Haiku Friday – Woke & Up

Hi, everyone! Welcome.

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Moonflower

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Scented Poem

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Tonight, I shall profess my love for him. When he rises, dressed in silvery light, he’ll rouse all the stars, so they may witness our love.

I shall sleep the day away, shielding myself from the fiery sun. And when the coolness of the blue hour quickens me, I shall open myself to him.

Nightingales, delightful nocturnal songsters, with their lilting songs filled with musical romance are joined by frogs calling and owls hooting, to create the music of the night.

I bloom in the midnight sky, my seductive white petals reflecting my beauty. My sweet, intoxicating fragrance summons him. He cannot resist.

Gorgeous low-slung moon

Shine your light on me tonight

Nature sings for us

Ride through my imagination

I have opened heaven’s door

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The style of poetry I wrote today is called a Haibun, at least my attempt at one. I’m thinking of changing “Haiku Friday” to “Poetry Friday”, because I enjoy trying different types of poetry. I hope you enjoyed the romance between the moonflower and the moon. ;D

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Woke and Up are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

Today I’m also participating in Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge. In Colleen’s challenge we’re required to use synonyms of the prompt words. This week’s prompt words are Inspiration and Plan.

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Enjoy the rest of your day!

Haiku Friday – Old & Days

Hi, everyone!

Firstly, it’s Friday the 13th! Did you ever wonder why Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day? Well, a suggested origin of the superstition dates back to Friday, October 13th 1307 when King Philip IV ordered  hundreds of French Templars to be captured and arrested. The templars were charged with numerous offenses, seemingly without basis – but King Philip used these allegations as a convenient pretext to persecute the wealthy order, so that he wouldn’t have to pay debts he owed them following war with England. The Catholic crusaders were tortured into admitting heresy and other sacrilegious offenses in the Order.

Charged with moral and financial corruption and worshipping false idols – many of the knights were later burnt at the stake.

The order’s Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, faced the flames in front of Notre Dame Cathedral and is said to have cried out a curse on those who had so gravely wronged them: “God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death.”

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Holy warriors

Guiltless men engulfed in flames

Old hex haunts our days

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Did you know that the fear of Friday the 13th Phobia is called – Paraskevidekatriaphobia? Now that’s a word for a game of hangman.

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Old and Days are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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On a happy note, today is also National French Fry Day. Enjoy!

Haiku Friday – Chance & United

Hi, everyone!

 

I love the United States of America. This is my country and I’m proud to be an American. That being said, just like a child gets angry at a parent or a parent at a child, sometimes I get angry at my country and vexed with the people running it.

 

Chance and United are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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The United States

This country should be renamed

Divided We Stand

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We may stand a chance

If labels are forgotten

and we all matter

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Let us stand as one

And keep America great

No one’s first or last

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What’s your opinion on what’s happening in the US? Feel free to speak your mind. Everyone has the right to their opinion.

Haiku Friday – Child & Safe

Hello, everyone! Today I decided to share a poem with you. It’s called, The Child’s Protection by poet, James Harris. It is a powerful poem and not for the faint of heart. I thought it was important to share it, because too often children have experiences that affect them deeply and when they try to relate these experiences to the adults in their lives, they are laughed at or dismissed. 

Did you know that every time a child tells you something he or she feels is important and you dismiss it, the child loses trust in you and the more you do it the less safe the child will feel? It does not matter whether you’re the child’s parent, aunt/uncle, teacher, neighbor . . . if a child comes up to you looking frightened or concerned and confides in you, please take him or her seriously. At least, look into the matter.

Sure, kids make up stories but there are certain things they’re not likely to lie about. Remember that it takes a lot of strength for a child to communicate certain things to an adult, even one they trust. So please listen, observe and look into the situation.

