Elmarie Westerink

I want to dedicate this “instalment” to my friend Jonathan who became a quadroplegic a few years ago after a car accident. I want to thank him for the example he’s been to me of courage and hope. His positive outlook on life…(he’s studying, working, writing poetry despite his extreme disability) has made me revisit my own life with extreme gratitude. Yes, I do have my moments…but then all I have to do is read his words. Jonathan, I’d like to share your poem with the world. And I hope that... Sign in to see full entry.

My ex-husband once complimented me on dinner and said, “This was almost as good as my mom’s cooking”. He was a bachelor of 38 when we married, and up to then still ate supper at their house and handed her his washing every week. I should have read the signs… Some women view men as naughty little boys who never grew up. They claim men throw their clothes on the floor, won’t help around the house, can’t find things, won’t ask directions, expect to be continually waited on and will never admit to... Sign in to see full entry.

Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps Since I teach people about how the brain learns and works best everyday, I thought I’d share another great book that everyone should read BEFORE getting married, or, if you’ve already committed yourself, read it anyway. I’ve read so many books on the brain, but really enjoyed the humour and also gained some understanding of the differences between the female and male brains. (By the way, this isn’t an “urban myth” anymore. Our brains DO function... Sign in to see full entry.

The secret to happiness a mythical quest… of weary travellers from faraway places with expectant faces who walked and sailed from the ends of the earth for a drink from that cup that mythical holy grail… to find a moment of peace silence contentment acceptance love They searched for the answer died unfulfilled for the answer to this riddle was locked away within the depths of their own humanity. They greeted the end with the deepest of sighs, with pale drawn and gaunt faces and tales of all... Sign in to see full entry.

How blessed is the man who yields word-weapons… Weapons so sharp So accurately calibrated Such instruments of precision And deep destruction That they can be used In abundance And in silence. How blessed is the poet Who can fire his word missiles While, with assonance and lovely rhyme, Describe the beauty of their movement Through the nebulous fog of my mind. Oh how blessed is he (or she) to wield such power such mighty alchemy that the mixing of three or four letters could bring about such pain... Sign in to see full entry.

No clever words to garnish my poems. No haute couture to dress them up. No chaufeur-driven elegance… just some verses with some rhyme (perhaps won’t pass the test of time!) But I don’t care I like this feeling (Don’t really care much for Darjeeling Or all those little airs and graces On all those intellectual faces) I guess there isn’t much to gain I show my love I bare my pain So let me get back Life is waiting With its sorrow Love Birth Death Anguish I’ll climb back Into my dreams And fly away... Sign in to see full entry.

Your smile... sunrise... after a dark restless night. Your smile turns darkness into light. Your smile... Merlin's magic wand that casts enchanting spells, helps me escape from this prison cell... Your smile makes me go to places I'd visited oh so very long ago. Your smile is the light of the moon that paints its glowing path over the restless sea. Your smile... overflowing warmth from a hearth of love a precious gift from angels above. Sign in to see full entry.

Tonight hope floats like an eagle a magnificent fish eagle with its haunting cry above the rivers of my Africa. Tonight you tied your yellow ribbon around my old oak tree... and told me you love me. Tonight I've lit my bonfire put on my dancing shoes let go of the blues... Tonight...I am a woman in love Sign in to see full entry.

I'm thinking of those words... And I decided..realized...that perhaps I should analyze my thoughts...and these are some of the words I would have to include in my list... fool silly idealistic dreamer naked raw emotions impossible pain hope madness Sign in to see full entry.

Paint me a poem in your rich African hues of burnt orange, earthy browns and the lightest of blues. Transport me from here in the dry desert sand to faraway places...faraway lands Lift me up in your strong brown arms with your words that you plant on your white papered farms. Sensuous phrases...and open-ended places... Enfold me with your visions of love Let me burst from my prison With the wings of a dove. O paint me a picture of our bodies entwined the essence of passion forever refined. My... Sign in to see full entry.

Thoughts Energy Flowing from us... through us... Seeking Floating Moving in the space around us... Sending out tentacles Wanting connection... Yin and yang Completion... A yes...attracting a yes... Affirmation Thoughts are waves ebbing and flowing Thoughts are beginnings and endings Thoughts transform push and pull... Thoughts are emissaries sending messages through time and space. Thoughts leads to greatness...or defeat Harness your thoughts Get on... ride them through the sky...towards your... Sign in to see full entry.

I was touched the other night on my flight through the dark dark night, by the kindness of a stranger who held out a comforting hand. I was touched by an understanding smile a nod of the head without anything being said. I was touched by the thought that when you are overwraught a stranger can be there. So thank you dear friend who, in my moment of need touched my soul reduced my pain. Now I know that kindness exists within the human soul. Sign in to see full entry.

You asked me a question... What you should do now that you've declared your love for me. And my answer to your question is so simple uncomplicated without pretense or false promises... My answer to you is Let it be... Enjoy it Feel it Accept it Live it Breathe it Hold it Dream it Smell it Let it be... Sign in to see full entry.

(an attempt at bilingual poetry - a translation of "verloor") I'm lost in the pages of my own book. I've lost my love in the annals of my life. I search...and search... every second every waking moment yet, how do you find someone amidst the obscurity of this alphabet jungle that hides the moon Oh how I long for your starlight to guide me through the night. Sign in to see full entry.

Today the judge declared me free. And all around, clad in black necks decorated with white frills sat advocates, arguing about the merits of ordinary people's lives. "Raise your hand and take an oath" The room is quiet eyes averted stony faces in cold hard wooden benches... Yes here justice is administered with decorum and ceremony. But note...there is no colour no warmth no softness It is a place of hurt and strife where their decisions change your life. Sign in to see full entry.

The wind of change has come to me shared a secret that set me free refreshed my mind with her fluttering touch Oh I am blessed...I have so much. At night I sleep without their fear My friends, well-loved, are always near. I have travelled and have seen the world Can pray in freedom Love my man Sing my songs and write my poems - Never do I have to dread the cold. The albums of my life are filled with colour Brim-packed with excitement from cover to cover. So here in this white cyberspace I shout... Sign in to see full entry.

A lot can be said about silence... Silence is sometimes the echo of his final rejection. Silence can be found in noisy places silence can be seen and heard How absolutely absurd! Silence is love gone dead Silence is his message so eloquently said. Silence is not necessarily bad It doesn't always ask you to be sad! Silence could mean... he is listening... Sign in to see full entry.

There's always hope. Hope's the shiny dewdrop in the morning desert sun. Hope's the elixir, the living water in my holy grail. Hope's our sweet companion when we've become so frail... And when I sigh in deep despair I often find her sitting in my chair. A lovely vision, clad in gold, God's sweet blessing for the young and old. I call on her, my sweetest friend, in the darkness of the night and hand-in-hand she leads me through mists of sadness back into the light. So when you think that Hope has... Sign in to see full entry.

Don't let go of my hand Don't let me slip out of reach and drift away or melt away or burn away... Follow me to the end of the rainbow to the point of the Southern Cross Walk beside me with hands entangled... fingers caressing fingers no dividing skin just warm pulsating blood and flesh not knowing where the one ends and the other one begins. Sign in to see full entry.

Remember me... when you are enveloped by night's starlit cloak Remember me... here in a desert far away Remember me... For we were once one in a faraway place a faraway time a paralel universe until cruel Fate, jealous of our passionate embrace tore away our tightly woven bonds and sent each to a different space And here we are so far removed yet so closely linked by the unseen umbilical cord that once, many eons ago, tied us together... Sign in to see full entry.