Carpe Diem #1765: Squirrel

Image Source

I remember when

you took peanuts from my hand

in a world long gone

~Cie~

Notes:

Remembering feeding the squirrels peanuts when I was 10 years old.

That is 44 years ago.

Carpe Diem Acts of Devotion: St. Francis

Image by LaterJay Photography from Pixabay

Saint Francis statue

still in my parents' garden

old and weathered now

~Cie~

NaPoWriMo 2017: Day 10: H is for Haze

Copyright: andreiuc88 / 123RF Stock Photo

A mist shrouds my eyes

And I drift back in time

To days lost in a haze

You want me to paint a picture

Of a reality

That perhaps did not exist

Except inside the lonely heart

Of a girl lost in a dream

~Helena~ 

 

Trapped

 Not my art. I wish! Afraid I don't know the source.

Trapped 

I feel like I’m trapped

In one of those old movies where the earth does open

I thought we could find some place to anchor

But we are still adrift, floating

 

O tired song of what we thought

Repeating endlessly within our heads

Mocking the reality of what we now know is truth

Sometimes it takes too damn long to become dead

 

I used to think if I could go back in time

I’d beat my younger self just like a thug

But these days I’ve so much sympathy in me

I’d give that lost and hurting soul a hug

 

We cannot foresee what is to come

The moments of happiness are few and far between

The moments of tragedy weigh us down like stones

I would not wish on anyone the things I’ve felt and seen

 

People do not long for youth to be young and pretty

We long for youth so we don’t have to know

About all the losses we will face in life

The myriad of sorrows stoop our shoulders when we’re old

 

~Cie~

Prompts used:

1. those old movies where the earth does open – Fault by Ron Koertge
2. but we are still adrift, floating – Song Book by Naomi Shihab Nye
3. O tired song of what we thought -The Snow Leopard Mother by Jennifer K. Sweeney

 

30 Days of Haiga 2014: Day 28

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Original Image:

Copyright: artisticco / 123RF Stock Photo

Verse:

Thalia Graves

Photoshop Manipulation:

Cie Cheesemeister

Interpreting St. Francis of Assisi in Haiku

In spite of my faults

I hope you will remember

What I did with love

~Wanda~

We were given these words of St. Francis to interpret in a Haiku:
"Remember that when you leave this earth you can taken nothing of what you have received, but only what you have a given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage".

30 Days of Haiga 2014: Day 18

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Original Photo:

Copyright: cynoclub / 123RF Stock Photo

Verse:

Illsa Gorrey

Photoshop Manipulation:

Cie Cheesemeister

Illsa's note:

When I was fourteen, I had a paper route. I actually did have a bicycle, but I never could master throwing and pedaling at the same time so I walked the route. 

My family wasn't by any means wealthy, but we weren't poor either. My father (R.I.P.) worked construction and handyman jobs. He was also a decent mechanic. He could fix just about anything, so even though our house was nothing fancy, it was a place we were proud of. Dad put a lot of work into it.

My route was in a run-down area of town. A lot of people down there owned guard dogs: Dobermans, German Shepherds, Pit Bulls. The majority of the dogs would bark but stay their place in the yard. Some of them actually became friendly towards me over time. But there was this one yard with a low fence and two very aggressive dogs. 

My sixteen-year-old brother started walking the route with me when he realized where it was. I didn't have the route for long. Once my father became fully aware of the situation, he made me quit. He was all fired up to go talk to those people about their dogs, but my mother talked him out of it. She filed a complaint with animal control. Maybe they got ticketed, but nothing was ever done about the dogs.

It's always sobering when I realize that my father has now been dead for almost as many years as he was alive.

~Illsa~