Spice of Life: Meet Moonflower

[nekot]

I enjoy variety and truly believe it is the spice of life. People come in the most varieties of all; no two are exactly the same. I believe each person has a significant gift to share and a unique journey to live.

The Pages are not lacking in these givers and journeyers who share their insights, joys, traumas, imaginations, hopes, despairs, fantasies, fictions, beliefs, and doubts via the written word in prose, poetry, stories, and quips.

I have laughed many a time and cried many a time, as I have sat with mouse in hand reading these Pages and sharing my own heart. Folks here are an inspiration to my soul and have been a catalyst for significant growth in my own life. I have witnessed a mutual respect among this variety of souls that if duplicated in our world, would make it a better place.

Scroll down for a little spice from moonflower.....



Back to index: Poetry Pages' Poets

[nekot]

Moonflower joined Poetry Pages March 24, 2002.

Meet Valarie, Poetry Pages' Moonflower... ....

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What is your age bracket: under 25, 25 - 50, over 50?
I am 61..born July 27, 1946.

What is your name? Where do you live? What do you like to do? What is your occupation?
My name is Valarie Vandegriff. I live in a very small town in east Texas. I love to write poetry; also, I love to paint! (My house usually smells of linseed oil and turpentine! lol) In the last few years I have come to love making quilts. I collect many things...rocks (some of which I paint into flowers or houses or ladybugs!), baby dollies, thimbles, seashells. I have too many collections!

How long have you been writing poetry? Do you recall what led you, if anything, to start writing?
I can't remember exactly when I first started writing. I've always loved poetry but didn’t try actually writing it until several years ago; it was soon after I began writing that I found this site. I don’t remember any certain thing that happened that made me begin writing, but it was this very site, poetrypages.com, that jump-started my passion for writing haiku.

When I first became a member of this site, I didn’t know what haiku even was, but I was so fascinated with it! I had never even heard the word ‘haiku’ before! (and yes, I was a real dummy back then! lol) In fact, I think it was our own Heinzs that posted lengthy explanations and research results to answer my questions about “what exactly is Haiku?” I was immediately drawn to the idea of expressing a mind-stopping, meaningful event, or an emotion, or a situation, using only three short lines of seventeen syllables…what a challenge! Haiku has now become my all-time favorite form of poetry to write. So hey, my thanks to you Heinzs!! lol…

Have you ever been published? In what books or by whom?
Besides my favorites, which are the ones Kim has published from here, I have been published in a few magazines and anthology books. I am working on a book of poetry for young children, but don’t know if it ever will ‘get born’ or not..lol..no time to work on it!

What inspires you to write? Is there a certain setting where you like to write? Do you listen to music when you write?
Everything inspires me to write!...life in general, death, the world's ever-changing state of affairs, my family, plus my own personal emotional ups and downs. All these and more are inspirational to me and it seems like each day brings forth a whole new world of possibilities to explore and create from...(finding time to explore the possibilities is the problem!) One thing that has also been a constant source of inspiration to me is this site itself. There is so much talent here!. I am moved and touched so much by what I read in these pages...it makes me want to write, write, write! This is truly a unique poetry site...it feels like family, as well as kindred souls touching.

I don’t have any certain place or setting that I write in. Wherever I happen to be when the muse finds me is where I usually jot down the beginnings of a poem, or a word or phrase, then later I work on the piece 'til I get it ‘right’. I've found that if I don’t write the words as soon as they come to me, then I lose them forever. I LOVE being home alone, my house spotlessly clean, my housework all finished, food baking in the oven, pets fed, laundry done, checkbook balanced, with soft, maybe classical, music playing in the background (but sometimes I like total stone-cold silence). All those are the things that make up my ‘ideal’ favorite setting for writing. Unfortunately all those things coming together all at the same time never happens!…but, oh well..lol.. Mostly I just wait 'til the muse decides to find me.

