Dark Hearts Love Too

https://dragonsoulpress.com/poetrycalls/

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

April Is Upon Us: 2025 Version

Free use image from Gordon Johnson on Pixabay

Hello, fellow poets. I will be participating in NaPoWriMo, the April PAD Challenge from Robert Lee Brewer at Writers Digest, and the Writers.com 30-day poetry challenge this year, but I won’t be publishing my poems here because I am submitting them to Dragon Soul Press for consideration in the forthcoming Soul Chaser anthology from Dragon Soul Press. You can find out more about the anthology on this page.

Here are links to the sites mentioned in the first paragraph.

https://www.writersdigest.com/2025-april-pad-challenge-prompts

Napowrimo.net

https://writers.com/napowrimo-prompts-for-national-poetry-month

One of the prompts for the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge from Long and Short Reviews asks what books I’d like youths to discover.

https://www.longandshortreviews.com/wednesday-weekly-blogging-challenge/

I think young people should be introduced to poetry in all its forms. Classic poetry, modern poetry, world poetry, it’s all worthwhile.

I feel that some people concentrate too much on perfect form. For me, poetry is a way to express certain emotions and concerns that I otherwise can’t. I don’t want to censor the story my soul wants to tell. There’s a time for concentrating on form. However, most of the time, poetry is catharsis, it’s therapy, it’s a way to bleed out without dying.

I didn’t realize until I was in my fifties that the way I behaved as a teenager and even well into my adulthood was a trauma response. I don’t know if I would have survived without poetry to help me express what was happening inside me. I didn’t understand it. I just thought I was crazy. I had a lot of unhelpful labels put on me, but nobody doing the labeling was interested in helping me heal. They wanted compliance from me, not peace for me.

I don’t go on about this sort of thing as much as I used to. In some ways, it’s water under the bridge. I also got tired of not being heard or understood. That’s just the way it is. The people who will get you, especially if you’re an odd specimen like me, are rare birds. The ones who get and like you are rarer still.

So, the cool things I’m doing this month are poetry and creating some sort of weird hybrid mess for a Camp NaNoWriMo replacement project. Everything else involves crap like taxes and Medicaid renewal. Blech! Yuck! Suckville!

The thing about Medicaid renewal is that if we had a national health system, everyone would be on it, so there would be no need for Medicaid renewal. I have believed we should have a national health system in the US since my youth, and I will continue believing it through my old age. I wonder if we’ll get one before I put my other foot in the grave.

Anyway, I want young people to be exposed to poetry from the time they can write. I want them to not only learn about other people’s poetic masterpieces but to learn to create their own. Being able to express one’s pain in a positive way is essential to mental and spiritual health. There isn’t enough focus on the importance of the arts. Engaging in creative activities not only leads to inner peace, it leads to greater understanding of oneself and one’s place in the world.

A world with Medicaid for all and poetry for all would be a much improved place in space.

Ornery Owl Has Spoken

Monday, April 1, 2024

April PAD Challenge and NaPoWriMo Prompts 2024 Day One

Image by vikki bilan from Pixabay

Hiya Class! As I do nearly every year, I am participating in the April PAD Challenge from Writers Digest and NaPoWriMo on the down-low. I will be submitting all or most of the poems I create this month to the Soul Ink 2 collection from Dragon Soul Press, and if I publish them before submission, they become ineligible. Le sigh.

If you'd like to submit poems for potential inclusion in Soul Ink 2, here's where you can find out what you've gotta do. If you have further questions, don't ask me. Ask Dragon Soul Press.

https://dragonsoulpress.com/poetrycalls/

I did not submit any poems for the 2023 November PAD Challenge chapbook contest this year because A) I forgot and B) I get the distinct feeling that the host ain't feeling my poetry. No big.

Here are the prompts I used today.

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/2024-april-pad-challenge-day-1

The April PAD Challenge prompt asked participants to pen an optimistic poem.

Yeah...I failed. My prose poem expressed outrage at a distressing social phenomenon rather than optimism.

https://www.napowrimo.net/here-we-go-2/

Today's prompt from NaPoWriMo petitioned poets to write – without consulting the book – a poem that recounts the plot, or some portion of the plot, of a novel that you remember having liked but that you haven’t read in a long time.

Did I succeed in this quest?

I think so, although I turned my brief summary of the maligned book into a protest against current Orwellian attitudes of unpersoning anyone suspected of standing even slightly in opposition to modern standards of hyper "wokeness", particularly when it's clear that the critic hasn't even opened the contentious tome to page one before calling for the cancellation of the story's deceased author.

The house is currently being permeated by the mouthwatering scent of the homemade beef jerky I put in the food dehydrator some 45 minutes ago. I then chopped some tofu chunks into the remaining marinade and will use those in a stir fry tonight.

