Anew! Anew! Anew!

Jonathan Stanley Blanchard was born on July 5th! Same birthday as my Mom's. My Mom passed away June 2. Yes, I give her full responsibility and credit for orchestrating this event. My daughter, Anna, calls him JS. JS is aNEW creation. Reminds me of a rap song I wrote a while back, thought I'd share!

Now, just get a rap beat in your head and sing! Oh, I mean Rap! Feels good, you'll like it. Maybe we can put a band together and take it on the road....the possibilities are infinite!

Anew Rap

The same ole life keeps happenin’ to you
You do all the things that you should do
With etiquette and manners, please and thank you
But the same ole life keeps happenin’ to you

Create yourself Anew.....Anew
Create yourself Anew, Anew, Anew, Anew!

You smile when you’re sad and be sad when you should be
You check your dreams and take a look at real-ality
Indoctrination’s got you and you long to be free
The same ole life keeps on...don’t you see?

Create yourself Anew.......Anew
Create yourself Anew, Anew, Anew, Anew!

There’s a better way, you gotta look down deep
Check you beliefs before you go back to sleep
Name your dreams and shout ‘em in the street
Speak your truth, don’t be afraid to repeat.

Create yourself Anew.......Anew
Create yourself Anew, Anew, Anew, Anew!

Don’t hide your light, the world needs your greatness.
Look in the mirror and claim your mighty likeness
You’re a child of God in all your brightness
Take your stand to be love and rightness

Create yourself Anew......Anew
Create yourself Anew, Anew, Anew, Anew!

Create yourself Anew......Anew
Create yourself Anew, Anew, Anew, Anew!

Meaning of Life

Meaning of Life
by Ricki Blanchard

On the day I was born
I was given one canvas
And an endless supply of paints
In every hue imaginable.

“What shall I paint?” I asked.
“The Meaning of Life,” was the answer.

So I began to create
With quite elementary strokes.
As time went by, my pictorials
Became more elaborate and sophisticated.

I possessed a free hand early on.
But then I painted what others
Thought I should, or what I
Thought others wanted to see.

Layer upon layer, pictures and
Landscapes, always changing
Sometimes retro or repetitive
On my one and only canvas.

More than once I colored
Over a scene still wet
To obliterate what was there
Making a total mess of it all.

My paints would become
Disorganized and scattered
Needing patience to pull them together
into a workable palette.

How this old canvas can withstand
The many coats of my imaginings
Are beyond my understanding,
But hold it all, it does.

You see, the Meaning of Life
Is exactly how I see it when I see it
Carefully or carelessly brushed
On my one and only canvas.

The canvas itself is meaningless.
All that is and No-thing at all.
A surface on which to illustrate
My illusions, ever-changing.

Of late, I find my paintings
More unique, less detailed
Vibrant and soft at the same time.
Always ready to be the one and only canvas
for a new view.