Here, There be a Writer

Thursday, December 28, 2017

SOOPER SEKRET PROJECT updates!

So, long time, no see, Dear Readers.

Yes, I blame the holidays, but the fault is more in the lack of preparedness on my end. I am finally at a point where I want to DO something. I want to do something important. I want to make something happen. I am making it happen!

I am currently working on a project that I hope I can launch by December 31st, if not then after the New Year. It's a big leap and as of right now still SOOPER SEKRET! But I am still excited to be working on it.

I want to tell you, but, well I kinda like the suspense I'm building up here, so stay tuned for more details.

from MorgueFile

In the meantime...

I have seen a lot of  movies this year, and last year too, so maybe it's time to share a bit about those movies. Here are my top 10 movies from 2017 that I have seen in the theatre, and in no particular order.

1. Coco: Pixar nailed it when they made Coco. A movie that features music, actors, and a true message about finding your place in the world.

2. The Last Jedi: Mark Hamil taking back the role of Luke Skywalker, that and the friggin' adorable creatures, oh and the story is quit fetching too!

3.Thor: Rangorok: Without knowing half of the Marvel cinematic universe, I was surprisingly NOT lost. Two words, Holy Hela!

4. Loving Vincent: this movie is beautiful and the story is an interesting take on the death of Van Gogh.

5. Hidden Figures: history unwrapped and supported. A beautiful telling of the African American women behind NASA.

6. Wonder Woman: that is how you do a superhero movie, a FEMALE superhero movie. The Greek myth geek in me was pleased at the connections here.

7. Blade Runner 2049: this was the BEST space epic set on earth. Not an action movie, but a brilliant movie anyway.

8. Baby Driver: music and stellar shooting Also, Jamie Fox plays a phenomenal asshole,

9. Beauty and the Beast: with just enough new stuff to make it interesting and keeping with the feel of the original. Lefou,  Gaston, and Kevin Kline as Maurice are the strong favourites.

10. Wonder: not  just a sappy and tear jerker about bullying, but a fantastic look at how a whole family and friends are affected.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Review With Me: Murder League of the Justice Express

Murder on the Orient Express



I am an avid Agatha Christie fan. I have read about a dozen Hercule Poirot novels. He is my favourite of the Christie characters. There is something about the short little Belgian detective and little grey cells, what he calls his mental processes. He is a quirky little man with a mustache from here to forever who has the ability to solve crimes that seem to be unsolvable to others, like things just so, and tends to butt in where you think he doesn't belong.

Christie, herself, had ridden the Orient Express, and there were two cases where the train had been trapped, which led to Christie's inspiration. Of course the Armstrong case in the story/movie was inspired by Charles Lindbergh's baby being kidnapped and murdered in 1932. The Orient Express definitely proved to be a fertile story to be inspired by.

Kenneth Branagh plays Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective who  is riding the Orient Express on route to the Armstrong case. He is tired and in desperate need of a vacation, but then murder happens. As time passes, Poirot finds out just how deep the Armstrong case goes and the lies leading to murder.

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead (maybe)!* 

We are introduced to the other passengers a governess, a doctor, a professor, a princess and her servant, an art dealer, his employee, and his butler, a woman nurse, a salesman, the Contessa and her husband the Count, a widow, the host, the conductor, and finally the detective.

The best part about this movie/novel, is that you don't really know what is going to happen, and at times even Poirot is frustrated with the case and the lack of cooperation of his fellow passengers. So, you as the audience is just as lost as the passengers, but then you start to realize that maybe someone is not all that honest.

This movie is beautifully shot, from down upon the actors, from the outside of the train, looking into the cars, at dinner, in the hallway, giving you the feel of containment and is creepy at times. The train is snowbound on a mountain pass, just before a tunnel, so they are as isolated as you can get, even when the railroad crew arrive to dig the train out. What struck me as cinematographic genius is that at every point you feel just and closed off, secluded, and stuck as the passengers.

