Michele Lee Sefton's Blog, page 29

I got it!

Seasons come, seasons go
within changes, lives sameness
been standing in the outfield
bending, stretching, cheering, attempting
            watching the grass grow

many balls spinning and flying
some too far, some fall short
shrug it off, let it go
resume a ready stance

must feel good to hit a home-run
to hear the perfect smack of a ball to bat
            such power, such control

catching one that has soared to the heavens
has its own rewards

glove properly oiled
wind and weather studied
pre-game prayers whispered
eyes focused, body loose, heart open

flying high or crawling low
ready for anything, let’s go!

Thank you for stopping by! Wishing you a week of pleasant wins and pretty skies. Michele

featured photo by Everett Collection / my grass photo, morning ride

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Funky Sunday

“They say I’m different ’cause I’m a piece of sugar cane
and when I kick my legs I got rhythm
My Great Grandpa was a blues lover
He be rockin’ his moonshine to B.B. King and Jimmy Reed
Rock on pappy” ~ Betty Davis (Mabry)

from They say I’m different (full lyrics below)

One day shy of three years ago, I featured musicians Betty Davis and Nina Simone in a post, “A Note to Nina and Betty” (3/25/21). If interested, I would love for you to click and spend a minute learning more about Betty and Nina, written in a letter format to them (by me). Thank you!

Grooving to Betty on this brisk and windy cloudy spring Sunday morning following a night of rain falling from a mystical sky. Betty’s sound makes Sunday laundry a highly entertaining experience. Click here for the music video, “They Say I’m Different” and here for the trailer for a film titled, “Betty – They Say I’m Different” (bottom of post).

Thank you for visiting and thank you to “Funk Pioneer and Fashion Icon” Betty Davis, for adding a special style of funk to my Sunday (NPR). Enjoy! Michele

featured urban photo by blvdone / Betty Davis google images / my moon photo (3/24)

“They Say I’m Different” ~ Betty Davis

They say I’m different ’cause I’m a piece of sugar cane
Sweet to the core that’s why I got rhythm
My Great Grandma didn’t like the foxtrot
Now instead she spitted snuff and boogied to Elmore James
Spit on

They say I’m different ’cause I eat chitlins
I can’t help it, I was born and raised on ’em
That’s right, oh, every mornin’ I had to slop the hogs
And they be gettin’ off humpin’ to John Lee Hooker
Gettin’ off

They say I’m different ’cause I’m a piece of sugar cane
And when I kick my legs I got rhythm
My Great Grandpa was a blues lover
He be rockin’ his moonshine to B.B. King and Jimmy Reed
Rock on pappy

That’s why they say I’m different
And that’s why they say I’m strange

I’m talkin’ ’bout Big Mama Thornton (talk about it, talk about it)
Talkin’ ’bout Lightning Hopkins (talk about it, talk about it)
Talkin’ ’bout Howlin Wolf (talk about it, talk about it)
I’m talkin’ ’bout Albert King (alright, alright)
Chuck Berry, Chuck Berry, Chuck Berry
When I was sweet sixteen

And that’s why they say I’m different
And that’s why you think I’m strange

I’m talkin’ ’bout T. Bone Walker (talk about it, talk about it)
I’m talkin’ ’bout Muddy Waters (talk about it, talk about it)
I’m talkin’ ’bout Leadbelly, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Son House, and Freddie King (alright, alright)
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith, oh, oh hey
Oh, Bo Diddley have you heard it?

(That’s why) they say I’m different
And that’s why they say I’m strange
And that’s why they say I’m funky

A Little Richard, Wild Lou, sunshine you sure can sing (alright, alright)
Robert Johnson, Robert Johnson, Robert Johnson
You play the blues for me

And that’s why, and that’s why, and that’s why they say I’m different
And that’s why, and that’s why, and that’s why they say I’m strange

That’s why, why, why, why
That’s why, why, why, why
And that’s why, why, why, why
They say I’m funky, funky, uh-uh, funky, funky

And that’s why, why, why, why
And that’s why, why, why, why
And that’s why, why, why, why
And that’s why they say I’m different

That’s why, why, why, why

Songwriters: Betty Davis (Mabry)

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Returning to the playground

Adorable and precious
            the sound of laughing babies

though nothing compares to the sound of laughter
layered with a full range of notes, revealing life’s complexity

laughter that begins deep in a belly that has felt its share of sorrow and grief
laughter that isn’t just reacting to a wiggly toy, goofy noise, or silly expression
laughter that can reduce walls of stone to dust, erasing a lifetime of seriousness
laughter that delights in its own playfulness and truly understands its significance

a precious sound
that can turn life into a playground

One of my goals when I began this blog in the late summer of 2019 was to add more play to my structured and stressed existence. I longed for that. I needed that. We all do! I wrote it out, as part of my life goals just after turning fifty, including that desire in at least one published post.

