"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Monday, January 23, 2012

Model On A Pillow (Magpie Tales)



He strapped her to a bale of cotton,
and turned her in circles for the camera,
like an automobile under the lights.
He airbrushed the tendons out of her hands
the clench out of her teeth
and the stretch marks out of her thighs,
like an artist smoothing the parchment
hung on the wall for affect.


When Tess Kincaid of Magpie Tales offered this image for inspiration this week, for some reason, I thought of the Detroit Auto Show and all the models coiffed and collared.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Silenced (Magpie Tales)


They bound my hair
and burned my shoes,
then stripped me of clothes
and entombed me at sea
with the others before me
who refused to sit silent
swaddled from view.

I choked on the bracken
and cried out for those
who knew of a land
that was pagan and free
to open the eyes of the ones
who surround me,
silent.


Thanks goes to Magpie Tales for the picture prompt, and today they turned 100! My link has been fixed. Sorry for the earlier broken one.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

GOD LOVES TEXAS

They want to write Thomas Jefferson out of history.
Delete him like a dark chapter
from the annals of American History.
He who coined separation of church and state
is a sword in the side of self-proclaimed historians
who bleed, but not of wine.

The Dark Ages weren’t as dark
as the house the Texas Board of Education wants to build.
With the buying power to control content,
America’s children will read what
they want them to read.

They soften the image of McCarthy—
His motives were pure.
Jefferson for McCarthy.
There’s only so much room.
Motives justify methods
because God loves Texas.

To defame a person,
first misspell his last name.
Sow seeds of doubt.
Rearrange his words and cast credit elsewhere
Remove Monticello from travel guides
and besmirch the gardens—
the vegetables he grew,
amazed at the temperate zone of a new world.

While at it,
rearrange the heads of the founding fathers,
Was that really John Hancock’s John Hancock?
Like the 12 apostles at the dinner table,
Mary Magdalene in the shadows.
Misquote Paine to fortify your position.
Who will bother to verify?

Purge American History of he who dared to separate
the church from the state.
As if one could take guns from the righteous
guards from the gate
inmates from their prison.
God out of Texas

Thursday, January 5, 2012

They Say She's Crazy (Friday Flash 55)

but she isn’t.
She has more than one name
and talks to those who aren’t there,
but she isn’t crazy.
She used to be a librarian-
checked out books with a date stamp
to those on death row.
She quit that job
so she could look in the mirror
without seeing those who aren’t there.


The Friday Flash 55 of mysterious origin (which can be researched here) is an ingenious writing exercise. Mr. Knowitall knows this and so encourages the writing of a story in 55 words, no more, no less. If I see you there, I'll follow you home.

TGIF!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Why You Should Preorder Books

If there is a book coming out from one of your writerly friends via traditional publishing that you plan to purchase anyway, the best way to support them is to preorder. Publishers look at preorder numbers to determine their print run. Early sales are also important. The first two weeks of a book's shelf life are the most important. This article by Sophie Perinot at From The Write Angle explains why.

I did not know this. I'm inherently guilty of procrastination, but I did not know that my preorder could make a difference. For all the times I said to myself...I like the sounds of this and I'm going to buy it....later. I'M SORRY!!! PREORDER is the word of the day.

Thank you Sophie for opening my eyes.