As for the acting, well, it is an all star cast, featuring Michelle Pfeiffer, Derek Jacobi, Willem Defoe, Dame Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, and Leslie Odom Jr. Each one brings something to the movie. I was most impressed with Branagh, who while he changed up Poirot character, I felt that brought something different to the character.  Poirot wasn't frail, but he wasn't a master of badassery. Branagh gave Poirot a bit up fisticuffs and liveliness that I think makes him more interesting to a modern audience. I have discuss this with fellow Christie fans, and so far it isn't always in agreement, but when you adapt a movie, sometimes changes happen. Yes, there are those who will not like a Poirot who can chase after the assistant-who is trying to hide evidence of his transgressions-and get into a fist fight with him. But, I also don't see that as a bad thing, it made Poirot more relevant, and the movie more entertaining.

Also, something to consider, the book in question is much drier than the movie, so often director and screenwriters will change thing up to make a movie more engaging.

Favourite characters include Mrs. Hubbard (Pfeiffer), Dr. Arbuthnot (Odom), Hector MacQueen (Gad), , and Miss Mary Debenham (Ridley), all of whom are very convincing as their characters, whether caught is a lie, and refusal to answer Poirot's questions. For an ensemble movie, it is important to be able to have good working chemistry and this cast is stellar in their believable is hiding the truth about their identity (the Contessa), their real names (the Princess and the Widow), or their profession (the professor).

*Warning: Spoilers!* 

I will say this, I was glad that Johnny Depp was regulated to the role of body. While he is talented, ts movie is about the other characters and the movie is stronger because of it. And as a movie where ALL of the cast (except Poirot) is the murderer, it is important to have a strong cast.

Orient Express is a different mystery, because all of the characters are tied to the death of one man who killed one little girl. Yeah, that's a MAJOR SPOILER, but damn if it isn't ingenious of Christie to write a mystery that involves everyone as a suspect, and actually follow through with their guilt.

