An Underrated Quality #8Sunday #SnipSun #WEPChallenge

   

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

Read the rest of the poem at the following link:

https://poetryofthenetherworld.blogspot.com/2022/02/wep-challenge-february-2022-underrated.html

~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. 

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.

This poem is currently not available anywhere except this site. It will probably end up in my next poetry anthology. 

http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com

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http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

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

Creative Commons License

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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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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

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 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.

Come check out Readers Roost, the online bookstore 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

Buy me a coffee

http://bit.ly/NNPCoffee

Or buy me a coffee here

http://bit.ly/NNPKOFI

Join me on Patreon!

Subscribe for as little as $1 per month.

http://bit.ly/NNPPatreon

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

Now with a new free chapter, poem, or something every month for subscribers.

Get it before anyone else does, or own an unpublished rarity.

http://bit.ly/NaughtyNetherworldNews

Sixfold Needs Writers #MFRWAuthor #MFRWHooks #8Sunday #SnipSun #RainbowSnippets

  

Image by christoph_mschrd from Pixabay

Hello fellow writers! I wanted to let you know about Sixfold, the fiction and poetry journal where writers choose the winners. https://www.sixfold.org/

The first round of the competition/writing workshop was supposed to start on February 1st, but it will begin on May 1st instead to get more participants on board. You can enter a piece in either the fiction or poetry category or one piece in both categories. The deadline on the website says January 24th, but they have extended it until April 24th to allow more participants to enter. You can read more about the requirements here. https://www.sixfold.org/howitworks.html

Your story can be up to 5000 words long. I entered my contentious Three Time Travelers piece and a poetry manuscript. 

I am not affiliated with Sixfold except as a participant. I'd just like my fellow writers to know about this opportunity. It's hard to find fellow writers to bounce things off (most are too busy with their own work) but it can be really helpful. I recently made exponential improvements to one of my stories thanks to advice from a fellow writer. I haven't yet made enough income off my writing where I can afford an editor and I sometimes run into the old forest/trees and horse/zebra conundrums when working as my own editor.

If anyone reading this ever wants to do a story for story trade (you show me yours and I'll show you mine) I'm up for it. I've wanted to form a friendly and supportive critique group for a while now but I have a hard enough time managing my own so-called schedule, let alone a group, so it would be a loose and casual affair as opposed to something properly managed. Having ADHD is rather like having The Joker manage your business only without the crime sprees. It's wacky, it's colorful, and you'll often find yourself in interesting places wondering how the hell you got there.

So, yeah, that's about it. Check out Sixfold and hit me up in the comments if you want me to take a look at a chapter or story and give possibly helpful suggestions that you can either accept or reject. 

Folks, I am working through some anxiety issues and am doing better this month than last, but am still having some struggles. I don't expect comments on this post. I will try to comment on as many of yours as I can, but please don't take it personally if I don't. It's not you, it's me.

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Free Use Image from Open Clipart Vectors

Blog Hops

https://mfrw.blogspot.com/

https://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets

https://www.facebook.com/groups/401643826588474

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

Charity Sunday: Off Topic Publishing

 

Off Topic Publishing is compiling an anthology of stories and poems inspired by the album Wayward and Upward by Spinoza Gambit. They are seeking contributions to help with publication costs and money to pay the selected authors. So far they have received 200 CAD. Their goal is 2500 CAD.

https://gofund.me/bef600d7

While there's no accounting for taste as they have thus far rejected my submissions, I believe in supporting independent artists, so I will contribute $1 to the project for every comment received on this post.

The deadline for submitting poems or stories for potential inclusion in this project is January 30 or until filled, so check the open calls page and see if they are still accepting submissions.

https://offtopicpublishing.com/opencalls/

I wasn't sure what to include with this post as far as a poem or excerpt. Three of my poems are still under consideration but I expect them to be rejected. My style doesn't seem to be a good fit for this project. I'll do what I do and publish them myself as I don't see them being a good fit for submission anywhere else. That being said, I'm opting to share the first poem in the volume.

