tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68589830854285854142024-03-18T10:00:33.191-07:00Yvonne Osborne's Writing Blog"The Organic Writer"Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.comBlogger472125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-35858652066865842892024-03-13T03:40:00.000-07:002024-03-13T04:41:36.263-07:00I GOT BOOKS!<p>What the UPS guy brought me yesterday!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1RoW1INPUuNeYoHQdQZ_XZb57cu2A2cgKxiHKAV06uk11300OjutGCtK6Y7U2bBQwnj-JSjlH9NtwWY0JbY_1m-lX-SOKgrb7Qc1gmdR7Di4gWlGBnHOBsWvz9aGiimDo7VKknqD1HwK63SC0-RLuK_D4Sr3yhlzHDAsCf9yR5xQ2u18GIJFZOVDIMo/s4080/Yvonne%20with%20her%20books.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1RoW1INPUuNeYoHQdQZ_XZb57cu2A2cgKxiHKAV06uk11300OjutGCtK6Y7U2bBQwnj-JSjlH9NtwWY0JbY_1m-lX-SOKgrb7Qc1gmdR7Di4gWlGBnHOBsWvz9aGiimDo7VKknqD1HwK63SC0-RLuK_D4Sr3yhlzHDAsCf9yR5xQ2u18GIJFZOVDIMo/w300-h400/Yvonne%20with%20her%20books.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhP05N4f1qP8QIemotSZ3R6kAKHf0mwWmn7CJE1oql000chMhm68_453PaeaXybnthCPJTjQuTKek6T9ZOr27wWXKrVJKpA707jIjI7vKoAoFGrnfo_868ciy16xEueiQmXpz7WqREkVrl9q9_8zEPjR-XuV0TiUr1BF3hB9IUoXVF9d-0YLMssiWr_A/s4080/20240312_145058.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdhP05N4f1qP8QIemotSZ3R6kAKHf0mwWmn7CJE1oql000chMhm68_453PaeaXybnthCPJTjQuTKek6T9ZOr27wWXKrVJKpA707jIjI7vKoAoFGrnfo_868ciy16xEueiQmXpz7WqREkVrl9q9_8zEPjR-XuV0TiUr1BF3hB9IUoXVF9d-0YLMssiWr_A/s320/20240312_145058.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Now that I have my advance copies, I'm counting down the days to the release of my novel on April 2nd. I'm extremely nervous about how the public will receive it. I practically have the darn thing memorized, but what you think is what matters.</p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><em>"Let Evening Come</em> is penned by author Yvonne Osborne
in the literary style and the interpersonal drama and coming-of-age subgenres. Author Yvonne Osborne has crafted a truly emotionally resonant novel that
delves into themes of loss, displacement, and cultural conflict. The up-close
and detailed portrayal of Sadie and Stefan's budding romance against the
backdrop of their respective struggles was both captivating and poignant. </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b>I
loved the way their unique dialogue was presented and readers will feel the
dynamics between the lines. The exploration of cultural misunderstanding and
the challenges faced by Indigenous communities was an incredibly poignant touch
that is really focused on and never used as a gimmick, fostering genuine
empathy and understanding. As the characters navigated adversity and sought
connection across borders, I found myself deeply invested in their journey,
rooting for their love to transcend the obstacles in their path. Overall, Let
Evening Come is a recommended read and a compelling tale of love, resilience,
and the human capacity to overcome adversity amidst cultural divides." </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b>--Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b><br /></b></p><p>I understand it can be intimidating to leave a review. Even if you enjoy a book, it puts you on the spot. But honestly, it doesn't have to be long. It can be one sentence, or even one word! They mean so much, especially for a new, unknown author. Editorial reviews might carry more weight but reviews from readers are more personal and meaningful to the author.</p><p>This Daylight Savings Times gives us late morning darkness but my inner clock tells me it's time for a cup of coffee! </p><p><br /></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-36828800988323728572024-03-12T05:29:00.000-07:002024-03-12T07:58:25.403-07:00Graveyard Hierarchy<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg88lPTixx7rw-2FGg9-0GDoBEurxDAd_-1-rsXYZQh1O-KlNlgls2mH2gpOTuti_DWqbfWrUJGbuwHW4k9xngX-rN3AWrI7GaKp_u19TqS9k9vZs6jqQYal2OnUlevk65AJMGgC8qASqxq_ndFxUcUbkvgNML5RgKp2_G32JdBmDkovQdRVuz6f7UR3Q/s4000/Cemetery%20004.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg88lPTixx7rw-2FGg9-0GDoBEurxDAd_-1-rsXYZQh1O-KlNlgls2mH2gpOTuti_DWqbfWrUJGbuwHW4k9xngX-rN3AWrI7GaKp_u19TqS9k9vZs6jqQYal2OnUlevk65AJMGgC8qASqxq_ndFxUcUbkvgNML5RgKp2_G32JdBmDkovQdRVuz6f7UR3Q/w400-h300/Cemetery%20004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-indent: 0in;">My son asked how much a tombstone costs<br /></span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">as we </span><span style="text-indent: 0in;">trace ancestry through the graveyard<br /></span>and calculate dates—how common it was to
bury babies.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>Some lucky souls merit saintly companions<br /> who guard their tombs with outstretched
arms<br />or a wrought iron fence to ward off vagrants.<br />But look how the monied died just as young.<br /><o:p> </o:p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>At the rear of the yard are the stones we
can’t read<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">—</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">all the names swallowed up by the cold.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bare of epitaph, they lean against each
other,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">even their stones are tired.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Then there are the markers that only bear a
number,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">like the tattooed at Auschwitz.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One straggler is off alone and we wonder<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">if he wanted it so. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The rounded stone juts white from Earth
like a tooth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And what of those who couldn’t even get
inside the fence—<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">separated from the gilded, even here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To celebrate Swedish Nobel Laureate Tomas Transtromer, <a href="https://dversepoets.com/2024/03/11/prosery-tomas-transtromer/">dVerse's Bjorn Rudberg </a>asked us to write a poem of exactly 144 words, including a line taken from one of the Nobel writer's poems. In case you can't guess, it's <i>all the names swallowed up by the cold.</i></span></p><p style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">More at dVerse on this renowned poet and how he captured the long winters of Scandinavia in his writing.</span></p><p style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span>Note: All the photographs herein on my own. No peeping AI on my shoulder with his shudder eye.</span></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-65749897673892735882024-03-08T03:58:00.000-08:002024-03-08T04:00:28.247-08:00She Took Venice<div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;"><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She bought a sarong in Venice where everyone is beautiful<br />though the surf smells and seagulls scour the tideline.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All along the shore the ocean unfurls its soul.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Beer with salty clams to peel, dip, and swallow.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The bar faces the ocean with a poolroom where poets rhyme.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She bought a sarong in Venice where everyone is beautiful.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One size fits all with three ways to fold, wrap, and tie.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Venice, where guitarists skate the boulevard</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">all along the shoreline the ocean unfurls its soul.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sea birds ply ocean weed, piles of shell, and salty form.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bougainvillea drapes the cafes. She collects all she finds.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She bought a sarong in Venice where everyone is beautiful.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She took the ocean home - <span style="text-indent: 0in;">salt, shells and sun coils.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">Maybe he'll come over with a hank of garden lettuce or another sign.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">Because all along the shoreline the ocean uncurled its soul.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">On the whisper of her sarong she crosses the wooden floor</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">and watches him cut grass, sun on his shoulders, tasting salty brine.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">She bought a sarong in Venice where everyone is beautiful</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">and all along the shoreline the ocean unfurls its soul.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">Tasked with the challenge from <a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2024/03/friday-writings-117-sensual-clothing.html">Poets & Storytellers </a>to write a poem about a sensual piece of clothing, I immediately thought of a trip to Venice Beach where the beach was littered with what the ocean didn't need, where sarongs were as popular as sun hats and, yes, where everyone was beautiful.