#FOWC Ancient

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https://fivedotoh.com/category/one-word-challenge/

Today’s word is “ancient.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Will I Survive to be Ancient? ©

She coated me with murky, putrid crap
there is black grime embedded on my toe cap
My frayed, broken eyelets, and pieced laces
are knotted tightly, held fragile in some places.
My quarter dog- eared in the back is so slacked
with tired leather, it’s brittle and split, my cracked
tongue is so twisted out of shape and torn.
She makes me feel so ancient and abused when I’m worn.
My poor insole is broken down to clumpy pieces
so my heels are unevenly worn , my side releases.
Clearly issues with my owners stride, but she wore
me until there were large holes in my soles, I abhor
her! She wore me in the rain and made my leather soggy
like an overcooked stew. Eww… I smell like a wet doggy.
I have more broken stitches here than there
Oh the woes of my life, I’m a sad shoe in despair.

 

#FDDA 18 first love

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Today’s theme is “your first love.” No matter how old we are or how long ago it was when we first fell in love, we always remember our first love.  Share a story, a poem, a photo, a drawing, some music, or whatever you wish to share about your first love.

https://fivedotoh.com/category/dog-days-of-august/

My first love happened at fifteen years old. I was pretty naive at the time and thought he was Mr. Wonderful. That didn’t go so well. Mr. Wonderful delivered a great spiel about how he got another girl knocked up while we were supposedly dating exclusively. His closing line was I have to marry her but we can still get it on, on the side. Except his spiel was more painful than ever. I had found out that I also was pregnant. I never told him. My father threw me out of the house for being pregnant. So I hitch-hiked to my grandfathers and with his help I put my daughter up for adoption. She needed to be in a secure home we people that could take care of her, unlike me a child with a child.

My second attempt at love didn’t go much better. We dated for a year, he was really nice. But the monster showed up after we said I do. He was a jealous man and every time he drank became physically abusive. Oh the promises he made, but it would happen again and again. Once his children were old enough to notice, his drinking stopped but the verbal abuse continued. I stayed until my youngest left home and then kicked him to the curb. He really thought the judge would see things his way but a picture speaks a thousand words and the evidence was pretty clear. He retaliated by spreading so many stories but it didn’t matter.  The people who knew me, knew better and the ones that bought his malicious garbage really weren’t my friends.

My third and thankfully final attempt has been amazing. Maybe it’s because we’re older and wiser, or maybe we’re more accepting of each other’s differences I don’t know. I value Vic’s friendship immensely. We didn’t meet in the traditional way, we met in a writing group online. He dared to critique something I had written and sent it to me. Initially, I was furious to see all the red from revision tracking but once I calmed down and accepted the fact that yes, I did need help. Our friendship grew and over time we finally did meet in person. That evolved into long distance dating and finally in 2008 marriage. He’s still my best friend in addition to being my love.

Third time is the charm they say. I’m inclined to agree.

 

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“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly,

and then all at once.” ~ John Green

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elegy attempt # 2

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Pained Reality©

I caught myself in the mirror, totally unaware

yet I hardly recognized this stranger staring back at me

In a glimpse showed I was in desperate need of repair

But my deeply installed manners say, don’t judge what I see.

 

Maybe if I blink, her image will vanish until tomorrow

And with that brief reprieve, that which struck her core

Will be undone and free her from such horrific sorrow.

And once again, there will be the woman impossible to ignore.

 

This Ellegy discusses what it’s like  being unable to grieve

 

EIF POETRY CHALLENGE #4: THE ELEGY

EIF Poetry Challenge #4: The Elegy

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Like the Ode, the Elegy has its origins in Classical literature, where it was characterized by its elegiac metre (alternating lines of dactylic …

What Poetic Form Does an Elegy Take?

Early elegiac poetry was typically versed in couplets. But, dating back to the eighteenth century, an elegiac stanza has traditionally contained the following characteristics:

  • It is a quatrain (four lines)
  • It contains an ABAB rhyme scheme
  • Each line is written in iambic pentameter

This structure is only a loose guideline. Many contemporary elegies contain no set form, and even the nineteenth-century elegies by the likes of Whitman and Tennyson take ample liberties with meter and rhyme scheme.

One of my favorite elegy’s is by Walt Whitman as a tribute to Abe Lincoln.

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead.

I took advantage of the liberty of two additional lines in my elegy for my grandson instead of staying with the quatrain but I did maintain the rhyme pattern.

