OctPoWriMo 2016: Day 5: Yadira

Copyright: maxontravel / 123RF Stock Photo

Yadira

Mind sharp like a knife

Her heart is made of black ice

 Nyarlathotep's high priestess is she

Kept alive unnaturally

Yadira holds power supreme

O'er waking life and o'er dream

Woes betide the unfortunate ones

Whose lives she makes come undone

Once you are trapped in her web

You have a great deal to dread

She's glad you can stay for a while

Your screams only make her smile

Yadira, the root of all sorrow

Will make you wish there would be no tomorrow

~Adam and Cie~

Subject:

Our story's wonderfully awful antagonist, Yadira Root

Form:

Couplet

Tea Time in the Netherworld

Image Source

Sadly I never got to meet any of you while you were alive

But once we are all in spirit together, I'm hoping you might want

To come have a spot of tea with me, so I can sit and listen to

You relive your lives in stories of wild times, triumph and tragedy

You were more than your stories, I know, you were real people, heart and soul

Lemmy, who pulled no punches, rough outsides but a heart of gold within

David, a real star who brought magic from the stars, a true gentleman

Alan the thespian, bringing Severus Snape to amazing life

Prince, diminutive giant, royally blessed with talent supreme

Chyna, gentle, troubled soul, no-one really ever understood

Sad, delicate Malcolm, body still here but spirit already gone

Our sweet beasties; if you think cats don't drink tea, you didn't know our cats

I'm not trying to be pushy, I hope I'm not asking for too much

But if you have a moment in your busy afterlife, you might like

To perhaps take just a minute and stop to have a wee spot of tea

To maybe stay a while, and spend the afternoon with Adam and Cie

Created by Adam and Cie

The invitation is always open!

Prompts used:

(Photoshop manipulation by The Real Cie)

OctPoWriMo 2015: Day 27: My Happy Ending

My Happy Ending

Once upon a time

There was a fanciful fellow

With the fey he liked to play

Truth is, he himself was fey

He was quite a waggish sort

Playful and mischievous

But ultimately harmless

Ever so curious about the world too

He kept the truth about himself

Hidden from nearly everyone

Until he took his quizzical mind to college

Where it wasn't just books that gave him knowledge

Being a quaint sort of chap

He was sort of easy to take advantage of

Especially when he fell in love

For many years he allowed himself to be abused

He may well have continued to abide

The occasional slap or shove

But he could no longer tolerate the cheating

Or the words that cut him to the quick

He thought that twenty-one years

Was probably all that anyone was given to find love

And he'd thrown it down the drain

But he didn't want another of the same

Five years went by, and our fey fellow

Was quite used to being single

But then his sister invited him to a Halloween party

She said, just come and mingle

Being a fairly sociable sort, he accepted the invite

At least he knew there'd be beer and snacks

Then his sister introduced him to a fellow

With a smile so sweet our fey friend forgot his own name

Once our man regained his composure

He and his sister's chum began to chat

Several hours later, they'd not run out of things to say

So they made a date for the following Saturday

Everything was so perfect

Our poor fey guy was terrified

He remembered his former lover's lies

He was afraid to fall in love again

But this new man was patient and kind

He gave the worried fellow plenty of time

Plus kind encouragement and little tokens of affection

Things could only continue in a certain direction

Seven weeks after their first meeting, the wonderful gent

Asked our fey fellow if he wanted to take the next step

Oh, how he did, but he was so afraid

What if he was a disappointment?

He didn't want to lose this good thing he'd found

As the sun broke on the horizon

The fey fellow rolled over 

And looked into the beautiful blue eyes and smiling face

Of a sweet angel, who kissed him and professed his love

They moved in together five months later

Six years later they officially married

This year they celebrate their seventh anniversary

That sweet fellow's name is Dylan

He is the one that our fey chap--whose name is Adam--loves for all eternity

~Adam~

Notes:

Sorry, I can't see my monitor. My eyes are leaking.

Maybe it's not the best poem ever. But it's straight from the heart. I found the love that I thought only happened to other people. I love him more each day we're together.

I'm resisting the temptation to do any heavy editing on this. I want it to be real and raw, not polished or perfectified. Is that even a word?

OctPoWriMo 2015: Day 9: The Elements of Heartbreak

The Elements of Heartbreak

When it rains

She feels as if the water

Is trying to douse the flickering ember

Which ignited her heart

In a spark

The fire is gone from his heart

But not from hers

She tries to find balance

In earthy things

Since he left her stranded

Alone in the frozen wastes

Of her dreams for their love

The sun rises

But does not warm her

A cool breeze blows

Calming like the sound of whispered hellos

Whipping up into a windstorm

Blowing out of control

Devastating everything she has known

In a cyclone of lies

And unexpected goodbyes

Dedicated to the ladies in my life who have known heartbreak. 