</span></div></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-33310219245705303182024-03-02T03:06:00.000-08:002024-03-10T17:00:57.208-07:00The Uprooting<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The fate of a rose planted by my grandmother a hundred years ago released by <a href="https://www.flapperpress.com/post/the-uprooting">Flapper Press</a></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrWGdLKiyee_y1OM3DhYkGN3ke1UHXXaAHqGcAx_3LaOH0Hl95oY0Z-bTWa_9cgxreLuRQsb8IYvZnwdhOIztfiKOvCnvd3t9qMw80E43bL_Lomk_4DQxRbLOnqk0J3fbkdVcQSLTOA_LWDdXmyOeGPr-iy1WOluOGGYQvjye9NHXthuvoLtl5qVLezc/s1000/Flapper%20Press.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1000" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrWGdLKiyee_y1OM3DhYkGN3ke1UHXXaAHqGcAx_3LaOH0Hl95oY0Z-bTWa_9cgxreLuRQsb8IYvZnwdhOIztfiKOvCnvd3t9qMw80E43bL_Lomk_4DQxRbLOnqk0J3fbkdVcQSLTOA_LWDdXmyOeGPr-iy1WOluOGGYQvjye9NHXthuvoLtl5qVLezc/w400-h261/Flapper%20Press.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The<a href="https://www.flapperpress.com/writing"> Flapper Press </a>is a literary magazine of <i>Useful Words, Inspiring Stories, and Eclectic Perspectives </i>and I'm very happy to be a part of it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also shared with <a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2024/03/friday-writings-116-lasting-impressions.html">Poets and Storytellers</a>'s "Lasting Impressions". No one makes more lasting ones than mothers and grandmothers. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-11611711927920893902024-02-24T15:37:00.000-08:002024-03-01T04:00:23.897-08:00The Boomerang That Came Back <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGnoKZ2jnL9qo7acJRm7XKMo5uPxuqhLr-9-CbYNgVIYhbIVK0yRRsD5_EVYiH8vdh6d2PYaxUG7pDimBMq6Fv78R9S9fZ29U2U0Ti4m7TFZqZMlq1dPVa4HKo-L7EfzdQ_Xt7prFxSh3ryFWz8moGRPpYQboqpUfwsaD5KyhCGX2G4UPbXMXR642_kc/s2048/melissa's%20pics%20039.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGnoKZ2jnL9qo7acJRm7XKMo5uPxuqhLr-9-CbYNgVIYhbIVK0yRRsD5_EVYiH8vdh6d2PYaxUG7pDimBMq6Fv78R9S9fZ29U2U0Ti4m7TFZqZMlq1dPVa4HKo-L7EfzdQ_Xt7prFxSh3ryFWz8moGRPpYQboqpUfwsaD5KyhCGX2G4UPbXMXR642_kc/w400-h300/melissa's%20pics%20039.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br />As with writing, learning to throw a boomerang requires perseverance and discipline, <span>the subject brought up this week at </span><a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2024/02/friday-writings-115-power-of-discipline.html?sc=1708871356557#c1040135660714425994">Poets and Storytellers</a>, <i>the power of discipline</i><span><i>.</i> </span> As it has an important, if </span><span>symbolic, place in my novel, and in anticipation of my April 2nd release date, I thought I'd repost the poem I wrote back when I was first throwing the idea for a novel around in my head. (No pun intended.) </span></span><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Some of you may remember the G-Man and his</span></span></span> Friday Flash 55<span><span> challenge to write fiction</span></span><span> with a plot in 55 words. He inspired me to write flash poetry. You could say, in a convoluted way, that he inspired me to write</span><a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p456/PREORDER%3A_LET_EVENING_COME_by_Yvonne_Osborne.html"> Let Evening Come</a><span>.</span></span></p><p><span style="text-align: center;">The birth of a novel in 55 words.</span></p><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even
as a child, she was drawn to the night<br /></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">when the air was soft and fraught with life.<br /></span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">He, too, a child of twilight—<br /></span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">
mysterious boy boomerang in his belt<br /></span></span><i><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Was
my father’s</span></i><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> he
said,<br /></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">dog circling, divining the night air.<br /></span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">Fingers entwined, he taught her to throw<br /></span></span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: rgb(238, 238, 238);">so it would always come back.</span></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></blockquote></blockquote><p><br /></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-66251015488067658202024-02-22T08:47:00.000-08:002024-02-24T04:56:38.023-08:00The Newspaper City<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;">We walk
to mass along sidewalks<br />slick
with mist from the ocean bay.<br />Hulking
shapes huddle in doorways<br />where the sun won’t ever shine<br />to shiver
the whole night through<br />under newspaper
blankets.<br /><o:p> <br /></o:p>We hasten
into church to kneel and pray<br /> with Asian,
Latin, and Creole speakers<br />as incense
wafts over the pews and candles twinkle<br />like
the flickering of the holy spirit<br />descending
on the fortunate.</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">With
the transubstantiation of altar bread and wine<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">there’s
a rush from the back for the body and blood.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Confused
at the lack of decorum<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(do they fear the chalice will spring a leak?)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">we ease
our way into the jostling line of supplicants<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">like
automobiles jockeying for an off ramp.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">With a finger
dipped in the font at the door<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">we exit
into the misty morn of a cash-strapped city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Beggars
await us on the steps with their outstretched cups.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Father always
dropped a five in the tin can of the gaunt man<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">who sat wrapped in wool at the
top of the exit ramp</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">on trips into a different city.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">We walk
back to the hotel<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">past
darkened storefronts and empty streets.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;">Silent except
for the rustle of newspapers. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwpT-k7M19bpnXNSx5JbqvKvKh4vIoWYXS5VBA1qM6B54A6xNTrULWjwkIBoF_ivl4Wz-7mmxvvjepRtkVj899b4P-pTbBHud-LbCycfGOwdGMTGgYAa7O0SqZmDvjjqilAF-47w9JntOL7abjqvuLhrTLj639ZVAB-ZGNXcUmhYNjMRqjoUGJESTDGE/s600/Nirvana.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwpT-k7M19bpnXNSx5JbqvKvKh4vIoWYXS5VBA1qM6B54A6xNTrULWjwkIBoF_ivl4Wz-7mmxvvjepRtkVj899b4P-pTbBHud-LbCycfGOwdGMTGgYAa7O0SqZmDvjjqilAF-47w9JntOL7abjqvuLhrTLj639ZVAB-ZGNXcUmhYNjMRqjoUGJESTDGE/w200-h150/Nirvana.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>Written for <a href="https://dversepoets.com/2024/02/20/happy-birthday-kurt%f0%9f%8e%89/">dVerse i</a>n memory of Kurt Cobain, the legendary alternative rock musician whose birthday was this past Tuesday. Nirvana's lyrics were known for metaphor and emotional depth. Challenged to use lines from one of the songs posted in the prompt, I chose a couple that would fit this poem. Check out <a href="https://dversepoets.com/2024/02/20/happy-birthday-kurt%f0%9f%8e%89/">Melissa's post </a>at dVerse for more on the enigmatic Cobain, photos and lyrics. And the poets at <a href="https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2024/02/colors-passing-through.html?sc=1708695119975#c1503422616821388596">What's Going On </a>who've asked us to write about "Color" so taking liberty, as this is more about the absence of color. There are other more beautiful poems about color passing through so head over. </o:p></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-68257851816227560222024-02-15T06:49:00.000-08:002024-02-16T12:42:13.268-08:00I Saw A Ghost Today<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-VwJnlwZGxdO5ZhnY_i8ADftLQ04VGwWGAB1UE0bRFa_sw5I6JIUDPTJaNTiJzS31N3rbhYKAnBIElyjZraAbUTH6U5yLRYIs559yB3-Ij5mJGoreatmxX5xEm7pIndD9iDSnLoh_IJ6OT5z4DmYQOtghxxg0DchzYwROEM8KWP2evLhymmBZaDCRxA/s406/The%20Wasteland.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="249" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-VwJnlwZGxdO5ZhnY_i8ADftLQ04VGwWGAB1UE0bRFa_sw5I6JIUDPTJaNTiJzS31N3rbhYKAnBIElyjZraAbUTH6U5yLRYIs559yB3-Ij5mJGoreatmxX5xEm7pIndD9iDSnLoh_IJ6OT5z4DmYQOtghxxg0DchzYwROEM8KWP2evLhymmBZaDCRxA/w197-h320/The%20Wasteland.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><p></p><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I saw a ghost today.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A shadow in the shrubbery<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a lurker behind the shed.