Four years and some change later I can confidently claim I have accomplished this goal; however, I shall never cross it off my “list” because it is not a task that will ever feel completed – it is a state of being, weaving its way into my revised existence. Rediscovering the child within, one could say. It’s never easy to shed layers of behaviors and beliefs, whatever they may be, en route to a desired outcome, but it sure feels good to arrive at a destination. To kick your feet up, sit for a spell, and take it all in.

Thank you for stopping by. May full-belly laughter find you; if not today, then soon! Michele

featured photos by Mediaimag and Motortion Films / my photo by Larissa

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Orange blossom kisses

Dreams colored vibrant,

            flavored by blossoms, bursting

a scent holding the bliss of yesterday’s truth

and the promise of tomorrow’s fruit

                        a spirit, sweetly renewed

The cool morning air of early spring is alive with the scent of orange blossoms. An ocean of expensive perfumes could never compare.

Thank you for stopping by. Sweet wishes from the Sonoran. Michele

featured photo by Dean Drobot / my sunrise photos (3/22)

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Spring’s golden invitation

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet and novelist

Click here for gorgeous music video, Haven Lea (acoustic) by Lists

With a body grounded in the nurturing earth, my spirit takes flight with the soaring birds.

Thank you for joining me on this first day of spring. Warm regards. Michele

my photos, first spring sunrise (3/19)

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Saturday sips, Sunday prayers🍀

I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was at that time about sixteen years of age. I did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our deserts, for quite drawn away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered us among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.

The Confession of St. Patrick

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.

― Jonathan Swift

The light music of whiskey falling into a glass…an agreeable interlude!

— James Joyce

Thank you for reading and viewing. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Michele

my photos, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin (where Jonathan Swift is buried) / Bushmills Distillery, Bushmills, County Antrim

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Vintage Visit

The Ides of March brought dark clouds and a downpour for the Valley of the Sun, causing desert dwellers to run for cover. My visiting sister-in-law and I grabbed our umbrellas and spent the afternoon enjoying each other’s company, laughing and splashing our way down a revitalized historic street that holds many memories for me. Shared moments connecting my past to her present.

My brother’s lovely wife has a way of showing up in my frame, as a reflection. Being a kind soul, she apologizes sincerely, I tell her, “Don’t move, it’s perfect!”

Thank you for joining us on another walking tour. Warm regards. Michele

my photos / mine by my sweet sis

museum featured artists Linda Enger, Magda Gluszek, et al.

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Nothing to Fear

“Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”

― William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

I woke to fast moving clouds overhead and remnants of an early morning rain that added some sweetness to the dark gray sunrise. The look and movement of the clouds felt fitting for the “Ides of March” – a “cursed” date made memorable by Shakespeare’s portrayal of the events surrounding Julius Caesar’s assassination on March 15th.

The origin of the date has a less threatening meaning. The Romans based their calendar on lunar cycles and the Ides referred to the first full moon of the month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. Historically March 15th once represented the new year in Roman culture – a time of celebration and rejoicing, until Julius Caesar changed the date from March to January, two years before he was betrayed and assassinated by the Roman Senate. Reference: History.com

If you’re interested in learning more about Caesar, check out the article, “Ten Little Known Facts About Julius Caesar.” Thanks for stopping by. Beware and be well. Michele

my photos, waxing crescent and Jupiter (3/13) / my March 15th apparel

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Unraveling (poet spotlight w/audio)

She’s here, with me now

I can feel her breath
on the back of my neck
and the weight of her gaze
chained to my limbs

I can feel her claw
away at my throat
her nails tear my flesh
as I swallow her whole

Where does she hide?
How has she survived?

I fill my cup with loving light
yet find her thumbs upon my eyes

She must feed from the fear
that’s deep in my belly
and rally my doubts to
rage war against me

I imagine she rests
eagerly waiting
to strike when I’m weak
and my whole world is crumbling
            – anxiety



my soul’s at home
hands cold
kissed by a cool summer’s breeze
and I’m dreamily scribbling
coffee beside me
surrounded by company
white frail moths
and falling walnuts
a cloudless rain so
magnificently cleansing
it’s here I find balance
a sweet inspired weightlessness
serenaded by life’s
daytime symphony

Poems by Samantha Burgett from Unraveling – Diary of a Healing Soul

About the Author: Samantha Burgett is a creative introvert based in beautiful Michigan. A writer, gallery-published artist, photographer, mom, and musician, she enjoys balancing this (sometimes chaotic) itinerary of projects on the day-to-day. from Unraveling – Diary of a Healing Soul Click link to preview and purchase this soul stirring and artistically styled collection.

I highly recommend Samantha’s poetry collection and a visit to her aesthetically pleasing and well written blog, found at: samanthaburgett.com

Thank you for stopping by! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Samantha’s words. Kind regards. Michele

featured photo by misfire studio / my book photo / Artist Samantha Burgett

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Bursting Blood Orange

“Meanwhile the sunsets are mad orange fools raging in the gloom….”

― Jack Kerouac, Desolation Angels

Click here for Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch.

Thank you for visiting! Warm regards. Michele

my photos

© 2024 MyInspiredLife