Category Archives: hope

Karma – Trifecta Challenge

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Karma.

Fickle mistress.

Rewarding good deeds

and laying in wait to punish evil.

Just desserts served with panache

and a side of impartiality.

A vibration of kismet.

You found me sooner than anticipated.

good_karma_sign

~~

Written for the weekend Trifecta Challenge: On to the quick and dirty Trifextra.  This weekend we are assuming that many of you are slogging your way through leftovers and family bickering (or is that just us?) and thus we’re going way easy on you.  This weekend we are asking for a 33-word free write.  Give us whatever you’ve got. – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.p013Fbnp.dpuf

(image credit: getinvolved.ca)

Tomorrow’s Outlines

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This is my first poetry duet with Hastywords and hopefully not my last.  She is truly a talented writer and beautiful person.  I’m sure you’ve already clicked follow on her blog, but if you haven’t you are missing out!

~

I found myself wandering aimless

between several different worlds,

in and out like a homeless ghost

my mind splitting, fracturing

and my perspective splintering

Lost in a cavern of realities

whispers of promise echoing

taunting, just out of reach

unsure of which path to choose

I float in a sea of uncertainty

bleeding colors

The colors of my past are bleeding

hiding lessons learned in a foggy gray

feelings and emotions are muddled

until I feel I may drown, breathless

inside all my lost yesterdays

The canvas of my life stares blankly

looking back at me with ambivalence

urging me to lift my head

beckoning me to not just tread water

but to thrive and embrace what lies beyond

Before despair takes me asunder

I focus only on paths ahead, determined

blurry lines begin to sharpen, harden

into black and white, new outlines

new paths, waiting to be colored in

~

(image credit: Stina Persson)

Who wants a chance to come to Muskoka?

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Christmas is just around the corner and we at Shamrock Lodge are trying to do what we can to make the season a little brighter for some kids that may not have much of a Christmas.

We are asking people to send new toys or gift cards for our Toy Drive at Shamrock Lodge in Muskoka.  In turn, your name will be entered for a chance to win a weekend for two (2) people, travel costs not included.   We are nestled on the shores of beautiful Lake Rosseau and are a quaint, family run lodge.

If you can find it in your hearts to help our cause, we would greatly appreciate it.  I’d love to see this toy box overflowing and brighten a few smiles this holiday season.

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Message me if you are interested in more details on how you can help and have a chance to win a weekend here.

Through loving eyes – Trifecta Challenge

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My memory is vivid.  Her eyes moved evasively across our dirt-smeared faces and scanned our meager outfits.  Disapprovingly, those eyes formulated an opinion before we even had a chance to speak.  One by one she would pluck us from the line and dismiss us like we were disposable.  The torture of being an orphan was enough of a burden for a child, but living with the knowledge that each of us was special was even worse.  Not one of the couples who came to see us would spend the time to engage us in life, to let our unique qualities shine through the filth that we were subjected to each day.  I vowed to myself that, if I survived this Hell, my life would be about substance and not an outward facade.

The path I followed was no surprise to me.  The girls who live in my child care facility today feel empowered.  They are not concerned with their appearance as much as they are focused on the woman they wish to one day become.  I took my hopelessness and gave them hope.  I took my loneliness and gave them a loving home.  And I took my experience and gave them a chance to see themselves through their own eyes and not the eyes of a stranger.

~~

Written for the Trifecta Weekly challenge:

PLUCK: (transitive verb) 1: to pull or pick off or out 2 a : to remove something (as hairs) from by or as if by plucking    b : rob, fleece 3: to move, remove, or separate forcibly or abruptly 4 a : to pick, pull, or grasp at    b : to play by sounding the strings with the fingers or a pick

Remember: • Your response must be between 33 and 333 words. • You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post. • The word itself needs to be included in your response. • You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above. • Only one entry per writer. • If your post doesn’t meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz. • Trifecta is open to everyone. – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.YS9z9fyZ.dpuf

Through the eyes of a legend – Trifecta Challenge

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The classified ad was very succinct.  It didn’t use the word employee, it specifically used the word companion.  I wasn’t in the position to be picky about my job prospects or possible accommodation so I made the call.