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A floater in the corner of my eye<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">or am I growing a cataract<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">like everyone I know<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">mistaking angels for ghosts<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">seeing something where there’s nothing.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My father said he had a guardian angel<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and his name was Joseph.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Father talked to Joseph.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Such intimacy, like the whisper of a lover.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maybe I have one too.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Call me a cynic—I looked it up.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But why wasn’t Joseph watching over him<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">when he lost two fingers in an auger.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or when he rammed a nail up his foot—<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a rambunctious boy—<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and nearly died of blood poisoning.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> thought I saw a ghost today.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An anomaly in the fog<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A lurker in the lilacs</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">When in the doorway bloomed.</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">Do I just flat out ask—</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hey! What’s your name?</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written for <a href="https://fireblossom-wordgarden.blogspot.com/2024/02/word-garden-word-list-t-s-eliot.html">Shay's Word Garden</a> using words from her word list taken from "The Waste Land and Other Poems" by TS Eliot.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> And for<a href="https://dversepoets.com/2024/02/15/open-link-night-356-with-live-edition/"> d'Verse's Open Link Night </a>(with a little twist of Whitman's lilac). And it's a secret (for <a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2024/02/friday-writings-114-keeping-secrets.html?sc=1708116110257#c3205516833603797558">Poets & Storytellers United</a>) I guess I don't mind telling now as my father is with Joseph.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-37978943725155878882024-02-09T01:58:00.000-08:002024-02-10T07:59:21.844-08:00The Flow Of Water<p>Waking up in the lowlands with the murmur of the teakettle, a pour-over coffee, and a ticking clock. Within a short drive of Lake Huron and a stone's throw of the creek that trickles into the Black River that flows into the big lake which rushes to the ocean. </p><p>Contemplating this business of publishing, royalty gigs and division of the pie with so many forks, and me with nothing but words in my head, phrases and ideas, passion and pain, spinning, weaving, plotting, scheming. </p><p>Why do I wake up in the middle of the night? Thinking about the old man on the tractor and the woman with the broken broom, the man who trekked over a mountain with his youngest on his back to stay ahead of the soldiers, and the teen who enlisted for glory only to stowaway on a boat for foreign lands. Then there's the biologist who lives in a tent and studies the die-off of amphibians, and the reporter who only wants a story but comes face to face with a second chance at love.</p><div style="text-align: left;">Beyond our yard and across the pasture there runs a creek, which flows into a
river that crosses the plain and enters the ocean. Currents collide, the Labrador
meets the Gulfstream to merge with the Canary to circle a globe without borders. </div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">One story I wrote that's out of my hands but still won't let me sleep is about an Indigenous son who lost home and family and a motherless farmgirl who is simply lost.</p><div style="text-align: left;">Which brings me to the end and mention of my favorite modern invention which Rommy at <a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2024/02/friday-writings-113-modern-marvel.html?sc=1707479293993#c7311881541070976358">Poets and Storytellers </a>asks us to write about. Has to be the Universal Book Link.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />A coming-of-age story in times of distress available now at <a href="https://books2read.com/u/mlpvw9">Your Favorite Digital Bookstore </a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-42714414988631166272024-02-01T11:23:00.000-08:002024-02-01T11:23:04.743-08:00And This Is What I Know<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">In the quiet
splendor of a predawn morn</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">the moon gilds the hoophouse in shiny opulence.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lace-riven cloud formations circle the sky<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">with the moon at their apex high above the earth<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">circling quiet, like a giant snow globe.<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How could anyone have ever thought this world flat?<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And I, an inconsequential ant of a being<br /> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">invade the quiet on a shuffle across the snow<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">in my husband’s boots and a hand-me-down coat<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">and my daddy’s hat with the flashlight<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">of my mother’s trepidation<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">in my pocket just in case.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">How's your life today on Planet Earth? the poets at </span></span><a href="https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2024/01/its-wednesday-and-this-is-what-i-know.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What't Going On? </a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ask. "Those of us who write </span>frequently<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> might give ourselves a break on days when we simply show up."</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As I once heard a wise person say, half of life is showing up."</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></div>
Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-39942565906611337372024-01-29T04:16:00.000-08:002024-01-30T06:49:32.133-08:00The Waiting Game<p><b>The time span</b> between a preorder being announced by your publisher and the actual launch date is filled with angst and self-doubt. Waiting for advance reader copies, waiting for the data to be disseminated to libraries and bookstores, waiting for reviews (for a star🌟🌠), waiting for your fingernails to grow back as your hair turns gray. With the winter weather that gripped most of the country last week, I reckon my ARCs are still somewhere between Portland and Michigan.</p><p><b>In the meantime, </b>I have a<a href="https://books2read.com/u/mlpvw9"><b> Universal Book Link</b></a> This is a truly remarkable invention, a link that will take a reader to their preferred digital store, from America to Australia and all points in between. Like magic, the digital age at your fingertips. Check it out. This is also a great tool if you are self publishing. </p><p><b>I </b>mentioned <a href="https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023"><b>Shepherd </b></a>before, the new site for discovering and sharing books. <a href="https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/yvonne-osborne"><b>My page </b></a>just went live today! I chose the template for my three favorites of the past year. If you want to give your three favs a shout-out (with a spot for your own published or soon-to-be-published book if applicable), they are taking <a href="https://forauthors.shepherd.com/contact">submissions </a>until July of 2024. As a Goodreads Author, I'll be doing a giveaway to celebrate the book's launch, and if you <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/47850386.Yvonne_Osborne">follow me</a> or have added my novel to your Want-To-Read List you'll automatically be notified about the offer. These actually work. I received a free book in the mail last week. speaking of free, if you are in a book club and you choose my novel, you will receive a free autographed copy, bookmarks for everyone, and a box of my homemade truffles. </p><p><b>Finally,</b> I have an interview online <b><a href="https://awesomegang.com/?p=1112388">here</a> </b> by the Awesome Gang. I tried to amend an, ah, inappropriate word but didn't have the opportunity to do so before it went live. I still like the interview overall so decided to share it, but hope I don't offend anyone with my off-the-cuff comment.