One of my favorite poetic forms is the Cinquian. Second would be the haiku. I love simplicity of the forms and how they force me to "subtract" rather than "add" to my impression of life around me. This helps me to experience the essence of the world and God. As the rain pours down outside my window, I write:

Rain pours
just and unjust
I cannot afford hate
I cannot pay the price for love
God pours

Try one...The format is 2,4,6,8,2 syllables per line. The last line is often a close repeat of the original first line theme but you can do whatever works for you.

Stop Fighting with Your Fighting Children Today

How many times have your told (ok, yelled) your children to stop
fighting. Perhaps you even used the word: "Please" first. This
usually ends up in you fighting with your children about their
fighting, leaving you frustrated and angry. Perhaps you said a few
things in the process you later regreted! As a parent, I have been
there and done that too. Your children may have felt rejected and
shamed.

You may have thought that if your children would only stop fighting,
you wouldn't have to yell or fight with them. While that could be
true, the better angle is to take the responsibility you have as a
parent and start making a conscience choice to find another solution
to fighting. A family fight is something that you should be looking
to totally eliminate from your life and the life of your children.
It starts with the parent.

When I say that you must rid your life of fighting altogether, then
you need to know exactly the kind of fighting that I am referring
to. Fighting can take many forms. It means to participate in verbal
exchanges which involve intense anger, rage, and sometimes physical
abuse to your children.

Fighting with your kids also means to have verbal assaults on each
other by rehashing the same old drama over and over again until your
children are so frustrated that they become emotionally immobilized.
Is this the kind of "healthy fighting" that you and your kids are
going through? Do you still agree that is is "Ok" to have such
negativity in the house?

If you genuinely want to eliminate fighting in your home with the
children, then you absolutely must come to a decision yourself. And
it does not involve waiting for your children to change. You must
officially make fighting a thing of the past. It means that you must
take a vow and refuse to raise children in an atmosphere of violence,
both physical and mental. It means choosing love over anger, each
and every time.

Now you can find literally thousands of new tools to help you as a
parent when you join the ParentingToolbox.com at

http://parentingtoolbox.com

Death is just one way...
By Ron Huxley

Warm rain falls from dreams
I cry for the wound of nature
Who will take the love and
leave a spring flower?

Ice crystals adorn the crown
of winter. The truth is dormant
I will wait for it to thaw
and celebrate your return.

Who will take the love and
endure the seasons
Death is just one.
Life is another.

I will wait for it to thaw
Release the surprise of joy
and rest my face in the grass
listening for your footsteps.

Death is just one way to go
Life is more pleasing
Run in circles with the children
fall down and laugh to heaven.

The Lord said "Shake It, Shake It"
and then the whole world
turned upside down.

I wanted to learn some new
dance steps. Maybe go out on a
Sunday and rock the town.

The moves were harder than I thought
but the angels were gentle and how
the Holy Spirit blew the sounds.

Sweat poured down my cheek and I
searched for breath, reached out to
lean on the mound.

Dizzy on love and crying for more
I wandered back out on the hardwood floor.
The music made my head spin around.

The Lord said "Shake It, Shake It"
and then my Spirit shook free
unchained and unbound.

She said she was
a flower.

Twirling with head
held back,

She closed here eyes
and waited

for the tears of God
to fall

and soak her frail form
in Love.