

Even before summer’s

Waning begins, the

Yearning for it starts

Anew

*

Learning to delight in

Nuances of each season

Colors of gold, red, yellow

Then brown splashes

Across the vineyards to

Les arbres

Soups simmer once again

A late squash-corn chowder,

Black bean or hearty vegetable

Avec pois chiche

*

Le Printemps donne l’espoir

Les fleurs,

Vibrant green leaves

Sur le vigne

Life cycle

Reaffirms herself

Mother Nature bestows her gifts

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Most difficult

Pour moi

Making peace

Avec l’hiver

Taking my breath away

Lodging its chill

Deep in my bones

Even when sunlight bounces

Across a rare snow

Longing takes over

Summer feels so far away

*

Bisous,

Léa

lumière du soleil

“I desperately want to see the day today and do the best I can not to miss a shred of sunlight. It’ll be over before I know it.”   –  Mandy Patinkin

 

“If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god.   –  Napoleon Bonaparte

 

“A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked.”   –  Anais Nin

*

lumière du soleil

*

playfully

she slips upon me

as I sleep

nudging me awake

filled with laughter

forcing my eyes

open

*

impishly she creeps

into corners

illuminating cobwebs

chasing shadows

yet they disappear

as she moves on

*

like a torch

her beams

warm the forest’s

thickly needled carpet

peeking between branches

and leaves

*

with a silent smirk

in her wake

she ignites starlight

*

Bisous,

Léa

Defeat

The darker things get, the more I find myself turning to the wise words that are never far away. In fact, I hope you find some below. There is much more on the bookshelf, library, and the internet. Poetry and quotes have long been a refuge for many.

 

“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.”                       – George E. Woodberry

 “What is defeat? Nothing but education. Nothing but the first step to something better.”  – Wendell Phillips

 

Defeat 

 

Defeat, my Defeat, my solitude, and my aloofness;

You are dearer to me than a thousand triumphs,

And sweeter to my heart than all world-glory.

 

Defeat, my Defeat, my self-knowledge, and my defiance,

Through you, I know that I am yet young and swift of foot

And not to be trapped by withering laurels.

And in you, I have found aloneness

And the joy of being shunned and scorned.

 

Defeat, my Defeat, my shining sword, and shield,

In your eyes, I have read

That to be enthroned is to be enslaved,

And to be understood is to be leveled down,

And to be grasped is but to reach one’s fullness

And like a ripe fruit to fall and be consumed.

 

Defeat, my Defeat, my bold companion,

You shall hear my songs and my cries and my silences,

And none but you shall speak to me of the beating of wings,

And urging of seas,

And of mountains that burn in the night,

And you alone shall climb my steep and rocky soul.

 

Defeat, my Defeat, my deathless courage,

You and I shall laugh together with the storm,

And together we shall dig graves for all that die in us,

And we shall stand in the sun with a will,

And we shall be dangerous.                              – Kahlil Gibran

 

Bisous,

Léa

Wednesday’s Words to Ponder…

HARRIET TUBMAN  1820 – MARCH 10, 1913

 

“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop, keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going”.  – Harriet Tubman

“There was one of two things I had a right to Liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would take the other, no man should take me alive. I should fight for liberty as long as my strength lasted”.  – Harriet Tubman

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman

“I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”  – Harriet Tubman

“I had crossed the line. I was free, but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.”  – Harriet Tubman

“I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”  – Harriet Tubman  

Born a slave and named, by her parents, Araminta “Minty” Ross, around the year 1820, she became the most well known of the conductors on The Underground Railroad.ty

She served as a conductor for a decade. The abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison gave her the nickname, “Moses”. It was through her own efforts that she accumulated the funds she would need to continue her mission. Over time, she built a reputation for her deeds and thus supporters helped by providing both shelter and funds for her trips to the south.

Harriet served as a cook, nurse, laundress, spy and scout during the Civil War. She returned to her home in Auburn after the Emancipation Proclamation where she remained for the rest of her life. Her doors remained open to those in need and her earnings from her vegetable garden she added to the funds raised to create schools for the purpose of educating African Americans. She gave speeches on Women’s Rights. While not a leader in the movement, she was a strong supporter and the women who were leaders had supported her efforts in The Underground Railroad. Tubman believed in the equality of all people, black or white, male or female.

Personally, I find it appalling that the sitting President has gone back on the plan of the previous administration to honor Harriet Tubman with her face on the front of the twenty dollar bill and former President Andrew Jackson moved to the back. Trump is determined to undo as many good works from the Obama administration as possible. Unfortunately, it is hardly a surprise that such a racist, misogynistic individual would carry through with the plan. He doesn’t even keep his own promises to the people of the country.

–

Bisous,

Léa

What To Write About When The Dreaded Deadline Is Looming – by Derek Haines… — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog

on Just Publishing Advice: You have to write an article or blog post, and the clock is ticking Every writer knows the feeling. You need to write about something, and quickly, but you are at a loss for topic ideas. For authors and those writers who are into more creative writing pursuits, there is usually […]

via What To Write About When The Dreaded Deadline Is Looming – by Derek Haines… — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog

Poetry Day!

