Sunday 31 March 2013

Happy Easter

(I usually don't crosspost between this Blog and my Signature Blog "Notes From the Edge" but I thought I would share my Easter Wishes with my Creative Writing friends :)
Spring At My Place :)

Easter is my favourite holiday. Not because I now live in a Christian house - which I do. I married a very Christian wife and I became a Christian by default. I don't attend the services much - I call myself "Christian Light" or a "Decaffeinated Christian" - but I do believe in God and the trinity. Where I get in trouble with my Christian brothers is I also believe in the Buddha and the Native American Creator and even some of the ideas around Intelligent Design. Even if you're not Christian, the Easter Story has a lot of relevant meaning. 

For years I thought Easter was when Jesus came out of his cave and if he saw his shadow it was 6 weeks until spring.

My wife informed me that's not the case. It about rebirth. Well that's not much of a stretch. All I have to do is look out my window to be see rebirth. In my corner of the World we are melting out from under the last bits of winter this time of year. In some corners of the World there is no winter, and that must be cool to a certain degree, but I like my four seasons. 

Winter makes Spring better. 

For me it is nature that defines Spring and rebirth. The Sun gets stronger and warmer, the plants and trees get greener and brighter, flowers start growing and the animals are waking up from their hibernation and coming into the valleys to drink from melting lakes and streams and have their babies ... 

It is rebirth - and it's my favourite time of year - the Christian story about Jesus rising from the dead fits nicely with all this.

Most doctors will only allow their patients to stop taking depression medication in spring because it is when people's spirits are the highest and depression levels are the lowest. I get seasonally depressed - but for me it's in the Summer because I've got my winter fat and I don't look too good in a bathing suit anymore :s 

Easter is a good time of year for Mulligans - or Do-overs. We get a nice four-day weekend to reflect on how our year is going so far. Its been a few months since New Years resolution and maybe we aren't where thought we'd be. Easter is the time for new beginnings so why not cut ourselves some slack today. Take a little inventory of where we are and where we want to be and start over - reset starting .... NOW! I read on my friend Gael's blog that suffering is optional. 

So today I'm opting out of suffering. 

Hey, I still have eight months left in the year to take it all back but a fresh start today won't hurt. Who knows maybe it will even stick. So, anyways, happy Easter Folks! Enjoy some family time, easter bunny chocolate, turkey and don't forget to give yourself a break.

Respectfully From the Edge.

Saturday 30 March 2013

Carpe Diem - Pine Tree

This is my first try at Carpe Diem. I am usually very humorous in my Haiku writing but this site seems traditional. So I thought I would follow and see what I can learn. The prompt is Pine Tree. My take on the pine tree may be a little different. In my area the pine stands are devastated by the Pine Beetle and our Forests are in a state of decay.

Suffering pine tree
 beetle attacking unchecked
global warming myth?

Global warming myth?
insults my friend the pine tree
hide beneath a lie


Pine forest decay
feeding precious forest growth 
life and death hold hands

Rising from ashes
a single seed taking hold
rise to destiny

Destiny fulfilled
 a new green reality
do the next right thing




Saturday 23 March 2013

Fortitude




This week's prompt for Haiku Heights is Fortitude. 

 As I was playing around with the language and ideas surrounding fortitude 

The words "Parent"and "Father" kept popping up. 

So, with that said,  here are this week's Haiku submissions 

From the father of three girls ... 

*******

Expecting
Courage under fire
intestinal fortitude
not for faint of heart 

***
Delivery
Savage princess bride
front row seat to horror show
magic puff of life

***
 Home Alone
Ecstasy and fear
two o'clock feeding surprise
little poop machine

***
Toddle
"Why Daddy why?"
machine gun question attack
fall asleep at eight.

***
School
Band aids and bullies
I'm tough enough to wear pink
sports day keeping score

***

Pre-teen Girl
"OMG Dad please"
"whatever you're so not cool"
tongue ring heart attack
*******



Friday 22 March 2013

Innocence and Experience



This week's Trifection is 3 words: rain, remember and rebellion which we are to add our own 33 words to for a total of 36. 

Enjoy a little throw back to the Romantics...



*************

I remember when the rain washed us clean.

Rebellion was the triumph of Innocence.

The Tyger changed all that.

He slaughtered the sleeping Lamb.

And made the rain feel dirty.

Rebellion became the duty of Experience.






Tuesday 19 March 2013

Cacophony

I found a new weekly challenge - Haiku heights. This week's prompts is Cacophony. Here goes my first shot at this one...



Random noise clusters
assault sensibilities
fathers jazz CD

*****

My infant jabbers
endless mumbo jumbo scat
thought I heard "dada"

*****

A loon's lone cry
a coyote's hollow wail
a beaver tail slap

****
Never thought that I
would hear myself say the words
turn that music down

****


Friday 15 March 2013

Thirty-three


Thirty-three


He 
died 
when 
he was 
thirty-three. 
It's not like we weren't warned. We all knew he was coming back. 
Some looked 
forward
 to it. 
Some 
were 
scared.
But no one 
expected this.

Monday 11 March 2013

5-7-5 Poems


These are not technically Haikus but along that line.


So here are my three 
5-7-5 poems for you
to read and critique:



Loneliness

loneliness, a leaf
falls softly to the ground and
nobody sees it.


Surrender

Three daughters, one wife
my life is a tightrope of
calm apologies.


It's Time



It is Time

Time to:

           get on with IT

                get over IT

               let go of IT.

Time to Stop running from

                             Convenient 

                                            Tr-

                                               Age-

                                                    Dies

                                                           and Stop running towards ...

                                                           Inconvenient Reconciliations                                                              

Time to get even with those who have been ... 

                                                               Good to Me

                                                                                and let the Dead ...

                                                                                                         Die.

Time to stand up against Suffering In - 

                                                       NO - cence.

                                                                        No sense

                                                                        In

                                                                        way -

                                                                        -> sting ->->

                                                                                          ti .......                                                                                      
                                                                                              me.....

It is the Sting of a Squandered Life ->->->                              

                                                 That pushes ->->->

                                                                   me over ->->->

                                                                                 The E
                                                                                        d
                                                                                        g
                                                                                        e ...

Saturday 9 March 2013

Ode to Dr Seuss ...


Ode to the Master... with a twist.

Sunshine forever
is never quite as bright
as a night light
when bed bugs
don't bite
you at night

safe at home
cookie dough
bat her up
Call a cop
soda-pop fly-ball
hip hop on Pop

chipped Tooth Fairy secrets
bruised chinny chin chin
Calm-bat man trau ma
I'll blow your house in.

reta-tat-tat you're a brat
don't do that
can't hear myself drink
kitty Cat in the Hat

snuggle Bugs Bunny
Porky Pig in the poke
Dad fell asleep drinking
Mom started to choke

tippie toe to the kitchen
oven open the door
I smell green eggs and ham
They can't hurt me no more


Written by Sam,  Sam I am


Friday 8 March 2013

Closure ...






Driving to the bridge was uneventful.

Relief and panic came in waves.

She was heavy and awkward ... difficult to the end.

She hit the water gracefully … and sank like a stone.