tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16755379898387246172024-03-05T19:02:50.507-05:00The Danger of DreamsClara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-7238566458823735492022-02-24T15:06:00.003-05:002022-02-24T15:06:44.612-05:00A Poem for Thursday<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: courier;">Just
lately I’m learning</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To
store up the good parts of each day</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To
try to catch sunbeams in jars</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Today,
for instance</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The
barista asked me </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">If
I wanted honey in my tea</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
instead of answering him</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I
asked him if it would cost me extra</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
he answered, <i>Not for you</i></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">When
he handed me my tea</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">It
was warm, even through the paper sleeve</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But
his smile was warmer still</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
it warmed me through and through</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">As
I sat and sipped on the memory</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Sweet,
like honey</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So
maybe it can be like this at night</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">When
I’m lying in the dark and the day is over</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Maybe
I can bring each good thing to mind </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
taste honey on my tongue, lingering</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Earlier
today</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">We
had been walking back from the chapel</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Throwing
words around like snowballs</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Playful,
but still stinging</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
just when things started to get personal</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">You
stepped in, like a moving target</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Like
referee and goalkeeper all in one</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Turning
the spotlight to your face</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So
that I could get some relief</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Thank
you</i>, I mouthed</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
you smiled a knowing smile</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
I felt protected, like you were holding me</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
when you smiled, I saved the twinkle in your eye</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To
place gently into my jar of good things</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Nestled
snugly in with the pressure of a hand holding mine</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
with a compliment about the pants I had hemmed</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">With
my professor agreeing with me in front of the whole class</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">With
buying myself a cardigan with flowers all over it, on a whim</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
listening to a musical soundtrack on the way to school</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
honey in my tea</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I
spill it all out now, over the dark comforter</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Little
stars in a bright sky</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
I resist the urge to count them all—</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Who
can number the stars?—</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But
I stare and stare and stare</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Until
I can see the brightness against my closed eyelids</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Until
I can close my eyes and see the sun</span></p><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And
I can sleep till morning comes</span></p>
Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-31122279117358569692021-08-21T11:38:00.003-04:002021-08-21T11:40:45.134-04:00The View From Here<p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Saturday, August 21, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">It has been nine months of blog silence. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">It has been a long nine months.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">The last time I went to my little corner of the internet here, it was November of 2020, at the end of a long day. I had walked the ~200 feet to a friend's apartment, presumably to do homework. I had my casebook for Torts with me. My friend sat busily typing away at her kitchen table, and I sat on her couch with my casebook and laptop open in front of me. Both stayed open and untouched. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I was spent. I was tired. I was done. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I could <i>feel </i>myself start to slip into dissociation, losing my grip minute by minute. I hate that feeling, that slow slipping away from reality that is already too easy to fall into for someone who tends to live in her head, even on a "good day" (whatever that means). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">For me, the onset of a dissociative episode feels like getting tipsy, but without the accompanying physical warmth and the comfort that that warmth brings. I hate losing control of my mind, so I hate the foggy feeling alcohol brings when I haven't had enough to eat before drinking something. But at least I can prevent tipsiness by mixing a cocktail that only has a bit of alcohol in it (I'm a lightweight), or by eating protein beforehand. I can feel a little tipsy and stop or slow it by putting the rest of the drink in the fridge for later. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Control is key for me, which makes dissociation suck. Controlling it in the moment doesn't happen very often, because I'm unaware of falling into a dissociative episode till I'm already in the thick of one. When the present moment has given way entirely to whatever past memory or potential future problem in my brain--when I'm so far gone that my body will jolt my brain awake enough to <i>do something</i> instead of worrying about everything. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I am fortunate in that my feelings and my physical state tend to be in-tune with each other, so when I can't detect a problem from one system, the other one will often remind me. For example,I might not be able to identify that reliving a particular traumatic memory makes me feel anxious (even though, like, duh),but I will be able to process the physical sensation of my heart racing, my shoulders tensing, and my breathing going shallow. From which my intelligent, idiotic brain can eventually conclude, <i>Oh, shoot! Physical symptoms say :Big Yikes! Body, we must be anxious or something!