Rough Draft

I would like to thank fellow Long Island poet, Peter V. Dugan for the title to this poem. Also, I still haven't decided if I am making this poem longer or keeping it as is. As always, tell me what you think. Thank-you in advance. ;)

rough draft

sketches in words

paintings and ink

the brain fandangos

and the gears of the mind move in time

while the hand waltzes with the pen

gently gliding across the page

blending in, loose ends fading into the background

the focal point—a single “the”

that winds the entire story around “it,”

draws the reader in

and the eyes wander from word to word,

brush stroke to brush stroke

paying fine attention to detail

and then the fuller picture emerges

Ode to My Allergies

No this is not in true ode form. lol. Quick back story to this poem: I was talking to fellow Long Island Poet, Jay Jii, and I was talking about my allergies. He said I should write a poem about it. So I did. This was the end result.

Ode to My Allergies

Morning breaks and I start coughing

A sign of what's to come

My nose runs the Boston Marathon

No stretching beforehand, it just takes off

Looks back at me, the great Sphinx

And runs further away

Until right before the finish line

It slows down and backs up

Glues itself in place

And causes a traffic jam in my sinuses...

I open my mouth to speak

Only nothing comes out

I haven't a voice

And I admit to some that's a blessing

I clear my throat

I sound like a cat hacking up hairballs

I take a Benedryl, which completely knocks me out..

I wake up and I start coughing again

And then one eye starts to itch

I take a tissue and dab it

Waterfalls emerge from my tear ducts

As if my heart had been broken

Onions look at me and start to cry

Someone asks me “what's wrong?”

To which I reply with a hefty sneeze

And they answer their own question

“Oh it's just your allergies.”

c2011 Lady Samantha

Be Quiet

Be Quiet

I'm dreaming,

laying on the forest floor

Treetops

keeping me calm and cool

I look up as the sun dances through the openings,

making shadows and designs all around me

I listen

to the trees that foster the heartbeat of the Earth,

as they sway in the wind to the rhythms of the Universe

In every direction

There's a new wind blowing,

singing a song

even though we march to the beats of different drummers.

I'm feeling

intoxicated by it all,

overwhelmed by the prospects of my imagination

That's where I get lost the most,

escaping to the far reaches of an ever contracting and expanding Universe

I dive into the creativity head-on

The light bulb turns on

The sun is in my head

illuminating my curiosity.

If you listen carefully

you can hear my thoughts

as they bounce into outer space and back

radio waves of thoughts

flying low to the ground

exploding like firecrackers

bombarding the people with a new sound.

The compass needle is going every which way

but I am not lost here on the forest floor

The scene is changing and I with it

Hopefully for the better.

Time is fleeting

a second ago I was born

and now I am reborn... again

I like this Renaissance of me

learning the old, bringing it into the new

still liking to write, but will settle for Roman type

on a computer that looked very familiar to me

many hundreds of years ago.

And the birds fly by

and offer me a ride

to somewhere they promise is just as fantastic

as where I am now

I pay by check but my

money is no good here said the dolphin on the wing

Go slow I said because man was not made to take off

Yet my imagination flies.

The waterfalls are rushing

as I meditate on the calmness of the pools they form

and I dive in naked,

my thoughts are bare for all to see

some divine illusion by divine illumination

divine proportion, my eye was drawn in

to the center of my own world

in my own time

and a bed that looks quite restless

My head hits the pillow

faster than the speed of sound

I come back down...

Be quiet.

c2011 Lady Samantha

Day 8

The irony of trying to lose weight is that I am on an antibiotic now for a urinary tract infection and I have my period. I have to eat to take my meds and I don't feel like eating because I'm a tad crampy.

When one is on antibiotics one is not supposed to really exercise. I remember my doc telling me that years ago. Another irony is everytime I start to exercise, I get sick. So this is right on schedule. lol.

However because I've not eaten that much, I've not gained nor lost any weight. So that is good. I am going to get rid of this weight one way or another. It's coming off I tell ya!

Day 3

2 days in and I went to Taco Bell, but it's  not as bad you think, because that is pretty much all I ate until this moment. I learned an amazing thing about the chocolate i love 8 pieces is 200 calories. Not too bad, and ladies and gentlemen here is a tip for eating any chocolate item...suck on the chocolate. Let it melt in your mouth (not in your hands-haha). Believe it or not you WILL relax a little.

As for exercise, today I've done my buttcrunches, situps, reverse situps, and a little on the bike. Now I've been doing a standing work out on the bike because my seat was causing me butt problems, but I will attach it eventually. However, today's mini work out on the bike caused my hip to snap. This is so joyous! (ok I am rolling my eyes.) Yesterday if you remember, my knee snapped. I am in pain in my neck and shoulders too from something else. So when I do situps or anything where I am using those parts of my body I have to take it really easy. Hey I'm being honest. Things are as easy as they used to be. I used to be able to eat everything and never gain weight, but now that I am in my early 30s, and my metabolism isn't what it used to be. That's okay. I'm going to conquer this.

