A nicely romantic scene that leaves me nostalgic for times when going to a French restaurant was within the realm of possibility and wouldn't entail taking out a loan just to be able to afford a meal.
Monday, December 19, 2022
Denise Covey: #WEP 2022 DECEMBER CHALLENGE - MY #FLASHFICTION - ...
Denise Covey: #WEP 2022 DECEMBER CHALLENGE - MY #FLASHFICTION - ...: Hello there! If you're looking for my IWSG post, for practically the first time ever, I'm missing it. Clashes with the WEP challeng...
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Beth Camp : WEP: When you say yes . . .
Beth Camp : WEP: When you say yes . . .: Here's a short and very true story, just 629 words, inspired by this month's Write...Edit...Publish challenge . Tagline: Saying yes...
What a beautiful story!
Friday, December 2, 2022
First and Last Memories: WEP Challenge
I can't remember
the first time I saw your face
I was a squalling goblin
I remember well
the last time I saw your face
your earthly struggle finished
I recall winter
a time of painful beauty
you always loved the holidays
42 words
For my father
May 31, 1936
-
November 28, 2010
With love from your Ornery daughter
Image by Gustavo Belemmi from Pixabay
I'll always remember the Christmas when I was 10 years old as the best Christmas ever. Somehow, everything just came together as it should that year.
The father owl in the image has bright blue eyes. My father had blue eyes as well.
notes
Major points only, I think. The work is kind of personal.
The poem is a Choka, a form of Japanese poetry used for storytelling. I chose a 5-7-7 pattern for the verses.
Thursday, December 1, 2022
Learning of Japan
Child Dancing With Chrysanthemum Branch
American girl
forty-seven years ago
learning of Japan
~Ornery Owl Waxes Nostalgic~
Image by Hitesh Choudhary from Pixabay
notes and prompt link
Ekphrastic prompt with a selection of images to choose from.
The image of the child dancing with chrysanthemums reminded me of being in fourth grade and studying Japan. This is where I learned my love of Haiku. My poem is not a Haiku but a Senryu. Anyway, that's my understanding of the matter.
During our Japan studies, we went to a restaurant in downtown Denver called the Fuji En. Unfortunately, it closed many years ago. This was a real adventure for our class. The teachers wisely divided us into groups of six, each with an adult chaperone. We sat on the floor at our little table. My friend Kenny crawled under the table and popped out the other side.
Kenny was the class clown. He was a lovable goofball. Some pranksters have a mean sense of humor. Kenny didn't. He was kind to everyone. I wonder where he is now. I hope he's had a wonderful life.
There's a ghost of a ten-year-old girl who became a woman long ago enjoying lunch every day in a restaurant that has been closed for decades. Part of me wishes I could be in that happy moment forever. My childhood was more stressful than joyful most of the time. I'm usually stoic and snarky, but remembering this day has me shedding a few nostalgic tears. This time of year affects me that way.
Have some holiday music.
November PAD Challenge 2022 Poem Remix
Image by Digital Photo and Design DigiPD.com from Pixabay
Let's get poppin' on this remix with Big Prairie Poppa
no way in hell this stupid poem makes the cut
to honor those who have passed
I will cultivate this orchard of my imagination now
While there's still a little time
that the basis for our bond is trauma
presages floods of drama
to unleash this perilous energy
hoping to cry victory
in a war no one can win
is the definition of madness
who should we sacrifice
to uphold our hallowed principles du jour?
The liberal elite as much as the rigid right would prefer that the likes of me die and decrease the surplus population.
Society cares only about the up-and-coming, not those nearing their destination.
If I were at all religious, I'd say it's a goddamn sin.
Being a caustic agnostic, I'll just say it's a crying shame.
