Denise & Kenny

(I came across this image last night as I was unpacking. I took a quick photo of the photo, because my printer is not yet hooked up.)

This is an image of my sister, Denise. It was taken on her wedding day. :) She had just smeared the wedding cake onto Kenny's face. (So cute!)

I miss you, Denise. You would be so happy for my heart right now, and giving me SO much advice on life in general. You would be holding my hand through these sometimes, frightening moments, and kissing my soul with your beautiful laughter.

I need to let you know, that I know you have sent an angel in your place. Someone to hold me tight through this life. Someone to look after me and love me with each new breath. Someone to carry me when times are uncertain. And I am very grateful for (SO many tears have begun to fall--I cannot finish this sentence).

May you be resting in perfect peace.

Love, your little sister, Cher

Window to the Soul

After an evening of laughter, an allure of ignited colors
multiply against the Winter sky in a string of notes—
spectacular to remember.

You reach for my hand with a smile, and we softly fasten
to the warm horizon.

*A special "Thank you" to Victor for working on this image with me. :)

Vivir dentro de alguien

(A special "Thank you" to Victor for working on this image with me.)


Vivir dentro de alguien

Estamos sentados tranquilamente dentro del
día final, Uno al lado del otro, reacios
a reconocer La constancia del tiempo
evanescente.

(Nada, ...

Puede romper esta sensación de seguridad
Debajo de esta puesta de sol, dentro de
nuestros corazones.)

Nuestro amor,
Como una secuencia de margaritas de varios
colores Se mecen felizmente en el campo,
detrás de Todos nuestros sueños en cascada
sin Vacilaciones en el nuevo año.

Y cada momento, y una vez transcurrido y aún,
Sigue siendo infinito. Es en estos segundos
Que tu mano sostiene firme la mía, como
Tú y yo nos suavizamos dulcemente en el
ambiente.

I am beginning another book. This one will be done completely in Spanish. I assume 40 poems, frontal image will be carefully selected from a favorite photographer of mine, V. Nuño (I still need to ask him) :), it will be a hardback edition, and have a special dedication.

Also, I have asked him to do my proofreading,... he agreed. :)

I am very positive and excited about this book. I am also thinking of making a second edition in full Italian. I will update here as I go. Thank you all for supporting my work. I am truly grateful.

New Publication in Print

from east to west: bicoastal verse (print edition #1)

... A lively selection from three years of featured poets at the journal "from east to west: bicoastal verse" including Jack Anders, Coleen Shin, John Sweet, April Ossmann, James Lineberger, Jalina Mhyana, Tara Birch, Terry Lucas, PJ Nights, Tammy Trendle, Valentina Bonnaire, Dorothy D. Mienko, AnnMarie Eldon, Chris Crittenden, Kerri Rochelle, Tasha Klein, Wendy Howe, Jill Chan, Jennifer VanBuren, Craig Kirchner, Jenni Russell, Edward J. O’Brien, Cherilyn Ferroggiaro, Paul Adrian Mabelis, Gary Lawless, Christine Kiefer, Neil C. Leach, Jr., Graeme Mullen, Sarah Wilson, Ray Sweatman, Tom Blessing, Yolanda Calderon-Horn, and George Wallace.

http://www.lulu.com/content/779500

I am very honored.

...... :)

Fight for your future

Ciao! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Today was a nice and productive day. I went early to read to the children in the peds unit. It is funny, I tried to figure out hat books to bring to give away. I found this book on giving among others, and as I was reading that one, a little boy got up, went to his room, and came back with a tiny glass angel. And you know? He gave it to me! He said, "I want to be a giver. I like you a whole lot." Oh my gosh, it was absolutely sweet. I hugged him so tight. :)

Then another followed me everywhere. I finally had to tell him I would be leaving, and he made me promise to come back. I will, of course! The thing is, I am hoping he will be released by then. His fever is gone, and he is getting so much better!

I brought him some homemade tea I made. I like to boil the water, add vanilla bean, and a touch of sugar. (The sugar will dissolve better if put in the boiling water first, instead of after it has cooled.) Anyway, he likes it, so I make him some when I have time, and bring it to him. He is 8, and such a nice boy. :)

Then I ran some errands, after giving my Christmas gifts of candies, to others there. (I did have some Ghirdardelli chocolate, but gave it away later in the day.) I just had a wonderful Saturday. It started perfectly, and now? Well, I feel complete inside. Living, vibrant, loved. I am going to work on images for a while, because I feel like being creative. I hope to catch up to email sometime tomorrow. :)

“Love is patient; love is kind
and envies no one.
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;
never selfish, not quick to take offense.
There is nothing love cannot face;
there is no limit to its faith,
its hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things
that last forever: faith, hope, and love;
but the greatest of them all is love.”


You know,...

... this is my year. And I am going to live each day to its fullest, with a smile. In fact, this year has already started to be the best year of my life. From my well wishes at midnight in Spain, to the fact Michael has caught the mouse, to the huge smile on my face at the moment!! :D

If moments seem hard, just redirect your mind to something warm in your heart. Withing minutes, you will begin to shine. You have to fight for what you truly want. It means sacrifice, love, selflessness, giving, faith, plenty of smiles, warmth, respect, and living life with open arms. You will have the security in knowing, everything will always be okay. You just have to believe. :)

((((HUGS))))

To Live Inside Someone

To Live Inside Someone

We lay quietly within day’s finale,
side by side, reluctant to acknowledge
the steady evanescent of time.

(Nothing,...

can break this sense of security
beneath this sunset, within our hearts.)

Our love,
like a sequence of multi-colored daises
swaying in the field blissfully, behind
all our dreams that cascade without
hesitation into the new year.

And each moment, once passed and still,
remains infinite. It is in these seconds
that your hand holds mine firmly, as
you and I soften sweeter into the milieu.

*Draft I

[Ad Infinitum]

[Ad Infinitum]

Drown by tangled sentiment
          like the urgency
            of a solitary tear 
that has opened 
in the chest--my heart trembles 
as I write these next lines.

For far too many minutes, 
I have not written in high regard 
or of the radiance in his soft, 
but steady gaze. 
                        Nor have I, 
spoken of the this blaze that shifts  
from this ache in my chest to 
these butterflies in my stomach. 

Seconds pass, 
and I have not imagined his warm 
words that thread my form in dusk. 
Nor have I thought of his hands, 
or the dulcet

            way his voice breaks 
     my silence. 
And if my body
becomes swift, may he spread the stem 
of his laughter softly against me, 
if anything, to still this beating
heart. 

And during theses final moments, 
I will kneel at his feet 
in veneration; 
          a sort of equilibrium 
between what
has faded with last year‘s memoirs, 
and what is starting to bloom 
even more so.

And I give to his heart, not my hand, 
but the impulse to open, 
    to exist in this new 
year,

       while I shift like wind and tide, 
seeking words of my own, but they do not 
arrive; he leaves me speechless in my own 
anatomy, 

lifting prayers to winter skies, placing
each one wholly, within the stars. 

It is much more than gratitude that I need 
to express--it is the certainty of forever.

A new year is (and has) arriving/arrived!

... and already I have heard such sweet sounds of well wishes from the most beautiful people in Spain. A sweet hug to each and every one of them!

You know, I see immense happiness and love in 2008. My heart, it smiles SO much! My soul, is moved to over joy. To feel so much in such simplicity, is to live life to its fullest. And that is exactly what I intend to do. :)

I am blessed.

Well, I must go, but I wanted to first, wish you all such love and laughter in the new year. Be safe, share your hearts, and smile as the sun warms your face!

God Bless all of you. :)

Snowblind

Snowblind

Fastened with warm hands and a smile,
the miles, the seconds, and the firsts,
of course; letters, laughter, and faint
whispers, spoken with blush.

It is the moment after the voice, where
no one has been left standing, where one
more minute could shatter.

At the quiet points, I am asleep.
The winter wind may pierce the pane,
but I cannot feel it--I remain safe
in loving hands.

And when I have entered dawn, holding
no more than these lines, the splendor
of it all completes me--it lingers softly,
like the scent of rain, long after it has
have gone.

You Light Up My Life

(The image is, Jack-Vettriano-"Dance Me to the End of Love")


So many nights I sit by my window
Waiting for someone to sing me his song
So many dreams I kept deep inside me
Alone in the dark but now
You've come along

You light up my life
You give me hope
To carry on
You light up my days
and fill my nights with song

Rollin' at sea, adrift on the water
Could it be finally I'm turning for home?
Finally, a chance to say hey,
I love You
Never again to be all alone

It can't be wrong
When it feels so right
'Cause You
You light up my life

*I wanted to share this, because my mum would play this song when I was growing up. She would look over at me as she was singing, and I would smile. :)

Yes...

Today I celebrate no sugar (still). And it is SO hard to believe, because I love chocolate. I have come to the realization, I will never have it again. And not because I cannot, but because I will not. And you know, my sugar levels today, were perfect. :)

Victor had a lot to do with that, because he reminds me of what is good and not so good. Jenn does the same thing, even to reorder my order at the cafe! (Haha!) I will order a cappuccino with caramel, and she will say, "Please give me the same, but can you make both w/o the caramel?" Now, well, I just do not order caramel. And it is not only sugar that I leave behind, but so many carbs, as well. It feels so nice to take control of your life. To do what is healthy, so you can live a long and happy life with the ones you love.