I very much recommend this movie for the mystery fan, Agatha Christie fan, or a fan of any of the actors in this movie.

~~~~~~~~

Justice League




Having little knowledge of the DC Universe I had little prior knowledge to judge the following movie. I am rating Justice League the movie under the comprehension of the story, the acting quality, and the entertainment factor.

First off, I don't generally like Ben Affleck, and I never saw Batman Vs. Superman, so I am just reviewing Affleck as Batman for this movie. Affleck makes Bruce feel real, yes a real douchebag, but real. Someone who is haunted by his past, but also someone who is committed to doing the right thing.

Gal Gadot, as Diane Prince, well I was impressed with the Wonder Woman movie. She gave life to a beloved character and she took no shit in battle or in love. She was definitely a voice of reason in Justice League, but that is what it needed, someone who cares and will tell Bruce Wayne he is making a mistake. She is exotic and brave, but also afraid. That is something the struck me as different i Justice League, every single character (hero) is broken and afraid, yet their find a way to break away from their fears to fight Steppenwolf.

Okay, Steppenwolf, yeah, him, remember the big horny guy? I knew NOTHING about this character, and yet he was refreshing. I don't even know why. A big, bad guy, who wants to take over the world, the universe with the Mother Boxes. Okay, that was weird, the Mother Boxes/Unity? Can someone explain that one to me, please?

Every single superhero in Justice League (the movie) is broken and flawed, I love that, and that drove the story along and kept me interested in what was going to happen next. There was believably and growth to the character. Diane Prince is my favourite, but Arthur Curry, Aquaman is a close second.

One thing I wish that they had explain more, or at least gave more for the actors to work for the Flash and Aquaman, because they really spent a lot of time of Batman/Bruce Wayne, Wonder Woman/Diana Prince. Cyborg was detailed, but there were times where I think he could have been brought forward more. It didn't bother me that Superman wasn't fully in the movie, the plot didn't need him there until the end.

It is a solid movie, even though I know the critic have been hard on it, and the change in director, the re-shoots, and multiple writers were sometimes obvious. It was bad when I noticed Batman's scruff was in one shot and then not in the next, and then is switch back.

I like the combination of mythologies blended together, from Amazons (Greek) to Atlantians, spaceman (Superman) to mutants (The Flash and Cyborg). It reminds me of other books that combine and re-write mythologies. If you are curious, well, go and read The Chronicles of the Imaginaium Geographica by James A. Owen.

I recommend Justice League to anyone who like a good action movie. To the die hard fans to have rejected, I am sorry it doesn't fit with your universe, but I think it is still a strong. And as I said at the top of this review, maybe it is because I  know less of the DC Universe, but I still stand by everything I said before.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Halloween in School and Beyond

There are a lot of things about Halloween that make it a fun time of year. Most of it stems from Halloween traditions that I took part in in school. so, Dear Readers, let's take a trip down the Halloween lane...

I remember the joys of getting lots of candy that I cold horde over like a mini chocolate dragon. Or watching the spooky movies, of course back then the spookiest thing I watched was Halloween, which isn't that scary or Charlie Brown. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching it every Halloween. There were the school Halloween parties and parade that made school a little less boring and a lot cooler when you could dress as Starlite (from Rainbow Brite) and eat cupcakes and candy all day, and there was no homework, usually.

I grew up in the era of the plastic costume. An idea that someone thought was brilliant and cheap with a plastic suit or dress (depending on the costume) and a plastic mask that was often hard to see through and VERY hot to wear for long periods. I don't have any pictures that survives of the costumes I wore in the time period, but here are a few that I scrounged from the internet.

I do remember wearing the She-Ra one, and I had the Starlite one year, and even needed patching in the arse end due to the fact that if you sat down too roughly, well, you ran the risk of blowing out your arse end.

She-Ra Princess of Plastic from 

There was also the free trick or treat bags the were given out by the schools a few days before Halloween. I remember that these bags usually had a few goodies tuck inside of the bag, like coupons for a free small French Fries or ice-cream cone from the local McDonald's, some reflective tape, maybe some stickers. Often the bags come from restaurant chains or local government.



















