Sunday, May 31, 2020

Writers' Pantry #22: Onward, June

Josh Hild, Downtown, Unsplash
“Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

Greetings everyone! Hope you are safe and well! This is Sanaa and I am back with another exciting Writers' Pantry this Sunday.

It's unbearably hot these days in South Asia with temperatures ranging from 32 to 40 degrees celsius and humidity from 74 to 91 percent. The scent of sweet rain and dark grasses is welcome every now and then as we head towards June. With everything that's happening around the world, I cling onto every little shred of beauty and hope that I can find. 

I remember last week during a conversation with a friend, the look on her face and the sigh that accompanied was one of softly deflating; it felt as though despair had lifted but left her with melancholia instead of relief. Let's talk about perspectives, shall we? So far, for every person I see, I study the eyes. I look for signs of strength or incoming weakness that threatens to plague. The sun was bright and early, its rays spreading across the sky signaled perhaps the beginning of a new chapter. But for her, the sunrise had lost its charm, the rain its steady drumming and solace. And it occurred to me that she had given up! 

I know things look bad. Terrifying even. Especially in the US and other places worldwide. But we mustn't lose hope. This is the time for us to stick together. The energy that we put out into the world matters a whole lot. So, let us write away! Who knows? As Christopher Reeve wisely stated: "Once you choose hope, anything's possible."

Announcements and Reminders:

The topic for next Weekly Scribblings is "It takes a bit of Discipline." Rommy confides in us and says that she has found herself in a position where she needs to be a little more disciplined when it comes to food in order to address some health issues, which aren't overly serious but she feels it's best to make temporary changes before she has to make permanent ones. And so, for this prompt, she would like us to shape our ideas around the idea of discipline.

Rosemary delighted us with "Wild Fridays #21: Thought Provokers," where she features Elevensies by Kerri Shying! Do scroll back and check it out in case you have missed it! This one is an absolute treat!

Remember, you have one whole week to participate in prompts now. Just keep in mind that some people may have moved on to their next project after a couple of days, so entries posted later might not receive many visitors.

For now, I invite you to share your entry as Poets and Storytellers United welcomes both poetry and prose (i.e. stories, articles, essays) feel free to link anything old or new and relish in the work of others. Also, if you opt to share prose then please keep it to 369 words or fewer.
Pierre Bamin, Unsplash


And now, without further ado, let us dive into the Pantry! Looking forward to grabbing a cup of tea and reading you all! See you on the trail! 💘

24 comments:

  1. A very thoughtful and eloquent articulation of where we are this week ... on this planet, Sanaa. These are hard - and complicated - times, As "you put it "bad. Terrifying even". Like most everyone else, I am finding it very hard to cope with one bad-news-day after another. But we carry on with our writing, I believe, because we find something positive ... in the act of creativity ... that is not there ... in its absence. Looking forward to catching up with the Pantry.

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    1. Thank you so much, Wendy 😘 I agree, there is always something positive to be found in the act of creativity! Happy Sunday!💘🍹

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  2. Wonderfully well said, Sanaa! And the beautiful Neruda quote seems very fitting. A friend sent me a jokey meme about what we've all supposedly been doing in isolation – true-ish, but exaggerated, and sad beneath the humour. I messaged her back, 'Or else we're writing poems'. I do think we are very lucky to be able to write through all crises and disasters, and that it helps us, and perhaps each other, in keeping the melancholia at bay.

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    1. Thank you so much, Rosemary 😘 I agree, writing does help keep melancholia at bay, for me it serves as therapy and helps me fight despair. Happy Sunday!💘🍹

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    2. Yes, I probably would not survive without being able to write poetry and in my journal. So grateful for this!

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  3. It's all a bit too much, I think. Too much going on, not enough of it good. I don't know if I gave up a long time ago or if it just came to a point where I was so jaded that nothing really mattered. I'm honestly not sure why I bother most of the time, but still I do. I may just be too stupid to have figured out that whatever I may do or not, it makes no difference.

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  4. Luv the line from Neruda. Happy Sunday everyone. Thanks for being our host today Sanaa

    much love...

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    1. Thank you so much, Gillena 😃 heading over to read you! Happy Sunday 💘🍹

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  5. "...we mustn't lose hope." I couldn't agree more, Sanaa love. If we lose hope, we'll lose everything else--and we must refuse to lose the good things... especially when the world is drowning in bad.

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    1. Absolutely! We must refuse to lose the good things 😃 Happy Sunday to you and yours!💘🍹

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    2. Thanks for your comment, Magaly; it's encouraging. :)

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  6. Hi Sanaa, Hi everyone! Thank you for this reminder. It is a choice to hope. Your lovely spirit is bolstering in a difficult time.

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    1. Thank you so much, H 😃 heading over to read you! Happy Sunday!💘🍹

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  7. Hello, Sanaa and everyone, and happy Sunday! I will be back later to post and read everyone's offerings. <3

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    1. Looking forward to reading what you have to offer, Jenna 😃 Happy Sunday!💘🍹

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  8. I retreated to my vault, to a happier time.

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    1. I am thinking of doing the same myself, Helen. Heading over to read you! Happy Sunday!💘🍹

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  9. June 2020 will not be a month to remain silent! Sending love and light to all. Stay safe!

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    1. Absolutely! Lots of love to you too, Kerry! Heading over to read you! Happy Monday!💘🍹

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  10. Thank you for the platform. It is a gorgeous sunny day - I will be back this evening to visit and respond.

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    1. It's so good to see you, Margaret! We had a bit of rain this evening 😃 heading over to read you! Happy Monday!💘🍹

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  11. Thank you, Sanaa, for taking the reins this week. I was laying low, I wrote Saturday but didn't post. But what I wrote needed to join our country's, and the world's, feelings right now. I had also posted a tribute in part my write before using Rosemary's introduction to the Elevensies form.
    ..

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