Now you ask me why I won't go to the gym? The honest truth is I was about to check out a gym one county over with a friend of mine, and things sort of fell through. It's not her fault. It's not my fault. If I go to a gym, I want the first few times to be with a friend, and the gym must have a pool. I used to swim a whole lot. Now, not so much. I used to be able to do thirty laps. Now, not so much. lol. BUT I love being in the water. I don't have the courage to go to a gym or pool alone right now, especially a gym. Though I secretly crave a treadmill.

Now this is to gyms who want business--when you advertise do NOT show skinny models who have never been over weight. You want my business? No. I'm not going to go to a place where I am the only fat kid in town. I want to see people like me working out and losing or trying to lose weight.  This is part of the reason why neither my mother, myself, nor a few other people we know will go to a gym. The other parts are 1. I don't want to be watched by other people as I exercise 2.  I am afraid of personal trainers. I think they are nasty most of the time, and in my experience NONE have a sense of humor nor do they know when to quit. I learned in high school that if you are in that much pain or are about to spew all over the place, you need to stop. You can pick it up later if you feel better. Instead a lot of trainers on tv and in real life, push people so hard that they break. You know what you can do. Don't let others dictate to you what you are able to do. Then again, it depends on what your goals are.

With that said, I think you should try to increase the amount you do, work up to a goal. My goal now is to get up to 10 minutes. Now, sometimes I can do ten minutes, and other times I can't. Why is this? I think it's because sometimes I just feel tired or like crap. It's okay. It's called being human.

One of the things I learned about dieting in the past, is unless your doctor tells you to cut a food or foods out, do not cut anything out because then you will crave it MORE. It's not like quitting smoking, or alcohol. You need food to live. You can't cut food out of your life. What I am going to do is try the "Half now. Half later" idea. Cut my portion sizes in half, and eat healthier. I am going to try to cut back on my bread in take too.

I did find some recipes to try too. Remember I am a vegetarian. I think I am going to try the Salsa recipe first. You can have Salsa by itself or with some chips or crackers. It's very healthy.

Ok I've babbled on too much! I am going to do some more buttcrunches. Iwant my old butt back, or a reasonable facsimile.

Day 2

Day 2

Well, I ate. I exercised. Now I am having a snack. I figure I'd better eat something for all that snow I am helping shovel tomorrow.  It's not that bad. Bean dip is only  35 calors for 8 tbsp 1 g of fat  5g of carb of which 1g is fiber no sugar..I like beans. Sue me. Don't worry, I am not farting a whole lot. I was after dinner though. Learned the hard way- no coffee after veggie chili. Caffeine and veggies do not mix. Earlier I had some coconut water-which only had 60 calories. My downfall was dessert-an apple turnover--sugar free from Steinberg's. We had bought it Saturday before I decided to do is blog thing.

As for exercise--I did the rowing machine, very little on the bike (my knee snapped while on the rowing machine-kinda hurt), and I did some buttcrunches . Later I will do sit ups and stuff.

If you have an vegetarian recipes, please do leave links and recipes below. AsI find them Iwil post as well.

Weight Loss Night 1

I decided to use my blog as a way to keep track of what I am doing or not doing in the weight loss area. I need to lose 47 lbs. Right now my goal is ten. I also need to keep the weight off.

I admit I had a big dinner. I won't tell you where mom and I went. I told mom I decided to cut out fast food all together and eat smaller portions.

Part of my problem is I am a carbovegetarian. I eat too many carbs. I've been a vegetarian my entire life. Vegetarian means I don't eat meat fish or poultry but do eat egg and milk products. Vegan is no meat, fish, poultry and no eggs or milk products. If you eat only fish or poultry you are NOT a vegetarian. One of the things I am going to do is look up vegetarian  recipes.

Now what health problems are going to be a problem for me--my IBS. Whatever I eat or drink I have to experiment with to make sure it doesn't upset my stomach/colon.

I also need to exercise. Until 12th grade I danced. I am now 32. I barely exercise. I refuse to go to a gym. I need to do things at my pace. I do not believe in making yourself uber sick to lose weight. I have an exercise bike and an old fashioned rowing machine as well as a resistance band and 2lb weights. Come the warmer weather I will walk. When I start feeling sick, I must stop.

Sometimes exercise affects my stomach. I just now did six minutes of working out--just low impact workout...and I am about ready to throw up. I hate throwing up! I hate it with a passion! My stomach is not amused with me at the moment.

Bottom line: I need to eat less and I need to exercise every day even if it's only a few minutes.