BLOG OF THE WEEK ~ MY HEART'S LOVE SONGS

Today, my friends, we are featuring a blogger I am sure many of you are familiar with, dani at my heart's love songs. dani offers a mix of thoughts, poetry and prose on her colorful site, and one always comes away replenished. Let's dive in!

dani

dani: This photograph is from thirty years ago, but I've been told I look almost the same ~ if you add gray streaks on each side of my face, quite a few pounds and, of course, some wrinkles. {smile}

Sherry: Thirty years! You are even more camera-phobic than I am, LOL. You don't need to be, you are very photogenic. Tell us a bit about yourself, Dani.

dani: I've lived in the Valley of the Sun, (Phoenix, Arizona, US), since 1975. I'm fortunate that my daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren live less than ten miles from me. 

In my fifties, I discovered writing and entered into the first healthy relationship of my life ~ we're now early into our fifth year and better than ever. I live alone, still mourning the loss of my cat-companion of seventeen years. I love books and movies; my favorite genre is science fiction and fantasy. My hobbies are writing, baking, cooking, sketching, sewing... really anything creative.

Sherry: It sounds like a wonderful life. I am happy about your relationship and sorry you lost your cat-companion. I know how much we miss them, when they pass. When did you begin blogging, dani?

dani: I began writing on Twitter in January 2010. I started my blog 12 February 2010 so that I would stop driving my Twitter friends crazy. I never expected anyone to actually visit, and I am still astounded.

Sherry: I know! I feel exactly the same way.

dani: I had a lot to learn about blogging, and the site has evolved through the years. The header and background change with the seasons, but are always photographs I took of hibiscus growing in my daughter's back yard. You'll find poetry, occasional prose and a handful of recipes. 

These days, almost every post begins with an image, then my writing, and ends with a music video. I also have characters that I refer to as "doodles" throughout the post. Their use started because I didn't know any coding and wanted a way to add extra lines just for spacing. 

My favorite type of poetry to write is "visual" ~ using different fonts, enjambment, unusual spacing and placement, all in an effort to both provide visual interest, and to influence the rhythm of a poem. Most of what I write is poetry, but in 2012 I was honored to be able to run a Featured Poets Series  of sixty bloggers. I am prouder of that than of my writing. I feel very fortunate to have met and gotten to know so many amazing poets.

Sherry: That is how I feel about this Monday feature at Poets United. It is such a privilege. Let's look at your poems, dani. Please choose three, and tell us a bit about each one.

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This poem was written about ten weeks after I started my blog (just over three months after the first poem I ever wrote), and it's the only poem I've had published.

insanity

dani harris

23 April 2010

insanity waits

at the dark edges of my soul

longing to embrace

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I don't really know why I like this poem so much; it's nothing exceptional. But it's really true ~ my life has changed drastically the past five years and, though I can recall the pain and other negative emotions, I don't remember what they actually felt  like.

unfamiliar

dani harris

14 January 2013

i lived in constant fear

too much of this life

fleeting glimpses

still come and go

.

i recognize it

but it’s unfamiliar

i remember feeling it

but not what it felt like

.

sorrow was once

my most loyal companion

in reality i was alone

though i clung to my illusions

.

i recognize it

but it’s unfamiliar

i remember feeling it

but not what it felt like

.

there are wisps of anger,

shame and loss behind my eyes;

a faint taste of  pain

lingers on my tongue

.

i recognize them

but they’re unfamiliar

i remember feeling them

but not what they felt like

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My daughter likes this poem. I like the rhythm of it. I really struggle to rhyme, and this is one of the rare times I feel it worked.

as the wind blows chill

dani harris

15 March 2011

as the wind blows chill
and the willow weeps

as day turns to night
and half  the world sleeps
.

as the sun and moon
chase each other 'round the sky

as the stars just watch
never wondering why
.

as time wanders by
because it can't stand still

life doesn't stop
and it never will
.

i turn in my grave
unnoticed by all

my death meant nothing
no one heeds my call
.

as the earth keeps turning
my soul now sleeps

as the wind blows chill
and the willow weeps

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Sherry: Beautiful, dani!  I especially love your third poem about the willow. It really speaks to me. 

Thank you so much, dani, for sharing your poetry with us, and for being a loyal long-time member of Poets United. We look forward to enjoying much more of your work as the months go on.

Wasn't this lovely, kids? I  hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did putting it together. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!