Dverse Poetics – I Need My Pain

Ingrid is hosting Dverse Poetics this week and has asked us to write from a place of pain keeping in mind Wordsworth’s definition of poetry as “emotion recollected in tranquility.” While I realize that for most people, this probably speaks to us of emotional pain, I’m taking a bash at the tranquil recollection of lessons learned from physical pain.

“I need my pain!” Capt. James T. Kirk

Pain is Like an Old Friend

In the cold and rain, old injuries ache
with the phantom memories of pain
like an old relation, it comes unbidden
reminding me of times better forgotten

I have felt the hurling force
and the white hot lance of fire
as a bullet ripped through
the meager protection of flesh

I have felt bones snap and break
as blood vessels ruptured
from crushing impact before blessed pain
rendered me unconscious

Yes, pain is an old friend, an unwanted guest
mostly you smile and endure until the visit is over
But sometimes, if you listen very carefully,
you glean bits of unparalleled truth
and flashes of enlightenment

Every scar, every ache is a reminder
that I am stronger than everything that
has ever tried to kill me, it is a part of me
my spirit has been hammered
on the anvil of life and tempered
in the fires of pain and I have learned

I learned to see the world in all it’s
lush beauty and stark despair,
and to love them both, but mostly
I learned to love the woman I am today
After all, I went through a helluva lot
to become her

Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP

Magikal Mundanities and Spoonie Retirement – Thunder Snow

October has been warm and mild thus far. Temps were slightly above average for this area, wonderful weather for fall. And then, there’s today. Today we have a viscious cold front blowing through bringing rapid drops in temperature, rain, and snow. Yeah, three inches so far. It’s also brought thunder. Thunder during a snow storm is rare, and given our propensity for hail storms, more than a little scary. So, here we are holed up in our battered little RV, riding out the storm … again.

On the good news front, we found a permanent home that we like, much farther east, a little farther south, much closer to the children (but not too close *wink*). We’ve taken a virtual tour, gotten an inspection, made an offer, set the closing date and now we’re just waiting to close. So, we’ll be packing up the RV for the last time and heading out to start the next adventure in a house that has no wheels. Wow, I mean WOW this is gonna be a huge change. The other good (?) news is that everything we own fits in a 5X8 U-haul trailer and the back of the Swiss Cheesemobile (honda fit) and we should be moved by the first week of November.

Today’s thunder snow reminds me so much of all this move represents. It is beautiful, rare, inconvenient, terrifying, not at all what I had planned. I am equal parts ecstatic to the point of mania and terrified to the point of blind panic. It’s a thin line between the two. I’m currently using that line as a jump rope, keeps life interesting. 😉

Ahhh well, I’m off to pack something.

Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP

Begin … again

Greetings friends, I’ve been absent for awhile so today I’m linking up to the earthweal open link weekend. We’re piecing our lives back together here at chez spoons after a catastrophic hail storm dropped baseball-sized mortar fire on our tiny house. But, as always, we rise and we begin … again.

Begin … again

The marigolds blossomed
and grew like small shrubs
a blaze of rich color
in fading summer glory

I watched the storm gather
as bolts of pure energy
illuminated the clouds
tiny supernovas in the sky

Thunder rolled, lightning struck
the air grew cold 
as the winds picked up
and the barrage began

What could I say after it was done
years of dreams lay shattered
like the shards of glass
strewn across the floor

I am reminded that
the important things in life
aren't things at all
and all we have is right now
this tiny moment in time
to be together and it is enough
so we rise and begin ... again

Til next time ~Stay trippy hippies ~JP

The Best Laid Plans of Witches and Wanderers

a piece of the holy hand grenade of hailstones

It’s been just over a month since we returned to South Dakota. Just 33 days since the wandering course of my life was suddenly, profoundly altered when hail stones the size of baseballs punched through the roof of our home. For twenty minutes we were bombarded. Such a short time to change the course of a life. I went into PTSD shock, I shook and wept for days as we struggled to clear the debris and make the immediate repairs. I’m still weeping.

We were stranded for a week without transportation. You never realize just how much you depend on a car until suddenly it’s useless and that little seven-mile hop into town for milk is no longer feasible. So now we deal with the clean up. The car is a write off to the insurance company. We replaced the windshield and it’s drivable. Our 5th wheel was not a total write off so we’re left with a small settlement, a home that we can’t get repaired until spring, and then we’ll have to find somewhere to live for several weeks while they replace the roof. Not happening, not in this town.

