Poetry

April is Poetry Month. I do not often share the things I have written but in honor of Poetry Month, I am sharing what I feel is my best work so far. I wrote these when I was in college taking a writing class. The challenge was to write three poems about the same event from three different perspectives. Not just the very same event but the very same specific event at the very same moment, from three perspectives. I am sharing the poems in their original form and in the form they become. I liked the originals but I absolutely love what they have become over time. I hope you enjoy them as well. The moment I chose to write about was a photograph I was taking when I was in Europe with my mom. It was a somewhat magical moment in San Sebastian, Spain. It is told from the perspective of the Photographer, the Camera, and the Tree.

Photographer

Wandering through the park
early afternoon
I turn my eyes
and view
a tree,
the trunk
nearly six feet around,
with ivy
climbing and encircling,
branches
reaching to heaven,
I must find a wonderful angle,
I gaze through
my amazing camera,
with power
to edit the world
trimming off:
the unbecoming,
the uncomfortable,
the unnecessary,
showing only
the most:
pleasant,
sensational,
splendid,
angle searching:
standing,
walking,
turning,
kneeling,
like a spontaneous vision
it strikes me,
light bursting through
between branches of bronze
leaves shimmering
every shade of true
green, represented
by a different leaf
Focus
Click
Satisfaction

Camera

Hanging by woven nylon
traveling through the park
sun in my lens,
I squint
surveying the scene,
nothing spectacular
a few benches,
path of bricks,
some trees,
suddenly I vies
incredible life form
statuesque tree decorated and embraced
by lush ivy,
I must choose
an angle,
little to remove
I leave off any:
dull,
ugly,
rough,
letting in
the best:
light, color, image,
I capture:
strong foundation,
bright leaves,
winding ivy,
trickling light
taking it in,
setting aside
on narrow film
I save
an exposure
to be developed
then placed on paper
and cherished
Reflect
Experience
Satisfaction

Tree

Standing firm in the soil
mid-day
a lady strolling by
she stops
turns
looks up
curious eyes,
examining me,
blue and green together
careful consideration,
she raises to her eye
strange black box,
moments before
dangling at the chest,
maybe a magical box
with power,
I wonder,
will it:
transform me,
capture me,
photograph me,
taking in
my image:
priming,
printing,
preserving,
I pose:
mighty,
stretching,
shimmering,
illuminated,
she stops,
gazes through her box
she’s found it,
flattering angle,
maintaining position
she turns a dial,
smiles,
presses a button
Click
Magnificent
Satisfaction

Photographer

Wandering through the park
angle searching:
early afternoon
standing,
I turn my eyes
walking,
and view
turning,
a tree,
kneeling,
the trunk
like a spontaneous vision
nearly six feet around,
it strikes me,
with ivy
light bursting through
climbing and encircling,
between branches of bronze
branches
leaves shimmering
reaching to heaven,
every shade of true
I must find
green, represented
a wonderful angle,
by a different leaf
I gaze through
Focus
my amazing camera,
Click
with power
Satisfaction

Camera

Hanging by woven nylon
I capture:
traveling through the park
strong foundation,
sun in my lens,
bright leaves,
I squint
winding ivy,
surveying the scene,
trickling light
nothing spectacular
taking it in,
a few benches,
setting aside
path of bricks,
on narrow film
some trees,
I save,
suddenly I view
an exposure
incredible life form
to be developed
statuesque tree
then placed on paper
decorated and embraced
and cherished
by lush ivy,
Reflect
I must choose
Experience
an angle,
Satisfaction

Tree

Standing firm in the soil
I pose:
mid-day
mighty,
a lady strolling by
stretching,
she stops
shimmering,
turns
illuminated,
looks up
she stops,
curious eyes,
gazes through her box
examining me,
she’s found it,
blue and green together
flattering angle,
careful consideration,
maintaining position
she raises to her eye
she turns a dial,
strange black box,
smiles,
moments before
presses a button
dangling at her chest,
Click
maybe a magical box
Magnificent
with power,
Satisfaction

Our Christmas Card and Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope you have all had a Joyful and Blessed 2011 and that 2012 brings you Even More Joy and Blessings.

This has been a Blessed Year for us. Steven has started back to college and is exploring various career options at this time. When Steven is not going to school or doing homework, he keeps himself busy with church callings and volunteering. He volunteers at the Hospital and at a local Senior Center. Steven’s old wheelchair broke and for the first time, Steven was measured for a custom fit wheel chair. It is still a manual wheel chair but it is lighter, smoother, and more user-friendly. Steven was able to change to a new medication for his MS. The new medication is a pill every day rather than a shot every day. Very exciting!

I have had an interesting year. My blood pressure has been low and I now have a Syndrome which makes me faint. I now must take a medication to help keep my blood pressure UP. In spite of this new discovery and the fatigue I have from the low blood pressure, I have lost nearly 60 pounds this year. From my highest weight ever, I am down by more than 95 pounds. It has been a lifelong struggle for me and means a lot to me that I have been able to do this by eating healthy and exercising (No Diets!).

In February of 2010, Steven and I adopted a Chocolate Lab who was 2 years old and had been abused and neglected. We have had many challenges with him but he is a Joy and a Blessing to us. He is far too smart and is doing a great job of training us. Earlier this year, Steven and I started Fertility Testing and hope to start treatment for Infertility in 2012.

