What a beautiful quote chosen by Sue Vincent to challenge us this week. I love nature and that of course, includes trees. Methuselah is one of the world’s oldest living organism. This tree has been alive for approx. 4,789 years and still counting! Consider all the changes the world has gone through in that amount of time and yet, this tree is still standing. Methuselah lives on a isolated mountain top in California (USA). I’d love to be in her presence someday.
METHUSELAH
On a desolate mountain top you breathe
Teaching us lessons of survival
Gnarled and twisted you stand your ground
The Earth’s oldest living thing
For four millennia
You’ve observed the world
Your endurance
Your spirit
Inspires
Awe
Photo by Jeremy Bishop
I hope everyone enjoyed the post. Have a lovely Friday and weekend! ❤
Hi, everyone! I hope you’re all coping well with this pandemic and everything else that’s going on. I invite you to come into my world and relax, forget about your problems, even if it’s only for a few minutes. ❤
I’m participating in the Fantasy Challenge July on Instagram. Today is day 10 and we’re supposed to answer what it is about writing fantasy that we love.
One of the things I love about writing fantasy is the creative freedom we’re given as authors. We can let our imaginations go wild! I especially love the world building. To create a whole new world where readers can get lost in, excites me beyond belief. We can also create languages, religions, and even other beings. How fantastic is that?
That being said, I do an enormous amount of research when writing a fantasy, because although it’s all make believe I still like to ground the story in reality. I want my readers to believe, at least while they’re reading. This reminds me of a quote by Tom Clancy.
“The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense.”
Photo by Trevor Cole – Armoy, United Kingdom
Today I’m sharing a fantasy poem. I hope you enjoy it.
Castle Of Poets by Mike Qyinn
The castle is a place where poets dwell, Where each can cast their wondrous spell. From the turrets high to the dungeons deep From each portcullis to the central keep.
Its powerful walls keep foes at bay. They keep us safe from day to day. The knights are brave and fight with zeal. In armored suits and swords of steel…
The poets live as all men should. Side by side in brotherhood. The magic of rhyme is all they seek From modern tongue to ancient Greek.
The castle echoes with the sound of joy, And haunting words from man and boy. The maidens fair who live within Pen words of love and carnal sin.
For each one here there is a place To release the soul from its inner space. With words of mirth and sorrow both. And witches spells of evil oath.
The castle grows from day to day And people come from far away. But once inside these walls of grey, They know that they are here to stay.
Their words are all that leave this place, Their souls the castle shall embrace. So in our quest for perfect poem We call this place our sonnets home.
“…Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time…”
It’s the fourth week of the month! Time for a theme prompt at Colleen’s 2020 Weekely Poetry Challenge. Pat R. from last month’s challenge picked the theme. The theme this week is the quote above taken from A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth.
Photograph by Damir Spanic
LIVE
Great men remind us
do what gives your life purpose
find your life’s passion
Our time on Earth is a gift
Live your life to the fullest
I believe I’ve found the work that gives my life purpose and passion. Writing has become part of what makes me who I am, and I eat, sleep and breathe stories. Seriously, I don’t know what my life would be like or how I would go on without writing.
That being said, I do enjoy other activities like reading, being out in nature, kayaking, drawing, photography, fashion, baking . . . I love spending time with my family and playing with my dog, Scribbles. I have an adventurous spirit and relish traveling to different parts of the world and learning about other cultures, meeting new people and trying things I’ve never tried before.
Photograph by Eirik Skarstein
Wishing everyone a fabulous day! Live your best life!
Hi, everyone! Welcome to my blog. I want to start by saying that I’m almost done going through my editor’s edits and the book is coming along great. I’m also working on the book cover for The Rise of Gadreel. I wanted to share an image of her with you today.
GADREEL
** I’m also a featured guest of Colleen M. Story at her Writing and Wellness Blog. I would appreciate it so much if you would visit her blog, read my author interview and comment and share. Thank you! ❤
I decided to share a lovely poem by one of my favorite poets, Emily Dickinson. In the poem, She Sights a Bird she perfectly evokes the tension of a cat about to pounce.
