Two woman, Anita Holzberg and Ann Wainwright met over the internet with Bill Costley,
their common friend, whose wife Carolin had been Ann's good friend. Starting in
June '09, Anita sent a Cupcake poem to Ann's website cakecakecake, after seeing
the photo of cupcakes. The poem was about her grandson's first birthday party. Ann
liked that and it was the start of a wonderful exchange of poems from Anita to Ann and
Ann with color, photos, and lay-out savvy, presented them to the blog. Now, in 2010,
the two women so alike in spirit and interests, have started BetweenFriends, a new blog
site where they can combine ideas about their worlds. Ann lives in Northern UK
(Teesside). Anita lives in Northern California, Sunnyvale, (Silicon Valley where all the
computers are.) We share our lives on this blog and hope you will comment and share
yours too, dear readers and enjoy the "ride".

Tuesday 28 February 2012

A Poem from Anita


evening comes
4 hours medical
arm swinging like a pendulum
no pain meds
healing good
rehab is up to me
evening comes salmon and quinoa
made by a total stranger
sits and talks
daughter going to teach in Japan
life could take on new paths
delicious icing froasting
chocolate for the bath
something new
inhale
wonderful!

Response - by Anita

"When you sit in a café, with a lot of music in the background & a lot of projects in your head, you're not really drinking your coffee or your tea. You're drinking your projects, you're drinking your worries. You are not real, & the coffee is not real either. Your coffee can only reveal itself to you as a reality when you go back to your self & produce your true presence, freeing yourself from the past, the future, & from your worries. When you are real, the tea also becomes real & the encounter between you & the tea is real. This is genuine tea drinking."

  ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Anita's response -
the green tea beckons
  its the only drink i drink at Starbucks
the zen flavor of lemon grass seeps
the aroma astounds me
light yet tangy
life becomes that too
in a NewYork minute California dreams arise.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Morning Comes - Anita Holzberg


Morning comes
Nathan visits
We talk about our lives
over a Cappuccino 
at Starbucks
no seats
We share a table with a guy with a small dog
Scott is in the conversation and Baby the dog
Scott leaves
We talk about finances and our children
We talk for almost 2 hours
Starbucks' tables become empty
It is over 70 degrees in February
The dialog started for us in September
It continues
I in a sling
A poet friend comes by
We talk as if no one but us is there
My hair blows softly
My heart rises
Life is good!
In my lucky Starbucks
Life is good!

Monday 20 February 2012

tomorrow - Anita Holzberg

tomorrow
the clouds will rise
the trees will be more green
the willows will awaken
i will have a working right arm
a left knee that can walk more than a mile
morning comes, prayer too
in this resemblance of sky
there is light, also.

the day wakes up - Anita Holzberg

In silence
 the day wakes up
the hummingbird flutters
the buttercup shines
the trumpet vine hums
all creatures big and small
enter this day
and i remember the beauty of nature
too!

Friday 17 February 2012

Poem by Anita


in the staying 
in o n e place
we never escape our dreams
we see the everyday as special
the community not only of writers
but gardeners, caregivers, street cleaners
    everyone contributing to the day
forces of nature come together
    on the shoulders of hard work
the core of the apple sings.

Monday 13 February 2012

Monday Arrives - Anita Holzberg





Monday arrives
the surprise is the rain
coming down like gangbusters
the barbecue all covered in wet
the faded green umbrella soaked
the cat in the yard, 
her coat soaked too
i sleep way beyond sunrise
the arm in less pain
time is the great healer
time and good people around me
the key to healing
this is true
right as rain
as the light at the end
 of my tunnel still shines for me.

Sunday 12 February 2012

Greetings - from Anita!

in the slow dance of the turtle
  sure steps are found
in the opening of sky
  burdens lift
in the soft moss
  a playful soul emerges

Friday 10 February 2012

another day - Anita Holzberg

morning comes
Sumatra coffee
ribboned Valentine cards
for my daughters

sentiments sky high
sun shining
another mild day in February
like spring-in-winter
5 weeks to go
arm in a sling
fractured is temporary

Poem by Anita

morning comes
the sun glowing between the streets
the sweet scent of cinnamon toast
tangy grapefruit
coffee brewed by a caregiver
arm in a sling
nathan calls from east coast
i am in his heart for empathy
soft shades of morning
hopping keys the keyboard
humming into a sense of normalcy
hope in these words 

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Poem of Healing by Anita Holzberg

morning comes
  chance plays her trump card
arm in a sling once strong
   now broken
time is all i have
time to heal

Friday 3 February 2012

I Gather Them In - Anita Holzberg


I gather them in
  all the pleats of memory
    all the sequins of history
      all the glitz and glam-our
          or a life I led
       the trips to LA
          Frank Israel's designs
            his friendship, too
 
 I gather them in
      pearls and diamond bracelets
         lost
       fragrance of Coco Channel
         shiny hair
       perfumed mornings
         before I saw You

I gather them all
      wind and wonder
         soft petals
      leaves of red
         brick evenings

I chance to meet you in my dream
     sweet pillows of remembrances
        on a bird's wing
             I remember it all
                all the losses I endured
                      even Now.

Mine - Anita Holzbzerg


Mine,
   I wanted it to be mine

My rainbow
  My piece of heaven
    My peace among the rafters

Mine going and coming
  Mine love affair fleeting
    Mine curtains flowing
      Mine heart, soul, and body
           riding the crest
                  of too many lost loves

           Mine facing another Valentine's Day
               In lieu of all this
                   Mine fancy do dads
                     Mine raspberry jam
                         Mine patch of freedom
                             in this sea of aloneness
                          Mine spirit rises with the wind
                             a new day revs
                          Mine bangle bracelets
                          Mine house of comfort
                          Mine Picchu and glee 
                    
                           Mine sacred time between
                              me and Thee.

We all Connect with the Great White River - Anita Holzberg

We connect with the great white river
that flows within us
The darkness and light
that floods morning-song
The tall trees whose roots go to the next
millennium
Politics aside
We ride the crest of a natural wonder

Can you hear the mockingbirds?
Can you see the heron
sliding on Shoreline marsh?
Can you blow thistle
and watch the seeds fall?

We connect with the rushing of the rain
the softness of a snow

I have been there
every morning
rehearsing your song,
dear Earth.

and that rehearsal brings
infinite peace.

Thursday 2 February 2012

In This World - Anita Holzberg


In this world
  Evie, 4 months old
       connects
    with eyes, nose, mouth, and toes
her being in the world short of a miracle

      In this world
          the ideas evolve
                 the time to think immense
                      books emerge
                         poems follow suit

         In this world
               time does not stand still
                       the planets wax and wane
                            the infinite colors mix
                               as paint and wit
                                        mark this day.