With Love,
Steven and LeAnna Bunting

P.S. The Images on the card were “Tangled” by me. The shapes themselves I traced but the designs within them I did by hand. My mom and I learned this art and it is called Zentangle earlier this year.

So Sweet! So Amazing!

The first week in November, I went to Las Vegas for my Niece's wedding. She is AMAZING! She wrote a song for her Husband and sang it at the family dinner the evening before the wedding and at the reception after the wedding. It is such a sweet song written by such an amazing and talented young woman. Aside from her talent, Jessica is beautiful as well. Here are just a few pictures of her in her wedding dress.


The man she married is very sweet as well. I loved watching them at the family dinner, the wedding, and the reception. He looks at her with such love in his eyes. Thanks for treating Jessica so well Kyle. The two of you are meant to be together... forever. You are so fortunate to have found each other. Congratulations! May you have all the blessings and happiness that life and love can bring.

Wheelchair Accessible?

Steven and I have been trying to get out more and be more physically active. We decided we would try the Wheelchair Accessible Hiking Trails around the Valley. I had heard that Phoenix was paving some trails in order to make the Mountains of Phoenix more accessible. Neat. We looked on the Parks and Recreation Website to find out which one to do first and to our surprise, there was one just down the road at North Mountain. Woo Hoo!

One Saturday Morning; Brinkley, Steven, and I piled into the car and set out to find this Hiking Trail. We found it but in spite of it being blacktopped, it did not really look like it was too wheelchair friendly. We were bound and determined to give it our best effort anyway. With Steven in his wheelchair holding on to Brinkley's leash, I began pushing Steven up the trail. I could see an area of the trail further along, where it leveled out into switchbacks. I thought that if we could just make it up to that part, we would be fine and Steven would be able to wheel his chair along and I would just walk Brinkley at that point.

The first part of the trail was so steep, I had to stop every few yards and have Steven put on his brakes so that I could catch my breath. It was ridiculous. How could anyone in a Wheelchair make it even a few feet up this trail? How could this be ranked as Wheelchair Accessible? Yikes! We never made it all the way up to the Switchbacks. When I finally decided I could not push Steven any further up the trail, I looked back down. Hello! It was then that I realized it was so steep that if I turned Steven's Wheelchair around to go back down, he would fall out of his Wheelchair. Double Yikes! We got back down the trail but I had to wheel Steven down... you guessed it... BACKWARDS! My calves hurt for Days.

Needless to say, we will not be doing that trail EVER AGAIN. It took a few e-mails over the course of more than a month to get the Parks and Rec. website to remove the Wheelchair Accessible ranking from this trail. Hopefully nobody will ever be in our situation on that trail ever again. Of course, anyone with half a brain and less stubborness than the two of us, would never have attempted it in the first place. In spite of the pain in my legs, we laughed about it then and still laugh about it today. Now we are determined to try the other trails and see if they are really Wheelchair Accessible.

Brinkley... The Best Valentine Gift... Ever!

Just before Valentine's Day this year, I found out about a dog that was being neglected and needed a good home. I saw his picture and my heart melted. I just knew he was supposed to come to our home. It had been almost three months since we had had Lorenzo put to sleep. The day before I heard about this dog and saw his picture, I had just been telling someone that we were not ready for another dog yet. When I knew that this dog was to be ours, I called Steven and asked him if I could get a dog. He agreed right away, no hesitation.

Before going to pick this dog up, we had a long conversation about the problems that he may have as a result of being neglected and maybe even abused. We went that night to pick him up. He was hyper and out of control. The man put a chain on him to walk him to our car and the dog nearly dragged the guy to the car. My eyes were as big as saucers. The man's wife sensed there was something wrong and asked me if we were still willing to take him. I could see that they had not taken good care of him and although I could see he was going to be a big undertaking, I knew I could not leave him with them. I told her we were taking him.

They had been honest with us on some things but not on others. They had told us he had not been neutered and that he had had no shots. He was nearly 2 years old already. They said he was potty trained... he was not. They said he was leash trained... I could tell when he was being walked to our car, he was not leash trained. They did not really say that they had neglected him but said that they just did not have time for him.

The first four to six weeks were really tough. We got him potty trained and leash trained. We have him in obedience classes. We got him his shots and got him neutered. He is still pretty skinny but his ribs are less visible now. We gave him a bone the second night we had him. It was not until his fourth week with us that he began to chew on the bone. We still have a couple of hurdles to jump, like his aggression toward other dogs. He really tries to do what we ask of him. He really is a good dog.

He is so precious. He gives hugs and kisses. He likes to snuggle with us. In spite of his 75 pound frame, he thinks he is a lap dog. He has fully accepted my parents as his second set of parents. He loves to go visit my parents and really enjoys playing in their back yard. He likes to play with his stuffed animals, chew on bones, and play ball. More than anything, he loves to play ball. If you show him a treat and a tennis ball, he will choose the tennis ball. He has amazing focus when the tennis ball is out. He is so completely obsessed with the tennis ball that we have to put it up and out of sight if we want him to do anything else. He is curled up next to me as I am typing this. He is such a Love! He really is the best Valentine gift we could ever have gotten!