Ode to the Blogosphere

Blog Love – Zendala by Cathy Ulrich

Seven a.m.
Sitting at my Mac,
I check email,
click on blog notices.

Peter walks by.
“What’s happening
in the Blogosphere?”
he says.

“Oh, Madame Weebles
just got Freshly Pressed,
Le Clown was featured
on The Daily Post,
Clare went to Edinburgh,
Brigitte came back
from Woodstock,
and LameAdventures
is taking a break.”

“That’s nice,” he says.
Doesn’t know
the details,
but knows it’s
important to me.

Each day starts
with blogging.
More than writing posts,
I read,
like,
comment.
reply.

Sometimes, one comment,
sometimes back and forth.
It takes time
for me and them.

I don’t click “like”
unless I’ve read the post.
And I”d rather go
to their website
to click.
It raises their hits.

I’ll write a poem,
post a quote,
compose an essay.
Then go to my files.
find the right shot,
upload that.

Or create a mandala
on Painter,
trying not
to overload my readers
with too many posts.

I had no clue
how much I’d enjoy a
community of creatives.
Writers,
poets,
artists,
humorists,
explorers
of their inner
and outer
worlds.

Social media?
Yes,
but not like Facebook
and not like Twitter.

Blogging is people
taking the time
to write
or photograph
or paint
their lives,
their loves,
their passions.

It’s people
finding others
who share
these lives,
loves,
passions.

Or, learning
about lives
different
from their own.
My own.

It’s richness
in a
smaller world.
A world
that will never
be the same
for me since
I started my blog.

This poem and mandala are dedicated to all of you who share the blogosphere with me. To those who read and follow me and those who I read and follow. And to those who I have yet to meet. To all of you, thank you for this fabulous ride.

If you’re a blogger, why do you blog? What have you learned about yourself or others as a result of blogging? Is this experience what you thought it would be when you decided to start your blog? If not, how is it different?

Love,

Cathy