</p><p><b>Thanks</b> for reading. I am deeply grateful.</p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-41793218048525069532024-01-17T05:37:00.000-08:002024-01-20T03:43:19.775-08:00A City, A Country, A Gift<p><a href="https://dversepoets.com/2024/01/16/poetics-city-love/" style="font-weight: bold;">dVerse</a><b> </b>(the pub where the poets hang out) has asked for a city-inspired verse. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Turning Down The Linen<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">The lost sunrise, rare coin, I now lament.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">So too, its flaming slide at end of day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">I can’t escape my farm girl sentience.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Unleash me over those fields of fresh mown hay,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Not here, where brick and steel climb up the sky,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Where wren and hawk have flown a quick retreat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Gray smoke and stacks alike tarnish surprise,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Over a city that rumbles beneath my feet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">This busy beast that swallows every sound<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">With clotted breath. To water’s edge I’m drawn<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Where stars appear from out the black surround.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Like fields of wheat, waves undulate in song.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">And then there’s you with power to part the night.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">You turn the linens down and dim the lights.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">That's the only sonnet I've ever written. Now, living where I do, I have to say this cold country sky is on fire!🔥 Streaks of crimson flood the windows, coming in from all directions, a sky made more beautiful by the dark sentinel trees and the white ground beneath. How is such a thing possible on a dark winter morn in the northern hemisphere? Window to window, I draw back the curtains. A blue jay is rocking it in the bare branches of the maple tree, and the fleeting shadow of an owl escapes over the shed. A quiet house, a cup of coffee, jays for company, a rural morning.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">To go with the gift of a new day, my novel is on <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/let-evening-come-yvonne-osborne/1144614181?ean=2940179211204">Barnes and Nobel</a>!! It's also now on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CS94FDJR/ref=x_gr_bb_kindle?caller=Goodreads&tag=x_gr_bb_kindle-20">Amazon </a>but somehow the B&N makes me more excited. Maybe it's the brick and mortar? I feel like they've given me an early Valentine's gift. 💝💘💕 </p><p>I am also now officially a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/47850386.Yvonne_Osborne">Goodreads Author.</a> Please consider signing up for my <a href="https://yvonneosborne.com/contact/">newsletter</a> where I'm sharing what I've learned on this journey from idea to draft to an ISBN. I will have a drawing for signed copies from the subscriber list on April 2nd to celebrate the launch of </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4ByA4bfcwfx8-ODG2_eQMMiW4ZClA-iXhVoaqNK8L-vyyhPgK-kU36Rz3LvsH-ukP3afc4bYy77I_b96x9xypKqx0eUruDDANdvxB0yfpXEfT3owMIqIvgAXVnBUF-lBCfmu7QRZBsXbYxAr19ICf78sX9UaEwldk2URTXoiQpdOJU9UcPm1-JNslZg/s2000/Cover%20Design.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm4ByA4bfcwfx8-ODG2_eQMMiW4ZClA-iXhVoaqNK8L-vyyhPgK-kU36Rz3LvsH-ukP3afc4bYy77I_b96x9xypKqx0eUruDDANdvxB0yfpXEfT3owMIqIvgAXVnBUF-lBCfmu7QRZBsXbYxAr19ICf78sX9UaEwldk2URTXoiQpdOJU9UcPm1-JNslZg/w133-h200/Cover%20Design.png" width="133" /></a></div><br />I'd also like to mention a new site for discovering and sharing books called <a href="https://shepherd.com/">Shepherd. </a>They're awesome. I love his little staff and hat-you gotta check it out!<div><br /></div><div>In looking back, I've been blogging here since 2008. I laugh at <a href="https://yvonneosborneblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2008/11/whats-under-bed.html">some of my first posts</a>. (What's Under The Bed) It seems so long go. I've had some ups and downs but stuck with it. The writing has been an exercise in itself. I cringe at some of those old posts but am also <a href="https://yvonneosborneblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/12/them.html">proud of a few. </a><p><span style="text-indent: 0in;">In closing, I just want to say thank you to all old and new friends and followers who have been so kind and supportive. You who have been generous with sharing your own writing and expertise, especially those at</span><a href="https://dversepoets.com/" style="text-indent: 0in;"> dVerse</a><span style="text-indent: 0in;"> and </span><a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/" style="text-indent: 0in;">Poets and Storytellers. </a><span style="text-indent: 0in;">I wish I could have you all over for a drink. The house is small but I'd make it work!</span></p><div style="text-align: left;">Over and Out,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Yvonne<br />Human</div></div>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-9368404933892902632024-01-10T12:43:00.000-08:002024-01-20T05:31:51.787-08:00 INDIAN HORSE A review<p>In awe of an expertly bound book, I ran my hand across the smooth surface of the Milkweed edition of <i>Indian Horse, </i>the feel of it a tactile pleasure. From front to back, I fanned the pages, intrigued by the page numbers elegantly printed in cursive on the bottom left, and the smell of print. I leafed through them<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">—</span>I couldn't seem to stop<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">—</span>the promise of a story captured between the covers of this book.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ge5jPshrpUzMOvTm9qk_pKLYrOdXMroTTtzIlkd0XEVnzzdUrHncrhp5D8_ffoDbvP2m1hZxLI-Ryitfuhfj9bAbbW4dUFC6jCHDYhWy5hVH4O9QOjzb0Nxri42n0bBpkXb-vtUn4CAbJ1qtS1UNAnXJswtvot2d9DDHcXOOX-ez6ZtIt8hgw34GTP0/s120/Indian%20Horse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="78" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ge5jPshrpUzMOvTm9qk_pKLYrOdXMroTTtzIlkd0XEVnzzdUrHncrhp5D8_ffoDbvP2m1hZxLI-Ryitfuhfj9bAbbW4dUFC6jCHDYhWy5hVH4O9QOjzb0Nxri42n0bBpkXb-vtUn4CAbJ1qtS1UNAnXJswtvot2d9DDHcXOOX-ez6ZtIt8hgw34GTP0/w130-h200/Indian%20Horse.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>Indian Horse</i> is the beautifully written story of the Ojibway youth, Saul Indian Horse, who is trapped at an early age in Canada's residential school system. The story is an affirmation of Saul's perseverance and resilience as he struggles to survive the horror of the school and the demeaning actions of those who felt compelled to subjugate and drive the savage out of the Indian. In testament to the endurance and spiritual wisdom of his people and the grandmother he remembers, Saul battles to reclaim the dignity he was endowed with. I loved him and cried with him.</p><p>I just realized there was a movie made and it's on Netflix. I recommend it. But read the book first, if you can. </p><p>Gifted to me at Christmas, owning and reading this novel has made me realize how personal books are to me. Books have been my best friends since I learned to tie my shoes. Stages of life bookended by the books I read.</p><p>Now we have eBooks, the epitome of inanimate. They aren't books<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">—</span>I would argue<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">—</span>but devices. They are screens that need battery power to light up. They need electricity to turn the pages. They smell like nothing. But they are cheaper than print (and friendlier to the environment), thus the way of the future. </p><p>I gave up my eight tracks for cassettes and my cassettes for CDs. I confess to the convenience of Alexa sitting on a shelf, devoid of rizz even when she's plugged in, but she has her place, like an electronic reader on an airplane or in the dark of bedtime. But my bookshelves sag with that which I will never give up. Books that remain readable when the power goes off.</p><p>It's early in the year, but it will be difficult for any novel to unseat <i>Indian Horse'</i>s number one position on my shelf.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2024/01/friday-writings-109-rizz.html">Poets and Storytellers,</a> invited us to "de-retro" our vintage vocabulary with a post, including the Oxford word of the year for 202<b>3</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> - Rizz, </i>an informal noun defined as <i>style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner. </i></p><p>I stuck it in above. Did you notice.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p><b><a href="http://yvonneosborne.com">yvonneosborne.com</a></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-30133154109850188512024-01-05T09:28:00.000-08:002024-01-05T10:40:46.555-08:00BEGINNINGS Newsletter Signups (what's in it for me?)