Michele Lee Sefton's Blog, page 38

Autumn reveals

Spring, I know you quite well

            first breaths drew in your playfulness, your warming sweetness

when birds flirt along fence tops and tiny white flowers pop

                        filling the air with ambrosia, sipped slowly by discerning gods


in you, I was born, but you are not the only season a life can know


Autumn’s richness, has taken longer to reveal

            plucked and pulled from the earth’s cradle, your scents calm and delight

in your warm tapestry, falling like a slow-motion reel

                        I am discovering new depths of self

Click here for Autumn Leaves by Frank Sinatra

Thank you for visiting! Warm autumn wishes for you. Michele

my photos, Oregon

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Starlit Pink

I thought of you before

            I opened my eyes

                        thoughts of you, a warming whisper to all parts of me

waking slowly to a starlit

            pink sunrise

If video doesn’t load, click here for song, Fantasy, by Alina Baraz & Galimatias

Warm regards. Michele

my photos, farm flowers and a twilight rose

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Find Yourself Off-Roading (audio)

There are many roads we might travel during a lifetime. Some roads are scenic and slow, some are bumpy and pocked with jarring holes, some become so routine a mind can travel elsewhere while autopilot steers us there, some leave us temporarily stuck, cursing at other drivers and our bad luck, some are lined with vista-blocking concrete and visible heat, some allow us to travel only one-way, and others bring us to a dead-end, forcing us to turn around and try again.

The paths stretched before us can become so vast that we can spend all our time planning, reaching the end of our road before ever deciding which direction to go.

There are many roads yet to explore and many are a memory in our rear-view mirror, but if it is your interior and not an exterior destination you are seeking to find, then leave well-traveled roads behind and let your heart be the guide. Expect to be surprised by what awaits and what you can create when you color outside of the well-defined lines.

So much has changed in my life, in myself since I wrote this piece in August of 2021. More than I can process in one morning writing session. Like then, I am writing from Oregon, which has become a beautiful home-away-from home, because of Sammi Lee’s residence here and my strong connection to trees and water. The heartbreak I first felt when Little Miss S moved away, has been replaced with great gratitude toward her choices, her successes, and her ability to creatively move through challenges.

She and her boyfriend are enjoying a few days away to celebrate their shared October birthdays. Her birthday offers a reason for reflection, as it happens for parents. Reflection can also deliver a touch of melancholy, which I feel, as I remember the little artist playing and learning. I also feel a quiet joy surrounding this phase of life (hers and mine), as I watch the sun burst through the brilliant crimson leaves.

Thank you for reading and listening. I am off to feed cats and water 1,000 houseplants. Enjoy your weekend!

my river photos, Willamette River, OR

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Just passing through

Nature’s love poems
            scattered across the green

slugs and snails ready to feast
                        on leaf-shaped tears, blended with the color of living

fading

Rich cool soil ready to absorb
            a thousand stories, never to be told

                        how quiet the process
                        how quick the process
                        how sacred the process
                                    from living to decomposing

all things once breathing

my images from West Bank Park, Willamette River, OR

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Falling over you

Is the news of the day
Angels fall like rain
and love, love, love is all of heaven away

~ Psychedelic Furs, The Ghost in You

Click here for original music video of The Ghost in You

The Ghost In You

by The Psychedelic Furs

A man in my shoes runs a light
And all the papers lied tonight
But falling over you
Is the news of the day
Angels fall like rain
And love is all of heaven away
Inside you the time moves

And she don’t fade
The ghost in you
She don’t fade
Inside you the time moves
And she don’t fade

A race is on I’m on your side
And hearing you my engines die
I’m in a mood for you
For running away
Stars come down in you
And love, you can’t give it away
Inside you the time moves

And she don’t fade
The ghost in you
She don’t fade
Inside you the time moves
And she don’t fade

Don’t you go
It makes no sense
When all your talking supermen
Just take away the time
And get in the way
Ain’t it just like rain
And love, is only heaven away
Inside you the time moves

And she don’t fade
The ghost in you
She don’t fade
Inside you the time moves
And she don’t fade

Songwriters: Richard Lofthouse Butler / Timothy Butler

Visiting my daughter in Oregon also means spending time with my forever friend, Patricia who moved to the area last year. We share lots of silly laughs and we love live music. When I last saw the girls in June, I was thrilled to learn The Psychedelic Furs, an English band founded in London in 1977, would be landing in Eugene the same time I would be returning. A longtime fan, I’ve never seen this band. The Furs and the opening band, Squeeze, sounded great, even from the cheap seats. The Hult Center (1982), where they performed, is a spectacular venue to see a live show. It was designed by New York based, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates.

Hope you enjoyed the show sample. Good night from the cozy Pacific NW. Michele

Featured photo by elwynn, my photos: strolling through the neighborhood and Calypso the cat

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Heaven’s Harvest

At cruising altitude, I felt my breath and pulse slowing. Energizing yellows became calming ambers, melting my hurried humanness into a warm pumpkin pie, sprinkled with fresh cinnamon and sweet cream, whipped to silky perfection.

