The Night

Prose at last, everyone! This will be a bit of a change from the usual fare as I will be posting increments of it as I have them. So here's the set-up. I am attempting to combine and re-tell two of my favorite Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, The Wild Swans and The Traveling Companion. Hopefully, I will not do the Danish master too terribly with my attempt and hope that you all enjoy it along the way. These are just the opening lines so I apologize for the briefness.

The rains had been especially long this year, filling the rivers and lakes to the verge of bursting. Everything everywhere was wet … and cold. Thousands of stars littered the ground as they mirrored those in the velvet above. Thin strips of cloud veiled the chaste moon's face. And in a small cave covered in moss sat a mound of rags.

Haikus for a New Year

I promise I will get back to that first poem and finish it, eventually. So for now, these haikus will have to suffice. Hopefully, I'll get around to writing some prose and posting it.

The sun is setting,

Ending the previous year,

Rising on the new.

The days are like stars,

Flickering, glowing, burning,

Dancing in the dark.

The path of life winds

Serpentine through trials and joy,

Blending into one.

Glorious Ruins

OK, I know this may be a bit of a cop out but this is something I wrote back in October but never posted or shared really. The idea of "glorious ruins" was the theme of my church's women's retreat and thus you can guess where I wrote it. I tried to capture the feeling of how something bad can become something good, that what we see as defeat can be the beginning of victory. I'm sorry if it's a bit rough.

Glorious Ruins

The walls now lie broken, battered and worn;

The banners lie lifeless, tattered and torn;

Defeat echoes loudly, tangibly felt.

No hope left within it, courage has melt.

So where is the glory, mighty to save?

So where is protection, voice in the cave?

So why are you silent, me left alone?

So what will I do now, left overthrown?

Come walk through the fire, refining though hot,

Let go of your failure, something for nought.

New life shall be yours now, dry bones alive;

My wings are your cover; love me and thrive.

The walls are now diamond, pressure made good;

The banners fly proudly, tatters withstood;

Now laughter abounds here, victory found;

These glorious ruins no longer bound.

A Day in the Life of a Domestic Feline

For this week's posting, I'm sorry to say that I do not have the happier half of the poem I posted last week. It is still in the works. Instead, I have a short vignette on what my pet cats must be thinking while I think they're taking it easy. I hope you enjoy the silliness.

A Day in the Life of a Domestic Feline

From the outside, the domestic feline has an easy life.

All they need do is eat, sleep, and nap.

Sometimes the routine will change, adding playful antics.

However, this is only the human perspective.

For the feline, it is war.

It's constant struggling for dominance.

We think they're napping.

But they're waiting.

And then,

Attack!

Looking Back and Looking Forward

So I was hoping to have a finished project for these posts but it seems that that will have to wait for now. I started writing the following poem New Year's Eve so that's why it starts the way it does. However, it has become more of a reflection over how I've viewed my past year and then hopes for the one to come. I'll get to the hopes part next time. For now, I hope you enjoy and may this be the beginning of a beautiful tradition.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Upon this dark'ning night, we wait

For the year to end,

For the new its way to wend

And memories create.

What should I say upon this day,

The last now of the year?

Should they be silly or words sincere

Or hold the tears at bay?

Yet are there words enough to hold

All the thoughts and hopes

That crossed and held like binding ropes

My life as then untold?

My words run short; my mouth runs dry;

My speech is taken from me

As I recall quite suddenly

The things I did not try.

I failed to love my neighbor

As fully as I ought;

Next to mine, their needs forgot

And for myself did labour.

I failed to love and serve my God

With true obedience,

Had acted with indifference

Towards what should have awed.

So here I sit with head in hands

Ashamed of what I've done.

Consumed with only having fun,

I shirked divine commands.

It's That Time of Year

Happy New Year, extensive internet readers! Well, to those of you who do read and follow this blog anyways. We have bid a tearful adieu to 2014, a wonderful year full of changes, challenges, and surprises, and now welcome the new 2015 with its promise of all-new adventures to come.

Around this time of year, people are in the habit of making so-called "resolutions," things they plan to accomplish at some point during the year and usually quit after March at the latest. For several years, I have chosen to not make any resolutions since I had known myself to be inconsistent in my habits and from remembering previous and numerous failed resolutions. I did try making some more abstract resolutions in recent years but success is difficult to gauge with those. However, I have seen the benefits of having a goal at which to aim even if it is un-achieved during the specified year and remains so for a while.

Therefore, I have decided to make two resolutions to which you, my internet community, will hold me accountable. Well, I'll be somewhat relying on you for one of them but it's the thought that counts, right? So here goes:
1) I will post something once a week during the weekend (Saturday/Sunday) for the year or as long as I can. It can be a story, poem, or simple musing but there should be some sort of writing piece each week. If I really want to write a novel that is anywhere near acceptable, I will need to get in the habit of writing.
2) I will read at least 1 book for pleasure each month. It cannot be something required for a class, even if I enjoy what I am required to read. The monthly book must be something separate that I do with my free time. I used to be an avid reader and I want to get back to that because reading, I think, is a dying art.

So there they are folks, my resolutions for 2015. By the grace of God, I will hopefully be able to be consistent and follow through. Come this weekend, I will have something for you so stay tuned. 2015, here I come.

Who Was That Girl Beyond The Window Pane? - A Sonnet

Apparently waking for me is a good time for the first lines of sonnets. This is yet another production of early morning inspiration. I though it would be fun to write a silly sonnet after the more serious ones that have been coming from my figurative pen. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had writing it.

Who Was That Girl Beyond The Window Pane

Who was that girl beyond the window pane?

The one with hair just like a chocolate fount

And eyes like emeralds dappled by the rain,

That sparkle like too many stars to count.

My heart is pounding like ten thousand drums

Or trying to escape me from within.

How can this girl be like a bard who strums

My heart as if it were a lyre thin?

Did she see me? Does she know I exist?

Will she come back to catch a glimpse of me?

Why is it so that someone can be missed

With just one look, the see-er no longer free?

Oh look! She dropped an item from her bag.

Our meeting's fate! No time to lollygag.