I rang the bell and could hear the shuffling beyond the door frame.  It took her several minutes to reach the entrance and when the door swung open I was shocked by the state of her physical being.  She stood all of four feet tall, hunched and emaciated, and her skin could pass for a road map.  An oxygen tank hung haphazardly from a metal pole and she spun the wheels around to move it out of my path so I could enter the house.

Unsure of what I was about to face, I stepped across the threshold and closed the door.   The house was warm and smelled of cinnamon – nothing at all what I expected.  The walls were adorned with black and white photos and an old phonograph was scratching out “In The Mood” by Glenn Miller.  Her demeanor was welcoming and she ushered me into the living room where the smiling faces of Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Joan Crawford watched as I took my place on the settee.  I felt like I had gone back in time.

The service required of me was simple.  I was to transcribe her life as an understudy in the 1930’s and make sure the world read her story and, not only knew her but, remembered her.

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The official age on her death certificate was 106 years.  She had lived over a century and only through her words did I understand the vast world she had seen change over her lifetime.  As I write this preface to her story, I am reminded of her spirit and her failure to relinquish her dream of fame.  It came too late but she finally got her wish.

~

Word count -323.  Image Credit – health.howstuffworks.com

Written for the Trifecta Challenge:  On to the weekly prompt.

1:  one that accompanies another :  comrade, associate; also:  one that keeps company with another
2obsolete :  rascal
Remember:
• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
• The word itself needs to be included in your response.
• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.
• Only one entry per writer.
• If your post doesn’t meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz.
• Trifecta is open to everyone.

– See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.bNnsoN4o.dpuf

Her First Mistake – 100 Word Song

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Her first mistake was letting herself get too close.  She felt the attraction immediately and tried her best to erase him from her mind.  His voice echoed in the recesses of her yearning.  The stare from his blue eyes branded his gaze into her brain.

She felt his touch as the wind tickled her skin and her cheeks flushed at the memory of his warm hands grazing her arms.

The fire within her slowly burned.  The mere thought of his lips on hers would ignite the inferno.  Perhaps the first mistake was not finding him sooner.  Fate is fickle, indeed.

~~

Written for the 100 Word Song Challenge over at My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog – Leeroy reached out to Jen aka @jenkehl aka www.jenkehl.com home of Twisted Mixtape Tuesday and my co-conspirator at www.raisedontheradio.com . She chose the great Lyle Lovett’s Her First mistake for this week’s 100 word song. It comes from the album The Road To Ensenada which won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Country Album. That means it beat out some tripe from Tim McGraw or Garth Brooks or Brooks and Dunn so I already applaud the choice.

Remember me – Trifecta Challenge

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Remember me on Valentines,

the day our two hearts met.

Souls collided, fate stepped in,

serendipity paid its debt.

Remember me at Halloween,

the night I loved the most.

Throwing your Dracula cape aside,

on bended knee, you proposed.

Keep me in mind on Christmas Eve,

while you watch the fire in the hearth.

Feel my spirit staying close,

Afraid of leaving the Earth.

For I will remember you all those days,

And every one in between.

The hardest part of loving you now,

is knowing I’ll never be seen.

~~

Written for the Trifecta Weekly Challenge: Today is also Remembrance Day, celebrated around the world to honour those who have died in the line of duty for their nations. With our birthday and that in
mind, this week’s prompt came easily. Please pay attention to the THIRD definition and happy writing!

Remember (verb):

1 :  to bring to mind or think of
again <remembers the old days>
2 :  archaic
a :  BETHINK
b :  REMIND
3 a :  to keep in mind for attention or consideration <remembers
friends at Christmas>
b :  REWARD <was remembered in the will>
4 :  to retain in the memory <remember the facts until the test is over>
5 :  to convey greetings from <remember me to her>

Remember:

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
• The word itself needs to be included in your response.
• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated
above.
• Only one entry per writer.
• If your post doesn’t meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments
section, not in the linkz.
• Trifecta is open to everyone. Please join us.

A heaping dose of perspective

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Picture 260

(It doesn’t look like this now, but it will soon)

The Heaven’s have aligned and I am back home after twelve days of living in a hotel room with my puppy dog.  I can’t even find the words to describe how it feels to be home – and that is a first for me!

