Life is filled with emotional highs and lows. Riding the wave of this experience is part of living, but for poet Bernadette Bland, dreaming was even more important. No matter the attitude, mood, or circumstance, Ms. Bland has always believed in the beauty of life. Never to be deterred from her heart's desire, she has ridden her own life wave with an eye to her dreams and an eye to the beauty of nature. In her new poetry collection, Flights of Fancy, Ms. Bland shares her imagery with the outside world. She delves into the lavish splendor of nature in "Drifting Grace: God's Art Show." She peers behind the protective mask of a weeping clown in "Behind the Mask." She recalls watching her mother slowly grow old in the poignant "Mama." In all her words, she reveals her deepest yearnings and fears with selfless honesty. Flights of Fancy is an example of an imagination set free. Ms. Bland fills her poetry with wonder and will leave you longing to step out into the sun. She is not afraid to depict the sometimes traumatic rollercoaster of life; yet she encourages us to move on, move up, and not look back. Within every word, she calls to the reader, challenging each one of us to never stop dreaming!

Flights of Fancy

A Book of Poetry, Prose, and Imaginative Short StoriesBy Bernadette Bland

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Bernadette Bland
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-8452-3

Contents

Introduction........................................................xiDrifting Grace: God's Art Show......................................1The Sea.............................................................2Sound Reflections...................................................4Mama................................................................5Memories............................................................6Forever Cherished...................................................7Wind Speak..........................................................8God's Handwriting...................................................9Princess Maddy Grace................................................10I'll Huff and I'll Puff.............................................12God's Glory.........................................................13Behind the Mask.....................................................15Intrusions: Seeking Solace..........................................16Pals................................................................17Ancestry............................................................18Spirits Rising......................................................21Rejuvenation: A Point of View from an Old House.....................23Friendships Rare....................................................26My Coworker Family..................................................27Patty's House.......................................................28Rebecca.............................................................29Lovin' Folk.........................................................30Ok'tober Nights.....................................................31Christmas Is Love...................................................32Reflections.........................................................36Jewels of the Night.................................................38The Road to Nowhere.................................................39The Ordeal..........................................................40Western Wonder......................................................42This One Night......................................................43Anger: An Irrational Mind...........................................44As Time Has Gone....................................................46My Lisa, My Daughter................................................47A New Home for Rose.................................................48The Valley..........................................................49

Chapter One

    Drifting Grace: God's Art Show

    The delicate bits of crystal lace,
    Feel them tickle as they kiss your face.
    Playful and lively, yet with artful grace;
    All nestle together and settle in place.

    Slouching in valleys,
    Adorning high peaks,
    Tucking close the stone walls,
    And frosting wooded creeks.

    Laying low the tree boughs
    And flattening tall grass;
    It makes caps for the rocks
    and ornaments window glass.

    The snow drifts, and blows,
    and makes cold your nose,
    which gives forth a rosy show
    Like an ember's glow.

    These crystals are a sight,
    So pristine and white;
    Dancing on breezes, so feathery light.
    Reflecting the silvery moon up on high,
    O' so bright in their dazzling night flight.

    More beautiful sights shall never be,
    Than this graceful wintry portrait
    That is painted by God for you and for me.


    The Sea

    Caught up in its omnipotence,
    the Sea can consume you.
    It can fill you with rapture ... or
    It can steal your life!

    Yet, on its gently lapping shores,
    Its hushed whispers soothe contentedly,
    Its fragrance transcending.

    Inspirational for far-off dreams
    And illusory planes,
    Its perpetual motion instills
    an unfathomable peace
    And a oneness
    with the power and nature of God!

Sound Reflections

The Beauty of Sound ...

in the thrilling strings of the violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, the gloried fullness of a symphony orchestra; the silvered tenor notes of Josh Groban or Placido Domingo; the pureness and clarity of tone found only in the mellow notes of a wooden native flute; the infectious delight of a baby's laughter; the beautiful vocals of Barbara Streisand; the intensity of feeling in the unique music and words of Garth Brooks ... these are what set the imagination free to create a vision of one's own. The distinctiveness of their sounds inspires beyond the visual senses.

If there is ever to be one sense I must lose, I pray it not be my sense of hearing—a world of beauty one can ill afford to lose.

    Mama

    Through the eyes of memory I can see her there,
    In a crown of tawny gold and skin so fair:
    Seated by the window, brushing long hair,
    Watching us kids from her rocking chair.

    Then there was gray in that crown so fine,
    and delicate lines, now added with time.
    On and on she strove, seeming never to tire,
    Filled with energy untold like a blazing spitfire.
    The gray turned to spun silver, her step slowed with age;
    The fair skin's still a wonder, its texture unfazed.

    Then one day she lay quiet, her spirit ever gone.
    She was my sparkle in life, now my grief to mourn.

    The locket she gave, my heart's dearest treasure,
    A thought from her to cherish forever.
    To this very day her vivid memory lives, her loving within me,
    Was her gift to give.

    Dedicated to my beloved mother.


    Memories

    Snuggled on his lap,
    Held close in his arms,
    He sang me sweet songs
    Of "Endearing Young Charms."

    Safe and cozy for me,
    My own world to be;
    Cuddled near to his heart,
    From which I ne'er wanted
    to part.
...