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".

Sunday 29 July 2012

If you do not have visions - Anita Holzberg


Moons have their own aura
  floating moons
     into rooms
I see your face
     in full view
not hiding behind the Moon

Floating moons
  bring us back to the round-
         ness
the truth of human kindness
      the truth of
   who we are
between sunlight and moonlight
     I ride the great divide
 many moons.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg

Saturday 21 July 2012

I Will Know My Name - Anita Holzberg


In time I will know my name
 the name of my granddaughter 
   Evelyn Rose
sweet, innocent, happy
I will hold her in my arms
I will carry her from room to room
I will feed her
and let her hold her bottle

In time I will know my name
Evidenced in truth found
among the papers
among the rafters

In the spot where books were written
years ago I will know my name
my name among my writing

In time I will believe I have written
  throughout my life
and become more from the writings

In time I will know my name.

Introspection - Anita Holzberg


In thought out sequences
I do the dance
of eating less
of braving it out
of taking care of me in
the biting silences
I read, I write, I wash
dishes and remember
how it was
how it is now
If by chance I meet myself
coming and going
I will walk in the way of the meadow
walk in the way of the stream
walk under the trestle of the train
I have been there
almost 70 years
taking chances
in my stockpile of memories
every decision was a chance
every step forward is 
determined by where I had been before
the killing ground
looks good, it really does.

Friday 20 July 2012

after all the trees sing - Anita Holzberg (Ed by Bill Costley)

After all the trees sing,
violets bloom,  

the sense of wonder asserts
that satisfaction was had

i'ts over
liked warmed milk, luke-warm
in all that we said & stated
it's over, until:

the next chapter writes itself
& the next student appears

the next bff (?) comes into view
I await the next. 

It's become almost a ritual - Anita Holzberg


Its become almost a ritual
I walk in
you there in a wheelchair
I kiss you on the lips
You kiss back

Its become almost a ritual
I talk, you a few words
You nod
I continue

Its become almost a ritual
I tell you how handsome you are
You thank me

And its a ritual
I come home
  you can not be here
 it is like a whirlwind
that has happened
I can not bear it
I immediately get some water
I do not break down and cry
Yes, my beloved was taken from me
I am grateful he did not die
I repeat that phrase over and over

What is it like for him?

Anita Schiffman Holzberg 

I Held on to the Roses - Anita Holzberg


I held on to the roses
  pink, orange, violet, and red
I held on to the roses
the golden touch in my life
the pitter patter
the fragrant rose at my dining room table
the rose that lit my kitchen window
the rose that stood by me in my darkest hour

Sometimes, the rose was her own piece
    my own piece of heaven.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg 

Slowly - Anita Holzberg

S l o w l y
   I taste the wine
S l o w l y
   I write the rhyme
S l o w l y
   I start my day
S l o w l y
   my face dismay
S l o w l y
     I pay my bills
S l o w l y
     I take my pills
S l o w l y
     I put aside sadness
S l o w l y
      I replace with happiness
S l o w l y
      the world does not wait
S l o w l y
       I hesitate
S l o w l y
       I plug into view
S l o w ly
        its me and then, You.

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Love Story - Anita Story


noticing fog
  a comforting thought returns
         under the fogged in skies
how much did you love me?

I know it was a lot
   I was the receiver of so much
           I never once questioned it
we were sympatico
          the seasons rolled
we were sympatico
              the words came to the
tip of my tongue
the silences when the TV blared
the silences when we slept in each others arms
or Cocoa in between

How much is lost in time
      your face never leaves mine
your heart beats with mine
even Now.

Monday 16 July 2012

NICE DREAMS - Anita


Nice dreams
  red velvet cake
I wanted to serve it to you
   I wanted to touch your face
in the sunlight
   I begin again
each morning a revision
another day to get it right
so to speak
to read volumes
to walk in the park
to hold truths in the palm of my hand
How are You?

