Land Mines

When the news came

that my best friend

had ended her fight

shortly after Valentines day

2009

I indulged and comforted

myself in these words...

May you make your own

list of blessings

in between land mines.

Land Mines

Tiptoeing around

the land mines of life

nothing to do...really

but...

make paper airplanes,

enjoy red roses heads wired high

and the tuft of hair

on Kaia’s shoulders

turned gold by sunlight,

a card with shoes on it

that remind me

I am home and grateful,

for my lovers smile beside me

dazzling & easy& here.

Nothing I can do

except drink strawberries

in champagne

by the water

to trust and believe life is unfolding

as agreed to...

to hold on to the ones

I can still call daily,

to colored kites in the sky

and the slightness of tears

in my friends eyes,

the ferry hum

I can consistently count on...

on the hour.

Nothing I can do but

be witness to the blueness

of the water,

the strength in the mountains,

the wildness of the underbrush...

the crunch of feet on desert gravel,

the roar of boats

at play on February water,

rock sculptures that defy gravity

a partnership of art and earth,

movies that make me

forget my own name

and old songs of comfort

like the weight of silk skin

spread across me.

Kisses and laughter that continue

to take my breath away

and fill my head

with immediate wonder,

for a dog that smiles

only on the right...

with equal anxiety and joy,

for phones that buzz with

"I am thinking of you." wishes

and every moment that passes by

in sunlight,

for this red nest

that comfort and protects,

for sunsets that say farewell

to the day

and its gifts of living

and breathing

and all the blessings offered

in between the land mines of life!

Pam Piper Rain

Photo by Ed Earley

I Danced

This new painting and silly little poem was inspired by

(again) the Thriller Dance and is on display in Studio Seven.

While the painting was a challenge, the poem was so easy.

Wanted something new to hang, so it was another late night

for a last minute idea!

I wanted to DANCE

but didn’t dare,

which was okay at first

cause I didn’t care,

but I wanted to DANCE,

so I tried!

Wasn’t pretty,

and I laughed till I cryed,

but just had to DANCE!

I don’t know why,

so I did it again and again,

until I wasnt so shy!

I DANCED...

and DANCED some more,

Still so clumsy on the floor,

but that doesn’t matter now.

DANCING is not

about knowing How!

DANCING is

about trying and learning!

About twisting and turning!

I stomped and roared and bounced,

twisted, turned and pounced,

shuffled, stepped and slid.

I reached with a punch,

yes I did!

So my DANCE step

had no talent or spring...

but that I DANCED

at all?

...Well, that was

EVERYTHING!

Pam Piper Rain

On display in Studio Seven

www.studiosevenhavasu.com

Dizzy Wild

What is it about putting

something on your head

that creates a magic new you?

Is that why many wear hats?

Decorative head wear?

Not a hat person really

(due to the 20 years of static based hair

from the knit hats needed

to survive Duluth winters)

I didn't really get the appeal

until maybe now?

But the "Wild Wear Bobble Bands"

aren't really a hat,

the effect is similar or greater.

A week after Jodi said,

"Make a Wild Woman spiral head band

with animal print and boinging wire,"

I was walking into an evening

of live music...

with one on my head,

and one for her and Kate!

(seems I will do anything Jodi says.)

After a trip to Michael's and

a crafty afternoon in the sun,

with wire cutters, PVC pipe

and covered in tacky glue...

here was the goofiest, wildest thing

to ever be placed on my head.

With a thousand January projects pending,

this wasn't EVEN on my list!

When, I should have been cursing Jodi's name

and her wild ideas

I was giggling out loud instead.

That night...

we "bobbled" in time to the music,

our spirals dipping and waving,

interlocking with tangled attachment,

laughing over the vibrational sensation

that our brains were experiencing,

a light headed dizziness

that inspired the desire

to do something funky and crazy

and because of the things on our heads,

we had the permission to do so!

Maybe, it was even expected!

(The envy of the "older"

women in the room, who also wanted one

...and where could they get one?...yikes!)

It was a magnificent high spirited,

entertaining evening of fun

and intelligent witty conversations...

wondering if the Bobble Bands

acted like antennas,

conductors of energy,

picking up wave signals

from those wild ones who came before us?

Or maybe it was just the wine!

Hard to say...either way, I was fascinated

because the next day at the beach

while working on a paddle logo picture

wearing the Wild Wear Bobble Band still,

I found myself spinning in circles

with pinwheels in each hand...

around and around "dizzy with wild."

Jodi says, this could be big

get ready...oh no!!!

And although I do not anticipate

long crafty afternoons

wire wrapping and glueing fabric

to headbands,

( may be a kit?)

I REALLY want everyone I know,

to have one...

it is guaranteed giggle wear,

not sure the planet is ready

for that much wild... but we'll see.

