Looking Out - Anita Holzberg

Looking out the rain has finally come

Mocha and me watch it fall

Picchu scurries under the deck

My two cats safe and secure

No amount of loving can bring back what was

I start my day with renewed hope

Hope to win the lottery or write a good poem

or just be with my almond milk piping hot with

  a cup of coffee

Just being is an art in itself

I listen to the leaves rattle

I hear the sing song of the radio

The whish of a hot shower

The whirl of the hair dryer

As being is a simple, yet complicated task

Oh, the door bell. Aya with my soup

I sit and chat while Mocha finds her

as wonderful as I do.

Another day starts

Goodness is bestowed

I salute her!

staying true - Anita Holzberg

An overwhelming sense of your presence

  came over  me

like a wave, like a crisp autumn breeze

I know I can never forget you

I am staying true

It is three years now, since everything changed

My days and nights not quite the same without you

I read unto the wee hours of the morning

I never go a day without thinking of you

Love is like that. I stay true.

Softly - Anita Holzberg

Softly the day starts

  the humming of the heater

the shades of light coming through 

  In my yard another version of Picchu

only bigger

  Picchu afraid as she quickly eats her breakfast

the cat does not leave

Picchu leaves the yard to find a safe place

So much like life, we leave sometimes to be safe.

Softly, the day starts

There is music from my piano

There is Mocha following me around

Room to room

Breakfast is honey nut cheerios and almond milk

a banana too

Sometimes, these familiar events calm my soul

Softly, I dream, too.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg

In this moment - Anita Holzberg

In this moment

  geese fly

    cats are fed

         the heater pumps

The fog is here

      the pumpkins roll

the lemonade sips

the connection between me and thee

continues

my grandkids rocks

Life is about moving forward always

to greet the day

Optimism and hope rests on the horizon

I just have to look.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg

from Anita

Winds blow
Leaves fall
Pumpkins roll
Fall is crisp and clear
And all we hold
dear!

morning glories dance - Anita

Streaming sun

  morning glories dance

there is the illusion of brightness

everywhere

  I need sun glasses in my house

my best friend is coming over today

  there is a happiness unfathomed

and a brightness about her spirit

Look at all we are

     and sing!!

follow the dream - Anita Holzberg

Follow the dream

  it is in your pocket

it is at the top of a light bulb

it is swimming there before you

unnoticed, unabashed, undaunting

Follow the vibe

 it swings from the nearest tree

 it gushes in under doors

 it sweeps you off your feet

 so surprising is this vibe

Follow your heart

  it is something unknown

     true to oneself

   it is something really known

deep in the crevices of the mind

passion presents herself

we know not how deeply we feel unless

  challenged

Follow the stream

 that little form of river

       that peacefully flows

no matter the weather

or the heartache in your heart

the stream moves like peace itself

Follow the star

  that vibrant point of light

remember where you are

so infinite among the tall creatures

Be!!  Be Happy, too.  

Rivers of Memory - Anita

Rivers of memory
Pull me back
The novel, "I Only Have Two Hands"
30 years old, 2 children
In a sense everything comes full circle
The grand kids
The friends of the past
The holiday foods and sights and sounds
I follow my heart which has been wounded many times
I look to the light
This aura will bring happiness
This I can attest too
I hope for you, too. 

In Time - Anita Holzberg

In time

  I will take you with me to the great beyond

In time

   wings and men will be one

In time

    wars will be extinct

Cancer will be a vaccine

Intelligence will be earned, not imagined

In time

  the blue streak of memory

     will chide my dreams

   the time we spent in Spring Valley

     the tuberous begonias, the beautiful block

         of people

In time

       memory will guide, not be an illusion

In time

       I will hold my grandchildren hands

            in that precious moment

                    that my daughter has

                created for me

In time

         sleep will come at the end of a day

          dreams will always be positive

               remembrances memoriable

     because my life is:

              very beautiful

                                  at this moment.

East meets West - Anita Holzberg

East Meets West

Crumbs on the table

A fresh tomato rolling

Buddah meets God

Sprigs of thought

On the face of the Earth.

