Poetry can tell a story....

Hello, and happy day!

     We have been enjoying simply lovely weather here in Northern California, and so when I saw the color palatte for this week's Color, Stories, Inspiration Challenge, I was really inspired.  As someone who really loves working with color, this set of colors made me really happy!

Here's the case file:


     See what I mean? Gorgeous!!
I thought a lot about what subject I wanted to do... since I don't celebrate birthdays anymore (since I've been 29 for a few years now....), and I only have a husband and a son (and these aren't exactly masculine colors...) I decided to do something that would incorporate myself and my son together in a non-birthday setting. After perusing the testimony column, I knew I would have to do "wishes"... for those of you that don't know, my son Miles was born with a rare genetic syndrome, and is permanently disabled.  He can't speak, has low muscle tone, and although he can walk, he is losing mobility as he grows.  He likes to play, but has fine motor issues, so we are constantly trying to find new things for him to do.

As his parents, my DH and I have always tried to keep a positive attitude for him as well as ourselves... but that doesn't mean that we don't wish things were different for our boy.  Although he can't speak, has trouble doing even simple tasks, and can't walk without pain, he is about the happiest child I know... nothing ever gets him down for long!

I have always been pretty good at making up rhymes... I used to do it as a child, and I still love to do it as an adult... it comes in handy too for making up songs for Miles, since he constantly wants someone to sing to him!  I love to use poetry on my layouts, because I feel it invokes a certain response in people- happy, sad, loving, melancholy... whatever the emotion, poetry tells a story.

For this challenge, I sat down and wrote a poem about my son, and some of the wishes I have for him in his life....

 

I wish I had the courage to face your every day...

the way you walk, the way you "talk",

The way you need to play.

 

I wish I could be better at understanding you,

I do my best, I cannot rest

until we can break through...

 

I wish that you could walk around without a lot of pain,

talk up a "blue streak", sing ME a song,

or play out in the rain.

 

I wish your fate were different,

that your life was not so hard.

If it were almost anyone else but you

they might be scarred.

 

You face each challenge bravely,

giving out big hugs and kisses...

my love for you will never end,

and neither will my WISHES...

 

 

So what do you think? Did my poetry tell a story?

 

So without further ado, here is my layout:

 

So for this layout, I used as my "evidence" scallops, circular things,

transparency (the poem is printed on transparency and then sewn onto

paper), dots, labels, numbers, banners and large flowers...





For my "testimony", I used the "wish" prompts...

I also took advantage of the lovely files that CSI provides for each of the

challenges, incorporating the banners, number labels, background paper

and tags into my design.

 

I wanted to create a very special layout for a very special boy, and I do think

I accomplished that...  writing my own poem put a very personal "stamp" on this

layout that my family will cherish for years to come...

I highly encourage one and all to try your hand at writing a poem or a saying to

add that personal touch to your layouts!

 

 

                           Shelley