Sound - 13

continuous whirr of the computer's fan as we go through our multitude of photos
it's a mid-tone, half unnoticed until I feel relief in the silence when he turns the pc off

Wednesday Words - Canyon Stones

I would like to introduce you all to Cynthia at canyonstones today.

Her blogsite is a mixture of words and images; beauty captured by camera and her imagination.

Her stones are calming and reflective and her poetry is always full of hope. Cynthia writes about real life and captures sensations and feelings in an intense, accessible way.

Here is a short poem that produced a feeling of calm in me earlier in the year...

repose
cloud-gray rooftop
bathed in morning sunlight
under a sleeping dove
3/10/12
canyonwren

Visit her blog and see for yourself!

Sound - 12

sweet-piercing call of the robin
drawing me from the kitchen or greenhouse
then liquid notes
still sad and yet joyful;
he's seen both sides of life

Sound - 11

muffled voices
blip of computer communicating with its slave
the TV chattering away to itself in the corner of the waiting room

Sound - 10

creaking of the washing line as the wind whips clothes around
the steady tick-tick-tick of plastic expanding in the hot sun
the droning buzz of bees, flies and wasps gathering nectar
a summer's daytime sounds

Sound - 9

the monotone drone of the neighbour's radio filters through double-glazing as he pretends to work in the garden and leaves the radio on by my hedge whilst fiddling around on the opposite side of his garden...

Wednesday Words - my river of stones

This week I'd like you to meet Mavis Negroni, another small stoner that I met through
writingourwayhome

She has a beautiful blog site at myriverofstones Here you can read not only her small stones but her poetry also. Interspersed with her words are beautiful photographs.


This is truly a blog to make you slow down and notice real things. When I come back from reading her words and looking at the pictures, I am refreshed.


Here is one small stone that really spoke to me earlier this year...

i've hit a wall
do i go right or left?
at
this juncture,
i do not know the way.
perhaps
both paths will offer something
worthy of my efforts.

To see the picture that accompanied these words, visit juncture

Sound - 8

the shrill shrieks of ill-behaved girls next door pierce shut window and door
why can't the parents control them?

Clippings #4 - more comments!

Nice new moody cover photo on Clippings #4. Is the herb sage? (Makes me think of that steamed pudding with onion, sage and bacon in the middle; very more-ish).

Particularly like moments 6 (weird how they can turn up so close like that) and 10 (with autumn already felt - so familiar).

Very evocative (atmospheric) opening to the excerpt. The whole is vividly alive, with Otta's experience in the glade of what seems to be an almost religious intensity. Great contrast between the concrete world, however beautiful it is in its autumnal shades, and the powerful presence without physical shape. Altogether tantalising. Nice poetry too! The repetition of "I am the one" has a mesmerizing effect, the all enveloping.

Dragon Wind and Grey Matter (back page) are good too.

These comments are from Penny Sylvester in England.

Poems in Dial 174 #89

Dial 174 has published my poem "Hope" in issue 89. And another poem, "Cosmic Riddles" was short listed in the U-Judge-It competition!

"Hope" is a series of rhyming couplets expressing hope in a number of ways. "Cosmic Riddles" are just that - riddles of cosmic dimensions.

If you would like to read the poems, please contact

john (dot) claypole (at) btinternet (dot) com

Sound - 7

the high drone of an areoplane as it descends through the air towards Gatwick many miles hence; don't dump your fuel in MY garden thank you!

Wednesday Words - My Small Stones

This week I'd like to introduce you to Inger-Marie. She has an amazing blogsite at My Small Stones

What I love about Inger's blog is the honesty and sheer real to life guts. Her words are inspiring and genuine. And her photographs are awesome!

Don't just take my word for it, hop over and take a look for yourself!

Here is an excerpt from one of her blogs that truly inspired me...

 

In that small, tantalizing moment when you realize
that the tiny flame is back in your heart,

you feel the familiar contentment,
and the relief of being out of the doldrums.

You know that the light is back in your life.

That is also truly a Most Beautiful Thing!

To view the accompanying photograph visit my most beautiful thing

Sound - 6

chirp-rasp in a secret rhythm;
unseen insect calls
hidden in dry grass
cricket crys

Sound - 5

irregular bang and knock as next door's builders take down old weather boards and replace with new

Elfje by JulesPaige

Klaxon
Blackbird's call
Grabs my attention
- search for the cause
Cat!

by JulesPaige/davh

I found this in the comments for Sound 4 - thank you Jules! A lovely gift!

Wednesday Words - Jules' Gem Stones

It's Wednesday again already and this week I'd like to introduce you to my friend JulesPaige.

She really does write jewels on the page...

Her main blog can be found at julesgemstones and it's a feast of small stones including a form I've only recently come across - the Dutch Elfje.

If you are short of time and need a few moments to relax and escape, I highly recommend her blog; it will help you focus and breathe normally, particularly if you feel stressed.

My favourite small stone of Jules' is still: -

The Samurai has sheathed his beloved sword
Perhaps he spends the day in careful meditation watching rain drops fall
Over his aging koi and into his private pond while he sits quietly unadorned
His fine battle garments and helmet set upon a fine display near an inner rice-paper wall
As the dull grey sky waits to be carefully opened – perhaps not at all this day

For more delights such as this please visit her blog site.

Sound - 4

repetitive klaxon
a blackbird's call
warning of death in striped coat and soft feet
jarring call
that grabs my attention
makes me search for the cause
- cat!

Sound - 3

high-pitched repetitive call of an unseen bird near the house;
evocative
compelling

Sound - 2

harsh screams of hunting owls circling the house at night
across the valley the eerie call of a vixen echoes
darkness trembles

Wednesday Words - Tagged!

Something a bit different for Wednesday Words this week...

In the last couple of months I've been both book and blog tagged as well as nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award again by four different people! So I'm going to amalgamate them all into one Tag.

Thank you to : -
JulesPaige
Libby
Greg
and
Ruty

Please visit their blogs - they are all different and inspiring!

First - The Rules
1. You must post the rules.
2. Post 5 fun facts about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 5 more to ask the ones you tag.
4. Tag however many bloggers or books you wish.
5. Let them know they are tagged.


Facts About Me
1. I hear voices in my head - they help me write stories
2. I can't stand being around boring people
3. I like being by myself and reading...
4. I like making fruit cake
5. When I'm having a bad day I pretend I'm Dracomagan and scare people...

Answers (I've selected different questions from the 4 who tagged me)
1. Definitely the country - towns are too full of noise, people and traffic. I need peace and quiet and space to breathe and think.
2. Oh I would never drink tea or coffee - they're pure poison. I drink herbal tea and make my own from my garden.
3. The historical event I'd most like to see is the Resurrection.
4. My favourite movie is The Lord of The Rings.
5. Definitely barefoot - I like to be rooted in reality!

OK, now my questions to those I've tagged: -
1. What age were you when you first started writing?
2. Where would you like to be buried/cremated?
3. Do you think space is full of darkness or light? Why?
4. Do you believe the universe is random or do you think there is a great pattern? Why?
5. Do you think butter is bad for you? Why?

The blogs/books I'm tagging are as follows: -

Liz Baxter

The Most Beautiful Thing by Fiona Robyn

Better Off Dead by Matt Rowe

Katie Wood
Sky Blue Wisteria by Claudia Messelodi


Over to you guys and gals now!

Sound - 1

ceaseless sighing sorrowful sounds of the endlessly rolling ocean;
hissing and tumbling, inhaling and pouring,
water on sand, water on stone