Totally Optional Prompts

This week's Totally Optional Prompts asks:

Your prompt for this week: be someone or something else. Write a poem in the voice of whomever or whatever you'd like.

The Spark is Gone

I speak from the darkness
An inky black dot
Swallowed by emotions
Too strong to speak

I once was a princess
Living the high life
Cherished by the one
As my heart beat for two

I went away when your spark was lost
Sinking, falling, crashing into despair
Unsure what to do or where to go
I was adrift on the waves of saddness

I continue to fight every day
Trying to find the spark
That moment of happiness
That gives me back my life

Abstract

This is an abstract poem, written from quotes. At the last meeting of my writing workshop - Speaking Out II - everyone wrote a personal story about an event in their lives. We were then encouraged to select individual quotes from each story and blend them into a poem. Here is my abstract:

Abstract

I'm full and that's not obsolete
Wrought iron like thick licorice crochet
An occasional and personal curiosity
Like an emaciated swan

Feet were ready to fall off
Too sick to play in the playroom
Why, why, why
Do you know the odds of survival

The crinkled black man on TV
Opening the steeple of a fingered church
Loomas valued his privacy
Soaking in the sights and sounds

I never got to ride the carousel
Or listen to domicile music
So my slice of reality doesn't hold up
Like Michael Jackson after a nuclear bomb

(Artwork by Fisherwy)

You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Don't laugh, but here is one of my favorite Christmas songs!!

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch
You really are a heel
You're as cuddly as a cactus
You're as charming as an eel
Mr. Grinch

You're a bad banana
With a greasy black peel

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch
Your heart's an empty hole
Your brain is full of spiders
You've got garlic in your soul
Mr. Grinch

I wouldn't touch you, with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch
You have termites in your smile
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile
Mr. Grinch

Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crockodile

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch
You're a nasty, wasty skunk
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk
Mr. Grinch

The three words that best describe you,
are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch
You're the king of sinful sots
Your heart's a dead tomato splot
With moldy purple spots
Mr. Grinch

Your soul is an apalling dump heap overflowing
with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable
Mangled up in tangled up knots

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch
With a nauseaus super-naus
You're a crooked jerky jockey
And you drive a crooked horse
Mr. Grinch.

You're a three decker saurkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce.

Copyright © 1957, Dr. Seuss

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged by Stella from Stella Script to give 7 fun facts about myself.

1.) As you can see from the post before this one, I love the rain! I love rainy, overcast, have to stay indoors kind of days!

2.) This is December 9th and I don't have a Christmas tree up yet.

3.) I just finished reading Laurell K. Hamilton's new book, Swallowing Darkness. No matter what the critics say, I loved this book! I have been reading the series from the beginning - and as a matter of fact, I re-read the entire series before a new one is released!

4.) I talk to characters who live in my head. My friends think I'm crazy, but my family has learned to accept me.

5.) I'm the proud owner of 6 cats - and NO, I am not a crazy cat lady ... yet!

6.) I also have a dog - plus I'm expecting grand-puppies any day know (my oldest daughter has 2 Huskies).

7.) I'm in the process of writing fairy tales for the grandchildren I hope to have in the future.

I'll be passing this meme along to 7 other people tomorrow, when I have more time.

Here Comes the Rain

After the long hot drought of 2008, I'm thrilled to say the forecast for today is RAIN, RAIN, RAIN!!! I'm so excited! I guess I'm not like normal people, because I get my inspiration from rainy days. Rainy days always perk up my mood and make me feel alive again. Rainy days make me feel like a real person. Rainy days help me express my feelings. Rainy days help me to write, to read, to clean, to live life without just going through the motions.

Here comes the rain
Here comes the rain
And I say,
It's all right

Kentucky Rain - Elvis Presley
(words & music by Eddie Rabbit and Dick Heard)

So I'm walking in the rain
Thumbing for a ride
On this lonely Kentucky backroad
I've loved you much too long
And my loves too strong
To let you go, never knowing
What went wrong

Kentucky rain keeps pouring down
And up aheads another town
That I'll go walking thru
With the rain in my shoes
Searchin for you
In the cold Kentucky rain
In the cold Kentucky rain

(2nd photo from Jim Loy)

Musing Monday

This week's Musing Monday prompt:

How long do you wait after finishing a book before you pick/start another one? How many books do you have planned ahead or do you pick up random books from your tbr pile (if you have one)? Do you review right away or keep reading and come back to it later?

