Zest For Life #elderlyissues #atozchallenge

 

A ha so this is the last day of the April A to Z challenge.

How was it for you?

I looked back briefly on a few of my precious A to Z challenges:

 

One challenge  I had planned on illustrating a month of my dragon stories. I broke my wrist one month  before the challenge so my  dominant hand was useless. I started drawing with my non-dominant hand . During April I slipped on ice (again) so all of my arms and legs were out of commission. So with Co-vid  “Stay at Home” I could at least walk around and water my plants.

The picture below shows my dragon bowl that I drew with my non-dominant hand and then  the other 2 were with my mouth.

When I saw the word Zest I thought of the saying A ZEST FOR LIFE. For whatever reason I always think of the elderly patients who I have cared for since I was a teen.

So my last encouragement as you care for and love an elderly family member be a little zestful. Encourage them to dream with you. Go somewhere you can both go – an imaginary somewhere. Maybe the land of Zenony!!!

I’ve enjoyed this month and meeting or reconnecting with people.

Each of you are gifted and delightful!!!

For those of you new to blogging i hope you are encouraged to blog more.

I’m not sure what my personal blog will look like but I am trying to develop a blog for Steve Slack. Steve is a friend who hopefully (if this Co-Vid thing gets tame) will have some of his work published and at least one script is lined up for a movie.

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Looking #poetry #lostlove #rejection

 

I seek the approval of…

a lover

a friend

an intellect

a poet

an artist

 Hopelessly flawed

no one to

gaze

into my eyes

at the stars

share…

life

dreams

todays

tomorrows

Come write a …

symphony

a treatise

a legacy

a love song

Can anyone find me???

***

he loved her so

cold winter solitude

lost in the  night

***

Moondustwriter celebrates 10 years of  blogging on Word Press. This is an archived poem from the first month (with some changes). Poetry is cathartic and I hope anyone who needs to blow off steam finds the outlet in writing.

As this posts, I will be in Africa doing what I love – teaching the children I write for. 10 years ago this was only a dream now this is an amazing reality.

Thank you Word Press for giving artists, writers, poets a place for venting, a place to fly…

To those of you who have encouraged me to not give up (you know who you are) I’m sending a bouquet of Thank Yous!!!

The Post #blogging #photography #poetry

Rush, rush, rush

work, write, shoot

my photos my words are a jumble

a mad snail’s pace

I’m crazed

it’s just another phase

in the blogging universe

I recently joined photo crowd where there are some incredible photographers. Why do I do it? I dont know but I’m off to the races for another photo competition

Little Girls #children #atozchallenge

 

chased by waves

blowing up a balloon

hide- n -seek with daddy

chasing the moon

lung for the ball

reach for the sky

wonder on her face

gleam in her eye

We may never figure out exactly what a child is thinking but isn’t it fun watching them?

It’s one week today with A to Z and Napowrimo and I am meeting (as always) some talented and kind bloggers/ poets. Enjoy a month of great writing.

Some must visit blogs:

Arti

Haneen

Hilary

J.Q Rose

Keith

Namratha

 

 

 

Coffee #atozchallenge

timeless infusion

awakened to a new day

inhale morning

Good morning to all. If you are a coffee drinker, your senses know the experience of fresh ground coffee even before the first sip.

What is your favorite way to wake up?

My theme for this year’s A to Z Challenge is “Take it easy and meet some outstanding bloggers.”

This is my fifth year doing the A to Z challenge and fourth year of doing two blogs.

Looking forward to meeting you over a cup of java (oh wrong letter.)

