The courage to stand

… is everything.

Defiance by Glitterfest

Forever Puzzles – Features – 18/09/2011

Forgive me, the features are a couple of days late. I forgot, got mixed up with all the cleanup going on.

Sometimes things are fragmented, you’re not quite sure where everything is going and try to find an anchor or a map. This is what today’s features are about.

This image seems so simple when you first look at it, but there’s a world of meaning in the faded red glory.

Fading Passion by © Laurie Search

The words seemed to fit perfectly what I felt when I saw the image.

Venus Goes Retrograde by © Jenifer DeBellis

It never quite goes back to the way it was.

What was once healthy and taut has been pulled
and stretched and ripped, pushing the limits
of what nature’s elasticity was intended to contain.

Life-giving veins are overrun with toxins,
circulating bile and sludge in this river of blood.
Scrambling hands hold fatty piles of neglected flesh
as they droop and dip in their chaotic imbalance.

There’s nothing the latest fad plan can do to fix
the acute symptoms that have been ignored.
There’s nothing modern medicine can do to fix
malignant growth left too long to its own devices.

Surgically, most things can be repaired or altered
to appear as they once were, but to fool a heart
that knew every crease, crevice and flaw?
To restore years of neglect as if it never happened
is an impossibility within a sea of improbabilities.

Yet there you stand, with my heart in your hand.
Seems such a waste of a vibrant, potent organ.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could bottle up our love and ‘bathe’ in it whenever we want to?

Love Itself… by © Tracey Mac

And here it is – the things you can do, the things you can stand and the things you survive if you have love.

HAVE YOU EVER by © cosimopiro

Have you ever danced naked
on the tip of a flame
or skipped on ripples
of a butterfly’s wake,
have you ever rode bareback
the wrath of a hurricane
or swam the molten rock
of a volcano’s lake?

Have you ever leapt blind
from a shooting star
or slipped down the throat
of a crescent moon,
have you ever touched
the screaming of a devil’s scar
or be trapped
in a spider’s cocoon?

Have you ever flown
in a hungry vulture’s eyes
or walked in a nightmare
of a lonely ghost’s dread,
have you ever drank
the sobs of a whale’s last cries
or desperately held
a heartbreak in a madman’s head?

Well…. have you ever?
I can’t say I’ve had such days,
but hell,
some moments feel like it!
If not for you
and Love’s caring ways
I’d crumble in a heap
bit…. by…. bit.

But things don’t always go smoothly and the devil will have its way and put obstacles in front of us we have to overcome, and rarely do we realise that it was those obstacles that helped us grow until much later.

Me and the Devil by © Jessica Walker

The friends we make and lose and re-make along the way…

Catharsis, or, Ode to Former Best Friends by © singerchick

I.
I wonder,
If I wear my argyle knee socks
And the chunky-heeled Mary Janes you adored,
Will I miss you?
Will I miss singing Journey in your kitchen
While helping you pack?
Will I miss the inside jokes, the giggling, and the feeling of belonging?
Will I miss biting my tongue because I don’t want to hurt you,
Or the ensuing drama when I fail to hold back?
Will I shed a tear because I believe you hate me?
Or will I simply smile because we once shared space
In one another’s lives,
And try to be a better (not bitter) person because of
The things I’ve learned about myself in the process (of knowing and losing you)?

Thanks for the memories …

II.
If there’s ever been one constant in our relationship,
It’s definitely inconsistency.
You floated in and out of my life (and good graces) as though brought in by an erratic tide
Or the prevailing winds—
At times carried on a light zephyr, and at others swirling tempestuously—
But always you come back, and for that I love you.

III.
I was truly bewildered by your good-bye,
Yet grew accustomed to the subsequent silence.
Once the self-righteous anger (and pain) subsided, I mourned and moved on
Only to be stunned by your out-of-the-blue apology.
(It’s okay, blue is my favorite color!)
Now we’re somewhere in the limbo between forgiveness and friendship
(Only I don’t know how to limbo. I’ve never been that agile!)
And I don’t know what the future holds,
But I know Who holds it.
I’m cautiously trusting…

Sometimes too much is just too much and we have to keep it at bay and ourselves distant.

