nyc – Saturday Soul with Sandy Hibbard

13 Stops

Sandy Hibbard — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 08:48:56 +0000

I’ve been working on this piece for many months now. The idea for this post began with a train ride to visit a friend on the upper west side, actually I was meeting him at the Museum of Natural History. I remember getting on the train at the subway station nearest me on Clark Street in Brooklyn. It was a long ride – 13 stops – until I reached my destination. I took the video snippets on my phone sitting in the same seat for the duration of the trip. Later, I added photos to the video to support the story as it unfolded. At first, I envisioned 13 stops as a non-emotional visual of what it’s like to ride on a subway in NYC, it was simply a fun, creative experiment to pass the time on the train. But it changed. Soon to be leaving NYC to return to my family in Dallas, the poem took another form from what I had originally intended and became more of a reflection on love – love lost, delayed or threatened by the obstacles of life – in this case, metaphorically represented by the signs in the subway. I would be leaving the city and the people that I loved deeply. I wanted to share an idea of love lost to the basic entrapments we deal with every day. Come along with me and imagine the story of the man and the woman on the train… their love desperately trying to outrun and overcome their realities.

Watch the video then read the poem, then watch the video again….

XOXOXOO
Sandy

https://saturdaysoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Adobe_Spark_Video-1.mp4

13 Stops

13 stops took a toll from us each time

We moved in and out but never crossed the line

Unawarely preoccupied with too many signs

1 – do not lean

2 – do not hold

3 – it’s the gap you should mind

Unattached as we thought

Our words were blurred and our time got crossed

Despite the rules it was love that we sought

But still…

4 – wait for the priorities

5 – and please don’t enter this space

6 – don’t cross my track

7 – no no no, you’ll be gone without a trace

8 – there’s no exit from here

9 – so please watch your back

And that’s how it was, it was all just like that

Signs to keep you safe, keep you out, keep you in

Signs for where you’re going, where you are and where you’ve been

But rules are rules, they broke us, they win

10 – NO smoking, no trashing, just walk

11 – no music from a box

……[it’s forbidden]

12 – Aaaaand STOP!…. like your love

13 – this train has ended

Wheels Up!

Sandy Hibbard — Sat, 21 May 2016 00:38:18 +0000

Wheels Up!
Wheels up
Time to examine my heart
Time to say goodbye
Did I say “I love you”?
Did I say thank you?
…Is that a tear in my eye?
Wheels up
Now it’s time to put on my face
Time to text you I am leaving
Is my phone off?
Did my message go through?
…Is that my heart I feel sinking?
Wheels up
Wings out
Seatbelt off
Can I make it to the restroom?
Captain
Mr
Captain
Can I please get up and move?
Wait
Do you see the twinkling lights?
A shiny strand of neon
Running crazy like a test tube
Captain we are home
Big hug and “thank you”
Wheels down
Flaps closed
Seatbelt on
Did I notice my flight companion?
Captain
Mr Captain
Do you promise a perfect landing?
Wheels down
I’ve been soaring like an eagle
I made it through the night
Do I miss you?
Can I call you?
…Is that a tear in my eye?
Wheels down
I blew you a kiss
As I was pulsing through the sky
Is my phone on?
Is there a message from you?
…What am I thinking, we already said goodbye

November in New York City

Sandy Hibbard — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 13:34:23 +0000

“I get out of the taxi and it’s probably the only city which in reality
looks better than on the postcards, New York.”
~ Milos Forman

It’s November in NYC, and it has never been better! A little rain, cooler weather, sunny skies, cloudy skies, sidewalks strewn with the autumn colors of fallen leaves, the smell of fresh baked bread, coal oven pizzas and sidewalk delicacies – this is the time to be in the city! I have had a crazy week, lots of work and still needing to catch up on rest, but I kicked that nasty cold and have been taking in the streets of NYC for the last few days I am here. I will be returning to my home office in the Dallas area this week and even though I am ready to be home and see my loved ones, I am a little sad to leave. There is an energy here that is undeniably New York City – it’s addictive!

Today I plan to meander over to the Farmer’s Market at Union Square and then possibly to Central Park for a stroll by the lake. Maybe I will hop over to Rockefeller Center and look for a Christmas Ornament for my mom – whatever the day brings, I promise to soak it up and be in the moment, the moment that is mine. I hope you will do the same.

In case your week has been busy, here is a chance to get caught up on what has been happening here at Saturday Soul this week:

Don’t Despair, Another Train is Coming – This week’s Saturday Soul article on not giving up, this too shall pass and there is something better coming your way!
Watch the Dance, it is Everywhere – Yoko Ono inspiration on paying attention to the beauty in each moment we have been given.
Masks are not just for Halloween – What are masks and why do we wear them? A little info that helped me to take a deeper look to understand myself.
Love in the Works – Poetry from my heart to yours.
Love, Lace, and Fragile Things – Poetry on the sensual beauty and fragility between lovers.
I miss this little girls heart – Keeping that childlike heart sometimes needs a little help with the right body language!
Love and peace! Enjoy your Sunday!
Sandy

Alone in New York City

Sandy Hibbard — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 19:09:51 +0000

I work alone (mostly) and travel frequently. Sometimes after a long trip when I have been working, I bring home with me more longing for connection and love than ever before. Funny, you can feel more alone in a large, populated place like NYC than a small town. Everywhere you look there are opportunities for love and for giving. You are confronted with humanity teeming all around you – all living, acting, breathing out their lives in full view of each other. I personally find it amazing at how connected we are, yet at the same time how estranged we are from each other. All the more reason for us to become AWARE and FOCUSED on that ONE thing, person, cause, purpose, and connection that makes us feel like we are part of something – and connected to our TRUE SELF. That ONE that makes our lives beautiful, that tells our hearts that we matter, that shares our story and confirms that we indeed are NOT alone. I write a post on the connection I felt with the crowd on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade on the 4th of July as hundreds, thousands, gathered to experience the fireworks. We were all connected in purpose, but pretty oblivious to each other. I especially find that daunting.
Snow Patrol does a song “Chasing Cars” and in the lyric he invites his love to join him in a repose –
If I lay here
if I just lay here
would you lie with me
and just forget the world?
Can we see that everyone is looking for someone, yet no one is really seeing each other? I guess its because we are so consumed with our own private lives and getting what we need, doing what we must. Do you dream of having that person that is absorbed into you and you into them? Someone who is fully aware of you as you are of them. Is that possible? I am not sure that I have been able to attain that in my life and in the relationships that I have had, but I long for it. Maybe for some it’s easy. But for many of us, it is difficult to overcome the expectations that have been engrained in us since we were little – perform well and you get rewarded – perform shitty and we are not chosen. It can be a bit challenging to just “lay here and forget the world”. To let go and BE. You feel guilty! You feel like you aren’t being validated, because you are not giving enough. Perhaps you are motivated by fear, that old fear when we were being domesticated that says you won’t have anything if you don’t follow, or the idea that you won’t have enough because you’re not GIVING enough. (And don’t get me wrong, giving is good, I am talking about awareness and a balanced give and take of life.) I told my niece recently that if I could go back when my kids were babies, I would go back and cut out 80% (maybe more) of the activities I was doing. I would slow down and watch them be little, there would be NOTHING more important than to “just lay there with them and forget the world”!
Forget what we’re told
before we get too old
show us a garden
that’s bursting into life!
If you look around you, you will see life brimming! I think sometimes we just need to let go and BE (you KNOW I feel that way!) Like the song says, “forget what you’re told” jump in, taste it because NOW is the time and you will never get this moment back.
Love & Peace
Sandy