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Illustration by George Miltiadis for ‘The Basement’

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Little girl, little girl what did you see?
A thing of horror chasing after me
Little girl little girl were you not scared?
More than I thought I could possibly bear

He was a man about oh so high
I swear I came just to his thigh
I knew he was off, not quite right
I was chilled by him at first sight

He wore a hat that covered his gaze
And weaves lies like some kind of maze
The kind you can end up lost in for days
All things around him reeks and decays

He looks upon children with a sick grin
Like looking upon us is his kind of sin
The evil he had comes straight from within
My fear of him, I know not where to begin

He asked me for things and would not take ‘No’
So I did strike him in that place down below
He gasped for some air as I ran through the snow
Now I must pray he did not try follow

Now I feel as if I am eternally stalked
Everyone I have told this to has balked
Even my parents by them I am mocked
Now the door to my room is forever locked

Little girl, little girl that’s quite a tale
I’ll be sure to tell it throughout the dale
Little girl, little girl I can hear you cry
The sound only little girls make as they die

Old man, old man I knew it was you
I knew our little game was not through
So open this door if you want your kind of fun
And see my justice through the barrel of this gun

James Harris

 

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Illustration by George Miltiadis for ‘The Basement’

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My contribution this week:

I never felt safe

No monsters under my bed

You crawled into mine

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Child and Safe are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

Haiku Friday – Bliss & Brawn

Hi, everyone! Welcome!

♥

Don’t build your paradise on sand or online. Sometimes the world is too bright. That’s because we’re looking into a screen. I’m blinded by false smiles. Status: Happily married. Happy and married until the moment you go off line? Although there are many genuine people on social media and I know a bunch, there are also people living their lives in a digital utopia. Family and friends are my paradise.

Two things upset me this week. The first, I came across a picture of a friend on Instagram. She wore a huge smile and looked happy and radiant. Then I read the caption. She wrote that just before she took the selfie she had been crying her eyes out. I called her to find out what was going on. It turns out she was devastated, because her cat had died. I understand not wanting to post about her cat’s demise, but why then post a picture depicting herself as being happy when she clearly wasn’t?

Then I got the news that another friend was getting divorced. It came as a complete shock to me and apparently everyone else, because there were a myriad of photos online of the happy couple hugging and kissing at the beach, smiling lovingly into each other’s eyes, looking like the perfect pair. Some of the pictures were dated a day or two before the announcement was made. To say I was confused is an understatement.

I guess no one wants their feed cramped with sad pictures and people griping about their problems. I get that. If you’ve travelled, made a discovery, baked a cake, had a great meal, accomplished something, by all means, post it online but be honest about it. I want to know the good with the bad. Maybe I can learn something from your experience.

I love social media as much as the next person but I wouldn’t post a picture of myself grinning from ear to ear unless I was truly happy at that moment.

Also, be present when you’re with your loved ones. Enjoy their company. Put away that iPhone, pad, laptop. They won’t be around forever, so be present in the moment. Life is made of moments and we need to experience each one, because we don’t know which will have an impact on our lives.

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Bliss and Brawn are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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The world is broken

Our strong family bond

Is our paradise

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Live in the Moment

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Search for bliss online

Virtual hugs comfort none

I prefer real flesh

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Have a great day!

Haiku Friday – Tyrant & Hope

“The common mistake that bullies make is assuming that because someone is nice that he or she is weak. Those traits have nothing to do with each other. In fact, it takes considerable strength and character to be a good person.” 

~Mary Elizabeth Williams

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Trolls

by Vacuous

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Trolls,
a mythical creature now real.
They roam the internet looking to eat.
Looking to eat emotions.
You get a kick out of pain from another.
You kick them down on the ground while they are already under it.
Using technology to get into their brains and heart.
You find it funny to bring suffering to someone who can’t take anymore and has already taken it all.
You let them slip farther down into the hole when they confide
in you something they won’t tell others.
You think it is funny, cute, fair to treat others with the disrespect you have honed.
You practice day in day out to make those around you
feel less significant.
Unequal.
Lifeless.
No matter how far a person thought you could push
you always found a way to push a little farther.
That’s all you’ve known.
That is all you will ever know.
Because at some point in life,
you decided to become a
troll.

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How much does bullying hurt? If we don’t know by now, after all the school shootings, teen suicides, mass murders in public places . . . The effects of bullying are painful and can sometimes lead victims to suicide as an alternative to pain. Bullying has a negative effect on everyone involved; the target, the bully and the bystanders.

We see the effects of bullying on the news almost every day. We read about it on social media. I don’t think anyone can turn a blind eye any longer. So what do we do about it? Spread awareness of the negative effects of bullying. If you see someone being bullied, try to do something to stop it. If you are a bully, and many adults are, stop bullying others. When you bully someone you take away their self-confidence. Bullying makes children feel lonely, unhappy and frightened. The effects of bullying can be devastating and lead to depression and suicide. In order to grow, we need to learn to lift others up, not tear them down.