Halloween in school also meant that you had to watch the safety videos, and there were two that circulated throughout the schools. The first one is the one I am most familiar with is this one. The best part is the riff that Horriffic Productions put out a few years ago, and they have become a staple of my yearly Halloween traditions. Those riff can be purchased at Rifftrax. They also riff various horror and spooky movies from Tremors to IT and Children of the Corn, all of which are worthy recipients to the riffing. Check them out! 


Favourites
Halloween Special - It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
Movie: Halloween 1 and 2 (it's like one looooong movie)
Scary Movie: The Haunting the original with Julie Harris.
Food: a good pumpkin muffin or homemade pumpkin pie.
Candy: anything chocolate.
Decoration: a pumpkin and orange lights.


My entryway lights...SPOOOOOKY!
My Pumpkin before going under the knife!
What do you like about Halloween, Dear Readers? Dislike?

I love getting to dress up as someone, or thing else.

I love any excuse to watch spooky scary stuff, even if I jump and get scared.

Tell me about some of your favourite traditions from both school and beyond....


Me as Cecil Palmer from Welcome to Night Vale with Khoshekh

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 31 - Halloween (Hallow's Eve)

Word Prompts: mysteriously random, foggy night, crimson, midnight, shadow, smoke, raven,
scarlet, umber, rust

Random Word Generator: pink, identical, herald, academic, pork, stage

Maena from MorgueFile

Hallow's Eve

It's all academic,
they say--
foggy night,
mysterious,
random shadows, 
but how do you know about the spooks
and 
spirits that haunt Halloween night?

Give me shadows,
a quiet walk through a silent neighbourhood,
filled with pumpkins
and children's laughter,
and then suddenly 
you heard the music,
no one is around--
or are they?

Footsteps following,
hollow sounding on the concret pavement,
a glance back,
fearful--
you know the feeling,
sure of the knife wielding
pyschopath
behind the hedges,
looking for his sister?

Darken house,
crimson light
coming from behind closed doors
and humming within the walls--
is this a nightmare
or just a fantasy created in my head?

Is this at all real,
or maybe just the result of
late night horror movie showcase.

Monday, October 30, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 30 - Forbidden (Rebel Desires)

Word Prompts: forbidden, denied, banned, rebel, conform

laryssamw from MorgueFile


Rebel Desires

That which is denied
only makes it more desirous,
to be a rebel within
the standards dished out by others.

Only makes it more desirous
to want to cheat the death of
the standards dished out by others,
drive faster, jump from planes.

To want to cheat the death of,
or maybe just read banned books,
drive faster, jump from planes,
the risk is worth the scrutiny.

Or maybe just read banned books,
like a piece of forbidden fruit,
the risk is worth the scrutiny
to light the darkness created by fear.

Like a piece of forbidden fruit,
I lap up the juices and rebel,
to light the darkness created by fear,
that is the ultimate response.

I lap up the juices and rebel,
to be a rebel within
to light the darkness created by fear,
That which is denied.

OctPoWriMo - Day 29 - Breathtaking (Dangerous View)

Today's Prompt: Breathtaking

All I can say about this day's prompt is think story time, Dear Readers. I played with images from fairy tales while concocting the premise of the poem, and then built a story around it, as a villanelle.

It helps to write a villanelle if I have a basic story already in my head, Dear Readers. I think i comes from the rhyming, it's much easier the rhyme if you are telling a story. At least for me it is.

Dear Readers, tell me what dangerous views you have seen on your life's adventures, and leave me some love. Enjoy!

FaFulanita from MorgueFile

Dangerous View

A brush with danger
shining ever so bright
with a petulant ardor

that gives you closure
for the gallant errant knight receives--
a brush with danger.

A challenge made fonder
that you must have to write
with a petulant ardor

of a full night of lunar
preparations for a fight,
a brush with danger.

There is none indeed nobler
in justice and of right
with a petulant ardor--

a lover of pleasure
that somehow might
greet a brush with danger
with a petulant ardor.

OctPoWriMo - Day 28 - Belonging (TRIBE)

Word Prompts: Affirmation, Clash, Community, Country, Estranged, Family, Flag,
Home, Team

Poetic Form: Clarity Pyramid

A Clarity Pyramid is a poem consisting of two triplets and a single line (7 lines in all). Usually, this poem is center aligned when displayed.

