Driving In Fog

Base image by Katie Mourn on Unsplash

driving into fog

claustrophobic, frightening

life's that way sometimes

notes

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/20/oct-20-prompts-in-a-thick-fog/

Write a poem about a time you’ve been lost or felt lost.

I interpreted the prompt more literally. I created a Haiga about fog and compared it to life.

I hate driving in fog. It terrifies me. I've noped out of driving in fog more than once.

I don't understand the love some poets have for spoken word prompts. There is a 99.9% likelihood that I won't do them. I think I have done exactly one spoken word poem on this blog in the ten years since I started it, and that one was at my own behest. If other people suggest such a thing, I'll dig in my heels. I really don't like the sound of my own voice.

I had a bad time with my vocal cord dysfunction last night. Most of the time the exercises to stop the laryngospasms work. Sometimes they don't. Last night was one of those nights. It was one of the rare occasions when I thought about taking the lone Valium I have left over from my dental appointment. I didn't do it, though.

I also wonder why society thinks anyone over the age of fifty should just give up on life if they haven't yet achieved what society would deem "success." What the hell are we supposed to do, curl up in front of the TV and watch game shows, infotainment, and soap operas till we croak? I'd rather keep writing even if everyone else thinks my stories are shit.

A favorite quote:

I'd rather fail with my own shit than succeed with someone else's. --Eddie Van Halen

Oh yeah, I added text and special effects to the base image using Pixlr. You're welcome to share the resulting Haiga, but please credit Cara Hartley/Ornery Owl if you do.

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Image by christinecuisiniez from Pixabay

As an owlet, Ornery Owl didn't fear no steenkin' fog.

Then again, the contrary little cuss never had to drive in the soup.

https://odysee.com/@GamingAmbience:6/mass-effect-le-uncharted-world-chohe:3?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

Wrong-Tober 2023: Time's Up

 

Photo by Igor Lypnytskyi  (ilypnytskyi) on Unsplash

Time’s Up

Eulalia Bonner, the mayor of the Village of Peace on the coast of Nucleycia, read the crumpled three-word note again, as if mulling it over for the thousandth time would bring any more resolution than reflecting on it for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth.

TIME’S UP, BITCH.

If she refused to allow the churlish Duke of Atrar access to Nucleycia via the Port of Malfair, he would render every one of the Village’s pristine white buildings to rubble. If she gave into his demands, the entire population of Nucleycia would suffer.

“We must stand up to him,” Mayor Bonner declared.

notes

I didn't submit this drabble to Dragon Soul Press for inclusion in The Damned horror drabble anthology because it reads more like the start of a military/political action thriller than horror. Not that the aftermath of political conflict isn't horrific for the survivors.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party. 

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

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5RSJS5M

Hidden

 

Image by Jenny Friedrichs from Pixabay

taught from a young age

that I was wrong

and stupid

ridiculous

the butt

of the joke

throat clenching

trying to keep from screaming

shame on everyone

who made me

what I am

ashamed

to be

me

notes

I added effects to the base image using Pixlr.

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/19/oct-19-prompts-screams-in-the-night/

Body Horror: Write a poem about the thing or things that scare you about the human body.

This could be a fun day to do a spoken poem. 

Hahahaha! Fun, you say? I think fucking not.

It's very rare for me to do a spoken poem. I don't like my voice, which has been ridiculed for most of my life.

I'm currently doing speech therapy. Not to change the sound of my voice but to correct vocal cord dysfunction. With vocal cord dysfunction, the vocal cords close on inspiration rather than opening. It's often misdiagnosed as asthma. Trust me, it makes having dental procedures a lot of fun--so not.

One of the primary causes of vocal cord dysfunction is anxiety. Like in people with complex PTSD. In other words, people with a history of relentless abuse.

I learned at a young age that I needed to keep quiet lest I be smacked for saying something stupid or ridiculed for having a peculiar voice. 

The knot of tears around my throat crystallized into my design. 

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Image by Beate from Pixabay

https://odysee.com/@GamingAmbience:6/destiny-2-edz-firebase-hades-%28unreleased:9?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

Wrong-Tober 2023: Beneath the Surface

 

Photo by Kevin Charit (kevin_charit) on Unsplash

Beneath the Surface

Messias Robertsen wished he’d chosen a career in any field besides archaeology. He rued the day he found the hieroglyphs carved into the Altar of Rock at the Farms of the Vanquished on the shore of the River of Rust. Since that day, he’d been plagued by sanity-scarring nightmares.

