Paint a feather
into my soul
So I may fly
And be forever known
Starts with one
Until it grows into wings
Paint me a feather
So I may be free
Paint a Feather
Book Event
I got to attend the virtual Fiction, Fantasies, & Epics Book Club event yesterday evening discussing The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner hosted by Oxford Exchange Book Club. First off, I have to say that I had a blast. The hosts were very welcoming and started us off with an intense ice breaker question that had to do with the book. Then Sarah Penner got to join us and we were given the opportunity to listen to her answer some of the questions that we had pertaining to her book and herself as a writer. I learned A LOT. But one of the most interesting things I had learned for myself was how much editing changes can happen in the book publishing process. I have always been curious to hear at what level personally it can happen, so I was happy to get to hear an experience pertaining to that from the author. To know that an ending that the author first had in mind can completely change along with the fate of a character because an editor believes it needs to change is just so interesting to me and cool. I love that authors can get help from editors that know the industry better than they do.
Another thing that I had learned and found interesting was how different every reader is. The Lost Apothecary in my opinion attracted such a wide range of readers, which I easily saw in the book club last night. This showed me how each reader pays attention to and focuses on such different things in the novels they read. What upsets some people, others may not even care about. What intrigues some people, others may not find an interest in at all. It was so interesting to see the different levels people took the book in emotionally and also what some readers clung to from the story and what others didn’t.
I had an amazing experience. Someone brought the symbolism of a bear to the discussion and many worked together to figure out what exactly that symbolism could have meant. The hosts were kind enough to make sure that they would check in with the author about that question to give the ones who really wanted to know that contentment. We discussed easily forgotten characters, which was nice to try to figure out why they were so easily forgotten. I felt very welcomed and I loved the group. I had walked away all smiles and had felt so filled up inside that I tried to stay away from anything that could bring my mood down so I could keep that feeling into sleep. 😊
From a Vulnerable Place
This week has been a very vulnerable week, as I write this from a different state about to attend a funeral. From the recent death, all the rejections I’ve gotten so far, and dipping my toes into a past that threatens to drown me, I would say that it has been challenging mentally. I tried to find a poem I have done in the past this morning before having to get ready that didn’t sting and burn to the touch of a thought, but the only one I found was one that I thought fits well to the day I had yesterday.
Resentment inhabits me from so long ago.
Alone. My family’s eyes boring into me.
Always the outcast.
No one by my side.
I never want the same for you.
Kerf in a Forest
She was a greenhorn
who made a kerf in a tree
but little did she know
the forest wasn’t pleased.
Eyes were all watching
hidden nearby
All could care less
that she was told only lies.
Sent out to awaken
the monsters of the leaves
but little did she know
the demon she unleashed.
Unfolding Self
The random thoughts she felt flitting through her mind, when she was watching the disaster unfold, didn’t relay to her how gaping the hole between herself and reality was becoming, what she was becoming, and how in a few years she wouldn’t remember herself at all.
A Shortwrite
She had herself dart into the endless bushes of roses feeling each bite of their thorns tear across her skin and tug on her clothes. There was no choice. She had been stuck in the maze of roses for days now. The only thing left for her to do was to try to break through the rose petaled walls.
Sorrows of Failure in the River of Dreams
Lost in my River of Dreams,
warring against the current that propels me in directions I don’t want to go,
I drown in sorrows of failure, but have glorious breath when my face rises.
I hope to reach a time where air is a given
and dreams become the land where I can walk.
May we all reach that land where we can live out our dreams and not be lost in the river forever. Keep fighting, keep rising for breath, and keep against the current that tries to pull you under.
Be a “Dope” If It Means Following your Passion
Most times a “dope”
Who sticks to his “dopey” things
Will make everyone out to be “dopes” in the end.
Examples:
*Gamers grow to make world-known games
*Someone who can’t communicate grows to help millions of kids learn to connect
*The class clown becomes a famous comedian
Then there is you. Stick to your passions and follow your dreams.
(Thought after the sad poem, I would write something funny / inspiring thanks to a #vss prompt this morning. The message : Don’t Judge. Not even yourself. Keep being you and keep following your passions because they may be the clearest road to your dreams <3)
When Was It?
When was it that I broke?
When was it when I couldn’t take rejection any longer?
When was it that I closed myself off and wouldn’t let myself feel or be happy?
I remember that carefree self who always reached.
And wanted nothing more than to love.
But now, a distant memory, I stand alone.
Only a comfort to myself.
Courage Gained by You
To the man who gave so many hope when there was none and who put a fight in their veins. What a devastating loss but so much was gained by you and your courage. Today is your day to be remembered. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Regaining Lost Aspects: Mind and Soul 