And the Winner is...

A couple of weeks ago I promised to record whichever one of my poems got the most votes out of a choice of 5. I probably should have gotten to this soon, but I've been swamped by several large tasks all at once, the biggest one being my daughter's upcoming Bat Mitzvah. Any way, the poem with the most votes was My Parent's One Moment of Whimsy. Just follow the link to enjoy!

Krafting Karma

Sitting on the Ganges,

minding your own business,

then there’s a burlap bag

thrown over your head.

Well, it’s burlap and sparkle filled.

You can’t forget the sparkles.

“Darling, you’re fabulous”,

they said.

“We need to

airbrush, just a bit,

so the birthmarks

aren’t so obvious.

Drop a bit of context,

and you’re the perfect size.”

You can’t hear your heart beat,

over the sound of people telling you

who you are.

You can barely hear them

over the sound of other people

haggling over the price of your blessing,

bartering with money or

the currency of smug satisfaction.

Your makeover is complete.

You’re everyone’s darling,

the It girl they all want

to have whisper secrets in their ear.

The secret 

is you’d be happy to share them,

if they’d meet you

on the banks of the Ganges first.

No sparkles please.

Song Choice: American Woman by Lenny Kravitz

This poem was inspired by the prompt given over at A Dash of Sunny. The goal was to write about karma.

Writing, Writing and A Bit of Reading

I enjoyed spending time with my family over the holidays, but since the kids went back to school I've been hard at work writing. Though I'm obviously doing plenty of poetry writing, I haven't neglected working on my short stories. The plan to release an anthology is still very much a go and I'm hoping to have a finished product by spring.

It also occurs to me it's been a bit since I recorded myself reading one of my poems out loud. I always have a blast when I do, but this time I'd like to try something different. I'd like to ask my readers which one of my poems they'd be most interested in hearing me read out loud. I've narrowed it down to 5 contenders:

Run
My Parents' One Moment of Whimsy
Miyazaki Heroine 
Ukiyo-e
Faerie Song

So let me know which one you want read (and if you are feeling especially chatty, why you chose it) and I'll record it this weekend, Monday at the latest.

Song choice: Blue Jean by David Bowie (mostly for nostalgia's sake and partially for inspiration)

Meme

Try to be genuine.

Express a tender sentiment.

I’ll guarantee that someone

turns it into a joke

faster than a paparazzo

can snap a picture.

The winner is the one

who tips over

the most sacred cows -

just for the joy of tipping

of course.

Was there supposed to be

more needed than that?

Maybe I like my edge with meaning.

Maybe I like it with a heart and a brain,

and a dash of courage too, come to think of it.

Maybe I prefer

the sentimental,

the unusual,

the sweet,

the dark,

separately or all steeped together,

as long as they are honest.

Or perhaps I should look at cat videos instead.

Song Choice: Some Nights by Fun

This poem was created in response to a prompt given over at Imaginary Gardens for Real Toads Sunday Mini Challenge, where we are asked to contemplate what is real and what is artifice.

My Silence

In my silence

worlds are born,

sometimes blocked out

in quick broad strokes,

sometimes consisting only

of images of silk by moonlight.

In my silence

journeys are made.

At times I only

go as far as the next room.

Other times I fly

as far away

as Alice, Wendy and Dorothy.

My silence guards

the beauty of faerie gold

in a place

where it can shine,

without turning to dust and hay.

My silence keeps

the words I love best

wrapped in my tongue,

only to be uttered

in the presence of a heart sister.

Silence does not come naturally

to as noisy a bird as me,

especially when

parts of me

wish to sing my ecstasy.

But by will I keep my silence,

knowing wisdom is found there.

And once I find what I seek,

I am ready to dare all things.

Song Choice: Enjoy the Silence by Within Temptation 

This poem is a response given over at A Dash of Sunny, with the topic being silence. 

Spontaneous

I bloom in an instant.

The same way a seed might,

dropped to the ground by a fall breeze,

suckled by snow,

popping up in the spring.

My blaze is steady.

Little can persuade me

to stop dancing and leaping,

consuming and being consumed

by my heart’s delight.

I’m never sure which definition of me is best,

especially if

the goal is to pin me

onto a pie chart

or find my type

in a bowl of alphabet soup.

Rooted or jumping,

I find what is best for me.

Song choice: Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim

This poem was inspired by A Dash of Sunny's Prompt Night Post

Ridiculously Aware

Yes, I’m ridiculous

and quite aware of it.

I’m silly,

not blind

to confused buttercups
blooming in snow,

to melting hope…

There are terrors;

they would drown me,

choke me,

skin me -

they are real.

But so is my joy.

I’ll take my joy
in this moment,

make it my strength.

My tomorrow will come.

Song Choice: Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

This poem was inspired by a prompt over at Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads, a flash 55 word poem linked to one of the winners of National Geographic's photo contest for 2015. 

I chose Playing in the Snow by Jay Siemens

Beauty and Tea

The chajin seeks an atypical sense of perfection, not in symmetry, but in the beauty of nature. Too ruthless a concept of loveliness will keep you from appreciating the charm of an odd shaped bowl, mismatched tea tools and a well-loved vase. There is nothing we can point to as the perfect tree or the perfect flower, but yet we are moved by their beauty even with the lack of a hard measure of it. This concept of beauty applies outside the tearoom as well. To love someone does not require perfection, in lover or beloved, but appreciation of the oddities, quirks and glitches, yet still finding them lovely.

In uneven bowls,

and in my beloved’s smile,

I find perfection

Song Choice: You Are the Beauty by Gungor

I purchased this beautiful tea bowl from Art to Hold. It has it's own bit of history

Process note: Chajin literally means "tea person", one who studies the art of tea

This haibun is inspired by the prompt given over at A Dash of Sunny. This week's topic for Prompt Night is perfection