POETRY DAY IS INTERNATIOAL, there are readings here in France and I have no doubt there are others…

Calling ALL scribes! This is a terrific opportunity for you to let your voice be heard, as Saturday, October 7th is RANDOM ACTS of POETRY DAY Whoa! Are they sure they know what they are doing here? Unleashing bards and bardettes from all over the world to explode with poetic joy, any and every where they […]

via Random Acts of Poetry Day October 7 — Annette Rochelle Aben

Silence

“Silence is a true friend who never betrays.”   – Confucius

“True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.”  – William Penn

“Music and silence combine strongly because music is done with silence, and silence is full of music.”  – Marcel Marceau

                                                                                  –

Silence 

 

That is not what

She is saying –

Music – a passion

But silence – silken, warm

Comforter, blanket, cape

To withdraw –

The cocoon where

Creativity germinates freely

Where her mind

slows its frantic pace

From chaos to

Inspiration

 Repressed mantra

– 

Silence – her fortress

It has her back

Shelter from the storm

 She hears the predator coming

The clacking of her heels

Rattling of keys

Always different from other disasters

Silence, sounds its warning

Flight, the favored response

Hushed cantata

–

Soldiers

Recount lying in wait

As the enemy approaches

Rubber sole alarm

The heart skips beats

Hands quiver, mouth dry

Words, forsake her

Her litany to be alone

 Quelled psalms of youth

–

Soil, secure, reticent, fertile

Where seeds finds solace, 

Nourishment, sanctuary,

Strength, time – her friends

Adapting, evolving, processing

She bursts forth

 Her ode to joy

 

–

Bisous,

                                              – Léa                  

                          

 

Quotes of the day -Guillement du jour

Despite the passage of time, I find much relevance to the present. If any of these quotes speak to you, or make you think, it is what I hoped for. In addition to the quotes you find here, you will find a few added to the Quotes page and I hope you will stop by. I often find inspiration upon ruminating on one quote or another… Choose a quote and take it out for a walk and see where it takes you. Who will pick up the gauntlet?

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” Malala Yousafzai 

“Diplomats make it their business to conceal the facts, and politicians violently denounce the politicians of other countries.” – Margaret Sanger

“A free race cannot be born of slave mothers.” – Margaret Sanger

“Woman must have her freedom, the fundamental freedom of choosing whether or not she will become a mother and how many children she will have. Regardless of what man’s attitude may be, that problem is hers – and before it can be his, it is hers alone.”    – Margaret Sanger

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”  – George Orwell

“The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.”  – George Orwell

“Nationalism is power hunger fuelled by self deception.” – George Orwell

“Sometimes the scandal is not law was broken, but what the law allows.”                           – Edward Snowdon

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”  – Mark Twain

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”  – Mark Twain

“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer up somebody else.”  – Mark Twain

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”  – William Shakespeare

“A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.”                                 – William Shakespeare

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” – William Shakespeare

“How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”  – William Shakespeare

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”  – Mahatma Gandhi

“Man becomes great in exactly the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow men.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Power is two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than one derived from fear of punishment.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“What we think, we become.”  – Budda

“Three things cannot be long hidden: The sun, the moon and the truth.”  – Budda

 

 Bisous,

Léa

 

Quotes – Pearls of wisdom…

Quotes – Pearls of wisdom? Or perhaps they are the spark for inspiration? If a quote speaks to you, explore the reason it does. If it is something you do not except, why doesn’t it? If quotes were charms for a bracelet I could not lift either arm. Anything that can get me thinking, defending my position, looking at something in a new light, it has served me well. Quotes are a powerhouse and just wait for us to discover them and examine what they mean to us as individuals. Perhaps there are a few you can take for a walk across the page, canvas… It is my hope you will find something among what is offered here and see where it takes you… Often I find my best work when I attack a statement I have strong feelings about regardless if they are positive or negative. In fact, the negative ones are often the most enlightening. 

“If you haven’t changed your mind lately how can you be sure you still have one?” Author unknown

“A learned fool is more a fool than an ignorant fool.” – Moliere

“We die only once and for such a long time.” – Moliere

“Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.” – Moliere

“Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough, you can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.” – J.M. Barrie

“I am not young enough to know everything.” – J.M. Barrie

“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.” – J.M. Barrie

“For several days after my first book was published, I carried it about in my pocket and took surreptitious peeps at it to make sure the ink had not faded.” – J.M. Barrie

“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” – J.M. Barrie

“We never understand how little we need in this world until we know the loss of it.” – J.M. Barrie

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” – A.A. Milne

“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” – A.A. Milne

“You will be better advised to watch what we do instead of what we say.”   – A.A. Milne

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” – A.A. Milne

“The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.” – A.A. Milne

“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne

“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.”          – Lewis Carroll

“I can’t go back to yesterday – because I was a different person then.”            – Lewis Carroll

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ said Alice. ‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the cat. ‘We’re all mad here.” – Lewis Carroll

“That’s the reason they’re called lessons, because they lesson from day to day.” – Lewis Carroll

“Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain

“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”                      – Mark Twain

“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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Bisous,

Léa