Song In the Night

Image by Eva Schmidseder from Pixabay

Though your music will always be a part of me,

I will always be apart from you.

I know I could have loved you,

But you would have been a fool to let me.

I want to love but it turns out wrong, 

Better to leave such desires in song.

I keep my feet planted firmly on the ground

In the ordinary world.

But sometimes I still dream

About me, who secretly wishes I knew you when I was young.

About you, gone from this world.

About something between you and me

That can never be

Except in dreams

Where souls brimful of love abide and meet.

In dreams, we are forever young

With thirsting, longing eyes.

I wanted you to be my rock and roll dream,

but I would have been your worst nightmare.

For when I close my eyes I see

Blood and roses

Far more often

Than I see paradise.

notes

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/23/oct-23-prompts-music-of-the-night/

Prompt: For today’s poem think about the people, places, and things that make up your night music, and in your poem “Meet them there.”

Songs and poems referenced:

Silver Springs

1976

Songwriter: Stevie Nicks

Performed by: Fleetwood Mac

Blood and Roses

1986

Songwriter:

Pat DiNizio

Performed by: Smithereens

Ordinary World

1992

Songwriter: Simon LeBon

Performed by: Duran Duran

Wish I Knew You

2016

Written and performed by The Revivalists

Echo

1854

Christina Rossetti

First publication A Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862).

Rock N Roll Dream

2008

Songwriters: Angus Young/Malcolm Young 

Performed by: AC/DC

Sweet Dreams

2009

Songwriters: Beyoncé Knowles, James Scheffer, Wayne Wilkins, Rico Love

Performed by: Beyoncé Knowles

Image by Artie_Navarre from Pixabay

This post was backdated because I was working to finish my contentious story for the First Coast Romance Writers winter anthology. 

Is the story worth the hassle it caused me?

Pre-order a copy of the anthology and judge for yourself on December 6! You can order after December 6, but why not take advantage of the $3.99 pre-order price?

Proceeds benefit the First Coast Romance Writers, an independent non-profit organization helping writers hone their craft and expand their knowledge of the publishing industry.

https://books2read.com/b/baqw6y

The Man In the Yellow Rain Slicker

 

Image by Isaac Quesada on Unsplash

When I was five or six years old

I dreamed I saw a man in a yellow rain slicker

His broken body lying on the side of Coronado Parkway

Having been hit by a car.

I asked my mother if the man was dead.

She said simply, yes.

I watched emergency workers load his body on a stretcher.

They covered his face with a sheet.

My mother took my hand and said, "Come on."

She led me away from the scene.

I watched my mother and me walk away,

Shadows strolling towards the rising sun.

notes

Here is the prompt I played free and loose with.

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/14/oct-14-prompts-not-in-the-grave/

The prompt asked participants if they'd ever had a dream where they died and suggested we describe said dream in a nocturne.

I've had plenty of dreams where I died. The dreams in which I'm dying are not the best I've ever had; in fact, they're usually quite traumatic. However, the dreams where I'm among the dead (spirits, not corpses) are usually quite pleasant.

Instead of describing a dream where I died, I chose to describe a strikingly vivid dream I had when I was very young. I had never in my life (at least not in this life) seen anything like the scene I described. I often had deep, disturbing, vivid dreams at that age which seemed rather out of context for one so young. 

At some points in my life, I've behaved in an immature fashion, but I've often described myself as never having been a child. I was forced to grow up at a very young age. Some of my behaviors may have seemed childish, but they were coping mechanisms. Some of them were bizarre and ritualistic.

I've always had an absurdist sense of humor, but I've never been light-hearted. 

I learned to read when I was four years old and graduated from Dr. Seuss to Edgar Allan Poe by the time I was six. I felt like Poe got me. 

I found solace in writing. At six years old, I wrote such bangers as Bruce the Fish and a poem called The Old Lady Who Sat In A Chair. Bruce was a surprisingly cheerful character coming from the mind of a kid who read Poe. He was a kind-hearted fellow always ready to lend a hand to help a friend. The Old Lady Who Sat In A Chair won a first prize ribbon at the New Mexico State Fair. 

