My Inspiration

• clean canvases (in any form)…blank paper, blank wall, naked fingernails, empty room, span of unplanted dirt, long hair & sharp scissors
• my chronic (but thankfully fluctuating) depression, unmasked and unmedicated 
• the twisted humorous writing that is Augusten Burroughs
• Coney Island trip for Craig’s 40th birthday….simply everything about it
• Tuesday evening trips to the library with the family 
• memories of my grandfather and going up the camp; sitting on the wooden-bench swing watching over the still lake before the boats rev their morning engines; hunting backward-swimming crawfish on my belly on the red splintery dock with pumpkinseed fish I caught in a net, baited by the plop of still-green blueberries; staying up as late as I want at every age, walking around the pebbled block in the total darkness & falling asleep on a dusty mattress to the sounds of the adults I love laughing through smoke around the card table (and so much more)….
• my daughter’s delicate heart, always burdened by “being good”
• my son’s innate humor full-on
• walking alone down a quiet country road, the birds and peepers my only noisy companions
• the white puff of hot charcoal, getting ready to cook our summer supper – the smell of homemade bbq sauce breezing through the yard
• shucking corn on the patio, with the kids
• the process of hanging and collecting laundry from the outside clothesline – having the sun dry everything naturally
• sleeping outside, under the stars
• old cemeteries
• my love-hate relationship with the United States Navy
• the smell and taste of burnt sugar
• catching a glimpse of my kids, looking into each others’ eyes while sharing a private joke between them.
• lengthy, live Grateful Dead bootlegs
• warm summer rain, when it feels good to get drenched
• morning glories, chamomile, cosmos, portulacas, zinnias, honeysuckle, daisies of all sorts, bachelor buttons, sweet william
• Friday evening, around 4:00…on the cusp of the weekend
• really good beer
• great big loud thunderstorms in the summertime
• walking down Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village
• being the passenger in a car, driving at dusk, when houses still have shades open but lights on – looking into strangers’ lives for one, quick blurry second
• walking in silence, holding my husband’s hand loosely
• window shopping in artsy little town centers
• old-fashioned candy stores
• kneading bread dough, and the sore arms it brings
• making homemade chicken soup using whatever leftover veggies in the house
• chartreuse (the word, and the color)
• eating sun-hot tomatoes right out of the garden
• the crack on our bedroom ceiling that leads to the round light fixture - looks like a balloon floating above me (I’m sure my husband will fix it, but I wish he wouldn’t)
• fast-melting ice cream in the summer sun
• having the laundry, ironing and dishes as done as they can be, all at once (rarely happens)
• swinging high on a well-grounded swingset until my stomach drops
• dark leafless tree branches against an open sky
• old jazz (Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong…)
• pulling up the blinds to a bright spring morning, after a long dark winter
• musty flea markets and the hunt for real treasure amidst the junk
• being married and domestic
• smell of my son - the top of his head, his morning breath, his clammy feet, his whole sweet self
• family toothbrushes in their joint holder, appearing to be in conversation w/each other
• Counting Crows lyrics
• arranging and rearranging things/visual “merchandising”
• the feeling of accomplishment each night as I set a full dinner on the table in front of my little family
• meaty magazine articles
• just sitting in the sun, alone
• our budget, and organizing it daily
• travelling on a whim (I vaguely remember having the ability to do this)
• shopping farmers’ markets
• viewing/considering artsy fashion/trends that are totally impractical
• trying new, never-heard-of foods
• the smells of freshly roasted dark-beaned coffee; the compost once it is warm and black, and ready to feed my new garden; hot clean laundry; the charcoal grill in summertime
• nutritional information
• the words patisserie and trattoria
• thinking in the shower when it’s so hot it almost burns my back
• the kissable placement of my daughter’s and son’s freckles
• reading w/total quiet, under my favorite blanket that I got while in Greece
• seeds starting to grow in garden (esp lettuce) – love the neat rows promising me homegrown food
• that my kids love going to the museum, library, farmers market, flea market, and out for tea with me
• the cool kitchen ceramic tile on my feet in the summer 
• that I have curly hair so I can cut it myself and the mistakes don’t show

1. 

   kay Said:

   on November 16, 2011 at 4:16 pm

   i love, love, love your list and i am sure a lot of people can identify with some them..a lot for me…esp. the curly hair and cutting it yourself…..you should see mind…hide the scissors!! lol xx kay

   Reply
2. 

   hoiden Said:

   on July 24, 2010 at 11:52 pm

   this is cool:):)

   Reply
   • 

     hoiden Said:

     on July 24, 2010 at 11:57 pm

     btw i’m in ur group in poets united…plz check this link
     http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2010/07/poets-united-challenge.html

     Reply
3. 

   Sue Nickerson Said:

   on June 6, 2010 at 8:15 pm

   Perused your Inspiration, Dina. I like it, it’s good. Hope you don’t mind me poking around-want to read some poems sometime soon.
   ~Sue

   Reply
   • 

     mypoeticlicense Said:

     on June 6, 2010 at 8:23 pm

     Hi Sue –
     Great to see your name pop up – hope all is well with your cute little family.
     Hope you like the poetry – welcome anytime!
     - Dina

     Reply
4. 

   clairemarie Said:

   on May 13, 2010 at 12:56 pm

   so many simple things that make for an abundance of joy … everyone will be envious!

   Reply
   • 

     mypoeticlicense Said:

     on May 26, 2010 at 6:04 pm

     Everyone needs to make their own list! It’s very satisfying to dissect the bits and pieces of our days under a magnifying glass…the good stuff really shines through.

     Reply

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