Amen.

Rising with Mocha - by Anita

Mocha is my alarm clock

That 8 lb. ball of fur

Coming in my room before 7

Clamoring for feeding

Mocha is my heart

It beats faster when she's around

Lowers my blood pressure

They say pets do that

Mocha knows she is loved

Her face lights up

Her tail swishes

She does a roll around dance

Mocha can feel the good vibes in this house, too.

Welcome Mocha!!

black and beige - Anita Holzberg

I live with black and beige

One inside cat whose beige (Mocha)

One outdoor cat whose black (Machu Picchu)

Of course they are my favorite colors

Black has its fierceness and wholeness

Beige has it luminosity and completeness

Together, an amazing combination

P.S. My handbag is black and beige, too.

There is Music in my House Now! - Anita

There is music in my 

  house now!!

Cat sounds

  cat dances

       roll around on the carpet

cat sightings

           on the window sill

  Mocha peering out

Where ever I go

  there is Mocha

    in front knowing the way

Mocha a soulful cat

  who embraces life and liberty

I had to give her "time out"

Too much company

She waited by the closed door

Until I opened it

A face of glee!

August Afternoon - Anita Holzberg

August Afternoon

Sun streams on my deck,

  beautiful rays hit my shoulder,

         Picchu sleeps under

                   a bush,

   a butterfly flies   by,

"Quiet day"..............I can hear

      her b r e a t h i n g.

Space & Lines - Anita

Noticing 

     A glass of water 

 An acorn

A pair of reading glasses

I start my day

Rondo with silence

F l o a t

SILENCE - Anita Holzberg

In this moment

   coast clear

I bow to silence

 no music playing

only the noises of the house

I bow to simplicity

  a bowl of oatmeal,

      a running bath,

         a cotton quilt

Each day, in some small way

  silence is making me stronger

It is a path to the divine, too.

Amen.

Author's Day at the Orchard Museum - by Anita

I should have worn

  a big bright floppy straw hat

        to the 1st Author's Day
  @ the Sunnyvale Museum

It was so festive!

35 Authors came with their books in tow,

displaying their booky wares; eager 

people streamed in on a clear, blue-sky day

seeking books: cookbooks, tech books,
books about making beer, children's books
(to mention but a few)

Volunteers were everywhere, moving

   tables under dark blue tablecloths

  with the Authors' names & bio cards

   (canopies for outside authors)

On the balcony: a cookbook author

handed out a fruit-cocktail cake recipe

(using Libby's fruit cocktail)

Videos were made of all the authors;

a photographer from Sunnyvale Library,

Mike Malone, came & introduced authors

who hawked their books to the crowd.

As a 2nd-floor poet with poetry books 

I met a man from Santa Fe, a daughter 

of Margaret Melietes the head teacher 

in my gifted & talented program
I had taught so many years ago,

my Dr. Chi & her family,
& teenagers interested in poetry.

                                     

While I packed up my books

the goodbyes from other authors

resounded in my ears:

        

"Let's do it again!"

"See you next year!"

       

~ Anita Schiffman Holzberg (edBC)

                    

Omelets are for Breakfast - Anita Holzberg

Omelets are for Breakfast

Omelets are for breakfast
  the ones with spinach & mushrooms
       & tomatoes
                  and don't forget the
 gooey cheese
         running throughout the new born eggs

I wanted to meet you for breakfast
  fresh out of the box
      to entertain your soul

I wanted to take the morning and claim her
instead--was  just thinking about it.............
warm with wheat toast & jam

///////////////////////////Oh, such a morning of my mind!!
Delicious!!!!
Anita Schiffman Holzberg 

July 4th - by Anita

In the heat of the summer
Sun blazes hot and dry

Days roll into weeks

It's almost July 4th
Independence Day

I teach the idea of "independence"
  to a 7 year old child
she gets it

Stand tall America
So much to be proud of
Home of the free
Liberty and Justice for all our friends and neighbors
Life is about respect and kindness
Give the random act (of kindness)
(Your soul will be happy)

Happy 4th of JULY!
Let Freedom Ring!!!!

