For dVerse FreeFormForAll – David James’ Karousels and Weaves- I am attempting the Karousel
The rhyme pattern is the following: abcda ecdbe fdbcf gbcdg.
The three inner lines (bcd) rotate in each stanza until they circle back to
their original bcd form from stanza one.
Though each stanza is enclosed in a rhyme, there are no metrical
restrictions.
The three inner lines (bcd) rotate in each stanza until they circle back to
their original bcd form from stanza one.
Though each stanza is enclosed in a rhyme, there are no metrical
restrictions.
“Are you happy?”, asked a friend
“Is your life now like the dreams you had,
The plans you made years ago –
Are they now getting to fruition?
Or are you at a sort of dead-end?”
He continued, “You seem to be
To outward eyes, pretty contented, you know
A loving husband, wonderful kids, a great location
For your home, a job, and a blog that is totally rad
But is it there – the happiness that I outwardly see?”
I answered thus, “Dear friend, thank you
for thinking of me, your
obvious affection
obvious affection
Is truly touching; and yes, I am a person very glad
And each day, my happiness continues to grow
As I watch my family and I find ourselves anew.”
I continued – “It is said ‘Happiness is a state of mind’
And so is the other end of being sad.’
I have chosen this path, happiness I sow
So I can reap it too; and enjoy this beautiful creation –
This family of mine, this world of ours, everything within,
all humankind.”
all humankind.”
And as as addendum for the question about plans and dreams:
“And as far as plans and dreams
of long ago – when i looked at an old journal I had
I wondered, who was this ‘me’? I like my status quo
Dreams being in constant migration
Life is always not what it seems!”
Cherished
GO
What is it to feel cherished? I wondered as soon as I saw
this prompt. feeling cherished – this brings to my mind’s eye a wide smile, a
warm, soft, cozy blanket seems to wrap itself around me, and I feel just
wonderful. This definitely is what I feel
when I get hugs from my kids, after a conversation with my parents, or just
being there – spending time with my husband.
this prompt. feeling cherished – this brings to my mind’s eye a wide smile, a
warm, soft, cozy blanket seems to wrap itself around me, and I feel just
wonderful. This definitely is what I feel
when I get hugs from my kids, after a conversation with my parents, or just
being there – spending time with my husband.
I do hope I can be the contributor of this feeling for
others in my life – with little actions that I do, with a smile to people I see,
a helping hand to a friend, a random act of kindness to a stranger, and of
course with being who I am – a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt – to my
wonderful family – I do hope I can pass on this feeling of being cherished that
they give to me – tenfold, thousands fold!
others in my life – with little actions that I do, with a smile to people I see,
a helping hand to a friend, a random act of kindness to a stranger, and of
course with being who I am – a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt – to my
wonderful family – I do hope I can pass on this feeling of being cherished that
they give to me – tenfold, thousands fold!
STOP
For Theme Thursday (spider) and Friday Flash 55 –
That spider crawled right up to me
I could not move even a bit
As I was feeding my wee infant
The spidey – she moved way too close
Took the napkin and squashed her then
Later I had a tiny regret
Maybe she was Sophie’s little one (not so little, actually)
Or Charlotte’s daring daughter.
A note about the poem above: When my daughter (she is turning 7 in 3 weeks time) was an
infant, I would pick her up and take her to the living room for her early morning
feed so as to actually wake up and also not disturb the others. For a few
weeks, I constantly had spiders for company as I sat there with her on my lap,
feeding. They were not the tiny ones that I could ignore, they were pretty big –
the ones that make you feel they are already crawling on you. And I learned to
keep paper towels next to me in a few days time so I could, as I say in my
poem, squash them. I do have a love-hate
relationship with spiders – what with them being so useful clearing my house of
other bugs and me feeling like they are crawling over me when I see them.
infant, I would pick her up and take her to the living room for her early morning
feed so as to actually wake up and also not disturb the others. For a few
weeks, I constantly had spiders for company as I sat there with her on my lap,
feeding. They were not the tiny ones that I could ignore, they were pretty big –
the ones that make you feel they are already crawling on you. And I learned to
keep paper towels next to me in a few days time so I could, as I say in my
poem, squash them. I do have a love-hate
relationship with spiders – what with them being so useful clearing my house of
other bugs and me feeling like they are crawling over me when I see them.
Sophie in the poem above refers to Sophie from the wonderful
book – Sophie’s Masterpiece: A Spider’s Tale – I discovered it here. And
Charlotte of course refers to ‘Charlotte’s Web’s Charlotte.
book – Sophie’s Masterpiece: A Spider’s Tale – I discovered it here. And
Charlotte of course refers to ‘Charlotte’s Web’s Charlotte.
For Book Beginnings and Friday 56 from Saving Each Other: A Mother-Daughter Love Story by Victoria Jackson and Ali Guthy – I am reading this book right now.
Book Beginnings:
‘You‘re standing in a bookstore, holding this in your hands. Or, on second thought, you could be browsing titles online or on a digital device.
Wherever you are, you open to this page and learn that I’m the mom in this love story. ‘
Friday 56:
‘Whenever I am asked to specify religious affiliations, I write down, “Yes”. I love all rituals that honor a greater power in the universe.’
Hi, I just found you on FMF, I am new and today was my first one. I love your reflection on the word cherished.
Blessings,
Adrienne
I loved your Karousel – and I think the extra stanza should be added with no explanation. Part of the joy of working with poetic forms is adapting them to our needs. You needed a Karousel with a bit more, so you wrote one. Absolutely the right choice. Bravo!
Enjoyed this.
nice…i def liked your karousel…happiness is choice…as is sadness….we get lots of help pushing us in one direction of the other but in the end we do choose….well played….
Cherished days – you write about in your karousel and busy ones too. Relish them for as you say life is constantly in flux and those times build who you will be and how you grow old and wise and hopefully even happier. Lovely Karousel. The form doesn't even show.
Great answer!
It is funny how you write about the spiders just showing up like that. A few years ago when I would be sitting on the couch working on the computer or watching TV I would see these strange spiders crawling on the floor. They were a kind that I had never seen before. I was constantly killing them almost every day and they were like a little army that just kept attacking. I have not seen one in a while but spring will be here in a bit and then maybe they will be back or the Black Widows got them. Totally understand about the love/hate relationship we have with spiders. Oh and that picture of the book about Sophie really did creep me out. But I am sure the book is good.
Thanks for sharing this with this weeks Theme Thursday. Hope you have been having a restful weekend.
God bless.
I wouldn't worry about it being Charlotte's daughter.
I'm not saying she isn't, I'm just saying don't worry about it!
Loved your 55.
Thanks for playing, you are quite a prolific writer Lady.
Have a Kick Ass Week…./G
SQUASH it (and then call Terminix!! – I couldn't live without them, here in the south! I read a fun (almost scary) story to my son "The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt, illustrated wonderfully by Tony DiTerlizzi.