Bite – SoCS July 9/16

Rose's_Lime_Juice

I never did like weak orange squash when I was a kid. Even worse, insipid Roses’s Lime Juice Cordial or, the mother of all sharp drinks, PLJ. I wanted the bite at the back of my tongue, I wanted it to make my eyes water just a little. I really wanted to experience it, in all its pleasure/pain combinations. ‘Dilute to taste’ wasn’t really a phrase that I wanted to hear, when my taste was (and still is) for strong, sharp-toothed experiences. I like concentration.

Life can be, quite frankly, almost unbearably challenging, tough, hard and gut-wrenching. It can also be glorious, touch the clouds sky-rocketing, amazing and awesome, in the true sense of those two words.

Sometimes, I hunger for calm and peace, especially in the space that my brain occupies, behind my eyes and between my ears. But, honestly, much as I relish the fleeting calm, I adore the highs, and they would not be quite so high, without the lows.

Concentration. No dilution. Distilled to the basic, overpowering essence. That’s what drives me and feeds my creativity. Writing without passion (of the dark sort or the light) for me, is almost impossible.


 

It’s time for another Stream of Consciousness Saturday post, prompted by the lovely Linda. This week, her prompt is ‘Concentration’ to be interpreted in any way we see fit. Can anyone identify with my thoughts, I wonder?

It’s a fun thing, to let your thoughts meander where they will. Why not hop on on over to Linda’s blog, read a few entries, or take the plunge and take part?

Defence -Daily Prompt

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I protect myself with iron

with chain-link, I defend myself

you may not breach the battlements

I do not consent

it’s safer that way

– for me –

I will not take the risk

I will not let you in

hemmed in isolation protects me

from the rest of you

I am still at my own mercy

the most destructive force of all


 

Here’s my entry into the WordPress Daily Prompt, where today’s word is ‘fence’. Please do check in to read other entries!

Facsimile – dVerse Poetics

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I’m not as resilient as I used to think

I am hollowed out and my mouth

is emptied when I most need to speak.

Fear steals my words and amplifies my thoughts –

the worst-case scenarios

the shadows

the insecurities

the ghosts

they haunt me

when all I want to do is

express how I feel

share my emotions

let you know me.

Be me.

Now that, that all silences me.

I’m no longer a woman

I’m the little girl waiting at the window

for someone

who never comes.

I put on a brave face

hid behind my curtain of unruly hair

and pretended everything was fine.

Who was I fooling?

I never had a poker face

I never will.

Nothing changes so very much.

Even if the damn words won’t come out

they’re all there

waiting to be freed

if I could only let them.

I’m silenced by the distant past

catching up and tripping me.

And I’m never prepared.

Never prepared.

I can’t unravel it on my own. Will you help me?


Here’s my entry into this week’s dVerse Poetics, hosted by the lovely Abhra who is, sadly, saying goodbye as one of the trusty and dedicated barkeeps at our wonderful bar. Sometimes, you just have to recognise when it’s time to move on.

The theme this week is unintended farewells. I did struggle with this a bit (and only partially because WordPress had a bit of a melt-down yesterday), since I didn’t want to hark back directly to the sudden and unexpected loss of my dad, which many of you have read about.

My entry is more to do with the consequences of that, and a few other chicanes in the road that have been part of my life over the past few years. I do feel as if I’m no longer the person I used to be. Sometimes, it’s bloody hard, sometimes, I see glimmers of someone else far more positive and creative than I was. It’s a confusing mess, but at least it’s life!

Please do head on over to the blog and this week’s Poetics to read more poety goodness – and to wish Abhra well, of course!.