I'm not sure if this poem qualifies as a nocturne as the scene in question takes place just before dawn and ends at sunrise. It's either an end-of-the-night nocturne or just a free verse poem about a gloomy little girl's grim dream. Your choice, I really don't care either way.

Come to me in the silence of the night;

    Come in the speaking silence of a dream;

        --Christina Rossetti, Echo

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay

I was nowhere near as fetching a child as this delightful little sprite (I've always been breathtakingly ugly, to be honest) and I didn't live by the ocean (I've always lived in land-locked places) but I think this image captures the imaginative spark in my grim little head. Despite all my complexities, my fondest desire is simple. I've always wished that everyone could just be happy and live in peace. 

Simple doesn't always mean possible, I'm afraid.

Deception

 

Halloween by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

the days of being desperate enough

to let myself get pulled down

by bad men 

with worse lines

are long gone.

did those low-class lotharios

really pull the wool over my eyes,

or did I let myself get tricked

hoping I'd be the one to save them?

the drive to make the fairy tale

I was told to believe in

come true

overrode common sense

obscuring red flags.

~Ornery Owl Won't Get Fooled Again~

Owl by James Lee on Unsplash

Not Evergreen + Bonus Poem (Fear)

 

Fallen leaves by Kristian Seedorff on Unsplash

heart not evergreen

if a soul is not nurtured

its dreams fall away

notes

The Haiga was inspired by a prompt from Carpe Diem Haiku.

https://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.com/2012/11/carpe-diem-38-green.html

Text art was added to the base image using Pixlr. You are welcome to share the Haiga, but please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl if you do. A link back to this blog would also be appreciated.

We are now at the end of our 30 Days of Haiga project for 2023. 

I don't know if there will be an OctPoWriMo this year. 

https://octpowrimo.blogspot.com/

Grammarly wants to correct OctPoWriMo to tapeworm, to which I can only say:

Maria Berg will provide prompts on her site, so if that sounds interesting, I encourage you to check it out.

https://experiencewriting.com/

Here's a bonus poem just for all six of my readers.

Fear by Alex Mihu on Unsplash

afraid of the dark

afraid of the light

afraid of death

afraid of living 

afraid of the unknown

afraid I know too much

Fear stands for Fuck Everything and Run

sometimes I do that

other times I say fuck fear

what the hell do I have to lose?

more notes

As above, so below. Text art and effects were added to the base image using Pixlr. You are welcome to share my picture poem (I don't think I can call it a Haiga) but please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl and maybe provide a link back to this blog. Gracias!

https://odysee.com/@FullAlbum:7/Ben-Howard:5?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

I want to share this wonderful music with you. The details about the album are from Wikipedia. I hope you enjoy it.

Is It? is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 16 June 2023 via Island Records.

The album was created before and after Howard suffered two transient ischaemic attacks in 2022. The strokes, which affected his memory and speech, influenced Howard's songwriting on the album. Created with DJ-producer Nathan Jenkins (aka Bullion), the album features a distinctly electronic leaning. Glitches and loops populate the mix alongside "radiant" guitar ripples. The album combines treated vocals and atmospheric drum machines, to "create the story" of Howard's experience. The opening track playfully recalls this experience. The interlude "Total Eclipse" features manipulated language to render the effect.

The album was recorded at Le Manoir de Léon in Léon, Landes, France; and at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England.

The lead single from the album, "Couldn't Make It Up", was released on 20 April 2023, with the album announced the same day. A second single "Walking Backwards" was released 19 May 2023. The third single, "Life in the Time", was released on 7 June 2023.

Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut EP Games in the Dark (2008) was followed by two more EPs, These Waters (2009) and Old Pine (2010). Signed to Island Records, his debut studio album came in 2011 titled Every Kingdom. The album reached number four on the UK Albums Chart and was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Howard later released two more EPs, Ben Howard Live (2011) and The Burgh Island E.P. (2012).

