Category: Bright Spot Log!

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 209

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Ready for another pre-taste of Salsa! the Taste of Life? It’s my new book going live soon! 🙂 Well here, have a taste!! I wish you a grand week-end and may you stop for a minute and take in a sunset 🙂

 

Am I a Baby or Just a Bump?

Mama, Mama, what am I?

Am I a baby,

or just an ugly bump?

 

 

Some people say I am a baby;

others say I’m just some tired bump.

 

Since when does a human life

get reduced to a bump?

 

 

Every day, I grow inside here. Yet people forget,  because I am little and still being knitted and formed, that I have  feelings. I am reduced to no more  than a bump.

 

 

When God looks at me, does he see a person,

or am I just another lump of clay in His hands?

 

 

When Eve, the mother of all the living, conceived her first child,

was she so figure-conscious as to refer to the life inside her as

just a bump?

 

 

For centuries women regarded the miracle that life is

as something holy and inspiring.

What have we come to now,

that we depreciate and devalue,

and reduce it to nine months

of carrying an unsightly bump?

 

 

Roe vs. Wade-

Gave women the freedom to kill their own babies.

No wonder now young girls,

think nothing of discarding the bump,

into an old garbage dump.

 

 

The opinion of the day is for women,

of all races, ages, and sizes

to deal with the bump!

Get rid of it through c-section surgery;

as fast as you can.

Go back to the gym;

hurry up now, get back to that size two

as fast as you can!

Don’t nourish your baby; don’t give her your best,

because after all, it’s just an unsightly bump!

 

Let’s save the whales, they say!

Let’s save the buffalo!

Let’s throw away human life,

because after all, it’s just an insignificant bump!

 

 

We were all fashioned and created by someone way bigger.

We bear the image and face of almighty God.

Now what did you come from?

A human being made in His image,

or just an unsightly bump?

A heavenly place next to His throne?

Or an obscure garbage dump?

 

Would you throw God into a dumpster?

-Eva Santiago Copyright 2012

 

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 207

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Good Morning! Today I will share a short poem I wrote for my book, Salsa! the Taste of Life. I keep saying it will be out soon, and just hang in there with me because I tell you, “birthing” a book IS a process!  Happy Wednesday and I hope you like my post for today! Life is too short, smile at a stranger, open the door for someone and call that friend you haven’t heard from in a while. Yes, it may be their turn to call you, but so what? Don’t keep score, call them anyway and make their day! 🙂

 

Words Are Swords

 

Words are swords

Some are sharp

And some are shrill—

As the sound of a drill.

It takes talents and skill,

To say the right words;

To bring life and encourage,

But never to kill.

 

 

Words are swords;

Double edged and ready to go.

Use them every day and everywhere.

Pick them as a warrior,

With much thought and care.

 

 

Words are swords.

Don’t ever waste them.

Learn how to use them,

To make friends,

To soothe your foes.

-Eva Santiago copyright 2012

 

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 206

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Well today was a great day! I found out from my editor, Amber Losson that I will be able to put more pictures in my new book due out soon; SALSA! THE TASTE OF LIFE. You see, I also like to paint and I was going to include some of my art work already.  I can have more of my art work married to my poems and stories in the  new book I am so excited about. I can’t stop ranting about it. And I can’t wait to share it with the world! Enjoy today’s post, it’s also another one of my edited poems from my book. I Love it when a plan comes together; and what I love more, is when a dream becomes reality!

Heart Song

 

So we meet again,

and I see that love,

True love, the deep achy kind

is never for naught.

To love another human being

is truly divine

Whether the beloved

Accepts it or not…

Or if it’s something you fought.

 

Ignoring it

does not degrade or demean;

Love is pure gold.

It never loses its value.

Instead, the more you love,

its market value soars.

So if I tell you, “Te quiero,”

and you run off

scared and bewildered,

is that my fault?

I used to think so,

and now I’m convinced otherwise.

 

 

I gave you some gold from my vault

and gave it freely.

With no strings attached?

