One Love: tuesday platform

Showing posts with label tuesday platform. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Carpe Diem Summer Challenge 2019 + Tuesday Platform: Coming Full Circle: Not Your Summer Tryst Under the Big Moon

Big Moon copyright Alicia Dunn

no summer love here

hope for a rainstorm to come

far from any beach

on a faraway seashore

as the children gather shells

couple making love

I want a garden

perhaps a small waterfall

spilling over stones

don't want a French kiss

I take tea with sunflower

won't lurk in shadow

~Cie~

Note:

I've never been keen for flings and I don't like being anyone's dirty little secret. Finding a summer love never appealed to me, and I've only been to the beach once in my life. I'd much rather spend my time on mundane activities such as gardening than engaging in an ill-advised mating dance which will only end in heartbreak for me.

Frankly, in many ways, I'm quite content not to be young anymore. I only wish I had the strength and endurance of my youth. The impulsiveness, stupidity, and desperate lovesick puppy behavior is more than welcome to remain in the past.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Carpe Diem Summer Challenge + The Tuesday Platform: Midsummer Rain

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

A prairie rainstorm

In the middle of summer

Slow and lumbering

Meanders across the land

Shrouded in dark cloud cover

~Cie~

This poem is part of the Grover series, honoring the first place I've ever felt like I could call home since childhood. I don't feel like a temporary tenant when I'm there, I feel like this is where I live.

Please visit me, Ghost Town Grover, and Cactus Clem at the Good Stuff From Grover website!

Visit the Artist

This poem has earned the Cactus Clem Seal of Approval!

Cactus Clem sez: "I shore do like when it rains! As a Cactus Man or may be a Man Cactus, I am always thirsty!"

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Carpe Diem Summer Challenge: Red Sweat

Image by Isabella Quintana from Pixabay

A warning that today's prompt did not invoke in me the feeling it would in a person with a normal history when it comes to sex. I instead ended up having a physical flashback. I have not had good experiences in this area. My work addresses this, and thus I give you the opportunity to leave my work unread.

The late 1990s were extremely difficult. My mental illness would not be properly diagnosed until 2004 when I was closing in on 40 years old. Self-harm became a way of coping when I was in my early teens. When I tried to talk to anyone about what had happened to me, they only tried to push drugs on me in the case of medical "experts" and didn't listen when I told them that the drugs only made my situation worse. I have always had paradoxical responses to drugs such as benzodiazepines, and SSRI's make me manic and psychotic, although I didn't know that was what was happening at the time.

My family's response when I told them what had happened was to tell me that I got over it before and could get over it again.

I had no support and in swooped another predator who saw his chance of getting something he wanted from a very vulnerable person. I have written horror stories from the time I was quite young, and one might think that I would compare this individual to a vampire. Incorrect. He was a ghoul.

My poem is not about impassioned lovers wrestling as one. It is about a discarded and misunderstood person wrestling with herself. It has taken me more than 20 years to finally begin to forgive her for being so broken and allowing predators to harm her repeatedly.

What happened last year

You capitalized upon

Red sweat on my arms

~Cie~

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Don't Move, This is a Haibun! The Magic of the Prairie

Pawnee National Grasslands, Northeastern Colorado

Most folks will tell you that the prairie is boring, depressing, and certainly not a magical place.

The truth is, although the prairie may appear drab in comparison to more immediately impressive environs such as tall mountains, clear lakes, or beautiful beaches, it is a fascinating and adaptive setting which holds many wonderful stories and secrets.

Prairie grass is strong and resilient. It prevents erosion of the topsoil and can withstand long periods of dryness. It provides food and a home for many species of marvelous creatures.

beneath the surface

this drab land in its plain dress

full of surprises

~Cie~

Also sharing with the Spread the Kindness linkup.

Useful resources to learn about the North American grasslands.

http://shelledy.mesa.k12.co.us/staff/computerlab/ColoradoLifeZones_Plains_Plants.html

https://wrangle.org/ecotype/north-american-short-grass-prairie

Disclosure:

If you purchase one of the books featured in this search, I will receive a small commission. Any commissions earned will be used to fund the restoration of the historic Grover Hotel, which is now proudly owned by my son. Grover is a very small town on the northeastern plains of Colorado.

To follow along with the project and for more about the various ventures of the Ornery Old Lady (me) and the wild cast of characters at the Grover Hotel and Ghostly General Store, please visit the Good Stuff From Grover blog.

Troiku Challenge 2019: Day 17: Breathing Silence

Image by Radoan Tanvir from Pixabay

alone on the beach

only the cries of seagulls -

breathing silence

alone on the beach

wondering what lies ahead

another sunrise

only the cries of seagulls

if I could understand them

what would they tell me?

breathing silence

trying to calm this feeling

that all is not well

~Chèvrefeuille & Cie~

Notes:

The "sleigh" of this Troiku was created by Chèvrefeuille. The Three Horses of the Apocalypse are my responsibility.

This poem is part of my Seacliffe Series, in reference to my WIP, The Legend of Seacliffe House. These poems focus on the thoughts of my protagonist, Randal Messana, as he finds himself in a strange new situation after rescuing his mother from the brutal Diamantina Lamb and fleeing the cursed Lambswood Manor. The story is primarily a homage to Edgar Allan Poe and it may or may not ever be published. Either way, I hope some of you enjoy the poetry inspired by the tale!

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Troiku Challenge 2019: Day 7: Unlocked Fence

Image Source

unlocked fence

walking towards the countryside

finally free

unlocked fence

will I find freedom outside

or more enslavement

walking towards the countryside

the world outside is alien

imprisoned so long

finally free

no more fences, no more guards

but such a high cost

~Chèvrefeuille & Cie~

Notes:

I could not help but think of the prison camps of World War II when I saw this image. We must never be allowed to sweep those horrors under the rug because they make us uncomfortable.

I watched a program about the descendants of some of the leaders involved with the Holocaust. These are good people who want to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. They are not proud of being related to such terrible individuals as their ancestors.

Rudolf Hess' grandson Rainer said, "if my grandfather were alive, I would kill him myself."

Hermann Goring's grandniece Bettina and her brother both had themselves voluntarily sterilized.

Amon Goeth's daughter wasn't aware of her father's exact role in the Holocaust until she saw Schindler's List. The realization was so upsetting to her that it caused her to go into shock.

We must remember the Holocaust, and we must not allow other atrocities and mistreatments of our fellow humans to be swept under the rug.

Many people are not aware of the Armenian genocide.

The United States isn't too keen for people to remember that during World War II, people of Japanese ancestry, including those born in the United States, were locked in internment camps.

Think what is happening right now in the United States with migrant children being taken from their parents and locked in detention centers or placed with foster families, some of whom are abusive. Cheeto Hitler denies that any of the blame rests with him when it sits squarely on his lap. And no, I will not apologize for referring to him as Cheeto Hitler.