Elegy of Johnny ( October 15, 2005- July 1, 2019)

Desperate to breathe, yet not one breath appears

Unable to scream, or even rage for the pain is so great

Our inability to function gave way to silent sneers

Holding his fractured body, crippled by the world’s weight

Branded all of our lives, to a slow drowning by tears

Because his young life was stolen by an act of fate.©

 

 

EIF Poetry Challenge #4: The Elegy

#FOWC

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Today’s word is “wanderlust.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

https://fivedotoh.com/category/one-word-challenge/

 

Limericks are great story tellers. They’re always 39 syllables in their delivery and hopefully a smile.

Wanderlust  

She complained he just had wanderlust

He disagree, his poor shoes had dust.

It’s in my blood to roam.

I do always come home.

But I want a man who I can trust.©

#FDDA 17 Music & letter c

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Today’s theme is “music.” You can talk about the kind of music you like to listen to or music you like to play. What genre of music do you prefer? Do you play an instrument? If so, which instrument?  Share a story, a poem, a photo, a drawing, some music, or whatever you wish to share about music.

https://fivedotoh.com/category/dog-days-of-august/

I wish I was musically talented but I’m not. My taste in music is very eclectic as you’ve probably noticed with letter c posts and the song of the day. There are times when I just need to reconnect to my roots and this is what I listen too. It soothes me in ways other music does not.

I wrote a poem about an Irish Lass dancing to lively Celtic music.

Love of an Irish Lass©

 

He bowed his head in silence,
allowing his rattled breath to slow.

Closing his eyes, he could feel
the lively Celtic music flow.

He was swept away to days past,
Where her feet moved to and fro.

Oh wee lass, dance for me, I long to
see those ye’s rosy cheeks aglow.

Take me back to those days
Of hornpipes and tapping heel and toe.

Show me again those green Irish eyes
when you paused, and bowed ever so low.

He lowered his head in silence again
cherishing his memories of long ago.

The lovely Irish ballad faded quietly away
and with it the old man’s final deathblow.

“I think being a woman is like being Irish… Everyone says you’re important and nice, but you take second place all the time.” ― Iris Murdoch
Thankfully, we’re getting a delightful break from the Dog Days of August. It’s 80 day with a breeze and overnight it’s supposed to be 65 degrees. AHHH delightful sleeping temperatures with the windows open wide.
Letter-c side notes and cancer toolkit:
Even though my vitamin b12 level was quite low, the blood work did rule out Celiac so I don’t have that added complication. I get to take another supplement every day. Nothing is back yet about the biopsies so, I’ll stay with the no news is good news.
“Your battles inspired me – not the obvious material battles but those that were fought and won behind your forehead.”
― James Joyce
Hard to believe in 9 days I’ll be 64 years old, a lot wiser when it comes to eating a cancer deterrent diet which I’ve pretty much covered in the cancer toolkit except for these last few.
Strawberries are anti-inflammatory very much like raspberries.
Sweet potatoes and yams are anti-oxidants as well being helpful regulating blood sugar.
Swiss chard is anti-inflammatory and loaded with beta-carotene, fiber and vitamin a. It’s great for lowering blood pressure.

#Share My World with Melanie

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https://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2020/08/17/share-your-world-8-17-2020/

  1. Create a Share Your World post.  Then post the link to that blog post or leave your answers in the comments box of my blog.
  2. To make it easy for others to check out your post, title your blog post “Share Your World”  and link it to this post.
  3.  Ping-backs are activated, but how efficiently varies.  For instructions on how ping-backs work, in case you weren’t certain, please click here.  You may wish to leave a link to your blog post in the comments just to be sure.  Thanks!

Share Your World Meets Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

  1. Harry Potter can speak to snakes. If you were able to have conversations with any one animal, what animal would you like to speak to? What would be the topic of your first conversation?  I would love to actually have a conversation with my cats. I’m dying to know why they insist on meowing and fighting once I go to bed at night. They sleep all day and save their antics when I want to sleep.
  2. The portraits in Hogwart’s dormitories can talk. If your graduation portrait could speak to people passing it by, what would it tell them?  My graduation portrait wouldn’t speak very nicely at all. Most likely, it would say put your f-ing eyes back in your head. I hate white, so yes my dress is blue. Do you have a problem with blue?
  3. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger use the Pollyjuice Potion for finding new clues for the happenings at Hogwarts. (The Pollyjuice Potion is a magic potion that allows your body to form into that of another and live their life for a few hours.) If you could transform into another being, who would you chose to be? What would you hope to learn?  Sorry, this would be way too much fun because the lessons I seek are how to use a sniper rifle accurately and what I can do to improve my shooting skills. There are a lot of people sufficiently capable with a rifle but I want to be inside Chris Kyle’s head.

