BLOG OF THE WEEK ~ AN UPDATE WITH SHERRI BRANNON

Today, my friends, we are catching up with Sherri Brannon, a Poets United member who has been away from the blogosphere for a time. When I saw her name pop up again on Mr. Linky, I hastened to ask her for an update and, happily, she said yes. Pull your chairs in close. Sherri, we are all ears!

Sherry: I was so happy to see you pop up online again, after some time away. Would you like to bring us up to date with what you've been up to? 

Sherri: The past year has been a bit crazy because I've been planning my daughter's wedding, TWICE. Her wedding was originally supposed to be last October 9th - a destination wedding in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We were all a bit stunned when, 48 hours before the ceremony, Hurricane Matthew directly hit the island. The governor issued a mandatory evacuation of everyone and the entire wedding had to be cancelled...it was a horrible day. The island suffered significant damage. 

But, we have moved on and the new date is June 18th! So once again, I am in full wedding planning mode with my daughter for the second year in a row. At least they'll have a fun story to tell their future grandchildren! My creative time was minimal this past year because of all that was going on.

Sherry: It does sound like a whirl. What brought you back to poetry? 

Sherri: In addition to the wedding planning, my poetry writing had completely stopped until recently. And one very specific thing I did seemed to turn my writing switch back on - I stopped watching the news. It was having such a negative effect on my spirit that I think I felt numb. When I did all of these things, it felt so good to just sit in the silence and listen to music again. My stress level went down dramatically. And the poems started coming, almost immediately!

Sherry: I know how the news, especially recently, can shut everything down. I am so happy your Muse returned. I love your poem "Grounded" - what inspired it? 

Sherri: There's a lot of political turmoil in our country these days, to put it mildly. I've been so disheartened by how cruel and malicious people have become towards one another just because they share different political views. It was really wearing me down to see such nastiness and anger every day, especially on Facebook, from people of BOTH parties. As someone who intensely dislikes fighting and conflict, I had been doing what I always do: spending time in nature. Nature is always a beautiful escape. It was these thoughts that brought on my poem. 

Copyright Sherri Brannon

GROUNDED

I seek out the water
and we breathe together
I look into the
honest eyes
of the dusk flowers
and we see each other
I love these moments
how my soul
takes time to notice
I have long resisted
that my sensitivity 
is my strength
we fools of the world
there are days 
I'd rather not
have my fragile heart 
be my super power
with my soft approach
my love of dead poets
my lofty thoughts of God
all tethered down 
by this ball and chain
of a brain

I seek comfort in nature
its wordless wonder
with no malice or sting
there are no greedy stars
with cynical hearts
I think about the sound
the moon must make
when it brushes
against the water
and I'm forever grateful
the herons don't mock
they have no sharp tongues
no sorrows that burn
no eyes filled
with fire and ego 
I watch them fly
daring me to follow
and I stand there
earth-grounded
as they depart
for the sky
to their paradise,
their star-God life.

© Sherri Brannon 2017

The jewel is the awaring presence, not the object being seen. That’s why we can be bored and disappointed while gazing at the Swiss Alps and ecstatic and blissed out over a crumpled cigarette package in the gutter. The beauty is in the quality of the seeing, the awareness, the presence, not in the object being seen. ~Joan Tollifson 

Sherry: This is the most beautiful poem. I love that there are no cynical or greedy stars, and my heart swooped up with the herons, flying up to their "star-God life".

Tell us about your poem "Wild". 

Sherri: This poem came about while thinking about the fact that I have never been that wild, adventurous free-spirit sort of a person. I've always been very cautious and careful. However, I've always had a wild imagination and for that I'm really grateful! I took that observation and had fun making it a poem.

copyright Sherri Brannon

WILD

Most people carry the husks 
of their wild oats
in their pockets
and every once in awhile 
their hand reaches in
to scoop out an old piece of rebellion 
turned to sawdust
and it makes them smile

But I was that child 
whose only version of wild
was to raise my hand to read out loud in class
in my own quiet way of daring
and it turned into a lifelong thing
this cautious mind, with empty pockets
lost in an inner world
deep within the confines 
of my careful cage of a body

It's all okay, though, 
I'm coming back around
I was always afraid of my own shadow
but God was just making sure 
I was breaking it in
growing me into a better version 
of that bookworm child
teaching me to see 
beyond the hard edges
of my knowledge

And I have come to love 
my own way of the wild
the soul-side kind
curve of spirit, circle of dreams
soft epiphanies and wonders 
spiraling behind my eyes
which may have aging lines 
but now seek out the light in others
because the eyes 
can never tell lies

My wild oats are alive 
and they're with me even now
I shake them off my fingers
collecting them 
between the pages of my journal
soulful word husks 
pressed into the grain of the paper
where I can sit in my wild silence
and read them, and smile.

© Sherri Brannon 2017

Watch out for intellect,
because it knows so much it knows nothing
and leaves you hanging upside down,
mouthing knowledge as your heart
falls out of your mouth. ~Anne Sexton

Sherry: Ahhhhhh....so lovely. I especially love the seeking out the light in others.