Let Your Hand Do The Talking by © James Leader

At the end of the day we can only be who we are and not the faces people put on us.

You don’t make sense, why should i? by © DominicSavio

if i
bathe Your
feet
in
tears
will You call me Mary and
remember my
face?
will you embrace me
if I left
my
limbs
in the past?
can
You
stretch out my love
like
elastic to make it
last?
will
You touch me because i dance?
[am i lego
because You always
take me
apart
and put me back
together
again
but You said
this isn’t a coincidence
when
i begged You
“please
no more coincidences
i just need
to
heal”]

There are always dreams…

Dreams by © Matteo Pontonutti

And when those dreams are shattered there are the fragments of self, floating around, trying to find a place to settle and become.

Fragments by © ShadowDancer

I come to you in fragments of a dream
pieces & stems
& half chewed morsels of flesh
alive, dripping with honey
bittersweet
my eyes an awkward attempt
at seduction
digging my way down to your open
wound
to lick away your tears

Only sometimes the puzzle pieces can’t be put together again and we have to try and forget.

Trying to forget him… by © Eliza1Anna

And we start the long process of renewing ourselves, of becoming whole again.

Unraveling by © reindeer

My mind needs an unraveling
a transformation
a disentangling
a freedom from complication.
I am
a reflection
of all that is in it.
What does everyone see?
Engage my mind,
affect my mind…Holy Spirit.
Please
resurrect
and clear
my mind.
Might I have
a mind
like
His?

Hope you liked today’s (belated) features. Please say hello to the artists and writers and let them know you enjoyed their work. xo

Features for week of August 29, 2011

Barely There by lroof

You don’t make sense, why should i? by DominicSavio

if i
bathe Your
feet
in
tears
will You call me Mary and
remember my
face?
will you embrace me
if I left
my
limbs
in the past?
can
You
stretch out my love
like
elastic to make it
last?
will
You touch me because i dance?
[am i lego
because You always
take me
apart
and put me back
together
again
but You said
this isn’t a coincidence
when
i begged You
“please
no more coincidences
i just need
to
heal”]

You Will Hinder My Growth No More Love… by Christina Rodriguez

Oddly pertinent gibberish by redolentquill

I live hoping,
one day to see-
the world bursting
out, in cackling poetry.
Bizarre dreams !?
Logic pockets
were ever undone at seams…
Still pure, still unsure!
And certainly finding yin!

Horses galloping over clouds
across fields of carrots
and cheeky tomatoes
and splat, I end
gooey-kneed, elbowing
pulpy tomatoes, blowing
steam off my nose-
and yet I’m a rose!
You’ll baptize me ever again-
the golden bud flower grain.

I come noiselessly washing
down every terrain-
water and rain
never slain, never slain!
Alone, the drops close on me
enclose me in a globe, show me
the meaning of chills-cold-within
the forming of pearls-old-akin.

Occupied or deserted,
I am but space!
Time, how do you
manage to coil
infinitely around
me, telling me at
every bend, that
you are new, and
that ‘its’ you!

outcast by strawberries

Coin Tale by Arcadia Tempest

A compliment from a stranger is that unverified hello that contains the unknown.
I saw her today.
I’m the stranger and she’s the other stranger with our feet sweeping the same track most mornings.
The track is our unlikely cement match maker.
She first caught my attention by her presence.
Some people can stand in a way that even from the back you know they brim with a modest self assurance, a tidy kind of confidence.
I love it when I see the picture from a back view.

Her hair intrigues and conjures lovely thoughts.
I’d like to hold a few strands of her hair and let the sun bring out the hidden tints but it’s also not a comfortable aspiration.
My hesitation comes with my usual indignant pause that I’m once again proving I’m not like the others that gather each morning as we wait for that over zealous decibel rated school bell to ring.

