OctPoWriMo 2017: Day 16: Defying Fear

Photoshop manipulation by The Real Cie

i

will always

be amazed by

how gracefully you handled

the very worst of diagnoses

being told that you would lose

not only your life but yourself

you must have been afraid

as smart as you are

surely you knew

there was no miracle cure

no happy ending

but you never let it show

you were more concerned 

with not becoming a bother

than with what was happening to you

i'm so very sorry

i wish there was something

i could do to reverse

the deterioration

to let you be

yourself again

but i'm afraid

the only way for that to happen

is for you to be free

of a body

with a brain

that no longer

works for

you

Love,

Cie

Note:

The prompt today was fear. I have always thought one of the worst things that could happen would be to develop dementia. As Glen Campbell's widow said, it's better to die some other way. 

Malcolm Young handled his dementia diagnosis with unbelievable grace and dignity. A lot of people decried him as being a rather uninteresting person. I never saw him as such. He was shy and came from humble circumstances. He wasn't given to bragging about himself or strutting around like a peacock. Personally, I found his lack of bravado impressive. 

Malcolm was truly brave as opposed to being a puffed-up poser. He stood only five foot three but never backed down regardless of the size of his opponent. Sadly, the processes which cause dementia are not something that even the bravest of souls can win against.

This is my favorite of the angel wing manipulations I made a couple of years ago. I think it expresses the truth of the relationship between these fellows, who are, in my opinion, two parts of the same soul

NaPoWriMo 2017: Day 18: O is for Outrageous Vogonery

Vogon Poetry by Jollyjack

Cruslimate Jexpod

by

His Holiness Tuns Tumuch, Oracle of Yopsog and Avatar of Hansab

Most otward doctrine of Xodbyz!

Not much time have I

To impart to you the xelth of qoc

Grab thou the nvoy 

The qoc of zoz has been lasled 

by the taiq presence of the humustrous Young

Truly his splunge-negating nefarity

Is a threat to the bepig of all Vogon eminate

I, your Oracle, have unto the Grimoire of Yopsog

turned

Of this Earthly Young monstrism it bespake

Dispatched forthwith must be the Splunge Negator

Or we shall suffer the consequences

Most splungelessly

Neglect the Oycog of Knoq at your peril!

Tuns Tumuch

High Oracle of Yopsog and Avatar of Hansab

Notes:

In spite of the fact that he was made a hero of the Vogon Empire for saving the Vogon Flagship from the Rainbow Connection Pirates during the 2014 VILE Awards, some Vogons really don't like Malcolm Young. Tuns Tumuch is one of these Vogons. 

After said bestowing of hero status, Tuns kidnapped Malcolm, immobilized him in the web of the ship's Soul Stripper Spider, and proceeded to attempt to force 666 hours of poetry from the Grimoire of Yopsog into the unfortunate musician's auditory receptors. 

Fortunately, Malcolm was rescued within three hours of his imprisonment. Unfortunately, although the spectral vestiges of his small intestine attempted to strangle the spectral vestiges of his brain to stop his having to absorb such an atrocity, spectral creatures do not, in fact, possess small intestines or physical brains, and so forced to listen he was.

NaPoWriMo 2017: Day 16: A Letter

Copyright: lightwise / 123RF Stock Photo

Dear Mal

I still don't understand
And I suppose I never will
The awful thing that's happening
To your wonderful mind

A mind which you, perhaps, did not always
Think was so wonderful
Because sometimes it liked
To play mean tricks on you

It liked to make you think
You needed things you didn't
Like alcohol and cigarettes
It liked to make you think you weren't enough

But in spite of the glitches
Yours was a sharp mind
The chords hit like a hammer
The words cut like a knife

You didn't think you had much to go on
When it came to looks
Your mind is what defined you
Creating the hooks that cooked

We are none of us our body
And our brain is not our self
Still, it's terribly sad
This thing that has happened

To the brilliant brain
Of a humble man
You never said "why me?"
So I'm saying it now

Those who knew him
And those who loved him although we didn't
Demand now to know
Why him?

Love,
Cie

Malcolm Young
Just "Mal" to those who knew him well
(Dad to a daughter and son who loved him very much)
Diagnosed with dementia in 2008 at age 55

He once said that the only time he found peace was when he was playing music

He was a somewhat troubled soul, but he tried not to let his issues become problems for those he cared about

NaPoWriMo 2017: Day 3: B is for Broken

Photoshop manipulation by The Real Cie

You were brilliant

Your mind was the key to everything

You had no higher education

But you schooled anybody

Who tried to put you down

Your amazing mind

Was broken by something

That can't be seen by human eyes

But I believe that you

And others whose minds are broken

Will remember

Perhaps you are already flying free

Far from a mind that no longer works

 If so, maybe you can hear me say

"Thank you for your gift to the world."

