Poetic Shutterbug

Photo by Joanne Olivieri - Verse by Liz Paez The last time I saw you- dad, was that really you? Defeated by the anger of your own childhood Conquered by the only pain you knew. The last time I saw you- Dad, it was hard to watch. Unidentifiable actions, and unrecognized thoughts The last time I saw you- Dad, that was all I could hear force felt through the walls, sounds of sirens near The last time I saw you- Dad, how can this be? The last time I saw you You weren't loving me

Photo by Joanne Olivieri Poetry by Liz Paez I was given these two poems by a friend of a friend. It touched me in such a profound way that I see life in general a little different as a result. These poems are raw and poignant and come directly from the heart and soul. Poetry is born in the soul and these two poems clearly display that aspect. Life is fragile as so eloquently versed through this poetry. Being of such a personal and tragic nature, I want to personally thank Liz Paez for allowing me to publish her poems and to Julie for sending them to me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let me give you some background on this first poem. Liz's Grandma was killed in December of 2008. Little information is known except for how she was found. Based on that information and the events that happened that day, Liz wrote this poem - I guess Heaven Couldn't Wait. I Guess Heaven Couldn't Wait I guess Heaven couldn't wait To d...

The photo above taken by me at the Botanical Gardens. The poem below was written as a tribute to me by a dear friend and fan of my work. Thank you so much, Chey . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Artist Images of God's creation captured forever, Frozen in time by the photographer's hand; Nothing specific, whatever tickles her fancy, Spontaneous creations, crafted not planned. Commonplace objects like auto headlights, With talent and creativity now seen as new, A tilt of the lens, a magnification; They all come alive because of this poets view. Images taken at The Botanical Gardens, Photographs of buildings and people far away; Exotic images, tourist treasures captured, Her own personal reflection of a grand holiday. She speaks to others in words and photos, An artist with a unique point of view; Freely sharing her gifts with other, The gift of an artist, honest and true. Cheryl Oertli (c) 2010

There are so many beautiful poems and songs written in celebration of Valentine’s Day. The 19 th Century poets in my opinion had a monopoly on love poetry. However one of my favorite love poems is The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe. It is simple, descriptive, an excellent style and you could basically just feel the deep sentiment in the poet’s heart while reading the lines. It’s the type of poem where the imagination comes to light and you feel as if you are in that setting. Sometimes simplicity is the essence of beauty and I think this poem proves that point. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day! The Passionate Shepherd to His Love Christopher Marlowe Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove That valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals. And I will make thee beds of ...

Photo taken of Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong - March 2008 orange sunset a tequila sunrise at last call Haiku and Senryu are highly creative and unique forms of poetic verse. There is the standard and most widely known 5/7/5 form and then there is the traditional Japanese form which is a bit difficult for me to explain so I will ask you to read the guide here over at Shadow Poetry. I am still practicing writing Haiku and Senryu in the hopes that someday I will master the verse :) Haiku and Senryu for me is like painting a picture on canvas using words. It's fun and extremely challenging. Try it, it will broaden your horizons. Enjoy!