This morning my words had formed to speak to her about her beautiful red hair but instead I gulped inwards and my resolve fell under my shoes and I scuttled away.
Then there it was, I looked back right into her face and it hit me ….I realized I didn’t want to know her face.
There was no connection to the front of her, I only wanted to speak my words in my head to the back of her.
I want this relationship to be a one sided coin.
I know I will enjoy our next conversation when she walks ahead of me in that steady language of easy east going west step.
Ohh…I hope she steps into the sunlight for me.

© K S Hardy 2011

Bruise by Glitterfest

regrets by Nathan Emery

the unrest in my heart
to hear your voice
and feel your lips and skin
will not subside.
i miss you,
though it’s been barely a week
but your eyes
and voice still haunt me.
the memories,
are so amazing;
the concrete jungle and the canopy
of glass and brick
stretching so far above us,
but not above our hearts.
i think i love you…
and it terrifies me
because maybe it’s just what you were,
and not what you are,
but it’s love all the same.
how i wish,
to see you tonight,
and every other night after
holding my hand
and holding my heart.
i’d be lying if i said it wasn’t hard
to leave you 500 miles
behind.

Clipped by Matteo Pontonutti

i breathe in Red by Greeneyedlady

i hear her whisper
how old is this tight place
drawn over your heart?
it is as old as Forever, i reply

i feel lightheaded
the air is hot now and heavy
with a moisture that will not fall
still crystalline tears
scratch their way down my face
waves of arid cries that once could die
in my throat
threatening, threatening

my body burns and tingles
it’s energy glowing Red
weaving around my edges
it pounds across my head
and breaks away
i breathe in Red
i push angry fire out
at least that little bit escapes
i hear the rest of it clamoring
waiting enviously to follow

Angry Monsters by Barbara Zuzevich

remember that, always. by Alondra Blick

Your eyes open slowly
and once again
I am on a long road
watching the dawn
ache across that pale
sky.
We are quiet
enough
to hear the sparrows
rise miles off
in the distance
and the lightness
is unbearable.
It is the small things
that will return
to you.
Remember that
always.
The smell of thunder
when you lifted your hand
past me
to light a cigarette.
The perfect sorrow
of sadness and smoke.
As we drive,
the sun beats from
behind the blur of
the trees
and the skyline
and I think,
what a strange beauty
it is
that from the moment
we met
the world has seemed to
rush by
with no form.
Just a wash of colours
and changing light
through your open
car window.

Touched by Fire – Features for the week of August 7, 2011

Hi everyone, a few days ago I chose this week’s features. An interesting mix of drama, visual metaphors, sensibility and overall statements. Please congratulate all the wonderful and talented artists. Duffboy

 

“its paradox” by robinellenlucas

ever emerging
all sides
of you

choose the
one in your now
who is
in between
your dark night
your early dawn

rising
because it knows
what to do
…next

is it the
mystery
u n f o l d i n g
its view
its paradox
that chooses
without limits
to protect you?

© r.e.l. 7/20/11

“Your spirit looks a lot like the fog but boy do I know the difference” by DominicSavio

Oh God
Your
spirit
in
vades
my
person
hood
like a
spiral
around
my
spine and
You
wrap
around
my
spirit
man
like a choker
with black
ribbon
and
precious
gems
like
replicas
of
Your eyes
and I
am
ice
without
You.

“The Loop” by RC deWinter

It does no good to say “Forget,”
what is experienced burns in the brain.
It does no good to say “Move on,”
what is within simply follows along.
And not looking back doesn’t alter
the past or wipe away memories, feelings, intent.
If buried, these things resurrect
doggedly as surely as some claim Christ rose from the tomb.
But they appear not miraculously
restored but as ragged skeletons clothed with shreds of flesh,
now grinning, exhibiting their
fragile framework for what it ever was –
a wish, a hope, a dream, a curse –
to accompany silently down all the years
the unfortunate pilgrim who
struggles to make sense of misplaced affection,
unfounded trust, perception
colored by desire and losses that could not be cut,
but must be paid for again
and again with the rising and setting of the
eternal sun.

