Engaging in some lyrical athletics whilst painting pictures with words and pounding the pavement. I run; blog; write poetry; chase after my kids & drink coffee.
AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
I’m the why you get up in the morning
That helps you soar like the highest kite
I’m the light at the end of the tunnel
To guide you through the darkness of the night
I’m the fight that’s left in your gut
When you’re hanging on for your life
I’m the sight for sore eyes you set
Your eyes on for the first time…
In years
For this week’s #WDYS #WHATDOYOUSEE Poetry Image Prompt, Sadje has provided us & the visually challenged reader with this image above which shows a multicolored metallic hand which is encircled by a golden ring. This probably is a computer generated image. Below lies my contribution, hope you enjoy the read! 🤞🙏😁📖
THE GOLDEN RUNG OF LIQUIFIED ENLIGHTENMENT
Reaching for the golden rung
(In the blackness of outer space)
The highest level on the ladder
Of social status to be climbed
Of infinite knowledge to be attained
It’s out of this world!
But it’s grip proves elusive
Passing through his hands
As he seeks to grab a hold of it
They promised I could do the same things
With my new robotic hands
As I did with my normal ones
But space seemed to liquify the metal
And my hopes for enlightenment
In the process.
Should you wish to participate in the prompt then you can access it through the following link below: 👇👇😁😁
https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2023/03/27/what-do-you-see-179-march-27-2024/
For Saturday’s Ragtag Daily Prompt, the lovely & eloquent Punam has provided us with the word: PLACID as today’s source of creative inspiration! 👍😁 I’ve also responded to Martha’s Friday Ragtag Daily Prompt which is VIVID Below lies my contribution to the prompts, hope ye enjoy the read! 🙏🤞😁📖
Elegant & graceful
Like a swan gliding across a lake
Effortless & placid…
Seemingly unfrazzled
She made life look so easy
Taking everything in her stride
Every bump in the road
Or inclement weather
Without being phased
Or breaking a sweat
At least,
That’s what it looks like from the outside
Take a dive underneath the surface
See what’s happening in the hidden depths
Of her life
She’s really paddling furiously just to stay afloat
“Paddling like f%$k”, as my Social Studies tutor once explained to us,
Just to keep it together
Her struggle becomes apparent
The anguish real
Painfully vivid
Her bright spirit
On the verge of breaking
Should you wish to participate in the prompts then you can access them through the following links below: 👇👇😁😁
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2023/03/24/rdp-friday-vivid/
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2023/03/25/rdp-saturday-placid/
For this week’s Xploration Challenge, Reena has provided us with a video on the theme of happiness & being in the present moment. She encouraged us to watch it; reflect on it & write a Stream of Consciousness piece on it. Below lies my contribution, hope you all enjoy the read! 👇👇🙏🤞😁📖
PLAYFUL CONNECTION WITH OTHER PEOPLE
Staying in the present moment has always been a challenge for me with my mind constantly racing forward & back between the next day’s or next week’s activities/schedule or rehashing the previous day’s mistakes; stupid things I’ve said or jobs left undone. It’s a never ending cycle of could have done’s; should’ve done’s; what will I do & what if it doesn’t work out. It can be pretty exhausting! Over thinking and over analysis have always stole away any possibility of real happiness & contentment or of actually enjoying the moment I’m in. Always seeming so serious; quiet and intense rather than relaxed & happy. My father, God rest him, was constantly trying to make me laugh; to get me to smile with his joking around; mischievous grin and playful smile, all in the effort to help me not to take life so, seriously as it were. Now that mantle has fallen to my patient wife and playful daughters who have been blessed with a great sense of humour and are always trying to make me laugh. 😁😂 Grace, in particular, takes great pride in being able to make me laugh, to make anyone laugh for that matter. Grace and Ava remind me, when I forget (which I do often) what’s really important and that’s to laugh; smile; play & connect with other people there and then in the moment. Running, my play time, does this for me too. This is what brings true happiness & contentment! 👍👍😁😁
Should you wish to participate in the prompt then you can access it & the accompanying video over at the prompt link below: 👇👇😁😁
https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2023/03/23/reenas-xploration-challenge-273/
In today’s poem, I’ve combined 2 different prompts from Moonwashed Weekly Prompt which this week features the excellent word: “Willy Nilly” & today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt: ANACHRONISM. Below lies my contribution:👇👇😁😁
UNPURPOSELY OLD-FASHIONED
He was a throwback to another time
Hoodie pulled up over his head
With his C. D. player tucked into his outside jacket pocket;
Headphones wrapped around his neck
Notepad & pen in his shoulder bag
Hanging off his left shoulder
And sitting by his right hip
For easy access
Walking willy nilly around the town
Without any direction or purpose
A source of bemusement to his wife
And gentle mocking amongst his friends
An anachronism in a tech savvy & look cool world
Should you wish to participate in the prompts then you can access them through the following links below: 👇👇😁😁
https://amanpan.blog/2023/03/21/moonwashed-weekly-prompt-135-3-21-23-willy-nilly/
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2023/03/23/ragtag-daily-prompt-thursday-anachronism/
1. Dance with my father: Luther Vandross
2. Song for dad: Keith Urban
3. My father’s eyes: Eric Clapton
4. Papa don’t preach: Madonna
5. Daddy lessons: Beyonce and Dixie Chicks
6. Color him father: The Winstons
7. Daddy could swear, I declare: Gladys Knight and the Pips
8. Baby father: Sade
9. My old man: Mac Demarco
10. Father to son: Queen
11. Papa, can you hear me?: Barbara Streisand
12. Daddy’s hands: Holly Dunn
13. My father’s house: Bruce Springsteen
14. Papa don’t take no mess: James Brown
15. Your daddy loves you: Gil Scot-Heron
This week, over at d’Verse Poetics, Punam from @paeansunplugged has encouraged us to reflect upon our fathers using some of the song tiltes above as guidelines. Below lies my contribution to the prompt, hope ye enjoy the read! 🙏🤞😁📖
THE CHILDLIKE SPIRIT OF AN IMPERFECT MAN
My father’s eyes,
They glinted,
With a type of mischief
And inate curiosity
That belied his years
Broad; wide-eyed smile
Stretched across his face.