Homemade jerky is vastly superior to store-bought. You should use tough cuts of meat, like round steak, which make better jerky than the pricier cuts. I have a small Magic Mill food dehydrator, which you can check out on Amazon. I will receive a small commission from any purchases made through this link.

https://amzn.to/3TIGMQg

Enjoy this concert from the Argentinian rock band Soda Stereo.

https://odysee.com/@Filip:f/Soda-Stereo---Estadio-Obras-86-Completo:3?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

Saturday, January 6, 2024

In the Present Tense #8Sunday

Photo by Mathilde Langevin (mathildelangevin) on Unsplash

In the Present Tense

“My husband’s name is Rama Abadjiev. He is thirty-eight years old, and he is from the country of Turkey. We have a three-year-old daughter named Claudia.”

Natali Dhaval repeated the information to the forensic team who pulled her husband’s body from the pool as if referring to Rama in the present tense could return him to life. Part of her realized the medical examiner needed to know if she had any information about her husband’s drowning, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit he was dead.

“My husband’s name is Rama Abadjiev,” Natali repeated. “My husband’s name is Rama...”

notes

I went off the rails a bit in December. I want to continue sharing the drabbles I wrote last May.

Five of my (C. L. Hart's) drabbles can be found in The Damned drabble anthology. I didn't submit this story for potential inclusion in The Damned because while the situation described is horrible, it doesn't qualify as horror.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

Sunday, December 3, 2023

Time's Up #8Sunday

Photo by Igor Lypnytskyi (ilypnytskyi) on Unsplash

Time’s Up

Eulalia Bonner, the mayor of the Village of Peace on the coast of Nucleycia, read the crumpled three-word note again, as if mulling it over for the thousandth time would bring any more resolution than reflecting on it for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth.

TIME’S UP, BITCH.

If she refused to allow the churlish Duke of Atrar access to Nucleycia via the Port of Malfair, he would render every one of the Village’s pristine white buildings to rubble. If she gave into his demands, the entire population of Nucleycia would suffer.
“We must stand up to him,” Mayor Bonner declared.

notes

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

Friday, October 20, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: In the Present Tense

Photo by Mathilde Langevin (mathildelangevin) on Unsplash

In the Present Tense

“My husband’s name is Rama Abadjiev. He is thirty-eight years old, and he is from the country of Turkey. We have a three-year-old daughter named Claudia.”

“My husband’s name is Rama Abadjiev,” Natali repeated. “My husband’s name is Rama...”

notes

I didn't submit this drabble to Dragon Soul Press for inclusion in The Damned horror drabble anthology. Losing a loved one is life-altering. It is a personal horror that never ends. The piece, however, contains no supernatural elements and although it could be the opening for a crime thriller, this possibility isn't clear cut.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: Time's Up

Photo by Igor Lypnytskyi (ilypnytskyi) on Unsplash

Time’s Up

Eulalia Bonner, the mayor of the Village of Peace on the coast of Nucleycia, read the crumpled three-word note again, as if mulling it over for the thousandth time would bring any more resolution than reflecting on it for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth.

TIME’S UP, BITCH.

If she refused to allow the churlish Duke of Atrar access to Nucleycia via the Port of Malfair, he would render every one of the Village’s pristine white buildings to rubble. If she gave into his demands, the entire population of Nucleycia would suffer.

“We must stand up to him,” Mayor Bonner declared.

notes

I didn't submit this drabble to Dragon Soul Press for inclusion in The Damned horror drabble anthology because it reads more like the start of a military/political action thriller than horror. Not that the aftermath of political conflict isn't horrific for the survivors.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: Beneath the Surface

Photo by Kevin Charit (kevin_charit) on Unsplash

Beneath the Surface

Messias Robertsen wished he’d chosen a career in any field besides archaeology. He rued the day he found the hieroglyphs carved into the Altar of Rock at the Farms of the Vanquished on the shore of the River of Rust. Since that day, he’d been plagued by sanity-scarring nightmares.

Messias gazed out the tavern window at the row of volcanic islands extending across Turtle Bay Harbor. He looked at the sketch of the creature that had been haunting his sleep. His dreams told him the thing would rise from the sea near The Sleeping Skerry on the next full moon.

notes

I submitted this story to Dragon Soul Press for potential inclusion in The Damned horror drabble anthology, but it didn't make the cut.

That's all right, five of the drabbles I submitted did pass muster. Plus, you'll also find more great drabbles by other talented authors.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: The Trial

Photo by Ong Cheng Zheng (ocz0929) on Unsplash

The Trial

Blaire Brock fired her gardener Sandalio Juárez after he scolded her for killing a snake. Before leaving, he warned her that one day el padre de las serpientes would make her stand trial for her loathsome ways. She laughed at him, telling him she’d send him his final check. The sophisticated English heiress wasn’t about to let a superstitious Spaniard spook her.

As Blaire dressed for bed, she heard leaves rustling. She screamed at the sight of a great green snake staring at her. The window opened and the beast slithered inside.