© 2011 RC deWinter ~ All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

“inVisible” by wildwomenlove

As a receptacle for your rape and pillage
i remain invisible
to your lost sense of humanity

As a middle child to the nuclear family
i remain invisible
to your parental nurture

As a daughter to women who cherish men
i remain invisible
to your favouritism

As you label me a person with some kind of incapacity
my achievements remain invisible
to your boxed-in concepts

As an artist in a world motivated by greed
i remain invisible
to your economic rationalism

As a child in a world of responsibility
my childlike wisdoms remain invisible
as they fall upon deaf ears

As a mother waiting tables of bloodline
i remain invisible
to your gratitude and recognition of value

As aging attempts to put all my eggs in one basket
i become invisible
in a society which romanticizes youth

The flame of my Self burns brightly
whether it is seen by others or not
it lights my way

on my death bed I will meet my Self
and all shall be visible
Once and for all

Blessed be

© wildwomenlove poetry

 

“Uncontrollablefailure” by Nathan Emery

She
fell down so far,
out of my reach
but not out of my sight.
I watched her
crash and burn
in the bottom of a bottle of crown
and I tried to reach down
but she didn’t even look up
to see my expression;
the red in my eyes.
I didn’t want to let her go
but she was never
really in my grasp.
So maybe I’m the one that fell;
into a bottle of vodka and vicoden,
to drown her out
to drown the world out…
to drown me out.
She split and spilt in every direction
except the one I was standing in;
just trying to catch her,
trying to clean her up
but missing every single drop.

“lay down now, little sister” by greeneyedlady

i still see him
walking up and down the darkened street
he held a shotgun in his hands
he held our lives as he always had
and two faces too little to be seen
were peeking over the edge of the windowsill
and i was whispering hollow words
lay down now, little sister
it’s just some cats running through the garbage cans
and for the fear he brought down
a father’s raucous shouts and a mother’s terrified cries
shatter the quiet of the night
would he shoot the gun?
she knew very well he might
and she waited
for the night to edge a little toward the light
and when the neighbors said settle down
or we’re calling the police, man
i thought
they’ll take you in and dry you out
and i hope you never get out of the can!
but for any of you who have ever tried
to reason with a wickedly drunken man
well, you know the decision to put the gun down
wasn’t made out of love at all
he just stepped wrong took a little fall
and it dropped from his unsteady hands….
now i don’t know how we ever did it
how we managed to pretend it never happened
our eyes would meet but we’d just look away
and two faces, too little to understand
but never too old to pretend
to be sleeping
in their beds
in that house
in the way that only scared little kids can
lay down now, little sister
it’s just some cats running through the garbage cans…

Artemis by Lynnette Shelley

End by Matteo Pontonutti

White Light by Lissie Rustage

Porcine by Lynnette Shelley

The Pecking Order by Glitterfest

4 Eyes by Paul (Quixote) Alleyne

Features July 31st 2011

My theme for this week is women and winged creatures (e.g. birds and butterflies). No particular reason except that after more than one image I liked contained these elements I decided to continue in the same vein. Enjoy!

Butterfly
by fotowagner

Hope
by Elvenspot

Those Watchful Eyes
by Matteo Pontonutti

Branwen
by MoonSpiral

The Owl Lady’s Midnight
by MaureenTillman

The Crow Knows
by MaureenTillman

 
Girl with Magpie
by Sybille Sterk

there was a girl ..
by Alenka Co

COLOUR IS THE BEST FRIEND OF BEAUTY
by GittiArt

Keep Dreaming
by AngiandSilas

So Close…
by Sandra Bauser Digital Art

From Rebecca Tun

Features for the week of 7/17/11

Dreamy…neurotic…eerie. Enjoy =)