Sure. No frills, really!

You couldn’t handle my freedom

And do you know why?

Because what I’ve always given

Is something you’ve never, ever had.

 

 

Love must be chosen;

It can never be forced,

for once it’s coerced,

it ceases being love.

Love is a dove

Perched high up above.

Once you hunt it,

trap it, and cage it,

you kill its sweet song

 

 

So here I am again,

Offering you what I did

all those many years ago,

and you still do as before.

Stand still as if paralyzed

by the warmth of my fuego,

No seas tonto niño

Esto no es un juego…

Games are for children!

 

 

So I’ve decided to be still,

give you all the space,

hide my radiant face

from you…

‘til you wake up

and come to your senses

and answer the call.

 

 

 

Otherwise if I manipulate

guilt and coerce,

what I’ve always felt

will lose purity and intensity

and then I’ll be left

with something far lesser,

cheap and of no value;

Fool’s gold.

 

 

All that glitters is not gold.

My love for you

doesn’t just glitter;

it sparkles and shines.

It lights up my days

and gives me warmth

on the cold, coldest of nights.

If this wasn’t real,

it would have

by now vanished…

 

 

But to prove it to you

as if I need to at all,

the love in my heart

that only keeps growing

one day at a time

will always keep glowing…

whether you like it or not!

Love endures, love never ends.

 

 

If this was selfish,

I would have done all I could

in my feeble power and strength

to cause the bending of our wills.

 

 

But true love is beyond all

that useless struggle and striving.

For you see:

To truly love someone

is to be more concerned

with the state of their soul,

instead of being impressed

by their fancy outward

display of their flesh.

 

 

When love is true,

all self-centered motives go out the door.

And you see the object of your affection

just as you see yourself;

Cold, needy, and poor.

 

 

Take all your time…

Ha! Been feeling like this

for so very long

that it’s now turned

from letters on a page

to my heart’s song.

Don’t misunderstand;

this friendship of ours,

it’s quite grand.

I will never let you go.

 

 

I am not looking for answers,

not even your look of approval,

much less your acceptance.

Those, I already have.

 

Just wanted you to know,

I’m no longer touch and go.

Will you allow me to write

on the pages of your heart

things never written before?

Or will you hold me at arm’s length?

 

Rejection has taught me

A valuable lesson:

Things aren’t always what they seem.

It’s never about me,

in the language of love…

It’s usually about others.

That’s how I’ve learned

of contentment

with very, very little.

 

 

The seeds we have sown,

Where have they all gone?

Fiddle dee-dee sang the fiddle…

Now after many long winters,

watch ‘em sprouting.

We were never doubting,

always knowing

we would see the light of day!

-Eva Santiago Copyright 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 205

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I like cats a lot. Dogs are cool but cats DO rule!  When I was a child in and living in Colombia, I have more memories of playing with cats than with dogs. Then I came to the US to live with my uncle he hated cats so all we had were dogs. When I met my husband he was a cat lover and I rediscovered my love of  felines. As I look back, I see that I have written several poems about cats and hardly any about dogs. Hmmmm what does that tell you? 🙂

Today I share with you a poem that you won’t be reading in my new book do out SOON, Salsa! The Taste of Life. I wrote this during a writing session I had with Writing Royalty, my writing group. I hope this makes you smile as you face your Monday!

Madame Fifi

 

I am Madame Fifi;

I stand four feet three.

I live in gay Paris.

I have three cats,

Fiddle, Faddle, and Didi.

 

 

We live in a loft,

where the clouds hang low and soft.

 

 

I go to the opera house,

once or twice per week,

with Frederic Chopin, my pet mouse.

Oh, he’s such a fine gentleman;

I curtsy, and he takes a bow,

and opens the door as we leave our house.

 

 

I wear my mink stole,

in all kinds of weather.

I have several hats also,

one with a beautiful peacock feather.

 

 

I’m so in love,

with wonderful, clever me.

My name fits like a glove.

 

 

I love others as well,

but none love me better

than my cats and pet mouse,

and the old lady that sits at the well.

