To-night the west o’er-brims with warmest dyes; Its chalice overflows With pools of purple colouring the skies, Aflood with gold and rose; And some hot soul seems throbbing close to mine, As sinks the sun within that world of wine.
II.
I seem to hear a bar of music float And swoon into the west; My ear can scarcely catch the whispered note, But something in my breast Blends with that strain, till both accord in one, As cloud and colour blend at set of sun.
III.
And twilight comes with grey and restful eyes, As ashes follow flame. But O! I heard a voice from those rich skies Call tenderly my name; It was as if some priestly fingers stole In benedictions o’er my lonely soul.
IV.
I know not why, but all my being longed And leapt at that sweet call; My heart outreached its arms, all passion thronged And beat against Fate’s wall, Crying in utter homesickness to be Near to a heart that loves and leans to me.
This poem is in the public domain
No Copyright Music – Chill Lo-Fi hip hop beat FREE music by LAKEY INSPIRED (Copyright Free Music)
Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow Of crystal, wandering water, Thou art an emblem of the glow Of beauty, the unhidden heart, The playful maziness of art In old Alberto’s daughter;
II.
But when within thy wave she looks, Which glistens then, and trembles, Why, then, the prettiest of brooks Her worshiper resembles; For in his heart, as in thy stream, Her image deeply lies, His heart which trembles at the beam Of her soul-searching eyes.
This poem is in the public domain
No Copyright Music – Chill Lo-Fi hip hop beat FREE music by LAKEY INSPIRED (Copyright Free Music)
She Walks in Beauty By George Gordon Byron – 1788-1824
I.
She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
II.
One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling place.
III.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!
Written June 12, 1814. This poem is in the public domain
Music – Instrumental Piano and Violin [Copyright Free Music] – ‘Luz de Luna’ by Juan Sánchez
Dan Flanigan is a novelist, poet, playwright, and practicing lawyer. Born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas, he received his Ph.D. from Rice University and J.D. from University of Houston. After a teaching stint at UVA, he returned home to work on the original Kansas City School Desegregation case. Later, he entered private practice, became a name partner at Polsinelli, created and chaired its Real Estate & Financial Services Department for two decades, and established their NYC office where he remains managing partner.
Taking a break from law from 1983 to 1985, he and his wife, Candy, founded Sierra Tucson, a prominent drug treatment center located in Tucson, Arizona.
Dan’s recently published novel, Mink Eyes, is set in 1986 in a place very much like Kansas City and the Missouri Ozarks. Dan intends to bring this group of characters from the 1980’s through the present day. He has developed screenplay version of Mink Eyes as well as pilot for a TV series called O’Keefe.
Dan’s other publications include Tenebrae: A Memoir of Love and Death, a poetry collection dealing with the illness and death of his wife, and Dewdrops, a collection of short fiction. He has also written several plays: Secrets (based on Eleanor Marx, Karl Marx’s daughter, a social and political force in her own right in late Victorian England); Moondog’s Progress (based on Alan Freed, the disc jockey who “discovered” and was the major original promoter of rock n roll);and Dewdrops, a tragedy set in a drug and alcohol treatment center (this received a staged reading at the Theatre of the Open Eye in New York).
His inspirations include J.S. Bach, Shakespeare, Rumi, Bob Dylan, Secretariat (yes, the horse), Joseph Campbell, Turgenev, Yeats, Joyce, Robert Stone, and E.L. Doctorow.
He has also co-authored several books about business, finance, and real estate. He enjoys theater and believes in doing what’s best for the planet. He has a particular interest in orcas.
Join me and Dan on my podcast “The 3 Pillars” on Wednesday 13 May…
Dan Flanigan is a novelist, poet, playwright and a practicing lawyer in Kansas City and New York. He has also co-authored several books about business, finance & real estate.
Expert training consultant and nationally recognized keynote speaker Eric Williamson has seen the word success defined in numerous ways. Does it take good grades and education, high IQ scores and standardized tests, climbing up the corporate ladder, playing politics, is it about good timing, is it only meant for a select few? Or is there a different story?
With almost two decades of leadership training, professional speaking, and most importantly, real-life, hands on in-the-trenches leadership experience in both the private and public sectors, his view is inherently different. Eric appreciates, and shares with listeners, that success is about stepping outside of your comfort zone and not about privilege, circumstance, or upbringing. Success is deliberate, does not discriminate, is not accidental, and cannot be measured based on someone else. No matter how talented, gifted or experienced, and no matter what role we serve or title we carry, our level of success is not measured based on the work we produce; it is measured based on the relationships we build.
Eric is the president and CEO of Tailored Training Solutions, which helps organizations build stronger customer and workplace relationships. He is often referred to as the “Connector” for his ability to make his message resonate with groups, or as “the Change maker” for his ability to inspire change and improve morale in today’s every changing business environment. His programs bring out the best in people. He is known for his emphatic, engaging, down to earth style. Eric’s fusion of real-life stories and his conversational techniques connect with his audience at an intimate, intense and individual level.
Eric is the author of the book, How to Work with Jerks: Getting Stuff Done with People you Can’t Stand. Whatever you do and wherever you work—jerks are all around you. And without a clear strategy for working with these difficult people, we inevitably suffer and risk failure on the job and in our careers. This book offers that strategy by providing a roadmap to improve relationships with the people you work with and the clients you serve.
Eric earned his bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College and an MBA from the University of New Haven. His strong desire to see others improve, survive, and thrive in the workplace is what drives him to help organizations across the world build stronger relationships.
Eric Christiansen is an acclaimed documentarian who has built his brand around socially responsible filmmaking that educates, inspires and heals. He has the capability to identify an issue within a specific population and have it resonate with a general audience through compelling storytelling.
A trauma survivor himself, having lost his home in the Santa Barbara Painted Cave fire disaster, he understands trauma, the resilience of the human spirit, and how important HOPE is to the healing journey.
A seven-time Southwestern Region Emmy Award recipient, Christiansen’s previous films (Faces in the Fire, Homecoming: A Vietnam Vets Journey, Searching for Home: Coming Back from War) have been transformative in the recovery process for thousands of people whose lives have been compromised mentally, spiritually and physically by trauma.
Leveraged as educational tools by top mental health institutions, Christiansen’s films migrate from the entertainment arena into environments that help additional audiences navigate the profound collateral damage trauma creates not only on the individual, but the family and community as well. The New York Times called his last film, “strikingly photographed” and “…sure to give comfort and support to countless veterans and their families.” By spotlighting these survivors and their journeys, Christiansen has been able to help unify a variety of audiences around the power of HOPE, and educate the general population about the complexities of trauma.
Christiansen has also produced for major networks including Discovery, TLC, PBS, MTV and an Imax film.
HIs latest feature documentary,unMASKing HOPE is a testament to resilience in the face of adversity, illustrating the human capacity to heal. The film will deliver a much-needed message of HOPE that can help create bridges of inclusion and tolerance for those stigmatized by trauma.
unMASKing HOPE explores the elusive face of trauma. As a society, trauma is something we see every day on the news, and possibly something we have all gone through on one level or another. In the film, we come to know trauma–its impact on individuals, their families and communities–through the deeply emotional stories of a diverse group of survivors who have experienced unthinkable crises. To cope with what’s happened to them, survivors often don “masks” that hide their emotional pain–the years of social stigma and moral injury that have scarred their souls. We follow their journeys of healing and find that while their experiences may differ, they are unified through a message of HOPE.
unMASKing HOPE – The film is truly the culmination of his life’s work as a filmmaker and marks a significant milestone in his own personal journey as a trauma survivor.
Chriselda Barretto 