First priority, transportation. That’s been accomplished with the new windshield. All the remaining damage to the car is cosmetic. I’ve ordered some cheese decals and we’ll call it the “Swiss Cheese Mobile.” I have this bizzare urge to put a bumper sticker on it that says “WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?”

Next priority, housing. Our original plan was simply to move the RV to another park. Somewhere closer to our family, without hailstorms and have the repairs done there. But, as fate would have it all of the parks we would consider living in are full. Back to square one. Next option, rent an apartment, again just not happening. Wait lists for anywhere we’d actually consider living for a year. Next option, buy a condo and give up the wandering lifestyle entirely. That one seems to be working out. We’ll see how it goes. So if I’m blog-absent for awhile, it’s just the massive amount of mental and psychic energy that’s spent in adjusting to the idea of a house the doesn’t move, finding, financing, inspecting, said non-moving house and the realization that we’re getting too old for this crap. *Dreams die hard and you hold them in your hands long after they’ve they’ve been crushed by the holy hand grenade of hailstones.

Ahhhh well, we shall see what this next adventure holds in store.

Til next time ~Peace ~JP

*adapted from “Dragonheart“

Magical Mundanities and Spoonie Retirement Episode 5 — And then the storm came

the yard two hours after the storm

And then the storm came …

It’s been a crazy summer. Summer arrived early and with tsunami-like intensity. The temperature rose, the heat became unbearable and stayed that way. We traveled to Oregon for a brief respite but were soon run off by fires, smoke and declining air quality. We diverted to Utah only to run into more air quality problems and a bad wheel bearing. We started slowly making our way home when we contracted some sort of flu. We arrived “home” travel worn and haggard, to discover that through a snafu our RV was not in it’s assigned spot (where we planned to stay the winter). Once that was straightened out, we unpacked, settled in … and then the storm came.

part of a hailstone a couple hours after the storm

It came like a round of mortar fire, as scores of fist sized hailstones accompanied by thousands of smaller stones, pummeled our home. We’re OK. Car is totaled, we’re waiting on the adjuster to determine if the damage to the roof of the RV is repairable. Funny how your world can change in 15 minutes. For 15 years we’ve been full-time RVers. We’ve been through two floods, two fires, three “catastrophic” hail storms. Perhaps it’s time for a change.

living room floor, yes those are hailstones

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that we’re very thankful that we’re all OK, nobody was injured. Glass repair will be out to replace the windshield on Friday, the RV repair guys will be out later today to patch the roof enough to keep rain from falling straight into the living room ;-), I got groceries delivered and everything will be alright, eventually.

Til next time, stay safe ~JP

Washing Day

Washing Day

I hung out the washing today
just like I learned in Kaikoura
where any day with sunshine
is washing day

Everything dried quickly
in the summer sun
before the air got sticky and
clouds rolled in

As I began to gather everything
to take inside for folding
I noticed, how I hold your shirts
a little longer

I fold them last, touching them
for as long as I can
before they are consigned
to closets and drawers

It reminds me that once in awhile,
in the middle of an ordinary life
love gives us a miracle
after all, it gave me you

Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP

Tuesday Writing Prompt — Fire

Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda are currently hosting the Tuesday Writing Prompt Today’s Prompt: Use fire, mystic, and identity in prose or poetry

This sounds like such fun, it’s have a bash shall we? Intended to be produce in 10-15 minutes … away we go!

The identity of the mystic
revealed by cowards
closely guarded secrets
of futures and
sometimes of pasts
runes are tossed
and spells are cast
hero’s run when they
should have stayed
she looks at the pyre … and smiles
you see
you can’t make fire feel afraid

Time — 15 minutes

Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP

Crimson’s Creative Challenge 145 — a Fairy tail

Meldimeriel was a small child, or a very large fairy, depending on your own perspective. She was a solitary child, prone to fantasy and play acting in her own yard, where every bush held a hidden fortress, and every hummingbird was a winged fairy warrior.

Her parents worried about her flights of fancy and daydreaming, but it was this very trait that would alter the course of her destiny, and the fate of the entire Elysium Forest Clan.

The small brick structure held a large wheel that was ripe for turning, and there came from inside an odd hooting kind of sound. Meldi gave a little jump and grabbed the wheel letting her weight bring it down. A portion of the roof winched it’s way open. Out popped the head of the littlest dragon Meldi had ever seen. Their eyes locked and a lifetime of friendship and adventure was born.

word count 150

For Crimson’s Creative Challenge # 145

Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP

Spoonie Retirement and Magical Mundanities Episode 4 — Beauty and the Bootleg Fire

Welcome fellow Spoonies and various other sentient beings to another episode of Magical Mundanities where a couple of retired Spoonies seek to find the magic in a mundane world.