</i> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And then, ideally, I <i>do</i> something with that feedback. Often, I will physically make the motion of shrugging off the weight, and physically get up and leave the room--anything to cross the brain/body/present moment divide. Sometimes, I make a snack and focus on the physical sensations of taste and sound as I eat it. Sometimes, I have a good cry instead. Love me some variety.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">But that November night, staring at the blank wall at my friend's house, starting to feel the distance in between each present moment expand, I fought back.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I placed my hands on the keyboard and opened up this blog. I wrote out my frustration, my sense of failure, my self-inflicted woes, my dissatisfaction with law school and life and myself as a person. I edited nothing, aside from grammar and mechanics (hey, I have standards, and mental illness doesn't get to take those away). I posted the damn thing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And then, I could breathe again. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I had been breathing, ragged, shallow breaths, but after releasing the angst on the internet, I could breathe deeply again. And I breathed. My chest rose and fell, in and out, in and out, in and out--and each breath felt like a vacation from anxiety. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I say "vacation" because the temporary connotations of that word were accurate for the situation. I would still have to go home to my anxiety, literally. I couldn't stay at my friend's apartment all night. (She probably would have let me, because she's one of the kindest and most generous people I've met in law school, but I digress.) I could see the anxiety, but from the outside in. I was "dissociating" from the anxiety, in a sense, viewing it more objectively now that I could read over what I had written and understand what I was feeling, without having to try to process moments in the middle of reliving them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I was no less spent, but I felt peace.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">A moment of peace.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">A fleeting, fragile peace. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">A peace that was gone by the next morning, which found me up way too early trying to finish up the reading for Torts. By "trying" I mean "frantically skimming while panicking"; a</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">nd by "finish", I mean "attempt in one sitting"; and by way of a spoiler alert: No, the reading did not get finished that morning. It was that kind of day.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But,that November night spent sitting on my friend's couch vomiting words into the void marked a turning point in the year. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">It marked the beginning of giving myself permission to verbally process my feelings. It marked the beginning of being comfortable enough with myself to allow myself to feel all the feels. It marked the beginning of trying to extending kindness to myself, something I'm still working on every day. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And that moment of peace, and all it led to, could not have come from me. It was all grace.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I had always known that God gives grace each day, enough to get us through the day. I had read and accepted that, if God has planned a future for me (and He has), then he has given me all the grace I need to get there (and He has.)But, after that November night, I could <i>believe </i>that He would give that grace. I could see with new eyes that "My grace <i>is</i> sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in <i>weakness</i>" (2 Cor 12:9, ESV, <i>emphasis added</i>.)I could know more deeply the "peace of God, which <i>surpasses all understanding</i>," because I definitely couldn't understand <i>why</i> I felt at peace in that moment (Phil 4:7, ESV, <i>emphasis added</i>.)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Looking back, I thank God for the low point that brought me to that November night. The view from here is the clarity that hindsight brings, and I am thankful for how He showed himself to me then.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Have I lived according to that truth every day since? Nope. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I struggle daily against the old part of me, that doesn't trust myself, other people, or God. I struggle moment by moment to live in each moment, instead of retreating to the past or grabbing hold of the future. I struggle with knowing how I feel, with giving myself permission to take the time to process how I feel, with shaping how I feel into words, with speaking those words to God, with sharing my burdens with others--it's a process, and it's exhausting. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I struggle accepting the grace He extends, because my pride demands that I become worthy of it. Which is impossible. But God is patient with me--and He keeps giving more grace. He is the God of grace; it's what He does. He gives more grace. He makes all grace abound to me (2 Cor 9:8). His promise rests on grace, and it is guaranteed (Rom 4:16). His saving grace is a gift, and He saves me from myself every day,that I may do all the good He has planned for me to do (Eph 2:8). All is grace.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So, here I sit, preaching to myself, reminding myself of grace at the end of a week of beating myself up instead of extending grace to myself, yet again. 2L year starts on Monday, and so much still remains to be done. I was supposed to have attended meetings this week, but I got sick and had to reschedule them. I was supposed to have met up with friends this week, but I've only seen one friend apart from my roommate this week. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And yet, those few minutes spent with said friend, a bizarre combination of making eye contact through my sliding glass door while talking on the phone so we could hear each other, made my entire day.It was completely unexpected. It made me laugh. It was a moment of real-time connection in the midst of an isolating few days that stopped a tough day from becoming a bad day. And it came right when I needed it most.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">All is grace. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"> <br /></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-53583356810689748112020-11-08T20:05:00.002-05:002020-11-08T20:14:37.435-05:00Head Above Water<p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I haven't been this low in a long time. The semester's almost over and I am struggling to get out of bed each morning and begin to begin again. I'm tired of struggling and trying and failing and wrestling against despair. I want to wake up with all the rough edges of life straightened out, my day smoothed over me like a blanket, the corners tucked in nice and neat. Which is the exact opposite of everything lately. I'm treading water, treading water all the time, and I've lost feeling in my legs. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I don't want someone to tell me I can do it.