A Woeful Awakening

Floundering
with my failure
to heal the sick
and feed the poor,
I walk in morning moonlight
feeling guilty
for disturbing the crickets.


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Long tresses,
short bob,
braided, bunned, barretted,
curled,
crimped,
spiked, straightened,
frosted, and/or colored.

Hours
fussing for the one unique style
result in a look-alike line
standing at a bus stop
in the rain.


Written as part of B.S. Poets/Poet Share, 8/23/13, Prompt Number Six.  

Rules? 
1. Write a short poem or vignette about the Gif or image. 
2. Link back to Poet Share/B.S. Poets from your post. 
3. Sign up in the Mr. Linky list, linking directly to your post, AFTER you've posted. 
4. Read the other pieces and leave a comment after linking.

As we support and encourage others, we support and encourage ourselves. 


Music Monday - Song Nine: Amerantropoid - Dead End Dub Metal by +Deafboy Deft

To be -- in but not of... 

Operating under self-imposed
sensory deprivation of all
but the very tips of one's fingers,
the masses fold
into the convenience of consumerism
staying within the safety
of technological advancement--
the secure separation
from direct contact with others,
with nature,
and with oneself.

When waters rise,
walls crumble,
and guns fire--
when even the most processed of foods
become scarce,
who will step forward and
out into the rain
leaving behind
those who will simply stare
slack jawed
at a blinking cursor?


To hear the prompt go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzE4FNy_Lrg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Random Wisdom: Focus

You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~Mark Twain 


The Inaccessible Enclave

You can't get there from here.

The island,
surrounded by deep dark turbulent water
filled with denizens of doubt
and topped with white capped waves of worry,
is close enough to see
but much too far to touch.

The concrete certainty of tactile experience eludes;
leaving one to wonder if what is only envisioned
is ever truly attainable.


Written as part of B.S. Poets/Poet Share, 8/17/13, Prompt Number Five

Rules?
1. Write a short poem or vignette about the Gif or image.
2. Link back to Poet Share/B.S. Poets from your post.
3. Sign up in the Mr. Linky list, linking directly to your post, AFTER you've posted.
4. Read the other pieces and leave a comment after linking.

As we support and encourage others, we support and encourage ourselves.


Fantasy in a Fool's Paradise

Crawling between the gilded pages
of a once upon a time,
she waits among the wildflowers
wishing to be whisked away
by the battle-worn knight
from a yesteryear that never was.

Shire horses and whitetail deer
calmly roam her bucolic dream scape
as witches brew infernal nightmares
beyond the shadowed glade--
conspiring to cast the fated bolt
to jolt her back into reality.


Written as part of B.S. Poets/Poet Share, 8/10/13, Prompt Number Four

Rules?
1. Write a short poem or vignette about the Gif or image.
2. Link back to Poet Share/B.S. Poets from your post.
3. Sign up in the Mr. Linky list, linking directly to your post, AFTER you've posted.
4. Read the other pieces and leave a comment after linking.

As we support and encourage others, we support and encourage ourselves.


Music Monday-Song Eight: Bitbot by +Steve Taylor

Fleeting Loveliness 

Summer breezes blow
late-blooming blossoms
from their branches.

They fall
in random pirouettes,
gracefully alighting on the water
only to be gently pelted
by a quiet rain.

Currents pull and tug
in swiftly changing channels
all leading down
into a clear abyss of deeper depths.

Beautifully battered,
the flowers swirl
and settle in the silt,
letting go of life
in an unspoken Bashō haiku.


To hear the prompt go to: https://soundcloud.com/zenity-st/bitbot


Random Wisdom: Kindness quote

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. 
~Lao Tzu 


Music Monday-Song Seven: Somewhere - Mark Ehrenfried (Original Composition)

Escape Route 

Car doors close quietly
with respect
for the early morning hour.

Wheels roll slowly along
silent streets
but once on open road
they sing,
rejoicing with the wind whistling
through the wound-down windows.

The sun still sleeps
as shimmering stars
guide the way to freedom.


To hear the prompt: http://goo.gl/6bBGwF


Random Wisdom: Silence

“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” ~ Elbert Hubbard


Marking Books: The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman

Reading aloud to Greg, writing poetry and working to keep a roof over our heads doesn't really leave me much time to read for myself... but I do, no matter how long it takes me to get through a book. The Bones of Avalon is one such novel that I believe has taken me over five months to read through absolutely no fault of Mr. Rickman's.

While not for the faint of heart or for what I term "bubble gum" reading, The Bones of Avalon offers a magical and, at times disgustingly, realistic dive into 1560's Elizabethan England. The use of just enough Elizabethan speech helps to guide the reader back in time without confounding the "modern" mind and gives the story an overall sense of authenticity. As one may come to expect from Phil Rickman, a wide range of characters to both adore and abhor are introduced through a mist of mystery, plot twists and treachery at the highest levels.