[ tren de vise ] by Irina & Silviu Szekely

Goodnight by ajgosling

Crawl Away
The Red runs all down your arms, from the mess where your fingertips used to be, to the slices on your palms, to the grazes on your forearms. There are only two things going through your mind.
One, get somewhere small, dark and safe.
Two, how good The Red feels now that it’s all over you again.
You pull yourself to somewhere dark and safe, where the little shadow boy inside you comes out again, and his tears mix with The Red and you take your grief out on the thinning crystal box of your mind.
A Boy called Star

a symptom of neurotic insecurity by strawberries

The Collector II
People placed just so
Against a wall
Or in a corner
Ready to be moved
At a moment’s whim
A world filled with
Statues, puppets
A shadow play
Everything stays
Monochrome
A game
A toy train
Going round
Round in circles
Choo-choo
A one-way street
No connection
Just a need
Born from the want
To belong
Reviewed with
A smug smile
A pleased grin
A blindfold
Glued to the face
Until the day
The light goes off
The ceiling comes down
The walls fall apart
Brick by brick
No safety net
All is still
All is quiet
No reply
No answer
The blindfold slips
Realisation hits
The world
Has moved on
Somewhere else
Sybille Sterk

Waiting to Hatch by Matteo Pontonutti

Existence
This mound of earth
No longer an island home for thousands,
Surrounded by the sea
The sea that gently, but insistently
Lashes against it sides
Eating away at it until it is no more
And no one remembers
If it ever existed here
And I,
Just like the mound of earth
My body tugged at
By death
Gently, but insistently,
Firmly,
Until I am no more
And no one remembers,
If I ever existed here.
Paul (Quixote) Alleyn

Midnight at La Fenice by AngiandSilas

States of Known Depression
Circular characters darken the front of the stand alone train
Following trails of thought across tracks in the deep winters rain
Cold and lonely existence through states of known depression
Memories infest and embed like maggots manifest repression
Swatting the fly on the wall, ending life with no thought
Stains of blood creep down, infectious to the mind you caught
In the open room where nothing is there, walls washed white
All known desires fade, adrenaline kicks in, fight or flight?
Question the means and purposes of the dissonant realms
Incoherent dispiriting attacks devastate and overwhelm
What is the purpose?
Why does one wish to acquire happiness?
A useless yet desirable state
Intense joy a depressive learns to dispossess
As we constantly think about our inevitable fate
Death
A taboo to talk but an act we do alone
In our own time, without rational choice
Screaming at loved ones in angry tones
The ones who look forward are the ones that constantly look back…
Regretful people who wanted a different course through life
Wishing to change decisions and cut old journeys with a knife
Envying the people who are happy and ignorant
Ones with minds free of impotence
Depression an illness that catches the many
Locking themselves in, throwing away the key
Offer a hand, be willing to see
That depression is an illness, and depression caught me.
HamperRefuser

The Waning Phase of The Man in The Moon by Laughing Bones

Psychic in Cyberspace
“I see a man mistakenly
in love with a computer,
with its sublimely neutral
world of details blooming
bountiful in its infinitely
trivial vitality, and he is
probing manfully for that
one essential but improbable
fact, that microscopic
mechanism throbbing
sweetly somewhere out
in the exponentially,
increasingly populous
night between the stars –
or the atoms – but the
virtual universe has such
surface-tension shimmering
iridescent all over the
theoretically expanding bubble
… bursting someday… so
hurry, hurry and locate
and identify it before she
can flower and fruit and
give birth to the competition.”
nancyames

 
All I Ever Wanted Was Your Heart by ewanthot

Leap of Faith (by AngiandSilas)

Leap of Faith by AngiandSilas

So much elements to love about this piece. I strongly suggest you check the artists’ profile, they have a behind-the-scenes approach to art journaling.

TBF Features for the week of May 29, 2011

Hello, friends, again. On this Memorial Day I share my features with you. I almost never find a theme, I leave that up to you, the audience. Love, Duffboy

End Of The Road by Mojca Savicki

I like you like you… by Marlana Marry

The Dancer And The Window by photoart222

 

Spirit Wings by Elspeth McLean

 

Deciduous by Adara Rosalie

 

LiveLoveLaugh by Randy Monteith

 

