poem for chakra manipura

yellow sun

solar plexus

vital energy

balanced activities

ten golden petals

exhaling into center

inhaling in all directions

fire elements

self confidence

yellow light

vital sun

middle fingers touching

blooming energy

ten petals golden

envisioning balance

fully vibrant

unfolding possibility

sounding ram

solar plexus

yellow sun

poem for chakra svadhisthana

orange wave

energy currents
self established

internal comfort 

nourishing relationships

six-petaled flower

interlacing ring fingers

waves of self healing

blossoming flower

adaptable, flexible, fluid

water, pelvis, womb

healthy intimacy

six petaled bloom

glands and organs

inner sea

sounding vam

deep breath

infused with wellness

gently bathe

inherent wholeness

poem for chakra muladhara

root red

four petaled

perineum

flower

root red 

deep breath

drawing down

root chakra

red flower

four petaled

pinkie fingers touching

earth connection

dirt connection

nutrient rich

sustaining

sounding lam

a low note

a red root

a deep breath

a four petaled flower

Art School Teacher: A Six-Sentence Story

1.  The teacher assigns a six-sentence story.

2.  The tall student asks, "Does it have to be six sentences?"

3.  The stout student asks, "Do we have to write about something specific?"

4.  The one who has trouble sticking to past tense asks, "Does it have to be in present tense?"

5.  The boy who wears make-up asks, "Can the sentences be any length, and is it due next week?"

6.  The sly student asks, "What if it isn't really a story, but still is six sentences?"

River Falls Sunday

Art School Teacher: Encountering Legends

The girls in podcasting class were arguing over whether it was called

the Anne Frank Room or the Marilyn Monroe Room.

What I gleaned from their conversation about the room; 

perched above the balcony, boarded up, supposedly haunted, 

seemed more Anne Frank.

But when we went to get the microphone from the theatre shop, 

there was a giant painting of Marilyn Monroe.

"See!" the oldest girl said.  "This painting used to be in that room 

before someone died in there and they boarded it up."

Only one of the three was willing to make a spooky laugh on tape.

But they all chatted excitedly for over 15 minutes
sharing what they know about the legends of West High.

high school haiku (free verse)

the bell rings

joyous reunions

lockers slamming

new clothes though unsure

where to go for homeroom

searching for a friend

old teacher shocked

how short the girls’ skirts 

how long the boys' hair

leaves falling

sweater weather

dreaming of kissing

teacher announces quiz

students groan

fooled again!

the first snow

everyone at the windows

lessons abandoned

loud speaker blaring

report to the auditorium

students slump, yawning

passing in the hall

hands briefly touching

hearts loudly thumping

after the students

exit the auditorium

a glove left on a seat

smells of tater tots

fish sticks and ketchup;

lunch!

absurd high schoolers

wondering what is absurd

and deciding everything

thick snow falling

praying for a snow day

instead, school

oh no! forgot

to study for the test

again!

muddy tracks through snow

a paper tumbling, a cold wind

winter school yard

day dreaming in class

notes passing, hearts breaking

teacher calling for attention

hallway empty

except one student

head bent, crying

warm sun, robins call

after school students loiter

holding coats, laughing

windows open wide

last day of school, finally!

the lake beckons

staying out late with friends

cicadas calling

hoping summer never ends

haiku masters, series A

it's raining icicles and

i'm dreaming about going to Japan

to make a documentary

on modern Japanese haiku

where it seems the most famous practitioners 

are all high level banking officials

do they have

haiku parties

haiku highballs?

haiku contests

haiku celebrations

haiku theatrics?

haiku mistresses

haiku hysterics

haiku antics?

who are these haiku masters

posing as banking officials?

how big are their desks?

how does it effect their

banking habits writing about

dragonflies and plum blossoms?

questions to four people, rearranged

Everyone's Strange, a family song

this song inspired by my son

who has been begging to get a microwave 

going on a dozen years now

We're working on it, I told him, the other day.

He said,

If it's that hard to get in the car, 

drive to Target, and buy a microwave, 

then I don't ever want to be an adult!

So my husband went to Target to buy a microwave

but came back without one

because they didn't have the kind he wanted.

Like I said, we're working on it.

a song by Floozy:

tad neuhaus, guitar

joanna dane, vocals

Breath on the Tip of a Storm

tad neuhaus, guitar
joanna dane, vocals

just keep going along

like you’ve been doing right there

nothing to be afraid of

with continuing right along

right down that path down the way that you

strumming just keeping going like that

 

it’s been a strange week

it’s been a strange month

it’s been a strange year

it’s been a strange strange life

i'm feeling a little sad today

looking at this little screen

making me feel so empty

gotta make a shift

maybe next monday

i’ll make a little shift

  

in a way i’m invisible

invincible indivisible

in a way i’m as fragile as a

breath on the tip of a storm

Tranquility and the Revolution at the Wildwood Film Festival!

see a

Tranquility and the Revolution film
at
Wildwood Film Festival

Saturday, March 11, 2017
Performing Arts Center, Appleton


Here is one of the films that will NOT be showing:

Tranquility and the Revolution The Beast from Ekphrasis on Vimeo.

Mid Winter Survival Dance Song, Johanastan, circa 1953