At the same time I found myself affected by the inner and outer turmoils of Dr. John Dee, I grew especially fond of a rather minor character, a very colorful "maggot" by the name of Joan Tyrre and I was left curious to know more about her. Mr. Rickman, as always, was kind enough to include notes and credits at the end of the book to clear the path between fact and fiction and, with his much appreciated source citing, I am able and eager to read more on Mistress Tyrre's account.

I guess that is the hook with which Phil Rickman has successfully snagged me -- he has such a wonderful way of cultivating existing truth and legend into a beautifully dangerous garden of imagination that once I've finished enjoying the fruit, I wish to dig deeper to explore the very seeds for myself.

Yet another tantalizing tale from "across the pond," The Bones of Avalon was well worth the long read and has left me wondering when I can pencil the second Dr. Dee novel, The Heresy of Dr Dee, into my schedule.


Norn's Distraction

Drawing water from the well
to care for the Yggdrasill tree,
she spies the bubbles of the lives
that only she can see.

She watches as the lovers dance
and as harsh wars unfold;
she sees the quests of those who wish
for nothing but for gold.

Slowly, she pulls the strands of hair
to weave the twine of fate
for they'll not know of her idle folly
until it is much too late.


Written as part of B.S. Poets/Poet Share, 8/3/13, Prompt Number Three.

Rules?
1. Write a short poem or vignette about the Gif or image.
2. Link back to Poet Share/B.S. Poets from your post.
3. Sign up in the Mr. Linky list, linking directly to your post, AFTER you've posted.
4. Read the other pieces and leave a comment after linking.

As we support and encourage others, we support and encourage ourselves.


Back in Black (Print that is...)

I am very happy to announce that my poem, "A Memory of Madrid" has been selected to be one of the works included in the newly released anthology Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art (Ain't Got No Press, 2013). The collection features 87 poets from around the globe, including the Nobel Prize winning poet Wislawa Szymborska (click here for the complete list of contributors).

To make an already exciting celebration that much more thrilling, there is (dare I say it) a "movement" to bring Ekphrastia Gone Wild to the attention of every 9th and 10th Grade English teacher in the United States. With the new Common Core Educational Standard being adopted by schools all over the country, there is one requiring 9th and 10th graders to examine a poem alongside a work of art that inspired it and I personally feel (no bias here, mind you) Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art would fit the bill quite nicely (see: English Language Arts Standards » Grade 9-10 » 7 ).The idea that these poems could be included as part of regular course study boggles my mind (in a good way).

If you have any connections to 9th and 10th grade English teachers, English department chairs and/or curriculum developers in your community and would like to help make this anthology an essential resource for their classes, please contact Rick Lupert at Ain't Got No Press (or me, if that is more comfortable for you).

I am honored to be a part of Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art and humbly thank Rick in appreciation of his poetic efforts and vision. Please visit Poetry Superhighway as well as Lupert: It's The Website for more on this extremely talented and hilariously unique poet and editor.

To get your copy of Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art, order directly through the Ain't Got No Press website or from Amazon.com.

And... thank you for all of your support. Without those of you who have believed in me (for quite a few years now), I wouldn't have the confidence to "put it all out there" (and here) in the first place. :)


Music Monday-Double Dip Song Seven-New York Herald Tribune - Martial Solal

Seaside Sonata

Stars wade upon black water
softly swaying with the whisper
of a night surf lullaby
as young lovers mimic
midnight sandpipers
chasing each other beneath the pier
and laughing as the tide ebbs
and flows outside of time.


To hear the prompt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZDF-ZLmGNc&feature=share 


Music Monday-Song Six: Ministry - Faith Collapsing

The Mystic Apes

Driven by the promise of
salvation from the "Self,"
progressive feet pound
in great masses, pushing
toward the outer edges--straining
and grinding and bent
on being the first to grab
the gilded ring.

Group thought forms
in a swarm of shadowed veils--
compliance dressed in
safety blankets and wealth assured
by total transparency.

All the while, three monkeys sit
with hands over eyes,
over ears,
and over mouth.


To listen to the prompt: http://goo.gl/W21eJM 


Random Wisdom: Trusting Oneself Quote

“Self trust is the essence of heroism.”  
~Ralph Waldo Emerson 


Cinquain

A thought
expressed in lines
heavy with emotion,
a short simplistic but heartfelt
poem.


I wrote the cinquain (pronounced: siŋ-kān; or "sing-CANE") using the American Cinquain Form: A poem of five lines... 

Line 1: one stress (usually iambic meter with the first syllable unstressed),  two syllables 
Line 2: two stresses,  four syllables 
Line 3: three stresses, six syllables 
Line 4: four stresses, eight syllables 
Line 5: one stress, two syllables 

Thanks to Bekkie Sanchez for reminding me of the form...


A Promise Kept

  Post-it® Poem from April 30th on a 3x3 note. And that's it for this year! :) Thanks for following along...