My newest adventure is underway. It has lead me to take up residency in a new blog,
Like the Feathers of an Arrow (affectionately known as LFA).

...don't open...don't throw away... is not disappearing completely (not yet),
but postings here will be limited.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

2 Poetic Journey

Plastic Sleeve of Words
(image by rmp, that's me)
i remember a small grey notebook of sorts.  it contained four or five original drawings (i use that term loosely 'cause i'm not much of a drawer) at the top of grey paper accompanied by a poem beneath.  i'm not sure whatever happened to those first non-school-inspired creations.  the notebook disappeared long ago.  that was probably during my upper elementary or early middle school years.

Self-Published -- Print Run of One
(image by rmp, that's me)
my next memories take me to high school.  that's when i started keeping a better hold on my poetic endeavors.  (i still have them tucked away in a plastic sleeve protector--some handwritten originals--some typed originals.)  i wrote a total of three poems my freshman year; ten my sophomore year; eighteen my junior year; and nineteen my senior year.  i immortalized the final pieces first in a notebook that i kept with me at all times throughout high school.  then, eventually i typed up a copy that i entitled 'The Mind'.  (i remember typing it up on my brother's mac, which seems kind of funny to me now since he is completely a windows guy now.)  when the time came to edit 'The Mind' and the original disk wouldn't open on a windows computer, so i found myself retyping it and retitling it 'The Works'.  [this journey may take awhile...feel free to skip to the bottom and check out the three poems that started it all.]

Mind, Body, & Soul
(image by rmp, that's me)
i continued to write in college.  by the end of freshman year, i found a new way of sharing my works.  i'd pass the time between classes by sneaking into the computer lab and sending out a mass email to a group i dubbed 'Poetry List'.  (this would be before blogs.)  the first one i sent out, the one that started the mass email altogether was 'Thoughts'.  i remember one of my friends emailing me back all concerned because he feared i was depressed.  not that he was wrong (been suffering from depression for as long as i can remember)...not that i blame him (the poem did portray an image of drowning with a great struggle to break through the surface)...but the poem truly was about its title; it describe the feeling of being bombarded with thoughts and ideas that refused to form of semblance, but eventually they collide and you break through the murky water of  thoughts to a breath-taking idea.  as college came and went, i revisited my collection once again; after writing 'The Mind' and then 'The Works' (which i perceived to be 'The Body'), i revamped once again and create a collection that retains its name and continues to grow, 'The Soul'.
Cover Art
(image by rmp, that's me)

with college over and my 'adult' life beginning, i continued to write, but in more sporadic bursts.  it was at this stage in my life that i began to put things together with purpose and expand my writing.  having never had any patience for writing stories longer than ten pages or so, i took an idea i thought might make a good script (didn't know the first thing about writing a script) and entertained the idea of writing a novel for a sliver of a moment.  in the end, i decided to stick with what i knew best and wrote my first (and only) chapbook of poetry called 'Three Hearts Betrayed'.  strangely enough, just about six months later i began writing my first novel (though it might classified more as a novelette), while also writing a book-length collection of poems.  it took me longer to write the collection, 'Teacher's Insomnia' than the book, 'Herstory: man's plight for equality'.  since i've written another novel, 'Call Alex' (originally entitled 'Supermarket Jezebel'), and a book-length collection of poems, 'Me--Naked to the Core'.  [note, i write to purge, for pleasure, and for a sense of accomplishment...so no nothing is publish...nor have i tried.]
Poetry with Purpose
(image by rmp, that's me)

More Words Than I Could Contain
(image by rmp, that's me)
a couple of years ago, when going back to school for my masters, i was introduced more formally to blogging.  i tried to reinvent my 'Poetry List' through a blog called 'rmpInsights'.  it did not live long, my poetry list people were not really ready for the whole blogging world.  around the same time i began working on another collection of poems, 'Diary of an Anorexic Love Life' and a retelling of 'The Princess and the Frog' meant for teens, but still untitled at the moment.  i am still in the process of creating both.  (i'm not very good at maintaining focus--as it is i had to trick myself into writing my first two novels as quickly as i did.)