Perception by ShadowDancer

i want us to feel alive,
to feel the knowing,
the having been there
the feel of the burn of each breath
life is a gift
why do you waste it
like fools looking for water
in the rain
this is the time of your life
to make things, do things
no more tv and
quibbling over needless things
let us hold hands as we walk down
a path of enlightenment
let us see Egypt without the pyramids
in the tiny corners of markets where the locals stay
and children sell plastic shopping bags
for a penny
hoping to make enough to
pay the man that sends them out
in return for less abuse that day
let us open our eyes and see New York
in all her grittiness
dirty and raw and full of people screaming
from hurt and the taste of street food
under their nails
look closer at Iraq
not the place we see in the media
eating lollipops from the army and saying
“Bless the USA”
but the real people that have lost
son and uncle and husband
and every woman they know
raped by white invaders AND their own kind
stop seeing right through the little boy
whose father tortures him
fills his nights with fear and
the family that sits at night
hungry
hoping next time they
will have food to fill
the empty stomachs of their kids
be alive
to see the reality of life
the real deal
not the Beaver life Americans
choose to see instead
turn off your fucking tv
open your ignorant mind
turn to the world
see

please just for once
open and really
see

Great Wall of China Charity Walk -on behalf of Scope- (journal) by HamperRefuser

On the 22nd of October 2011 Susie, Rachel and Anna will be embarking on an epic fund raising challenge. We will be going to trek the Great Wall of China (yes we are mad!).
…
We are doing this on behalf of Scope, the charity for people with cerebral palsy. We will be walking for five long days and covering over 50 kilometres of winding paths and steep steps. We expect blisters, tears and tantrums but we have decided to take on this challenge because Scope is very close to our hearts. Rachel’s brother Daniel, 28, was born with cerebral palsy. Daniel is physically disabled, unable to talk and bound to wheelchair, needing 24 hour care. Daniel is a cheeky, smiley, fun loving guy , with huge enthusiasm and passion for life,(and girls!) but unfortunately his only means of communication is through a computer. Anna and Susie have known Rachel, Daniel and their family for a long time and have a built a strong and close relationship with them which is why this challenge is so important to us all.

Every 6 hours a child is born with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is the most commonly diagnosed physical condition in the U.K, and occurs around the time of birth when part of the brain fails to develop properly. It can happen to any child. Scope is the largest charity in the U.K working with people with cerebral palsy, their families and carers. The money raised from the Great Wall of China Trek will allow Scope to continue running their vital services which are designed to support disabled people in every aspect of their lives, from birth through to adulthood. Scope’s aim is that disabled people achieve equality in everyday life.

We have pledged to raise a total of £7000 for Scope. All we are asking is that you can donate as much or as little as you can to this worthy cause. Literally, every penny will help us reach our goal. Scope is currently only able to reach 1 in 4 people who need help. With your support, Scope will reach more people. To set the ball rolling we have donated the first £600 ourselves.

Please visit our Just Giving page to make a donation:

www.justgiving.com/SusieRachAnna

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. Remember, if you are an individual U.K tax payer, Scope can claim Gift Aid on your donation. This is where the government reimburses Scope with the tax you have already paid on your gift-at no extra cost to you. In order for Gift Aid to be added to your donation, please tick the box on the website.

We will also be arranging exciting fundrasing events to help reach our total! We will let you know when we have decided on dates etc.

Thank you so much for sponsoring us. We will update you all regularly to keep you up to date with our training, fundraising and after the trip to let you know how we got on, if we survived and more importantly, how much we raised!

Thank you again, your sponsorship means a lot to us.

Love Susie, Rachel and Anna

 

We are holy in our own skin first by misfit1965

We are holy in our own skin first.
Not just when we get dressed to go to church
Our homes are houses of prayer
Our homes are houses of praise
Our houses are cathedrals to God
before they are anything else
Our houses are temples
we give them to Jesus to drive
out whatever needs to be driven out
whatever unclean thing sits on a shelf
collecting dust,
idols we used to pant and run after
GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD
If He has our hearts,
it will be totally surrendered
We are vessels to God’s Glory
to His Sanctifying Grace
We model Heaven here first
in our own bodies
Temples to His Holiness
His Holy Spirit is inside of the walls
of human flesh
so much He gave of Himself
never must we defile
or use Grace to sin
Our houses are shrines to His Glory
though our tents are weak vessels
God houses the beginning of Heaven
within these falling walls He considered
so precious He chose to die
chose to become a curse
for the objects of His Affection
We are holy in our own skin first
to be vessels of Mercy and Love,
We are holy in our own skin first
the beams of our own self-righteousness
the thorns of our efforts must be ripped
When God rips out the thorns from flesh
so pale and weak
it is so we can die
so we can die
so we can die
when He buries the gangrene from our fallen flesh
it is so we can live
it is so we can live
He must pull out the visions
of our own corruptions
The Holy Spirit beckons us
to come die
to lay down and be slain
be slain from this world