Anita Schiffman Holzberg
. 

Stand tall America
Home of the Free.

SAID - Anita Holzberg

Said

we wanted

  green peace

and tapioca pudding

and Mars candy bars

Said

 we wanted

    colored rainbows

and jelly beaned grandchildren

and mustard hamburgers

And we got 

just that

a wind struct summer

baked potatoes

corn hanging on the cob

and we got 

  streaming flags

and 4th of July sunsets

we got all that

and then, 

some.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg

PEACE - Anita Hozberg

In sentences I sing

In beautiful gardens I sit
In the goings and comings I am at ease

P e a c e be with You!

Anita Schiffman Holzberg

A New Day - Anita Holzberg

Seated here

  my trumpet vines blooming

     the open blinds

view the garden

    all lush with summer flowers

Back from Chicago where green 

       lawns landscaped Bevie's house

where the back patio 

       had a barbecue

            and swing

       we viewed it all from

            a beautiful breakfast nook

                  with a white table

                         black chairs

                   and cheery red place mats.

           My travels stood me well

                   I discovered a life that was

               really wonderful

         I watch the day o p e n i n g

            My window to the garden

        always an inspiration.

        

Fragrance - by Anita

Fragrance comes
 I smell her
almost as lovely as
 a rose
 
Fragrance comes
my Coco Channel
always my favorite

You can have Chance
too, Channel in my consciousness
Since my Mother

OK, Fragrance is memorable
Lily of the valley, Carvon
Mrs. Harriet Schiffman
I could smell that acrid sweetness
Across the room
And love, too. 

Searching for Answers - Anita Holzberg

Searching for answers
A needle in a haystack
Time the ultimate river
      of truth
            of waking and dying
Every day
      we die a bit
                every day we are reborn
                          a bit

        the balance
               between: sadness
                                        and  joy

      elation and deflation

Searching for answers
        I pull off the leaves of my hardy neglected
                geranium plant
                             still there
                        still               there.

Anita and Emily

I Will Get There - Anita Holzberg

Tomorrow the dream is written on
    on my sleeve
Tomorrow the dream is waltzing out to lunch
     unencumbered 
Tomorrow the dream is walking down steps
     without a cane 
Tomorrow the dream is dancing to the tune of
     grand kids marching

I will get there
I have to push hard now
I did it before
I will do it again

Tomorrow's dream is close to reality

Be it
Seek it
Wear it
Hug it
                Make it my shadow
                      Make it my foot print
                          Make it my landscape

                              Be. 

Awfully - Anita Holzberg

Awfully full
of a lunch which I said everything I know
    about poetry
I wanted to speak that to a person
    whose poetry I like

Awfully happy
I had lunch amidst the clacking of forks and spoons
A Mexican salad of beans and chips and avocado
I set facing a new/old friend
Her ideas popping out gems

Awfully connected
From Boston blue collar  roots, East coast beginnings
The family car persisted in our stories
How important is that?

Awfully wonderful
We said "Good-bye"
The common tread pulled us
Hugged us close 
This beautiful Spring May Day.

Anita Schiffman Holzberg 

Time is of the Essence - Anita Holzberg

Time is of the essence
No time for brooding and going backwards
The infinite shadows persists
My heart torn and somewhat shattered
But, I know I will recover
Its like walking
It's walking through that gets me there
To the other side of the mountain.

For Inge - by Anita

Not withstanding hope
I write these lines
My new found old friend
Gives me adrenaline
I go with it
Up to the skies
I sit in her garden
the fountain a beautiful stream of white water f l o w i n g
She shows me what she is about
Fresh strawberries and cheese
Freshly brewed coffee
Mix in
With dogs on the other side of the fence
The view very green
The laughter and banter continues
Way past supper time
I drive home inebriated with her spirit
and her lightness.

A New Day - Anita Holzberg

Seated here
  my hazelnut coffee beside me
swing pants on my body
   yoga thoughts
meditation
the going is good, really good
the coming is good too.
I am immersed in song