Remembering - a poem for Holocaust Memorial Day

Remembering

small and round, weathered by wind and water

i hold a pebble in my hand, smooth and cool.

its weight is slight, it takes no space,

it sits in my palm, cradled and safe.

imagine the beach, pebble strewn, water lapped,

salty tang on lips, wind blown tears on lashes.

see the pebbles tumble in the waves, million upon million.

feel the pebble in my hand, taste salt on my lips,

see the millions marching, stumbling, tumbling, 

onwards to the unknown.

place a pebble on stone, hot wind upon my cheek,

salty tears on lashes, weeping for the millions lost.

six million pebbles, a towering cairn, each placed with love.

whisper a name, one for every pebble.

always remember.

keep them in your heart.

every one of the six million loved,

as you do,

hoped,

as you do, 

dreamed,

as you do.

every one of the six million left a mark, 

a hole in the heart of the world.

always remember. 

The Wisdom of Women

I am in awe of the depth of wisdom displayed by my lovely group of writer friends, most of whom are women. They cut through my bluster and waffle and procrastinating nonsense with their razor like wisdom and set me off on the right track with a song in  my heart.

I posted about my dilemmas surrounding naming my podcast on our Facebook page. In the blink of an eye they were back with hard and insightful questions that really got me thinking about what this podcast is about and why I want to make it. They stopped me from paralysing myself with indecision to the point where I give up on the project. They made me feel supported, valued and loved.

What a bunch!

So, I am still determined to get the podcast off the ground and I'm not going to wait until I have a suitable name. If I do the chances are I will never be happy with anything I come up with and the whole project will die a quiet and lonely death.

I have decided that the way to go is to make a pilot episode, test the waters, see how I sound when chatting away. This may or may not get sent out into the world but I'm determined to at least try. I'm almost finished planning what I want to say and if I can summon up the courage I hope to have something recorded by the end of the month.

Deep breath...

So that's where I'm at, plotting and planning, trying out something new. If this venture ever sees the light of day and stops being a secret vanity project I'll post details here and you can have a listen and laugh at my Brummie accent.