Saturday, July 20, 2019

Woozy but Open-Eyed

“Perfume is a story in odor.” ~ Jean Claude Ellena

One wished for a poem inspired by perfume. The other asked for a poem brewed out of a quote. I wanted to birth a cherita. So, yes… I did all three.


the poem (cherita):
unstoppable changes,

(the most pungent
of perfumes)

leave my soul
woozy
but open-eyed


for the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads (Pick 2 Prompts, Any Prompts! then Senryū or Elfchen or Cherita) and Poets United (Poetry Pantry #487). I picked Sanaas Perfume and Tonis Poetry begins with a lump in the throat

if you are visiting for the poetry alone, then you are already done. If not (and you wish to delight in the rest of the word yum) go ahead, read on…


3 wild bits of living:
 1. According to Flash Rosenberg, “humans get a lot done, not because we’re smart, but because we have thumbs…” She is correct. My thumbs are slightly useless, at the moment, and time seems to spill out of my clumsy grasp, as I stumble and fumble and take eons to do things I used to accomplish in seconds (turn doorknobs, put on my pants…). My doctors and I hope it’s temporary. If not, well… I shall make it work. I always do.

2. My old blog (which I’ve unpublished) continues to have RSS compatibility issues: I can’t add it to Bloglovin’, readers get no notifications, I get no notifications. It’s a mess… I tried to fix it (but couldn’t), friends who understand this stuff better than I do tried to fix it (but couldn’t), strangers whose entire job revolves around fixing this sort of blog thing tried to fix it (but found themselves just as frustrated as the rest of us lay(wo)men).

3. I refuse to waste time (I don’t have) fighting things I can’t change. So… welcome to my new blog, Guerrero Words, which I invite you to follow through Bloglovin(click the link), or by email (on the sidebar), or through Blogger widget (also on the sidebar). Or, if you are feeling extra daring—and trust these blog following thingies as little as I do—I suggest you sign up for all three (3 is a delicious number).


Enjoy the poetry. Join the wild bits of living discussion. Be freaking fantastic.


my latest pin find. Look at those wings go!

68 comments:

  1. Some perfumes I find too cloying, but change can be a good thing too.

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    1. Remembering that it "can be a good thing too" is what keeps most of us sniffing forward (well, it keeps me, lol).

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  2. This is incredibly evocative, Magaly dearest!💖 I love how you compare "changes" to pungent perfumes. What I like most about change is that it represents hope, it helps us believe in what the future has in store for us and in return gifts us valour and nerve. A lovely Cherita!😘😘😘

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    1. Change is good at showing us paths ahead. The path might be full of thorns, but... there is still a way to go.

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  3. I love the way you combined all three. I enjoyed the creativity of comparing changes to perfume. Indeed they can be. And alas, it is good to keep one's eyes wide open when there are changes taking place. Sort of like keeping one's eyes on the road when one is driving!!

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    1. Exactly! We might be exhausted, but if we can find a way to keep our eyes on the road and our brain in the game, we won't splat.

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  4. There are some things it is nigh impossible not to get woozy from. But if we can salvage clarity from a situation, that's something we can work with. When worlds shift, we need to take whatever tools we have to carve out the way forward.

    I hope your thumbs start cooperating and that the new blog remains free from all the problems the old one had.

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    1. Right on. The trick is to never forget that we must hold on, if we don't want to fall. If the thumbs stop working, reach for some teeth.

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  5. Also...I'm the first new follower! Ha!

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    1. WoooHooo! Here is to hoping that you won't be on your own for too long, lol!

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  6. Woozy but open-eyed. Sort of how I feel today, when I have been binging on netflix. Hope you are doing well, kiddo....I will add your new blog to my blogroll tomorrow.........

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    1. You know what? I haven't had a nice Netflix binging session in a while. I might have to copy you *grins*.

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  7. I love your perfume poem and congratulations on the new blog

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  8. Better put the stopper on the perfume flask, so we stop looking round the room to sniff who is wearing it! Men love to be enticed but not overwhelmed. I quite like feeling woozy as you stop worrying about things then.

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    1. Worries never helped much (and probably don't smell all that great, lol).

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  9. I like your cherita bunches, Magaly. The 'sweet' odor strikes fear in my heart. It triggers my dermatitis so badly that even in church I will have to leave, sit alone up in the balcony.
    Nice write, even those thoughts are making my eye sockets itch now.
    ..

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    1. We share those feelings when it comes to perfume. In my case, my stomach starts doing crazy thing. And food tries to leave my gut... promptly.

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  10. Woozy but alive is not a bad place to be!

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  11. And of course you did all three. Marvelous Magaly!

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  12. Woozy but lucid, I feel that way a lot.
    What on earth with your blog issues??? Yikes.
    Also I'm sending you love just because.

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    1. As of right now, this blog seems to be working almost fine. The only problem is that I can't control the size of my feed. Those following by email get the whole thing, and I rather they got an excerpt. Oh well, I shall continue playing with it.

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  13. change is good.
    i said this but i have been trying to change the look of my blog for the nth time and every time i back off when i want to hit the submit button...

