Poem by Anita

The clouds come in

 the day is cooler

Mocha always under my feet

A soulful cat who just loves my company

It's kind of a lazy day

No place really to be in a busy week

Rest and relaxation is my mantra

I look at my geraniums blooming

Fresh with rain

and smile.

riding out the tide - Anita

Riding out the tide

  I skip stones in the river

they hop

my heart hops too

thinking of you

I sit here

the first day of Spring

Eat an Orange

Set the clock straight

as I scamper through this day

the borders of my mind

open

As my azalea  bush blooms

and the blue jay sings

Music to my ears.

In the Swim of Things - Anita Holzberg

In the swim of things

I clean off my kitchen table

  the spaces are freed up

the clutter goes in another room

I probably won't look at it

and I will eventually toss it out

I will save my Birthday cards and wishes

That are so precious to me.

In the interim

I find time to write a few lines

Recognize who I am on these pages

Go forward every day with my life.

Anita
Schiffman Holzberg

Umbilicus - a pome by Ann

Umbilicus

you are that thread.

you connect me to the core

of myself.

when life was full of promise

and rare

when things were close

not far away

no matter what has happened 

between then and now,

that was the moment

I came alive.

some thoughts - Anita Holzberg

In the morning before the morning

  I make my peace

among the rising light

  among the chirping of the birds

Geraniums come up after a dry dormant Winter

I hold fast to the truths of my generation

love, peace, and more love

When you believe in love

You have everything!

Anita Schiffman Holzberg

Missing You - by Anita Holzberg

Missing you is an understatement

I push on, sometimes the memories make me

  stronger

I have my own health challenges

You in a bed going nowhere

I touch your face

Bring you a hamburger with bacon

Your favorite

And talk, you nod only uttering

one word "Yeah"

How I would like to push the clock back!

a poem by Anita

Watching my two cats eat

Mocha my indoor cat

Picchu my outdoor cat

I thought I would have to leave them

for a while

while I got my knee surgery

I had all kinds of cat sitters for them

But, no surgery for now

I will just enjoy the ride of these

  loveable animals

For now!

Writing on the Big Screen - Anita

If bigger is better

I do not know for sure

majestic exclamations

power sweeps

my entire body is writing 

as I launch my new computer

the old one, a friend for so many years

I commence with this poem

I run rivers across my mind

Words can not say everything

as I start a new journey

the mind can just about go anywhere

If I try..........................

In with the new!

Anita Schiffman Holzberg 

Kindness (a poem) - Anita

I stepped into the arena of kindness

  it felt so good so welcoming

my neighbor, my friend Aya

  helped me put away my groceries

bringing in the bags, stacking yogurts

  organizing my stuff

In a flash it was done

  I hugged her

     for that moment

and the many times

   she is by my side

A wonderful woman whose whole being

   spells kindness!!

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.