Prodigal Moon 

Prodigal moon

You can spin me a silent tune

But you can’t return my love to me

I dare you to try

Catch him on the fly

Before he escapes ‘cross the sea

About the Poem

This poem was inspired by Prodigal Moon, the first song on the Wayward and Upward album by Spinoza Gambit. I simply wrote down what came to mind as I listened to the music and then lightly edited the work the next day. I was inspired by the idea of something that disappears and returns on a predictable schedule (the visible moon) and something that cannot return (a lost love.) 

About Me

Ornery Owl is a 56-year-old disabled former nurse living in a remote town on the plains of Northeastern Colorado with her adult son and three cats. When not penning provocative poetry as Ornery Owl, writing gloomy Lovecraftian fantasy or doomy dystopian fiction as C.L. Hart, or spinning cheeky erotic sci-fi yarns as Lil DeVille, Ornery enjoys baking (hopefully well) and drawing (admissibly badly.) Ornery also features book reviews and recommendations at her virtual online bookstore, Readers Roost.

Connect with Ornery Owl and Naughty Netherworld Press

Check out Crazy Creatives Cheerleading Camp if you are interested in watching a decidedly fucked-up but possibly interesting disaster of a human being trying to make sense of their train wreck of a life.

http://crazycreativescheerleadingcamp.blogspot.com

Subscribe to the Naughty Netherworld Press newsletter because your life isn't complete until you are receiving a sporadically published newsletter haphazardly cobbled together by a round cartoon owl.

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Visit the official Naughty Netherworld Press blog. In fairness, right now it's pretty much just Insecure Writers Support Group posts.

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Visit Readers Roost. It's the link you need when you want to read.

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Opportunity for Poets and Writers #8Sunday #MFRWAuthor #SnipSun #RainbowSnippets

 

Image by Darkmoon_Art from Pixabay

Hello fellow poets and writers. Rather than sharing a snippet this week, I want to tell you about a unique opportunity that I am participating in and invite you to participate too. It is "A multimedia project inspired by the electrosymphonic album “Wayward & Upward” by Spinoza Gambit. The music already exists. Your job is to come up with stories and poems that resonate."

This anthology will include one short story and three poems for each track on this album.

I have created and submitted poems for each of the songs. I am currently working on a story inspired by "Prodigal Moon," the first song on the album. The deadline for submissions is January 30.

Head over to the Open Calls page at Off Topic Publishing to find out more and submit your work. https://offtopicpublishing.com/opencalls/

https://mfrw.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/963484217054974

http://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday

http://wewriwa.blogspot.com

Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol

The song is intended to sound to its Italian audience as if it is sung in English spoken with an American accent, designed to be "Bob Dylan-esque"; however, the lyrics are deliberately unintelligible gibberish with the exception of the words "all right". Celentano's intention with the song was not to create a humorous novelty song but to explore communication barriers. The intent was to demonstrate the idea that while many Italians loved authentic English-language songs, not many knew English well enough to understand what the authentic songs' lyrics meant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisencolinensinainciusol

The woman playing the harmonica is Adriano's wife, Claudia Mori, a singer/actress-turned-record producer. Adriano and Claudia have been married since 1964.

I certainly don't think I would have cut class as often as I did if my school had been this cool!

In de col men seivuan

Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait

Uis de seim cius men

Op de seim ol uat men

In de colobos dai

Trr

Ciak is e maind beghin de col

Bebi stei ye push yo oh

Uis de seim cius men

In de colobos dai

Not is de seim laikiu

De promisdin iu nau

In trabol lovgiai ciu gen

In do camo not cius no bai

For lov so op op giast

Cam lau ue cam lov ai

Oping tu stei laik cius

Go mo men

Iu bicos tue men cold

Dobrei gorls

Oh sandei

Ai ai smai sesler

Eni els so co uil piso ai

In de col men seivuan

Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait

Uei ai sint no ai

Giv de sint laik de cius

Nobodi oh gud taim lev feis go

Uis de seim et seim cius

Go no ben let de cius

End kai for not de gai giast stei

Ai ai smai senflecs

Eni go for doing peso ai

In de col mein seivuan

Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait

Lu nei si not sicidor

Ah es la bebi la dai big iour

Ai ai smai senflecs

Eni go for doin peso ai

In de col mein saivuan

Prisencolinensinainciusol ol rait

Lu nei si not sicodor

Ah es la bebi la dai big iour

Charity Sunday: Denver Rescue Mission #SnipSun

 

Image by Leroy Skalstad from Pixabay

When I was working delivering groceries and takeout in downtown Denver, I often drove by the Denver Rescue Mission. Their work is never done. There isn't enough room to accommodate everyone, so I would see homeless folks outside. 

