My Name Is Paula: A Portal of Projects

Poetry

Poetry and songwriting are two major creative outlets for me.

"Fine Dining" and "Rural Excursions" were published in Issue 45 (May 2012) of Red Fez.

"Sweaters" was published in the October 2011 edition of the poetry quarterly Full of Crow.

"Cheap Religion" was published in the September 2011 issue of the print and online literary journal Eclectic Flash.

Several of my poems were published in the online literary journal In Somnis Veritas in their Summer 2011 issue.

My poem "Keepsakes" was published in issue 30 (January 2011) of Red Fez.

I contributed to DailyHaiku.org during site's second six-month cycle in 2007. That work is featured in the site's first print collection.

Riding Home From the Bissell Centre

I weave my bike around the figure that rests at the bottom of the ramp
I don’t know how long he was there but I don’t want to wake him
Perhaps his dreams are better than the reality that surrounds him each day
Society calls him a failure, unable to provide for himself
But the true failure is the society that sprouted cracks
Large enough for him to fall through
Larger than the cracks in the sidewalk where he lays
And encompassing the many others past whom I glide on my way home

Marginalizing life beyond picket fences
Casting blame for sad circumstances
Ignoring the failings of a system
That guides our desires, our possessions, our decisions
While our pockets turn inside out and wallets are empty
Those who lead move the funds to guns,
Artillery, munitions that take lives away instead of building them

I keep pedaling further and further
Expecting to witness more of the same
The next time I roll through
One figure asleep in my path will be replaced by another
Whose anonymous presence is a constant reflection
Of the other side of this two-way mirror called life

Edmonton Street News, Volume 6, Issue 2 2009.

One

Listen to the wind,
so soft as it whispers
and embraces our beings
as One.
So gentle it coaxes,
so graceful it flies,
lacing us together
if only for a moment,
with calming peace
that fills the air
and is breathed, into
One Heart,
One Mind,
One World.

Published in Pocket Prayers: 36 Praises & Graces For All Faiths, Chronicle Books, October 2006.

Rainforest Life

In the trees
Far above,
Live the creatures
Of this forest.
Fragile canopies protect them,
Natural growth feeds them.
Life sustains life
In this tropical wilderness.

May the forces of civilization,
with its fire and
Machines of destruction
Be still,
So the chirping,
And swinging,
Crawling, and singing,
Last forever.
Amen.

Published in Animal Blessings: Prayers and Poems Celebrating Our Pets, Harper Collins San Francisco, October 2000.

On Passover, We Remember

Around this table
We celebrate the
Survival, Perseverance,
And Faith
Of those wandering spirits
Who escaped from their shackles,
Emerging towards freedom
To bring forth a
Nation from which
We grow, and for our
Future generations
To continue in
Freedom and Peace,
To always draw
Strength from those who
Went before.

Published in Family Celebrations: Prayers, Poems, and Toasts for Every Occasion: Andrews McMeel Publishing, March 1999, p. 153.