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  14. I, like most, resist the pungent smell of change. But, in order to move on, I, like most, go forward sniffing.
    I like your cherita. Thanks for discovering new forms for us, though I seem to resist form, the way I resist change.
    Sorry, about your thumbs. I love your attitude though.
    I'll check out your new blog. Nice that you're doing it.

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    1. I'm right with you when it comes to most forms. But I really love some of the very short ones: senryu, tanka, elfchen, cherita... They are so much fun to play with.

      Thank you so much on the better thumbs wishes. I can certainly use them.

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  15. The choice-less, unceasing forward motion, ceaselessly astounds. Especially as it becomes harder to keep up. Then the goal becomes: navigating whilst flying by the seat of our pants. All the better to appreciate the perfumes of the here and now. Beautiful, Magaly.

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  16. Change and I have yet to become friends. Yes, sometimes change is good and easy to accept, but other times it comes with harsh challenges which makes life miserable for a time, making even us easily adaptable people, struggle and storm. With that being said, I love your comparison of change and perfume! It can be sweet, or it can be overwhelming my pungent. Wishing you healing and a full recovery 🖤

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    1. I wonder if anyone is truly friends with change. It's just so hard. We get used to things, and then... Boom! must let them go. That can get old and frustrating. But...we shall make it work, won't we?

      Thank you so much for the healing wishes!

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  17. Those changes that don't ask us if we want them... I get it - and your blog looks GREAT! so maybe change is good sometimes. Other times, we must make it work and make it strengthen us... As you have obviously done.

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    1. And when the change is not so good, we'll make it so!

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  18. My hands cramp into a claw. My legs hurt refuse to work due to pain and cramping. My brain gets foggy, my mouth swells up! The whole body is "fkd" up". But I too soldier on. No longer gliding, but stumbling ong. Using tools and assistants and getting done what my imagination ad dreams can and have conjured up. I will carry on. I will not give up...nor can up. And I wear my perfume every day....every where!

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    1. I wish I could say that I don't understand what you speak off. But, that would be a lie. We got to the point around my house that I had to explain to my Piano Man and the not-so-Little Princess and pretty much whoever is around me, that if they hear me scream they don't have to rush right away. To wait for a second scream or a cry for help. If they came to me every time I screamed, well, they would never leave these days. I'm getting better at controlling my reactions to the jolts. But when it happens to my hands and feet at the same time, well... I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

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  19. The brevity and succinctness here say more than a thousand words could. Change invades us like one of those raw perfumes some people insist on drenching themselves in when they *know* they will be way close to you, like your hairdresser, dentist, torturer--er, doctor, or that guy in the elevator who still thinks Brut is cool--anyway, if change leads to altered states of acceptance and adaptation, then the smell is doing its job. ((()))

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    1. I just burst into laughter at the elevator bit. The last time someone nearly choked me with their cologne, I puked on their shoes. It wasn't on purpose, but... I can't say that I was not pleased with my accidental aim.

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  20. The scent of change is ever present. You can either move to the new fragrance or wear Obstinate (it smells a bit moldy if applied to any area other than Necessary).

    Wild Living...

    1. My oldest daughter has a lung infection which requires three antibiotics. Every morning she has the delightful addressing of the ports where she self administers I.V. antibiotics with the addition of nebulizing another simultaneously. Oh and there is the antibiotic pill to prevent her from getting cdiff again.

    2. I am trying to write my own book while working on a collection with two other authors.

    3. My therapy is poetry, but I also need to add therapy for my bead addiction.

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    1. You are so right. We can either find a way to work with the thing and get consumed by it. And no one is going to consume us!

      At home care is so draining. I've reduced my times of meds and therapy to about 3 hours a day. But I can't wait for the day when it's about 1 or much less.

      Yay! for books and drugs that are good for our brain and soul.

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  21. Love your cherita … and thanks, so much for introducing me to the form … and yes please: keep the 'wild bits of living' acoming.

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    1. Keep it, I shall!

      Since you introduced me to tanka-prose, knowing I introduced you to cherita makes me very happy!

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  22. Love the 'heady' feel of your poem :)

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  23. Change is always good...otherwise where would we be :)

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  24. Love your combination here, Magaly! Look forward to the other blogs.

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  25. That was moving... those unstoppable changes wafting in... oh my!

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  26. I love your cherita, Magaly, and am pleased that we chose the same prompt by Sanaa – I was tempted by Toni’s prompt too!
    I shall be signing up shortly!

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  27. I love your poetry and your new blog. Hope your thumbs cooperate.

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  28. Soothingly a lovely cherita, Magaly!

    Hank

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  29. An affecting and accomplished cherita. Your ability to bring together these prompts and the form is really skillful.

    On living...

    Here's to hoping for relief with your thumbs. As for compatibility issues, they can be really vexing. Another hoping that the new blog works without glitches.

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    1. Thank you so much, dearest Khaya. The thumbs are still being a pain, but I'm hoping the new tests will help us find something to make it all better. Fingers crossed. Thumbs relaxed. :-D

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  30. Love the poem, the wild bits of living, and the gorgeous pin.

    I know that you will make it work even if your thumbs keep misbehaving, but I do hope that they start to play nice soon! ♥

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  31. I just want to hug you. You are so freaking brave.

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  32. You multitask like a pro Magaly! You always inspire me so much!!!!! 😍

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