Love,

Adam

Credits:

Top Image:

http://siliconangle.com/blog/2013/05/13/software-steals-hardwares-girlfriend-it-world-changes-its-relationship-status/heartbreak-2/

Second Image:

Andrew Dodson, model Beverly Tan

https://www.facebook.com/adodsonphoto

Third and fourth images:

Beverly Tan

http://facebook.com/beverlytanphotography

OctPoWriMo 2015: Day 2: Stolen Words

My words have been stolen

My thoughts all erased

A shadow wearing my image

Has taken my place

There's no way back in

Somehow I've lost the key

Although I no longer remember

Please don't forget about me

Images by Cie

Words by Adam

Notes:

I almost feel bad for sharing a poem about a grim subject like dementia after the praise I received for my overall positive poem yesterday. However, although one can see the beauty in the clouds and in nature, somber things like dementia and mental illness still exist, and I do not shy away from discussing them.

Today's writing prompt at OctPoWriMo suggested taking a favorite scene from a movie or a music video, turning the sound off, and seeing what thoughts were inspired viewing the silent clip. At first I was going to do a funny bit from the old Batman/Superman cartoon, but then I was reminded that one of my favorite musicians (and overall favorite people) has had his voice stolen from him by an incurable illness which destroys not only body but mind. I knew I had to write about this.

Using some of the Photoshop images that Cie has created over time to honor Malcolm, I created the above poem. I tried to keep it simple and to see the incident through my subject's eyes. He was a humble person. He was courageous. He put others' needs before his own.

He never stopped fighting against the odds. He won against addiction to alcohol, though unfortunately not against addiction to nicotine. He wrestled with depression and social anxiety and was victorious. He approached the devastating dementia diagnosis the way he approached everything else in life: by going up against it with determination and dignity.

One might say that this is a battle that he did not and could not win. I disagree. Yes, the disease process has destroyed his ability to function in this world. Yes, the disease process will eventually kill his physical body. However, the disease is not and will never be victorious over one with such a determined spirit. 

One day we will eradicate such diseases. For now, it is important that we continue to remember those whose lives have been devastated by these illnesses, to not sweep the subject of dementia under the rug because it's depressing to think about. We need to remember, and we need to come out swinging and keep fighting until such diseases are no more.

With Hope,

Adam

OctPoWriMo 2015: Day 1

Clouds

When I was young

I dreamed of flying

Of playing happy games

With the fantastic creatures

Whose shapes I saw floating in the clouds

When I look up now

As a man around halfway through his life

I reflect on many memories

Some happy, some sad

I see in the clouds opportunities for new beginnings

~Adam~

NaPoWriMo 2015: Day 17: Adam Online

Adam Online

I don't go on Facebook much any more

And I really don't blog a lot either

So we'll open up the old Google Plus

And see how we can wax poetic

About a guy who's online presence

Is really kind of boring

For something far more interesting

I suggest that you check out a French Canadian cowboy zombie hunter

For something far more heartwarming, you can help save a cat's life

For something more beautiful, you can look at the ocean

But I guess you still want to see

Something about me

I was born gay, and I follow the ray

I love those who were born straight but refuse to hate

Last night I discovered and shared music by a Reggae man named Mike Love

I also love that sassy Adam Lambert

Sometimes I bitch about my ex boyfriend

But I sure as hell don't miss him

Even if she wasn't my cousin I'd still be really pissed

About the hate that radical cool chick The Real Cie has received

For expressing sympathy towards someone whose situation

Is beyond appalling

Cie, don't give up 

Your heart is one of the best I've ever known

You've known far too much pain

And far too little joy

Cie and I wrote a post together

Which exposes our ignorance

Of how the Interwebs work

We're kinda old and out of touch, I guess

Oh, before you click that link

There's a picture in the post of some guy's weiner

We also have kind of an adolescent sense of humor

So I guess that's about it for old Adam's online presence

It's kind of weak sauce

But I have a little fun when I stop by

I guess I'm like that guy who hangs out by the dip at parties

Nursing a beer

And then slips out with no-one really noticing

~Adam~

The Prompt:

Today, I want you to try to write a “social media”-style poem. Namecheck all of your friends. Quote from their texts, tweets, FB status updates, twitter accounts, and blogposts, and the back of the cereal box on your breakfast table. The poem is about you and you are about what you say, think, talk, eat. You might end up with a poem that seems bizarrely solipsistic (like the internet itself, maybe?), but there might also be a spark there of something live and fun and present (like the verbal equivalent of a really great animated cat .gif).