Visiting these A to Z Bloggers today:

A to Zers that I am enjoying today:

Wittegen Press

Fantasy Boys 3X (AC)

Romance Author Piper Presley (AC)

In Awe

Word Splash

Sue’s words and pictures (PH)

Sue’s Trifles

Maybe It’s Just Me

Bouquet of Books

Canda’s InkBlast

Cover Girls (BO)

Stacey@ a little bit of me

Destiny’s child PR

Twinkle eyed traveller TR

The poetry wagon

Sukanya Ramanujan

Forty, Cest Fantastique

MopDog – Hungarian weirdness

A Year’s Guarantee

dSavannah Rambles

Did You Ever Kiss A Frog

The Frog Lady (AN)

Noah Dietz @ Song A Day (ET)

Me In the Middle

Oldest Trick in the Book by Leslie Moon #atozchallenge

Today is the “O” for A to Z challenge. This week I am stepping into the writer’s circle and writing a week long serial set in the metropolis of NewCago. Its a bit of noir, crime and even some fiction. Though this is a serial, I do understand some of you will be dropping by via A to Z so you can read each day as stand alone microfiction.

The NewCago series – “Missed” , Never

 

 

I looked at my watch – 5 pm time for the cops to crawl into hiding.

I inhale Courage every night before 6. It’s my dead lover’s not mine.

A long blood curdling scream bites into the last flicker of day and night begins.

Decency’s doors are closed and it’s just me and the bad guys.

 

***

After banging around in the trashbin of Newcago,  I needed a drink.  I salivated at the thought of a tall one and a cheese steak.

As soon as I entered Tony’s, I noticed the dame – she was a looker. I couldn’t get a read on the guy beneath the brim.

“Yeah, the regular,” I nodded as I slumped on a stool. Sally and I go back to days when drinks came from the spigot behind the barn.

I couldn’t help but hear dollface gagging.  I rushed to stop her fall; too late the white stuff was bubbling from her mouth, her eyes glazed over.

Something, besides the guy under the shadowy brim, was missin- the large sparkler around her wrist.

“Baby, Newcago is not for the likes of you. These gangsters are old school, girls are cheap…”

I bent over and looked in her vacant eyes. “Didn’t no one tell ya, the playing is for keeps!!!”

I slammed the gin and tonic down. Sal failed to muster a smile.

“Watch your back, Sam.” She whispered in the grey light before dawn.

There’s so much to enjoy about the A to Z Challenge in April – many people to meet and many fine posts to enjoy.

671. Essence of a Family	672. Wampus Country (GA)
673. The Buttontapper (AC)	674. Girl on a missi0n
675. A sliver of moonbeam	676. Elodie – YA & NA writer (WR)
677. Life Before the Hereafter	678. Ruby Dashes
679. Reading Practice (AC)	680. Spedville (ED)
681. The Wordy Rose (WR)	682. Deb McK’s April Dailies
683. Temenos of the Blessing Light	684. A Journey Called Life
685. Getting Schooled	686. I Made It Through The Day
687. Metamorphosis 3. 0	688. Adventures of the Everyday Fangirl
689. The weekly Gloomy	690. Dreamer’s Perch
691. Jen Chandler @ The Cup and Page	692. Follow Me, And Die! (GA)
693. Mary-andering Creatively	694. Blogging & Social Media Marketing by Sunita Biddu
695. Bob’s Home for Writing	696. Life Diet Health
697. Rebel’s Notes (AC)	698. www. the Art of Not Getting Published. blogspot. com
699. I Picked Up A Pen One Day	700. Melissa Janet (LI)
701. Spuds Daily Photo (PH)	702. My Daily Mooosings in the Netherlands (LI)
703. Eliose @ laceituplove	704. Joanna @ Happy Feet in the Netherlands (LI)
705. Laura Roberts Books (TR)	706. Paranormal Author Catherine Green (BO)
707. No Write or Wrong (WR)	708. Megzone (PR)
709. Are We There Yet?	710. For the Love of Storytelling (WR)
711. Random Musings And Wanderlust	712. Ifs buts ands etcs. . .
713. No Page Left Blank (WR)	714. Nancy C. Weeks Romantic Suspense Author
715. Orneryswife (AR)	716. @ TheWritingDiva
717. Jottings and Writings	718. Public Safety Tidbits
719. Life Happens	720. Taini Writes

The Smiles You Left Behind #poetry #blogging #bloggingfriends

you stopped by to say “hi” today

I watched you as you left

a petal so fragrant

I could not soon forget

you skipped in moon dust today

fingers drew smiley faces

I wanted to retrace

your fairy foot paces

you commented on my blog today

one moment you spent

a ray of sunshine

you dropped as you went

This is to each of you who stop by for a brief moment and leave a comment. What a gift to say something that can linger as a kindness all day. You make writing these posts a joy.