Every year I hope for improvement, and every year it's always the same.
so many have tried to retool me
I won't play along coolly
you will not rule me
I'll pull me
free
directionless me
spinning twilight I wander
without any guide
the world's supposed caretakers
try to hire rainmakers
after blaming climate change on Tom, Dick, and Harry
like a strawberry left on the vine
your essence shrivels with time
trapped in the rectangle confines
of the room where you rest restlessly
you were born distorted
in the distant past
you will die broken and alone
in days of the future passed
the seamstress takes the patches
she pieces them together
new thoughts I can imagine
old pain I can put to rest
I'll write what tickles my fancy
although the panel may deem it too chancy
the music couldn't set her free
what she dreamed can never be
she puts her words in the world anyway
is she too stupid to realize
she's nothing in anyone's eyes
nonetheless, she has something to say
imagination
cooking up the strangest scenes
a funny machine
is not the conflict truly
between Narcissus and himself?
as the evening melancholy descends
a toxic dialogue with the Zombie Bride ensues
I ran from my mistakes once more
just like I always do
I wasn't cut out to be a gambler
"So what did you do today, Failed Daughter?"
"I quit my job at the casino."
I wonder if society will ever
if only for a moment
give a damn about the words spoken by a woman
rather than obsessing about the size of her chest
which could be concave for all it matters
outside
my window
I imagine
a particular tree
it grows in a land
beyond imagination
in a land where impossible
dreams come true
The way that I see it
I shouldn't dream it, but be it
Imagination will set me free
I wonder where my soul will go on the day my ashes scatter
Will I be off on a new adventure, or will it just not matter?
ashes to ashes
does something precious remain
the day the end comes?
~Ornery Owl Has Remixed It~
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
Professor Ornery Owl Sez:
I hope you have enjoyed this year's poetry exhibition. Keep dreaming your dreams, scheming your schemes, and writing your writes. Live the life you want and need, not the life someone else tells you to lead.
notes and prompts used
Just this one.
Write a remix of this month's poems. I always save this prompt until all the other poems, or posems, have been written.
Poemses, Precioussssss!
Today's Playlist
That's right, it's the time of year when the cranky old owl cranks up the festive tunes. You don't have to listen to them if you don't want to. I may be an obnoxious jerk in my own right, but I'm not the kind of obnoxious jerk who puts my music on autoplay. I hate it when you navigate to a page and have sound blaring at you automatically. Just--no! I don't even care if it's a page for a band. It's a total turn-off. Let me pick when I play.
Anyway, I love all of you, but not that way, and I wish you happy holidays, however you may celebrate them or not. A happy Xmahanukwanzyule to all and to all a good fright!
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
November PAD Challenge 2022: Day 30: And That's All
Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay
ashes to ashes
does something precious remain
the day the end comes?
~ornery owl has spoken~
Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay
notes and prompts used
For today's prompt, take the phrase "And (blank)," replace the blanks with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.
Write a small piece about a small thing worth more than its monetary value.
It's a bit obscure, but I actually did this. Few things have less monetary value than an ash.
Today's Playlist
"Well, that's a bit fucking FESTIVE after that gloomy philosophical shite, Ornery."
Yeah, I know. It's how I roll. I like to mix things up a bit.
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
November PAD Challenge 2022: Day 29: A Quintet of Couplets
Image by SarahCulture from Pixabay
I
I feel just like a banyan buried in the snow
What the hell a banyan is I can't say I truly know
II
What kind of nightmarish choices will we have in the next election?
Someone with more brains than a turnip would be a good selection.
III
I wonder if I jinxed myself at some point in the past
So many wishes I wished on stars never came to pass.
IV
I wonder where my soul will go on the day my ashes scatter
Will I be off on a new adventure, or will it just not matter?
V
The letter in the envelope challenged me to choose between truth and dare
I put it aside for later, procrastinating without a care.
~Ornery Owl Has Coupled (or Coupleted)~
Image by Chiplanay on Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/owl-bird-animal-hand-writing-5070039/
notes and prompts used
Prompt:
Write a truth poem and/or write a dare poem.
You may have noticed the absence of a Day 28 poem. You are correct. The prompt for Day 28 was to write a remix poem. I save my remix poem for December 1.
The prompt asks participants to take the following list of words and turn them into titles.
BANYAN
TURNIP
JINX
SCATTER
ENVELOPE
Yeah--I deviated from the prompt.
"Titles?" scoffed I. "Pish! I shall use these words in my couplets!"
https://imprompt.wordpress.com/2022/11/29/day-29/
Write some couplets.
Today's Playlist
C'mon, ya scrooges, let's get in the spirit of the season!
Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of my father's passing. He was always a big fan of celebrating the holidays. I hope there's music like this and plenty of cheer where he is now.
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