Category: NaPoWriMo

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 21

On By WinstonIn Embrace the Wild, Environment, Global Issues, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Personal Responsibility, SocietyLeave a comment

If you have been reading my entries so far this year, you will know that I love nature. So when I look at what we do to it and our wholesale destruction of it, I get pretty depressed. But it’s not hopeless. There are much smarter people than I who are working at ways to undo some of the harm we have done and minimize it going forward. I can only hope we can find a way forward for all life on the Earth, not just the human parts of it.

The Time Is Now

I feel the earth within my bones,

In my blood flows the sea.

I am the green and growing land,

It’s creatures living free.

I am the burning desert sands,

The ancient glacier’s ice.

I am the mighty lion’s roar,

And scampering of mice.

Yes I am nature, I am all,

The things you should embrace.

But do it soon. No! Do it now!

These treasures can’t replace.

I am the silent island there,

Beneath a rising sea.

A silence spreading everywhere,

When you have murdered me.

It’s not too late, there still is time,

To change what fate we choose.

But though there’s time, there is not much,

And surely none to lose.

So make the choice and take a step,

Toward that better way.

Just have the faith to make the change,

We’ll see a better day.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 20

On By WinstonIn Humor, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, writer`s blockLeave a comment

So, as you may have noticed, I’m running a couple of days behind on the whole post-a-day idea. This stresses me far more than it should and it quickly begins to rob me of the fun I have doing this. So this year, I’ve stressed less and just let things unfold as they will. So now, if I write one more verse before midnight, I’ll be all caught up.

April Struggles

The more behind I get it seems,

The faster I must run.

I stress and struggle with each word,

Until this is no fun.

If not for fun, then what’s the point,

What does it matter then?

I may as well do something else,

Than stress myself again.

Yet here I am and here I stay,

Too stubborn just to quit.

And there is that good feeling,

Once all the pieces fit.

Yes here I am and here I stay,

Though struggling, fighting still.

Continue putting pen to page,

And prob’ly always will.

As long as there is life in me,

Can still turns words to rhyme.

As long as I’m still having fun,

Up this hill I will climb.

Though I will often fall behind,

I will keep keeping on.

Keep doing this until at last,

All words from me are gone.

That is not yet, and hopefully,

Still far, far off for me.

So please enjoy these simple rhymes,

My gift, to you, from me.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 19

On By WinstonIn Friendship, Love, Loving Life, my angel, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, RelationshipsLeave a comment

I was talking with my wife Lynn this morning and thinking how blessed I am to have her in my life. We each have our fair share of issues, but we are aware of them and we are working at dealing with them. Neither of us is perfect, but we are perfect for each other.

Perfect Imperfection

We are not perfect people true,

Are flawed as we can be.

But all your broken pieces fit,

In all the cracks in me.

God knows that I’ve got my defects,

Of that I’m well aware.

It’s not about perfection though,

But working with what’s there.

You know you are not perfect love,

Your flaws are all you see.

Though you can’t see your perfection,

You are perfect for me.

Without the flaws that marks us though,

We’d not be who we are.

If we were anyone but us,

Could we have come this far?

I’ll pick up all your broken bits,

With your help I’ll be fine.

There’s no one else I’d do this with,

‘O perfect Angel mine.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 18

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Loving Life, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Pop Culture, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

Sometimes it feels like everything today is about being darker, grittier, more cynical and sarcastic. Instead of that tried and disproven approach, maybe try this.

Be The Light

A smile, a word, a life is saved,

Is pulled back from the brink.

The power of a kindness is,

Much greater than you think.

The server at your coffee shop,

Though you don’t know their name,

Your smile and a few kind words,

Lift them up just the same.

No doubt you have a friend or two,

At work, you’re there all day.

So try to be more positive,

And weigh the words you say.

For words they have a power that,

There’s few who comprehend.

But this I know, the words we sow,

Are energy we send.

The message in my words is this,

If more joy you would find.

Then be a light in this dark world,

And most of all be kind.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 17

On By WinstonIn Bullying, LGBTQ+, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Religion, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

This is for every LGBTQ+ friend, family member, acquaintance or total stranger out there. I see you. I support you. You deserve to live your life and love who you choose as who you are. Stay strong. You deserve happiness and don’t let anyone tell you different!

