by Granny Janny
Member since:
February 16, 2006

Thoughts On A Winter Day ~ A Glosa for Shedding Light and Mindful Poetry

January 18, 2013 12:03 AM UTC (Updated: January 20, 2013 04:41 PM UTC)
views: 0 | 32 people recommend this | comments: 74

Umbrella, light, landscape. sky--
There is no language of the holy.
The sacred lies in the ordinary.

from 365 Tao Meditations by Deng Ming Dao


outside it’s frigid, wet, and gray
frost is wilting the tender plants
gas heater rumbles throughout the day
old sol has strayed too far away
all I want is to cuddle in bed
with you forever - safe, warm, and dry
skin to skin afloat on our downy nest
under the comforter
cozily dozing - just you and I
Umbrella, light, landscape, sky--

when dreaming ends - the fun begins
a touch, a kiss, tender tickles
we wiggle and spoon - form a crescent moon
ignore the wind and icicles
I caress your face, you touch that place
like a puzzle piece you melt into me
the prelude begins with tender chords
and ends in a breathless crescendo
toes curled tight like a rolly pollie
There is no language of the holy.

one of us will make the coffee
one of us answers the phone
hunger calls us to the kitchen
take a shower, grace the throne
I’d like to play in bed all day
read my book with a glass of sherry
but there’s laundry to do and bills to pay
we’d better go to work we say
not practical for us to tarry
The sacred lies in the ordinary.

http://media-files.gather.com/images/d168/d562/d747/d224/d96/f3/full.jpg

Comments: 74

Kevin E. Jan 18, 2013, 12:10am UTC
There is a comfortableness and a warmth in your poem that feels so inviting. Your poem is such a fine ending of a good day for me thank you.
Granny Janny Jan 18, 2013, 12:22am UTC
Thanks, Kevin. I wrote it yesterday but couldn't get back to posting it until tonight. Good thing. It needed some tweaking...probably still does. Glad you liked it.
Mariana T. Jan 18, 2013, 12:17am UTC
What glorious visuals and warmth and yes, indeed - I have been there - still there but you put it into such flowing words, it is almost holy! Thanks Sistah - beautiful feelings! Salud
Granny Janny Jan 18, 2013, 12:25am UTC
Winter is the holy time to withdraw, hybernate, thaw, procreate, and deal with the darkness outside and in...rub the cream into drying skin, light the candles, watch the films....stay inside and cuddle!
Thanks for your wonderful energy and prompts.
Alison H. Jan 18, 2013, 12:34am UTC
Expresses the joy of a fulfilled love amidst the daily round. Just wonderful. The photo is quite amazing, too. Looks like you have caught some heavenly anomalies...
Granny Janny Jan 18, 2013, 1:39am UTC
It's an airplane shot!
Karen E. Jan 18, 2013, 12:35am UTC
Fantastic! Made me want to crawl into bed earlier than usual!
Granny Janny Jan 18, 2013, 1:40am UTC
I know what you mean!
Sherrie H. Jan 18, 2013, 1:33am UTC
Love it - it's sexy and sweet and vivid and as comfortable as an old pair of shoes. the sacred lies in the ordinary indeed. Wonderful!
Granny Janny Jan 18, 2013, 1:41am UTC
So glad you like it, Sherry. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Aman V. Jan 18, 2013, 7:19am UTC
Ohhh, heaven! This is vintage Janniekins - warm, tender, and inviting, this piece speaks simply, vividly, and utterly beautifully of that Utopia lovers experience in the everyday and the ordinary! In that sense, your entire poem is one big, eloquent echo of that third line from your cabeza, "The sacred lies in the ordinary".

This is truly wonderful poetry, exploring the beauty of the sensuous and heightening it through warm, intimate imagery! I loved it, Janniekins - like all your most recent offerings. this is utterly butterly luvverly! hehehehe