We continued our stay in Oregon alongside the Willamette River. I did my daily yoga practice outside our Bungalow shortly after sunrise, while the air was still cool and dew-covered grass tickled my toes. Breakfast of oats with yogurt and fruit, followed by a walk along the river. I became enchanted by the antics of some garden snails and spent probably more time than I should have perched on the front step, tea in hand, watching their escapades.

This guy got his shell stuck for a few minutes but eventually wiggled his way down between the boards to cooler, shaded ground.

We took a trip out to the fish hatchery to watch the fingerling salmon practice fall jumping against the flow of the aerators. I find it so amazing that even at this tiny size (the fingerlings are less than two inches long at this point) they have that instinct to leap against the flow. Even though they are certainly not in a natural environment, natural instincts are definitely at play and I delight in their antics. Much of the rest of the hatchery is still closed to the public but all in all it was an entertaining afternoon.

Fingerling Salmon practicing

In the afternoons, after the sun slid west enough to cast shade from the privacy fence, I went back outside to lay in the shade on a beach towel and listen to some vlogs I follow. While there I watched the progress of a “bleeding tooth” mushroom. So named for it’s white cap dotted with red spots. It reminds me of something Alice might have found in wonderland. Although not toxic, the mushroom is too bitter to be considered edible and, so far as I can tell, has no medicinal value. It was interesting to watch the red dots slowly grow and dissolve the entire cap in a matter of days.

Bleeding tooth mushrooms are beautiful. Creepy, but beautiful.

Impending smoke mixed with low cloud cover leads to declining air quality.

Alas, our relaxing three week idle was not to be. Lightning strikes ignited several more forest fires in the area and between the Bootleg and local minor fires, air quality began to plummet. Once it reached 150, we packed up and resumed our travels, rerouting as best we could. The Bootleg fire alone has already consumed over 413,000 acres of forest. It breaks my tree-hugging heart and I fear for the animals and birds. I fear for us all. It seems the entire western half of the US is on fire right now. Ah but that is a story for another time. Right now, there are still tiny moments of magic and beauty to be found along the way.

Give a listen to the Cottage Fairy, a fellow Oregonian, who relays the terror and hope of our current situation.

Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP

Sunday Stills and Weekend Coffee Share in the July heat

Welcome fellow Spoonies and various other sentient beings! Come in, grab your favorite cuppa and let’s visit a bit with Natalie at the Weekend Coffee Share and Terri at Sunday Stills. Our Sunday Stills prompt is “angle” and I found oh so many on our recent adventures.

Last week, we visited Mountain Home, Idaho and took a mini tour of Penny Alley which is a local alleyway that has been dedicated to dozens of urban murals in this tiny rural town. According to the local brochure “in 2016 a group of local artists came together to transform a nearly 320 foot stretch of alleyway in the city’s downtown into an outdoor art gallery featuring a collage of different works of art painted on the walls of local businesses.” We spent a sunny (yeah read that HOT!!!) morning walking the alley, snapping pics, and eating outdoors.

It’s business hours so a lot of this collage is blocked but still sooo worth the look. I can totally dig the wild angles in the dream catcher. Dude!

Adventure is out there!!! LOOK at all the angles in the mural, each sun ray had it’s own design. Plus, it’s purple … and pink! 🙂

I considered cropping this shot but wanted to keep the “OMG this is the alley of actual working businesses” feel. I like the lines of the bricks through the murals and the way the angles are broken up with curves and blending of the individual pictures in the mural.

I particularly love this. Maybe it’s the quote, I am a John Muir fan, or maybe it’s the scene, or maybe it’s the style. This shot is not pixelated, the rough “texture” is intentional. Up close it rather resembles one of those photos transferred to canvas texture. However it was done the result is much in keeping with the alley-feel. I shot this from a straight-on angle with my hinney squeezed up against the far alley wall, stupid camera phone. ;-p

After a long stroll we made our way back to the car through a little craft fair. It was fun to see the offerings. We returned to our hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool, splashing, relaxing and practicing that wonderous vacation ritual of napping. So many great angles in the rock water feature.

Hope you’re staying cool in your part of the world. We’re enduring another round of record breaking heat here in the west and midwest USA. To read a bit more about Spoonies and summer, check out Magical Mundanities Episode 3 –Summer Spoons.

Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP