Shyness can be like writer’s block
and vice versa…

There are times like this,
right now, when I know,
I have something to say.
I can feel it…

The desire is strong
and yet, I feel speechless…
nothing comes out,
It’s almost like I lost
my capacity to use language.

And all I have
is this internal dialog.

I go to write something
and some critical voice
stops me -

“That’s boring!”
“Start over!”

No, don’t say that.
You think anyone will listen
when that’s the best
you can come up with?

Don’t bother.

And so I say nothing.

You can find my poetry by me at: http://brucewhealton.us

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Winter hangs on
in bare skeletal trees
in cold nights,
in the south,
in March.

It hangs on within me
like a state of being
and I cannot help but doubt
if there will be warmth
and life within me
ever
again.

You can find my poetry by me at: http://brucewhealton.us

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This past Saturday we had 50% music and 50% poetry. Janet Bratter and John Fallon provided the music. Bruce Whealton, myself, and Cal Nordt read poetry. I think that we both have a poetry style that aims to be brief and concise. In that vein, Both Cal and I shared a number of haiku. Haiku being traditionally 17 syllables, on three lines. Personally, I’ve learned that haiku do not need to have exactly 17 syllables or be on exactly 3 lines. I don’t suppose the book is shut on defining what a Haiku is and is not. For Word Salad’s publication “Haiku Ramblings, we do publish a definition and our understanding of what Haiku is, in terms of what we want to publish. That information is here. Please read the other articles under Submission Guidelines to get a better idea.

So, we will have more events coming up. I scheduled a Poetry Workshop Meetup for the 14th of March at the Looking Glass. Details are here.

You can find my poetry by me at: http://brucewhealton.us

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I didn’t know how I was going to do this. I started telling my friend, “oh, I hate being the host for this… no, I wish that I was not the one that was responsible for making this happen.” I don’t know what to do, I told her. Others were saying that I had to tell them to turn off the music they had going as we were going to have our own music and such. “Ok, I’ll have to do that in a moment.” I will have to do that, won’t I?

Through some profound miracle, this event happened. People had a good time. People enjoyed the music. I read at the microphone. I was told by one person, two days later, that I read a bit fast. I’m amazed that anyone heard and enjoyed a word I said.

Shyness is something about which I need to write more. Maybe there are other sufferers… I don’t think others even remotely understand.

You can find my poetry by me at: http://brucewhealton.us

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Shy and Terrified!

What was I thinking?  That was going through my mind Saturday the 27th of February, 2010. Hosting an event! Being MC! This is insane! To say I was nervous is quite an understatement. It was a little embarrassing. I mean my shyness was apparent and I wasn’t handling it well, or so it seemed.

Some said that maybe I am not really shy!  If they could only see me that night!  No one would doubt that I am profoundly and greatly shy.  Some think that shyness is something that you just grow out of… you learn certain things and eventually, right.  In the thinking of said folks, this learning is inevitable.  And if the learning is inevitable than eventually what made one shy cannot continue.  If you only saw me this last Saturday night, you’d never question for a second that I am a very shy person.

I wanted this to go right and to go well. I was nervous, and uncertain… I didn’t know what to do. I knew I had to do something. Yes, I wanted this to happen, but I, oh, so didn’t want to host this. Talk about an understatement!

One might question how shy I was… I did read after all. I did use that microphone… but how I get out of it? I suppose the pre-teen boy that I was would have run out and hid behind whatever tree he could find. Maybe I’m not that shy. Is it really a matter of quantity? Whatever one might want to call that experience, and my reaction, my feelings and actions… I wish I didn’t feel the way I did and do.

One of the fellow presenters, said I should I tell the people at the cafe, face to face, at their tables, that we are about to have a poetry reading and music presentation. I said, “I can’t do that.” She insisted and challenged my use of the word “can’t.” I never figured out how to get the nerve up or figure out how to go about this venue approaching strangers and talking to them about what we were doing.

Through some miracle, and that’s what it was, this went off well. However, if anyone doubts that I am shy and that is the most genuine thing I can ever say or state, that person who doubts my shyness isn’t so in touch with reality… I assure you that if you were here as I found myself in a situation of hosting an event, you’d have no doubt that I was indeed a painfully shy person.

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Yet, in church recently, we read from Luke’s Gospel, the beautitudes: “20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 24 “But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. “Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.”
Wow, that’s powerful and yet perplexing. What is so blessed about being poor?! Why would Jesus say that? He might as well said “blessed are the weak,” for we depend upon God more than anything else.