HuggersSnuggers, JannieJiffers!
(((((((((((((((((((((((Jimini Jannie)))))))))))))))))))))
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 3:14am UTC
Thanks for buttering me up dear shaman Aman.
Barbary C. Jan 20, 2013, 7:51pm UTC
Smiling.
JOHN BECK Jan 18, 2013, 7:27am UTC
Right on, Jan!
JOHN BECK Jan 19, 2013, 10:42am UTC
Thanks for submitting to Gather Writing Essentials. Now featured.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:16pm UTC
Thanks very much for the feature, John.
Barbary C. Jan 20, 2013, 7:52pm UTC
Looks like our John has turned into a woof!
JOHN BECK Jan 20, 2013, 8:31pm UTC
Just Rudy, my very gentle shepherd/chow mix, roughly 9 years old.
Chris Brockman Jan 18, 2013, 8:46am UTC
Good thinking, Jan. I think I'll join you--in my own house. Today's a snow day, yay!
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:16pm UTC
I have not seen any snow so far this season. Thanks for reading.
A. F. Stewart Jan 18, 2013, 8:51am UTC
A poetic picture of perfection.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:15pm UTC
Thanks, Anita. In real life it is not possible to experience unending perfection but a positive attitude can help.
You really have out done yourself.

Excellent - the poem and the image ... and the meditation.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:13pm UTC
Thanks. I will try harder next time in the effort to out do myself.
You have set an incredibly high standard - and you never fall short of it. :)
Mike Ellwood Jan 18, 2013, 9:34am UTC
What a lovely way to spend a morning. A cup of tea and a crossword puzzle could be added to attain transcendental bliss. The glosa is a very enticig form indeed.
Delightful.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:11pm UTC
Do you share the crossword or do it all yourself?
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:11pm UTC
So glad you liked the poem, Mike.
Mike Ellwood Jan 19, 2013, 4:54pm UTC
We share the crossword, Jan. She reads it and I try to help. Favours might follow cleverly solved clues ; )
A cup of tea is essential to the proceedings however. (We are in England, after all.)
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 6:19pm UTC
Ah Yes, we drank lots more tea when we lived in Oxford. Thanks for answering the question. Sam and I share crossword puzzles too. Favours. I like that word.
elizabeth evans Jan 18, 2013, 9:41am UTC
22 degrees F this morning but with the wind chill feels like 9 degrees. I'm afraid the Man from Oz has been thinking of Perth where today it is 10:30 at night and is a balmy 70 degrees. Once a man of action jumping out of bed at 5 AM, he has learned that it best to lay in bed under a thick comforter and drink his coffee in bed as he keyboards away until the house warms up. At night I turn the temp down to 50 degrees and only turn it back to 66 in the morn.
Although I've tried to explain to "the man" that I actually like this winter hunkering down where things move slower and one has time to read and watch good movies, he's not buying it!
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:10pm UTC
I am not as austere as you. I crank up the heater to 70 on cold days and only down to 67 at night. I do turn it further down when I leave the house.
Susan Budig - Mindful Poet Jan 20, 2013, 5:58pm UTC
Even with our temp set at around 68 day and night in winter, we are cold much of the time. Right now the air temp outdoors is 9 degrees, a warm-up from last night.

Our house, built in 1950, is drafty enough that the very thought of turning the temp down to 50 makes me instantly think of hypothermia. I'm sure our bedroom is 5 degrees colder than the thermostat reads on the main floor hallway.
elizabeth evans Jan 18, 2013, 10:08am UTC
Featured in Angels on Pillows.


Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:05pm UTC
Thanks for the feature. Maybe you should turn up the heat for your sweetheart since he's used to a warm winter...
Stirling D. Jan 18, 2013, 10:11am UTC
Marvelous poem - again! You really are on a roll, Jan. Maybe this form also tweaks something in your craft? I love the cozy eroticism and blessings in the ordinary that you evoke so well.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:03pm UTC
You're the pro Stirling and so I'm thrilled that you enjoyed this one.
Marilyn M. Jan 18, 2013, 10:37am UTC
Outstanding!!! I agree with everything that's been said so far. You're a gifted writer.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 1:01pm UTC
I keep working on writing, Marilyn, and would like to publish a collection of poems. I am so glad you liked this one.
Charles Ashurst Jan 18, 2013, 10:59am UTC
Granny Janny, may I attempt to sing and record this?
Granny Janny Jan 18, 2013, 8:08pm UTC
See my mail to you.
Ann Marcaida Jan 18, 2013, 11:41am UTC
A beautiful and earthy interpretation of Den Ming Daos' meditations. Tweeted!
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:58pm UTC
Glad you liked it, Ann.
Betty S. Jan 18, 2013, 12:52pm UTC
This is beautiful.. Both the poem and the photo.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:58pm UTC
Thanks for reading, Betty.
Len Maxwell Jan 18, 2013, 1:24pm UTC
That is phenomenal, Jan. Makes me want to climb back into bed.