 

My Dorothy Parker Moment (I) by mss3

When a woman provides a feast
Her man may always banquet
Might be best to throw her a carat
And take her off the market

 

Evergreen by MaryMac

All good girls stay home
awaiting
sitting at home she gets a call
he said,
“I dig you baby, ”
she said.
“Well, I don’t know.”

Honey.put that black dress on
the one I see you wearin’
the one with the buttons
all up and down the back
like the verse in …MaryMac.

Okay you play your guitar
and sing me a song

doves flying overhead
Lookin’ up as he…enters
time to kill the pain
oh why the acid rain…

you alright baby
I’am not hurting you, am i
No, darlin’ please talk to me…
Whisper in my ear, okay?

All good girls stay home
Evergreens
standing the test of time
Colour
growth each year
morning glory and midnight sun
time will tell if we’ve learned to sail above
a thousand words
a picture paints
The words NEVER show
ME the one I’ve come to know.
My love for life is open and tolerant
“The Holies” read my heart
I simply fly away from hate
hummingbird I’am
in Indian folklore…

Kiss my neck darlin’
play your guitar
I’ll sit… a spill working
A muse begins to bubble
I love you.

05/16/2011
marymac

 

Tear me open by redolentquill

The lampshade quivers
Shadows push the walls
Lumps seep down my voice
Your toes twitch, head sinks
In my heart warms a
Throbbing emptiness
What is there to do
What is there to want
In the now of things

Knotted tangles
Tightening on themselves
Helpless attempts, rushing
Moths, into their end
Eternally drawn
No thoughts I have

Only words
Hung in the room of
My being
Wafts of fumes
From blown off flames
Which way out

Perhaps just rattle
Heart doors
Till walls crumble down

Seamless, fuse
be window and sight
open over no walls

Features for the week of May 15, 2011- Apocalyptic Industrialization

For this week’s features I tried to deviate from the norm. I wanted to explore a darker world…a world plagued by disaster and uncertainty.

Insult to Injury by Athenawp

I bring down
my inked weapon
and paint out my blood
on paper instead of skin.

I bring down
some of my pain
but it always ends
coming back like a popped cork.

I bring down
tip to paper
I can only hope
that my words will not choke me
War by lovelyrita

Siblings by Richard Buchanan II

It’s got a hold on me
It’s Way, too late
The box has been opened
Tentacles have taken root
In One Mind
I dare you
To try
To make me
Believe
Your lies
(Torture, as you well Might)
Come a little closer
I’ll open your jugular
And your eyes
The essence of creation
Exists within me
As does the essence
Of annihilation
Come
A little closer
It’s Time
The Idea has come
To Mind
We Are
Form Alive
Time is ending
Transform to survive
We are not what they tell us
Shopping and killing machines
Time has come, full Circle
It’s time, too a wake
Enter critical mass
Trigger massive flux
Exponential, explosion of
Healing Alive
Darkness creating
Light
The Idea of Life
Has arrived
In Time
(Past Due Humanity)
Hurry, Do.
IDEA by dab

Feel Good by Matteo Pontonutti

Perched on his chair, doused in redolence, the man wept a tear.
Tied down by the strains of the outer world, rejected by society. Stuck in an enclosed hole, a ladder out of reach. Walking around the dirt, a microcosm of mind. Stared up at the light, wishing for a rope to be thrown.
A glimmer of hope, when an object dropped down. A recognisable woman falling from above. Her feet stopped before the floor, the wished for rope stopping in flight.
A box of faith, Attempting to be opened. The padlock could not be picked, his key would not fit. He slapped on his scent on once more.
The incarceration of the man, wishing to insinuate incineration,was characterised by a guilty life. Punishing himself for pain he inflicted.
He found a new box, one to end the misery. The key was a perfect match, which was able to light the way.
He struck the box with a stick, enlightening an early discovery of man. Spilling liquid some more, he held the naked flame close.
Thoughts shot around his head, anticipating the end of existence. He wept a tear once more.
In a wall of hell, a deathly fire, the man went up in flames.
He melted away, like polar ice caps, pollution in his lungs.
To escape the cold depths of life, he ended his life whilst warm. Existence chose to leave him, to get over a pessimal torn.
The Depths of Depressed Fire by HamperRefuser