She sights a Bird—she chuckles— She flattens—then she crawls— She runs without the look of feet— Her eyes increase to Balls—
Her Jaws stir—twitching—hungry— Her Teeth can hardly stand— She leaps, but Robin leaped the first— Ah, Pussy, of the Sand,
The Hopes so juicy ripening— You almost bathed your Tongue— When Bliss disclosed a hundred Toes— And fled with every one—
Thank you for stopping by my blog. Wishing all of you a peaceful, happy, and safe Friday and weekend. ❤
We are only allowed to use the synonyms of these words in our poems.
The Year 2020
Hey twenty-twenty
you’re tough but we are tougher
Hey twenty-twenty
you gave us a pandemic
racism, fires, and now locusts
But mankind still thrives
and there’s still time to mould you
into a good one
We’re a quick-witted species
mysterious in our ways
UPDATE: I’m still working on my edits for The Rise of Gadreel. I’m about halfway through, and it’s going great. I’m also working on the book cover and on the first draft of my next book (a thriller ya’ll!).
Hi, everyone! It’s the fourth week of the month, which means, we get a Theme Prompt! Merril D. Smith, the winner from last month’s challenge selected a quote from Shakespeare’s A Merchant of Venice as this month’s theme. Colleen’s 2020 Weekly Poetry Challenge
This week’s theme is:
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”
I read The Merchant of Venice in high school, and I remember having mixed feelings about it. The Jewish loan shark (okay, moneylender) Shylock horrifed me with his request for a pound of flesh as payment for a loan.
Here’s a rough and short summary of the story: A man named Antonio owned a fleet of merchant ships. One day, a gold-digging friend of his, Bassanio asked him for a loan so that he could pursue a rich woman named Portia. But Antonio’s ships had not come in with his merchandise yet, so he had no money to lend him. Instead, Antonio tells his friend to ask Shylock for the loan promising that he’d pay it back once his ships return. When Bassanio asked Shylock for the loan, instead of charging extremely high rates of interest, as he usually did, the moneylender asked that a pound of Antonio’s flesh be the payment if the loan was not paid within three months.
Three months went by, and Antonio’s ships had not returned. He was told that they were lost at sea. It was time to repay the loan, but Antonio was broke. Shylock had him arrested and demanded his pound of flesh. Bassanio, now married to the heiress Portia, offered her money to pay the loan. However, Shylock held a grudge against Antonio because he considered him competition in the loan business and an anti-Semite (which he was). Shylock insisted he must be allowed to extract a pound of flesh from Antonio as per their contract.
Long story short (too late), Portia, (Bassanio’s rich wife) dressed as a lawyer (?) managed to safe Antonio’s life. She won the case against Shylock by stating that there was no mention of blood in the contract. Therefore, if he could extract a pound of flesh from Antonio without spilling any of his blood he could go ahead and do so, but if he spilled one drop of his blood he would go to jail. Of course, Shylock knew it would be impossible to cut out a pound of flesh from a man without an enormous amount of blood shed.
In the end, Shylock lost his daughter and part of his wealth to another of Antonio’s friends, and was forced to become a Christian (antisemitism). Antonio’s ships came in afterall, and he and his friends lived happily ever after with their spouses. At times, I viewed Shylock as a villain and other times as a victim. Nevertheless, The Merchant of Venice is a story worth reading.
Every 3rd week of the month it’s Photo Prompt time at Colleen’s 2020 Weekly Poetry Challenge. I won the last photo prompt challenge so I had the privilege of choosing this week’s photo. I chose this intriguing and somewhat scary nature photo by Balaji Malliswamy.
Colleen’s words:
Remember, a photo can be a metaphor for your poetry. Think about the mood, the theme, and the color. Think outside of the box. We know there’s a crocodile, but what else is going on here? What do you smell? What do you hear? There’s more here than meets your eye. Surprise me!
There are many movies and books that depict crocodiles as monsters, but they’re simply animals trying to survive in the wild. Here are a few fun crocodile facts:
Crocodiles are reptiles.
The physical characteristics of crocodiles make them good predators.
Crocodiles are fast over short distances.
Crocodiles have the strongest bite of any animal in the world.