As Writers, Why Do We Blog? #nationalpoetryday #5years #blogging #poetry

 

Join me for a moment as I reflect on my 1600th post (on this blog alone) and the 5 year mile marker. I’ve come almost full circle on a colorful and interesting ride.

 

What I’ve learned about blogging as a poet:

When I first started blogging, I joined an on-line poetry community. It was supposedly very active for a poetry group. We would put our poetry directly on the site – this was before Linky came into being. I rarely got a comment. I finally met one other person who liked to discuss poetry – one person to give me scraps of insight. The one thing I gained was the “nerve” to post what I had written on a public wall. I’m pretty private about the stuff that comes from my heart and soul.

The next poetry community I found was growing quickly( obviously there was a vacuum when it came to creative sites.) It was a good place to meet people, the hostess was nice, and the number of comments you got each week grew exponentially. My skills as a script writer (or commentor) were unnecessary as the comments ranged from “nice poem” to “I like your poem.”

Poetry is an unusual form of creative writing as it evokes different feelings from people.

Consider this phrase:

he knocked on her door once

she was unable to answer

the next time he came

her bags were packed…

Depending on where you are standing, “He” and “it” can mean vastly different things. For one person, this can be romantic for another dark, and yet another person may think of the inevitability of change. I was thinking about death. If you tell me”you liked the poem”, I gather the poem said little or nothing to you.

Poets like to (at least occasionally) see what window they have opened for the viewer. “I like your poem” is a closed window.

The next poetry community was one I decided to form (after attending a writer’s conference.) I birthed the idea for two reasons: I was tired of 20 “I like your poem” comments and I wanted a pilot (practice) for writers in the special needs community. The pilot was called One Stop Poetry. The goal:  to inspire emerging poets to write and get feedback and give existing poets a place to get and give feedback. We (the 3 “ms” and a “D”) never expected to grow like a weed and did not have the plan in place to handle the massive numbers that we were gaining. In a matter of months, we went from one day of poets sharing their work to a week-long format with articles about form, articles about poets, photography, art, chat rooms on twitter… In 6 months, we had thousands of followers (which meant 100s of comments in any given day.) In 8 months, we had won an international award in the arts.  I had interviews and a meeting scheduled (with a financial backer) to discuss creating an on-line poetry (arts) program for children.

In 12 months – Too much too soon never ends well. I’m still not sure why the train was derailed (and a poetry community shut down). I did hear rumors that I was very sick. To anyone who was part of One Stop Poetry (who is reading this) I am grateful for the ride and the relationships with fine and talented individuals.  The next year was a hard year. I got the advice “stop blogging.” I almost did – I was stalked, hacked, someone had borrowed my identity…  I asked the proverbial question, ” What have I done wrong?” Looking back – nothing! What is the saying: “Imitation is the highest form of flattery…” There are other blog sites today that branched off with poets that had met at One Stop. How wonderful that people met through something I was part of.

Sadly, blogging does have its problems like piracy, identity theft, and other mean things that inhabit the real world, but it also has some truly fine people.

The next poetry community I entered into was a wonderful haiku community that was unobtrusive and challenging to my writing skills. I laugh because haiku, since I was 10, has been a daunting task. I’d offer to do the artwork if the teacher would let me off the hook, as I felt incapable of writing a poem in 17 syllables that said “something.” If you haven’t written haiku – and you want to be a serious writer- take some time in that pursuit. I read the most beautiful, full stories in 17 syllables. I’ve met gifted and kind people who deserve hugs and a huge  thanks.

Then I actually found myself bending back on myself. I’m a writer and I always have been. My blog started because I was sad about the closing of a independent(international) radio station that several of us had high hopes for. I wrote the sketches for the children’s hour. When we closed, I had a huge void.

And here I am looking at myself 5 years hence: The book I wrote (almost 5 years ago for special needs children) should be published soonish, I have returned to my study and pursuit of art after a long haitus, My stories with my favorite co-author are being published in other countries for education (I just sent off book 1 of 3), and I found a wonderful artist to illustrate two dragon series in the final development stages.