At the 2013 Brit Awards ceremony he received two awards: British Male Solo Artist, and British Breakthrough Act. He performed at 2013 Glastonbury festival on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday 29 June. He released his second studio album, I Forget Where We Were, in October 2014, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart.

As of 2017, he is a member of the band A Blaze of Feather with India Bourne, Mickey Smith, Nat Wason, Rich Thomas and Kyle Keegan.

Howard's third studio album, Noonday Dream, was released in June 2018. It debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, and received favorable reviews from music critics. His fourth album, Collections from the Whiteout, was released in March 2021. He released his fifth album Is It? in June 2023.

Benjamin John Howard was born on 24 April 1987 in Richmond, south-west London, England, and moved near Totnes, Devon when he was about eight. He was raised by musical parents who exposed him to their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists from the 1960s and 1970s at an early age, such as John Martyn, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel, by whom he was strongly influenced.

Howard began writing songs when he was eleven. In an interview with American Songwriter, he stated that when he was a kid he started playing guitar because he liked to put words together and make stuff up. "I was quite an imaginative little kid I guess. So your standard little love songs turned into your standard adolescent love songs. I think you start getting your own take on things when you're a late teen. That's when everything changes." Besides playing the guitar, Howard also played other instruments as a kid. He easily picked up the drums and contrabass, but after some time he decided to focus on the guitar. After attending King Edward VI Community College and Torquay Boys' Grammar School he began studying Journalism at University College Falmouth. Six months prior to completion of his course, Howard decided to focus on making music full-time, making melodic rootsy folk music, with progressively darker lyrics. His reputation grew around Devon, and soon spread to other areas of the UK. After a month of sold-out dates across Europe and the UK Howard was eventually asked to sign for Island Records.

Due to his association with the town, Howard was chosen in 2014 to appear on the 10 Totnes pound note.

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Image by Chrystal Elizabeth from Pixabay

Ornery Owl is ageless and ev-er-greeeen.

Okay, maybe not ageless.

Also, possibly teal.

For those who are interested, here is the Pinterest for Writober 2023.

https://www.pinterest.com/mariaberg1213/writober-2023/

I could get myself ahead of the game by writing my horror drabbles for potential inclusion in the annual Dragon Soul Press drabble anthology, which would mean I won't be sharing them on this blog. 

Sometimes I like the way I think. But then I almost die from shock, so that might not be a good idea. 

Anyway, you should check out this year's horror drabble anthology, The Damned. It's good. It contains five of my drabbles.

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

If you're interested in submitting for potential inclusion in next year's horror drabble anthology, The Fear Doctor, here's the link to what you need to know. 

https://dragonsoulpress.com/drabblecalls/

Dragon Soul Press also publishes an annual poetry anthology and multiple short story anthologies every year. Check 'em out! Maybe one of your stories will be published next. If you submit it, that is.

WEP Challenge February 2022: An Underrated Quality

  