“It’s all mirror, mirror on the wall because beauty is power the same way money is power the same way a gun is power.”― Chuck Palahniuk

     4. There was a flooding in the girl’s bathroom where Moaning Myrtle resides. What has been the most dangerous (or comical) ‘flooding’ where you reside? Back in 1973, there was a flood in Montpelier, Vermont by where we lived the week of finals. The road had water going over it but had not collapsed. My siblings and cousins who lived next door gave it a helping hand. And to make sure we couldn’t get picked up for school the other end of road, we ran the water hose and helped that side as well. The road was flooded, we were exempt from finals the next two days. Unfortunately, we didn’t think enough ahead because we had to walk over 2 miles to reach the next pickup location and we had to make the finals up. Plus, we now added more work on ourselves lugging groceries and other things to and from the house.

Mundane or “Muggle” Questions:

(Serious one which is rather creepy):  How do you think you’ll die?  IF you do think about it? My genetics seem determined to have cancer, I believe it will be the cause of my demise.

What’s the best on-line screen name you’ve seen? “Best might mean the oddest. I’m going with Avocadorable. Not sure what they were thinking?

What’s invisible that you wish people could see? I wish all the germs that people don’t get off their hands would show. Maybe hand washing would be taken seriously.

I already saw someone said covid-19 so I didn’t repeat.

If over time you replace parts on a car, at what point does it stop being the same car you bought? How many parts do you need to replace to make it a new car? I used to help my father initially in the garage. Then when I was old enough to drive, I had to demonstrate I could change the oil, brake fluid and lines, the tires,  check all the fluids like tranny and windshield washer and replace a battery myself. I was grateful I learned later on life because some of the men in my life were clueless about cars.

I bought a 1986 Monte Carlo brand new. I owned it 3 weeks when I hit a moose. The car was totaled but the motor and transmission were unharmed. They were then put into my 1981 Pontiac Catalina which had blown a head gasket and the car had a lot of miles on it so it was questionable on balancing the cost versus the age. But once that decision was made for me by the moose. The Catalina got an upgrade, I drove her for 10 more years until the frame was considered dangerous. She ran like a brand new car.

In response to your question for me is when the cost of the repairs is more than when it was a new car to you.

Virtual Continent Hopping -Arusha Tanzania

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30 day-
We’re staying at Arusha Serena Hotel and Resort Spa.https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297913-d304446-Reviews-Arusha_Serena_H…

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g297913-d15883436-Miracle_Ex…

As dawn breaks over the horizon, we serenely drift over the magnificent marvel of nature, The Serengeti, enjoying an eagle’s eye view of the wildlife theater as it unfolds below. We have ample opportunities to spot wildlife from a different perspective. If we’re fortunate, we migh spot the Big Five: Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo, and Rhino, as well as giraffe, zebra, hippo, crocodile and a variety of bird life.We were assured out game viewing opportunities from the sky are endless. Following our balloon flight, we celebrated with sparkling wine and a splendid bush breakfast in the middle of the Serengeti, capping off what is sure to be a most memorable morning in the skies of Africa.

The Maasai called the plains of Serengeti National Park “the place where the land moves on forever”—so prepare to be astonished by its vastness. I have to agree wholeheartedly. It’s incredible. I can’t get over how playful the zebra. The zebra’s bushy tail seems to flicker steadily, I wondered if they’re swatting flies like horses do. I’ve seen giraffes in zoos but actually seeing them in their own habitat I understand better the challenges they face to exist. I was surprised how loud the elephants tusks were when they playing. I was so surprised by the little black marks on the water were actually hippos. Their ears are so small in proportion to their bodies. I chuckled at the antics of the leopards, reminded me of my own fur babies. Both trying to be in one spot at the same time.

The food preparation was really fast and tasted so good. Who knew riding in a balloon could make one hungry..

The afternoon we’ll be enjoying some of the awesome amenities at our hotel before the BCoF people take us to our next adventure.

BCoF Bonus:
With the help of local Maasai Mama’s we will be guided through a number of traditional Swahili recipes to prepare your own lunch. We will learn how the local Mama’s prepare food at home using traditional cooking equipment and methods. We will learn some Swahili words for different foods and be able to get hands-on help to prepare each dish.

