not-quite Journaling, 56
for
summer,
sweet
amaryllis
peekaboos
6/21/2023: My amaryllis is celebrating the first day of summer by glimpsing prettily out of her verdant hood. My exhausted lungs and I shall join the festivities after seeing the pulmonologist.
in my
wee garden,
tomatoes
and onions grow
zero
soothing sleep
6/30/2023: When you live with chronic illnesses, something as seemingly
simple as the common cold can be the unwanted gift that keeps on giving. My
recent dance with a cold gifted me with a lingering cough that has been
stealing my sleep for weeks. I’m exhausted. My body hurts. My mind is sluggish.
I need sleep. But my tomatoes and onions look happy, so… good times.
Freedom
is a flame,
feed
it.
7/4/2023: Or, as Juliet Marillier put it, “Every man or woman who makes a stand helps keep the flame
of freedom burning.” So, be a woman;
be a man. Let us stand for each other, and keep the freedom flame burning--specially
these days, when so many freedoms are being smothered.
7/8/2023: For the one who told me that she wasn’t going to share her words anymore, because some a-hole said her writing wasn’t good enough. Sister, don’t let someone else’s issues muddle your ink--write, share, grow… and let the worth-vampires rot in their own malice.
- for Poets and Storytellers United--Friday Writings #85: First Lines. The last poem was inspired by one of my favorite quotes, from The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield: “All children mythologize their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know someone? Heart, mind and soul? Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won’t be the truth: it will be a story. And nothing is more telling than a story.”
Loving the tomatoes and onions growing so merrily in their pots. Also, this resonated a lot: , "don’t let someone else’s issues muddle your ink--write, share, grow… " I Had a loud (for lack of a better word) comment recently on something I wrote, I wondered for a minute... but you're so right - someone else's issues are not going to mess with my head or ink. I needed to read that line- so thank you for writing it!!
ReplyDelete'I sprouted bloodied to the teeth' is a pretty unbeatable opening line itself!
ReplyDeleteI love all these — and felicitations on your anniversary!
Amaryllis bud and bloom -- beautiful! And as always, thank you for your words and insight!
ReplyDeleteThe deliciousness of your lines prompted me to think that freedom has been spoon fed a lot of guff lately and could do with tasting the truth.
ReplyDeletePredatory grins ? LOL you are a very wicked girl Magaly. Congratulations to you and piano man on your anniversary...you would be a great asset to his staccato playing.It pleases me that you are in love with your tomatoes and onions too....Get well soon....take care....Rall
ReplyDeleteAll so lovely. I love the photos accompanying them, especially the amaryllis peeking.
ReplyDelete"Tasting truth in each other's mouths" ~~ . I melted when I reached this visual. Sending energy from my lovely State: to heal your exhausted, body, energize your mind, supply you with sleepy time angels! Obviously the tomatoes and onions don't need it (LOL.) Please take care and Happy Belated Anniversary.
ReplyDelete7/15 What a jerk to tell someone their writing isnt good enough. I can maybe see a book publisher being honest, but someone here sharing words? I guess that person's mother never taught her/him about Thumper, whose mother was a very wise rabbit!
ReplyDeleteWhat seems to need to be added here, for my e-friends only: That is only *sometimes* the reason why my comments on link-up posts go off on tangents. Sometimes it's just that I have a very tangential brain.
DeleteOnly recently have I come flat out and told someone I thought a poem needed revision. And that was because the poem was good enough for a very selective, competitive web site that posts only formal poems, and I thought another revision from there just might get it into the next generation's literature books.
Some poems, as Sylvia Plath observed, do not live, but if allowed to rest in peace in drawers or on blogs, some other year they may sprout into poems that do live. Why be mean?
I liked the middle verse the best, reading with heart and experience. Mrs. Jim and I have had 50 anniversaries, lots to commiserate over. I remember a lot of the events and niceties of courting.
ReplyDelete..
Shades of green in your blooming garden, with their freshness and growth, energizes me. How lovely is amaryllis that celebrated the first day of summer and blossoms as high temperatures persist! May it continue to bring you joy, the same way love with your Piano man does.
ReplyDeleteTrue is the quote by Setterfield. Perhaps it's why as writers and readers we pursue the story, not facts; there's so much to learn from. Wishing you a restful Sunday, Maga!
I loved reading this not-quite journalling entry, it was so uplifting. Considering you're not well, you emanate such a light-giving atmosphere. I love your blackout poem and its message: "freedom is a flame, feed it." That resonated with me. Also loved your wholesome green shots. Wishing you much healing energy :-)
ReplyDeleteOh I love how you take the sexiest of photos lol, and how you write the wrongs done to others in the name of "critique". Your garden is blooming with luscious greenery, does inhaling the scent of the onions help with your breathing? I sacrifice a plump juicy onion to the daemon of colds. Cut in half and left by my bedside. Mayhaps it will help you sleep a little better cws XXX
ReplyDeletePeople do indeed read with "more than murky mirrors."
ReplyDeleteLove all your photos and words. It's always a treat.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your anniversary!
I have been told by someone who claims he's a graduate from the Iowa Writers Workshop who says my writing is total rubbish and should stop writing. Really, at first it's very disheartening, I thought of closing down my blog but I guess I have a very thick skin. Well, still writing and loving it. :)
Happy anniversary Magaly and thank you for this writeup so much ... we write what flows through us and to be looked down upon us is hurting , though corrections are welcome ...so to have this platform is so satisfying.Love your pics also.
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes and onions seem to be growing well.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary Wishes.
All the best Jan
https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/
Your produce is a joy to look at. I hope you get some sleep soon,
ReplyDeleteand are feeling better.
Happy Anniversary!
Loved all your writings
7/28 Well, here I am again. I just like coming here. Never know what delicious evil you might have brewed since my last visit. Even re-reading what I read before is good...or maybe I'm terribly forgetful. xoxo
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to have happened across your fest for the eyes :-)
ReplyDelete