Life With Jules, and other stuff

Crossroads   The road has been long Many hills and valleys Rivers and streams to cross Winding my way To get here, where I am   There have been many hats worn As I traveled this path Love and laughter Tears and pain To get here, where I am   I have felt heartache Along this weary road Much more than one Should ever feel To get here, where I am   I am now at a crossroads Trying to choose The right path to follow To get there Where I am going

State of the Union The romance was long and sweet The courtship – loving and pure She longed for the day when He would hold her in his arms again But knew it would be too long The state of the union was short Too short for love to grow full Too short for their life to grow strong The wedding was beautiful and white With fragrance of love in the air He longed for the day when She would take his name But knew that for now had to do The state of the union was short Too short for his name to be hers Too short for their life to be one The marriage was short and harsh The ending – such a surprise They never knew the day would come When their hands would no longer touch The state of their union was short The state of their union was sweet The state of their union is done. 27 January 2010 ~ Poetic Asides Wednesday prompt

Well, those of you involved in that challenge may have noticed I "disappeared". I have decided to not do this challenge as my studies in graduate school are becoming more demanding. I had to give up something, and this was the obvious choice. As I feel the need to be creative with words, I will definitely post the poems here.

Here are the first two poems I have written for the challenge : November 1, 2009 Entering Something New A new universe A new sound A new smell We enter something new A new sight A new feeling A new world We enter something new The old is long but forgotten The old is nowhere to be found As we enter something new... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ November 2, 2009 The Canon’s End Standing on top of the hill the canon points forward Aimed for the enemy at hand I stand there and wait for the order And when the order is called I light the fuse and look on The canon points toward the advance As I stare down its barrel and watch And then the fuse hits her mark and "Boom!" the ball is shot out Soaring away from us all Yet, I stare down the barrel and stall.

I just want to pass along the link to a new challenge that I will be participating in beginning November 1st. As with the previous challenge (in April), I will also post my poems on this blog. Keep your eyes open for new writing!! 2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge If any of you who read this blog are poets and want to participate, just click on the link and sign up. It's free and inspiring!

The Cat and the Canary Once there was a cat Who loved to purr and meow And also shared a song With a yellow canary And though they weren’t playful They were truly friends. And though they were friends This bird and this cat All they wanted was to be playful And so the cat would meow Loudly to the caged canary And the two would sing their song. And while it was a beautiful song That the two shared as friends The little yellow canary And the pretty little cat, While the cat continued to meow, Found a way one day to be playful. And now they could be playful And sing their lovely song While the cat continued to meow Alongside his pretty friend The friend of the cat Was really a canary. And though the canary Enjoyed being playful With his new friend, the cat They continued to sing their song And continued to be friends While the cat continued to meow. And while the cat continued to meow To his pal the yellow...

Day 14 Today, we were challenged to write a Love or Anti-Love poem. I tried to combine the two: Love Sucks Love sucks Like a sour lemon The initial taste is sweet But it soon turns bitter. Love bites Like a horny mosquito Looking for sweet nectar Instead drawing blood. Love breathes Like wind through the trees Softly at first Then harsh like a storm. Love lives In my heart and my soul For my family and friends For the departed souls. Day 15 For this poem, we were challenged to take a famous poem and rewrite it as our own. Much acknowledgement goes to Mr. William Shakespeare for his beautiful sonnets and especially for the one which inspire my rewrite: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? - Sonnet XVIII Shall I Compare Thee to a Winter’s Night? Shall I compare thee to a winter’s night? You aren’t more lovely than new fallen snow: Cold temperatures do chill the morning air of December, And winter’s lease is much, much too ...

Hobbies There are so many to choose from I can’t pick just one! It started with photography Taking pictures that I love My travels and family My friends and pets. Then came the writing That I grew fond of The poems, the stories The secrets they hold. I started to scrapbook A few years ago A way to organize Those pictures I took. Now it is cross-stitch There’s so much to do The patterns, the fabrics The floss, and the rest. Hobbies, more hobbies There are so many to choose!

So we decided to join the Navy So we decided to join the Navy Our parents could not have been more proud We thought we knew what we were getting into Boy, we could not have been more wrong! We went to the local recruiter To decide the job we would do We wanted to be a jet pilot But we couldn’t get it approved. So we decided to join the Navy As generations have done so before We were learning the basics in boot camp While getting in shape as well! We went to our first duty station A ship so grey and so large We trained to be a mechanic To keep that big boat afloat. So we decided to join the Navy To wear our dress blues, rewarding We held our heads up high; So proud.

...I decided to give it a try this year. I thought about posting them on this blog as well, then thought "Nah!". Well, I decided to do it anyway. This initial post will be rather long so I can get you up-to-date. From here on, I will post every single day. Here are the first 11 poems for the Challenge: ****************************** Kid Baby Child Infant Tot Bother Dupe Jest Mock Even a baby goat! April 1, 2009 ~ Origin Po em *********************************** From the Outside Looking In Looking through the glass An abundance appears Hot and cold, sour and sweet An array of trays and aromas abound. Looking through the glass A vision appears Swirling ball gowns and tails They dance with glee and blissful sounds. Looking through the glass Tears begin to fall As she stands in the cold From the outside looking in. Apr il , 2009 ~ Outsider Poem *********************************** The Problem...