that brings us to more present day.  i started this blog just over a year ago after a dream i had that told me i had been neglecting a part of myself.  thus far i have written (including this one) 215 posts, of which 113 contain new poems (some may have more than one poem...so we are looking at about 123 poems total).  i believe this is my longest consistent poetic streak.  it also gave birth to a short story ('With Just a Touch') that, though finished in my head, is taking me some time to finish.  so why is this blog more successful than the first?  #1, i have my rules that keep me on target.  #2, this is not another attempt at reinventing my Poetry List (those who know me don't even know this blog exists, at the moment).  i can't quite explain how #2 has helped this blog survive, but i guess before i had the excuse of they're not bloggers and don't quite get the whole following idea, so i didn't have a driving force to keep me going.  that is why my #1 reason works so much better.
Meet the Children's Books
(image by rmp, that's me)

anyway, that is my journey.  i'm sure i missed somethings along the way like my three children's stories (did the illustrations myself which probably explains my not feeling the need to mention them) and super-short stories (some of them are a bit twisted).  this journey was inspired by One Stop Poetry who i should thank for providing me with a reason to reminisce, i know this journey was more than they bargained for.

Below you will find my first three poems.  the first, well i like roses (preferably shades of pink) and i've always sort of linked them to love.  the second, i'm still trying to figure out.  the third, well that would be teenage unattainable love.




The Rose

It represents love, peace, agony, and pain.
But mostely it symbolizes the love which I hold.
A special love that is held only for you.
It's a love that like the rose will slowly wilt and die,
but one which will blossom with the right nourishment.


Together Forever

'Til death do we part
to mourn for one another
Death will over come us
and soon we shall be one


You

My thoughts are always with you;
My feelings always for you;
My words, however, are rarely about you;
Yet, my heart shall always speak of you.


Friday, February 18, 2011

14 Writing Unmasked

Writing Unmasked
(by rmp, that's me)
no one sees me
not the real me
how could they
i keep her hidden
so well hidden i
sometimes can't see her

some may try to uncover
try to see what lies within
but i conceal her behind a mask
one that looks delicate and fragile
but is forged in iron, steel, and diamond
so well have i worn it
sometimes i forget she lay beneath

but she's there
lying in wait
knowing she'll be freed
for short stints at a time
to speak a truth only she knows
in the only way she knows how
so well she does write
sometimes the world gets a glimpse of me



written for Thursday Poets Rally...yes, i realize it is not thursday...but i've never been very good at deadlines...

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

0 Tale of Love and Woe: The Meeting

Check out the first part of the ballad in Act I - The Knight
Check out the second part of the ballad in Act II - The Princess

Act III – The Meeting

It started quite some time ago
when dragons roamed the land
where knight and princess had their place
but never hand in hand

Here was our young knight sad of heart
whose world was crashing down
with spirit crushed he finds himself
just wondering around

He found himself a garden bench
and sat awhile to stew
there skimming pebbles in the pond
he pondered what to do

So lost in thought he almost missed
a beauty pure as light
he raised his head to meet her gaze
and felt his heart take flight

Here came our princess heart in hand
to sit beside our knight
she wished to take away his pain
which she’d caused with her plight

An’ talk they did for quite some time
until the hurt was gone
then talk some more ‘til darkness set
when evening light did dawn

Alas they had to bid farewell
so with hearts open wide
they promised they’d soon meet again
somewhere they’d not be spied

And thus goes forth our tale of love
in shadows full of woe
our princess holds a secret still
which might destroy her beau



it seemed to be an easy task...this ballad writing thing...but each new act seems to find me...a new ending to sing...


it really is amazing how the rhythm sticks in your head. i did not realize upon starting this challenge that it would turn into something so grand.  i found myself after the first working out a second and third, with a possible fourth, act.  but after writing this my brain clicked and the story line (i laid out in my head) has taken a turn, i'll be lucky if i finish this in five acts.  but all in all, i am quite enjoying the tale that is unfolding.

