Category Archives: Videos from “Frazzle”

35–“Here I Am” from “Frazzle”

California Beach Seaweed by M D Mikus, Copyright 2013

“…where hard things bob up
from the ocean of minutes and it could
be just innocuous clumps of seaweed

just brush off…or it could be
a landmine adrift, set off by casual touch….”

From poem 36, “Here I Am,” in my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen here: https://youtu.be/LosxbOXrvyU

I wrote this poem seven years ago at a very different time, but it seems like I wrote it for today. Trying to avoid the darkness of anxiety feels very familiar. You?

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34–“Animals on the Journey Home” from “Frazzle”

I-94 to Michigan, M D Mikus, Copyright 2013

“A hawk in flight,
red tail, full wing extension

lands on the bank
newly grass-sown and waits….”

From poem 34, “Animals on the Journey Home,” in my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen here: https://youtu.be/1fiDmWt2BHI

To be in the moment as a witness, even in a car on the way to Michigan with husband driving and two kids in back. To notice and write down and remember…that exact time, the trip an awareness of its own, not just a destination.

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33–“Soon Enough” from “Frazzle”

Sun-Soaked Gerber Daisy by M D Mikus, Copyright 2016

“…as if I could
plan my time to feel

as if you did not
understand, but…

you have never faced
such circumstance.…”

From poem 33, in Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen to the entire poem here: https://youtu.be/XKPl1u3gySk

I will say only this: It is essential to be kind…to ourselves and those around us. And be as generous as you can. It is for our own good. Who do we want to be?

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32–“Thanksgiving Grieving” from “Frazzle”

Dad’s Planes by Margaret Dubay Mikus, Copyright 2016

“I can see him sitting there
so plainly on the kitchen chair,
cutting giblets for stuffing and gravy,
wanting help or company…”

From poem 32, “Thanksgiving Grieving,” in my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen here: https://youtu.be/1JMbsGNangA

I prepare in the moment for the day’s reading. Although I wrote the book and have read it many times, I don’t look ahead at what poems are coming. As it turned out, I was taken by surprise by today’s poem, “Thanksgiving Grieving,” which was very emotional to read. The first several times through I couldn’t get to the end without tears. I wanted to skip this one (who would notice, really?) and yet…

I’m committed to this task set out before me: one poem a day, from start to finish of “Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine.” It is not about perfect performance in an ideal world, rather it is you and me sitting at my old maple kitchen table and I’m reading as honestly and as best I can right then. My purpose in that moment is to deliver that poem. Always a part of me wants to get it “right.” Even if that is safer, it may not be as human, as healing, as powerful. I trust. I stay with my inner guides, breathe, do my best, and let it go, as open-hearted as I can.

Note: We are still at the beginning of the book. This poem begins a long narrative thread about our parents, my Dad who had passed on years before, and the other three remaining. All woven into the fullness of life.

Is there some loss you have already dealt with, that can overtake you unexpectedly? Blessings.

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31–“Mirror: For Jan Gerber” from “Frazzle”

Dusk at Chicago Botanic Garden by M D Mikus Copyright 2015

“You are the seed crystal
the often unsung hero,

the gatherer, the glue,
the creative spark,

the tranquil reflecting pool…”

From Poem 31, “ Mirror: For Jan Gerber,” in my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen here: https://youtu.be/4nL_goJyr-g

Does this sound like you or someone you know, the one always holding things together?

Background:
In 2000 I met Jan Gerber when she curated and coordinated “Women’s Journeys in Fiber,” the first in a series of “process projects” by a group of women artists based in Chicago. That year the group, reflecting on their spiritual journeys, created incredible and diverse mantles (long vests), beautifully displayed at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I was inspired to write the poem, “Mantles of Transformation,” which traveled with the exhibit and appeared in the book on the Mantles project.

When they decided to have a 10-year retrospective exhibit in 2010, Jan asked me to read it at the opening. I readily agreed. In the meantime I also wrote “Mirror: For Jan Gerber” about her. I read it as well (as a surprise). Here are my previous blog posts, including the poems.

For other poem videos in the “Frazzle” series