<p><i>Everything must have a beginning … and that beginning must be linked to something that went before.</i> – Mary Shelley.</p><p>This Friday's prompt from <a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2024/01/friday-writings-108-beginning.html">Poets and Storytellers i</a>s to let the idea of Beginnings inspire us in our responses. For me, 2024 marks the beginning of being a published novelist, the birthday year for <a href="https://yvonneosborne.com/book/">LET EVENING COME </a></p><p>This beginning is linked, as Shelly says it must, to all the years of reading that went before. From Island of the Blue Dolphins and Ramona to the latest novels on my nightstand, which somehow, somewhere along the line, gave me the impetus and courage to write a novel of my own. </p><p>Now it's time to say, I’m proud of this thing! This is hard because, like most writers, I’m humbled by the process of putting my writing out there. Humbled that people would want to put down hard-earned money to read it. There are no words to express the gratitude I feel.</p><div>I started a newsletter to share the process, the bump and grind of a publishing journey in hopes readers would find it interesting and to help get the word out. I know it takes an extra step to signup for a newsletter, and there is so much noise out there, advertisers, bloggers, "influencers" (I hate that term). I get it. I've been there. So it takes a leap of faith for which I may or may not be worthy of, to sign up for my newsletter. But I promise to focus on succinct, interesting content. I will not flood your inbox with drivel. Most importantly, there will be two drawings from the first fifty subscribers for a signed, first edition book, and, honestly, (alert: arm twisting) there are exactly 8 spots left. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoPZfbDFDLlTCkfsGKpntauAjxd9OGz1lHaHgYE9tuRPtmSefRoqictTzpxz7RSC42MquX1G2RJIIDxEyJwuHwwWuR0CUZvuC7i-NTHus_KItv80VBk-b_i8R-SmgVXrWcC7e-sK8LLCPqwKIGfjUlaYF6WBWUjsBEX8BMxJsfn3LOVYIah_JTsirZYk/s4000/Yvonne%20at%20the%20Library.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoPZfbDFDLlTCkfsGKpntauAjxd9OGz1lHaHgYE9tuRPtmSefRoqictTzpxz7RSC42MquX1G2RJIIDxEyJwuHwwWuR0CUZvuC7i-NTHus_KItv80VBk-b_i8R-SmgVXrWcC7e-sK8LLCPqwKIGfjUlaYF6WBWUjsBEX8BMxJsfn3LOVYIah_JTsirZYk/s320/Yvonne%20at%20the%20Library.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The sign up form for my mailing list is<a href="https://yvonneosborne.com/contact/"> here </a>. Thank you for your trust and support. </p><p>Finally, I'd like to plug an author's two best friends. The library (this is me recently at the one in Rochester) and independent bookstores. Both form <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">mutually
beneficial relationships with authors, readers, and their communities</span>. </p><p>To new beginnings in 2024! </p><div style="text-align: left;">Yvonne,<br /> Human</div>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-70718397323610222632024-01-01T05:11:00.000-08:002024-01-01T05:11:41.950-08:00GOOD NIGHT IRENE (review)<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImEzzL48eyyPDSSMUwAifC7-kPp6pMG_xy6x6-517ZcA0zHIiWL5212P1_-w0kiodUV3PfSLD6378YsmkhXXgGTM16UFjH0OLqEyVVoZ_sqT26LGZZlIkvCu0NXIC2_BBDEpvinBXwEMgkAgIUEQDCUvUGHkLyWBalfE1xF89Ea_HmJNEMYq53tYuCgc/s400/Good%20Night%20Irene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="258" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiImEzzL48eyyPDSSMUwAifC7-kPp6pMG_xy6x6-517ZcA0zHIiWL5212P1_-w0kiodUV3PfSLD6378YsmkhXXgGTM16UFjH0OLqEyVVoZ_sqT26LGZZlIkvCu0NXIC2_BBDEpvinBXwEMgkAgIUEQDCUvUGHkLyWBalfE1xF89Ea_HmJNEMYq53tYuCgc/w129-h200/Good%20Night%20Irene.jpg" width="129" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Good Night Irene</i> by Luis Alberto Urrea is the untold story of the Clubmobile women of WWII. Though their official assignment was to make coffee and donuts in their kitchen-outfitted clubmobile truck, they drove the front lines, from Normandy to Bastogne, Belgium (the Battle of the Bulge) to Germany itself. </span><i style="font-size: large;">How did someplace so gorgeous come up with something as ugly as they did?</i><span style="font-size: large;"> They </span><span style="font-size: large;">saw combat, brandished rifles and tommy guns, dodged bullets, and suffered injuries and loss like the men they stood beside, comforted and bandaged. Sometimes the dearest thing to a soldier is a hot cup of coffee and a little friendly banter. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>These are your sisters and the GIs are your brothers and we expect you to treat them as such. Win this war with your decency. Because we are Americans. And this is what Americans do.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In contrast to the horrific scenes from Buchenwald when the allies first entered the town, <i>(the stench was unrecognizable and visceral) </i> Urrea has composed the most beautifully written love scene between Irene and her pilot while in the south of France that I've ever read. <i>From here, can you smell Africa? Spain?</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Even if you've read accounts of the European theater and the brutality of the Nazi regime, Good Night Irene is a singular accomplishment that sings of the unsung female heroes who may not have received purple hearts but were as deeply wounded, physically and mentally, as any American GI.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This is my five-star read of 2023. On my bedside table now are INDIAN HORSE and THE HEAVEN AND EARTH GROCERY STORE, and in the works is <a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p456/PREORDER%3A_LET_EVENING_COME_by_Yvonne_Osborne.html">LET EVENING COME,</a> my breakout novel. 😊 Which I hope will soon be on yours.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Over and out and into the New Year wherein the idea of peace and prosperity beckons like a steaming cup of coffee and a donut, or as mother called hers, friedcakes!</span></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-57437040132431043322023-12-28T13:37:00.000-08:002023-12-30T06:11:18.568-08:00WOULD IT MATTER? <div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When the nightly
news is a barrage<br />Of bluster and bile, bombs and debris<br />Gutted out buildings and leafless trees<br />Where it never rains or it always rains<br />And children line up for water</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>With wary looks at their surroundings</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">—</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">I wonder. </span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">If there were no religion</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">would it matter?</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;">Would the flowers at sunrise</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">call to the butterfly<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">to come among the blooms<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">with downy stroke<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and the bee to drink from<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">what was fermented in the night<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">while thrushes forage for seeds<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="text-indent: 0in;">and stay out of sight?</span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For<a href="https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2023/12/for-peace.html?sc=1703799749833#c887142630464500373"> </a><a href="https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/">Poets Here . </a>. . a prayer for peace</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-13846223733102496622023-12-18T14:40:00.000-08:002023-12-22T03:21:32.038-08:00The Likeness<p><span><b>A Ghost Story</b> Molly grasped the railing for balance. In the dim of the hallway light, the family portraits that lined the stairwell hung curiously ajar. She straightened her grandmother and descended the stairs, realizing they'd all been moved.</span></p><p><span>Perplexed, she hung them back where they belonged. The next night it happened again<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">—ancestors jostling for position. Only her baby picture remained unmoved, the curly-headed likeness gazing intently at the camera. Then, on the morning of the shortest day, they were stacked at the bottom of the stairs. Hand to her throat she stared at the only one still hanging by a nail.