The muscles that open crocodiles jaws however are not so powerful, reasonably strong people could hold a crocodiles jaw closed with their bare hands.
Like other reptiles, crocodiles are cold-blooded.
Crocodiles can survive for a long time without food.
Most crocodiles live in fresh water rivers and lakes but some live in salt water.
Crocodiles eat a variety of fish, birds and other animals.
Crocodiles release heat through their mouths rather than through sweat glands.
The saltwater crocodile is the largest species of crocodile.
Some crocodile species can weigh over 1200 kg (2600 lb).
My poem today is about the most dangerous predator on the planet, man.
“I am an evil man. I do not love anyone. I wish harm to everyone and good to myself. I am an egoist. I am not God. I am a beast, a predator.”
From The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky
*
The Stalker
The silent stalker
camps outside your home and waits
Followed you all day
He claims to add balance to
your soul ’cause he’s seen your horns
Photo by Viktor Mogilat
I hope you liked the post! Let me know what you think in the comments below. Enjoy the rest of the day!
My editor informed me this morning that I’ll be getting my manuscript back this afternoon. Yay! I’m happy, excited and a little nervous. Even though she’s kept in touch sending updates every Friday, and had always said she hadn’t encountered anything mayor to correct I still can’t help feeling the jitters – that’s just me. Well, this means I will be quite busy this weekend. I can’t wait for you guys to see and hopefully read this book. It’s been the most fun to write so far, and I’m beyond excited about it.
I hope everyone is safe and healthy. Enjoy this day and the weekend, and don’t forget to count your blessings!
Hi, everyone! It’s the first of the month, and that means poets choose their own syllabic poetry form, theme, words, images, etc. Colleen’s 2020 Weekly Poetry Challenge
The year 2020 has seen its share of major historic events and bizarre incidents in just a little over five months–– including the acquittal of President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial, the bushfires in Australia, the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, and the entire world grinding to a halt as businesses shut down and people are quarantined.
As I ponder on these events and others like the death of (a legend) Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash, the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union, the Dow plunging 2,997 points due to coronavirus fears, the 2020 Summer Olympics postponed, and the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their duties as senior royals in Buckingham Palace, I want to pinch myself to be sure I’m not in some dark and eerie nightmare. Despite the peculiar times we’re living in, I’m sure everyone can find at least one thing to be thankful for, right?
I’m thankful that my family and I are doing well, and that we have plenty to eat and drink, and our toilet paper inventory is full. I’m grateful that this nightmare has not prevented me from doing a lot of reading and writing. My cooking and baking skills have gotten better. Despite the fact that I miss my family I have enjoyed our zoom get togethers. I’m also grateful to be in such great company during isolation – there are no better quarantine buddies than my husband JC and Pomeranian Scribbles. I have a roof over my head and a great view of a golf course. How could I not feel gratitude in my heart.
Although there are a plethora of strange happenings there are also appreciable moments. To be honest, there have been times when I’ve been down, fearful, anxious – none of us has ever lived through times like these. It’s easy to feel vulnerable and like you have no control over the outcome of your life. But when have we ever had total control over the outcome of our lives? We can’t focus only on the negative – it won’t solve a thing. Let’s think about all we should be grateful for.
“The most powerful weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. Train your mind to see the good in this day.”
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but for a while now I’ve been reading about how scientists are working with microorganisms to engineer them to perform certain tasks. There’s good that could come from this, for instance, if a bacteria was to be engineered to locate and kill only cancer cells in a person’s body, leaving the healthy cells alone. If this works, other microorganisms could be used in the same way to rid the body of many diseases. Things can go horribly wrong, though. So many discoveries and inventions were made for the good of the people only to end up in the wrong hands and used for atrocities –– just ask Einstein. I know this all reads like the premise to a Sci-fi novel, but once scientists discovered how to read and map a strand of DNA they’ve been busy experimenting with things we can’t even imagine. Who knows what they’re cooking up in those labs? Like maybe a solution to the overpopulation problem no one wants to talk about. Like maybe engineer a virus that can target the old and diseased, and kill them by the thousands? That can certainly solve the overpopulation problem in the world while maintaining the young and strong safe. After all, they are the future.
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