Tag Archives: books

Free

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Free

The lady was omnilegent (which means she was well-read.)
She read while doing dishes, after her kids were fed.
A book propped in the laundry, another on the tub,
balanced there precariously as she had her scrub.
The draconian measures her spouse took to confine her
were fruitless for she did not choose his attempts to define her.

Reading was her gateway to a wider world
and all those intense pleasures waiting to be unfurled.
She held fast to a firm resolve that one day she’d be free.
Her husband could not curtail her mental liberty.
One day when the kids were raised, she’d leave this sunless hollow.
All the words she’d read for years like breadcrumbs she would follow.

Prompt words for today are draconian, uncertain, omnilegent, intense and gateway.

Times Three

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Click on photos to enlarge.

For a Photo a Week Challenge: Threes

Fame

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Fame

I don’t want to be Gwyneth, Julia or Pink,
Madonna, Shakira or Cher.
Their kind of renown is simply too much.
Much more than this woman could bear.

Though there’s no famous person that I’d rather be,
it’s not that I wouldn’t like fame.
It’s just that I want to be known for myself
and not by another one’s name.

I want to be known for my words and my art,
but not by my form or my face.
So I can dine out and walk down the street
without all the bother and chase.

I want to go out for a coffee or tea
and see someone reading my book.
And without her knowing, to study her face,
interpreting how she may look

as she reads every page, be it smile or tear,
I’d be known by my writing alone.
Like watching your child go out in the world
to establish a life of its own.

I want to stand hidden, unknown by the world,
to observe someone viewing my art.
To see if what registers there on his face
is what I’ve revealed of my heart.

Unnoticed, unphotographed and unpursued,
I could walk at my usual pace.
I’d get to the finish in plenty of time
without ever joining the race.

I wrote this poem four years ago, but it is perfect for today’s prompt word of  famous.

Tanaga for dVerse Poets: New Wisdom from Old

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New Wisdom from Old

Words copied from the I Ching
turn new eyes to everything.
Propped up on her vanity,
they preserve her sanity.

for dVerse Poets Tanaga Challenge.

Nose in a Book

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I was reading Rugby’s blog who posted the below questions regarding books and reading. She found them via these two blogs: t https://oceanbream.wordpress.com and  https://mythsofthemirror.com.

1.  Do you have a specific place for reading? In bed, in the bathroom or, while driving, Audible books.
2.  Bookmark or random piece of paper? Random piece of paper.
3.  Do you eat or drink whilst reading? If I’m hungry or thirsty, yes.
4.  Music or TV while reading? No.
5.  One book at a time or several? Several.
6.  Do you prefer to read at home or elsewhere? At night, at home. During the day, while going from home to elsewhere–an Audible book in my car.
7.  Read out loud or silently? Silently
8.  Do you read ahead or skip pages? Never.
9.  Break the spine or keep it new? Unless borrowed, break it’s back.  Easier to read.
10.  Do you write in books? Sometimes. Rarely.
11.  What books are you reading now? A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman, Don’t Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde, My Life So Far by Jane Fonda and Chicken Soup for the Soul, Dreams and the Unexplainable.
12.  What is your childhood favorite book? Old Mother West Wind Stories. My dad used to love reading them to us and I loved having him do so.  My mother made up her own stories and I loved that, too.
13.  What is your all-time favorite book and why do you love it? Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being because it is enthralling and totally unique. I also love anything by Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice my favorite) or Barbara Kingsolver (Pigs in Heaven my favorite) because they are beautifully descriptive and character-driven. I even did a retablo about Kingsolver’s The Lacuna and gave it to her. Her creations have given me so much pleasure that I wanted to create something to give her pleasure as well. I’d do the same for Austen if she were alive.