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span>__________</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span><b>In keeping with</b> an old British tradition of telling spooky stories right before Christmas, I wrote this 100-word story for Loren Eaton's Advent Ghosts storytelling event at <a href="https://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/">I Saw Lightning Fall. </a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">__________</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>For Christmas present</b>..... my novel, Let Evening Come is available for <a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p456/PREORDER%3A_LET_EVENING_COME_by_Yvonne_Osborne.html">preorder</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> (I actually have an ISBN which made me as giddy as old Scrooge on Christmas morning!) </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The description and bio is now up on the</span><a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p456/PREORDER%3A_LET_EVENING_COME_by_Yvonne_Osborne.html" style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> publisher's site</a>.</p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Thanks to all and a happy winter solstice (the joyful return of the sun) and loving holiday season to all. Especially to all the poets and writers at<a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2023/12/friday-writings-107-you-did-it.html?sc=1703165824624#c3872546166201985173"> The Storytellers</a><a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2023/12/friday-writings-107-you-did-it.html?sc=1703165824624#c3872546166201985173">. </a>Now for a brandy ball, a snort, and a little fresh snow.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yvonne</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">yvonneosborne.com</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-44008949781871914402023-12-12T03:44:00.000-08:002023-12-13T08:20:31.921-08:00REMEMBER SNOW<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <br />I remember the year it snowed<br />on the drive home from Midnight Mass.<br />Walking to the car, snowflakes on our tongues<br />the<i> slap slap<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>of
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wipers<br />noses pressed against the window<br />dizzied by the storm swirling around us.<br />Will rain remember being snow?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>This is a Quadrille (a poem of exactly 44 words) written for the challenge at<a href="https://dversepoets.com/2023/12/11/quadrille-191-let-it-snow/"> dVerse</a> to write one including the given word, </span><i>snow.</i><span> Twas easy to do. Even though we don't have any . . . </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>I remember when it was otherwise. </span>And the poets at <a href="https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/">What's Going On</a> are asking us to share a poem about looking back.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-17436176185502386242023-12-07T14:30:00.000-08:002023-12-08T07:28:08.053-08:00Pet Peeve #3 December Rain<p> </p><p>The Pet Peeve #3</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRg1kvhqScxjI3NndveKhj3hvrR5LHyyEwHKwKTxou-mLwCWEUeokF7xyTLA2uYnbAij2aNh7WNC27mVNmXA6C46qycqTTpF5iQdJppdt3LIaGoUUFmyvwYSDSzb7t_mNHSv4s-uqTAm6QdgD0F-qffUoaT7lArJhhA67pyThsvadY7NHh8MVl3DeO8AY/s926/Rhetoric.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="926" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRg1kvhqScxjI3NndveKhj3hvrR5LHyyEwHKwKTxou-mLwCWEUeokF7xyTLA2uYnbAij2aNh7WNC27mVNmXA6C46qycqTTpF5iQdJppdt3LIaGoUUFmyvwYSDSzb7t_mNHSv4s-uqTAm6QdgD0F-qffUoaT7lArJhhA67pyThsvadY7NHh8MVl3DeO8AY/s320/Rhetoric.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">December rains flood the bird feeders—how
will they eat?—but doesn’t wash the blood off my porch, the carnage scattered from
door to window; tuffs of fur, a chewed-off leg, entrails, a tail. My dear husband
cleaned it up with his shop broom and what all. But what, you ask, does this
have to do with the rain the rain, the rain? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">It’s my opinion that if it were snow
falling gently from these iron-gripped skies to pile up in fluffy banks around
the porch, drifts swirling and forming barriers along the drive, then
perhaps these nocturnal creatures, whatever they are, would eat their dinner in
their riverbank burrows, cubbyholes, and woody enclaves, (I want no Invitation to the Party!) instead of spreading it
across my front porch for the UPS and Fed Ex guys to look at askance, as at the
scene of a murder, checking the soles of their boots before climbing back in
their trucks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">So, call it what you want: global
warming, climate change, or normal fluctuations in weather patterns, I want my
winters back. I want the cardinals and the juncos to flit among snow-laden
boughs instead of flapping their wings like ducks in the newly formed ponds where
there was once a yard. And I don't want dead things on my doorstep.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">For <a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2023/12/friday-writings-106-seasonal-readings.html">Poets and Storytellers and their Seasonal Writings, </a>asking us to include the title of a book we're reading this December in a piece of poetry or prose. <a href="https://regal-house-publishing.mybigcommerce.com/an-invitation-to-the-party/">An Invitation to The Party</a> was a perfect fit!</span></p><br /><p></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-28311484524419283172023-12-01T10:58:00.000-08:002023-12-20T15:22:33.421-08:00A Path To Publication and Preorder<p><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">THE OFFER</span></u></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As those of you who are familiar with my blog know, I have long been on the winding road to publication, ever since the Indie publisher, Unsolicited Press first notified me back in September of 2021 that out of thousands of submissions, my manuscript was selected as one of 40 projects to fill out their 2023/2024 list.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">From that initial euphoria to signing a contract, to multiple angst-filled edits and settling on a cover, to the gally proof I now have in hand, it has been an arduous process. But, all of a sudden things are happening. Fast! So I come back to you with an update and the big news that <i>Let Evening Come </i>is now available for pre-order! </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">A BRIEF SYNOPSIS</span></u></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Let Evening Come</i> is the love story between the son of an Indigenous family displaced from their ancestral home on the Tar Sands of Canada and a motherless farm girl from Michigan who struggles to overcome loss while navigating the pitfalls of young adulthood. Together they combat suspicion and bigotry on both sides of the border and the cultural differences that separate them</span>. <span style="background-color: white;"> </span></p><p style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBPfwVedmyeMO52h0D4zJcvXTr_yALX7XUTE9XwllNPasb2HadO2RwRZnBtGzkMy-XG9kXyNNJADUH-YNB38gtk9TzrXfYHDvqCznhelRJw4OLrtjIwevWPBhK3GjJEXIUG4iZEosWcE3LTGhEiR3I9pTAiWTBYEjGTjM9v8w4hwsY_zPI1Sqi24a8fc/s2000/Cover%20Design.png" style="font-style: italic; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBPfwVedmyeMO52h0D4zJcvXTr_yALX7XUTE9XwllNPasb2HadO2RwRZnBtGzkMy-XG9kXyNNJADUH-YNB38gtk9TzrXfYHDvqCznhelRJw4OLrtjIwevWPBhK3GjJEXIUG4iZEosWcE3LTGhEiR3I9pTAiWTBYEjGTjM9v8w4hwsY_zPI1Sqi24a8fc/w133-h200/Cover%20Design.png" width="133" /></a><a href="https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/store/p456/PREORDER%3A_LET_EVENING_COME_by_Yvonne_Osborne.html">Pre-Order Here</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><u><b>PREORDERING</b></u></span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Preordering
helps the author like this: When you preorder a book, it seeds </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">excitement</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. It tells bookstores
people want this book, which makes them typically stock more copies of the