She is my sister;

we are great friends.

We laugh and get mad;

we tell each other to go to hell.

And through it all,

I know I am loved,

or  my name would not be Fifi.

-Eva Santiago Copyright 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life Day: 204

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 Salsa! The Taste of Life, my new book is soon to be released and here is another one of my edited poems. Life is a dance! Some of us move and flow with the music. Others have a hard time following or even keeping up at all. Enjoy your day with your loved ones as you read this poem ask yourself, when was the last time I really let my hair down and danced? If you haven’t, and it’s been a while, just go for it. if you are like me who is still dancing after everything life has thrown at me, then grab someone’s hand who hasn’t danced in a while and dance! 

Dancin’ Shoes

Pointe Shoes

 

Teach me Your dance,

show me Your steps.

Put Your rhythms in my feet,

make me follow Your beat,

make me follow Your lead.

I want to dance to the sounds,

of Your holy music.

You initiated this pas de deux long ago;

Pas de Deux

as You formed me in seclusion.

I’m just now awakening,

to the joyous serenade.

All my life I waited and waited,

for the dance to commence.

It began on the day that You took my hand,

and invited me to dance;

now I know I will tango, mambo,

Mambo
Tango

paso doble,

Paso Doble

salsa,

Salsa Dance

my way into eternity.

I will not be a mere guest,

because I am already a member in this heavenly ball!

-Eva Santiago copyright 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 203

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Happy Saturday everyone! I  hope you are enjoying my latest posts; edited parts of my new book, Salsa! The Taste of Life. These never made it into my book because it would have been too big a volume and as I learned, the bigger the book, the harder it is to market. So I had to weed out some things and this was one I hope you enjoy as much as I did, when I penned it. Hug a loved one today and let them know how special they are to you 🙂

 

Cat Walk

 

Palm trees are fashion models who stand tall,

poised, and wide awake.

Ready to wave their bandanas in the air

as they greet the dawn.

 

 

All throughout the day,

holding their perfect posture,

models on a cat walk,

awaiting their cue to take the run way.

 

 

As they strut their stuff—

Wave your hands up in the air!

They seem to beckon.

Kick up your feet and enjoy your day!

 

 

Toward dusk they are still

as the breezes die down

and the day is wrapping up.

 

 

Having done their job well,

they come out and take a bow.

As the lights go out…the show is over.

 

 

They exit the runway,

their arms still a-swaying.

They’ll be back tomorrow at first light

for an encore presentation.

-Eva Santiago copyright 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 202

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It’s horribly tragic what just transpired in Aurora Colorado. The selfish, thoughtles and careless act of one person, unleashed loss in families, a community and our nation. Today I will post another one of my poems that didn’t make it into my book, Salsa! The Taste of Life, due out  soon. I want to honor the families that were directly touched by this sudden tragedy…R.I.P.

God‘s Workmanship

 

The Master is forever working, creating, perfecting.

His subject? A living canvas.

He chooses and mixes the various mediums.

What starts out seemingly chaotic, is being made perfect

through His loving touch.

 

 

His discriminating eye is constantly scrutinizing…

the past, He obscures in shades of gray,

lest you forget from where you came.

Accentuating in dazzling hues those things about you,

that deeply touch and delight Him.

 

 

On those days you are feeling frustrated and forgotten:

Do Not Fear! The Master is lovingly letting the canvas rest.

For there are wet layers of paint that must dry:

Deep-seated issues that can’t be worked out overnight.

Tomorrow, He’ll continue where He left off.

 

 

Then there are days of non-stop work.

The canvas cries out, “I’m tired! I have had enough!”

The Master lovingly ignores the pleas,

for He alone knows when to cease.

 

 

At times when your fears seem insurmountable,

and failure is your constant companion.

Rest assured His plan is bigger than the canvas:

He will work it ALL out!

 

 

Those things that hurt,

the wounding you have suffered,

He mixes His tears with dark shades of crimson…

…to remind you He’s been there with you, holding you

as you were shamed and mistreated.

