ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

Something out of Nothing - A Poem by Elisa English

 On 6/3/10 in Minneapolis

Can you say it for sure? – a poem, just for the kicks

A recent incident prompted me to think about what is possible and what is impossible and it also brought back memories of some incidents happened on me and on my family that seemed rather unusual.  Everyone comes from different background with different values.  There are generation gaps, cultural gaps and whatever gaps lie among all of us.  Things that may sound reasonable to you might sound absurd to me.  Things that I experienced may seem hallucinations to you.  We can never force people to see it our way, although we often hear that "It is either my way, or the highway".  Anyway, this incident prompted me to write another alphabet poem.  I wrote it just for the kicks.  I can’t always find the Pierian Spring.  Just let me indulge in it for a little longer.    

My husband is on a business trip, so we tag along.  I actually wrote this poem on a piece of napkin because our kids have used up every piece of paper available in the hotel room for their drawing.  Anyway, I thought of this while I was having breakfast yesterday morning.  The poem I wrote on Mother’s Day was thought to be a cheerleading song, so I thought I will follow the same structure, using the alphabets of the word “mother” for each sentence, but make it not cheerleading-like this time.

An Alphabet Poem by Elisa English

Written by Elisa English on 5/21/10

As if in a dream

It is hard reading all the articles glorifying a mother’s love because I have never been a good daughter.  I always wonder why I become empty-minded as soon as the topic turns to my love ones.  I don’t know what to write about my mom.  I don’t know what to write about my love ones because emotions always get in the way.  I find it extremely difficult to find words that best describe my feelings for them. 

Anyway, I remembered that someone once asked me to write a poem that started with the alphabet of LOVE on each line.  I thought that maybe I can follow that rule and write a poem about my mom.  So here it goes.

Let the secret be told - – A poem written by Elisa English on 5/05/10  (Just for fun)

When is a secret not a secret?

To tell or not to tell – A poem written by Elisa English on 5/04/10  (An afterthought about morality) 

To tell or not to tell, I wonder

So much at stake to founder

Text messaging – A poem written by Elisa English on 4/16/10

Tap, tap, tap,

A Ghost Sound or a Coyote’s Howl -  - A poem written by Elisa English on 4/16/10

A thunderous sound

Here is a poem I wrote dedicated to my son for his frustration to get us attending the Fiesta.  To get some background of this poem, please read the article "A Fiesta".   We try not to hurt his feeling but sometimes it is inevitable.  Life is tough. 

Life is Tough - A poem written by Elisa English on 4/14/10

Formosa, My Love

A poem written by Elisa English on 3/28/2010

A little girl inside me

A poem written by Elisa English on 3/26/2010

Is Winter Going Away? 

A poem written by Elisa English on 3/24/2010

My Scattered Mind – A poem by Elisa English

Written on 3/16/2010

My daughter was counting the houses as we drove by last weekend.  She told me that there was a green house.  She meant the house in green.  I asked them if they knew the other meaning of a green house.  My son said “leprechaun house”.  Wow!  That wasn’t an answer I was expecting.  How interesting!  Kids are full of imagination.  Anyway, I told them it is a house where we can grow greens and plants throughout the year even in cold weather.  I have been writing some poems inspired by my kids.  I thought that maybe I can compile them into a memoir, something that they can look back at the old days as they grow up.      

A leprechaun house -  A poem inspired by my kids

A Collection of Elisa English’s Poetry and Translation   (Elisa English 詩集與翻譯 )

Elisa English's poetry

1. Are you Happy?
2. My Gratitude
3. My Two Little Silly Geese
4. Snow is Falling
5. Gone with the Wind
6. Memories live on
7. Something out of Nothing
8. Can you say it for sure - Another Alphabet Poem
9. A Mother's Love
10. An Alphabet Poem (I)
11. MOTHER
12. Let the Secret be Told
13. To Tell or Not to Tell
14.  Sound or a Coyote's Howl
15. Life is Tough
16. Formosa, My Love
17. A Little Girl Inside Me
18. Is Winter Going Away
19. My Scattered Mind
20. A Leprechaun House
21. A Beauty out of this World
22. Winter Boy
23. This is not how she is built up for
24. No Way In
25. As Cunning As a Fox
26. A Phantom in the Past
27. The Subject of Love
28. Please Stop Peeping into my World
29. Life is Full of Joy
30. Skeleton Crossing
31. Little Pussy Cat
32. How can I Describe Mine Love to Thee
33. Much Ado about Nothing
34. Love Dialogue & Poetry
35. My Sorrow for the Taiwanese People – Typhoon Morakot
36. Laurie, My Love
37. The Meaning of Love (2)
38. The Meaning of Love (1)
39. Our Scandalous Love (2)
40. Our Scandalous Love (1)
41. M和H開頭的情話, MINGHAN字母當每句句首的短詩

Our Scandalous Love

With love our weakness (is) exposed

The Meaning of Love

While watching animal planet today, I thought of the animals in our backyard, which seemed to be a good subject for writing poetry.  If you are interested to know all the animals running about our backyard, you can find more information from this article.  http://elisaenglish.pixnet.net/blog/post/639394     

I've written the woodpecker living in our house.  This time I am going to write about the pheasant living on our deck.  Can you see how big a hole he pecked on our screen door?  If you would like to see more pictures of the pheasant, please read these articles.   http://elisaenglish.pixnet.net/blog/post/639562   & http://elisaenglish.pixnet.net/blog/post/639552 

It continues to snow with accumulation of 6 inches so far.  As much as 14 inches of snow could fall as snow storm continues into Tuesday morning.  The first reaction my son had seeing the snow this morning was a smile with a statement that winter was here forever.  I wondered if his birth in winter drove his love for the winter.

I decided to write this poem dedicating to my son for his love of the winter.  The picture was shot from our drive way today.