Free to Love, Free to Live

Not free to love, not free to live,

Their life as who they are.

Well just because the law has changed,

Don’t think we’ve come so far.

There’s still so many ways someone,

Can run somebody down.

Suck every fleck of joy from life,

Then laugh to watch them drown.

If you do not conform to what,

They claim is God’s own way.

They’ll name and shame and try to blame,

Claim it’s their right to say.

How many people have to live,

Their whole life as a lie?

How many more so wracked with shame,

That they would sooner die?

The “Gay Agenda” is a myth,

There’s no such thing my dear.

The sole agenda’s age-old lies,

And vague, unfounded fear.

Not free to love, not free to live,

I swear this is not right.

And though it’s not about me still,

I will support this fight.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 16

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Global Issues, Media, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Rants, SocietyLeave a comment

I was talking with a friend the other day and they commented on how much worse the world has become since we were young. (Yep, I’m that kind of old man who sits and talks about such things.) I said I don’t think the world is getting worse. I think we are just exposed to a lot more of it, a lot more quickly. It’s up to us, how much of it we internalize.

Today’s poem is about that.

All The News That’s Fit To Internalize

I dream of waking up someplace,

So far from anywhere.

There’s no bad news of any kind,

Too far to ship it there.

Imagine how sweet life could be,

No constant doom and gloom.

How bright your days, how light your soul,

If we gave fear no room.

I do not seek a perfect life,

A life devoid of pain.

I only want to step away,

‘Til you and I remain.

Then I would know these joy and fears,

Of mine are really mine.

And not some outside aggregate,

From TV and online.

Now as you live your life recall,

Life’s not dark as they say.

No matter how much dark is pushed,

Into your mind each day.

I have not found that someplace where,

Bad news cannot reach me.

Instead each day, I try to choose,

Just what my soul will see.

If I can learn to limit dark,

And elevate the light.

Then I will know more peaceful days,

And better sleep each night.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 15

On By WinstonIn Bullying Yourself, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hump Day! Today is the midpoint of the month!

Today, I was at my trailer for the first time this year. I was with Lynn and Ducky and everything was going well. Out of the blue, I had a terrible anxiety attack. I don’t want to let it run my life again, so I’m trying to work through them now. This is part of that process.

What Doesn’t Matter, Shouldn’t Matter

On this day down through all the years,

Ten billion things were done.

And we’re impressed when history,

Remembers even one.

The lesson here is plain to see,

Don’t take it all to heart.

However large each problem seems,

It’s just one tiny part.

The odds are you won’t even care,

A few years down the line.

If you remember them at all,

By then all will be fine.

So think of this next time you stress,

For things you can’t control.

You only make your problems worse,

And dig a deeper hole.

You know that thing a person said,

That made you feel small.

Odds are the next day they forgot,

They spoke to you at all.

Why give them all this power then,

To so mess up your life.

Like telling someone mugging you,

How best to hold their knife.

By holding on to hurtful things,

Miss out on all the rest.

So focused on the negative,

We cannot see the best.

A moment that should be enjoyed,

Is lost within the noise.

Of darkness and anxiety,

They rob us of our joys.

If each of us just work on this,

Perhaps we’ll find a way.

Keep past and future in their place,

And be here now today.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 14

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Environment, Global Issues, homelessness, NaPoWriMo, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Rants, Society, Uncategorized, ValuesLeave a comment

Obviously, I didn’t get this finished last night. But hey, here it is anyway. It’s all about the world we have to live in and changing it into the world we want to live in.

On Not Being A Greedy Supervillain

I wonder just how far we’ll go,

And how we will get there.

Or if we’ll stagnate where we are,

Will anybody care?

The future is not guaranteed,

There’s nothing carved in stone.

If we’d survive we must change now,

For our sins must atone.

Because we’ve thought, we’re all that counts,

We’ve made a hash of things.

Now mend we must our broken ways,

Before the last bird sings.

Instead of taking all we can,

Perhaps just what we need.

Instead of paving everything,

Perhaps should plant a seed.

We hear of corporate greed so much,

And evil billionaires.

But stock in greed is limitless,

We all deserve some shares.

It’s every time we’ve asked for more,

When we have all we need.

We’re all about that new TV,

Not hungry mouths to feed.

We gripe and grouse ’bout produce price,

Sell farms to subdivide.