You may have been small

But you were better and stronger than you knew

With respect,

Thalia

64

Young face

Old soul

Sad eyes even when smiling

Sometimes it seems as if you knew

You would never really grow old

Sometimes you hid your broken heart

Behind a mask of silliness

You really never let anyone in

You were a gift to this world

We didn't deserve you

I'm sorry for what has happened 

I wish I could right what went wrong

You deserve better

Love,

Cie

Dementia destroys beautiful minds

For Malcolm Young

born 6 January 1953

30 Days of Haiga 2016: Day 10: Shrouded Mind

Click to Enlarge

Forest Image:
(you can't see it, but this manip wouldn't be the same without it)

Copyright: andreiuc88 / 123RF Stock Photo

Angel Image:

Copyright: zwiebackesser / 123RF Stock Photo

Words by Cie and Ellie

Photoshop manipulation by The Real Cie

With love for Malcolm Young

Dementia destroys beautiful minds

Our words and works can't save him

But we hope they will make people aware 

Love,

Cie and Ellie 

 

Stardust and Thunder

Click to enlarge

The words are from a writing prompt at WNQ Writers.

Dear Writer That Nobody Noticed, I noticed your beautiful words, and they inspired me to create this manipulation in honor of my beloved hero, Malcolm Young. I truly hope you like the work that your words inspired.

With much love and respect,

Cie

Broken Sonnet

I can't compare you to a summer day

The leaves upon your branches are dying

I'd turn them green again were there a way

But they can't be revived by my crying

There was always something soft about you

Though you pretended that you were so tough

A sad little boy you thought no one knew

Who felt he was never loved quite enough

No way you deserve this terrible hand

Some things in life I just don't understand

CIE

For Mal

Prompts loosely interpreted:

Withrealtoads.blogspot.com

Napowrimo.net

For The Ones That No One Sees

Photoshop art by The Real Cie

"In The Silence Of His Mind"

Nobody hears you

You're the one nobody knows

Speak up anyway

There may be someone

Who needs to hear what you say

Whose life you may save

Love,

Dolly

For Mal, who saved Cie in spite of being the quiet guy in the background

and for Cie, who thinks nobody hears what she has to say

It's worth saying anyhow

Someone may be listening

Notes:

I know there's one of the moderators at Imaginary Garden With Real Toads who hates the Haiku form. To you I apologize for choosing to use that form. I chose it because it reins me in and stops me from becoming too terribly maudlin, which I have a tendency to do with poetry. 

I don't believe this is a real Haiku anyway, as it's my understanding that real Haiku has something to do with nature. In any case, I'm fairly sure I'm not a real poet. I'm just a kooky old broad who writes poetry sometimes!

Not So Wordless Wednesday: Look Into My Soul

I am a Wordless Wednesday fail. I generally find myself having to explain my process or what the photo means.

Yeah...I never write down exactly what filters I use or in which order. There was a lot of overexposure and backlighting involved with this one.

~Cie~

Wordless Wednesday: Neon Angel Version 2

Photoshop Creation by The Real Cie

Malcolm Young

born January 6, 1953

Silly Interlude: VILE Awards 2015: Steaming Piles of Poetry

Hello everyone! I thought some of you might get a laugh off this turly offering of Vogon poetry. The VILE (Vogon Intergalactic Lyrical Establishment) Awards are in full swing over at the Rattling Bones Undead Musician Magazine. This chap is one of their people's finest poets.

I also wanted to inform everyone that we are working to reply to all your lovely comments! We're a bit behind. We're currently working on the sixth day of OctPoWriMo. I assure you that we have no intent of ignoring you, and one of us will be by to say hello.

Now, if only I could get the Doctor to show up in his TARDIS, I could get caught up yesterday!

~Helena~

Celebrated Vogon poet Zephfrous Lobotomay

VILE Awards 2015:

Steaming Piles of Poetry

by

Filthy Fred

THIS IS A SANITY-SCARRING MULTIVERSE MASHUP, NETHERWORLD STYLE

SIDEBAR RULES APPLY

IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE RULES, DON'T READ THE POST

Prompt Used:

TMI Tuesday

"Fellow Vogons and fnoq guests, it is time for our illustrious poetry showcase!" harrumphed Judge Ugry Surly. "Fortunately, our cufly reading does not appear to be sullied by the presence of any member of the lurak Young family. I despise them with every fiber of my ejnut. They make me want to upchuck my eory. In any case, we have with us our esteemed poet laureate Zephfrous Lobotomay to read for you his steamy sonnet, Hot Ruven. Join us now for some Astronomical Sizzle that will excite even the most muted of hiljwe."