Wicked Lies

Wicked Lies

You blew into my life

Like a storm that destroys everything exposed and not tied down

Your appetite was ravenous

Resulting in the consumption of my self-respect

Time and time again, you proved yourself a liar

As you went on a rampant rampage

Ravishing every man who lurks in low places

Hoping for something sweet to bring redemption to his bitter soul

Then you would crawl up from the caverns like a thief in the night

Making noise about desiring a revival of our bond

The first time I believed

The second time I convinced myself

The third time I saw that what I held in my hand

Was a vestige of

What never was

I finally scattered the ashes of the lie that was our love to the wind

And let you go forever

It was the best thing I ever did for myself

~Adam~

Created for The Reverie

Adam's notes: 

This poem draws on my toxic relationship with my previous boyfriend. I am happy to say that I am now with the man of my dreams, six years strong and married in Hawaii as of this Halloween!

NaPoWriMo 2014: Day 12

Copyright: zinkevych / 123RF Stock Photo

Love at Last

The first time I fell

The desire was all-consuming

Lust turned to fascination

Fascination turned to wanting

Wanting turned to love

Love turned to obsession

The spell he wove had me so enraptured

That even when it became obvious that I was just his mainstay

That the love was completely one-sided

I couldn't imagine being without him

So for twenty-one years 

I was a prop in his act

He made me disappear when he wanted a fling

He brought me back with a snap of the fingers when he needed some stability

It wasn't easy when I finally worked up the courage to say no more

When the door shut behind him for the last time

I was left alone with tears that never seemed to stop

"Never again," I resolved

 

Copyright: zossos / 123RF Stock Photo

Five years went by

I went to a Halloween party with my sister and her husband

I had no expectations when she introduced me to a colleague

I tried to ignore the fascination as we got to talking

I found myself wanting to know more about him

I told myself it wasn't desire

I never wanted to take that chance again

I didn't want to admit that I was enraptured

That he could easily possess my heart

My sister swore he was a decent guy

But how could I open myself to the possibility

Of being devastated once again?

I took the chance and asked him if he'd be free the following weekend

His smile both warmed my heart and chilled me to the core

We took things slow, enjoying a meal together Saturday night

A trip to the museum on Sunday

No more than a tenacious kiss until I felt a bit more sure

I could lie and say the love grew slowly

But it was there from the first

I put the lust on hold until I could believe 

This man wouldn't hurt me

We'll be married this Halloween

After six years together

I have only one obsession now

To keep him happy for the rest of our lives

~Adam~

For Dylan, the love of my life

The words:
                              desire
                              lust
                              wanting
                              obsession
                              fascination
                              possess
                              love
                              enraptured

30 Days of Haiga 2014: Day 5

Click to Enlarge

Original Image:

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

Please also visit Anne's Astronomy News, where the image was found.

Cheeky Verse:

Adam Everhard

Photoshop design:

Cie Cheesemeister

Note from Cie:

This was the most challenging of these images to date. I wasn't satisfied with the color of the text, I wasn't satisfied with the arc, I struggled with it for quite some time. I am not a professional artist. I hope it does Adam's Haiku justice.

Stairway to Heaven on Earth

We ascend

The steep stairway to

A little

Heaven on

Earth made Heavenly because

We are together

~Adam~

This poem is a Shadorma. The prompt comes from Mindlovemisery's Menagerie. The theme is stairs.

A shadorma is composed of six non-rhyming lines (sestina or sextet) and the syllable pattern is 3-5-3-3-7-5.  It can have as many stanzas as you like, just as long as each stanza follows the syllable pattern mentioned above.

I thought about writing another stanza, but I have a tendency to get too wordy if I don't rein myself in. Sometimes less is more!

I wrote the poem with my fiancé, Dylan, in mind. He brings a bit of Heaven to Earth for me every day.

I is for Imagism

Per Ohlin

Vocalist for Scandinavian metal bands Morbid and Mayhem

January 16, 1969 - April 8, 1991

Suicide

The poetry style I'm going to attempt is called Imagism. I'm not sure I'll get it exactly right, though I will try to find the exact words, as this is what the style seeks! I am writing in honor of the fellow above, who deserves to be remembered with compassion. His black and white stage makeup (corpsepaint) inspired my use of the word achromic, which seems to fit his bleak view of the world.

I also speak as someone who has experienced deep depression first-hand. I never became completely unable to function, nor did I attempt suicide, but I did engage in self-destructive behavior, including self-medication with alcohol and drugs.

Achromic

Depression is often described

As a state of blackness

From which the soul can find no escape

I wonder if it might be more aptly described

As achromic

Lacking color and luster

A dull, dreary, and hopeless state

From which there seems to be no release

~Adam~

Imagism

Name given to a movement in poetry aimed at clarity of expression through the use of precise visual images. In the early period often written in the French form Imagisme. To use the language of common speech, but to employ the exact word, not the nearly-exact, nor the merely decorative word.

