Steel, Today

All things exist within us,
Anxiety, doubt, fear, pain,
Gaiety, happiness, joy, pleasure,
Each one a reaction of the heart
Gifted by the immensity of soul.

We allow feelings at times
To overwhelm us and drift
Into a morass of despair,
Or deep jungles of desire;
We learn to steel ourselves.

Nothing and no one can have
Power over us, without
We permit and submit;
We are made so bold, strong,
Able to evade traps set before us.

The Love within us, our gifts
Of emotion and intellect are honed
To protect us from mighty storms,
We shall not be forced to conform
To what negates our justification.

All we are a precious company
Set forth to aid humanity,
Pressing forward, not gazing behind,
Fixed inside this time of confusion
To dispel destructive delusions.

Wield well the weapons given
Leading others into the glow
Even as the shadows grow
Like a cold forbidding night;
All belong in Christ, made bright.

Recent Reading

The Binder of Lost Stories by Cristina Caboni is available through Kindle Unlimited. The book is 261 pages, but it reads quickly. Threads from the present and past are expertly woven in this tale of book romance. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it. Were ten on the rating scale, it would easily earn it, as is it is a glorious five.

The Whisper Man by Alex North was read on Kindle and is 350 pages of consummate storytelling with spellbinding horror. Children are our future, but no future should be like this. It reads quickly because the writing is exquisite, but it might chill your blood to the bone. Excellently told, another I would award a ten, but our scales like to end at five, so be it.

The Hellfire Club by Jake Tapper is one of those Kindle books I was not quite prepared for and was taken out beyond the breakers. It came in at 344 pages, but it is so much more than that indicates. You may be aware I shy from politics, this book goes right to the heart of the beast, and what we do not know, well, it is revealing. It is a reasonably fast read, but the taste will stay with you a while. Another one which should be a ten, but it is a racy five.

The Killing Fog by Jeff Wheeler is a First Read on Kindle this month coming in at 404 pages. I think had I realized it fell into YA, I might have taken a pass. That said, the story is enchanting and heroic, classic good against evil. Swords, magic, dragons, villains, a female protagonist. It gets a five.

You may find I often rate fives, the reason being I almost always pick books I know I will enjoy. When purchased books disappoint me, I am usually surprised.

I seem to be on a Kindle kick. I read faster on a device. It is probably because I do my steps while reading, and the screen is illuminated, whereas the shadows affect my vision when I read hardcovers.

Whatever you do, read. It helps a person in so many ways. Also, instill the love of reading in everyone you can.

Short – Shorts

Doubt, fear, those lies do not master us, we are overcomers, made to renew and begin again.

1
The ravens of doubt
Peck our garments of courage,
Rain finds every hole.

2
Voices say we are
Worthless, unreliable,
Some trust still remains.

3
Lying on the floor
The others are tall, strong, more,
Stomach acid boils.

4
A quick glimpse beyond,
We are brave enough to stand,
Race encroaching night.

5
The rain stopped its pour
While the sun rose to its place;
Broad smiles graced each face.

6
Pain reminds again
There is no power within,
Gives self-destruction.

7
Heroes break apart,
Lose ourselves inside the dark,
But life recalls us,
The fighting starts, we join in,
Forsaking all fears, to win.

The gremlins are overactive. I am wrestling on multiple fronts with technology, and the body has its own ideas. Still, it is right; I am here.

All the best to each of you. Find reasons to believe and keep on going. Life rewards those who continue, the alternative is untenable.

Redefine

Why must there be hate?
Why must the lovely be killed?
What possesses those
Who cause inestimable
Harm to individuals?

Somehow combat must
Ensue within hearts, homes, schools,
To irradicate
That nurturing such malice;
LOVE must permeate, prevail.

Exemplifying
Kindness, LOVE, bringing wisdom,
Generosity,
To the commonest of days;
Change may begin, take hold, win.

It can happen now
If our hearts – love and care, embrace
For the human race,
Treasuring each thing shared here,
LOVE leaves nothing still undone.

When I read of people meeting a violent end, it cuts into my heart and makes me feel that there should be better ways to handle life. All the stories ended, when a person dies are such a horrible tragedy to me.

May Be Icky

Sometimes I feel like
Poecilia Sphenops, the Common
Molly, swimming darkness
Imprisoned in an aquarium,
Time-limited, inside is mine.
For moments hold blessings,
Horrors without regard for
My delicate frame, constrained,
The world around me seeks bones
And ick may infect at any time.
Ebony scales blighted white
Only hours left in which to fight,
A lifetime passes, blistering speed,
Still, I am often blinded to its fleeting
Until I see its work in others, completed.
Always swimming, set
To bear whatever comes of day,
Giving my utmost to stay
In the mix, put into play,
Belly up is not, shall not be
What I choose as mine, my way,
I search the inside for an out
And I am making myself to be
Better, more fantastic than ick.

Process Note: Out of nowhere, the idea of writing a story about mollies and ick came to me earlier when I was singing. I started listening to the album, Black Star by David Bowie, which is indescribable. I wrote the poem in my journal and added to it on the computer. I did not have a picture of a Molly, been a many a long year since I have maintained an aquarium.