I usually have a book waiting in the wings as soon as I finish a book. But, the first thing I do is write a review of the book I just completed. I have a book review blog, plus I do reviews for my local newspaper and public library. I have to sort my reviews into three categories: new books I've reviewed from the library go on the MCPLib blog; book reviews for the paper are electronically transmitted to the newspaper editor; and book reviews I do just for myself on Bobbi's Book Nook.

Although I have a huge TBR pile - at least 50+ books waiting - I sometimes will choose something else if the mood strikes me. This happens when I read a book that is first in a long standing series. If this happens and I enjoy the book, I have to go ahead and read the rest of the books in the series. I'm anal that way!!!

Dark and Moody

Dark and Moody

My head is dark and moody
Why can't I shake these thoughts
I've tried to put them all to bed
But my brain keeps delving deeper

I know this is the time of year
When wishes do come true
But what would I be wishing for
If I had the will

I've tried to turn my thoughts around
But nothing seems to work
The dark and scary monsters
Are lurking ever near

I'm tryin to be the upbeat one
Because of family and friends
But all I want to do
Is hide inside my head

To think about the happy times
To think about the love
To think of the memories flooding in
To think of times gone by

So why can't I shake these thoughts
I really know I should
But brooding, ugly, scary thoughts
Have won the upper hand

(Artwork by Inobscuro)

Sunday Scribblings #140 - Tradition

Sunday Scribblings #140 -- Tradition

Do you come from a culture with a lot of traditions? Does your family have traditions that you love or that you would like to change? Do other cultures/families have traditions that fascinate you? Write something about tradition.

Here are a few Christmas traditions I had when my children were little:

1.) Santa's kiss - I always kept a cheap tube of bright red lipstick in my medicine cabinet. Every Christmas Eve - after the kids were asleep - I would coat my lips with red and then kiss each girl on the cheek. On Christmas morning, Mommy or Daddy would point out the Santa kiss and the girls would be so excited.

2.) Magic Reindeer Food - On Christmas Eve before bedtime, the girls would go into the front yard and sprinkle a trail of Magic Reindeer Food to attract the reindeer. The Magic Reindeer Food is simply rolled oats and white glitter mixed together. The glitter helps the reindeer see the lawn and the oats give them something to eat. Luckily for parents, the trail melts into the lawn with the first rain or snow.

3.) Presents from Santa - We always wrapped all the gifts from Santa and each girl had a different kind of wrapping paper. This way, we could hide presents all around the tree, but still know which girl got which present.

4.) Presents in the tree - This was a tradition in my hubby's family, so we adopted it for our own. We typically hide smaller packages up inside the tree branches. The girls enjoyed finding new presents throughout the tree. The problem is, I always seem to forget one present and we find it when we are taking the tree down. My family is always excited to see who will get the "forgotten" present every year.

I'm working on a post for current Christmas traditions, to be posted at a later date.

Fictional Friday #81

This week's Fictional Friday is:

Invent a holiday for which your character is a big fan

Susie licked her lips again, savoring the fresh, crisp taste of peppermint. The candy cane was down to a slivered point, but the wonderful pepperminty flavor was still there.

Candy Cane Day has always been her favorite holiday - second only to Christmas. Falling on the first Friday after a full moon after Thanksgiving, Candy Cane Day typically fell before Christmas. Only once in her lifetime had this holiday fallen after Christmas, but she had been too young to remember this.

Susie would start collecting candy canes immediately after Halloween - all shapes and sizes of candy canes. There were the traditional red and white ones, but also green and red, green and black, and sometimes just solid colors. Most were the traditional shape of a shepherd's hook, but she held a special fondness in her heart for the log rolls. These canes were straight and as big around as the miniature Louisville Slugger she displayed in her room. Her grandmother always gave you a log rolled candy cane and Susie could eat on the stick for weeks before it disappeared.

Standing in the front yard, she stared at the lovely cedar tree growing near the mailbox. This tree was the same age as she - 31 years - and was a volunteer seedling that appeared the same year she was born. Her parents had left the tree growing and now it stood over 20 feet tall. This was Susie's favorite tree.