I Walk - Anita Holzberg


tenacious heart
  beating to the rhythm
I walk on sand
  in bare feet
I walk into life
  as a brisk day
     with the geraniums blooming
            with the fierce river rolling
                 with the sun in the sky
                    like an orange ball
                           shining
I hear you
  when I am in the shower
     when I am in the yard
           when I start the barbecue
               you were here
          and the memory is sweet
                  I lost you now
            but I will never leave you
                  I bought you chocolates
                          and strawberries

                    Tenacious love
                           holds the rudder
                       through time.

Tuesday 10 July 2012

silence is golden-Anita Holzberg


silence is golden
   awaking the small
spaces revisit the dream

silence is golden
  the large spaces 
gather in

silence is golden
the day begins
wings 
surface
I am f l y i n g
amidst the s i l e n c e
the dream comes c l e a r.

Monday starts-Anita


clamoring
  Monday starts
    a blue Sunday recedes
the kitchen counters crowded
   roast chicken pans
   small tangerines
   garlic and dill
     olive oil
clamoring for attention
     the pots and pans unwashed
the latter too hard to do
        it will wait
like everything in my life
         it will wait.

Saturday 7 July 2012

newness dances - Anita Holzberg


newness dances on feet unknown
  a cleared up table
papers gone
      disappear and vanish into boxes
clear cut tablecloth
ready
clean for company ready
as the day progresses into mid-day
no shower, no hair wash
no eyeliner, lips covered
I sit in my pajamas
watching the hours fly
thinking at 4 PM I will go to the park.

Affirmations - by Anita


Subscribe to the NY Times
Sit huddled in a corner
Drink Zen tea at Starbucks
Flee from the enemy
Stand tall every morning
Sit in the seat of angels
Do a favor for someone
Hug a child
Teach a dog something new
Play havoc with the wind
Smell wildflowers 
Weave daisy chains
Be the wind, sun, and shadow
B r e a t h e

WOW Factor - Anita Holzberg


Sweeping away the grains
   Infinite shadows emerge and dissipate
4th of July wonder
Seated among the blooming roses
Friends next to me
Bill a face, not an e mail
I wanted to be the Wow factor
I dressed dramatically
My dress of 5 years ago or more
I wanted to meet new people
and I did.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

The Lesson - Anita Holzberg


Not withholding love
  I live it every day
a child comes to visit
  her lesson
is a labor of love
she draws a map
maybe the first map she has ever drawn
It is perfect
It shows all the cities and the Pacific Ocean
I watch this act
I stand in the wings
Learning is about letting the student fly
She flies
She completes the map
  She knows it is good.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg 

the pillow fight is over - Anita Holzberg


When the urge to be surfaced
  when the pillow fight is over
     the struggle with myself ended
   the incredible dream returns

I dream I would work again
I dream I would walk again
I dream I would ride the Bart again

In this sentence there are adjectives
Active verbs
T-shirts ordered that say "Anita's Writers"
coming soon from Vista Print

In the waking
  God on my path
 the countenance, the majesty of moments
   walking with God, God is walking with me,too.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg 

We Never said Good-Bye - Anita Holzberg


We never said good-bye

we never said good-bye
  we never uttered endings
       we never shuttered in the morning sun
           we never gave up on sky

we never looked further than Now
  we are living a dream

your mind returns
   it is a gift upon gifts
I see you today
   a resurrected cloud
          beauty is in the eye of the beholder
I hold you close.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg
Jim returns

1,000 - Anita Holzberg


1,000 dreams dancing in the sunlight
  1,000 windows shining top of the morning
    1,000 mouths singing in the limelight

1,000 feet walking to nirvana

I find you in the smallest hour
  I speak my heart
    my heart that was put in a box
         I open it for you

1,000 friends shouting hello

I am walking with God, too.

In Truth - Anita Holzberg


In truth
  the cat comes in
her paws touch carpet
   her Buddah pose
quiet as the morning is long

In truth
  the fingers ache like needles
     arthritis looms

In truth
   weight gain is about carelessness
       today is a better day

In truth
    time comes, time goes
I see the light of your eyes
I am walking with God and God is walking
     with me
comforting me in those dark moments.