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

When they say that all you need is love

Most people’s heads fill with starry-eyed visions

Of pretty young folk romancing one another

Or maybe a bit of bromance between virile young men

Or innocent sisters skipping hand in hand through fields of flowers

Such ideas are little more than cotton candy in a world that is starving

Until you can find it in your heart to have compassion

For those you have deemed ugly and unworthy

The disabled, the elderly, and those who aren’t pretty in a certain delicate way

The mentally ill, the homeless, the deformed

Victims who hide away too traumatized to face the world

Until services are provided for each and every one

We do not have the right to say that we know how to love

In any case, the word love has too many connotations

Of gaiety and frippery

Of lads and lasses tripping the light fantastic into one another’s arms

Then riding off into the sunset to live happily ever after

What the world needs far more than sweet young romance

Is compassion in its muted shades of black and white and gray

Compassion doesn’t care if someone is pretty

It doesn’t care if they are young or old

If they are full of vitality or on their deathbed

If they are black or white or brown or red

If they are fat or thin or in between

Whether they are a real go-getter or a real nowhere nobody

If they are able-bodied or disabled in whatever manner

Compassion seeks to serve them all

A world that lacks compassion cannot claim to be a loving world

A society that lacks compassion cannot claim to be successful

A soul lacking in compassion has no love to give

Until there is fairness and justness in the treatment of all people

This is a world without love

So it is my position that rather than seeking romance

Instead of longing to drown in an ocean of desire

What we really need to create a better life

Is to feed the hungry

To house the homeless

To comfort the suffering

To respect the soul within

Rather than objectify or criticize the body without

What we need is empathy to create a better society

Then maybe we can talk about love

That flighty fairy with fragile gossamer wings

~ornery owl~

390 words

Image by plukdedag64 from Pixabay

Blurbish Thing:

It's a poem addressing the fact that when people hear the word "love" they usually think of romantic love. I feel that women, in particular, are conditioned to focus on romantic love above their own goals and happiness. As well, I don't feel that romantic love will have much impact on the mess the world is in. What we need is empathy. 

If this blurb is too long and convoluted, feel free to just use the first sentence.

I really have no desire for a full-blown poetry critique. You like it or you don't. If you like it, my name is Ornery Owl and you should tell the world about the great poetry you read on my blog. If you don't like it, my name is Vinny Viper and I suggest that you don't talk to anyone about that putz Ornery Owl.

http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Creative Commons License

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This work is the intellectual property of  Naughty Netherworld Press and Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

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November PAD Challenge 2021: What's Next?

 

Image by Lorri Lang from Pixabay

I can't explain why

this image brings tears to my eyes

I was only contemplating what comes next

as I make my way

over the river and through the woods

my feet crunching the crisp fallen leaves

there is a rasp in my voice when I try to explain

that it has been many decades 

since I had a connection to another living person

like the one shown in the picture

and when I think back on the things that were

something blue glistens in my moss-rather-than-emerald eyes

because I am now quite certain

that the one for whom I felt such sisterly affection

did not share the affinity

I am learning to be an older sister

to the lost and lonely girl that I once was

as we strive to discover what's next

strolling through fields of saffron in our dreams

or crunching fallen leaves beneath our soles

during this year's too-dry winter

we seek to discover our hidden magic

~ornery owl~

prompts

https://godoggocafe.com/2021/10/23/brave-recklesss-november-creativity-prompt-challenge-autumnblings/

https://thesaxophoneplayerswife.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/blogtober2021writingprompts.jpg

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/2021-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-29

Prompt: Write a "next" poem

http://www.octpowrimo.com/2021/10/day-15-leaves.html

http://godoggocafe.com

Here is the epic soundtrack that I was listening to while I wrote this poem.

Here is the link in case you can't see the video.

https://odysee.com/@FredBouchal:e/epic-instrumental-music-intense:0?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Come check out Readers Roost, the online book store featuring works by indie and small press authors. Discover your next great read at the Roost! It's the link you need when you wanna read.

https://bit.ly/ReadersRoost

Want more poetry?

Get it here!

http://bit.ly/getmorepoetry

Buy me a coffee

http://bit.ly/NNPCoffee

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http://bit.ly/NNPKOFI

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November PAD Challenge 2021: Ankle Soup

 

Image by kzeomdceswk on Unsplash

running out of time as the money drips in and the reserves dry up

there is still no triumph as I trot through pelting dust to my grave

my brain has too many tabs open in place of morning papers and still I wonder why

my engine is running down, my wings have been clipped, but I can never be free 

the truth is, the price for striving to own the newest shiny object is too high

you are my witness as I split myself down the middle, leaving one half of me to slow down and make ankle soup from the pork hock in my freezer

~ornery owl~

prompts

https://godoggocafe.com/2021/10/23/brave-recklesss-november-creativity-prompt-challenge-autumnblings/

https://thesaxophoneplayerswife.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/blogtober2021writingprompts.jpg

Prompt: Money

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/2021-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-28

Prompt: Write a "slow down" poem

http://www.octpowrimo.com/2021/10/day-14-rain.html

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2021/11/25/reenas-xploration-challenge-209/

Prompt: The picture

https://girlieontheedge1.wordpress.com/2021/11/28/sundays-six-sentence-story-word-prompt-188/

Prompt: Reserve

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2021/11/28/wordle-529/

I hope that's all of them. It's so irritating when I have to come back and add one in after publishing.

