tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-267125632024-03-14T00:58:59.936-07:00Purple Mountain PoetryLinda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.comBlogger473125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-83279831631639785912023-04-01T13:16:00.004-07:002023-04-01T13:16:21.081-07:00A CAUTIOUS RETURN TO BLOGGING§<div><br /></div><div>Hello there, blog readers. It's been a long time since I posted anything. Even though I've been close to home all this time, I've just not felt like it. Lots of changes have happened since last I wrote: Ted is dealing with dementia and various other issues that require attention. My tricky left ankle, that has bothered me for the past fifteen years or so, really went off last year. Thanks to osteoporosis I suffered a stress fracture to the bottom of my fibula and was in an air cast for four months. It's unreliable, as in I never know when it's going to act up and when it does it feels like someone stabbed it with a knife (or how I assume it might feel, never having been truly stabbed) so really long walks are out. No more Camino-like adventures for me, I guess, and that makes me sad.<div><br /></div><div>I'm still working in the poetry mines. Thanks to Zoom, on Sunday afternoons I've been taking workshops with <a href="https://paulenelson.com" target="_blank">Paul E. Nelson</a> and we're into year three now. October 6 to 8 the <a href="http://cascadiapoetryfestival.org" target="_blank">Cascadia Poetry Festival </a>is happening in Seattle. I won't be able to go but thanks to having attended a couple of previous ones, I highly recommend it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last year I published three chapbooks for a couple of different groups of poets. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm very pleased to have three poems in the current <a href="https://www.eventmagazine.ca/product/event-51-3-current-issue/" target="_blank">Event Magazine</a>. Three! At least a couple of them originated as <a href="https://www.napowrimo.net" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo</a> poems, and here we are again, it's April and I'm aiming to write a poem a day for the month. I'm not, as I did in previous years, going to post them here. Makes it awkward if I want to submit them anywhere, as lit mags prefer to be the first out of the gate to publish new work.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKVdKxVQ-WuQUBvDnrYSP3Dkzf6S0X4lje00f430H7XgiC1X8G52vWyJPrh3IWTRzfvvL-EuaSi7n6k7JKsVzAgqZaIEeQOANfJ8OO77IwuHb8C2SirCDzmP9hw91KNNKCIi5NuOm0-Mph2TMLQGYGgf5gWxnzpxxEq4dsLWfKlZPnu62pA/s4032/IMG_6134.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKVdKxVQ-WuQUBvDnrYSP3Dkzf6S0X4lje00f430H7XgiC1X8G52vWyJPrh3IWTRzfvvL-EuaSi7n6k7JKsVzAgqZaIEeQOANfJ8OO77IwuHb8C2SirCDzmP9hw91KNNKCIi5NuOm0-Mph2TMLQGYGgf5gWxnzpxxEq4dsLWfKlZPnu62pA/w480-h640/IMG_6134.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's interesting; coming back and trying to write a blog post is proving to be quite challenging for me. Like I've misplaced my voice or something. Here, I'll leave you with a nice venison stew to warm you up til next time!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJntR23kA9yieF1m9hdXjOc244SKIPlIbC2AmkaXDXQZRtP2ZvcSv5ExoJTOqr2at0VeZyPoWZ05HVW6zyPUKytmjYDlQZWTc3EyZ1mvH6U5UM_UPOYmcxM_jA6C1DXF6x0ESDXIaixWysUnAsZmjuF5xwwzUhJE0LJZEFKXPWRXlt1N59Q/s4032/IMG_6169.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJntR23kA9yieF1m9hdXjOc244SKIPlIbC2AmkaXDXQZRtP2ZvcSv5ExoJTOqr2at0VeZyPoWZ05HVW6zyPUKytmjYDlQZWTc3EyZ1mvH6U5UM_UPOYmcxM_jA6C1DXF6x0ESDXIaixWysUnAsZmjuF5xwwzUhJE0LJZEFKXPWRXlt1N59Q/w640-h480/IMG_6169.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">§</div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-36804042417797116762021-10-03T15:27:00.003-07:002021-10-03T22:45:12.263-07:00AUGUST TO OCTOBER — POSTCARD POEMS 2021<span style="font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And it's done. Over for another year. This was year 15 for me, and it marks the first year all my cards are done by me on both sides! If I've said it once I've said it a hundred times; I'm no artist, but I'm truly amazed at how much fun it was to attempt to draw things with coloured markers. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDWWSOdJGkQ/YVofeISmWhI/AAAAAAAAKeM/d0X11dtemaAtAvqN9SAGCfT4wffgQPAKACNcBGAsYHQ/s2274/IMG_0149.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="2274" height="492" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oDWWSOdJGkQ/YVofeISmWhI/AAAAAAAAKeM/d0X11dtemaAtAvqN9SAGCfT4wffgQPAKACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h492/IMG_0149.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Most of the cards were written at my desk. I love this desk. It used to belong to my grandmother and then my aunt. Now I get to sit at it and write things. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXNzisR3JHM/YVogTAU_qYI/AAAAAAAAKe8/x9O8M9QSvD0IiNnrwcFFcYpawBMsizpzwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_1774.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXNzisR3JHM/YVogTAU_qYI/AAAAAAAAKe8/x9O8M9QSvD0IiNnrwcFFcYpawBMsizpzwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_1774.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As far as the poems go, every year I try to work towards some kind of constraint. This year's fest was in honour of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_McClure" target="_blank">Michael McClure</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_di_Prima" target="_blank">Diane di Prima</a>, two poets who died in the past year. Diane actually participated in the August Postcard Fest in the first or second year and I was lucky enough to get one from her. It reads:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Just Like the Rules Said</b></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">some of them respond</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">to a card, or picture</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">some of them</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">are a vision in my head</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">some walk into or out of</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">the fog</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">or someone's dream</span></i></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w9mBsUD5Rtk/YVofeYRRGTI/AAAAAAAAKeU/D2OZddP0mv8Tg5N5wNiMeJ6qZ8m4emuggCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0150.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w9mBsUD5Rtk/YVofeYRRGTI/AAAAAAAAKeU/D2OZddP0mv8Tg5N5wNiMeJ6qZ8m4emuggCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_0150.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To be perfectly honest, when I first received that card I thought the poem was kind of a toss-off. But that was before I'd thrown myself fully into the game, the game being to write the damned poem directly on the card; don't overthink it; don't write a bunch of drafts on paper and copy what you think is the best one. Nope. The idea is to take your pen, apply it to the card, and let the words fall where they may. Took me a long time to get even slightly comfortable doing that, but now I find it incredibly freeing. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This year I decided to honour Diane's <a href="https://citylights.com/pocket-poets-series/revolutionary-letters-50th-anniver/" target="_blank">Revolutionary Letters</a>. I read them, made a list of all her first lines and then, without rereading the poem, I arbitrarily chose one and included it in the poem I wrote to each of the poets in my group. Most of the time I started with the line, just as she did. For example, Diane's <a href="https://poets.org/poem/revolutionary-letter-1" target="_blank">Revolutionary Letter # 1</a>begins with the line </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">I have just realized that the stakes are myself</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and I continued</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have just realized that the stakes are myself</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">however I decide to drive them.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Smoke hangs heavy among</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">the unburnt trees that tremble</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">in their nervousness</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">knowing they could be next.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We are all sentient beings.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We bring what we have </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">to this party called life</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">to this game where the stakes</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">grow higher every day.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I throw mine in with the rest.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes Diane's line wound up in the body of my poem, like this one that begins her Revolutionary Letter #34</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">hey man, let's make a revolution, let's give</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and my poem turned into this:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Being a teenage in the sixties</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">was both confusing—</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">all that fifties' modelling—</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">and exhilarating—</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">look Ma, I'm on the pill!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Instead of making accidental babies</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">it was</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">hey man, let's make a revolution, let's give</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">peace a goddamn chance!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I did this with twenty-nine of the thirty-one cards; missed the first two as I hadn't yet decided on the constraint. It was an interesting way to honour a poet whose memoir I took out of the library twice and brought it back late both times. She was, shall we say, a kindred spirit.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last year, and starting again today as it happens, I took a number of Zoom courses/workshops/discussion groups about poetry and the next batch of poems I wrote went out October 1st to some of the people I met in those groups. So far this year I've written forty-five cards. This last bunch that just went out follows no constraint or theme whatsoever, but the poems were all written directly onto the cards.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zUqZCoNRLFE/YVoff8o1HoI/AAAAAAAAKec/E1MeuZZQUR0oh00uwv59D3iUN0eIgKIdACNcBGAsYHQ/s4032/IMG_1764.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zUqZCoNRLFE/YVoff8o1HoI/AAAAAAAAKec/E1MeuZZQUR0oh00uwv59D3iUN0eIgKIdACNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_1764.jpeg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And here are all the cards I received this year. It was a lovely haul with some great poems and lots of wonderful, original artwork. A huge thank you goes out to everyone involved! It was kind of a tough summer. First there was the heat dome and we got temperatures in the mid-forties Celsius (113F) and then there were forest fires all over the province so the air was awful. Covid numbers really blew up around here (southeast BC) and it finally got into my mom's care home so we couldn't visit her for six weeks. Hard to explain to someone who's 101 and can't remember things like she used to. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Get the damned vaccine, people! It won't hurt you for more than a second or two and it might save somebody you love.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ur1MCoBLGZM/YVofgVD6B7I/AAAAAAAAKeg/kCs9tcuimvQ_ycZUzXvGiTDKuuFzpU0nwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2955/IMG_1772.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2898" data-original-width="2955" height="628" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ur1MCoBLGZM/YVofgVD6B7I/AAAAAAAAKeg/kCs9tcuimvQ_ycZUzXvGiTDKuuFzpU0nwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h628/IMG_1772.jpeg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">§</span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-86762065405958869222021-07-10T13:39:00.004-07:002021-07-10T13:39:56.617-07:00IT'S POSTCARD POEM TIME AGAIN! COME PLAY!§<div><br /></div><div>I have a stack of postcards that have been following me around for several weeks now. Since May, actually, when I agreed (with myself) to draw something on blank cards. <a href="https://oxygenartcentre.org" target="_blank">Oxygen Art Centre</a> in Nelson was doing a prompt a day event called "Big Draw" so I sort of followed that.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am no artist. I remember Mr. Brown's Art Class in Junior High, how I'd watch enviously as one or other of my classmates would produce something gorgeous. A tree that looked like a tree. A mountain scene. A familiar street with houses that looked right (I must have been daydreaming when he discussed perspective.) Something abstract with fabulous colours. Watercolours that didn't run into each other. </div><div><br /></div><div>Writing classes, however, were different. Oh, they weren't just writing classes. "Compostion" was lumped in with English classes which were divided, in the earlier grades at least, into English Grammar and English Literature. I enjoyed both, particularly when we got to "write" something and even more particularly when we were studying poetry. In Grade 12 I actually had my father for English 91, as it was called then. It was the only A I got that year. (He made a point of assigning all the marking in that class to another teacher so he couldn't be accused of bias.)