OctPoWriMo 2016: Day 11: Lively

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 Original Image:

Copyright: rasveta / 123RF Stock Photo

Photoshop Manipulation by The Real Cie

Style: Haiga (Monoku)

From: Gerry Clifford

To: Pepper Baiij 

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

OctPoWriMo 2014: Day 18

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Seth's Notes:

Hi, I'm Seth. I'm the husband of Sadie, who wrote a couple of (very sweet!) poems this month for the challenge.

Tonight's prompt was very challenging to me. Besides not being the world's greatest poet, I'm not the world's most technologically savvy guy, and I was wondering how I could pull this off without Photoshop, which I don't have. 

What I did was to copy a page from the electronic manuscript, paste it into Word, change the words I didn't want visible to white font, take a screen shot, and then paste the image into Paint and crop it. I didn't know how to erase the proofreading marks, but I think they look kind of cool anyway.

The page I used is from a book by Team Netherworld member Rose LeMort, and I hope you will check it out. Rose's work is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and Stephen King, and the result is very spooky. Just click the image of the book to learn more.

30 Days of Haiga 2014: Day 5

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Original Image:

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

Please also visit Anne's Astronomy News, where the image was found.

Cheeky Verse:

Adam Everhard

Photoshop design:

Cie Cheesemeister

Note from Cie:

This was the most challenging of these images to date. I wasn't satisfied with the color of the text, I wasn't satisfied with the arc, I struggled with it for quite some time. I am not a professional artist. I hope it does Adam's Haiku justice.