 

Alas, The Master stands back,

the living canvas is nearing completion…NOT!

For this is the work of a lifetime.

May the fullness of the essence of God,

forever wash on your living canvas!

 

 

You Are His work of art on Display!

-Eva Santiago Copyright 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life: Day 201

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I am so happy that now the editing phase of my new book is done! WHEW! It was not nearly as terrible as my sometimes exaggerating mind had made it out to be. In fact, I GREW from working with an editor! Thank you Amber Losson from Tate Publishing company for helping me to sharpen my writing and polish up the content 🙂

I am going to start posting some of the poems I cut out from Salsa! The Taste of Life. They didn’t make it into the first volume of this book because it would have made the book to long and more difficult to market. Yes, you read correctly, this is a first volume of I what I hope will be more in the future.  I will keep you updated on the progress of my book!

HAIR!

 

Hair! Hair! Hair!

Hair is everywhere.

It’s neither here nor there.

Those who have none, or very little, say,

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

Those who have too much say,

“Hey! I feel like such a bear.”

The curly heads cry,

“Wish mine was twig straight.”

The twig straight reply,

“Why can’t we have spirals?”

 

 

It’s all such a terrible bore,

when you have hair galore.

 

We all go on and on

about a bunch of dead cells.

We spend millions of dollars

on all manner of fancy hair products,

that never quite deliver

their sales pitch promise.

 

 

But there is one thing to be said about hair,

the more you treat it and tease it,

one day you’ll wake up to find,

your head has become quite bare.

So be kind to your locks,

treat them with care!

-Eva Santiago copyright 2012

365 Snap Shots of Life

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Hi readers! I’m back after a few days of being away from my blog. When I don’t post rest assured that at times I’m reading other blogs and everyday I do check into my blog to see if anyone liked or commented on my posts. I DO love hearing from you. Lately though, I was working on the last round of edits for my up and coming 2nd book; Salsa! the Taste of  Life and as you can imagine, that was consuming my time because I had a dead line to meet.

 

Now the book has moved on to the process of designing the book cover. I received a couple of samples and I had to pick one over the other. When they finish working on it, I will post the cover on here so you can get a sneak peak of my “baby”. I have always said that publishing a book is a  lot like child birth; with out the physical pain. Oh there IS pain involved in publishing a book, no doubt about it! The pain comes though, during the editing process when you have to listen to your editor’s suggestions that will help make the book better. Honestly, I enjoy this whole process  so much,that I don’t see myself doing anything else.  So I leave you with this quote from yours truly: ” The day I stop writing is because they had to pry my pen from my cold hand!” 🙂

-Eva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Classmate to Friend in an Instant

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Have you ever wondered how some one you met in high school because you happened to share a class together 25 years ago, can within an instant become a true friend? I met Tammy in my senior year and we had Yearbook class together. I was aware of her and vice-versa. The teen years are a time of  self involvement, I have 3 teens and I see this first hand everyday. I knew Tammy was a nice girl back then. She played soccer and she was the athletic type. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you anything else because we never hung out.

When I signed up for a Facebook account, I friended Tammy because she was my classmate and we hadn’t talked much since then. Now that my book, Salsa! The Taste of Life is in the publishing process, I contacted Tammy because she is a writer and I needed her to review my book. Do you know how difficult it is to get someone to write a few simple lines about your book? It is TOUGH! I asked Tammy and she said yes right away.Today I received her review and I was blown away by her personal comments. By the way, I can’t wait for you to read the review that will be on the book’s back cover:)

We spoke again on the phone this afternoon and I realized I had just made a life long friend. Tammy and I chatted as if we had never stopped being in that Yearbook class together. I am always amazed at how the most unexpected people can come through for you when you really need them to; and opposite of that is when you count on others that you really trust will be there and they just aren’t.

Tammy, this post is for you! I look forward to reciprocating the same time and effort when it’s time for your book to be published. What a truly great friend you are! 🙂