The captain’s voice was soothing. So much so, I wanted him to read us a poem. Written by him, between flights, on a cockpit dashboard. Wouldn’t that be something. A poem about seeing the sun’s salvation after tussling through a dark rain cloud. Or maybe a poem about a lover traveling to meet the love of their life, and his glimpse of their passionate embrace as he rushed by.

Oh, heavenly sigh.

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a healthy and happy week with a few heavenly sighs.

~Michele

my photos: Harvest Supermoon, birds during yoga retreat (9/29), tangled moon (9/30), Oregon sunflowers, changing leaves near my daughter’s welcoming front door

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Shotgun stars

Driving for so long

Not sure when it happened
            what mile marker was passed
When navigation switched from voices
            tethered to rote directing
            to voiceless heavens

Not sure when it happened
            four lanes became one
When large trucks and blinding headlights
            no longer blocked the view
            of a copper horizon

Not sure when it happened
            slowed by a family of wild burros
When connection was lost
            the hum of rubber on asphalt
            all that was heard

thoughts, tumbling
            dust devil, swirling
                        with goddesses, spinning and twirling

now riding with me
            reflecting the light of a million stars

Click here for some traveling music: Wanderin’ by Justin Townes Earle (January 4, 1982 – August 20, 2020)

Thanks for traveling with me! Wrapped in empowered feminine energy, I am shaking off the stardust after a full moon Friday night yoga retreat. Best wishes to beautiful you. Michele

Photo 1: my Sonoran Desert sunset image Photo 2: me, taken by photographer friend, Larissa

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Good grief

He had
            no business becoming a dad

He was
            too impatient
            too wild
                        still a child
but

            I am glad

He was
            mine

Grief is a curious creature. A few years without tears, then a random song appearance, during my early morning ride, flooded my heart and mind with thoughts of him. I hear you dad. The last time I was struck with sobs for my dad, I was in a seasonal aisle a few days before Valentine’s. My dad’s passing on a rainy Valentine’s Day in 2019 was part of the reason I began this blog – a place to write through and release my overwhelming grief. I know I am not alone in this creative motivation and emotional experience. Art offers a safe and sacred place for us to express our vulnerability and through that we can find healing. A lifelong journey, it seems.

The song that took me by surprise during my morning ride, is If I Ever Leave this World Alive by American Celtic band, Flogging Molly. Often referred to as punk, though some may disagree with this labeling. I featured their song, Float, a while back. My father did not listen to this band, though he and my mother are of Irish descent.

Thanks for stopping by. I am grateful for your visit. If you’ve been with me since the beginning of this creative healing journey, I appreciate you more than words can express. Now I must compose myself for a day of online classes. Be well. Michele

Click here for song video: If I Ever Leave this World Alive

If I Ever Leave this World Alive by Flogging Molly – song lyrics

If I ever leave this world alive
I’ll thank you for the things you did in my life
If I ever leave this world alive
I’ll come back down and sit beside your feet tonight

Wherever I am, you’ll always be
More than just a memory
If I ever leave this world alive

If I ever leave this world alive
I’ll take on all the sadness that I left behind
If I ever leave this world alive
The madness that you feel will soon subside
So, in a word, don’t shed a tear
I’ll be here when it all gets weird
If I ever leave this world alive

So when in doubt, just call my name
Just before you go insane
If I ever leave this world
Hey, I may never leave this world
But if I ever leave this world alive

She says, “I’m okay, I’m alright
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would
Now everything should be alright”

She says, “I’m okay, I’m alright
Though you have gone from my life
You said that it would
Now everything should be alright”

Yeah, should be alright

Photos: my Bougainvillea photo taken just after my ride, my dad as a teenager

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Steamy Sunday

It was a good day to iron out some wrinkles. I am ready for the week now.

“Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.”

― W. Somerset Maugham

Thanks for stopping by! Warm regards. Michele

my photos

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

For an Hour (video reading)

I recently finished reading poet Selma Martin’s debut collection, titled, In the Shadow of Rainbows, published by Experiments in Fiction. Selma’s highly engaging collection offers a premise in the introduction that added a layer of enticement and interest to the reading experience.

She writes: “I’m confident that one poem in this book will take your hand, reunite you with your echo and take you home – found and richer with you-ness for having been seen. That’s what I want one poem to do for you.” After admiring the gorgeous cover, I was excited to accept Selma’s invitation of finding “that one poem.” I tabbed several poems as a maybe. When I got to page 90 and read “For an Hour,” I instantly knew I had found “the one.” Reading aloud late last night under a golden crescent moon made it profoundly true. I highly recommend Selma’s collection and extend her invitation of finding the one poem for you.

Thank you for reading and viewing. It has been a joy to immerse myself in Selma’s spirit and words. Best to you! Michele

my rainbow photo, Belfast, Northern Ireland

© 2023 MyInspiredLife