Mixed Verses

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

///////////////

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

///////////////

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

///////////////

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.

///////////////

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.

////////////////////////////////////////////

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.

Beknownst

Time devours all things
In its forward mystery;
What it leaves behind
No one can wrestle from it
To alter, much less retrieve.

This time – a present –
Written upon every life
Turning the lush soil,
Allowing bountiful growth
Sharing LOVE in all moments.

Future hides its face,
Body pressing on drawn drapes
Breaking through the gaps,
Bringing breathtaking wonder
Beauty engulfing the spheres.

Each minute, hour, day
Is become, owned, shaped, written
For progress, helping
LOVE’s universality
Before nature fades away.

Prompt: As you read, pick out a concept and create something that expands the thought. Any form of art or wordsmithing is appropriate.

Guitar Riff

Music became life
On a full-size bed where dance
Was called by my brother
On his electric blue Fender
With white highlights and magic.
I was just little
He was my hero, and is,
Though we had our downs,
He has gone ahead, but I
Think of him often and all
The talent carried
In someone I could see, touch,
Have play songs for me,
I guess he jams with those who
He could play in such detail.
I still love the sound
Of music turned up a bit loud
My dancing is less
Beautiful and precise, but
The songs bring me back to life.