Forge

Creativity is a chain
Of solid gold smelted
Throughout lifetimes
But evidenced when
Time begins to test
Bonding links every day;
Deriving an understanding
Durable and yet fragile,
Indicating how to forge
Works which manifest
Such rapturous glory
Doves announce a viable
Quality of love exemplified
In skies embroidered by
Stars surpassing thoughts
Possible in mere mortal dreams.

Poeming

Poetry is hands quaking, love,
Nerves jittering, minds fishing
For the perfect words,
The most eloquent phrases,
Attempting to prise loose
Every superfluous jot
From lines while feeling
What lies written on the pages
Is already fine, best to be got.

Though brief, it indeed be
Each poem is an act
Courageous and beautiful,
A dream passed into the real
Sealed in feeling to reveal
Excellencies before hidden
In minds laboring alone
Delivering honest meaning
Investing in and ushering
Others beyond, perhaps home.

Mixed Verses

This story of yours
Does much good for everyone
Who needing it comes.

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What we remember
Is the love, care, support we
Find in another;
Relationships matter much more
Than all we acquire or do.

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Sometimes what you name
Things carries much less meaning,
Than reality.

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When the shadow falls
A monster of bloody hands
Seizing every plan
Wresting hope from us, away,
Injuring with cuts, deeply,
Words rationed, kept back,
No mending, wounds keep bleeding,
Hidden depths, no light.

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Living in real-time
Is a challenge every day
Minutes go astray,
Even when trying these hours
The current causes swift drift.
Gauging the passage
Is only possible with
Instrumentation,
Because wild passions engage
Moments become variable.

I wrote all these in bits in my journal. I like them, so I decided to share. Most are haiku or tanka, with some variants on those forms.

Reading List

Wild Lands (Book 2 of Savage Lands) by Stacey Marie Brown, 297 pages, Five Stars.

The Art of Prompt by Camerson Monhagan, uncertain page count, 2500 prompts, Five Stars.

The above are my final reads in March.

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April 2021 – 12 Books

Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson, 460 pages, Five Stars; I have read several books by this author, and all are wonderful.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, 390 pages, Five Stars; I like stories about books, libraries, and strange things.

Darke by Rick Gekoski, 321 pages, Four Stars, deals with grief and isolation and is well done, a bit dark and depressing.

Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore, 376 pages, Five Stars, you should read this; it is a romp.

A Witch In Time by Constance Sayers, 449 pages, Five Stars, is a story that invites deep thought.

The Secret Life of Books by Tom Mole, 239 pages, Five Stars, explores how books mean more than just what they say.

Tears of Amber by Sofia Segovia, Kindle First Read, 487 pages, Five Stars; is a story of how a family survives a war.

D (A Tale of Two Worlds) by Michel Faber, 304 pages, Five Stars, a story of what might happen if someone made a letter of the alphabet disappear.

Unexpected by Jozua van Otterloo, 100 pages, Four Stars, an inspirational book, I would give Three Stars because it has many errors and I copy edit. However, the stories and references are very appropriate.

The Abundance by Annie Dillard, 288 pages, Five Stars, everything I have read by her is grand.

The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, 298 pages, Five Stars, is another story about grief, how we blame ourselves and involve others in attempted resolution. Booker Prize Winner

Ilium by Dan Simmons, 752 pages, Ten Stars, I mean, Five Stars, I love this author. I read Drood, Flashback, Black Hills, and I will read others. I think he is not as well recognized as he should be. His Horror is bone-chilling, his Syfy is riveting, his writing is literary and superb.

Thus, Begin

Sometimes you must lose
To learn to win graciously.
Sometimes your heart breaks,
To make room for love again.
Suffering can teach you
How to live more freely.
Disappointment gives a chance
For an increased appreciation of joy.
When you hit the bottom
Your energy renews for the climb.
When you are left empty, alone,
You discover your faithful friends.
When everything is gone, nothing left,
You reach for God and find Him there.
If your happiness disappears, with delight,
Jesus can restore your pleasure, full-measure.
If you need more than you are able
God can provide fulfillment plentifully.
Nothing is over unless you quit
Winners like you, keep going, getting up.