The first triplet has 1, 2, and 3 syllables. The title of the poem is the one-syllable word of the first triplet, which is displayed in all capital letters. This line is followed by a two-syllable line, and then a three-syllable line, both of which clarify the definition of the poem, or are synonyms for the title.

The second triplet has 5, 6, and 7 syllables. Its design is based around a life event contained within the triplet which helps give a poetic view or outlook on the first line (title).

The last line is 8 syllables, and is in quotations as this line contains a quote that defines the first word (title).

Melodi2 from MorgueFile

Tribe

TRIBE
unit
family

in what passes for
we know of love and trust
"arranged unconventionally".

This is a different style of poem for me to write, and while it wasn't difficult with this day's topic, I still had trouble find the right words. This poem mean a lot to me on a very personal level, Dear Readers, and not one that people are likely to guess. I leave you with the image I've created of happy bonds of a tribe. 

Mine is those closest to my heart, and I consider myself part of various tribes. The most important are the theatre and writer tribes with which I share a common love of theatre and writing. There is also my family tribe (which isn't always blood related), my blood tribe (family) of course, and other smaller or specific tribes (fandoms and clubs) like Whovians and Desert Listeners (Night Vale). If you think about it, Dear Reader, there are so many way you can sort yourself into tribes.

How you view your tribe?  Who is included? What do you stand for; gender, sexuality, similar interests, etc?

Leave me some love and a comment below. Enjoy!

Friday, October 27, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 27 - Haiku (Into Room Walking)

Word Prompts: Memories, Petals, Sweet, Springtime, Yesterday, Scents, Nature Love

Poetic Form: Haiku

The haiku is one that is generally about nature. It's a three lined poem that has a  5-7-5 form (five syllables, seven syllables,  five syllables). A classic haiku also has a seasonal reference and has focuses on  two different, but related image or ideas.

from MorgueFile

Into room walking

Into room walking--
wall of olfactory
scents make you smile.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 26 - Visual Poetry (Visual Noise)

Writing Prompt: Which one sounds, looks, feels like your mind at least some of the  time?


Poetic Form: Cascade.
      *a/b/c, d/e/A, f/g/B, h/i/C

Piotr Siedlecki from Public Domain Pictures

Visual Noise

Like it's aural partner,
the mental white noise
filling in the spaces between.

When it's hard to sleep,
or maybe all you can do
like it's aural partner

a painted lullaby for the masses--
your mind will create a picture of
the mental white noise.

Will it sail you of to sleep
or detain you on sleepless shores,
filling the spaces in between

of dragons and pirates,
sometimes, you know very well
When it's hard to sleep

and you lay upon your bed, 
questing for white mental bliss
or maybe all you can do

to channel all those thoughts
into a wall that will block it out
like it's aural partner.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 25 - Satisfaction (Ode to Satisfy)

The Prompt: In what ways to you taste satisfaction?

Word Prompts: taste, satisfaction, food, sample, accomplishment

Poetic Form: Perhaps an Ode would be appropriate.


Ode to Satisfy

With accomplishment
comes the satisfaction--
tasting,
eager,
joyous,
ravishing
to eye 
and tongue.

Desire,
that burns within
stomachs
and hearts,
a longing for something 
not currently possessed.

Sweet to taste,
like ambrosia,
maybe honey
or sucrose,
if never having tasted ambrosia;
can be sour too,
in the wrong doses.

Either way,
it can be addiciting,
like heroin,
deadly or life saving,
how will you satisfy yours?

Poem says it all, Dear Readers. I do have a question about writing poetry. Do you just write and let it be, or do you write and revise your poems until they sound right? I realized that I often write a poem and only revise (tinker) spelling, maybe some grammar work as necessary, and only  sometimes include actual revisions. Let me know how often to revise a poem after you write it. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 24 - Blitz (Emotional Blitz)

Writing Prompts: sexuality, books, music, nature, poetry


Poetic Form: Blitz Poem

GaborfromHungry form MorgueFile

Emotional Blitz

read me a story
read my poetry
poetry is books
poetry will sing
sing this line
sing the emotion
emotion makes you cry 
emotion is life
life is all around
life is sunshine
sunshine rises
sunshine to brighten
brighten my mood
brighten the sky
sky is blue 
sky is cloudy
cloudy nature
cloudy mood
mood is music
mood is everything
everything is signal
everything in time
time can be wasted
time can be earned
earned a moment
earned a dollar
dollar for a candy bar
dollar for your thoughts
thoughts are incomplete
thoughts are you
you can only
you are real
real is the sunlight 
real is the blood