Zephfrous Lobotomay approached the platform, cleared his throat, and spoke.

1. He turned me over and englobe afar.

2. He grabs one lira and I aglow aware.

3. She Apso cowed cautiously.

4. Now I am going to cow the sulfa oxide you.

5. I will take you by your boys now.

6. I slipped my hand under soil and his/her woods spasms.

7. In the shower she let me nosh her bow.

8. She grabbed his cow, and yanked and pulled until he vow now.

I'm not sure about anyone else, but my Hiljwe was still pretty muted after hearing that. Also, I get the distinct feeling that Judge Surly is not in the pro Young brothers camp. I overheard him saying something about wanting to remove their qutubs and feed them to ghiks. Maybe I'm misinterpreting things somehow, but to me that doesn't sound like he's exactly feeling the Young Zeal.

Filthy Fred 

for

Rattling Bones Undead Musician Magazine

a division of

FOGNL/UNDEAD Entertainment

The feelings of the Vogon Empire are mixed regarding these fellows

Certain citizens of the Vogon Empire consider Malcolm Young to be a hero of their people for saving their flagship from the Rainbow Connection Pirates during the 2014 VILE Awards. They tolerate Angus as a necessary auxiliary evil. As VILE Awards Judge Huffy Noxious says:

"Angus Young can be compared to the need for a subcutaneous injection of pix when one is experiencing the pax pox. He is a threat to the Splunge, doubly so when paired with his brother, whom I consider comparable to the bad taste left in one's mouth when licking the adhesive on uflon envelopes. It is an acceptable tradeoff for knowing that one's important paper documents are sealed in the most jiq envelopes in the Universe. However, in spite of his particular btab qualities and the threat he poses to the Splunge, Malcolm Young is indeed a hero of the Vogon Empire, and if we are to honor his contributions, we must accept the fact that his autonomously functioning conjoined soul twin cannot be far behind."

Other citizens of the Vogon Empire feel that regardless of the fact that Malcolm saved the Vogon Empire's flagship with his quick thinking and sharp wit, he is too great a threat to the mysterious and inexplicable quality of Splunge to be allowed aboard said flagship again, and becomes infinitely more of a threat when his brother is present. Besides, as Tuns Tumuch said after capturing Malcolm in a Soul Stripper spider web last year and forcing him to listen to multiple verses from the Grimoire of Yopsog, the sentiment of certain vogons regarding said accidental hero is "I just don't like you."

We are left with the question of whether the nefarious plot of Judge Ugry Surly and the anti-Young faction will succeed in eradicating the ingenuous musical pair to the farthest reaches of the time-space continuum, or if the "hideously adorable in their own iqueous way" duo will find a way to negate the unsavory plot of General Mondegreen should they cross paths with him. It remains to be seen!

Personally, I'm rooting for the hideously adorable twosome. As my pal Kizz Myass says "I loike dose wee dudes. They're totally deadly."

Harry Sakks

for

Rattling Bones Undead Musician Magazine

a division of

FOGNL/UNDEAD Entertainment

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

The Brothers' Cookie Quest

Angus (L) and Malcolm Young, late 1960's

You cannot tell me that these guys never used the "who, us?" expression to their advantage

The Brothers' Cookie Quest

Tiring greatly of waiting for chow

Though he feared a foot to the brow

The elder of two brothers

Gave a boost to the other

To reach the cookies they were craving right now

~Wanda~

Prompts used:

Mad Kane's Limerick-Off

OTP Prompts (BROTP in this case)

Beautiful Boy

Malcolm Young, mid 1970's

 

Beautiful boy

From a faded photograph

Taken forty or so years ago

Some people callously say

You can add that to the list of things

That no longer mean anything

You will never find me thinking that way

Your beauty was never an all on the outside thing

Which is why it remains

Even now

 

~Cie~

 

Prompts Used:

 

Daily Writing Prompts

Flash 55

Sinful Sunday

 

Hello Angel

 

Hello Angel

It is such an unhappy thing

That the world will never again know

Your beautiful smile

 

 

It is an unfathomable tragedy

That you no longer recognize

The best friend that you knew from the time of his birth

Your brother

 

 

I have to believe

That when your suffering is at an end

The light will shine in your eyes again

That you will be able to remember

And to smile

 

On the day that the Heavens finally say to you

Hello Angel

 

Love,

Cie

 

Prompt Used:

Write About

 

Notes:

Re: the top picture

The prompt provides a perfect picture, which may seem incongruous for me to use, given the heavy nature of the poem itself.