</div><div><br /></div><div>So, back to postcards. It's almost time for August Postcard Poeming again! I've been doing this every summer since 2007. And this year, for the first time ever, I'm sending all orginals, as in both sides by me!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dHXyNj5IHWk/YOn4L8aFWHI/AAAAAAAAKUU/oJxHHaItcEUVwOZD4HvKDiiP6jkp-0OzgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0146.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dHXyNj5IHWk/YOn4L8aFWHI/AAAAAAAAKUU/oJxHHaItcEUVwOZD4HvKDiiP6jkp-0OzgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_0146.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I still don't "get" perspective and I'm not sure Mr. Brown would approve of this hodgepodge of stuff, but by golly I had fun! And that's the main thing the Postcard Poem Fest is about; getting your inner-editor off your back and going for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>The idea is to dash off a poem directly onto the card. It took me several years of the fest before I was actually able to do this so if you have to write out a first draft on a notepad who am I to tell you not to? You write a poem a day during the month of August—once you've got your list of 32 names including your own, feel free to start. Some days, to be honest, I don't get to it. Other days I might write two or three.</div><div><br /></div><div>This year's fest is dedicated to the memories of Beat poets <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/michael-mcclure" target="_blank">Michael McClure</a> and <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/diane-di-prima" target="_blank">Diane di Prima</a>, both of whom died in 2020. In one of the first years di Prima participated in the postcard fest. Here's the card I got from her. See how she summarizes what the fest is about in just a few lines.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sb_JX9HoVmw/YOn9CGbMSbI/AAAAAAAAKUk/zTrU6aQETJIRnrD85Ab5OVrB488D16HEQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0150.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="461" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sb_JX9HoVmw/YOn9CGbMSbI/AAAAAAAAKUk/zTrU6aQETJIRnrD85Ab5OVrB488D16HEQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h461/IMG_0150.heic" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>just like the RULES SAID</i></span></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>some of them respond</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>to a card, or picture</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>some of them</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>are a vision in my head</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>some walk into or out of </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>the fog</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>or someone's dream</i></span></div><div><br /></div><div> <b> Diane di Prima</b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to play along, here are a few relevant links:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">The blog for the fest is <a href="https://popo.cards" target="_blank">here</a>: <a href="https://popo.cards/" style="border: 0px; color: #225e9b; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="August Poetry Postcard Fest">https://popo.cards</a> </span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Sign up via Submittable <a href="https://popo.submittable.com/submit" target="_blank">here</a>. The $15 entry fee goes to support Seattle Poetry Lab and all it does for poetry. DEADLINE: JULY 18th, 2021</span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><br /></span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">A workshop handout for the poetry postcard writing exercise</span></strong><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> by Paul Nelson who started this whole adventure </span></strong><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">is <a href="http://paulenelson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Postcard-Exercise.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>: </span></strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">And finally, <b>pay attention to postal rates.</b> <b><span style="color: magenta;">In Canada</span></b> it costs </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">$1.07 cents to mail a card within Canada (.92 if you buy in bulk) </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">$1.30 to send one to the States </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">$2.71 International destinations </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Not an inexpensive exercise, but I think of it as a nice dinner out.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">If you're not in Canada (and most postcarders are not), PLEASE check with your own post office for your out-of-country rates. </span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13.52400016784668px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: small;">Here, mostly for my own records, are some of the posts I've made where I talked about postcard poems:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2021/03/poems-and-postcards-and-napowrimo.html" target="_blank">2021</a> </span></span><a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2019/09/no-small-thing-notes-on-2019-august.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2019</a> <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2019/07/august-is-just-around-corner-and-its.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2019</a><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> again </span><a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2017/09/postcard-poem-month-2017-comes-to-end.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2017</a> <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2017/07/august-is-almost-upon-us-round-up-your.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2017</a><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> again </span><a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2016/07/postcard-poems-year-ten.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2016</a> <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2014/07/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2014</a> <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2007/09/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2007</a> <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2007/09/postcard-poems-or-writes-of-august-week.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">2007</a><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> again</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sisu just came in, saw the cards on the floor, and decided to make a statement. I think he's saying, "Not this again!" </div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">'Fraid so!</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1ItscZJs5Q/YOn9BgwrwII/AAAAAAAAKUg/cO5lSu_7k3EDkNxH-4BF_OiZcp623WBcgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0149.heic" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1574" data-original-width="2048" height="492" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P1ItscZJs5Q/YOn9BgwrwII/AAAAAAAAKUg/cO5lSu_7k3EDkNxH-4BF_OiZcp623WBcgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h492/IMG_0149.heic" width="640" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">§</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-62465994049671252942021-05-16T16:19:00.003-07:002021-06-08T00:45:21.412-07:00A MEANDER DOWN THE COLUMBIA WITH FRED WAH AND RITA WONG§<div><br /></div><div>This morning I found myself returning to a poem to do with the Columbia River I started writing a while back. It's form, if it has a form, is kind of a departure for me. It starts out like a "regular poem" and then morphs into a series of words beginning with the letter <i><b>n</b></i> in an attempt to suggest the inexorable flow of the river as it makes its way to the Pacific. Yesterday on a Zoom call I read it to a small group of fellow writers and one of them had a great suggestion, namely to return to the beginning of the poem after I go through all the <i><b>n</b> </i>stuff. </div><div><br /></div><div>After fiddling with it for some time this morning, doing a little fact-checking online and so forth, I wanted to see a picture of the whole river so I got out my copy of <a href="http://blogs.eciad.ca/ritawong/" target="_blank">Rita Wong</a>'s and <a href="https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/wah/index.htm" target="_blank">Fred Wah</a>'s 2018 book, <b><i>beholden: a poem as long as the river.</i></b> And I did something I'm always telling other poets they should do; I read it aloud. To myself. First Fred's poem, then Rita's. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of its authors, Fred Wah, talked about it at <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2017/11/upstream-benefits-symposium-in-nelson.html" target="_blank">a symposium about upstream benefits in 2017</a> and I mentioned this book <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2019/09/no-small-thing-notes-on-2019-august.html" target="_blank">here</a> a couple of years ago. I referred to it as "gorgeous", and it is, a visual tour-de-force from <a href="https://talonbooks.com/books/beholden" target="_blank">Talonbooks </a>in Vancouver. I remember seeing it displayed in its 1x114-foot-long glory at <a href="https://www.nelsonstar.com/community/writing-on-water-nelson-workshop-mixes-writing-and-images/" target="_blank">Touchstones Gallery</a> in Nelson—a <a href="http://www.nickconbere.com/river-relations.html" target="_blank">stunning piece of work by artist Nick Conbere</a> where the entirety of the two poems is displayed in such a way that you can imagine yourself walking along the river itself.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TN_giNqQzI0/YKGKgKjpsEI/AAAAAAAAKNY/fAwvdOCCKNUI4uO9sCCZ5lQDOvtSdSduwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_5665.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TN_giNqQzI0/YKGKgKjpsEI/AAAAAAAAKNY/fAwvdOCCKNUI4uO9sCCZ5lQDOvtSdSduwCNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_5665.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Recently I've been part of a small group of us who are reading <a href="https://www.ndbooks.com/book/double-trio/" target="_blank">Nathaniel Mackey's <b><i>Double Trio</i></b> </a>aloud, each of us taking turns, and that has reminded me how much more powerful poetry IS when heard as opposed to simply read. (In the case of Mackey, I can't say I understand it all but <i>the sound</i>, people, <i>the sound!</i>) I have looked at <b><i>beholden</i></b> many times since I got it, read parts of it (as I tend to do with most poetry books, to be honest), but today I read it, <i>out loud, </i>start to finish,<i> </i>and it was such a different experience I want everybody to do it! <div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, it doesn't hurt that both poets are masterful with words. Listen to Fred Wah here: </div><div><br /></div><div><i>...the River's voice is the sound our body makes when we're sleepwalking through the abyss of our own presence in the world... </i>(p.80–81)<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHs8J56nnD8/YKGWz2gDewI/AAAAAAAAKNk/hXAp9Sbp08YOFXoV2CdNYuiPxUW7i-evwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2639/IMG_8923.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="2639" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qHs8J56nnD8/YKGWz2gDewI/AAAAAAAAKNk/hXAp9Sbp08YOFXoV2CdNYuiPxUW7i-evwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h290/IMG_8923.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>or Rita Wong, when she says:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>...Imperial delirium silences salmon abundance chokes Kettle Falls' joyful convergence that cannot be forgotten, cannot be unseen, unheard, unspoken since recreation that wrecks creation leans to dazed stupor that isn't fun for anyone...</i> (p. 57–59)</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iPsfOjqiM58/YKGWz1ZB5WI/AAAAAAAAKNo/egEDuUqjpkUa_68GvL8rnGxEnxcPsBybACNcBGAsYHQ/s2603/IMG_8925.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="2603" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iPsfOjqiM58/YKGWz1ZB5WI/AAAAAAAAKNo/egEDuUqjpkUa_68GvL8rnGxEnxcPsBybACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h298/IMG_8925.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>They go on like this throughout, starting where the Columbia begins as a tiny spring coming out of the ground at Columbia Lake up near Invermere in British Columbia (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDlWy0nGsJU" target="_blank">here's a 2 ½ minute video</a> that gives you an idea what it looks like there) until the River arrives at the Pacific Ocean, when, to quote Rita Wong again, it ...<i>takes over the page as the ocean accepts the river.</i></div><div><i><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lswTLm8M3TM/YKGWzjaYHUI/AAAAAAAAKNg/1LWTnaoSe7wrPg_ba74hvsZdmsTyXWAugCNcBGAsYHQ/s2556/IMG_8926.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="2556" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lswTLm8M3TM/YKGWzjaYHUI/AAAAAAAAKNg/1LWTnaoSe7wrPg_ba74hvsZdmsTyXWAugCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h308/IMG_8926.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>It's easy enough to follow who is writing which poem because Wah's is typeset while Wong's is in her own handwriting. They weave in and out of each other, crossing over bridges to get to the other side for awhile, then crossing back. If you look carefully at the way I've situated the next two pictures you will see two such crossings, first over the Robson bridge where I go when I want to walk the <a href="https://friendsoftrails.org/?page_id=772" target="_blank">Waldie Island Trail</a> and then over the Kinnaird bridge which is the one I cross from Ootischenia, where I live, to get to Castlegar. In the middle of the circle of words is the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers, and <a href="https://www.kootenayrockies.com/partner/zuckerberg-island-heritage-park/" target="_blank">Zuckerberg Island.</a> As you continue south on the Columbia you pass Genelle on your way toward the border, that serious-looking line that bisects the bottom page at <i>...remember the Smoke Eaters whistled offside for years of pollution flowing south across the border as</i> <i>tainted as at the signature of Treaty <b>/</b> and all the forked tongues whispering Doctrine of Discovery... </i>(Wah) and a riff on global warning—<i>...the incomprehensible speed & scale of logging, unforestry, turning pines into poles and matchsticks, burning us up faster than the <b>/</b> glaciers could cool us down.</i> (Wong)</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3-StIqnXfY/YKGW0APguVI/AAAAAAAAKNs/bmnGcGhIN6ohf4NZ8fhm6Zgha7aT55BAwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2700/IMG_8927.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2700" data-original-width="1165" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3-StIqnXfY/YKGW0APguVI/AAAAAAAAKNs/bmnGcGhIN6ohf4NZ8fhm6Zgha7aT55BAwCNcBGAsYHQ/w276-h640/IMG_8927.jpeg" width="276" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wm9BSsyTWhw/YKGW0WkJyZI/AAAAAAAAKNw/dJXQ1SEk_AA3MZQRg5TyjDBThVT4OOLcwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2705/IMG_8928.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2705" data-original-width="1162" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wm9BSsyTWhw/YKGW0WkJyZI/AAAAAAAAKNw/dJXQ1SEk_AA3MZQRg5TyjDBThVT4OOLcwCNcBGAsYHQ/w274-h640/IMG_8928.jpeg" width="274" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div>So yes. Get this book. Read it aloud, to yourself, to anyone who'll listen. You'll be glad you did. And you'll have to excuse me now. I'm going for a walk. As it's late in the day, I'll head for Waldie Island to catch the last of the sun—it got up to 30C/86F today, the hottest so far this year. I'll be walking on the north side, see if I can catch some more of my own poem, the Columbia having been sneaking into my work on and off for a very long time. This year will be year 15 for the annual August postcard poem fest. The first card I wrote, back in 2007, began with the words <i>Let it begin with a river... </i></div><div><br /></div><div>§</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-5481047150526609132021-04-29T20:48:00.004-07:002021-04-29T20:48:41.586-07:00One Thing§<div><br /></div><div>NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 29:</div><div><br /></div><div>Ah! The penultimate prompt for this year's NaPo <i>"</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; font-style: italic;">is called “in the window.” Imagine a window looking into a place or onto a particular scene. It could be your childhood neighbor’s workshop, or a window looking into an alien spaceship. Maybe a window looking into a witch’s gingerbread cottage, or Lord Nelson’s cabin aboard the </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">H.M.S. Victory</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; font-style: italic;">. What do you see? What’s going on?"</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Yeah well, this prompt ain't speaking to me either. I see nothing.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Instead, let us have a small poem to do with this picture, one I took in the mangrove in La Manzanilla a couple of years ago.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p7pRN3a507A/YIt9p4U4AqI/AAAAAAAAKMM/MXSSMlVKgHQZXkoh-StN-k8lsMIOHPdaACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_5464%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p7pRN3a507A/YIt9p4U4AqI/AAAAAAAAKMM/MXSSMlVKgHQZXkoh-StN-k8lsMIOHPdaACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_5464%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">one thing</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">only one thing is true</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">sometimes you're the bird</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">and sometimes you're the fish</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">§</span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-23694452947522041612021-04-28T16:42:00.001-07:002021-04-28T17:23:10.930-07:00WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyWhereWhenWhatWho<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-eight-7/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 28:</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"<span style="background-color: white;">Our prompt today (optional, as always), is to write a poem that poses a series of questions. The questions could be a mix of the serious (“What is the meaning of life?”) and humorous (“What’s the deal with cats knocking things off tables?”), the interruptive (“Could you repeat that?”) and the conversational (“Are those peanuts? Can I have some?”). You can choose to answer them – or just let the questions keep building up, creating a poem that asks the reader to come up with their own answer(s)."</span></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wdx8QRiIWGc/YInvtUshDLI/AAAAAAAAKLw/vklnfxFphSYUt4mSYYL6GfL6pwaS6bkjwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_7685.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="2048" height="418" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wdx8QRiIWGc/YInvtUshDLI/AAAAAAAAKLw/vklnfxFphSYUt4mSYYL6GfL6pwaS6bkjwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h418/IMG_7685.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>WhoWhatWhenWhereWhyWhereWhenWhatWho</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Who was I in a past life and if there is a past life is there a future life?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">What does it matter?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">When will my mother die and when she does will she really be dead to me?</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Where are the answers to my life's big questions? </span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why do I keep picking at them as if at a scab that as a consequence will never heal?</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why is it so difficult to write of this?</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Where will I find the truth to the story of <i>my father had two wives</i>?</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">When did I realize it is possible to have three fathers?</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What is the point of even asking about life's big questions?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Who are all </span><span style="background-color: white;">these people and why do they keep invading my poems?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">§</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-40725486363010466742021-04-28T00:12:00.002-07:002021-04-28T11:44:51.358-07:00Nodus Tollens<span style="font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-seven-7/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 27: </span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Today's prompt takes me to <a href="https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com" target="_blank">The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.</a> Who knew there was such a thing? </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">From the dictionary, which has some marvellous words for less-than-marvellous feelings, we have:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/48395591256/nodus-tollens" style="color: #464646; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">nodus tollens</span></a></h2><div class="content" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.455; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px 100px 0px 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Lucida Sans", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;">n.</span> the realization that the plot of your life doesn’t make sense to you anymore—that although you thought you were following the arc of the story, you keep finding yourself immersed in passages you don’t understand, that don’t even seem to belong in the same genre—which requires you to go back and reread the chapters you had originally skimmed to get to the good parts, only to learn that all along you were supposed to choose your own adventure.</span></p></div></div><div></div><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/10658096642/trumspringa" style="color: #464646; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">trumspringa</span></a></h2><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Lucida Sans", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070; font-style: italic;">n</span><span face=""Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070;">. the temptation to step off your career track and become a shepherd in the mountains, following your flock between pastures with a sheepdog and a rifle, watching storms at dusk from the doorway of a small cabin, just the kind of hypnotic diversion that allows your thoughts to make a break for it and wander back to their cubicles in the city.</span></span></h2><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/46359044960/keyframe" style="color: #464646; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">keyframe</span></a></h2><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Lucida Sans", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070; font-style: italic;">n.</span><span face=""Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070;"> a moment that seemed innocuous at the time but ended up marking a diversion into a strange new era of your life—set in motion not by a series of jolting epiphanies but by tiny imperceptible differences between one ordinary day and the next, until entire years of your memory can be compressed into a handful of indelible images—which prevents you from rewinding the past, but allows you to move forward without endless buffering.</span></span></h2><h2 class="title" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/944246765/alimento-mori" style="color: #464646; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">moriturism</span></a></h2><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><div class="content" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.455; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px 100px 0px 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Lucida Sans", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;">n.</span> the insomnia-borne jolt of awareness that you will die, that these passing years aren’t just scenes from a dress rehearsal, rounds of an ongoing game or chapters in a story you’ll be telling later, but are footprints being lapped by the steadily gathering tide of an unfathomable abyss, which still wouldn’t wash out the aftertaste of all those baskets of Buffalo wings you devoured just before bedtime.</span></p></div></h2><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/57250260260/vellichoria" style="color: #464646; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">vellichor</span></a></h2><div class="content" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.455; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px 100px 0px 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Lucida Sans", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;">n.</span> the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time—filled with thousands of old books you’ll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era, bound and dated and papered over like an old room the author abandoned years ago, a hidden annex littered with thoughts left just as they were on the day they were captured.</span></p></div></div><div><h2 class="title" style="color: #464646; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/27720773573/kenopsia" style="color: #464646; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">kenopsia</span></a></h2></div><div><div class="content" style="caret-color: rgb(112, 112, 112); color: #707070; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.455; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px 100px 0px 0px;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 6px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span face=""Lucida Sans", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Grande", Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;">n.</span> the eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that’s usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet—a school hallway in the evening, an unlit office on a weekend, vacant fairgrounds—an emotional afterimage that makes it seem not just empty but hyper-empty, with a total population in the negative, who are so conspicuously absent they glow like neon signs.</span></p></div></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>From me, a poem for the Bradley/Thelwell pair. <i>So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night. </i>Safe travels. We will miss you so much. </span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p4UA2tvBx_8/YIkJzwPvP6I/AAAAAAAAKLk/B9ydXS5ipdIZzq4i5obRLvgVXl1rmc0NQCNcBGAsYHQ/IMG_8678.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p4UA2tvBx_8/YIkJzwPvP6I/AAAAAAAAKLk/B9ydXS5ipdIZzq4i5obRLvgVXl1rmc0NQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_8678.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Nodus Tollens</span></b></div><div><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: x-small;">for Robin and Rebecca<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>who knew </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the day your door was knocked upon</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and the person behind the knock </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">—trumspringa having brought them to the hood—</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">arrived with eggs and a smile</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">wondering if you were the person they'd found</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">in a google search for writers in Ootischenia— </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> who knew </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>in this keyframe</span><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">that a friendship would arise</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">cats would be cared for</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">weddings of children attended</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">a decade of drop-ins and dinners and laughter</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">deep discussions of moriturism</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">that can only happen as you age</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">pandemic bubble shopping</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">trips to the dump</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">wild turkeys in the yard</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">vellichor and gin</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> would ever end</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;">but now </span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;">a page is turned</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;">a door is closed</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">kenopsia descends</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">§</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-5439505041452392302021-04-26T22:44:00.001-07:002021-04-26T22:44:32.341-07:00I SEE A FULL MOON RISING§<div><br /></div><div><b>NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 26:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><i>"<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a parody. Besides being fun, writing parodies can be a great way to hone your poetic skills – particularly your sense of rhyme and sound, as you try to mimic the form of an existing poem while changing the content. Just find a poem – or a song – that has always annoyed you, and write an altered, silly version of it.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">"</span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">What?!!? A song that has always annoyed me? What have I done to deserve such a gift?</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">That's how I felt last night when I first saw the prompt. But the only songs I can think of that annoy me are so darned popular I just can't.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>I Am Fed Up</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I am fed up to the core</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">please don't play it any more</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">and I know that some will argue this ain't true </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">but this song is such a bore</span></div><div>I can't take it anymore...</div><div><br /></div><div>So instead, for today we're going to play "Can you guess the song?" and I don't care if you can or not!</div><div><br /></div><div>And I couldn't decide which song by Cat Stevens annoys me the most so I fizzled there, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think what this means is, it's time for April to be over!</div><div><br /></div><div>Full moon tonight. Just a few wispy clouds near it, the sky is ever so clear. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fDRAK6tdzJ8/YIekaPJ0ejI/AAAAAAAAKLU/-yB5Oxp4DMExHuPvKU5SS8M6fk12x2vcgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8663.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fDRAK6tdzJ8/YIekaPJ0ejI/AAAAAAAAKLU/-yB5Oxp4DMExHuPvKU5SS8M6fk12x2vcgCNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_8663.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>§</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-23350452452718707972021-04-25T21:10:00.001-07:002021-04-25T21:10:31.846-07:00On the Occasion of My Own Eventual but Still Impending Death§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-five-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 25:</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm at the "will this month never end" stage. Today I wrote two drafts of new poems for an online course, got one off to CV2's 10-word/48-hour contest, and just finished watching a poetry reading. I was about to slink off to bed or something when I remembered I haven't yet done today's poem.</div><div><br /></div><div>An occasional poem. As in, for an occasion. (After <a href="https://poets.org/poem/death-poems-ii" target="_blank">Michael McClure's<i> Death Poems</i></a>)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O83qz-TUqOY/YIY7782zJaI/AAAAAAAAKLA/26kc31V4d4Mq-ZG6tSwFkLwVelJ7eosVACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_6750.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O83qz-TUqOY/YIY7782zJaI/AAAAAAAAKLA/26kc31V4d4Mq-ZG6tSwFkLwVelJ7eosVACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_6750.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>On the Occasion of My Own Eventual but Still Impending Death</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">who in the mirror is that exactly</div><div style="text-align: center;">inching ever closer</div><div style="text-align: center;">to the end</div><div style="text-align: center;">the fence in the curtilage disintegrating</div><div style="text-align: center;">to the point there is no longer a curtilage</div><div style="text-align: center;">and the neighbour </div><div style="text-align: center;">has put up</div><div style="text-align: center;">a fence of their own</div><div style="text-align: center;">suggesting in a passive</div><div style="text-align: center;">if slightly aggressive manner</div><div style="text-align: center;">they'd like mine to go</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">g</div><div style="text-align: center;">o</div><div style="text-align: center;">i</div><div style="text-align: center;">n</div><div style="text-align: center;">g</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">a</div><div style="text-align: center;">l</div><div style="text-align: center;">r</div><div style="text-align: center;">e</div><div style="text-align: center;">a</div><div style="text-align: center;">d</div><div style="text-align: center;">y</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">don't need reminders</div><div style="text-align: center;">will stop the damned clock</div><div style="text-align: center;">before it stops itself</div><div style="text-align: center;">before the battery </div><div style="text-align: center;">runs </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>out</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">(all our batteries </div><div style="text-align: center;">running out)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">refrain from looking in mirrors</div><div style="text-align: center;">take down fences</div><div style="text-align: center;">that curtail life</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">exactly who is that in the mirror</div><div style="text-align: center;">who thinks this way</div><div style="text-align: center;">talks this way</div><div style="text-align: center;">wonders yet doesn't </div><div style="text-align: center;">about how</div><div style="text-align: center;">where</div><div style="text-align: center;">why</div><div style="text-align: center;">it will end</div><div style="text-align: center;">this life</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>don't fence me in</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">goes the song</div><div style="text-align: center;">and I'm transported to a house</div><div style="text-align: center;">babysitting for a baby</div><div style="text-align: center;">who always slept</div><div style="text-align: center;">bless it</div><div style="text-align: center;">while I listened to Frankie Laine</div><div style="text-align: center;">on the old record player</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>don't fence me in</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">mirror mirror on the wall</div><div style="text-align: center;">who the fuck is that</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">remember when </div><div style="text-align: center;">her hair was black</div><div style="text-align: center;">now </div><div style="text-align: center;">her <i>face is gaunt</i></div><div style="text-align: center;">her <i>eyes are blurred</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">remember when nothing ached</div><div style="text-align: center;">not</div><div style="text-align: center;">a finger</div><div style="text-align: center;">or </div><div style="text-align: center;">an ankle</div><div style="text-align: center;">or</div><div style="text-align: center;">a heart</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">now I'm headed for the range</div><div style="text-align: center;">and still </div><div style="text-align: center;">there are fences</div><div style="text-align: center;">to mend</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>w</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>h</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>o</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>'</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>s</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>t</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>h</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>a</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>t</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>p</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>r</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>e</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>t</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>t</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>y</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>g</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>i</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>r</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>l</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>in the mirror there</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">whose clock is that</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">who started it</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">and</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">who is changing </div><div style="text-align: center;">the batteries</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">§</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-65446444660308658362021-04-24T15:33:00.004-07:002021-04-24T15:33:46.204-07:00A New Boreality§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-four-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 24:</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, this was fun! And quick. This is the weekend of <a href="http://contemporaryverse2.ca/2-day-poem-contest/" target="_blank">Contemporary Verse 2's 10-word/48-hour contest</a> so I've been spending time on that, too. </div><div><br /></div><div>Today's prompt, which I helped along by drawing words from my <a href="https://paulenelson.com/workshops/personal-universe-deck/" target="_blank">Personal Universe Deck</a>: <i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">"Find a factual article about an animal. A Wikipedia article or something from National Geographic would do nicely – just make sure it repeats the name of the animal a lot. Now, go back through the text and replace the name of the animal with something else – it could be something very abstract, like “sadness” or “my heart,” or something more concrete, like “the streetlight outside my window that won’t stop blinking.” You should wind up with some very funny and even touching combinations, which you can then rearrange and edit into a poem."</i></div><div><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></i></div><div><i style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOrMx4Uh8JY/YISbPjGvpWI/AAAAAAAAKKw/TiDKB9atAZ0S0rJEX9Bui0kz8NqVZ8V7ACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8629.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOrMx4Uh8JY/YISbPjGvpWI/AAAAAAAAKKw/TiDKB9atAZ0S0rJEX9Bui0kz8NqVZ8V7ACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_8629.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><b><span style="color: #202122;">A New Boreality<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Meringues are cold-adapted mammals. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Taps require habitat with adequate edibles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Ankles travel among different habitats with the seasons.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Slivers survive hot weather by accessing shade or cooling wind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">In hot weather, caramels are often found wading in ponds.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">When heat-stressed, fear may fail to adequately forage in summer. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Pulpmills may not calve without adequate summer weight gain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">In late-winter, salt prefers river valleys.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Guilt requires access to young forests.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Fire and logging promotes the growth of fodder for penises.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Glue selects habitat on the basis of trade-offs.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">There was some concern that melons would worsen the population decline of mirrors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Tenderloins also require access to mineral licks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Saxophones prefer sub-alpine shrublands in early winter. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="color: #202122;">Crocodiles avoid areas with little or no snow.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">§</span></p></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-31102937583679414512021-04-23T21:23:00.002-07:002021-04-25T00:23:36.939-07:00Precarity<span style="font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-three-7/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 23:</span></a></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Today's prompt is to <i>"<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">write a poem that responds, in some way, to another."</span></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DYE1xFB4IQA/YIOXiAgBxqI/AAAAAAAAKKk/UJEVRFyfEKMCXHppjsQJwIKeRFnr3JeaQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8623.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1495" data-original-width="2048" height="468" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DYE1xFB4IQA/YIOXiAgBxqI/AAAAAAAAKKk/UJEVRFyfEKMCXHppjsQJwIKeRFnr3JeaQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h468/IMG_8623.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><b>Precarity</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">River's low right now. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">Rocks that usually lie hidden in water</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">jumble the shore white as clouds</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">as if from another planet.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;"><i><span> </span>It's the strangest place to be in.</i></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">Ebb flow </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;">season after season after season</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span>water just another commodity to be shackled </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">priced </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;">sold to the highest bidder.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><i><span> </span>In a world that feels this way, the soul knows something is wrong.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Cancer surgeries are being cancelled</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">because Covid patients are taking all the beds </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and travellers, tired of being away from home</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">are sneaking across the border in droves.</span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>You can't sleep in a hotel anyway.</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet I greet each day with coffee</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">brought to me by my beloved </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">each day one less in the story of our lives</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">the trajectory of which we are uncertain.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But still a new day.</span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span>And I am grateful</span></i></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">*</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The italicized, indented lines, in order of their appearance, are from the following poems in Janet Gallant's and Sharon Thesen's <a href="https://www.newstarbooks.com/book.php?book_id=1554201713" target="_blank"><i><b>The Wig-Maker,</b></i> New Star Books, 2021</a></span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">–cold calling </span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">– the neighbour</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">– the visit</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">– to go to 2002, Windsor</span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">§</span></i></div><div><br /></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-29429198743037154362021-04-22T20:59:00.001-07:002021-04-22T20:59:07.091-07:00Earth Day Haiku<span style="font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-two-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 22:</a> (Earth Day)</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Going off-prompt again. Two zoom readings today (I attended) so I'm kind of zonked. Seeing lots of posts about Earth Day today, which got me thinking...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The picture is of the Columbia River, looking south from Ootischenia, when trees were still in bud. This week our maples and aspen suddenly turned green! Another season has arrived. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_GOu4MR030c/YIJEpxlxkSI/AAAAAAAAKKY/s_eA_atwPGoV9hfNHq8UV8Ul0Gl3M5giQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8473.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_GOu4MR030c/YIJEpxlxkSI/AAAAAAAAKKY/s_eA_atwPGoV9hfNHq8UV8Ul0Gl3M5giQCNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_8473.jpeg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">if every day</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">was Earth Day</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">we wouldn't need one</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">§</span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-73180266006290346732021-04-20T21:32:00.000-07:002021-04-20T21:32:31.654-07:00Sijo for George Floyd§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-twenty-8/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo Day 20: </a></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">"Our (optional) prompt for the day is to write a sijo. This is a traditional Korean poetic form. Like the haiku, it has three lines, but the lines are much longer. Typically, they are 14-16 syllables, and optimally each line will consist of two parts – like two sentences, or a sentence of two clauses divided by a comma. In terms of overall structure, a sijo functions like an abbreviated sonnet, in that the first line sets up an inquiry or discussion, the second line continues the discussion, and the third line resolves it with a “twist” or surprise. For more on the sijo, check out the primer </span><a href="https://www.sejongculturalsociety.org/writing/current/resources/sijo_guide.php" style="border: 0px; color: #5f79b4; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> and a long list of examples in English, </span><a href="https://www.sejongculturalsociety.org/writing/past/2020/winners/sijo.php#1ad" style="border: 0px; color: #5f79b4; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">."</span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L973frHmmO0/YH-qC9ERl9I/AAAAAAAAKJ4/TnsSdQkOZbUU2HiY2zh230OQdqnjHvuAgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8544.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L973frHmmO0/YH-qC9ERl9I/AAAAAAAAKJ4/TnsSdQkOZbUU2HiY2zh230OQdqnjHvuAgCNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_8544.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Look at this tree, staunchly growing between boulders. Such tenacity. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">The big news today, besides the (sadly now) </span><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">usual</span><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> Covid stuff, was the jury for the trail of the cop who killed George Floyd finding the former policeman guilty on all counts. My </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">sijo:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Sijo For George Floyd</b></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">What to watch for in the news—the Covid count or George Floyd’s trial?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">It really wasn’t George on trial, though all of us held our breath.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Cop goes down like a knee on a neck but still George Floyd is dead.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">§</p></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-9756987963691025242021-04-19T23:55:00.000-07:002021-04-19T23:55:04.737-07:00Quotidian Times§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-nineteen-6/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo Day 19:</a></div><div><br /></div><div>It's after 11PM and here I am, setting up my blog for today's yet unwritten poem. Today's prompt is to <i>"</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i>write a humorous rant. In this poem, you may excoriate to your heart’s content all the things that get on your nerves. Perhaps it’s people who tailgate when driving, or don’t put the caps back on pens after they use them. Or the raccoons who get into your garbage cans." (</i>Maybe I should write about idiots who wait until the last minute to do things and then do them half-assed.) </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Given the time, I was going to revert to that form for today's effort. I just don't have a rant in me at the moment. But instead I'm throwing down the first part of one I started to write for another day this month and ended up writing something I liked better. I'm not entirely sure what this one's about—for the record, no bongs were actually involved.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Today I visited Mom and </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">brought her a literally hot off the press copy of a chapbook of some of my February haiku. She was quite taken with it.She got to see her grandson today, too, for the first time in over a year that wasn't through a window or over a fence. Needless to say, that </span><i style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">really</i><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> made her day.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hy-eqFKCw7g/YH53WRILHMI/AAAAAAAAKJo/2sIoVqSaVYAeUjvVuMBuQ8yLmYzQk-ulACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8581%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hy-eqFKCw7g/YH53WRILHMI/AAAAAAAAKJo/2sIoVqSaVYAeUjvVuMBuQ8yLmYzQk-ulACNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_8581%2B%25281%2529.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">Quotidian Times</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> Ding dong <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> which witch is dead<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> bring out your bongs<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> and feed your head<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> replace the song<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> that sounds a dirge<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> with manic dancing<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"> find a word<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">§</p></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-10798655379476625122021-04-18T14:01:00.003-07:002021-04-20T15:25:35.823-07:00Collage§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-eighteen-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 18:</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, I just had way too much fun doing this one! Here's the prompt: <i>"...<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">write a poem based on the title of one of the chapters from Susan G. Wooldridge’s</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">. The book’s </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Poemcrazy-Freeing-Your-Life-Words/dp/0609800981/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202450006&sr=8-1" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="border: 0px; color: #5f79b4; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">table of contents</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> can be viewed using Amazon’s “Look inside” feature."</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Sure enough, there is an abundance of great titles to choose from. So many, in fact, I couldn't pick just one, so I turned a bunch of them into the poem. The italicized lines are from the book, including the title.</div><div>And the image? It's of one of last summer's postcard poems when I was experimenting with collage!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uVA4QOl9M4w/YHycwpyKLYI/AAAAAAAAKJc/SO0arBFG0k0CoOitt53rMC22265KFRj9ACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_5440.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1306" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uVA4QOl9M4w/YHycwpyKLYI/AAAAAAAAKJc/SO0arBFG0k0CoOitt53rMC22265KFRj9ACNcBGAsYHQ/w408-h640/IMG_5440.jpeg" width="408" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Collage<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I’m <i>collecting words and creating a whirlpool<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> catching myself in an aisle at the <i>grocery<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> weeping </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">over<i> gas, food, <o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> longing </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">for <i>the poemfish </i>to find me,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and bring me back over <i>the poet bridge<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">to <i>the centre of the house.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Paul who breaks pencils</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">talks about lawnmower poets <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">whose<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">words<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">march<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">resolutely<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">down<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">side<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">page<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">so<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">it<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">looks<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">like</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">neatly<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">mowed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">lawn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">He suggests <i>cater</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><sub><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 27.600000381469727px;">pillar</span></sub></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i><i><sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 27.600000381469727px;">poets</span></sup></i></span><sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 27.600000381469727px;"> </span></sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">are more interesting,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> sticking words all over the page in a<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">random yet not random<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> fashion<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> it’s more intriguing to read<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> spaces instead of commas<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> and the odd <b>!</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">for no good reason at all. <b>!</b> . <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> Who were you in my dream,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> stirring the sky </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">with your<i> fear of poetry,<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> being visited by words?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I dress myself with rain</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> and <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">the blue socks from my grandmother.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I know it looks like I’m<i> lying to tell the truth<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>but to tell the truth, I’m lying.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">§</span></p></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-11591467507684590032021-04-16T22:06:00.000-07:002021-04-16T22:06:27.419-07:00Head in Hand<span style="font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-sixteen-8/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 16:</span></a></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">"T<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">oday I’d like you to relax with the rather silly form called Skeltonic, or tumbling, verse. In this form, there’s no specific number of syllables per line, but each line should be short, and should aim to have two or three stressed syllables. And the lines should rhyme. You just rhyme the same sound until you get tired of it, and then move on to another sound."</span></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: left;"> I have a feeling I could go on and on with this one but I will spare us all and stop! </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: left;"> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxXkL8AMHOw/YHprTvXWNlI/AAAAAAAAKI4/aee2VoopotMmWGnKFRnWemQJP85Y16cgQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8346.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxXkL8AMHOw/YHprTvXWNlI/AAAAAAAAKI4/aee2VoopotMmWGnKFRnWemQJP85Y16cgQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_8346.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><br /></span></span></i></div><div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: center;">Head in hand</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: center;">nothing as planned</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: center;">I'd take a stand</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; text-align: center;">but I'd be banned.</div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;">Stuck in a cage</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;">somewhere offstage</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">I'm at that age</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">should disengage</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">not put my rage </span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">upon a page</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">I'd like to burn.</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">You'd think I'd learn</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">to wait my turn—</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">my main concern</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">is that I yearn</span></div><div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">to do it all</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">engage, enthral—</div><div style="text-align: center;">instead I scrawl</div><div style="text-align: center;">a line or two </div><div style="text-align: center;">(more than a few)</div><div style="text-align: center;">of nothing new</div><div style="text-align: center;">to capture you—</div><div style="text-align: center;">it's crap; it's true,</div><div style="text-align: center;">it's what I do.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>§</div></span></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><ul class="i8Z77e" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 36); color: #202124; font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="TrT0Xe" style="list-style-type: disc; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;"><br /></li></ul></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-77680226290932129472021-04-15T22:18:00.005-07:002021-04-30T12:53:24.618-07:00Read to Me<span style="font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-fifteen-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 15:</a><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><i>"...think about a small habit you picked up from one of your parents, and then to write a piece that explores an early memory of your parent engaged in that habit, before shifting into writing about yourself engaging in the same habit."</i></span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EjdJS6TNoro/YHkdTAmzznI/AAAAAAAAKIs/Q5TwAVPWJdspD69tXKSkStBLUJiApO2_wCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8571.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EjdJS6TNoro/YHkdTAmzznI/AAAAAAAAKIs/Q5TwAVPWJdspD69tXKSkStBLUJiApO2_wCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_8571.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Read to Me<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Always, always his nose in a book<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">each night after dinner he’d read aloud<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i>Now We Are Six <o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> and all the rest, then <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> The Wind in the Willows<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and as I grew, he taught me humour with<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> Cheaper by the Dozen, <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i>and<i> Onions in the Stew,<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i>the horror of <i>Lobo the King of Currumpaw, <o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i>and the mystery of Sherlock Holmes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He induced shivers with <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> Comes a breathing hard behind thee—<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i>snuffle-snuffle<i> through the night—<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">then he calmed me singing <i>Daddy’s Little Girl.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once, before he lost his mind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">he wrote a letter, quoted<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <i>Let me not to the marriage of true minds<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> Admit impediments…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and added if ever I found someone<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with whom I could truly share my mind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> I should marry him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I guess he knew that would be a tough one.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He was long gone before I did,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">never met my son, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">doesn’t know his wife has outlived<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">just about everybody,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and sometimes I go to where he lies,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">read him poems of my own.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">§</span></span></p></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-77838244390708135762021-04-15T00:00:00.003-07:002021-04-15T00:00:30.818-07:00Cross§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-fourteen-8/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo Day 14: </a></div><div><br /></div><div>Well, if ever a name came in handy! ... <i>"<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that delves into the meaning of your first or last name.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">" </span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Let's hope so. It's 2345 so I have fifteen minutes to get this together!</span></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh89jSbkNcg/YHfked8MkXI/AAAAAAAAKIg/gs2iMF3VUbo-zQJ402hOu8WVhmwO-YWFACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_6275.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh89jSbkNcg/YHfked8MkXI/AAAAAAAAKIg/gs2iMF3VUbo-zQJ402hOu8WVhmwO-YWFACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_6275.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Cross</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">When I married late in life</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I traded one patriarchal name </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">that appeared over six pages </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">in the Vancouver phone book</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">for another that would require </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">constant correcting</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">when it came to </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">spelling it with its single </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">s.</i></div><div><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></i></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i>Can't find you</i> says the vet,</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">the </span><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">optometrist, the florist,</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">am I sure I've been here before,</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">made that appointment, </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">reserved that table.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">It's a small cross to bear</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">as crosses go, </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">the rest of it</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">easy as a walk across the field</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">in the back yard with its aspen grove</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">and ancient apple trees</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">that still produce a flounce of flowers </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">in spring,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">autumn bounty </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">for pies.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">§</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-44740419479233891092021-04-13T23:40:00.001-07:002021-04-14T00:35:50.908-07:00Aubade for La Manzanilla<span style="font-size: medium;">§</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-thirteen-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo Day 13:</a></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The "short and sweet" prompt today, <i>"write a poem </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><i>in the form of a news article you wish would come out tomorrow," </i>got me nowhere. I wrote a poem I don't understand based on that prompt but instead of confusing myself and anybody reading this I'm writing an <i>aubade, </i>a memory of a place I wish I could return to.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5j-sFOde2Bc/YHaNrgdGVvI/AAAAAAAAKIY/huyZ6hiVvG4NiZVfvtbGhxd70VIo0b9TACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_4618.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5j-sFOde2Bc/YHaNrgdGVvI/AAAAAAAAKIY/huyZ6hiVvG4NiZVfvtbGhxd70VIo0b9TACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_4618.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Aubade for La Manzanilla<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that last day<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> some of us hugging <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> some of us not<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">surely this 'flu will disappear in no time<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">surely we’ll be back at the end of the year<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">last look around in case we forgot something<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">pat the street dog goodbye<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">one last wave to Doña Chuy in her Frida-blue house<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">will she be here when we come back<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> if we come back<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">so much can change in a year </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">borders turn elastic<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> snap shut<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">everything recast<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">we learn to mask to wash <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">stare at screens eat too much</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> play old tunes <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">start day drinking with a neighbour</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> tiny bubbles<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">rid ourselves of things we never use <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">remember how we used to touch each other<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">crowd a dance floor <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">blow out candles on a cake and eat it<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">back in La Manzanilla</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Pedro is making fish tacos and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">margaritas the size of coconuts </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">in the mangrove a crocodile slaps the water </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">at sunset a symphony of birds returns to nest for the night</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Laura Loca is singing</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Lionel is selling his wife's almond cookies on the beach</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">as the sun falls into the sea</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">tomorrow we'll get <i>torta piernas</i> from Marta</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">to take on the flight</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">that last day<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span> <span> </span></span>surely this ’flu will disappear <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span> <span> </span></span>surely we’ll be back <o:p></o:p></span></p></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">§</span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span> </span></span></span><br /></div></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-50813775594644508672021-04-12T22:31:00.002-07:002021-04-12T23:19:03.048-07:00Salad Days§<div><br /></div><div>Busy day. Too tired to work on anything faintly resembling a prompt. Determined as I am to post a poem a day this month, here goes:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9dg0c3GfMQ/YHUsE11Z0WI/AAAAAAAAKIM/HaQR-1_BvIgL8XugME-yfIVddhg1kSNSQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8475.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d9dg0c3GfMQ/YHUsE11Z0WI/AAAAAAAAKIM/HaQR-1_BvIgL8XugME-yfIVddhg1kSNSQCNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_8475.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Salad Days</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>never </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><span> </span>we thought</div><div><br /></div><div><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span>we hoped</div><div><br /></div><div><span> <span> </span></span></div><div><span></span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>Rip Van Winkle days</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>we're just waking up now</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>and all around us</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span>birds are singing</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>§</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-27561646240013985872021-04-11T13:54:00.000-07:002021-04-11T13:54:05.056-07:00Dear Sveva I'm Sorry§<div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-eleven-9/" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-eleven-9/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 11:</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i>"Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a two-part poem, in the form of an exchange of letters. The first stanza (or part) should be in the form of a letter that you write either to yourself or to a famous fictional or historical person. The second part should be the letter you receive in response." </i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; text-align: left;">Every once in a while in a life you come across something or someone that speaks to you so directly you cannot help but listen. I've written about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sveva_Caetani" target="_blank">Sveva Caetani</a> before, and as it's a nice day and I'd like to get out in it I'm just going to copy (and edit) <a href="https://purplemountainpoems.blogspot.com/2018/01/some-of-poetry-books-i-read-in-2017.html" target="_blank">what I wrote Jan 1, 2018</a>:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://caetani.org/heritage/history/" style="color: #da1e00; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sveva Caetani </a><span style="background-color: #f0edf4; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: start;">came into my life one winter day in 2000 when I happened to be walking down Baker Street in Nelson and there in a window was one of her paintings. I went in (it was a little ad hoc gallery that wasn't there very long and I don't remember its name). I looked at all the paintings. I came back a week or so later and looked at them all again. The show was up for a month or so and I went whenever I could. I bought the book that went with the exhibition, ninety dollars when I didn't have the budget for ninety dollar books but I couldn't stop thinking about the paintings. I poured over the book. I was struck by the story of Caetani's life, most of which was spent in Vernon, B.C.</span><br style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: start;" /><br style="font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-align: start;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: #f0edf4; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;">One day I was curious as to whether anyone had written poetry about her so off I went to the Google mines and discovered that J</span><a href="https://jackpinepress.com/product/between-brush-strokes/" style="color: #da1e00; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ack Pine Press</a><span style="background-color: #f0edf4; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif;"> had a chapbook of such poems by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_Marlatt" target="_blank">Daphne Marlatt. </a>I tried all kinds of ways to get a copy but it was long sold-out. Some years later I asked a mutual friend if they'd connect us via email. Daphne and I corresponded briefly and while she didn't have any extra copies lying around she very kindly sent me a file with the text of her poems so I could read them. I printed it out and it's tucked inside the <i>Recapitulation</i> book. Since then Daphne has published a larger collection of poems called <a href="https://talonbooks.com/books/reading-sveva" target="_blank">Reading Sveva</a>. I continue to look at the pictures of her paintings in my book. Best $90 I ever spent. (The italicized lines are mine from previous poems.)</span> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FJF6FJyKd5U/YHNbRRrKPqI/AAAAAAAAKH4/gpxQRhH-lmIgM2i7ijNTLP3cn-w2850UgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8457.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1722" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FJF6FJyKd5U/YHNbRRrKPqI/AAAAAAAAKH4/gpxQRhH-lmIgM2i7ijNTLP3cn-w2850UgCNcBGAsYHQ/w538-h640/IMG_8457.jpeg" width="538" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Dear Sveva, I'm sorry</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> I didn't know you when you were still alive</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> didn't know you lived scant hours away</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> didn't </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">know you were a prisoner in your home.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> How I could have related</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> felt like a prisoner in mine those days</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> my mother disapproving of everything</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I did</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I said</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I wrote</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>only her music making her happy.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Dear Linda, don't be sorry</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> you learned</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> as did I </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> to guard your secrets</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> spin them out later</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> when the time was right.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Years and years of mother-stifle</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>our mothers had demons </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>taught us to battle our own.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> </span>I saw you see me </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> </span>the first time you saw my paintings</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span>knew you were kindred</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span>knew you would write me poems <span> </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><span> </span>how did one go—</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i> the day the muse came</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i> did you cry out in anger</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i> or fall to your knees</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I think you know.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i>§</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-24299536683798524612021-04-10T16:11:00.002-07:002021-04-10T16:11:45.825-07:00Spam Love and Such§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-ten-9/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo Day 10:</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm departing from the prompt, not that I don't like it but it involves looking into a junk drawer (like I have only one!) and I know what that could lead to so I penned this whilst cleaning out my inbox and decided it can be today's offering. </div><div><br /></div><div>And here is a picture of what it was doing in these parts this morning. Now it's sunny and bright, but cold. However, the forecast for next week looks very hopeful! I'm seeing a couple of 21sC later in the week (that's nearly 70F for my American friends).</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sP8e-Up7FPU/YHIv_Ry6fsI/AAAAAAAAKHs/HDWl0bQR2QQBc4maLCs785_jgdjzQFkHQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8424.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sP8e-Up7FPU/YHIv_Ry6fsI/AAAAAAAAKHs/HDWl0bQR2QQBc4maLCs785_jgdjzQFkHQCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_8424.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><b>Spam Love And Such</b><br /><div><br /></div><div><i>this is the third time I've written to you</i></div><div>says the woman in my inbox</div><div>who's looking for love or something </div><div><br /></div><div>sorry hun but first I'm not and</div><div>second I'm not a simple guy and</div><div>third I can't read Russian and </div><div><br /></div><div>fourth I don't want to meet you and</div><div>fifth even though you're very pretty and</div><div>sixth just no honey just no and</div><div><br /></div><div>somebody posted a picture</div><div>of what Jesus really would have looked like and</div><div>I'd have done him and</div><div><br /></div><div>somewhere in a hospital ICU someone who's dying</div><div>gets a water-filled rubber glove to clasp their hand</div><div> instead of the real thing</div><div><br /></div><div>at least it's warm water</div><div><span> </span>although who knows how long it'll stay that way and</div><div>don't you just want to smack it</div><div><br /></div><div>§</div><div> </div></div></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-88881122420215373322021-04-09T14:52:00.001-07:002021-04-09T14:53:26.428-07:00The Filing Cabinet Finally Takes a Stand§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-nine-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 9:</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i>"Our (optional) prompt for the day is to write a poem in the form of a “to-do list.” The fun of this prompt is to make it the “to-do list” of an unusual person or character."</i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Against all odds this turned out </span><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">to be quite a bit of fun!</span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVIX8NWBFDE/YHDLFSPB5WI/AAAAAAAAKHM/GWDjMJxPZUgsc3svzAslimb8wZRQ8LRNgCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8414.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVIX8NWBFDE/YHDLFSPB5WI/AAAAAAAAKHM/GWDjMJxPZUgsc3svzAslimb8wZRQ8LRNgCNcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_8414.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>The Filing Cabinet Finally Takes a Stand</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• add a folder for the days they nearly packed it in</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• be kinder when they can't throw something out</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• call for </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">reinforcements; they pulled out two of my drawers and I nearly fell on them!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• ditch those records of their abandoned gardening projects and long-deceased pets </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• eliminate everything that reminds them of the road they didn't take</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• find last year's income tax info for them STAT</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• get rid of their Humour folder; there is none to be had here</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• hold onto everything concerning wills and pensions</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• indicate the year on their writing group work</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• jam another folder into their "submissions—unsuccessful</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">" section</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• kill the darlings they won't</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• look into Christmas / consignments / grad reunions / kids / subscriptions and be firm </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• make allowances for waffling and bad behaviour</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• nix </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">the urge to tip over and spill everything on the floor</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• open quietly so they can peruse me at night</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• pick one of cars / automobiles and eliminate the other</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• question everything </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• remind them receipts belong at the front of the top drawer</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• show them how easy it is to put things away instead of throwing everything on top </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• toss the forty-seven versions of that really bad poem that's never going to work</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• unleash the shredder</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• validate currency of everything in their Electronics folder</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• warranties are overrated; ditch those, too</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• X-acto those letters </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">they no longer wish to keep </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">from a former lover </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• yank out the "Nostalgia" folder; do not let them keep it</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">• zamboni the huge garbage bag you've amassed out to the burn pile. You got this.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">§</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-74711282397136754052021-04-08T21:43:00.001-07:002021-04-08T21:43:10.209-07:00leave gophers alone§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-eight-8/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo 2021 Day 8:</a></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">"Today, I’d like to challenge you to read a few of the poems from </span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1280/1280-h/1280-h.htm" target="_blank">Spoon River Anthology</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1280/1280-h/1280-h.htm" target="_blank">, </a>and then write your own poem in the form of a monologue delivered by someone who is dead. "</span></i></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--l6GaI2GBd0/YG_aYDal92I/AAAAAAAAKG4/zPo6FnTSKYUa3yqvNeOP6aiG0FUIoi6-ACNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_2006.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1619" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--l6GaI2GBd0/YG_aYDal92I/AAAAAAAAKG4/zPo6FnTSKYUa3yqvNeOP6aiG0FUIoi6-ACNcBGAsYHQ/w506-h640/IMG_2006.jpeg" width="506" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">That's the Nelson cemetery, a small part of it, actually. I love it there. It's peaceful and beautiful and a great place to walk—and to find names for your characters if you're having trouble thinking up new ones! </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">This is the sort of prompt I usually like, but perhaps because I was visiting Mom again today and we both acknowledged that for sure, sooner than later, she'll be gone, all bets being off when you're nearly 101, I'm just not getting anywhere with it. And tomorrow's prompt is up already, too. And besides all that, I have a headache!</span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">So I think I'm just going to write a senryu for this one. It could be in anybody's voice. I'll give this one to Dad.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">leave gophers alone</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">they're the only things having fun</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">around here</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">§</span></span></span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26712563.post-33288430771138888502021-04-07T20:33:00.001-07:002021-04-07T20:33:04.020-07:00Fibs, Fibs, Fibs§<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.napowrimo.net/day-seven-7/" target="_blank">NaPoWriMo Day 7:</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">The</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> Fib is a six-line form. But now, the syllable count is based off the Fibonacci sequence of 1/1/2/3/5/8. You can link multiple Fibs together into a multi-stanza poem, or even start going backwards after your first six lines, with syllable counts of 8/5/3/2/1/1.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iVl5uM73aoA/YG54fsusD_I/AAAAAAAAKGU/FI2EEk-JnOUDinmh6R9KXTSoOhgIbzxtwCNcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_8345.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iVl5uM73aoA/YG54fsusD_I/AAAAAAAAKGU/FI2EEk-JnOUDinmh6R9KXTSoOhgIbzxtwCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_8345.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Okay, so when I read this prompt last night (on the west coast, or more accurately for me, in that time zone, we get the next day's prompt at around nine o'clock at night) the first thing that dropped into my mind was this:</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Possibly the Original Fib</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">take</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">eat</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">this is</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">my body</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">that </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I gave to you</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">do this in remembrance of me</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div>That Fibonacci form is everywhere, it seems, even in religious doctrine whether you follow one or not!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So today was a bit of a gong show for me and I wrote these on and off as the day wore on.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Fib 1</b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">first </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">world</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">problem</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">housekeeper</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">arrives, set to work</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">thought she was coming tomorrow </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Fib 2</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">on</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">hold</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">auto</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">insurance</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">renewal again</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I sit on hold and wait and wait</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Fib 3</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">I </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">could</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">avoid</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">waiting on</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">hold if only I'd</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">leave a number for a call back</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Fib 4</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Fib</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">is</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">perfect</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">format </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">for</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">writing when frazzled</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">as I will be until answered</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><b>Fib 5</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">all</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">done</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">car is</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">insured to </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">drive </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">another year</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">all praise those who work with wifi</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">Today's picture was taken down at Millennium Park. The statue was part of Castlegar's Art Walk a year or two ago. I quite like him. He almost perfectly reflects how I feel some days! </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;">§</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></div>Linda Crosfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02096670703066469956noreply@blogger.com5