In the past year, I know you have been very busy with your art, so your creative juices were still flowing. What excites you about it? 

Sherri: This past year I've become consumed with learning the Procreate app and doing all of my artwork with my iPad Pro. I love the idea of having "my studio" in a portable device that I can carry with me anywhere I want to. 

I also love that with the Procreate app I have no fear of mistakes because there is an Undo button. If i mess up, I can instantly undo however many strokes I want to! It's amazing, and the Apple Pencil is magic. As a self-taught artist learning to draw and paint, it has been such a gift to have this wonderful app.

Sherry: Your portraits are beautiful! Wow! I think portraits must be the hardest thing to paint.  You have a real  talent for it. It must be very fulfilling to produce works of art. 

Is there anything you'd like to say to Poets United? 

Sherri: Just that I'm very grateful that this group exists. It is such a welcoming place, and I truly enjoy sharing my poetry here. Thank you again for featuring me!

Sherry: Thank you for saying yes, Sherri. And I hope this time the weather is perfect for your daughter's wedding!

So there you have it, my friends, another poet making her journey. I hope you enjoyed this visit as much as I did. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!

Blog of the Week ~ An Update with Sherri Brannon

This week, my friends, we are visiting with Sherri Brannon, of Softly Piqued Lens, to find out what she has been up to since our interview in the spring of 2014. Sherri is also a talented artist and photographer, and you will find much to enjoy on her blog, where she states she is "observing the world through a heart-colored lens." I love that! 

Sherry: Sherri, so nice to have you back! Tell us what went on, in the time you were away. I know you moved. Where to, and what is different about it from where you were? What do you love about it? 

Sherri: Thank you, it’s nice to be back. The last year has been a whirlwind – my husband decided to retire five years earlier than planned. We prepped
our house for sale, got it sold, and moved to Florida in three months! My parents already live here in Florida, which is a main reason we chose our new location. That, and the golf for my husband! 

The differences between Virginia and Florida are huge when it comes to weather and landscape. I love Florida because of its warmth, sunshine, and open skies. It’s beautiful. 

Sherry: A huge, life-changing leap! Florida looks beautiful, indeed. As a dedicated sky-watcher, I would be walking around with my head tipped back and my jaw dropped all the time, LOL. 

What drew you back to poetry? I know we all have times when we take a break. Louise Erdrich describes it as times of gestation, akin to being pregnant. Once you got settled, did the poems start bubbling up?

Sherri: The move had a big impact on my creativity for awhile. I think any big life change does that – there’s an adjustment period. But what surprised me
the most was how this change in landscape completely threw off my poetry. In Virginia, my poetry flowed in the winter when I felt a bit melancholy – the bleak landscape and frigid temperatures always put me in that mindset for lots and lots of writing. The sunshine and warmth here in Florida completely took away my poetic muse because there were no winter blues. I still feel as if I’m figuring out how to write poetry with all this sunshine and color everywhere year-round. 

Sherry: Wow! The incredible color and beauty of your sunsets are amazing. I know we share a deep love for the natural world, and this shines through your poems, photographs, and paintings. Are you close to nature where you are living now? Is there a favorite place you have discovered in your new landscape? 

Sherri: The nature here is different, which is another adjustment for me. I miss the trees in Virginia so much. They also had a huge impact on my poetry writing...there’s just something about the woods that is very spiritual for me. Here in Florida, we don’t have any woods nearby, except for the occasional mossy oak in an open field somewhere.

The community I live in is a new one, so there aren’t a lot of trees (except for some palm trees here and there). There are lots of colorful flowers, though. My favorite thing about this Florida landscape is the sky. The clouds, sunrises,
and sunsets are spectacular! 

Sherry: I could live on sunsets alone. Are you still painting? 

Sherri: I’m just getting ready to start some painting again. I’ve become very interested in painting digitally on my iPad with Procreate. I’m taking an
online class in September, and meanwhile I’m experimenting with it and trying to teach myself the basics. I don’t have any paintings to share right now – hopefully soon! 

My other creative outlet has continued to be iphoneography, which I absolutely love. I’m “sherribrannon” on Instagram, if anyone hangs out there and would like to see my feed. 

Sherry: You have some lovely work posted there, Sherri. You have an amazing eye.

I love your recent poem, "The Lonely Hours", and I would love to include it here. Can you tell us a bit about what you were feeling and thinking when you wrote this poem?

Sherri: Thank you, I’m really glad you liked my Lonely Hours poem. This poem has been an idea in my head since last year. With the move, I had put it on the shelf...when I was feeling frustrated about not writing poetry recently, I remembered the idea and just started writing. I’m thankful to this poem for getting me going again. 

It’s hard not to notice these days how focused everyone is on their devices, especially out in public. Everywhere you look, people are tuned out and focused in on their cell phones and tablets. I was at a restaurant recently and there was a family of six beside us. All six of them were on their iphones – there was zero interaction for a very extended amount of time. It was actually kind of sad to observe their complete disconnect from each other. 