I ran the gamut of emotions while I was under that temporary roof.  I was grateful to have that roof over my head and friends who cared enough to offer me a plethora of living options, but my frustration was undeniable.  I’m sure the bureaucratic red tape at a certain energy company tangled the process and elongated my hotel stay by at least five days.  But, I digress.

I flipped the breaker myself earlier today and was warmed by the glow of light coming from my windows.  In the days preceding I had been stopping by to check the progress of the work and my house sat lifeless on my property.  No light emanated from my windows and it sat as a cold, empty shell where there once was life.

There is still a noticeable chill in the air, inside, but I am home.  All of my electronics work and nothing else was damaged in the ordeal.  The only thing I had to do was call Bell to help download the guide for my satellite to get it working again.  The lovely woman I spoke to was in the Philippines.  I’m sure you have all seen the news of the devastation in the Philippines and, while she was personally unaffected, members of her family have lost everything.  We had a very fortuitous conversation that allowed me to truly put my seemingly overwhelming problem into the perspective it deserves.

I still have a home.  I still have all of my belongings and I have a large collection of friends who would be there for me if I ever needed them again.  I didn’t lose everything.  I don’t have to wonder how I will recover from such a devastating loss and I don’t have to mourn family and friends who didn’t survive.  These last twelve days were really just a hiccup in my existence.

670,000 people are now homeless and countless have not survived in the Philippines.  It really makes my previous rants seem so selfish and I will keep those people in mind the next time I want to complain about an infinitesimal problem in my life.

I will not shed a tear

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Dear Stress,

This is the most difficult letter I have ever written.  You have been such a big part of my life and we have shared many moments together.  Through all of the ups and downs you have always been there, waiting to participate in every aspect of my life.

I can’t recall the moment when we first met, or how we developed such a close bond over the years, but throughout every waking moment of my day I always knew you were willing to put in the effort to be by my side.  We became so close that I truly depended on the fact that you would be there with me, shadowing every moment of my day.

Your fastidious nature made it possible for you to delve into every nuance of my life.  It enabled you to invade the inner sanctum of my being and hold fast to the things you knew I held so dear.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to write you this letter.  Living with you has worn me down to a shadow of my former self. During our tumultuous relationship, I have lost a part of myself along the way and I gave you the power to feel superior.  I made you feel like you had won.

I am writing this letter to tell you that I have found something to replace you.  During the journey that you and I have traversed together, I realized that I had feelings for tranquillity. It soothes me in a way that you never could.  It takes the time to understand my feelings but spends more time making me feel relaxed and more like myself.

I wish you the best in your continued journey but I have no place for you in my life.  Our relationship will always be a learning experience for me, but I deserve better.  Good luck in your future relationships with unsuspecting people.

Sincerely,

Susan

~~

This was actually my first post on this blog site, but it seems much more appropriate now!

Show me the way to go home

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“Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.”  ―  Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care

~~

I’m almost at the end of my ordeal, which is good because I’m almost at the end of my rope.  It has been 11 days since I have been out of my house due to a horrible wind storm bringing down my power lines.  The work has been done to reconnect the panel and bury my new hydro lines, but I am now waiting on the administrative portion of the process to ensue before I can have power restored and finally move back into my house.  I don’t care if it looks like this when I return – I just want to go home.

winter

The process, from start to almost finish, has been a real experience.  (It was difficult to type that last sentence without using some really good expletives.)  Although my electrician has explained to my insurance company the value of burying the new wires underground to alleviate any more claims in the future, the insurance company will only cover the dollar value of replacing the existing above-ground power supply.  $$

Because HydroOne insisted on have a schematic of the trench where the lines would be buried (which was veritably a straight line) this delayed the process by 5 days and I had to remove and dispose of the contents of my fridge and freezer.  $$

After a call to HydroOne this morning to find out when they could restore my power, I was sent a contract (with the wrong name and address, mind you) and was told that I now have to pay them $325.00 before they will even come to my house to restore power because I upgraded my equipment.  $$  I have had several people do work at my house and I don’t recall EVER paying those contractors until the job was completed.

After lowering my blood pressure and after the anger subsided, I could still feel a pang of unrest in my stomach.  That familiar feeling I had as a child had reared its head again and I felt homesick.  Send me the fucking bill, with my name on it this time, get some employees out to my house and please turn my power back on.  I just want to go home.