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She yelled hopeless words

Like an old edifice, I

crumbled to the ground

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“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

~ Mark Twain

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Tyrant and Hope are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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I’m almost done with my self-edits for the 2nd installment of my Fantasy Angels Series. Tomorrow I will be sending it off to my editor. I am also working on revising my first book, The Basement, which touches on the subjects of bullying and verbal abuse. So stay on the lookout for that one. 😉

Illustration by George Miltiadis for The Basement

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Have a great day, everyone!

Haiku Friday – Choice & Faith

Hello, everyone! Welcome.

I have a friend who is intelligent, kind and beautiful. Despite having these great qualities, among others, she has a low self-esteem. She often berates herself, and she can’t take a compliment to save her life. This saddens me, because her low self-esteem holds her back from achieving certain goals and living a good life. 

Her issues with low self-esteem stems from her childhood. She grew up with a verbally abusive father who called her names like stupid (although she was a straight “A” student), idiot, dimwit . . . whenever she made a mistake as a child. His name-calling escalated to profanity and it would happen for the smallest things, from spilling milk to wrinkling her dress. The silliest things would set him off.

Now she’s an adult, she has a great career, husband, wonderful kids, a beautiful home. She’s made a great life for herself, but whenever she makes the tiniest of mistakes, her father’s voice is in her head calling her names and making her feel like garbage.

I’m happy to say that she’s seeing a therapist for this problem, and she has told me that things are much better. She has no idea how strong she’s been all her life. 

Many people believe that words are just words, but they are so much more. Words have driven many to alcohol, drugs, excessive eating, depression and even suicide. Words have a lasting impact, especially those said to a child. 

Be careful how you talk to others, whether it be your spouse, children, friends, employees or coworkers. Berating someone is no way to teach or communicate. If you speak to someone with kindness, respect and consideration, they’re more apt to listen and comply.

Be smart in the way you communicate with others and yourself, because there are consequences, not only to our actions, but also to the words that come out of our mouths.

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I wrote two haiku today. I decided to use more the feel of the words rather than the actual words. Truth for “Faith”, which is what these haiku portray, and the lack of choice someone with low self-esteem may believe they have.

 

Choice and Faith are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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You can tell me I

am beautiful but, I will

never believe you.

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If you tell me I

am good for nothing, I will

always believe you.

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Haiku Friday – Home & Free

 

Home and Free are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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Gadreel’s Lamentation

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Nefarious deeds

Got me exiled from heaven

Now on earth I roam

Hiraeth beckons my soul

But I can’t ever go home

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I’d gladly give up

the freedom earth allows me

for one day back home

Where flowers sing lullabies

and leaves dance all aquiver

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Floraison Scene Illustration by Jeff Brown for The Fall of Lilith

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Haiku Friday – Fragile & Heartbeat

I’m happy to say that I’m done with my first round of edits for Son of the Serpent (WIP). I feel good about the book and I’m getting ready to send it out to my beta readers. I can’t wait to hear/read their input. Then I’ll revise the book once more, before sending it off to my editor. So things are moving along.

Today, there are men working on the “curve appeal” of my house. Well, these guys are breaking up the existing tiles and cement, to prepare the foundation for new pavers and landscaping. I’m excited that we’re finally getting some work done to the outside of the house, but you can imagine the ear-splitting  cacophony of power tools, men shouting and my dog, Scribbles barking. I know this is work that has to be done, so I’ll just have to grin and bear it.

I’m also preparing for my trip to Japan in August. I would like everything, including the publication of my book, to be done before I go but I’m not going to hold my breath.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the poetry. Have a wonderful day!

 

Fragile and Heartbeat are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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“There are darknesses in life and there are

lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of

all lights.”

~Bram Stoker

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My fragile heartbeat

I shall always remember

Your breath on my skin

Fires of love doused with blood

My sweet love draws breath no more

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Vengeance shall be mine

I have a heart that does not

know how to forgive

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“There are some things that are so unforgivable

that they make other things easily forgivable.”

~Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Haiku Friday – Body & Art

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Body and Art are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

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Leopard Gecko

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Mother Nature’s Gift

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Artsy bag of bones

Dapper in his spotted suit

Showing off his prize

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