Monday Morning Musings:
In the staggering power of stars,
there is a balance, to hold within, or
to burst and blow
scattering light across space
and time,
and time again, we see the dying glimmers
and again, with time, we find some power
in the gleam within–
we search for ourselves
over generations
blooming again and again–
the seeds, flowering to life,
The glow through the leaves. ©️Merril D. Smith, 2021 
Petals and Light ©️Merril D. Smith, 2021
though some die too soon,
others are cultivated,
sparked by an inner glow,
the DNA of stars, the lessons of ancestral genes—
finding superpowers in the everyday
discovering they are brave—much braver than they suspected.
Within and without, power and balance,
Stop for a moment. Now—look–
Do you see the colors in the sky?
Light and beauty, ever-changing,
connected, connecting, everything.
Merril’s Theater/Movie Club: We streamed How to be Brave, a play by Welsh playwright Siân Owens, a production of the Inis Nua Theater in Philadelphia. I really loved this play and production. It’s a one-woman show about a single-mother, a librarian who likes order, but on this day snaps, steals a bike, and travels around Newport, Wales, and back and forth from the present to her childhood and learns (or re-learns) how to be brave. It’s a story of motherhood and generations, which is also a theme of the movie, Fast Color (Amazon Prime). Set during a time of severe drought somewhere in the U.S., the story is about Ruth, who has been on the run, but goes home to her mother, who has been raising Ruth’s daughter, Lila. We discover that they all have superpowers, but this is not a superpower action movie. It’s a quiet, indie film that is really more about family. We also watched the 2019 French movie, Les Misérables (Amazon Prime)—not based on the Victor Hugo novel. However, it is set in the area where it wrote it. The movie concerns a police officer, new to an anti-crime unit in this multi-cultural area. The movie is tense and exciting as small events escalate. One review called it “a simmering tale of two cities.” The movie won several awards.
We got out for a little while this past week to a local winery. It was cloudy, but then the sun came out as we were ready to leave.
William Heritage Winery 
It looks almost summery
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
I love your ending here Merril: how everything is beautiful, connecting and connected – yes!
Thank you so much, Ingrid! 💙
“My shadow in the light” would be a great poetry prompt! Darn appealing photo, too.
Thank you so very much!
“My shadow in the light” is my favorite photo out of the grouping as well, even beating out the flashier flowers, as beautiful as they are!
Thank you very much. I think that’s my favorite, as well.
You’re welcome, Merril.
I’m with Ingrid! Beautiful!
Thank you!
Pleasure is mine!
Lovely photos, Merril! Thanks for introducing us to movies and plays we might not otherwise hear about.
Thank you, Luanne.
You’re welcome. I really enjoyed the play and the movies.
So beautiful and powerful Merril, thank you do much, a feast for the eyes, heart and mind …
Thank you much, Susan!
Gorgeous photos, Merril. Thank you for this uplifting post.😊
Thank you, Gwen, and you’re very welcome!
Beautiful musings today, Merril. Your photographs are stunning!
Thank you so much, Jill!
I like the regeneration theme here
Thank you, Derrick.
This is the line that resonated most with me: “we search for ourselves
over generations.”
Thank you so much, Liz! Thank you for letting me know.
You’re welcome, Merril!
Lovely spring weather, tree branches, clouds, and yes, they are all interconnected.
Thank you! Yes, they are. 😀
It’s comforting to think so 🙂
In the play, there’s a long section at the end where she talks about generations and stars–it was such a Merril thing. 😀
And a generation is such a wide concept. We are part of the same generation and we share the same stars too 🙂
Yes. I don’t remember if she actually used the word generation–but things passed down from mother to daughters over time. And then the Fast Color movie had that same theme (without the mention of stars) so it was an extra connection for me. 🤣
It’s important, I think, to remember that we are a part of past generations and we owe them a lot. Gratitude. Makes me humble.
Yes. Me, too.
🙂
So much beauty here, Merril. ❤ I especially love the idea of "finding superpowers in the everyday."
Thank you so much, Robin! 💙
The world is indeed growing with color now. Wonderful photos as always. (I can’t believe I’m so far behind in reading posts…one of these days I’ll catch up…) (k)
Thank you, Kerfe. I can’t keep up either. I stopped posting to the NaPoWriMo page because I wasn’t doing the prompts and I don’t have time to read the work of others there.
That’s why I haven’t been doing dVerse. I have to find a balance, but it’s going to be awhile.
It’s difficult to keep up. I rarely do all three dVerse prompts in a week.