blood pulses through
blood sustains
sustains my soul
sustains my hunger
hunger for the words 
hunger for the love
love me when
love for you
you are sexuality
you can truly be
be aware of the
be aware of me
me I am
me I love
am
love.

Monday, October 23, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 23 Iris and Arke (Arke's Bow)

Writing Prompt: Iris and Arke, the rainbow sisters, both are messengers of the gods. Arke was the muted second rainbow who betrayed her sister and became the messenger of the Titans in the battle of the gods. She was banished to Tartarus after the Zeus and the others gods won.

Think about messengers, and even use the story of Iris and Arke if you want. How do you think those sisters were feeling? What really made Arke leave? What was the message?

Poetic Form: Nonet

Arke's Bow 

We speak in colours arching skyward
and I can feel over shadowed
when my sister speaks in bow--
the language of our kind.
No matter how loud
I try to speak,
I'm muted--
colours,
blur.

cheriedurbin from MorgueFile

OctPoWriMo - Day 22 - Purposeful Passion (Once Upon a Journey)

Writing Prompts: Passion, Bliss, Journey, Compass, Purpose, Winding road, Crooked path


Once Upon a Journey

Upon the road,
you trod.
Upon the road,
you travel.
A journey is worth a thousand
steps,
or maybe the road not taken--
classic cliques
a gift from poets 
and
wise men.

I prefer to travel
where my bliss takes me,
no compass can direct me,
nor winding roads 
and crooked paths elicit
a lost way.
Purpose when true,
ignites passion
and that is the
only thing I will need.

GaborfromHungry from MorgueFile
What was your favourite journey, Dear Readers? Mine was the tine I went to New Orleans for the weekend (when I lived in Dallas, TX), or maybe when I just went to Rochester with my friend, Kaylara, or even when I first met my mentor, James A. Owen in person at Faerie-Con. What were your favourite journey's to travel, adventures to be had. Leave me a comment below , as always. Enjoy!

Saturday, October 21, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 21 - Nothing Remains the Same (Daily Challenge)

Word Prompt: Change, Transformation, Balance, Stagnation, Adapt, Comfort zone, Complacency, Nostalgia


Poetic Form: Abecedarian (Alphabet Poem)

Daily Challenge

Advantage none, and
before you think
consider this,
desire and 
effort
for those who want it--
get to work.

Hardly anything worthwhile
is easy.
Just remember that,
kindly and with
love that
mileage varies.

Nor should you forget this,
only you stand in your way.

Persevere,
quite simply is the
return to the point of beginning and
start again; if 
there's a course correction,
under the guise that you planned it that way.

Very likely that you did,
when you stop to think
e-actly where you are,
you can do this with 
zero true failure.

OctPoWriMo - Day 20 - Desires (Anatomy of a Kiss)

A day behind, but the topic is worth it. I don't regret anything, because a kiss is worth it.


Word Prompts: first love/first kiss/first time, hunger/thirst, craving, yearning, wanting

Anatomy of a Kiss

Somewhere between 
hunger
and 
thirst,
love is like that,
never satisfied
with a kiss
that'll last for less than thirty seconds,
but feel like a million and one years.

Tasting like, 
honeysuckle,
cinnamon,
or raspberries,
maybe even cheesecake.
I never want to give it up.

A joyous outburst,
that won't be contained,
and why would you want it,
when flying is so much more.
Above the trees,
the clouds,
the stratosphere.

Breathing in,
breathing out,
I don't even care,
wet on warm,
breathe into me,
out of me--
one half of a whole.

Clarita from MorgueFile

Thursday, October 19, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 19 - Fox (Crafty Trickster)

Simply put, a play on the fox fables of Aesop, Dear Readers. Enjoy!

Word Prompts: playful, red, cunning, crafty, creative

Poetic Form: Florette
Rhyme scheme: a,a,b,a
Meter: 8,8,8,12
Fourth line requirement of internal (b) rhyme scheme, on syllable 8.

Fox and the Grapes - Aesop Fables


Fox and the Crow
Fox and the Bear and Lion
Crafty Trickster

Flash of red upon green fields
Many cunning ways it wields
bags of tricks taken from fables--
stories we have read from childhood hymnal shields.





Wednesday, October 18, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 18 - Everyone Went On Eating (Always Eating)

Writing Prompt: everyone went on eating

Poetic Form: palindrome


from MorgueFile


Always Eating

Food,
for dinnertime
always, talking though not eating.
Hungry as ever,
not listening,
filling mouths wide.

Crunch!

Wide mouths filling,
listening not
ever as hungry,
eating not talking though, always.
Dinnertime for
Food.


Tuesday, October 17, 2017

OctPoWri Mo - Day 17 - The Dragon Chose... (Minimal Dream)

The Prompt

Here's my challenge to you: Choose 50 words. Write a poem using only those words, repeating and rhyming as you see fit. You can use the words as many times as you like, but limit yourself to just the 50 words.