Here's the cool 70s prog rock soundtrack that I was listening to while writing this poem.

Here's the link in case you can't see the video.

https://odysee.com/@TerminalPassage:c/sahara-subject-esq-%281972%29-sunrise-%281974%29:9?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Come check out Readers Roost, the online book store featuring works by indie and small press authors. Discover your next great read at the Roost!

https://bit.ly/ReadersRoost

Want more poetry?

Get it here!

http://bit.ly/getmorepoetry

Buy me a coffee

http://bit.ly/NNPCoffee

Or buy me a coffee here

http://bit.ly/NNPKOFI

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Join me on Patreon!

Subscribe for as little as $1 per month.

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November PAD Challenge 2021: Balloons Over Broadway

 

Image by Requieri Tozzi from Pixabay

whatever happened to the girl

who once dreamed of balloons flying over Broadway

as an awesome sign of admiration 

for her latest cinematic triumph

she would be given the key to the city

a parade would be held in her honor

the clop of the horses would become a rumble

for the most amazing icon, the very best

she would settle for nothing less

did she have a stroke of bad luck

or was she too scared to compete?

she was never the right fit 

for the part of the femme fatale

her face was much too ordinary

her hips were much too big

some may say it's sad what became of that girl

but she can't complain

she moved out to the country

her audience consists of horses and squirrels

who don't pay much attention

she likes baking pies

and living where folks don't have to lock their doors

she isn't keen for just scraping by

but she was never cut out for glitz and glamour

the high life would have brought her low

probably put her six feet under

it may be redundant to ask

if anything of that girl who hoped

for balloons over Broadway

and parades in her honor

remains hidden in the shadows

of the mind of an unglamorous old fat woman

who lives in a town small enough

that she could pedal to the sole store within minutes

perhaps the girl realized who she really was

or perhaps she couldn't live with the reality

either way, it's probably for the best

that her glitzy dreams never came true

beneath the sea of ubiquitous pretty faces

and impossibly slender bodies

courtesy of cocaine and starvation

Hollywood's heart is cold

~ornery owl~

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

https://godoggocafe.com/2021/10/23/brave-recklesss-november-creativity-prompt-challenge-autumnblings/

https://amanpan.com/eugis-weekly-prompt-shadows-nov-18-2021/

Prompt: Shadows

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2021/11/22/wordle-267/

https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/2021-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-24

Prompt: write a response poem

I posed a question and wrote a response to it.

http://www.octpowrimo.com/2021/10/day-11-horses.html

Prompt: Horses

There are horses mentioned in this poem.

The Icky, Sticky, Nit-Picky Legalese If You Please (Or Don't Please)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is the intellectual property of Naughty Netherworld Press/Poetry of the Netherworld.

Reblogging is acceptable on platforms that allow it. Odysee’s reblog function is called repost, which makes things confusing since reposting is considered a no-no on most platforms. It’s fine to share the post using the repost function on Odysee. It is not okay to copy-paste the material into a new post.

Sharing a link to the post is acceptable.

Quoting portions of the post for educational or review purposes is acceptable if proper credit is given.

Want more poetry?

Get it here!

http://bit.ly/getmorepoetry

Buy me a coffee

http://bit.ly/NNPCoffee

Or buy me a coffee here

http://bit.ly/NNPKOFI

Join me on Odysee

https://bit.ly/POTNOdysee

Join me on Patreon!

Subscribe for as little as $1 per month.

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Get the latest literary happenings and slices of life in your inbox!

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