Past-Time

I heard
Someone
Say
You said our
Together was
Over,
Love had
Flown –
Tears filled
Up my eyes
Because
I was
The last
Come knowing.
A shadow
Over
The day
Just
Started
Growing
My heart
Paled, collapsed
You in
Your life
Kept going,
Lonely
Mine was
Destroying.
Still, sweet
Music plays
My heart
And soul
Forever
Taste
The words
To sing,
I writing
Will catch
Inklings –
Making
Fresh
Love
Melody
All things.

Prompt

This was written in fifteen lines, each five a tanka. I decided to bring it here, do some edits, and elongate it by making the lines short.

Your challenge, should you accept it is to take something you have written – do a sea-change with the form. This could be current work, a piece you laid aside, or even a found work from your own material. Try to hold the meaning or make it new. You are the creative engine. Blessings.

Let Festivities Proceed

Thanksgiving

Why Gratitude Is Great Every Day

It is fantastic to set aside a day annually for giving thanks, and we should. However, there is so much more meaning to be gained from an attitude of gratitude in the midst of ordinary days. We live by grace, everything flowing to us freely. Much of what happens and what we have, we did not plan.

The parking space that opens up on a day when walking hurts.
The child arrived after a long period of waiting.
The place where home is found.
The friends who love despite the flaws.
The technology that eases each day.
The books that let us travel away.
The pets that bring smiles and laughter.

All these and so many blessings enhance living, gratitude journals are a wonderful practice to indulge in thankfulness. What they give us is mindfulness of how full our lives are. Maybe it raises the spirits and keeps complaints at bay.

Try to take at least a few moments to recognize your extraordinary life every week. When you know what you have you may find yourself more content.

Life is a bountiful adventure abundant in every way. I hope you find reasons for gratitude all along the pathway.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Means

I have been meaning
To explain who I am, may be,
Is not always who
Strictly I mean as defined
By this voice, words, these two feet.

My eyes carry clues,
But even they lack evidence
Because the heart-beat
In my chest and the preserve
Of my mind go further, deep.

What you see is not
Often what you get, riches
Are hidden in doubt
Covered in terrible fear
Holding back, choking on tears.

I cannot stand here
Yet, I do, as I believe
I must. Why? Because
Someone should do what it takes
To wake the community,

Convey mentally ill
Can live without most restraints
Doing possible
Like anyone, though made harder,
Complications, divergent ways,

Creativity
Finds a flowing flood falls fast
Dipped body whole
Going within and without
Never giving up or in,

The voice louder, in
Color brighter, some wilder,
Linked like all others,
Human, as someone newborn,
Those long-lived; loved thoroughly,

The same/different,
Untamed, giving, love alive,
God placed – no mistake,
Painting history’s pages
With sharing, reach, making much.

Gratitude List

I am thankful:
1. I have been waking earlier.
2. I am enjoying my corded keyboard and mouse.
3. I have recently finished several books.
4. I created art this morning.
5. I appreciate that I have a home.

Prompt
Think about your life and the human condition and pick an instance that appeals from which to create a written or artistic work.