Messias gazed out the tavern window at the row of volcanic islands extending across Turtle Bay Harbor. He looked at the sketch of the creature that had been haunting his sleep. His dreams told him the thing would rise from the sea near The Sleeping Skerry on the next full moon. 

notes

I submitted this story to Dragon Soul Press for potential inclusion in The Damned horror drabble anthology, but it didn't make the cut. 

That's all right, five of the drabbles I submitted did pass muster. Plus, you'll also find more great drabbles by other talented authors.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party. 

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

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5RSJS5M

Crime Spree

 

Image by Felix Lichtenfeld from Pixabay

I don't imagine pirates broke into my car, but here's a picture of a pirate.

We’ve had a bit of a crime spree in our little town.

Thieves broke into my car last week.

Just what treasures do you imagine you’ll find in a twelve-year-old, hail-damaged beater?

Several people’s outbuildings were broken into as well.

It makes me wonder how stupid some people are.

What treasures do these criminals think they’ll find in sheds belonging to people dwelling in one of the poorest towns in the state?

A town consisting mostly of disabled and elderly citizens who can’t afford to live elsewhere.

Somehow, people always find a way to further reduce my faith in humanity.

dull-edged apathy

cruelty sharp like a knife 

ice blue like curdled blood

notes

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/18/oct-18-prompts-fear-of-the-living-dead-trespasser/

The prompt asked participants to write their poem in the language of a police report in which the burglar or attacker was supernatural.

I wasn't up to doing that. 

I wrote a good old Haibun about an incident that actually happened.

I used this prompt to inspire the Senryu at the end of the Haibun.

https://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.com/2012/11/carpe-diem-39-blue.html

I'm quite sure the idiots who broke into my car were garden-variety incarnate shitheads. I think a supernatural entity would be able to determine that nothing in my car is worth a damn.

If you'd like to read about tons of super-unnatural things, plus pirates, you need to check out C. L. Hart's Lovecraftian fantasy adventure, The Quest For Captain Sammy's Treasure.

http://books2read.com/PirateGold

The other stories in the anthology are good too. And contain pirates, of course.

Image by Mirko Toller from Pixabay

"I'm very glad you told me about Pirate Gold, Owl. The only problem is, I stayed up all night reading it, and now I'm tired!"

"That's no problem at all, Master Bookseller. Let me direct you to some fine coffee to put the pep back in your step."

https://coffeebrandcoffee.com/?ref=OrneryOwlDrinksCoffee

https://odysee.com/@GamingAmbience:6/baldur%27s-gate-3-chapel-interior:7?r=GTwnGJ4fFBQfzuJgpHVpfKBKaC9b8B16

Wrong-Tober 2023: The Trial

 

Photo by Ong Cheng Zheng (ocz0929) on Unsplash

The Trial

Blaire Brock fired her gardener Sandalio Juárez after he scolded her for killing a snake. Before leaving, he warned her that one day el padre de las serpientes would make her stand trial for her loathsome ways. She laughed at him, telling him she’d send him his final check. The sophisticated English heiress wasn’t about to let a superstitious Spaniard spook her.

As Blaire dressed for bed, she heard leaves rustling. She screamed at the sight of a great green snake staring at her. The window opened and the beast slithered inside.

Blaire’s maid found her dead the next morning.

notes

This story appears in The Damned horror drabble anthology from Dragon Soul Press.

Pick up your copy of The Damned here:

http://books2read.com/DamnedDrabbles

I will be giving away one copy of The Damned and one copy of the Hot and Sticky anthology from Passionate Ink during the Spooky Good Time party. 

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

You can find out more about the Hot and Sticky anthology here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5RSJS5M

Not Here to Please You

 

Image by Dina Dee from Pixabay

If you have a problem with my shape

I am here to tell you my body is not your business.

If my body is not pleasing to your eye

You are more than welcome not to look,

Or you can just fuck off.

notes

https://experiencewriting.com/2023/10/17/oct-17-prompts-phases-of-the-moon/

For today’s poem think about transformation: physical, situational, or otherwise.

I have an assortment of health problems, and my appearance is quite far from the socially prescribed ideal. I tried to hate myself thin for 33 years. Fortunately, I discovered size acceptance and the principles of Health at Every Size. 

https://bit.ly/HAESCIE

These concepts helped me make peace with myself and encouraged me to take better care of the body I have rather than trying to force it to become something it will never be.

The attitudes society encourages towards larger people sicken me. 

Do you really think you're helping anyone by shaming heavy people?

Or are you just looking for a scapegoat?

If you weren't able to hate on fat people with impunity, who would you hate?

~Ornery Owl Has Spoken~

Hangry Wyrm

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

"No more starving ourselves, Owl! When's dinner?"

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

"Right now, Hangry. Dig in!"