The Mask, three prompts combined

March 17, 2008 | Filed Under Friday 5, Monday Mural, contest | 17 Comments 

Three prompts:

The Mask

Her mask shielded him from
freckled innocence scattered
across her nose and cheeks,
combined with champagne
still fizzy on her tongue
her inner discomfort was
unannounced as she strutted into
midnight’s rabble.

She had long passed the stage of sylph
flitting just outside their reach,
and refused to stare
at a TV
alone
another night.

She cast aside
her former suasion,

for she had learned
by metered observation
some men were driven merely by
their compulsion to seize hips,

and though hers were
carved from stone,
her curves were
well-worn from hands
once applied
and well adapted to work
as a siren’s song

once
she got past
her inner fear.

MeeAugraphie
03/17/08

Y’all join in!!



Dawn Breaks

November 11, 2007 | Filed Under Fiction, Poetry, contest | 1 Comment 

Inspired by a short story writing contest sponsored by Clarity of Dawn, why don’t you enter? Fiction in 250 words, poetry allowed, though would be hard pressed to compete with such awesome fiction writers out there.


Dawn Breaks


I awoke to an ominous sky
banging on heart’s door,
and refused to answer,
instead, hunted for self pride
through unorganized memories
stacked high here,
strewn haphazardly over there,
before its last screw,
loosened by low self-esteem,
could fall into the gutter below.

It was a hurried attempt to find
and tighten it
with my new firmness
of conviction.

My heart’s ear, though,
sent piercing words of his
practiced agony and remorse
through gaps in
our door frame,
and practiced sympathy
reversed pressure within
our walls, threatening to burst open
my heart’s door and allow entrance
to that which should not be.

A battle ensued, yet more fierce
than previous battles. Compassion
thrust both hands toward one golden knob,
ready to open heart’s door
and give embrace to him beyond.

I, in an attempt to regain control
of heart’s increasing pressure,
threw my weight
against that heavy door,
hip took the hit unscathed,
used to life movement, back and forth.

Face, not yet used to sporting
artwork on its cheek bones
sculpted by much worn knuckles
to match a multi-colored
ominous sky, deepened
its own colors as more mountains
emerged from beneath its surface.

Yesterday’s pain returned,

I acknowledged self-preservation’s
new found home,
tightened now multiple loosened screws,
added a dead bolt to heart’s door,

and made a cup of tea, blocking out
all sound, but the throbbing
of mountains rising and
the beating
of a changing heart

still under an ominous sky.

MeeAugraphie
11/11/07

I could not resist, those weeks of barely writing anything, much less poetry, have opened the flood gates. This one, I even edited to make it longer, quite the change from recent attempts at shortening things. Guess all that shortening practice paid off, because in spite of NaNoWriMo, I am writing shorter for the most part. Not sure that the story is clear enough for the contest, but in the spirit of “the fun is in the attempt”, I will enter it.



A vote for me is a vote for Share A Square

September 10, 2007 | Filed Under Linked, Share A Square, contest | 6 Comments 

Hmm, that sounds political doesn’t it. Well, it’s not meant to. I am trying on my new older personality. I was lucky enough to be given an interview invitation for Blog Interview for my other blog, Tumbled Words. It was fun filling out the form, another excuse to put words on a screen that someone might just tumble into - and actually read.

The blogs for the month are voted on and small cash prizes are given to the three top voted blogs. We all know it is more a popularity contest than anything else… Why they even suggest we lure voters in with things like I am doing. I used to back off from things like this, but you know what, I don’t want to this time. I am on a mission to help get those afghans made in time!

Should I win, it will not be based on my popularity, but because you want that top 25 dollar prize to go to the Share A Square project that Shelly at This Eclectic Life started around 2.5 months ago. It is a great project and I have both knitted a few and talked about it until people reading Tumbled Words are probably bored with it, though I have tried to change up how I write about it…

Some people help by talking it up on their blogs or to their family and friends and co-workers and the woman down the street that irritates the heck out of them… (still greatly needed, thousands of squares still needed). I got “brave” and emailed a local craft store in a small town… Guess what, I offered to pay the postage and they came through with 156 squares in just weeks and they have a few more done. You could try that, too. Jessica the Rock Chick at Life is Rantastic put a notice in Craigslist.org, Shelly goes to crochet groups and senior centers and she has more stories like that on her site.

Now, if you want to help me get that 25 dollars for the project, you could just plain old vote for my blog… I’ll know it is not because I am young and beautiful (hee hee, mostly I’ll know, because I am middle aged..), I will know it is not because I have the best blog out there… though you may want to browse a few pages anyway! No, I will know it is because you want to get those 140 kids wrapped in an afghan made by around 50 people (each afghan)… and that will make me much happier than the first reasons for winning and it will do wonders for the kids.

So, if it doesn’t interfere with a more important vote… it would be great if you would cast a vote for my blog. Then you can write about it all on your blog or email your local groups or start knitting or crocheting: six inches is NOT very much, not even six square inches.

Vote for “me/us/yarn” here, please!

This post will remain here until the end of September, please scroll down for daily posts. Thank you.



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