New York Hamlet

grandma-moses-e1274766463590-1024x798

Google Image/Grandma Moses in Eagle Bridge, NY

i am traveling the byways of
new york reaching deep
into antique shops and
2nd hand stores looking for
nothing in particular and

there by the side of the road
in a small new york hamlet
i see  posted neatly out front
a sign “Homemade Preserves”
so i stop and park as i am

intrigued and so i walk
to the front door of a
well-appointed house knocking
so as not to disturb and
who should answer but you

i’ve read about your rising
fame and as newspapers tell it
you are ‘never too old’ to
try something new and you
certainly did as you’ve shown

i feel at ease as you smile
at me inviting me in for
biscuits and jam with tea
your eyes twinkling so as
though we’ve met before

and i so want to know why
you never painted before
when you were young..not
that eighty something is
not…and so you answer

without falter that there
never was time with children
to raise and a farm to run
and happiness comes from
where it comes and i see

now that your life’s been full
so when i leave, on that
my traveling day and see
images of all the surroundings,
it is like i’ve seen it all

before on the canvasses where
you captured them in the
snow and sun, the church and
the town, the farms where
people live and i see then

that it really is ‘never
too late’ to do something new
when there is time and yes,
‘happiness comes where it comes’
in the byways of a NY hamlet

© March 2013
Renee Espriu

Please do go to Wikipedia to read more about this famous artist American Artist whose folk art style of painting became known and loved around the world. She began painting when she was in her seventies. You can find the link at http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Moses/

http://dversepoets.com/category/a-cup-of-coffee-with-a-famous-person/

Taqueria

Virgen_de_guadalupe1

Wikepedia Image

small businesses are
getting even smaller
on every street corner
a taqueria boasting
quality food travels
on wheels protected by
Nuestra Senora
de Guadalupe

© January 2013
Renee Espriu

This is for the Small Stone Challenge January 2013. You can find them at http://www.writingourwayhome.com . This is Small Stone #29.

Jazz Melodies

Smoke filled room radiates music
sweet and low like the base of a
cello with notes wafting away on
carbon particles sent billowing
from pursed lips on cigarettes a
heady ambiance of slow jazziness

Holding the mic close like a lover
eyes closed, head tilted back to
hypnotize the audience enraptured
like star gazers longing to travel
with her along roller coaster notes
C sharp high, B flat low and mellow

Lights from the stage show shadowy
figures, drinks in hand as haunting
melodies dance across a piano keyboard
drawing the dancers to the floor in
rhythmic succession stepping to the
beat as she belts out notes ever faster

© October 2011 Renee Espriu

My love for Jazz and the musical realm it portrays has always been a part of my life and after getting to know the author of a particular site I found myself drawn to the idea of posting something for the music I love and also to dedicate it to one who sings it beautifully and with passion. This one is for you Amy! I so appreciate you and all you do. You can find Amy and all of her recent writes plus an awesome interview at http://sharplittlepencil.wordpress.com