Iron Donkey #uganda #atozchallenge

durable my Chevy truck

 carried heavy loads

donkeys hard their working

animals of old

 lumber on a bike seat

on flat,  hills too steep

couldn’t believe my eyes

 one guy on narrow street

water in large jugs

more than a person can lug

 faithful bearer on wheels

tho iron it may be

The Iron Donkey is also the name  of a wonderful Cafe/Guest House in Gulu with free Wi-Fi , bedrooms with shower access, and great food. If you are in Gulu, you have to stop in anything on the menu is excellent.

I was amazed at how hard men work to get their lumber, water, food, family, from one place to another.

 

 

Where there’s a will… #writing #art #poetry

So familiar

like riding a bike

I can hear ungreased gears grind

my swollen feet have forgotten the motion

in frustration I fling the bike

willing it to take life

and show me how to ride in figure 8s

So familiar

like painting my first picture

I can see the blues, reds, yellows flow and swirl

but my trembling hands have forgotten

I impulsively pour water on my canvas

willing it to take life

and show me how to paint a blooming flower

So familiar

like writing my first story

I can feel the words mesh and explode

but my mind is lost in dog earred pages

I feverishly clutch at the manuscript

willing it to take life

and show me once again how to write a fantasy for children

***

This week’s Verse First Prompt is “Right Under Your Nose.” My objective was to be honest in descriptions even to the use of emotion.

Do you ever feel frustration and impatience at yourself when you return to relearn the riding of the proverbial bike? I may never get there but I am trying to return to my artistic beginnings. Needless to say my drawings and paintings look like that of a small child.

Photography: “Child’s Play” © L. Moon 2013 (some irony in the title)

The Collection #flashfiction #shortstory

The curio shelf stirred my imagination.

My fingers turned the tiny pedal of the bicycle.

I was racing down a hill with no brakes.

“Phew” I gingerly placed the miniature velocipede in its cubby.

I pulled the conch to my ear.

Waves crested over my head pulling me to the ocean’s floor.

The shell dripped as I replaced it.

Hand turned brass chess pieces gleamed.

I was in Palermo, a gun in my face.

The dropped pieces rolled away.

An ancient spearhead looked so enticing.

“Nope”, I was not about to grapple with a poison tip and angry tribesmen.

This week Rochelle entices the fictioneers with a prompt with endless possibilities this week.  There is one catch, it has to be written in 100 words. and if you get a chance stop over and wish Rochelle a Happy Birthday!!!

New World Creative Union is starting a new Sunday Feature called Snap Shot Sunday where we use the work of photographers to inspire us to create in any media we chose.

I would also urge you to try your hand at photography and share your work with us on Snap Shot Sunday.

Today I interviewed Terence Jones a fabulous photographer. Unfortunately Blogger would not let me enter some of the updated information on Terrence. So here it is:

Terence’s Bio:

I have been a photographer for several years now. After having explored my inclinations to black-and-white available light photography, I ventured into the world of color photography mostly inspired and motivated by the work of Shore. Just to come back to black-and-white now.

I recently moved back to the US, to Atlanta, and I am involved in setting up a new arts project with several fellow photographers. It is called “Punkt . Project” and we set out to depict the world as is, to capture these ephemeral moments. See link , the page is brand new,  we will be adding content and our mission statement over the next week.

Tonight is the last night

I will see the shadows of my past

where the echoes on the cobblestones

reverberate inner trepidation

where I will go from here

my velocipede alone knows

rattling faithfully

away from this night

into the sun’s stream

where grey is only a word

Keep your eye on Terence and the Punkt Project:

http://www.facebook.com/TerenceSJonesPhotography

http://www.facebook.com/PunktPunktProject

A good general source for information on his work is:

http://terencesjones.wordpress.com

 

Theme Thursday – The Duck Pond

Funny(haha) I just wrote a story about cycling (for Theme Thursday) last week. Soooo this week’s theme is “Bicycles.” Grasping at tires should be the title for this story.

This is child’s play she laughed as she jumped on the bike.

Then it started to shake and fall.

“Jureen when was the last time you rode a bike?”

“Well – I didn’t exactly say if I had”, she said with a sideways smile.

I started to giggle.

“How are we going to go on a three-mile bike ride

with the boys if you don’t know how to ride a bike?”

The girls had jumped for joy when they had gotten the invitation

by the two best looking seniors in school. The plan was to go for

a ride to the park, feed the ducks, and come back.

“Maybe if  girls didn’t have to wear skirts and were able to wear pants like

boys it would be easier to ride these contraptions.”

I chuckled. My friend Jureen always had very modern ideas about women.

“They will be here in a half hour. No more talking you have to at least look convincing.”

So for thirty minutes the best friends  laughed while one taught and the other learned.

It was a memorable day but not memorable in the way the girls had planned. They pulled each other up the back stairs tired, dirty, and sweaty.

“Ummm I think this iced tea may be the best part of the entire day.”

“Certainly not!’,  Jureen giggled.

I was hoping Jureen wasn’t going to say anything positive about the boys

trying to “sneak a kiss” at the park.

“The best part of the day was when you taught me how to ride a bike.”

Both the girls grinned as they knew it was Jureen’s unskilled bike riding that had saved the day.

“I have an idea. Let’s ride bikes to the park next Saturday!”

‘We should definitely stay away from the duck pond the next time.”

Jureen with a knowing smile grabbed my arm, as we walked to the sitting room to tell mama our funny story.

*****************************

Another wonderful Theme Thursday – Thank You!!!

Thanks for the perfect photo: anthonychammond

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