Posts Tagged ‘creative writing’
Words
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If there were words
that would stop political corruption
what would they be?
If there were words to end unethical behaviors
what would you say?
If there were words
that could end climate catastrophes
would anyone listen?
If there were words
that teach how to think critically
would all people be learning?
If there were words
to eliminate corporate greed
would shareholders allow it?
If there were words
written about love
could they convey the full feeling?
If there were words
more important than mass media
how would they ever be heard?
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Learn
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don’t worry
they said
as if it would help
which it did
simply by not hurting
toward the start of a war
to end all wars
even if it didn’t
and decades passed
people understand
some do the right thing
wars come to an end
for a while anyway
then threaten again
as if
humans will never learn
to forgive
live in love
to save ourselves
to have enough sense
to pay our tab
before it gets
beyond our reach
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Lyrical Meander
.
on the edge of a shadow
walking briskly to avoid stagnation
nothing is obvious in the thoughts that meander
one thing I will always miss
is the number of your expressions
that formed on your face
as you looked toward my eyes
in the middle of stories
we told ourselves
returning often
to themes both intimate
and benign
successfully avoiding to cross
boundaries that might matter
to each other
and everyone within earshot
clickbait for the souls
yearning for something they can’t perceive
oblivious to the bold sensibility
of simply listening to themselves
with a divine authenticity
we surfed the enlightened feeling
connecting brings
taking intellectual flight
for time-defying hours
allowing ancient history
to flow into the future in a blink
elemental impossibilities that echo
as if the wars of every civilization
are different from the ones being waged
every single day
like a dog returning to passionately dig
through tangles of grass
where a nest of rabbits once existed
just in case they might still be there
our breath exchanging fabricated truths
about wants and needs
solving mostly nothing that tomorrow brings
beyond the rendering of titillation
that fed our hearts
fueling love
which serves to fuel love
perfectly well
fearlessly healing untold emotional wounds
without knowing
we were even trying
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Degrees
.
light
from the low angle
of the winter sun
creates colors
of a different hue
making the cold feel
colder
engendering exhilaration
with a resigned tightness
flexing involuntarily
against air
that lacks degrees
single digits
for the first time
in months
announce the arrival
of an icy stare
relentless in its grip
but helpless
against the glow
of warm colors radiating
through the glass doors
of a fireplace
fully aflame
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List Making
Sometimes, it’s helpful to create a list, whether you need one or not.
- That look when a dog tilts its head.
- Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Bark with Almond, Pretzel & Sea Salt.
- Giggles from kids younger than 4.
- Eyeglasses that actually fit and correctly improve vision.
- Effective use of italics.
- Narrators with voices that sound comfortingly familiar.
- Thinking thoughts without perceiving them as [silently] spoken words.
- Knowing the difference between two similar things.
- Being on the safe side.
- LED light bulbs.
- Reading between the lines even when there are no spaces.
- Waiting for a ride.
- Shedding a tear at just the right moment.
- Always remembering to get to an appointment on time.
- Walking in late because there were no convenient parking spots.
- Cuff links.
- Answers to questions you were never asked.
- Jokes and riddles.
- Bullet points.
- Bonus points.
- Ball points.
- Insufficient segue logic.
- Candelabrum.
- Being reminded of something from the past of which you have no recollection.
- Forgetting the reason for making a list.
- Having so quiet a mind that nothing can be identified to add to a list.
- Emptying the garbage bin.
- Refusing to experiment with ChatGPT.
- Waiting for the other shoe to drop.
- Carrying your shoes, one in each hand.
- Super slow-motion replays.
- Poetry and song lyrics that are indistinguishable, one from the other.
- Unsolicited advice.
- Empathy.
- Comedy.
- Politicization of existential angst.
- Tenacity.
- Scratch paper.
- Wing nuts.
- Wing tips.
- Unfinished business.
- Final chapters.
- Feeling so much better after making a list.
I’m glad that’s over. Now I can get on with more important things. What was I going to do today? Oh, yeah… I’m going to spend too much money to get new tires on my Crosstrek. The car is approaching 80K miles on the original tires. Maybe if tires last that many miles, “too much money” is not a justifiable gripe.
It’s a luxury to have new tires compared to having everything I own turned to rubble by bombs of war. It is only because I am not living in a war zone that I can waste mental energy creating a seemingly purposeless list.
Throwing words and phrases, sometimes sentences, onto a list can be compared to an artist who creates paintings by randomly splashing colors onto a canvas.
Viewed from a certain angle, a person just might find a moment of resonance with the object, possibly even the creator.
If I were to make the list above again, I’d probably add:
- An audible heavy sigh.
inserted somewhere strategic. Whether it needs it or not.
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Arbitrary Thinking
For no particular reason on a Monday morning, my attention sometimes bounces in many directions.
- Weekend spectator sports were entertaining but the Achilles injury to Minnesota Vikings Quarterback, Kirk Cousins, looms large on prospects for our future.
- I stayed up late on Saturday night and found myself laughing a couple of times at scenes on Saturday Night Live.
- Despite media outlets marketing it as a feature, no part of me wishes to receive “real-time updates” on news feeds covering wars.
- I could listen to some foreign accents forever while I find others deeply irritating, but I don’t know why.
- I will admit to an attraction to streaming series that have actors with superb accents.
- Last week, Cyndie and I went out to dinner to celebrate 49 years since we started dating. For dessert, we ordered her favorite salted caramel chocolate tart.
- Last night, after dinner of a deep-dish pizza from the freezer, Cyndie served her homemade version of the same salted caramel chocolate tart, along with a bite of dark chocolate pecan toffee she also made.
- The quality of both treats was so impressive, they matched anything I’ve tasted at high-end shops or restaurants.
- Last week we bought tickets to fly with friends to visit Iceland next year.
- None of my awake dreams come close to the realism I experience in my sleeping dreams. Why is that?
- Sometimes when I see someone near my age with features that trigger memories of a grade-school crush, I wonder what that person looks like now.
- Is it possible that dogma is the root of all evil?
- I love that animals can tell when we love them.
- Imagine if we bathed our brains with healthy healing thoughts that primed our cerebrospinal fluid to facilitate our synapse-firing pathways for goodness.
- What if we always offered others the slices of life we would want for ourselves?
- Even though I am no longer employed during a workweek, Mondays still retain a residual stigma for me.
- Yesterday, I contemplated what cover design would appeal to me if Relative Something were a book. (I find it hard to compete with an animated GIF that has the word “LOVE” blowing in the wind.)
- Did you know I don’t drink coffee?
- No matter what variety of distractions I think about, it doesn’t change that I will be driving Cyndie to a hospital for another surgery this week. For some reason, I keep finding myself thinking about that.
Happy Monday, everyone. Unless you are reading this in Australia today. Happy Tuesday to any readers down under
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Dinnertime
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I’m waiting for a mysterious wave
of nausea to pass
what might have caused this
I do not know
but my head and my stomach
both tell me no
don’t think about eating
take care to stay calm
maybe close your eyes
and lay still
take deep breaths slowly
and think about
anything else
for a while
so that later
I might consider
buttered toast
before bedtime
as an alternative
to eating
tonight’s evening meal
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Relative Something 