book, which of course means more people see it and buy it. </span></span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Not only do publishers look at preorder numbers to determine their print run, but early sales are key. Experts say the first two weeks of a book's shelf life are the most important.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">So, if there is a book coming out from one of your writerly friends 😊 via traditional publishing, or one that sounds interesting and you plan to purchase it anyway, the best way to support them is to preorder.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I never used to know any of this. I never knew anything. And yes, I'm shamelessly groveling. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">I appreciate all of you who make up this vibrant blogging community and, truthfully, I would have faltered on the path if not for the </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">ongoing</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">encouragement</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> and generous sharing of time, support, and ideas.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Thank you,</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Yvonne</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18px;">Human</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 18px;">(Because in these times I think that needs to be said.)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px;">P.S. I have a newsletter sign up form on my <a href="https://yvonneosborne.com/contact/">website </a>and there will be a drawing from the first 50 subscribers for free signed copies!! 💖💖 </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 18px;">P.S.S. The Friday prompt from <a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2023/12/friday-writings-105-starry-starry-night.html">Poets and Writers</a> is to be inspired by Don McLean singing Starry, Starry Night, his lovely song about artist Vincent Van Gogh. There might be a heavy cloud cover overhead but it's a starry, starry night for me and I hope for you, as well.</span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><br /></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-66926363668210614102023-11-27T07:28:00.000-08:002023-12-11T07:01:18.881-08:00FOX & I - An Uncommon Friendship<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NL0Mcju0EzTzjRM4H6zNi9kfVTt2-CqBUU4e7SkPF7RyBjVq-te_rxRCw7eEej6U0bE8qfPVI5aJDdw0kf6pql8t4tJVtIiR7WndXJooG8WYXrXeN0YVvqAQcnSOOAUGZHL0hi513Ht4L7oOqZqipjZ5s36Qpw_Ktf9jHMKIfvZa0SmZyHZTA1XLJxM/s2048/Fox%20&%20I.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NL0Mcju0EzTzjRM4H6zNi9kfVTt2-CqBUU4e7SkPF7RyBjVq-te_rxRCw7eEej6U0bE8qfPVI5aJDdw0kf6pql8t4tJVtIiR7WndXJooG8WYXrXeN0YVvqAQcnSOOAUGZHL0hi513Ht4L7oOqZqipjZ5s36Qpw_Ktf9jHMKIfvZa0SmZyHZTA1XLJxM/w213-h320/Fox%20&%20I.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>I loved this book. The author, a former park ranger, earned a doctorate in biology and zoology then built a small cabin on an isolated piece of land in Montana and plotted her next move. </p><p>As she accepts research projects and teaches field classes and leads groups of undergraduates through the Wilderness areas surrounding Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, we tag alone to learn things about the natural world that couldn't be taught inside a classroom.</p><p>But the main focus of this astounding book is her unlikely and inexplicable friendship with a red fox who visits her isolated mountain valley cottage at 4:15 every day. With traits that only humans should have, you will never view these small creatures the same again.</p><p>Fox & I is on my list of best reads of 2023. My other top five to date (of course you're interested!😀) are: </p><p>1. The Slow Horses Series (Mick Herron)</p><p>2. The Only Good Indians (Stephen Graham Jones)</p><p>3. Lessons In Chemistry (Bonnie Garmus)</p><p>4. Bear Town (Fredrik Backman)</p><p>5. An Invitation To The Party (MJ Werthman White)</p><p>Tis the season for reading and writing and gift giving. I'd like to hear what some of your favorite books of the year are.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-85376851320849281182023-11-21T15:07:00.000-08:002023-11-22T08:14:16.256-08:00A Letter To My Mother<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Dear Mom,</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I have
finally learned to appreciate your favorite vegetable—sweet potatoes. I’m making
a shepherd’s pie with a sweet potato topping for dinner tonight. Remember how
you always asked us to check to make sure you had sweet potatoes in the cupboard where you kept your
onions and potatoes while making out your grocery list? I regret rolling my eyes,
wondering what the big deal was. On the list they went, price circled, so we
wouldn’t mess up. Those were the only times I ever bought sweet potatoes.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">It must
have been the sweet potato casseroles of old with marshmallows on top—though
that was never your way—that charred fluffy topping cemented my revulsion to the lowly sweet potato. I’m not sure at what point I got over that,
but I wanted you to know, the Irish in me has finally taken hold.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I’m using lamb
in the shepherd’s pie tonight instead of hamburger, and I know you loved lamb. (Those
patties stuffed with feta, served with mint jelly on the side?) Finally, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">of
course there’s dessert. Baked apples with whip cream.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">It’s cold
and wet tonight, but there's an empty chair with
a cushion on it by the heat register. I just wanted you to know how much I love sweet potatoes. I guess what I really want to say is I wish I had another chance to tell you I love you.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Love,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Yvonne</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The
challenge today from <a href="https://dversepoets.com/2023/11/21/poeticsfor-the-love-of-letters/">Punam at d’Verse - For The Love of letters </a>is to write one. "Before the onset of the digital age," she says, "letter writing was the only way to communicate long distance. (Long distance phone calls were expensive). Thus, learning how to properly write a letter was part of any young woman or man's education."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">In the present age it is so easy to keep up with people. Yet, we lose something important. The personal touch! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Letter writing delivers something more to the recipient than just the words on the page. The act itself shows how much we care about a person. It's the intimacy, the information we impart by way of our handwriting, our choice of pen and paper, that connects us with the recipient in a way that cold computer screens can't."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">But when was the last time you wrote one or received one? So, in the spirit of participating in this challenge (appropriate as we enter the holiday season), to rekindle and revive the dying art of letter writing in my own small way, I wrote this letter to my mother,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-22306706246060802022023-11-15T06:46:00.000-08:002023-11-15T17:10:09.430-08:00A STORY OF OPENING DAY <p><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Back when pheasants were </span>plentiful</span><br /><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Opening Day m</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">eant friedcakes hot out of the deep fryer—<br />B</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">etty
Crocker called them cake doughnuts<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">But
mother called them friedcakes so friedcakes they were—<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">subtly spiced and dipped in glaze or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">and stacked in dripping pans to cool.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Opening day was hunters in camouflage jackets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">and canvas vests lined with little pockets<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">to store bullets in. Traipsing in and out<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">the back door to sign in on dad’s clipboard<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">hung on a nail beside the dryer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">They would carry their birds back up the lane by the
feet<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">stopping first to report in and get a friedcake.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A
snapshot of one of the regulars<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Eddie</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in his bulging vest with his bird<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> And
a grinning preschooler full of indulgence in a fuzzy sweater.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">What beautiful birds those ringnecks were.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">1957<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gunshots echoed across the fields<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The kicking up of leaves in galoshes and wool socks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The warm kitchen smelling of hot oil and cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Friedcakes dripping frosting cooling in the pan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A jostling around the counter to duck and grab<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mother in her apron and dad in his coveralls<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Talking up the hunt and the camaraderie of neighbors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">2023<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A Kindred Need<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chaff in the wind, grasshoppers on the fly,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">the gathering up and the laying down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Combines creep across the field<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">where </span>sparrows<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> hover and hide <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">in the dry rustle of the corn <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">storing up energy in their hollow bones<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">for fall portends winter,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">when they’ll swoop over the land in concert of wing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">for they need their kind come winter. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I heard a pheasant this past summer.<br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">Never saw but