The spirit of a young man
Inhabiting the body of an old
Father to son
He spoke to me,
Atop a barstool,
(It was where i got to know
My Old Man)
Of times gone by
When he was a lad
Reminiscing
About losing his mum
In childbirth,
Of walking to school
In bare; muddied feet.
Of running away from home
And cycling miles to work.
Colour him father
Of two families under the sun
Amalgamated;
Together into one
Beautiful; blended
Imperfect clan
With whom
He found no greater joy
Than having them around
At my father’s house
Delighting in the chat;
Laughter & sounds
Of children & grandchildren
Gathered together
For this is a…
Song for dad
A lyrical pause
For a good man
With some flaws
About the long life
That he had
Packing more in there
Than most
Now all I have left
Is a photographed ghost
A kind one at that
Should you wish to participate in the prompt then you can access it through the following link below: 👇👇😁😁
The theme for World Poetry Day 2023 is:
“Always be a poet, even in prose.”
– Charles Baudelaire
“Always be a poet even in prose”
Write with a poet’s heart
As you venture to compose,
From the start,
Something straightforward
Polished and refined
Sprinkle in some beauty
And emotion, you’ll find
Your words come to life
And jump off the page
Soaring like a kite
Unlocking the cage
Of your dormant creativity
With imagery & precision
Make you tingle with electricity
With rhythmic incision
Create something heartfelt
With a visual aesthetic
That’d make your heart melt
Not a literary synthetic
So on this day we celebrate
Poetry over the world
Rhyme & verse we venerate
And how it unfurls
For this week’s d’Verse Quadrille Prompt, Mish has encouraged us to reflect on the word: SHIFT and compose a Quadrille (44 word poem) using it or any of it’s variations. Below lies my contribution to the prompt, hope ye enjoy the read! 👇👇😁😁🙏🙏📖📖
SHIFT IN EXPECTATIONS
Seismic shift in expectations
Since she’d had her operation
A cesarean section to deliver the baby
Had shifted him out of his complacency
Might have to take on some dayshifts at work
To help Deborah with the night feeds
Prevent her from going berserk
Should you wish to participate in the prompt then you can access it through the following link below: 👇👇😁😁
Image credit; Johannes Plenio @ Unsplas
For this week’s prompt, Sadje has provided the visually challenged reader with the image above which shows a bank of nimbostratus clouds refracting the setting sun, which gives it a grayish-red hue. This is reflected in the water below it. Below lies my response to it, hope ye enjoy the read! 🙏🤞😁📖
TRANQUIL REFLECTION OF ANGER
Something’s rumbling up there in the sky,
Hidden behind the clouds,
As if the Gods had lit a fire
Or set off a volcanic eruption
In the heat of the moment
Hovering dangerously close
To the water
Weighing poor old “Nimbo” down
Barely containing
The heaven’s anger
Reflected in the tranquil sea
Should you wish to participate in the prompt then you can access it through the following link below: 👇👇😁😁
https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2023/03/20/what-do-you-see-178-march-20-2023/
Written especially for Mother’s Day and in celebration of motherhood. To all the wonderful mothers our there, thank you! 🙏😊😁🤗
Motherhood…
A divine thing
A sacred glue
A sacrifice made
A hardship endured
An unspoken bond
A fierce devotion
A pride untold
A love unrivalled
A well of forgiveness
A pillar of strength
A badge of honour
A wisdom gained
A lifetime lived
Poetry and Prose of Ken Hume 