Can’t stand the cities that we built,

So in our suburbs hide.

So now the question where and when,

And just how far we’ll go.

Is answered by our actions which,

Shape where all this will go.

So take the time to think it through,

The bigger picture see.

And make the choice to make the world,

The place that it could be.

Go take some coins and drop them in,

That homeless person’s hat.

If you could spare a little time,

Perhaps could stop and chat.

It’s little acts of kindness which,

Will add up over time.

It’s taking less and giving more

To live a life sublime.

So change yourself and change the world,

And maybe it will spread.

Perhaps someone will see and they,

Won’t take but give instead.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 13

On By WinstonIn Dark / Gothic, Lovecraftian, Lovecraftian Poetry, Macabre, NaPoWriMo, Old Gods and Magic Folk, PoetryLeave a comment

So today was a “No Idea What I’m Doing” day. I just started writing and let it take over and become whatever it was going to be. Turns out, it’s a little bit Lovecraft with a hint of “Cabin in the Woods”. As always, I’d love to know what people think.

The Keeper of the Eight-Fold Gate

There’s more around than meets the eye,

More things than can be seen.

If you could see between the lines,

Learn what has always been.

Be warned now, that way madness lies,

For such has been the fate.

Of all who sought for wisdom there,

Beyond the Eight-Fold Gate.

Some claim eight is the number of,

The Gods who live beyond.

For others, it’s how many deaths,

It takes to form the bond.

I only know that madness waits,

For any who would dare.

None have returned, with minds intact,

Who have once ventured there.

I do not know, just what they hope,

To gain at such a cost.

For what is gained is surely gone,

Their shattered souls are lost.

It’s not my place to look beyond,

The Eight-Fold Gate and see.

My job is just to lead you to,

The place you need to be.

Then I collect the ruined thing,

That stands where you once stood.

And take it to a place of rest,

In ancient, sacred wood.

I know, I know, you are the one,

The one who will succeed.

And find that which so many sought,

That for which you still bleed.

Your eyes and flesh were just your part,

Of what you had to pay.

But what you did to others now,

Would make a demon pray.

Now stand upon the stone and speak,

Just as you have rehearsed.

Look through the Eight-Fold Gate and see,

If you are blessed or cursed.

I hear you scream but do not look,

Until the light has gone.

A body slumps upon the stone,

So glad I’m but a pawn.

And as I lead away the husk,

Dark laughter fills my mind.

“I thank you for the meal, such ones,

Are getting hard to find.”

It’s not my place to look beyond,

The Eight-Fold Gate and see.

So long as there are those who would,

What lives there eats for free.

As long as it is fed it need,

Not breach that ancient door.

For if it does, then all is lost,

We will exist no more.

I am not evil, take no joy,

In sacrifice I bring.

Seek just to keep this world safe,

From ancient monstrous thing.

So if you know someone who would,

For ancient wisdom seek.

The sort who’d kill and torture just,

To get themselves a peek.

Send them along, and I will guide,

Them to the Eight-Fold Gate.

That they may claim their just reward,

And so delay our fate.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 12

On By WinstonIn Embrace the Wild, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Personal, PoetryLeave a comment

Spring is here and with it a yearning to be out in it as nature wakes from it’s winter slumber. I grew up… rural… to say the least. I love my life, but sometimes I miss the more direct connection to the wild. Today’s offering speaks to that desire.

In Nature, Peace

Out in the green with growing things,

That’s where I am most free.

With trees and moss and lily pads,

That’s where I am most me.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my house,

My nice, suburban town.

But nature is my therapy,

When my life gets me down.

The scent of earth, a mossy bed,

Upon a hill of stone.

Connect me now to everything,

Though I am all alone.

I wonder have you ever watched,

A squirrel in it’s tree?

Or wind-blown waves in fields of grain?

It moves just like the sea.

Sat silent in a wood to watch,

Some grazing deer nearby.

While finches chirped and chipmunks dashed,

And clouds went drifting by?

When thunder booms across the plain,

Or sun shines on the glen.

When silent snowflakes softly fall,

You’ll see me smiling then.

A roaring wind, or gentle breeze,

Each stirs something within.

A yearning for a wilder place,

Adventures to begin.

So come with me if you’ve a mind,

Out from this place we know.

To walk the land as once it was,

Give our souls room to grow.

Cheers, Winston