Blaire’s maid found her dead the next morning.

notes

This story appears in The Damned horror drabble anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

https://poetryofthenetherworld.blogspot.com/2023/10/wrong-tober-2023-flying-high-8sunday.html

Monday, October 16, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: Three Things

Photo by ayush kumar (ayushk9) on Unsplash

Three Things

Ashok Bolesław-Bove simply wanted to get out of his own head for a while. His girlfriend had just broken the news that she was pregnant. Of course he intended to do the right thing. He was a man of integrity, and certainly he was old enough to be a father at thirty-two. However, he was still heartbroken over the death of his Papa Úlfr three years previously from COVID-19, and his Papa Julian had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Ashok sat in the bathtub fully clothed, wishing he could drown in the tears that refused to flow from his eyes.

notes

This drabble is the second half of the story I published yesterday. I didn't submit it for publication consideration because it isn't a Damned horror story.

Here's yesterday's drabble.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Sunday, October 15, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: Flying High #8Sunday

Photo by Julian Lates (jlates) on Unsplash

Flying High

As the needle touched vinyl, exuberant pop-punk blasted from the speakers. Julian Bolesław was having a fantastic birthday. Thirty wasn’t too old for fun but was mature enough to make smart decisions. Julian believed he was on his way to becoming a successful record producer able to provide for the little boy he and Úlfr had just adopted from India.

“Hey Pop, it’s time for your pills.”

Julian brushed his white hair back from his face and took the young man’s hand.

“Have we met before?” he asked.

“It’s Ashok, Pop.”

“That’s nice. I have a little son named Ashok.”

notes

I didn't submit this story to Dragon Soul Press. From my point of view, few things are more horrific than dementia, but I didn't feel the story was visceral enough to be considered horror.

No, I didn't publish a drabble yesterday. If you recall, I'm not sharing drabbles from my current project because I will be selecting fifteen of those to submit to Dragon Soul Press for their 2024 drabble anthology, The Fear Doctor. These drabbles are the ones I created this April for submission to The Damned. There are only thirty of them and I've taken one off the table because it's simply too contentious. I didn't submit it, and the only other person to see it is my brother.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Friday, October 13, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: The Fog

Photo by and machines (and_machines) on Unsplash

The Fog

The thick yellow fog hanging in the air had real and devastating consequences. The town’s population lay dead in their homes. Animals lay dead in the fields. Flowers hung their heads as their petals dropped away. Leaves turned brown and rotten on trees and vines.

The drone that had released the gas was shot down forty-five miles away from its target. Its destruction would make no difference. Others like it had already been dispatched to agricultural areas all across the nation. A society without readily available food quickly begins to crumble. All the enemy had to do now was wait.

notes

This story is included in The Damned anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Thursday, October 12, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: Deadly Runoff

Photo by David Becker (beckerworks) on Unsplash

Deadly Runoff

Myembaatush Falls were a remarkably majestic sight. The cool, clear melt water from Mount Driaren plunged over a thousand-foot drop to Taldrac Creek, which flowed into Lormorn Lake and supplied water to the little towns of the Barbarum Range.

There were no indicators to warn the people that death flowed from Mount Driaren in this spring’s runoff. The leak from Belciar Mine would not be found until more than a thousand people had perished. Xarbarum, a highly toxic side product created by the Marbarum mining process, is odorless, tasteless, colorless, and not even modern water testing methods can detect it.

notes

I submitted this Drabble for potential inclusion in The Damned anthology from Dragon Soul Press, but it didn't make the cut. That's all right, it's still pretty nifty. That is, if you consider drinking from a tainted water supply nifty.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: On a Spring Day

Photo by Mak (mak_jp) on Unsplash

On a Spring Day

It was a glorious spring day. Cherry blossoms adorned the trees along the street beside Cryptic Chemicals headquarters.

There was not a living soul to be found when Lilith Bezuidenhout emerged from the building wearing a Hazmat suit with a respirator. She knew her colleague was unhinged but nobody would listen.

On the surface, Marianne Trujillo was a charming and cooperative young woman. Beneath the surface, her emotions raged out of control. Her recent separation from her husband had pushed her over the edge. Seanán Trujillo would pay for his betrayal, and so would everyone who breathed the contaminated air.

notes

This is one of the five drabbles selected for inclusion in The Damned anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Wrong-Tober 2023: Beneath Leadville

Photo by David Glessner Works (davidglessnerworks) on Unsplash

Beneath Leadville

Lachtnae Svenson wasn’t sure exactly what was happening beneath the carpet of scrubby alpine grass in Leadville. The signs were ominous, but there was no consensus among the scientists about their meaning. Seismographs were concerning one day and calm the next. The side of a mountain bulged one day and the next day it didn’t. Then there were the rounded tunnels with their perfectly smooth walls in the old mine.

Locky felt a bit silly as he prepared for his appearance on the evening news. In essence he was saying, “something’s happening here, but we don’t know what it is.”

notes

I submitted this piece for potential inclusion in The Damned, but it wasn't selected.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/renesgetawaypartyroom

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party.

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.