Eyes~Pool Park Asylum by Josephine Pugh

i dreamt,
i dream of mist, and of us
with eyes.

we scanned the distance,
the flashlight signalled in code

and moving
t’ward the entrance
where the known fades

we read out loud
‘’little owl’
‘little owl’

turned to face home
but home was gone,

and all that was left
was the off-on-off on.
waking moment by uncleblack

ULTRASOUNDS – HARLOW SPIKE by Roberto Duran

A Front Line Defense Forms
Armored With Autonomous Rule
Havoc Abounds
As The Leader
Remains Silent
With Shields
And Words Like Spears
Tailgating and Name Calling
All Who Lament

A Demand
For Peace Through Silence
As A Return To How It Used To Be

‘If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Look At It’
Advices The Sensitive Ones
Is Your Altruistic Philosophy
To Be Applied Universally
Should An Atrocity Be Done In Your Name
Shall We Not Look
When Harm Is Thrown Your Way?

A Tsunami Has Rolled Through
Your Innocent Paradise
I Hope There Is Enough
Air For You To Breathe
While You’ve
Planted Your Head
So Deeply In The Sand
The Debris Builds,
While An Exodus Propels
The Front Line Defense Cheers Their Departure
Consistently Lowering The Morale
Of The Whole Community

Those With Concern Cry
As The Integrity Of Their Home
Is Put In Jeopardy
The Armored Guards
Cleverly Blanket Them All
Under The Same
Trifling Umbrella
‘Trouble Makers
With Their Own Agendas’..

Over Four Years
With Chronic
Debilitating Pain
Surviving ..
Through A Pitiful
Disability Wage
I de-List My Art For Sale
Unwilling To Compromise
My Principles
Toward Humanity
Personal Agenda………………. ?
You Who Points Your Finger
With Closed Eyes And
Shallow Thought
Bite Your Tongue

An Idealist,
At Times Naive
Always Seeking
The Good
In Everyone
Half Expecting
Apologizes ..
But Their Silence
Tells
Otherwise

Thoughtless Generalizations
Defamatory Accusations
Unfounded Conjecture
Sweeping Statements
Sharpened The Sword
Of The Separation
They Bemoan

The Name Calling Defense Team
Demonstrates A Parallel Propensity
Of Those Bigoted And Vile Messages
They Guard

Please Do Continue With Your
Expressions..
As You Only Further Damage
The Rulers Of This Estate
And Inevitably
You Will Bury Yourselves
In Your Own Rhetoric

I Extend
Deep And Sincere
Respect, Love And Gratitude
To Those Who Shared
Open And Civil
Discussions
On Our Different Views
Your Benevolence
Restored My Faith
I Cherish You
And Our Friendship
I Respect Your View,
May It Not Support Mine.

I Also Deeply Respect
All Those Who
Choose To Remain Silent
Whom Also Extend
Respect Toward Me
As I Choose To Speak

The Climate
Of Our Community Debate
A Microcosm
Of The World At Large ..

Those Who Express
Different Viewpoints
But Also Express
Respect And Love
Toward One Another
I THANK YOU
Such Consciously
Chosen Thinking
Will Stop Wars

Not Instigate Them.

My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.
My Voice Will Not Be Silenced by Tatum Wulff

When time stood still by Anne Staub

We Stand Alone by Trish Mistric

‘While her lips are still red’ by Amalia Iuliana

This beautiful image is the winner of the ‘Blood Red’ challenge!

“While her lips are still red” by Amalia Iuliana Chitulescu