Are they trying to make it sound (no pun intended) like cacophony is a bad thing?
Here’s an example of cacophony: “To be, or not to be- that is the question” (Written by Shakespeare and he turned out pretty good)
So, I guess “cacophony’s” not so bad.
(painting by me)
daily word prompt: Cacophony
I measure every Grief I meet With narrow, probing, eyes – I wonder if It weighs like Mine – Or has an Easier size. I wonder if They bore it long – Or did it just begin – I could not tell the Date of Mine – It feels so old a pain – I wonder if it hurts to live – And if They have to try – And whether – could They choose between – It would not be – to die – I note that Some – gone patient long – At length, renew their smile – An imitation of a Light That has so little Oil – I wonder if when Years have piled – Some Thousands – on the Harm – That hurt them early – such a lapse Could give them any Balm – Or would they go on aching still Through Centuries of Nerve – Enlightened to a larger Pain – In Contrast with the Love – The Grieved – are many – I am told – There is the various Cause – Death – is but one – and comes but once – And only nails the eyes – There’s Grief of Want – and grief of Cold – A sort they call “Despair” – There’s Banishment from native Eyes – In sight of Native Air – And though I may not guess the kind – Correctly – yet to me A piercing Comfort it affords In passing Calvary – To note the fashions – of the Cross – And how they’re mostly worn – Still fascinated to presume That Some – are like my own –
photo credit of Emily Dickinson, my FAVORITE poet.
Daily Word Prompt: Enlighten
In retrospect
if you inspect
my spectacles
I expect you
to be respectful
and circumspect
since my perspective
is spectacular
on any spectrum
daily word prompt: Expect
I remember this, my last conversation with Papa.
He, trying to alleviate our pain.
But I heard, through his bravado
the saddened beat of my heart
submerged in deep water
no knowledge of how to stay afloat
grief no words could express
He said,
“Remember the sandhill crane?”
How could I forget?
Long necks
the sound of their rattle calls
broad wings flying over
ancestral farmland
He said,
“She’s like the hourglass that drips the sand of time
replenishes herself by picking leftovers from the field
She keeps moving forward.
She never stops.
She is you
and she is me.
Our fields, too deep to forget
Too vast to go away.
I will never truly leave you”
“Is this the way of things, Papa?”
“Ja, mein liebes.”
“It is,” he smiled.
Prose adapted from my novel, “Naked, She Lies”
Photo credit
Do you wrap your shoulders in guilt?
Does it make you feel better?
Of course not.
You did what you did, but the moment has passed.
Perhaps it is regret that you are feeling.
Regret is better. It means you have taken that nugget,
examined it with neutral hands
and learned from it.
So, you wash your hands with compassionate soap
and remind yourself that you are not a fraud
but a human flawed
like everyone else.
Be brave and accept
being flawed only adds to your perfection.
It’s risky business, first learning to paint
being creative, letting go of restraint
who wouldn’t want to see two women chattin’
But maybe not Churchill
compressed in a wagon.
(a couple of my numerous early paintings)
daily word prompt: Risky
I know, I know. It’s hard sometimes to get motivated to eat right and exercise, not only our bodies, but our minds. But since I’m about to scroll down another line to hit the year I was born (lucky cursor), I thought I’d find some inspiration.
Aging is a relative term. Some might feel their life is almost over when they hit the big 30. Others, like me, understand that we knew very little at that time.
As actress Helen Mirren said, “Your 40s are good. Your 50s are great. Your 60s are fab. And 70 is f*@king awesome!”
Want to keep your get-up-and-go getting up and going? Ponder these:
— “For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned, it is the season of the harvest.” ~Hasidic saying
— “I believe the second half of one’s life is meant to be better than the first half. The first half is finding out how you do it. And the second half is enjoying it.” ~Frances Lear
— “None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” ~Henry David Thoreau
— “I am appalled that the term we use to talk about aging is ‘anti.’ Aging is as natural as a baby’s softness and scent. Aging is human evolution in its pure form.”~ Jamie Lee Curtis
— “The great thing about getting older is that you become more mellow. Things aren’t as black and white, and you become much more tolerant. You can see the good in things much more easily rather than getting enraged as you used to do when you were young.” ~Maeve Binchy
— “We don’t grow older, we grow riper.” ~Pablo Picasso
— “You’re either marvelous or you’re boring, regardless of your age.” – Morrisse
— “Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And Dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney
— “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be.” ~Robert Browning
Accept and be loyal to yourself.
And remember, that WON’T and CAN’T are two entirely different kettles.
The CAN polish is free.
photo 1: Royal Free Stock Photos
Painting 2: by Claude Joseph Bail (1862-1921)
Daily Word Prompt: Loyal
I watched the hot air balloon ascend and nervously waited until it was my turn. Truthfully, watching them from the ground is much more peaceful.
Daily word prompt: Ascend
You accept not your true self
You stepped, instead
into an guise
and bathed your limbs in bravado
the musky soap of self-deception
Don’t you know
you’re soaked in a false promise
to yourself, unrecognized?
Why shroud yourself in darkness,
within a cloud
of crystalized ice?
Do you not believe in yourself?
Are you afraid of the shadows?
Don’t you know
you’re cloak, soaked in fear
keeps you from paradise?
Shed that tattered, muscled cloak
It never truly keeps you warm.
There is no storm.
photo page source
daily prompt: Cloaked
Carolyn Dennis-Willingham 