Comments for Maine Girl

Comment on Jack Spratt Redux by Debbi McGlauflin

Debbi McGlauflin — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:00:21 +0000

Thanks to the members of the Poets of the Green Tables for welcoming me to their group and for their very helpful feedback and suggestions on this poem, which I happily incorporated! This poem was my contribution to our collective play with writing poems based on nursery rhymes. What fun!

Comment on Falling by dmcglauflin

dmcglauflin — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:37:36 +0000

I’ve been falling down a lot lately, and I’m realizing there’s something to be learned here! I couldn’t resist incorporating the image of the armless, legless Japanese Daruma Doll that, pushed over, always pops back up. The saying associated with Daruma is, “Seven times down; eight times up. Resilience in the face of obstacles!

Comment on Lamentation by dmcglauflin

dmcglauflin — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:10:22 +0000

I wrote this late at night on December 16, 2012 after watching the service for those killed in the shooting at the Newtown, CT elementary school. Oh, samara!

Comment on Vowing Vast Compassion by dmcglauflin

dmcglauflin — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:03:28 +0000

Once one takes the Bodhisattva vow, there are reminders EVERYWHERE! I guess you could call this a fast-food haiku.

Comment on Crowning Glory by Geneva Mcglauflin

Geneva Mcglauflin — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:16:28 +0000

Love your new category!Will be looking for more moment to moment thoughts from you.
You captured the moment perfectly.

Comment on Crowning Glory by dmcglauflin

dmcglauflin — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:55:46 +0000

“Crowning Glory” is the first in a collection of poems titled “Being Otherwise” that explores the topic of, moment to moment, what might I think, do or say differently if only I deeply realized that “I” is merely a designation and that I am not singular, permanent and independent. Of course, I only have inklings and glimpses of this transcendent self, but these poems yearn for that much deeper and transformative realization and reach for it.

Comment on Annapolis Compromise by dmcglauflin

dmcglauflin — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:51:10 +0000

This poem structurally reflects the uneasy truce between Bay and land. It is a compromise between the free verse of the first and third verses and the rhymed verse of the second and fourth verses. That somehow seemed appropriate.

Comment on Jacob’s Ladder by Debbi McGlauflin

Debbi McGlauflin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:04:21 +0000

I’m happy to say there are women Bay pilots, too! True pioneers!

Comment on Jacob’s Ladder by Geneva Mcglauflin

Geneva Mcglauflin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:55:30 +0000

Loved the poem as I first read it and then( after reading your comment), I sang it to the tune I learned in Sunday school years ago. It is a fine tribute to those brave men who skillfully guide their ships through our waters in whatever weather nature sends their way.

Comment on Jacob’s Ladder by dmcglauflin

dmcglauflin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:31:55 +0000

“Jacob’s Ladder” is a salute to the important work of the Chesapeake Bay pilots. I think of them out there when the wind is howling off the Bay on a dark winter night or when the fog is thick. Those like me who care about the Bay owe them a debt of gratitude for moving cargo swiftly and safely in and out of port. As the bay pilots website reminds us — if there had been a pilot on the Exxon Valdez, there probably wouldn’t have been an accident.

Because they are unsung heroes, I thought it appropriate to borrow the rhythm of a song for this poem. And because they often make the dangerous climb aboard ships that are underway as they enter the Bay using a rope ladder called a “jacob’s ladder,” I thought it especially appropriate to base it on a hymn called “Jacob’s Ladder.” It’s a song some readers might remember from Sunday School. You can actually sing this poem to that melody, if you know it.