You know, I truly am blessed. :)

Family Moments II

Family moments II

My family is beautiful to me. And even when they make silly faces into my camera or look away, I love them. :) This is only 10% of them, but I need to go through CDs. I NEED to find my little brother, Anthony's image. :)

Family Moments

My little brother, Jason. :)

Never let you fall

I trust you all had a wonderful Christmas? :)




I did. In fact, the closing of the year is the best one that I have ever had. For a while now, and for the first time in my life, I feel SO much peace in my heart. And it is not only peace, but pure trust and understanding. The trust in knowing, love can conquer all. The understanding that, friends do not always walk away.

In fact, it can grow into an even stronger bond during times that seem complicated or sorrowful. You know, I never knew this; I have had people walk in and out of my life. But now, right now in this moment, I know I am not losing one thing I hold dear. I am smiling as I type, because I am not. I am never going to lose this light in my heart. Why not? Well, the purpose and source of this light is much stronger than sadness, complication, even darkness.

This light is Life's gift, it is my best friend Stefan, and I can feel its warmth through-out my entire being. Now my tears fall, but for no other reason that this inner happiness.

What a way to end a year and begin a new one. I am grateful.

May your new year fill your heart with the same light, warmth, and the feeling of being moved more than ever. And the light you bring to me is, but a wonderful gift!

xo Cher

Random thoughts,...

(an image of someone dear to me.)

... there is something about a man's neck--it is just so soft, simple and sweet. It is the simple things in life that we overlook most. Me? No! I truly notice them. Trust me, the simple sounds of feet, or laughter, really hug my heart.

(Well, it must be from someone special, mostly.) But with laughter, I almost enjoy it coming from any direction. :) I love it! Such sounds of happiness are true gifts.



May one of your new year resolutions be, to take notice in what is around you. To adore the simple things, and as well, be grateful for them. Even nature--can we try to be more respectful and thankful? It is a free gift, and it needs to be cherished, not for it being free, but for the beauty it brings. Let's give back next year. Let's show appreciation for the little things.

One thing I never understood was, why is something so valuable, more cherished, than something free? Love is free. Nature is free. A smile is free. Should they not be more valuable? It is not how much something costs that makes it better, it is how it is given, and how you receive it. I would rather have a smile so precious or true love, than money any day. And that comes directly from my heart. Because anyone can build an empire, but an empire built with love can only grow warmer. And from there, your riches can be seen. xo

Christmas Eve

Well, it is already Christmas Eve. I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities and the anticipation of tomorrow. :) Such a beautiful day it will be, and so many reasons to smile and give thanks. I am, indeed thankful. I truly have been blessed. Merry Christmas to you all. :)

My best friend and other thoughts

Something Dawn made for me. The image is of me as a little girl, along with a prayer. She is a true angel, like Victor. I am always so amazed at the beauty of her soul. She brings so many smiles to my heart. I love her,.. she is my sister, and she is one of my very best friends. Thank you, dawn for being you.



And a special Happy Birthday to See-Saw! A special Happy Birthday to Victor (A few weeks ago). A special Happy Birthday to Martin (A few days ago). A special Happy Birthday to Joann (A few days ago). :) :) :)



And,...

... a very Merry Christmas to you all!! Hugs! :)

Heart to heart to heart to <3...

My heart feels so much peace tonight: it feels warm, loved, thought of, loving, giving, hopeful, happy, smiling, caring, and most of all, deep inside, it feels complete.

Funny, I am smiling so much right now. No matter the reason, it feels pure. I am in the middle of a move, have no Christmas tree up, am up to my ears in last minute details, but up to my knees in cloudless blue. :)

I just feel happy inside for all that I am, all I have, and all I have accomplished.

This year is coming to a close and next year is brighter than ever. I am blessed. I am so thankful. I may not have riches or fame, but I have the simple things in life that make the heart shine. I have everything I will ever need. I have a smile. And school will be over soon,...I will reaching a personal goal of mine.

May your wishes come true, and your Christmas be full of so many wonderful things. May your new year be blessed. And remember, it is not the material things that matter--there is nothing more precious or priceless as a true heart. Give yourself in each moment,...share your heart and always bring a smile to someone when you can. It is one of the most rewarding feelings, and it is free.

Venga con me [Insaziabile]

Armoniosi accenti
dal tuo labbro volavano, e dagli occhi ridenti
trasluceano di Venere i disdegni e le paci
la speme, il pianto e i baci.

-Ugo Foscolo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiXWoWtLex4