Free Standing

Never give in, up,
To fade away, all die down,
Endeavor to share
The things found until changes
Hold fear no longer, but fly.

Love is the reason
No one can stoop low to die;
Life becomes complete.

As a prompt: Create work that might motivate someone who needs encouragement. What you do might help inspire beauty and wonder.

Gratitude List
We have gotten out of 2020.
Alex sent me a chapter to read.
Reba is doing well.
I keep finding music I enjoy.
I read 64 books in 2020.

I hope today finds you doing well and being happy. Thank you for sharing your time with me today. If you enjoy what you see on Haphazard Creative, please follow the site and have a look around. If you are more comfortable coming back as you wish, that is also a good option.

Likes and comments are much appreciated if you care to share.

May God richly bless you,

Jo Ann

Free-form Thoughts

Prompt: Create; however, you like. Be brave enough to share your original, believe in yourself and what you do. There is power in being who you are without filters, enhancements, reinvention.

I am grateful:
My dogs love me.
Some people love me.
I am creative.
I write poetry.
Life works most of the time.

I did some more work on the presentation of the site today. If you have thoughts or comments, please share.

Thank you for visiting Haphazard Creative. I hope you enjoyed your time here. Please follow the site or come back again when you can.

Second-Hand, Not

A love second-hand
Is not, because new feelings,
Different persons;
Trigger genuine effects
Never encountered before.
The distance between
Past, present, a vast ocean,
Cruised far beyond
The knowns of close acquaintance
Seeking safety, loyalty.
Love, sweet tenderness,
Chosen with care, discernment,
Creativity,
To become cherished comfort,
Stability, each hour, day.
Love, open passion
Making life a dream come true
Entangled, fresh, two.

Prompt: How do you feel about love? What do you know of it? Can you describe it in your words? Answer one or all of these questions, either in language or artwork.

I am grateful:

Writing has been less complicated in the last few days.
I have a lined journal again.
I have good taste.
I love reading.
Losing my place in time is not a terrible thing.

Thank you for sharing your day with me. If you have not followed the site, there is a button to the right. You may instead come back on your own, I hope.

Diversity Enriches Normality

Whatever could it
Be, coming such great surprise,
From lands far away
To please fancy fantasy,
Developed in happy times?
The container gives
No clue but from whence it came,
And useless guessing
For almost anything might
Signify the producer.
Jewelry, toys, clothes,
At affordable prices,
Tools, appliances,
Fill needs temporarily
Providing a range of choice.
Without such shipping
Many would go without items,
Enriching bare days
Of impoverishment, lack,
Better being than nothing.

As a prompt, take a photograph or create a visual work of art and write something relating to your image or artwork.

A 365 Creativity Project seems daunting initially, and even later, there are times quitting might be more manageable. I did this before with a sizable increase in my creative output than if I did not commit to it. 2020 was a good year in this regard. If you want to produce more work, I recommend building an achievable goal and holding yourself to it.

I am grateful:

I have electronic devices.
It was a dry day.
Sam’s Club cooks chicken.
Music lifts spirits and inspires.
Clothes protect and conceal us.

I am still working on the site, watch out for the yellow tape.

Thank you for visiting Haphazard Creative. Please follow the site, or come back when you may. If you have thoughts you would like to share, they are welcome.

100 Words, Plus 100, and 100 More

Choosing means taking one thing, losing another. It is impossible to follow both avenues at once. An attempt made to do the best for all parties may grow to be different than intended.

Such decisions might cause upheaval, and only in the doing can the consequences be known. Somewhere else, different, perhaps the other story unfolds with all the highs and lows, comes and goes, amends and sins, now and then.

Both paths exist, but only one reckoned a reality in the time currently seen. Walking the in-between, amongst the alternatives, is how a mind can become shattered. Open here.

My friend Raymond was an expert in what he called 100 Words. He did them every day in some years. This morning Ray left our sphere because of COVID. (This is another unreasoning blow) I never met him face to face, but he was a dear friend. We had arguments, discussions, shared moments, and differences of opinion. He was most often kind. I and others will miss him tremendously. My offering above is not nearly as polished as the thousands Ray did, but Ray was exceptionally gifted. I will remember him with smiles, laughter, respect, tears: always and forever.

I do not know what it is inside you that you hide deep, but I know, one day, should you let it go, it will help you have peace. 100 Words, or for fiction that comes complete – The Drabble, sometimes gives an opening into the heart and soul of what needs telling.

I play with language a lot. My optimal form seems to be poetry, but there are others at times. If we are creative, we can step across bridges from one river to another, from one time to several, finding, searching, knowing, hoping, having, losing, becoming, being.