7 in the blink of my heart

He asked me the question
and my heart blinked
words stalled in my throat
my mind stuttered to a halt
and in that moment
that tiny flicker of hesitation
he heard my answer resound

I watched the color drain
from his sweet, kind face
heard his heart hit the ground
I reached out to touch him
to sooth
to offer some explanation
but he pulled back
his eyes blazing with hurt
I wished to tell him
maybe at different time..
maybe on another occasion...
but the truth
thickened the space between us

The silence that surrounded us
was deafening
He bore a hole into my
sorry excuse for a heart
with his deathly stare
then turned and walked away
from me
forever



i wasn't sure where i was going to go with this weeks Three Word Wednesday [3WW=>blink(ed), kind, occasion].  for a tiny moment i thought i might steal an idea from Phineas and Ferb, which i admittingly watch of my own accord.  for a brief moment in time i thought to do a 'clarity pyramid' poem, even had the perfect 8-syllable ending definition line for that, but finding synonyms for blink was not an easy task.  then somewhere along the line, the phrase, 'my heart blinked' popped into my mind.  so i went with it.

Monday, February 14, 2011

0 Tanka: Goddess

#1
just a simple touch
invokes a feral goddess
burning deep within
a fire only you can quench
please, i beg, touch me again


#2
as i lie in wait
open and ready for you,
my heart and soul bare,
the thought of your sweet caress
conjures the goddess within



my first introduction to tanka mentioned not its origins as love notes between lovers.  this new enlightenment took me on a new path...one that if i think long enough about will make me blush...but why not...  inspiration for this new path came from the detailed history of the tanka laid out at One Stop Poetry's  Form Monday.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

1 three for two

i missed my image last week...so today is three for two day...

i have folder of photos called oddities.  these would be random images that have no particular place.  for today's set of images, i've pulled from the oddities folder.  now while the pictures are technically random that doesn't mean that some of them don't have some connection to one another.  thus today's theme is books...


Worlds to Enter
(image by rmp, that's me)
when i find myself lost
when i find the world crashing in on me
when i find i must escape myself
i find myself lost in the power of words
i find myself transported to a new world
i find myself escaping into beautiful tales
i find myself with book in hand






Beware What Lies Within
(image by rmp, that's me)

beware the road you travel
it is fraught with twists and turns
beware the stranger you meet
his agenda may not match your own
beware the labyrinths ease
for it is meant to lead you astray






Path to Destiny
(image by rmp, that's me)
a wise turtle once said
"one meets his destiny
often in the road he takes
to avoid it."
faced head on or avoided
destiny will find you
as only it was meant to be

4 two sides

upon first glance i saw a bird...upon further inspection i found a rock...but whose to say both are not correct.  i stared at the picture some more and wondered what the view from the other side might be...the bird/rock definitely has the advantage...or does it?

Rock Bird

perched on a threshold
unable to choose a side
now petrified stone


upon further reflection into what view the other side might hold, i found myself thinking how things can be seen from more than one angle or perspective...have one meaning to someone and another meaning for another...thus after writing a haiku, it was not hard for my mind to make the jump to a sedoka.

Ancestral Home

caressing the stone
where once her ancestors stood
brings a sweet smile to her lips

remnants of a past
long gone, but not forgotten
curl his lips in sour disgust


photo by Sean McCormick


somewhere in my head another thought still lingers, but for now i'll take my leave of this image.  maybe later i'll return to pick my way through the rubble and discover what might still be lingering...



inspiration for this poem comes from a new source (for me, that is).  One Stop Poetry's One Shoot Sunday [interview with Sean McCormick].