The Shocking Truth About Hunger in America

Hunger Study Shows Record-Breaking Need

Hunger in America 2010, the most comprehensive study ever conducted on
hunger in our country, confirms what our network has seen this past year:
More people than ever are finding themselves in line at food banks, soup
kitchens and pantries. And Feeding America is serving 1 million more people
every single week than in previous years. In fact, 37 million Americans
turned to Feeding America for help in 2009 — an increase of 46 percent
since 2006. And 38 percent of the people served by our network are children.
See the shocking facts about the state ofhunger in America.

http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-in-america-2010.aspx

Single Mom on the Brink of Hunger

According to Hunger in America 2010, 61% of adults served by Feeding America
are women - and single moms head more than a third of all households with
children served by our network. Shonda is one of those single moms. And,
like 23% of the people our network serves, Shonda has a college education.
But even when you plan for your future and do everything in your power to
find financial stability, things can go wrong - as Shonda discovered when
she lost her job. It wasn't long before things got desperate for her and her
two children. See how you helped.

http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/real-stories/georgia-3.aspx

Help Families in Your Community

Here's an exciting and creative way to rally your friends, neighbors and
co-workers to help your hungry neighbors: join the Challenge PLUS! Choose
which food bank you want to support, set a goal and start raising money.
You'll get your own personalized web page and access to a participant center
loaded with fundraising tips and helpful tools to get you to your personal
goal. You can even promote your Challenge PLUS on social networking sites
like Facebook and Twitter with a simple link. It's fun and easy!

http://help.feedingamerica.org/site/TR?fr_id=1110&pg=entry

Hunger Happenings on the Web

Good Mood Mission
Share what makes you happy and the Oscar Mayer brand will donate 2 million
pounds of food to help hungry Americans. Share Your Good Mood.

http://www.kraftbrands.com/goodmoodmission/
Become a fan
On Facebook? Become a fan of Feeding America today to help spread the word
about hunger.
http://www.facebook.com/FeedingAmerica

Join the Challenge PLUS
Looking for a fun and exciting way to help hungry Americans? Join the
Challenge PLUS today.
http://help.feedingamerica.org/site/R?i=55CwXkqY09gdvbl6GcrOFw..

My Community Center
Manage your e-subscriptions, track donations, and more on your customized
page.
http://help.feedingamerica.org/site/TR?fr_id=1110&pg=entry&s_src=C10X3PLU

Become a Harvester

https://secure2.convio.net/a2h/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=1124&s_src=xxxxxx&JServSessionIdr004=490tcp8543.app1b

Hunger Fact

Feeding America's nationwide food bank network is feeding one million more
Americans every week than in previous years.
Source: Hunger in America 2010

What has Hunger in America 2010 inspired you to do?

Learn more about hunger
http://help.feedingamerica.org/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&SURVEY_ID=2320&autologin=true&myField=1691_2320_2_2361_1

Tell a friend?
Advocate for change?
Volunteer my time?

Give a donation?

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Jeff Wyatt 1	Jeff Wyatt 2	Jeff Wyatt 3
Jeff Wyatt 4	Jeff Wyatt 5	Jeff Wyatt 6
Jeff Wyatt 7	Jeff Wyatt 8	Jeff Wyatt 9
Jeff Wyatt 10	Jeff Wyatt 11	Jeff Wyatt 12
Jeff Wyatt 13	Jeff Wyatt Making a point	Jeff Wyatt Shares his ideas

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Joe began with a few poems from his collection entitled “Got Chicken?” which is also featured on the shirt he is wearing.
Joe Miller	Joe Miller	Joe Miller
Bruce Whealton then shared his poetry with the audience. He is pictured below.
Bruce Whealton	Bruce Whealton 1

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Jeff Wyatt, Ron Bayes, and Joe Miller

Caitlin Johnson, Office Manager/Editorial Assistant, St. Andrews Press, announced each of us. All of us were invited by Dr. Ron Bayes, writer-in-residence and professor at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC. Dr. Ron Bayes is well respected and well recognized in the field of poetry and creative writing.  To the right he appears with Jeff Wyatt and Joe Miller. Below is Caitlin Johnson.

Caitlin Johnson - Organizer/Announcer/Planner

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I sat down tonight
with my friend
Despair…
we spoke for hours and hours…
I was hypnotized

As the night drew onward
he became more passionate

He had a plan,
a solution -
a final plan,
as it were.

Yet, I couldn’t go through
with it.
I was scared,
confused,
didn’t have the stomach for it…
slowly
over time
he just faded away,
like an apparition.

I knew he’d be back
and we’d talk again,
and he’d bring up his plan
and maybe I’d listen,
yes, I’d at least listen,
that much is certain.

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