[the Writing of Kuypers]    [JanetKuypers.com]    [Bio]    [Poems]    [Prose]

Learning More It is amazing how I learn more, how I take it all in How I think I am just learning little random pieces of information And that is when I find out that all of the pieces relate That there is meaning to almost anything I see or do I remember so much about you, and I know there is So much you have taught me How to understand the word of my elders Mom has taught me to take it all in stride She has taught me how to manage it all and how to do that With grace I know that you were the foundation to everything she maintained You were stern for a reason, and this was how You kept everything in line without having to raise your voice to me Because I just knew You were making all the details possible by working so hard Mom knew this, and gave you your space for it, and all the children Thank you, and I thank you, because mom and you are what made us us Life would never be the same without your influense Without you making it all possible My brother told me we were all creative in this family I did not see how, not for all of us, I did not fit the pieces together And he laid out the details this way for me Mom painted, Ed was an architect, Bob used construction to build from scratch, Lorelei was an art tacher, Sandy got her art out through crafts, And I was a graphic artist and a photographer and a writer Before he told me that you took my grandfather’s business Kept it alive, kept it thriving, I then remembered one more thing Once I was looking in the little kitchen and found a box Of old black and white photographs, and I didn’t know where they came from I asked you, you used to be a photographer, that you Developed these pictures, that you took pictures When you were in high school, this was the way you could be creative It gave me my own snapshot of you, it helped me realize These are the things we do to keep ourselves alive and It gave me one memory of you this was something I learned about you through chance, first hand This was how I learned more about you, and me And I thank you for that There have been so many changes that I have gone through in my life So many things I could not explain Learning about you, getting these tiny glimpses It is as if I have taken these snapshots of your life Now I can slowly piece this all together to make the picture complete I know that life is not easy and that it all takes work Your life has been difficult at times, your life has been rich as well Your life has also made me rich, rich from you, from being a part of your life When people compliment me, tell me that I am smart or talented I know where the pieces came from that have made me whole That have given this to me And I thank you for that Copyright Janet Kuypers. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission.

Watch this YouTube video (5:19 studio session “etc.” book reading for audio CD 08/14/07

Order this iTunes track: from the poetry audio CDetc. ...Or order the entire CD set from iTunes CD:

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Learning More live 9/17/15 at Story Teller Night at Roots Room in Chicago (from a Canon fs200 camera)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Learning More live 9/17/15 at Story Teller Night at Roots Room in Chicago (filmed with a Canon Power Shot)