My poem's subject seems the sort of person who would have enjoyed the whimsy provided by alphabet soup.

He grew up poor. Foods like alphabet soup tend to be cheap, and kids enjoy them.

He once said that he and his siblings really never considered themselves poor. They just thought that everyone lived like they did.

He ended up becoming extremely wealthy, but I'm quite sure that he would trade it all just to know what was happening once again.

I don't care if people get tired of seeing the following graphic or hearing about this person. I'm going to keep sharing and talking about it, because it is so very necessary to understand how much we need to research the diseases that cause dementia so that we can stop them--reverse them--eradicate them. So that no more bright, good people will have their lives destroyed in this way.

 

 

My friend Dolly believes that the suffering he is enduring has the capacity to teach people who are willing to open their minds and hearts. His compassionate nature was always a lesson for others. Simply by being who he was, he was a teacher. So I can see this being true, although I'm still deeply saddened and angered that one who always tried to be kind ended up suffering so greatly.

Dolly wrote a poem about why she considers Malcolm Young to be a Bodhisattva. It is worth reading.

 

If anyone has some sort of asshat comment about his unfortunate addiction to tobacco, keep that shit to yourself. He successfully rehabilitated from alcohol addiction in 1988 and never again touched a drop of the hard stuff. That's damn commendable.

Cigarettes are a notoriously hard habit to break free from. People who have quit using heroin have said that quitting smoking cigarettes is even harder. Often it is impossible.

Commercial cigarettes have chemicals above and beyond nicotine added to the tobacco. They are made to hook smokers and keep them hooked.

I smoked for 20 years, so I'm not about to get on my high horse. Truth is, I'd still love a smoke. I quit in 2006. I still think about it often and wish I could fire one up. It's hard not to go back. However, I wasn't as addicted as some people become.

Everyone's body is different. Everyone's brain chemistry is different. No one has the right to harshly judge another's weaknesses.

My Hero Looks Like This

You say this isn't what a hero looks like

You say he's too small and skinny

You say his face is too haggard

I say you have no idea what a hero actually is

When you are only judging

The book by its cover

His bravery in the face of unfathomable horror astounds me

He never complained when he discovered that he would lose himself

He only seemed to think of how others would be affected

I never realized how weary he looked until recently

How exhausting it must have been to try and remember

More and more each day, as more of himself was lost

It was said that he never knew where he was during his last tour

And now he remembers none of that at all

He is now weak and frail and all but lost, but he is still a hero to me

I have never seen anyone face such a terrible diagnosis

With such courage and dignity

Heroes don't always come in the form of a chiseled Adonis with flowing golden locks and perfect teeth

Sometimes heroes are fragile, elfin creatures

Who boldly face any challenger

Including the one they know will destroy them utterly

Without complaint or thought for themselves

This tiny, haggard man is my hero

And always will be

I hope I will meet him on the other side

So I can thank him for being just what he was

Love,

Cie

Prompt used:

Mindlovemisery's Menagerie

NaPoWriMo 2015: Day 26: Not Easy To Forget

Photoshop by The Real Cie

Not Easy To Forget

I've caused a lot more trouble than I ever intended to

There has been too much grief

Over a simple man whose cognition has gone south

Weeping and mourning do no good

Stop

Go on with your life

I tried not to cause trouble

Tried to pretend everything was all right

I'm like a dying sun setting on a doomed world

I'm sorry for those I let down

I've forgotten everything and everyone

I've forgotten myself

In the scheme of things, I don't matter very much

I don't want to cause any trouble

But at the same time

Everyone wants to matter just a little

Perhaps keep a little bit of me somewhere in your mind

With love From Sally

Notes:

The subject of the poem is a person whose cognition is being eroded by a disease which is literally destroying the structure of his brain.

He was a modest person who didn't like a lot of fuss made over him.

He tried to make out like things were all right during the period of time when he was still functional. He truly didn't want to concern others with his problems.

He is beautiful and brave, and even if he thought that such a humble creature is easily forgotten, he will be remembered as long as the members of Team Netherworld are alive, and, I believe, longer still than that by far.

Bless you, sweet angel.

Prompt:

And now, for our prompt (optional, as always). Our last two prompts have been squarely in the silly zone – this one should give some scope to both the serious-minded and the silly among you. Today, I challenge you to write a persona poem – a poem in the voice of someone else. Your persona could be a mythological or fictional character, a historical figure, or even an inanimate object. Need some examples? Check out this persona-poem-themed issue of Poemeleon from a few years back.