The Visitor

The Visitor by Janet Mayled

 

The Visitor

 

The light appears to crest in waves

You dance in my dreams

Bringing with you the ghosts of a million years past

They blow away like smoke on a breeze

But you remain

 

Ethereal like morning mist

Glorious, gossamer shade

Yet more real than all the seemingly essential trappings

Which we greedy humans think we cannot do without

Your unearthly beauty holds fast

 

You strengthen and destroy my heart

Shatter everything I previously held to be true

The mournful ghosts of the past dance behind you

Reflections on a window

You wave your hand and they vanish

 

I wish with all my heart and soul

That I could hold you in my hand

That I could put the broken pieces of you back together

My darling dichotomy

Powerful, broken, beautiful you

 

You are everything that dreams are made of

Sweet ecstasy, beautiful nightmare

Builder and destroyer of worlds

Unicorn in the glass menagerie

I hold the pieces of you in my hands

 

My tears fall like rain on the ground

New year, new day, new loss

Rough winds destroy the darling buds of May

Like the petals of a flower torn apart in a hurricane

The ashes of the lost ones blow away

 ~Cie~

 

Theme prompt: Reflections on a window

The light appears to crest in waves – Radiance by Wally Swist

Aphrodite's Gift

Image by Frances Holly

Aphrodite's Gift

If I could do one thing for you, dear mortal, to ease your pain

I would help you stay hidden so the stars eclipse

And you could slip into thine hour of secrecy

To find the one for whom you long awaiting you

During the eclipse dreams come true

And love is burning diamonds in thy true lover’s breast

Thy desire feeds his need

I would give up any chance for future passion of my own

If I could prepare the ground for a love so beautiful to blossom

To let a quiet spirit and a restless heart find comfort in one another’s arms

Do not repent the dreams that spill from your eyes as tears

Do not deny the goodness in your heart

Do not isolate yourself in shame

Do not fear the embrace of night

When the moon reaches its zenith in the sky

Let your loved one wrap his arms around you

Willingly accept his kisses

Know that he wants you as you do him

Such sweetness will turn sad hearts young

In the darkness, love knows no shame

The true will allows itself to shine

Open your heart to the darkness

And let his light in

~Eleonora~

hidden so the stars eclipse – Our Daily Becoming by Adam Clay

And love is burning diamonds in my true lover’s breast – Summer by John Clare

Into thine hour of secrecy – Spirits of the Dead by Edgar Allan Poe

Exposing the Lies

Image Source

Exposing the Lies

He was always there to mock me, to remind me that no man could ever think a woman like me was pretty. He was always there to convince me to go on another diet that wouldn’t work, all in the name of catching a man like him; a perfect specimen, ice cold and sadistic, but beautiful. His face was tantalizing but his assertions were foul.

He delighted in gutting me whenever I started feeling better about myself. One day, to his surprise, self-respect surged through my battered soul.

Image Source

I snatched the mask from his face.

“You! It was you all along!”

It was then that I saw his true ugliness, and learned another truth as well.

Having an external appearance that most people find pleasing does not make a person beautiful. Some very ugly people have pretty outsides, and some people who look quite plain are actually beautiful within.

Anyone who gleans pleasure from making another person feel badly about themselves is not a person to look up to. Anyone who ridicules another for their size, their age, or the color of their skin is the epitome of ugliness.

At no time again

Will I allow shallowness

To define my worth

~Tempest Nightingale LeTrope~

Prompts Used:

Haibun Thinking

Jeremy's Daily Challenge

The Reverie

Tempest's Thoughts:

The writers for Team Netherworld tend to be drawn to people and characters who aren't conventionally attractive. They either do not align with societal standards of beauty, or they have other traits which make them "unattractive" under conventional scrutiny, i.e. being mentally ill or not heterosexual.

I want to share pictures of a few of the people we've featured on this blog and the reasons why they would not be considered attractive by conventional standards of beauty.

Amy Winehouse

Tattoos

Brash clothing choices

Not conventionally delicate/feminine

Ville Valo

Tattoos

Sometimes wears makeup 

Sinewy physique

Copyright: vschlichting / 123RF Stock Photo

Middle-aged

Heavy build

Modest attire

Malcolm Young

Middle-aged

Short (5' 4")

Extremely slender physique (~110 pounds)

Freddie Mercury

Non-Caucasian (Parsi)

Flamboyant

Bisexual

Here's a twofer!

Stan Laurel:

Middle-aged

Extremely slender

Prominent nose

Oliver Hardy:

Heavy build

Middle-aged

Plump face

If any of these people showed up for a photo shoot at a fashion magazine, they'd be sent away with derisive commentary. They would likely be mocked by gossip rags for lacking a certain type of highly improbable beauty.

In fact, I find all of them aesthetically pleasing. I like imperfect people. I would rather look at people like these all day long than any number of so-called perfect people.

The truth is, the perfect people really aren't that perfect either.

I've always appreciated Britney Spears' willingness to have people see the unretouched photos from her Candies shoes ad. She wanted girls to see what her body really looks like without her torso and legs being elongated and slenderized. She has sturdy, muscular dancers' legs. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with her real build.

Britney, the real you is beautiful!

And all of you are beautiful too.

Love, 

Tempest

Healing the Wounds Afflicted by Reason

Healing the Wounds Afflicted by Reason

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I

Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine

Having to know the essence of everything

Takes away its beauty

Let it be what it is

Let yourself feel what you feel

Don’t overanalyze everything

It is what is

You are what you are

We are the product of our yesterdays

We are becoming our tomorrows

Don’t be so quick to discount what can’t be put into words

Let it be enough to let it be

Copyright: tuvi / 123RF Stock Photo

II

In the end, everything dies

Stars become stardust

The most beautiful blooms fade

Their petals drop away

In the end what matters most

Is the sustenance they gave to their fellow beings

Counting the bread and wine by autumn’s gain

Is the best of measures

Image Source

III

“O, know, sweet love, I always write of you”

These words were already written in your heart, my friend

Digging in with golden talons

As you tried to deny that which was tattooed upon your soul

An offer of kindness

Became a desire for kisses

What you deem wicked

What you decry as x-rated

Is only the expression

Of your heart’s zeal

To heal

The beautiful, broken being

Left crushed against the rocks of time

~Wanda~

199 Words

Prompts:

Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine 

–

 Little Summer Poem Touching the Subject of Faith by Mary Oliver

*************

Counting the bread and wine by autumn’s gain 

– 

Poppies on the Wheat by Helen Hunt Jackson

**************

O, know, sweet love, I always write of you 

– 

Sonnet 76 by William Shakespeare

You Can't Kiss A Movie

The image is from the 2007 picture Sunshine. It was chosen because I thought it stood out.

You Can't Kiss A Movie

You did your best once to connive

Me into loving you better

Than any man alive

But you can't kiss a movie

You certainly succeeded to intrigue

While the hours flew brightly by

You devoured me with your insatiable greed

But you can't kiss a movie

You were vehement that I should stay

But I kept my courage bright against each dark reproof

The only place I'll stay is far away

Because you can't kiss a movie

You cannot love someone who keeps himself

As remote as an image

Projected on a screen

~Helena~

Prompts used:

Jeremy's Daily Challenge

Three Word Wednesday