THE LONELY HOURS

We have purged wonder, sitting alone with the silent furniture

in our dressing gowns 

with our firewalls and collecting of Friends

like gold medallions

crafting big words in a Godless code, but saying nothing

spilling our souls from virtual thrones, but no one's listening

There's a loneliness that beats like a second heart

wireless illusions leave us uninspired, so very tired

at the break of dawn, sleeping with the TV on 

playing pretend with our stories

exporting our seeming, deleting our being, 

queuing up our sticks and stones to throw

The doves with tender eyes have gone blind, and

we don't seem to mind 

communion with the stars has gone, and we with 

our cyber wiles, our encrypted smiles and faux glories

reveling in this hum on the earth, this

"you show me your ego and I'll trump yours with mine"

The trees still know everything, outside our curtained windows

offering up their holy treasures to ears gone deaf 

to their lessons...and their hearts must break, as they wait

in every wood, lonely for us listening souls 

with our closed off minds, our tightly closed blinds, 

our numbing escape from the sacred flow.

Sherry: "We have purged wonder." That is a profoundly sad truth. Do you have a couple of other poems you would like to share?

Sherri: I’d love to share two other poems. The first one is called "The Soul Always Knows". Most of my poetry ends up being about my very strong belief that we are all souls having a human experience. Our bodies are simply vessels that contain us while we’re here on earth learning lessons.

Sherry: I share that belief, Sherri.

THE SOUL ALWAYS KNOWS

What calls you to the quiet?

To let go of bone and

Wander with the soul?

To allow her to step

From your waters of

Deep remembering

Feeling safe to speak?

When my bones are weary

They leave an imprint

Sunken and fossilized

Like rib marks pressed

Deeply into the earth

Choose a bone, soul

Says with a whisper

Pry it from the dirt

Petrified and tender

Use it for something

Not intended:

Pick the padlock

Unlock the gate 

From your graveyard

Let flowers spill 

And roots grow, and

Words flow

Through it all, the

Soul always knows

She waits, lamp in hand,

Carrying that elusive key

That often won't fit

Any lock I own

Seeing the whole time that

My chest door is ajar

That the sky hangs there

Lovingly and bright

Like a vast, open prayer

So quenchable that I

Fill my cup and drink it.

Sherry: Sigh. This is utterly lovely - that sky hanging there "like a vast, open prayer." So beautiful! And I love the image of the soul, waiting, holding the lantern, to light our way back to her.

Sherri: The other poem is called “Illuminate” and it’s about my constant struggle with needing to express myself through poetry, but also not wanting to feel vulnerable. My poetry is the most intimate part of me, and there are days when I’m hesitant to reveal it and feel exposed. 

ILLUMINATE

Words spark and flare,

Carving a crack, glowing

Under my breastbone

Illuminating my soul thoughts

Their points of pain and their

Rounds of love, and I wonder

If they'll be revealed, just

As the moon wonders if the

Clouds will expose her tonight.

She turns away her lunar face

Hiding her luminous thoughts,

Those glowing words like maps

Across her surface, parts of

Them leaking gingerly across

The curve of a swan's neck

Gliding on a distant lake.

Some nights the moon hides

With the stars, while others

She makes her presence known

Setting tree tips aglow

Revealing their secrets

While the birds with no names

Turn silent and sleep songless

In the branches.

Some nights my words hesitate

While others they gleam, just

Like the moon shines across

A shy mare in a midnight field,

Her nostrils flaring, her

Hooves restless and stomping

From all she yearns to say.

Sherry: Incredibly lovely, the moon turning her face away, the songless birds, the shy mare in the field. Your poetry is simply beautiful, Sherri. I'm so happy we get to read it again.

Is there anything you’d like to say to Poets United?

Sherri: Yes, I’d like to thank Poets United for always being there...this community is like those lifelong friends we all have, the ones who even if you get busy and lose touch for awhile, you can reconnect and pick up right where you left off. It’s a very warm and welcoming circle of people, and I truly appreciate everyone, even if I sometimes take breaks between poetry writing. So, to everyone at Poets United: I am deeply grateful for your online presence.

Sherry: Thank you, Sherri, for your kind words. We are always happy when our friends pop up again. Thanks for sharing your news. We look forward to enjoying your beautiful poems in the months ahead, and sharing in the beauty of your Florida skies through your photos.

Wasn't this a lovely visit, my friends? Lovely poems and spectacular Florida skies! Come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!

LIFE OF A POET - SHERRI BRANNON

This week, my fellow travelers, we are heading to Virginia, to enjoy a visit with Sherri Brannon, poet, artist and photographer, who showcases her work at Softly Piqued Lens. Sherri has a close connection to nature, which is reflected in her wonderful photography. Get ready to enjoy some spectacular scenery!

P.U.: Sherri, I am so happy to be meeting with you! Give us a little peek at your life, will you? What does life look like at your house?