Not particularly please with this poem, Dear Readers. I had wanted to play with rhyme, but there didn't seem to be time. (Oh, hahaha, Dear Muse!) Taking the feel and ambiance of the fairy tale, I free versed it. There is some potential there, but it's not what I was aiming for.

I used more than 50 words and only repeated one line three times, but still I feel there is something in this poem to maybe return to after OctPoWriMo and review it.

I would love input of this one, Readers. Do you think it works? Favourite parts? Weakest part? Leave me some love in the comments below. Enjoy!

Word Prompts: And the dragon chose, fairy tale, fantasy, minimalism, fiction


from MorgueFile
Minimal Dream

And the dragon chose
a tasty reminder-- 
always take 
the quixotic route 
to adventure,
as you will find yourself 
lost
       in 
                       whimsy,
eating Turkish Delites
and
when you can no longer stand--
the dragon chose,
to ask you to the prom
dancing in times
and in musical rhyme.

Dream-like
and shining.
Travel by umbrella,
on breezes that taste of
lemon and meringue,
so soft and fluffy
only to arrive at your destination--
you'll never guess where...

...upon your bed,
laughing as the Dragon chose
for you to
eat your pillow
as you would eat a
Turkish Delite.

Monday, October 16, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 16 - Fears (When You're Chased...)

Writing Prompt: Fears

I could have taken this is a bunch of directions, but sometimes with fears you need some humour to temper the emotions. I remember back as a child, I was most afraid of things that I didn't know what they were, who a person was (what their name was), and feeling lost. If you take that and think about asking your fear (if they were people) what their name is/was, maybe your would find them less scary.

Also, there was this bit from the MTV show "The Maxx" that plays with this idea. Having Maxx's fears named Dave. So, I wrote a haiku about that. If you are curious to see what I am talking about, here's the clip I used.

Enjoy!


When you're chased by fears,
Remember to ask their names.
Maybe, they're called Dave.

Sorry, I have to amend this poem, per request of Jesi.

When you're chased by fears,
Remember to ask their names.
Maybe, they're called Bob.

from MorgueFile
What are some ways you deal with your fears, Dear Readers? Leave me a comment below.


Sunday, October 15, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 15 - Vomit (Unsought Adventure)

What a topic! Well I am not one to pass up a topic, form, style for OctPoWriMo. Okay maybe Sestinas, but I haven't given up on this year's attempt.

Word Prompt: Vomit, Vomiting

Poetic Prompt: Narrative Poetry

Unsought Adventure

One moment--
and feel that nothing is permanent,
dream-like,
surreal.

When I wake up,
I can't feel my feet
and my head is spinning.
I cannot move fast enough
through the quagmire,
like some strange journey 
through the Swamps of Sadness...

(I hope you get the reference.) 

...to the Ivory Tower 
and sought after release.

(I didn't think this reference would work so well.)

Wind blowing.
hurricane levels of fear
and gravity in reverse,
and knowing it didn't taste that way the first time,
but then,
maybe it doesn't matter.
In that moment,
the dragon is slayed,
the nothing is vanquished,
and the floor is so cold
that all you want is to sleep.

Note: Don't let me write about vomit again, Tamara, please, this poem is far to beautiful for something so gross.

OctPoWriMo - Day 14 - Movement (A Good Reminder)

I don't write political poetry, Dear Readers, but there is something I remind myself of on a weekly basis. Stay angry. Today's poem is just that, a reminder, whether for those living in these times, and also a time capsule for the future to know how we survived these times.

I also appreciate opinions and you are welcome to leave them in the comments below. I want to know what you think, and it is okay. I accept opinions of all sorts, just remember to be nice when you post, even if you are angry. And it is possible to be so.

Enjoy!

Word Prompts: Ignite, Resist, Remind, Encourage, Create, Incite

Writing Prompt: Movement (Poetic Prompt - Cherita [I'm am in love with this form])


from MorgueFile

A good reminder to always stay angry

when watching the news in the year 2017
resisting the complacency they feed us

 whether on Twitter or Fox News--
igniting passions or ire, 
sometimes it is the same thing.

OctPoWriMo - Day 13 - Artist/Painting (Loving the Night)

Artists, Painters, Vincent Van Gogh, very few artist  will bring me to tears, make me gasp, and truly make me glad to be able to appreciate art. Vincent is the artist that made me realize that art, specifically paintings arr just as much of an escape as books or music. His work also reminded me that there are other painters that can inspire such emotion as his.

