Friday Writings #19: Of Age and Aging and Such…

Greetings, my dear poets and storytellers. I hope today is being good to you and to those you love. I also wish that some of that goodness spills over and touches those who need it most. Life has been busy in my bit of the universe. On the annoying side, more surgeries and tests… on the awesome side, a bit of extra time to write, garden, spend with my family, and to properly exercise my vintage flesh and bones.

The last bit brings me to the motivation behind today’s topic: age and aging. We, of course, are not required to respond to prompts. But if you do want one, then I invite you to create poetry or prose inspired by the phrase, “It’s important to have a twinkle in your wrinkle.” I’ve no idea who authored the quote, but I bet they were magnificent.

If your muse isn’t feeling the prompt, you are welcome to link a piece of your choosing. Said piece can be new or old, fiction or nonfiction, short or longish (prose pieces should be 369 words or fewer). Please, add the direct link to your post; one link per participant. After you share your words, remember to visit other poets and storytellers and let them know what their words do for you.

next week, Rommy will invite us to write poetry or prose that includes the word “Cake”.

photo by Danie Franco on, Unsplash
I can’t look at her sweet smile without grinning like a lunatic 😊.

Friday Writings #18: Moments of Joy

~ even amid disaster ~ 

 

Hello, dear wordsmiths.

Currently – as you hardly need telling – there is much occasion for alarm, horror, grief, despair….  These are appropriate reactions to some things going on in the world lately, both globally and in our own localities.

As many of you are aware, my town, like many others on the east coast of Australia, has recently been through horrendous flooding. I was never in danger, and luckily had enough food and petrol (not that I was able to go anywhere for a while); but lives were lost and the devastation around me is still hard to contemplate.

Meanwhile my son and his family (who live in Melbourne, interstate from here) tested positive for COVID – their symptoms fortunately not too severe, but uncomfortable enough.

The war in Ukraine shocks and distresses us all, and the prospect of further escalation is very frightening.

How helpless we feel – justifiably – in the face of such enormous events. And yet, to succumb to the emotions they arouse is not helpful. Action is what helps. But can we even take action?

In the flooding here, governments were slower to send help than on previous occasions. (Well, this one was the worst on record!) But the local communities have been incredible – people in small boats rescuing those stuck on rooftops; neighbours helping each other clear the mud left in houses; cafés reopening to offer free cooked meals to everyone rendered homeless and/or impoverished; private citizens cooking for them too; other individuals offering free laundry service; and so on and so on.

82 and arthritic, I didn’t volunteer anything like that. I used prayer, healing energy, and a spot of protective magic. None of which is fully effective if I am despondent. So I thought it essential to raise my own spirits.

I did this by finding moments of joy – joy in what are usually considered small things: the new flower blooming on my vine, out there in the back yard; my little cat curled asleep under her pink blanket into which she loves to burrow; reading Devotion (Why I Write) by Patti Smith; feeling grateful for the community spirit in our town; feeling both grateful and amused that my son in Melbourne was not struggling for breath in hospital, but planning to wait out the Omicron variant with a good book and some whiskey….

 

Our regular contributor ‘Revived Writer’ said it beautifully a couple of weeks ago:

Gift Today

joy-bubbles
rising in heart-glass:
drink it up,
notice it,
mysterious loveliness
in ephemera


If you would like a prompt this week, I invite you to write about something, however small and momentary, which brings you joy.

If you don’t feel the need of a prompt, please enjoy sharing with us whatever you care to write (or have already written).  

One piece per person, please – old or new, poetry or prose (prose limit 369 words excluding title) – and then link, below, to the particular post on your blog. If you’d like to leave a link there to us here, we’d be delighted. As we would to receive any comments you’d care to make here.

Enjoy the writing and reading! As the prompt stays open all week, don’t forget to check in on any gems arriving towards the end of that time.

Next week, Magaly will invite us to create poetry or prose inspired by the phrase, “It’s important to have a twinkle in your wrinkle.”

Friday Writings #17: Heroes

Hello, word artists and admirers! I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels concerned about the news coming out of Ukraine these days. It all feels a little too much like a bad reboot of the Cold War. But the stories of heroism from the people of Ukraine have been awe inspiring. I hope that a just and lasting peace will be possible.

 

The floor is open for you to share your pieces. For those of you who wish to work from a prompt, I propose writing about heroes, however you choose to define the term. But as always, I will happily take pieces on any topic, fiction or non-fiction, in either poetry or prose format. Just be sure to keep prose to 369 words or fewer.

Next week, Rosemary will ask you to write about something that brings you joy, no matter how small or momentary.

Friday Writings #16: An Exploration of Peace

Greetings, dear poets and storytellers. I hope you are well, or as well as one can be considering the state of our world. In my case—and likely in the case of most people, not living under a rock—I can’t stop thinking about loss and worrying about what’s happening in the Ukraine. With that in mind, I feel it’s appropriate to explore peace. 

Peace:

1. the normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.

2. an agreement or treaty between warring or antagonistic nations, groups, etc., to end hostilities and abstain from further fighting or antagonism.

3. a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations.

4. the normal freedom from civil commotion and violence of a community; public order and security.

5. cessation of or freedom from any strife or dissension.

6. freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquility; serenity.

7. a state of tranquility or serenity.

8. a state or condition conducive to, proceeding from, or characterized by tranquility.

9. silence; stillness.

So, today’s optional prompt is to spend a few moments considering the word Peace... and then write poetry or prose inspired by the thoughts that come to mind. As always, if this prompt doesn’t speak to your muse, you are more than welcome to share a piece of poetry or prose of your choosing. Said piece can be new or old, fiction or nonfiction, short or longish (prose pieces should be 369 words or fewer). Share the direct link to your post. One link per participant. After you add your words, remember to visit other writers and comment on the ink they have shared.

next week, for those looking for a prompt, Rommy will invite us to write about Heroes, however we define the term.

photo by Saad Chaudhry, on Unsplash
I wish, I wish, I wish… for peace.
☮️