Featured on the Cozy Bed Wall on The Triple Name Club.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:57pm UTC
Thanks for the feature, Len. We went into the city to see "Anything Goes" last night and enjoyed sleeping in this morning.
Pam Brittain Jan 18, 2013, 1:37pm UTC
I'm with Len and want to take my Kindle with me.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:55pm UTC
Sam grabs his before he gets up every day.
Otelia S. Jan 18, 2013, 2:33pm UTC
I am in total "Awe" of you. This is straight out of heaven for me. Thanks so much for sharing! A perfect way to begin the day: )
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:54pm UTC
Or end a day...
Thanks so much, Otelia.
Marilyn (PaintsOnSlate) S. Jan 18, 2013, 7:14pm UTC
I loved every sensual moment and the trip back to life. It was lovely.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:53pm UTC
Winters hardships lead me to seek out the warmth os sensuality.
Ms Lee P. Jan 18, 2013, 8:50pm UTC
Awwww, you have written such a snugglely poem. It's lovely.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 3:28am UTC
You just reminded me of "My Fair Lady" and the song. "all I want is a room somewhere far away from the cold night's air..."
J. Reid Jan 19, 2013, 9:29am UTC
Smiles...

Thank you for submitting to: Not Gathering Dust!
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:51pm UTC
Dusting - another holy act. Thanks for reading.
stephen berwaldt Jan 19, 2013, 12:21pm UTC
A stunning glossa, Jan. I think you know how much I appreciate this beautiful masterful effort. I love the saying... There truly is no language of the holy... Love makes even the most mundane things shared seem sacred...

Beautifully penned...


Thank you for posting your work to Gather's Luminous Writers and Artists. Now Featured.
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 12:50pm UTC
Thank you for the feature, Steve, and for your lovely comments. The mundane or daily moments are holy in the light of mindful love. Cooking, folding clothes, doing dishes can all be holy acts.
stephen berwaldt Jan 19, 2013, 12:59pm UTC
Especially when you do them naked! :)
Granny Janny Jan 19, 2013, 2:52pm UTC
It's too cold to do that now...cracking up.
Mustafa Demiri Jan 19, 2013, 8:43pm UTC
It's a shame that these few beautifully idyllic moments must be paid for by the long and terrible hours we spend away from the ones we love... Another perfectly wonderful poem!
Priscilla P. Jan 20, 2013, 4:25pm UTC
WOW! No evidence of Granny in this. You are past warm into HOT!
Love Love Love it. It expresses so well our lives, loves, and immortality of our spirits.
It brings the ordinary into the ethereal and the photo is a great big exclamation point!
Granny Janny Jan 20, 2013, 4:42pm UTC
Thanks, Priscilla. I just edited two lines and will be submitting it to a local poetry contest. We'll see what happens.
Barbary C. Jan 20, 2013, 7:53pm UTC
Me, too.....What Priscilla said!
Susan Budig - Mindful Poet Jan 20, 2013, 6:03pm UTC
An exceptional poem, Jan. I very much appreciate your attention to the form. The longer length of each line also adds richness and depth.

Many might gloss over these glossas, not realizing their reflective value. Still waters run deep. You’ve stirred your words well here. Appearing at Mindful Poetry where it is now featured.
Susan Budig - Mindful Poet Jan 20, 2013, 6:10pm UTC
Also, I especially liked your choice of "puzzle piece" in the more intimate second stanza. The image is strong, it carries many a nuanced meaning, and it stand out in a good way.

As for tweaking, maybe consider deleting your gerunds and "is"-verbs.
Granny Janny Jan 20, 2013, 6:27pm UTC
Thanks, Susan, I appreciate your feedback and feature as well.
Barbary C. Jan 20, 2013, 7:56pm UTC
A poem of truth, words of beauty.
Granny Janny Jan 20, 2013, 8:39pm UTC
Thanks Barbary. I did some additional tweaking not added here and hope I am done.
Angie O. Jan 21, 2013, 2:01am UTC
Such a comfortable, inviting poem Jan. Makes me want to just grab a blanket and chill. Love this one.
Irina Dimitric Jan 25, 2013, 5:50am UTC
So very beautiful from the beginning to the end.
Quinn (aka Entwife) Blackburn Feb 3, 2013, 10:51am UTC
sweet perfection :) wonderful wordcrafting
Thus is the want of myself, to enjoy a comfortable, stable love.. to share with another the comfort
Lovely poem, thank you for sharing with me
Amazing photo

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