Example

Autumn by T. E. Hulme

A touch of cold in the Autumn night—
I walked abroad,
And saw the ruddy moon lean over a hedge
Like a red-faced farmer.
I did not stop to speak, but nodded,
And round about were the wistful stars
With white faces like town children.

C is for Cascade

Image source

Hello friends! The following poetry form looks like a fun challenge. I'll present my poem first, then you can read about the form and see the example below.

Caught in a Lie

He thought that he was so smart

Or I such a fool

But I was onto his game

He was transparent

As window glass

He thought that he was so smart

Perhaps he believed his own lies

Thought himself such a genius

Or I such a fool

He thought he could have his cake

And eat it too

But I was onto his game.

~Adam~

Note:

Every now and then my ex and I cross paths. I wasted nearly 21 years of my life on his emotional abuse, infidelity, and broken promises. I'm not pining for him, nor would I take him back for the world. Poems like this could be considered balm for the soul of that insecure young man that I once was. 

On a happier note, the more self-assured older me wasn't even looking when the right man came into my life. This Halloween will be our fourth anniversary!

~A~

Cascade

Cascade, a form created by Udit Bhatia, is all about receptiveness, but in a smooth cascading way like a waterfall. The poem does not have any rhyme scheme; therefore, the layout is simple. Say the first verse has three lines. Line one of verse one becomes the last line of verse two. To follow in suit, the second line of verse one becomes the last line of verse three. The third line of verse one now becomes the last line of verse four, the last stanza of the poem. See the structure example below:

a/b/c, d/e/A, f/g/B, h/i/C

To make the Cascade an even longer poem, use more lines in verse one. For example, if verse one has 6 lines, the poem must have seven stanzas so that each line of verse one is reused as a refrain in each following stanza (a cascading effect).

Example
I laugh hard at the poor butcher,
With scarlet hands and crimson eyes,
He smiles as he cuts away.

They gather around him everyday,
"unholy killer" they all scream.
I laugh hard at the poor butcher.

Deaf towards the plea of all,
the buther's fate was long written
with scarlet hands and crimson eyes.

Children cry amidst the crowd,
a mother faints, another screams.
He smiles as he cuts away.

Copyright © 2007 Udit Bhatia

Unlock the Penitentiary

Unlock the Penitentiary

Will there ever come a day when we can really be free

From the penitentiary of hate

If you say “I’m gay”

People should say “that’s okay”

Or if you happen to be fat

Fat’s where it’s at

We judge each other too much

On things that really don’t matter

I’d like for the day to come

When no one

Hates who they are

I want to see the day

When bullying someone for the way they look

Or who they love

Is what gets a person ostracized

I never again want to see

Anyone’s brains splattered on the wall

~Adam~

A response to the Citizen Cope song "Penitentiary"

Well I'm waiting on the day

When the people walk free to see

When the penitentiary is on fire

When there's no need

To bleed

For your mother or your brother

Or the one that bomes before you whoa

Well I'm waiting on a time when people walk free to see

From the penitentiary in our mind

When there's no need to bleed

For your father

Or your son

Or the one that you've become

When the penitentiary is on fire

When the penitentiary is on fire

I'm waiting on the day

When the people walk free to see

When the penitentiary is on fire

there's no need

To bleed

For your father or your son

Or the one that you've become and a

I'm waiting on a time when people walk

free to see

when the penitentiary in our mind

there's no need to bleed

For your mother

Or your brother

or the one that come before ya yea

When the penitentiary is on fire

When the penitentiary is on fire

When the penitentiary is on fire

When the penitentiary is on fire

My Wish

My Wish

Things are going well for me

I'm happy in my career

I've found the love of my life

I like the place where I live

I miss my dad, my uncle, and my little grand-nephew, who was only with us for a short time

The rest of my family is doing okay for the most part

But some of them are struggling

I wish I could do more to help my loved ones whose lives aren't going as well

Who are mired in depression and dissatisfaction

Who have been faced with overwhelming change

I wish I had the means to take your pain away

I sometimes feel so helpless

But my sympathetic tears

Have no magic powers

I can offer you a shoulder to cry on

I don't have the monetary means to do more

Than buy you a sandwich now and then

I wish I did

I can give you advice, for what it's worth

But I can't take away your depression

I can't heal the illnesses that you can't afford to see the doctor for

These days, a dollar doesn't go very far

We're all struggling

I just wish you didn't have to struggle so hard

I wish it were easier to change jobs

So those of you who have come to hate yours

Could find a different line of work

I wish that education didn't cost so much

So you could train for something new

I wish I could wish on every star

And bring each of you what you needed most

I wish we could all speak to our loved ones in Heaven

And know that they're okay

I wish we could all mend fences

Heal wounds

Have second and third and fourth chances at happiness

Know that we're worthwhile

No matter where we live or what we drive

I wish I could give all of you happiness

For that is the most important thing of all

~Adam~