Her parents had been gone now for almost 3 years, but Susie would continue the tradition of hanging candy canes from the cedar tree. It reminded her of the parents she missed so much - and it helped her to celebrate Candy Cane Day.

Daisy

If I were a flower, I'd be a daisy, white and fluffy with a happy yellow face. I'd be growing on the garden fringes, away from the fancy hybrids with their unusual growing habits and prized blooms. I'm not one for large crowds or loud excitement, so being a wallflower, the plain little daisy would be just my speed.

Hardy growth requiring minimal care, this also describes me to a tee. I'm not one for fashion or makeup or hairdo, preferring instead to enjoy life's little pleasures. Low maintenance - that is me and the daisies.

Childish games from yester-year occupy a summer day. Daisy chains adorn my head and the gentle singing of "He loves me, he loves me not" fills the air. You can always find me out in the garden, passing the time with my friends. Goldenrod and Black-eye Susans will always be pretty, but nothing holds my heart like the quaint eccentric daisy.

Totally Optional Prompts - Unsavory

Totally Optional Prompts - Unsavory

This is not an original poem, but ever since I did a poem based on Jingle Bells, I've had this ditty running through my head from childhood.

Jingle bells, shotgun shells
Santa Claus is dead.
Rudolph took a 45
And shot him in the head!
GI Joe, GI Joe
Tried to save his life,
But Barbie doll, Barbie doll,
Stabbed him with a knife.

Now, how unsavory is that??!!!

Write On Wednesday

This week's Write on Wednesday prompt:

Do you find that physical activity inspires your creativity? What’s works best for you - walking, running, dancing, kickboxing? How do you get in touch with your body, and use that awareness to inform your writing? How do you keep your body and mind in balance?

I love walking my dog, but other than that, I'm not very physical. I realize I need to incorporate more physical activity into my life, but I'd rather be reading, writing or knitting!

The thing that really inspires my creativity is meditation. I try to meditate for at least 15 minutes every morning - more if I have the time. I work as a church secretary, so my meditation most often occurs in the dark, quiet sanctuary of the church. These quiet moments help to center my life and open me up for more creativity.

I do realize that inactivity has a damaging effect on my body - this is evident whenever I spend a marathon session at the computer keyboard or with the knitting needles. My joints get stiff and my muscles scream for mercy. I have realized the fact I need to get up every hour and stretch my muscles and work my joints. This helps to alleviate some of the stiffness.

In addition to my morning meditation, I try to spent a few minutes before drifting off to sleep trying to relax my mind and body. I systematically stiffen one muscle group at a time and then slowly release to total relaxation. I start with my feet and work up my body. I typically fall asleep while doing deep breathing exercises. This routine helps to give me a restful sleep and it keeps bad thoughts from haunting my dreams.

Being in tuned body, mind and soul takes practice and it is not always a perfect blending. Practice makes perfect, so I strive to find the best balance in my life.

(Photos by EasyArt and GoodAware)

Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow
In a beat up Subaru
It's time to make the best of things
'Cause Christmas time is here

Jingle bells, shotgun shells
It's Christmas time at least
Oh what fun we'll have today
Just making out our list

Jingle bells, shotgun shells
It's only once a year
But keeping love inside our hearts
Is an everyday affair

Musing Monday

With the holiday season now upon us, how does it affect your reading? Do you have more, or less, time to read at Christmas? Do you read Christmas themed/related books?

The holidays really cut into my reading time. Right now I'm knitting up a storm trying to finish some Christmas gifts for the family. With money tight this Christmas, I thought it would be nice to knit family/friends scarves to keep them warm this winter. Over the past 2 weeks, I've completed 5 and I started on the 6th one today.

Although I am trying to read at least 30 minutes a day, my To Be Read pile is continuing to grow. I'm still receiving ARCs and review copies in the mail and the library is always getting new books (I do book reviews for my local public library for the newspaper every week). To solve my reading dilemnia, I check out several books on tape this weekend and I'm going to try listening to books while I knit. This may help to kill two birds with one stone.

I don't normally read Christmas related books during the holiday - with the exception of The Night Before Christmas and A Christmas Carol, which are classics we read in our home every year. That being said, I have recently read a wonderful new Christmas book - The Santa Letters - and I would recommend it to everyone who loves holiday themed books.