heard the truncated chortle,</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">the</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;"> two-note song. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Was that a tail waving in the Queen Anne’s
Lace?</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;">I thought I heard a pheasant this past summer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Can't resist linking this to </span></span><a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2023/11/friday-writing-102-adjectives-or-not.html?sc=1700062490670#c7657701191263351825" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Poets and Storytellers</a> with their<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> prompt in favor of adjectives, reaffirming my belief that there are </span>exceptions<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to every writing rule. And in answer to the prompt at <a href="https://newwhatsgoingon.blogspot.com/2023/10/i-love.html">What's Going On? </a> what do you love?, this post might only scratch the surface but Opening Day, then and now, are right near the top. </span></span></span></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-34446133637783850352023-10-26T14:58:00.000-07:002023-10-26T14:58:33.186-07:00The Sorrowful Mysteries<p><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 0in;">This is an old poem I wrote while my parents were alive, but given the world's current sorrowful state and <a href="https://dversepoets.com/2023/10/26/openlinknight-349/#respond">d'Verse's tribute to Louise Gluck</a> (recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize for literature) who was known for her insight into loneliness, family relationships, divorce, and death, I thought it an appropriate time to share.</span></p><p><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 0in;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">My father and I say the
rosary on the drive home<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">from the
hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">I forget a line
in the Our Father<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">and mumble my
trespasses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">He finishes for
me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">How could I
forget<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">that which was
memorized at the knee<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">of Sister
Severe?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">Swimming
upstream in his wake,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">I navigate the
mysteries,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 0in;">the joyful and
the sorrowful mingling like water and salt—</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;">Let it be known that no one who sought<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;">thy intercession was left unaided.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">He stumbles on
the words,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">they fall into
his handkerchief.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">I finish for
him.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">The miles pass
unnoticed<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">and</span><span style="color: #333333; text-indent: 0in;"> the mysteries
come to an end</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">but the road
continues and the day approaches<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">when there
won’t be anyone left<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><span style="color: #333333;">to remember
what is forgotten.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-8036487685331880872023-10-17T04:25:00.001-07:002023-10-17T04:46:52.945-07:00Vinegar and Newspaper<p>With the autumnal flocking of birds and rustling leaves whisking by my window, I try to wash one or two when the sun shows its fickle face. At least the
ones I missed in spring with my scattershot approach. The window of
opportunity is scant and fleeting (no pun intended). With a spray bottle of vinegar and
water and several sections of newspaper—grandma’s mode of attack—I start. Drying
with newspaper is how she did it, and the task always brings back memories of
her. We’d be on the roof—one of my sisters or me—to wash the outside of the
dormers, while grandma on the inside meticulously pointed out the spots we
missed.</p><p><o:p></o:p></p>
<p>With grandma gone, I admit to the occasional bottle of store-bought window
cleaner and a rag, but I always feel vaguely guilty about it, as if she were watching. For streak-free, squeaky-clean windows, vinegar and newspaper are not only cheaper than the dirt caught in the sills but will give you perfection beyond compare. </p>
<p>Some things can only be done on a sunny day, but with a dearth of those, my
flowerbeds are overgrown, the pear didn’t get trimmed, nor the strawberries
weeded, and garlic is yet to be planted. What can be done on these dreary, rainy
days?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baking chocolate crinkles, walnut
leek tarts, and canning pickled beets. Reading under a blanket and writing with
laptop balanced on said lap as Hitchcockian flocks of birds fill the trees and flood
the sky outside these freshly washed windows, for winter’s coming.<o:p></o:p></p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6858983085428585414.post-24942223098328801582023-09-29T00:01:00.002-07:002023-10-02T05:32:38.715-07:00Uncommon Fruit<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">I need to see the sun’s first light<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">and flaming slide at the end of day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">I can’t escape my farmgirl sentience—<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">what it was to fall asleep<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">to the thrum of the hay dryer<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">with a pillow cooled at windows of sweet
scent,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">to hear the whistle of the freight train<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">on its rumble through the night<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">to pick up grain and carry it off.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">With hay cut and drying in the sun,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">I see those strong boys paid to help.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Heavy bales to lift, throw, and stack;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">chaff in our hair, sweat down our backs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">We gathered at the hydrant, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">close but not touching. Closer than
touching.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Knee-deep in Queen Anne’s Lace<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">on a wend among the boulders,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">glacial erratic that lined the fence—<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">worn pocket tops caught the rain<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">and made a seat for dreams of Oread<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">hawks and love and common things<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">and lent a view of the jagged line<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">of rogue apple trees <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">that grew along the creek<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">in unmannered ways,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">withstood the winds of winter<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">and bore uncommon fruit<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">without the nod of a care from us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 10.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p>Sharing an old poem about home at <a href="https://dversepoets.com/2023/09/28/open-link-night-347/">dVerse </a> (the poet's pub) and<a href="https://poetsandstorytellersunited.blogspot.com/2023/09/friday-writings-96-what-for-you.html"> Poets and Storytellers,</a> What conjures up home? Nothing was ever sweeter than the smell of fresh cut hay and first love. </p>Yvonne Osbornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18212188414972694795noreply@blogger.com29