What did I gain?  A better look at myself, a deeper love for poetry and haiku, really amazing friends and co-writers, and so very much more…

After five years of blogging, I still get the occasional comment “nice poem.” Now I chuckle and remember back to the beginning.

In the next five years, I hope to still write poetry here. I also hope to get my little dragon book into the hands of boys and girls. We are excited to see what comes from this dragon with a big heart. If you want to see a piece of what we are doing visit Dragon Tales and Scales

The artwork © moondust designs ’14

Hard to Believe -1500th Post #blogging #poetry #autism

ocean’s spring

Child’s Play

In words we say it

in pictures we take it

and in our blogs

we mold and make it

Fifteen hundred blogs are gone

fifteen hundred more beyond

what they’ll say

or what they spawn

 A statement made

 (to rest) a character laid

the things we do

with poem and spade

So gather more

we’ll gather less

pen fifteen hundred?

please be my guest

********

This drop in the bucket blog  of over 1500 poems.  (many more still archived other for publishing sent on)

In Andrew’s World

What is there in the rain

a drop of H2O

maybe a lesson in science

a place for your mind to go

It comes from the clouds you see

*

a mystery within a mist

returning to  earth’s soft floor

all just part of a cycle

pieces of info to store

***

In Andrew’s world the rain has life

there’s color, action and more

it’s big its small its filled with light 

swims in rivers and streams

things that float things that fly

*

Why just some of the  things  he sees

enjoying this gift from the sky

Andrew’s mind lives  in  the drop

looking from below and from up high

****

so much he sees  because he believes

he goes far beyond where our mind stops

 coming together with those from afar

there is much in this world of  his drops

*

I listen for the plops

and strain for  Andrew’s view

it opens my mind to something unseen

 reserved for the few

what a fabulous place to believe

***

~Children like Andrew who are autistic often see beyond the restricted point where many see.

Their minds tend to blossom and adventure beyond the outer reaches of the unknown.

Get Inspired! National Blog Posting Month #amwriting #nablopomo

Check out the folks who are hosting National Blog Posting Month. It’s a great way to get started blogging or maybe get inspired to write more regularly. Here is a list of prompts to inspire your creativity.

Have fun in the month of November. Type your heart out!!!!

Friday, November 1, 2013
If you found one million dollars in the morning and had to spend it by nightfall, what would you do with the money?

Monday, November 4, 2013
Who is your favourite character of all time?

Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Tell us about your writing space. Where do you write your blog posts?

Wednesday, November 6, 2013
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Thursday, November 7, 2013
If you had to switch your first name, what name would you choose and why?

Friday, November 8, 2013
Tell us what you’ve learned so far about daily blogging.

Monday, November 11, 2013
If you had to be trapped inside a movie for 5 days, which movie would you pick?

Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Name five things inside your refrigerator right now and how you feel about them.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013
What is your favourite hour of the day?

Thursday, November 14, 2013
Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Friday, November 15, 2013
If you could quit one bad habit instantly without difficulty, which would it be?

Monday, November 18, 2013
Tell us about a blog post that you didn’t publish.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013
How much of the day are you plugged in? Do you consciously set aside offline time, or does it happen whenever it happens?

Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Tell us about your first friend.

Thursday, November 21, 2013
Describe an outfit that makes you feel good. (It can be from any period of your life.) Double points if you post a picture of yourself in the outfit.

Friday, November 22, 2013
How important are book covers in getting you to read a book?

Monday, November 25, 2013
Tell us about the last thing a person or advertisement convinced you to buy.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tell us about the last thing you hid.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013
What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Thursday, November 28, 2013
How do you feel about the first blog post you ever wrote?

Friday, November 29, 2013
You’re almost there! Tell us how you feel about endings.

In honor of NaBloPoMo in November, BlogHer and WordPress.com are joining forces to bring you writing prompts, blogging how-tos, and tips to keep you motivated to blog every day. Find more at WordPress.com’s blogging site, The Daily Post.