What is one of your favorite poems that you have penned? Would you mind sharing why or the story behind the poem?
It's hard to pick a favorite; I have many. I think the one titled Night Magic is my choice, because when I wrote it my ‘world’ was so peaceful and happy and perfect. It was almost like I was actually living in a magical dream-like state. Not that I'm not happy now, but back then my kids were still small and soooo precious, as the very young are. My mom was still alive, me and hubby weren’t older than dirt!... lol... The future was still the future. I felt like a magic 'SuperWoman' back then...like I could do anything, that absolutely nothing was impossible! I would actually wake up smiling most days. Life was wonderful and magical, and it flowed along so smoothly and happily...just like in a dream. Night Magic was one of my first ‘real’ poems. It's kind of odd, but the writing of it was one of those rare occasions when the words just seemed to flow onto the paper all by themselves; it practically wrote itself. I felt ‘blessed’ by the muse!..lol.. The poem, to me, imparts a dreamy, warm, fuzzy feeling, with a magical aura of peacefulness about it that was a reflection of my life at that time. I can still feel that soothing, gently flowing peaceful aura when I read it even now. It still takes me back to that warm fuzzy dreamy place...which is why its one of my favorites!...


Night Magic

The night softly speaks to me
with whispers and tender sighs
Its darkness invites me to enter within
so I nestle deep in its magic disguise

The dusky shadows surrounding me
implore me to come and dream,
so with a blink, I am transported
to nighttimes magical movie screen

On stage in the land of midnight illusions
I am free to wonder at will,
I travel boldly through time and space
and I play all my parts with expert skill

Deep within the shadows of this enchanted place
my eyes are bedazzled while the magic unfolds
I yield to fantasies that my mind embraced,
some scary, some real, some best left untold

I float through the night on pale gossamer wings,
waving and smiling to kings and moonbeams
unshackled I travel to unchartered places,
soaring in and out of magical rainbow chases

I yearn to linger forever here, but
the night, with its magic, too soon disappears,
leaving me to ponder and to meditate..
reflecting on the magic, trying to translate

As I struggle to stay in this land of pretend,
alas, daybreaking light and reality step in,
and as the velvety night slips softly away,
one last gentle whisper I hear it say:

"Don't be sad because
the magic must end,
just know that you and I
will meet again my friend"

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View moonflower's archive here: >moonflower<

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Thank you moonflower!!!

[nekot]

Valerie, your words cause my heart to swell, a lump in my throat, a thankful tear in my eye, and a smile on my cheeks. Your gratitude for life and depth of heart are inspiring.

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Following are a couple of my favorites by moonflower.....

the sea and the sky

in the hazy far horizon
King Sea greets his lady
the Queen of the Sky
both rulers of vast expanses
shes his girl he's her guy
sometimes they laugh
sometimes they make
each other cry

they're like two lovers dancing
face to face, eye to eye
sometimes its a waltz
sometimes its a tango
at times their music
is booming and loud
other times soft like the
glow of a candle

where water and air
live side by side
they dance their dance
the Sea and the Sky
swirling and twirling
on the horizon they glide
their song always reflected
in each others eyes

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simple pleasures

my cat he sleeps
his dreams to keep
while outside
icy winds blow

a cozy fire
a comfy rug
his place in Time
his space to grow

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winter fantasy

fat
white
snowflakes
drifting ever so gently down
silently changing
the world
without a single sound
slowly
tumbling
through the air
while spreading their magic
everywhere
a
frosted wintery
paradise
in
ice


View it here: winter fantasy

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Moonflower's archive: >moonflower<

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Thank you Valarie. It's a pleasure to get to know you.

[psychotic pretender]

nice to know a little more about you moonflower

[bags123]

Hi Val.

[Tom Watson]

A terrific interview of a wonderful lady of the pages!
I truly enjoyed my visits to the "Briefs" forum when Val was there and we could get into a little Haiku tag game.
I would be proud to have her as a younger sister anytime...hehehe...

Tom

[gordy]