Starry Night. I was introduced to it in 6th grade art class, and a project that I really can't remember, except  that we made art. But, there it was, swirls of paint in a sea of blue. I was struck by it's power. That day we also listened to a song by Don Mclean  (Vincent) that also made me see the power that Vincent had over people, even though he never felt he had control over his own life. His paintings are wonderful. They show an invisible world that only Vincent knew, a sad and mysterious world, but yet so full of beauty and possibly even love (okay, and probably some alcohol induced paintings, but you know, what artist wasn't inspired by an outside substance?). And then there was the episode of Doctor Who,  "Vincent and the Doctor", yeah, all the feelings.

Note: Susan Werner did an amazing cover of Vincent that out does Don Mclean's version.



Vincent meets Lucy
There is even a movie, "Loving Vincent", that I am determined to see, because it is made of animated oil paintings, CGI, and live action.

Yeah, I love Vincent! I even named my stuffed turkey vulture, Vincent. I have not shame. :-)


Word Prompts: painting

from wikipedia

Loving the Night

Remember seeing the sworls of paint,
reminding me of a child's finger painting
with blobs of yellow 
swimming in a sea of blue.

Peaceful,
and satisfying,
the teacher explained,
practicing art 
within the prescribed time.

Listening to songs,
describing 
the dark,
sadness
of the night sky
and the lonely man
who saw a beauty
that no one could understand,
who painted 
his sadness to canvas.

There were sunflowers,
fields,
and cafes,
churches too,
maybe there really was
a monster that followed him.
After a distant story of 
a mad man visiting
the painter,
realization that those monsters,
are only captured
when...

...years later
and a million glances,
smiling at the sworls,
at the sadness
of the man
who translated the invisible
into something real.

Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum
Church at Auvers (1890)




















Dear Readers, what is your favourite painting or sculpture? Favourite artsit? What art inspires you to paint, write, or makes you feel all the feels? Drop me a comment below. Enjoy!!

Friday, October 13, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 12 - (A Drive One Day)

I tried to write a sestina, Dear Readers, I tried. Alas, the inspiration that I had would not channel through this form. Every time I try, every time, well, I may get 1 good stanza, and then it just sort of falls apart. I wrote one once, a sestina, that is. It was terrible. I have mentioned it before on this blog, I won't bore you with it now. A sestina, while it is a very detailed form is just not for me. I would rather write a million sonnets or blitz poems, hell even a shape poem, just not a sestina. I'm sorry, Beverly! I tried. 

What poetic forms just don't work for you? Do you know why? What are your favourite poetic forms to write in? If  you not a poet, what do you hate to write, what do you love? Leave me a comment below. Enjoy! 

So, I the mean time, Dear Readers, I will present the poem I wrote out of the first stanza of the failed sestina.

Word prompts: joy, clouds, music, rocket, coffee, imagine


A Drive One Day (of Many) 

Should be relaxing,
not filled with 
pumping music, 
cursing,
and questioning all of existence--
achieving the desire 
to work
to be productive
to feel alive,
but somewhere between coffee
and the wispy foggy clouds,
I am here,
sitting,
floating,
extremely fast over the asphalt,
pulsating rhythms
and blood through my veins,
questioning always,
why the road 
looks more like a black sea
than pavement.

from MorgueFile

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

OctPoWriMo - Day 11 - Dancing with Your Muse (Feel the Rhythm)

Inspired by Morgan Dragonwillow's dance post on the OctPoWriMo site; and a friend of mine's long blonde hair that has pale pink tips from when she had bright pink hair. It reminds me of a golden waterfall, especially when she curls it. Her name's Kaylara, but I call her Birch, and so I dedicate this poem to her.

Writing Prompt: dancing with your muse

Poetic Form: pantoum


Feel the Rhythm

Feel the rhythm of the earth,
a loamy mass, pulsing life.
It can only get better
if you simply remove your shoes.

A loamy mass, pulsing life,
beating out a merry tune
if you simply remove your shoes,
you can tap along in time.

Beating out a merry tune
to maybe pass the afternoon,
you can tap along in time
gyrating all the while.

To maybe pass the afternoon,
in dance with your partner fair
gyrating all the while,
an hommage to the Muses Nine, you see.

In a dance with your partner fair,
she spins a wild abandon step
an hommage to the Muses Nine, you see
is where comes the poetry.

She spins a wild abandon step
is where comes the poetry
in a dance with your partner fair--
an hommage to the Muses Nine, you see.

for MorgueFile