Pam Piper Rain

Nonsense

Nonsense

Once upon a time

it was a sterling conundrum

why the talking baby

was left behind

(the one who said

call me, Riley)

she who had “late to the game”

privileges...

was glad it was a dream

while Ping got on the wrong boat

and the postman was

sometimes too Jolly

so she found a floating marionette

to dance with

who talked “Disney” and

made her laugh

with Creepy and Dopey

a life size barbie to dress up

and tell her stories to...

sitting in the arms of the

carved maternal chairs

in a courtyard with the

spiral staircase to nowhere,

where the poetess wrote

corner poems to the

hiding heroic child....

finally with a magic wand

she remembers

the trumpet vines and

all is well in hinterland

again.

Pam Piper Rain

A Misadventure in Going Green

Being its a lovely January day

decide to go green...

just my bike, a back pack and sunshine

just six places to go...easy,

its a small town after all,

a small town built on a hill

with straight downs...whee!!!

And then straight Ups

not just a slight incline

but a real challenge.

But its green and its exercise,

I tell myself!

it becomes a game,

which is typical...

a race against the clock

how fast can this be accomplished

one hour, two?

On your mark, get set... go!!

Its smooth sailing by the time I reach

my last stop, K mart, it's only been an hour

Confident it can still be done under two,

Happily, tell the clerk, "no bag"

have my "going green back pack,"

I say cheerily...

and confidently, heavy things are purchased

because, I also just bought

a "going green bike basket"

I AM...good to go...!

In the parking lot,

I discovered my new

"going green bike basket"

requires on screw driver

and an Alan wrench

to attach it to the handle bars.

...hmmmm!

This is NOT so good!

Wait, I will tie it to my handle bars with....

ummm...what?

...my shoe laces, good

yes, that will work...aren't I clever?

hmmm...makes that shoe kind

of loose and floppy but...

So heavy things will go into the backpack,

no problem...

oh look, the zipper came undone,

not just the 'sure thing zipper

and but the "just in case" zipper also,

now I have a flapping, droopy,

unzippering collection of material

trying to unsuccessfully hold

a bunch of heavy things

and it's NOT going to...!

CRAP!!!

I wish I had a plastic bag!

Starting to feel a little undone,

and unzipped...as well,

with traffic everywhere

it is a long-walk-semi-ride home uphill!

cell phone left behind...

kind of want to cry now,

knowing it will be funny later...

then I remember

a friend telling me,

"If its funny later, it's funny now!"

Okay, this might be kind of funny!

Thinking I might look a little homeless

with all this stuff and not put together well,

a baseball hat comes in handy

to be incognito...

but since it has my name on it in big letters

probably, not so much!

I start to flap shuffle my way uphill,

discovering I can ride a little

IF I clutch the heavy back pack

closed with one hand...

that is until the shoe lace

stretches out too much

and the basket begins

to rub on the front tire,

creating a brake affect

everything becomes a melody

of flap..scrape..shuffle

and grind...

Walking now and slowly,

then leaning down for some reason,

and my neck bandanna

catches on the handlebar

yikes ...choking...falling...

dropping the bike

and there I am a tangled mess

of bike and basket,

(my stupid) "going green

unzipping backpack", carpet cleaner,

boat stabilizer, audio books, hair spray

and other various personal products,

right there all tumbled

and sprawling

on main street

and somewhere in all this

I decide the shorts I am wearing

are really unflattering

and... Yes, I have a hat with my name on it.

...GREAT!

Three hours later

with scrapes and scratches,

smudged in bike grease,

a numb left arm, a bike basket

rubbed 'unblack' on the bottom,

my lace less shoe left at the end

of the driveway

and I am thinking...from now on?

...screw green!

Pam Piper Rain

Let the Colors Dance

It's 3:00 am and I am finally

leaving the studio

had a painting in my head for a year

number ten in a collection of nine.

My Magnetic Women,

is a combination of loose

spontaneous brush strokes

(opposite of the tightly lined

Wild Women illustrations)

with words resembling

magnetic poetry

that have a hidden meaning

funny or...?

The paintings are large

on wood with acrylics

and crayons scribbles

and probably my best work...

But the process terrifies me...

I don't have any control

and I can't guarantee it will be successful.

With a Coffee shop reception

tomorrow evening,

it was important

to create something new

and right away...

I circled the drawing for

hours before gaining the courage

to begin at 12:00am.

It took the music,

in the quiet,

the undisturbed

night,

tentatively, wavering over

the first few brush strokes

knowing it would be a fleeting

capture of intuition and instinct

needed to know what first,

and then what next

never knowing what truly

happens in these paintings,

I have to trust...

So I let go and let the brush

make the colors dance,

tell the story...

as the images took shape

the power that flooded me

was astonishing,

made my heart sing

and I thought this is why

I am an artist

this is why I create

for this single moment of

being the conductor

in an ochrestra of hues and light.

Even if your not an artist but

feel inclined I would recommend

a late night, some wine and a blank

white landscape, a brush,

globs of paint...

and dance!

Below are pics of the painting

in progress. Because I too was

curious to see how it would involve!

She knew it was time to get off but she just wasn't ready!!

Pam Piper Rain

To see my other Magnetic Women

www.piperrainpress.com