I saw a group of people in wheelchairs huddling together to keep warm.

I saw an elderly man with a walker sitting up against the wall.

The nearby trash cans tend to be perpetually overflowing. The police are always in close proximity, but I never witnessed anyone causing problems. 

I would be homeless myself if it hadn't been for my son allowing me to live with him. After I was fired from my more-than-full-time job in March of 2017, I could no longer keep up with the bills. I was never able to work full-time again because of my increasing levels of disability. From that day forward I was only able to do low-paying contract work and my reserves quickly disappeared.

The house that my son and I now live in is bought and paid for thanks to the generosity of his dad, who used the money he inherited from his aunt to purchase it.

I don't dislike my ex-husband. Far from it. We divorced amicably in 1994. We have been family to each other for years. 

There should be no homelessness, but with the cost of housing, it is becoming reality for more and more people.

My family has given to the Denver Rescue Mission for decades. I will donate a dollar for every comment I receive on this post.

https://denverrescuemission.org/ways-to-give/

The following is an excerpt from my newly-published poetry volume, December Mood.

Our Last Stand

Free use image by Peter H on Pixabay

https://pixabay.com/photos/gang-floor-pforphoto-house-4058017/

When I was young, I believed that my dreams would come true eventually if I just believed hard enough. I believed that when I wished on a star that fairies or angels would work to make my wishes come true.

I believed that if I worked hard, I would be accepted into the Magical World of Shiny Happy People that lay beyond the Wall of Despair.

Then my body failed me.

My son and I moved away from the city to a town far from anywhere.

My Big Bright Dreams are dead and gone, but I believed that perhaps a few people would pay a couple dollars to read my little stories.

My money is gone.

I had one last chance

to turn defeat to triumph

I failed our last stand

there is nothing behind the wall

except a space where the wind whistles

144 words

Prompts used and how the poem was created:

D’Verse Poets: Write a piece of prose incorporating the given verse.

https://dversepoets.com/2020/11/09/of‐houses‐walls‐and‐whistling‐winds/

The verse is:

“there is nothing behind the wall

except a space where the wind whistles”

from “Drawings by Children” by Lisel Mueller

What I wrote is a non‐standard Haibun. For those who don’t know, a Haibun is a piece of prose followed by a Haiku. Mine is non‐standard because I placed the two lines above at the end of the Haibun. I originally had them at the beginning of the piece, but I thought they worked better following the Haiku.

If this form goes utterly against the prompt, the hosts of the hop can feel free to remove my link.

I won’t take it personally. I’m too damn tired.

What I wrote is not fiction. It is the Reader’s Digest Condensed Soup version of an entirely autobiographical situation. I would not recommend eating too much of this soup. It will give you heartburn and a bellyache.

The November PAD Chapbook Challenge prompt for today was to write an “our blank” poem.

The title of the Haibun is “Our Last Stand,” and those words also appear in the Senryu portion following the prose.

https://www.writersdigest.com/write‐better‐poetry/2020‐november‐pad‐chapbook‐challengeday‐9

The word of the day is Triumph, which also appears in the Senryu. I have to say that I feel anything but triumphant in this moment. In fact, I feel like I’m going to hurl.

https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2020/11/09/triumph/

Buy Links

This book is always free from Kindle Unlimited. The price to own a copy is $2.99.

https://amzn.to/328embo

The PDF is available from Payhip for $1.50, which is approximately half of the Amazon price. Any tip included to help offset fees set by Paypal and Payhip is appreciated.

https://bit.ly/DecMoodPH

Or buy the PDF on Odysee for 15 LBC, which is approximately half the Amazon price. The value of an LBC at the time of this posting was approximately $0.05. 

https://bit.ly/DecMoodOd

http://www.facebook.com/groups/SnippetSunday