During the food prep our conversation veered to why young women undergo excision (“female circumcision”, “female genital mutilation,” “emorata”) as part of an elaborate rite of passage ritual called “Emuatare,” the ceremony that initiates young Maasai girls into adulthood through ritual circumcision and then into early arranged marriages. I was relieved to hear that the practice has recently been replaced in some instances by a “cutting with words” ceremony involving singing and dancing in place of the mutilation. However, the practice remains deeply ingrained and valued by the culture. The Maa word for circumcision, “emorata,” is used for both female and male genital mutilation. Female genital cutting is illegal in both Kenya and Tanzania.

I’m glad our focus had to return to the food. Just thinking about the horrors women faced in this environment was making me very uncomfortable.  I’m glad the women made the food prep so much fun.The sweet potato omelet was so good. I tried the bean stew has well. Yummy!

https://africageographic.com/stories/six-swahili-food-dishes-wont-want-miss/

We will learn about how Maasai build their homes and how traditional Maasai homes are set up in a “boma”.
We will see inside the homes and how they live.

“As a historically nomadic and then semi-nomadic people, the Maasai have traditionally relied on local, readily available materials and indigenous technology to construct their housing. The traditional Maasai house was in the first instance designed for people on the move and was thus very impermanent in nature. The houses are either somewhat rectangular shaped with extensions or circular, and are constructed by able-bodied women. The structural framework is formed of timber poles fixed directly into the ground and interwoven with a lattice of smaller branches wattle, which is then plastered with a mix of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung, human urine, and ash. The cow dung ensures that the roof is waterproof. The enkaj or engaji is small, measuring about 3 × 5 m and standing only 1.5 m high. Within this space, the family cooks, eats, sleeps, socializes, and stores food, fuel, and other household possessions.”~ wikipeida  I looked at some of the dwellings, I am so thankful that I don’t live in one of them.

Maasai society is still strongly patriarchal in nature, with elder men, sometimes joined by retired elders, deciding most major matters for each Maasai group.” A full body of oral law covers many aspects of behavior. For Maasai living a traditional life, the end of life is one virtually without ceremony, and the dead are left out for scavengers.Just the thought of being eaten by whatever just horrifies me. A corpse rejected by scavengers is seen as having something wrong with it, and liable to cause social disgrace; therefore, it is not uncommon for bodies to be covered in fat and blood from a slaughtered ox. However, their pastoral lifestyle has become increasingly difficult due to outside influences of the modern world. I was surprised to read how many Maasai have actually moved away from the nomadic life to positions in commerce and government. Yet despite the sophisticated urban lifestyle they may lead, many happily head homewards dressed in designer clothes, only to emerge from the traditional family homestead wearing a shuka (colourful piece of cloth), cow hide sandals and carrying a wooden club (o-rinka) – at ease with themselves.” ~wikipedia
I know when I get home, it’s hello sweat pants and tee-shirt. My favorite home attire is so comfortable.

 

We will learn how Maasai create their own beaded jewellery and go away from the workshop with your very own bracelet.

“Beadworking, done by the women, it has a long history among the Maasai, who articulate their identity and position in society through body ornaments and body painting. Before contact with Europeans, the beads were produced mostly from local raw materials. White beads were made from clay, shells, ivory, or bone. Black and blue beads were made from iron, charcoal, seeds, clay, or horn. Red beads came from seeds, woods, gourds, bone, ivory, copper, or brass. When late in the nineteenth century, great quantities of brightly colored European glass beads arrived in Southeast Africa, beadworkers replaced the older beads with the new materials and began to use more elaborate color schemes. Currently, dense, opaque glass beads with no surface decoration and a naturally smooth finish are preferred.” ~wikipeida

Vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free options can be catered for in the recipes. We’re cooking our dinner and learning how to make beaded jewelry together. How cool is that?

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g297913-d19076562-Swahili_Co…

August 17 Arusha,Tanzania‎
Prompt: Write a story or poem about your Miracle Experience Balloon Safaris | Serengeti https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g297913-d15883436-Miracle_Ex…

A poem, she says… a limerick will have to do.

Flying over the Serengeti
So much at once I drop my yeti
The guide said we no stop
It was to far to hop
Damn, I was so thirsty and sweaty.

* yeti=  https://www.yeti.com/en_US