Category: Writing

Beginnings and Endings

~ Ruth ~ 7 Comments

Life’s equation for change to begin
Something else must end, yang to its yin
Forfeit sadness and pain
For the joy of new gain
Hope the journey flows easy within
When such change is a choice, we embrace
New beginnings slide sweetly in place
We move on, feel no lack,
Look ahead, don’t look back
Feel the flush of new warmth on our face
But when changes are foisted in fear
We resist and we struggle, unclear
Focus hard on what’s lost
What has gone, what it cost
Feel the old life we know disappear
Such refusal is futile at source
Because change is a fixed constant force
Just accept and adapt
Release grief tightly wrapped
Let new ribbons of life run their course…

Weekly Prompt: Beginning

April A-Z: P is for Poetry

~ Ruth ~ 3 Comments

Poetic Thoughts…
In school we learned short poems off by heart
Recited them in front of everyone
With practiced voice I happily took part
The lure of poetry had now begun
I loved the way the words flowed out in rhyme
When spoken or heard silent in your head
Pentameter helped keep a measured time
Gave cadence to the way they must be read
In later years I favoured free verse style
Restrictive frameworks left out in the cold
But poems lost their way after a while
I missed those tight-knit rhythmic rules of old…
Now structured formats once more set clear pace
And syllables slot neatly into place… 🙂

Life events have conspired to pull me away from blogging over the last couple of months, and the idea of taking part in this year’s April Blogging from A-Z Challenge seems like a good way to try to get back into the habit of reading and posting regularly. Originally I thought of just using any old random words to go with the particular letter of the day, but realistically without a clear theme to work towards I’m not sure I’d be able to keep my focus for a full month… So instead I’ve opted for a relatively simple, if slightly self-indulgent work-around: This year I’ll be posting 26 things about me, nothing too taxing to write about yet still fulfilling the brief!

Embarrassment

~ Ruth ~ 10 Comments

Embarrassment sears hot on my face
Skin throbbing bright in deep red flush
Awkwardness lit up in gaudy neon lights
Drawing attention like a burning beacon…

Skin throbbing bright in deep red flush
All eyes turn on my squirming discomfort
Drawing attention like a burning beacon
Highlighting my humiliated soul…

All eyes turn on my squirming discomfort
Awkwardness lit up in gaudy neon lights
Highlighting my humiliated soul
Embarrassment sears hot on my face…

It seems my lifelong fear of being not-good-enough will not let me write wilfully bad poetry… But I’ve never written a pantoum before so I thought I would give it a go anyway! 🙂

Terrible Poetry Contest: Embarrassment

Fandango’s One Word Challenge: Visceral

Over-Thinking

~ Ruth ~ 4 Comments

Guess I’m one of life’s big over-thinkers
Spend my days wearing worry-shaped blinkers
My anxiety grows
More than anyone knows
Every problem expands and just lingers

Wish I knew how to not be so stressed
Keep my monkey-mind brain less obsessed
I’d enjoy life much more
Feeling calm at my core
Not so fearful and not so depressed

But for now I’m still stuck with my thoughts
Over-anxious and vaguely distraught
Wish I worried much less
Would be good, I confess
To feel peaceful and not overwrought…

Weekly Prompt: Overthink

Jane Austen’s Heroines

~ Ruth ~ 7 Comments

With perfect language, carefully polite
Jane Austen’s heroines all hold their own
Societal conventions bind them tight –
Behave as ought or reputation’s flown.
In modest clothing, virginal, demure
Sweet innocence, with countenance so chaste
Correctly dressed they sit, erect and pure
All model females of the human race.
But underneath blood flows through passioned veins
Romantic love remains their heart’s desire
They will not settle for a lesser gain
Good friendships set their marriage beds on fire…
With sweaty limbs entwined in crumpled sheets
Jane Austen’s heroines find life complete…

The inspiration for this poem came from Chelsea Owens ‘Terrible Poetry Contest’ which this week asks for a sonnet about a period/ historical romance. However it seems I find it too difficult to deliberately write a bad poem – I mean, my poems might be bad, but I don’t think they are truly terrible in the way Chelsea wants them to be! Still, inspiration is inspiration, so there we go, and at least I tried… 🙂

Another Covid Christmas

~ Ruth ~ 10 Comments

Covid pandemic future looks dire
This new variant spreads like wildfire
Life feels so ominous
Looming large over us
Hard to find happy thoughts to inspire

Seems this virus is keen to mutate
Sneaky versions that might seal our fate
All year Delta was worst
But now Omicron’s first
What new havoc can Covid create?

As infections rise straight off the chart
Pfizer booster jabs playing their part
Race to keep it at bay
But it won’t go away
Covid 19 stays strong at its heart

Will restrictions be brought into force
One more lock-down might do it of course
Careful plans go awry
As we all wonder why
We can’t kill this damned virus at source

As we look to another new year
It’s so hard to find real Christmas cheer
No one knows what will be
We must just wait and see
Mixed with hope, trepidation, and fear…