Seth Haines's Blog, page 41
July 21, 2015
Remembering Sunrise (For Grandpa, Who is Gone)
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
Last week I slipped on a pair of flip-flops and walked into the dawn. The sun was peeking through the trees, and I stood in a little patch of fescue just beyond the compost pile. The fescue; the sweet, wet compost; the dew on my toes–these things reminded me of my Grandpa Ducky, though I cannot say why. Isn’t memory an odd thing?
We wake to memories like grand epiphanie...
July 17, 2015
A Few Good Links: Bone Clocks, Recovery, and Wildishness
It’s the weekend. Couldn’t we all use a little break from the grind? Let’s talk books, links, maybe a video or two. Let’s talk recovery, perhaps a little soul care. Whatever we talk, let’s not make it about occupation. Deal?
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Maybe a little soul work. These are the twin themes of the day.
Books:
I’ve killed my fair share of non-fiction over the last few years, but I’ve slipped into novels lately. There’s something about a story cut from whole cloth, the escapism of it all....
July 15, 2015
The 5 Embraces of Addiction Recovery
In the last 10 months, I’ve hosted a series of guests as they’ve stepped into the Recovery Room and written about coming clean from various addictions. Alcoholics, undereaters, overachievers, suck-it-up-ers, over-workers, they’ve all shared their stumbling, drunken stories and written of their journey into sobriety.
Comment after comment, email after email, others have reached out in response;me too, they say.But comment after comment, email after email, I hear this from others—I just don’t k...
July 13, 2015
Poetry Contest Loser (And 2 Poems)
The Poetry of Losing.
Poetry contests entice. Half-narcissistic humans stumble upon internet ads looking for a few good poets, said ads promising publication, glory, aplace among the mighty men ofanthologies. Self-acclaimed poetical sortsset about to crafting, build line upon line until it their best stab at a losing poem is finished.
Tens of poets enter, each carrying vainglory to the finish; tens upon tens upon tens receive letters of apology. (I’ve received rejections from contests not ent...
July 8, 2015
Recovery Room: Suck it up Buttercup!
On Thursdays, I invite guest writers, pastors, therapists, and practitioners to step in and discuss their process of recovery. Today, welcome Sheila Lagrand. Sheila is a writer, editor, and accomplished anthropologist (she has a Ph.D. for crying out loud!).She blogs at SheilaLagrand.com,and is a member of The High Callingand the International Association of Business Communicators.
In this edition of the Recovery Room, Sheila explores the process of recognizing, s...
Seized by the Day
I sat alone in the living room, popcorn bowl in hand, and watched as John Keating—the fictitious teacher portrayed by Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society—taught Robert Herrick’s poem, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” The iconic scene culminated in Keating’s grand soliloquy. Asking the students to face the school trophy case, to gaze into the eyes of those who’d gone before them, Keating said, “[Those] boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them...
July 6, 2015
Marriage Letters: On Home
Next month, Amber’s first book, Wild in the Hollow, hits the shelves. It explores a sort of coming of age, a discovery of what it means to be home. In celebration of her book, we’re writing Marriage Letters this week, exploring the concept of Home. After you’ve read our letters (read Amber’s letter here), wander over to Amber’s place and check out Wild in the Hollow.
*****
Dear Amber,
We’ve treated home like a pair of jeans. Tried them on. Owned them for a time. Stained them, then taken them...
July 1, 2015
Screaming Opinion Babies
The Poetry of the News Cycle
Celebrity scandal.Terror event. TheChristian famous trip on sin.
Three day lull.Anchors scramble.Trains, plains, or automobile event.
Tabloid sex.Black folks murdered.Watch a house of worship burn.
Civil rights protests.High court rulings. Watch the social media churn.
Celebrity scandal. Terror event. Maybe this time we’ll break the mold.
Black folks murdered. Civil rights protests. Watch a house of worship burn.
Salty Opinion Loops
We are stuck in a perpetual...
June 29, 2015
Jump Starting Hope (Featuring Velynn Brown)
I met Velynn Brown–slam-poet, writer, and speaker–at a writer’s conference in Portland, Oregon. It was early spring, and the cherry trees were shedding their blossoms on the parking lot of Warner Pacific College. Velynn and I shared a retreat conversation, one in which I praised the beauty of the cherry-blossom carpet and the pink-skirted azaleas. She spoke of nature, too. “See the black sap tears on the fir? God is crying with us.”
Velynn stood in the shadow of Ferguson, in the fresh grief o...
June 24, 2015
Grandma’s Passing
My grandmother slipped behind the veil last week. Slow, groggy, feeling a little too tired, she laid down for a ten-minute nap and woke in eternity. My parents said she went with a smile on her face. She was 95.
As my friend Karen said this morning, “weddings, births, and funerals tend to turn people toward reflection.” Yesterday, a few handfuls of celebrants gathered at Moore’s Funeral Chapel, and we reflected on the passing of a saint. She was a woman who used her 95 years well. By all acco...
