Saturday, September 22, 2007

100 Poems for Audrey

I began writing poems for my daughter Audrey the first day of her life on earth. She now is 15 months old. Initially, I planned to write a poem a day for Audrey. Ambitious no doubt.
Well, as many new and not so new parents know, having the time to write each day with a newborn, and then an older child, is pretty impossible. Unless, of course, you have a live-in maid, a nanny, your parents living with you, or a whole village of willing caregivers to help with the baby.

There are some fortuitous new parents in that league. I don't know many of them. We had to go it alone by and large--not too unusual. When me wife contracted a nasty MRSA infection in hospital giving birth to Audrey, I did take the Baby home the first couple weeks, going it alone. Fortunately for me, I had a few friends that helped me with Audrey.

Most people are kind. Most people are good and want to do good things. I believe conscientiousness in the human condition reigns predominant. What I mean is that most people choose to do the right thing, more so, than the negatively hurtful and harmful thing.
I think so. And if I find myself surrounded by those that choose the hurtful and harmful (in its many forms), as an adult, more than not, with some exceptions, it probably means I have attracted that into my life. I think that is true almost all the time.

From a Father's point of view, Audrey's poems are about life as a new parent with a newborn, and the intense and ongoing growth that comes with that experience. For me, as a Father, it is the most important, and toughest, challenge of my life.

Audrey's poems are also about the human condition in our natural world today. They are also about spiritual beings having a human experience. All written I hope ( I have to be extra diligent about this part) without the pitfalls of pontification, self-endulgent ego centricity, and verbose and pretentious commentary--a free floating stream of consciousness with words and ideas that are confusing and unclear.

I'll try not to do all that when I can think of it. Constant self editing and monitoring, gets really boring too. So, for a Pisces and highly intuitive male, suseptible to emotion, with a facination for observing the dark side of life, and a much stronger drive to constantly go to and develop the higher planes of spiritual life (not necessisarily religious), not falling into the trap of self-endugent dung-a-doo-do in my writing, is a challenge.

There are other topics and essays too: Thoughs, opinions, meditations, intuitive writing--life narration from deep inner language, hopes and visions for a better world, and my attempts at getting clear about and using principles of mental science--using my mind, mindfully.

Most of my posts will be with my child in mind, from a father's point of view, creating positive thoughts and writing by example.

Jim,
September 2007

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