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">On some fundamental level, I know I can do it. I'm in law school, for crying out loud. It's not a matter of intelligence, for the most part. It's about blocking out the noise and taking step after weary step and staring your demons in the face, then</span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> shoving them aside because you don't have the time to see them reflected in your eyes. It's about knowing that your kingdoms are built of paper right now, but defending them as if they were made of gold. Keeping your head above the water and your tears behind your eyes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I want someone to tell me that even if I fail, it won't mean the end of everything.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">That I am more than the number on my paper or the ranking in my class.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">That every failure is the first step to success.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">That in five years none of these grades will matter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">That taking time to breathe won't kill me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">That I matter, and that I will still matter even if it all goes down in flames.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And the sad, ironic truth is if someone actually told me all that, I probably wouldn't believe them for a second. I've never been an average student in my life. I was setting the curve all through college, and I did it without reading for class half the time. At the risk of sounding like a douchebag, <i>working</i> towards my goals is a relatively new concept for me. As is burnout.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I'm tired. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I'm so fucking tired.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I know I've been neglecting this blog lately. I usually try not to write unless I'm in a #happybloggingmood. Like when I have art to talk about, or some new piece of writing in the works, or just something to passionately (and incoherently) rant about. When everything I touch turns to gold. When the words are welling up inside of me and they desperately need to flow out. And I haven't felt that way in what seems like forever. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I feel drained dry. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I am writing from an empty place. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">It is new, and terrifying, and it feels pointless.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">But every sentence I'm writing is just saying the same thing in different words. <i>I exist, I exist, I exist</i>. Over and over and over again.<i> In this time, in this place, I exist and I speak my existence into the universe and I wait to hear the echo agree that I exist</i>. <i>I am at the end of myself, but I exist</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Maybe that's why we create at all, why we write and paint and sculpt and play our instruments into the silence. To say that we exist. To say that we are so many specks of dust on a rock spinning through space but we are here. In this time, in this place, we are here and we are speaking it out into the universe to hear it agree that we exist.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And maybe that's enough.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><i><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></i></span></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-9266462922035354622020-09-10T11:37:00.002-04:002020-09-10T11:40:41.521-04:00Seventeen Days Later...<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Well, loyal reader (or "readers": is that too optimistic?), it has been quite the pause. Seventeen days, to be exact. Yikes.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">This is the part of the post where I typically (1) apologize for my flakiness while (2) casually throwing in a perfectly legitimate excuse in order to (3) assure y'all that this won't happen again going forward, only to (4) miss a few days of allegedly "consecutive" blogging in the near future. And the cycle repeats, ad infinitum...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">But you know the drill, and I'd rather not take up time and space going through it all again. So...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">[insert generic apology here]</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">...Right, thanks for understanding. Now to get to the good stuff.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">First, a brief life update: I have (nearly) made it through three (3) weeks of law school! Huzzah. It has been...quite the time so far. My first week I studied every day till ungodly hours of the night and got no sleep, but I did stay on top of all my coursework. The week after that I overcorrected in the self-care department and did the bare minimum schoolwork-wise--but I did have time for naps. <i>Plural </i>naps. Small victories worth celebrating. All that to say, I think I'm finally finding a balance between taking care of my workload and taking care of me. This week has been full of both, with even the unexpected gift of an hour in a coffee shop on a rainy Thursday morning just for blogging. And here we are.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I left off unpacking a poem on Day 12 of a proposed 66-day scheme to get into the habit of blogging daily. Welp, that was the last post in that project, at least for the time being.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Yeah...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">That was quite the unceremonious announcement, so let me flesh it out a little.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Basically, rather than (1) blog consecutively for a few days, (2) miss a day..or two...or *sigh* seventeen, (3) apologize profusely, and (4) rinse and repeat the entire cycle again; I'm going to keep expectations realistic and table the whole deal for now. I hope to pick up where I left off when I have more time, hopefully over winter break in a couple months. But we shall see.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">In the meantime, what will this blog look like?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">So glad you asked (or rather, that I did. You're just here for the ride.) I'm still hoping to blog semi-regularly, ideally once a week at least, and hopefully more often than that. Even though it was only for twelve days, starting the daily blogging project did help me get into more of a habit of blogging than before. Now, when I haven't posted in a few days, I feel a faint nagging sense of guilt. And guilt is the first step on the road to improvement. Trust me (or at least let me convince myself that this guilt is <i>healthy</i>. Thanks.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Today's post will be an extended life update (complete with photo-dump!) with more substantial content coming (hopefully) in a few days. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Without further ado:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57A7iblSjgydawa2sIirEE8_vF-q_mWsLlFwCLBrOPC3ZAnWLOpQWGQTKZzFaXDRWID-024dDBx0yUwXA5-jf_VSA13yOg62eB2JcThaW3Jj39bHyzRazkwODLlUD_1NEDIGkRfaKALI/s4032/IMG_2753.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57A7iblSjgydawa2sIirEE8_vF-q_mWsLlFwCLBrOPC3ZAnWLOpQWGQTKZzFaXDRWID-024dDBx0yUwXA5-jf_VSA13yOg62eB2JcThaW3Jj39bHyzRazkwODLlUD_1NEDIGkRfaKALI/s320/IMG_2753.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Obligatory beach photo to start, of course. I love the area I've moved to, and having the beach only half an hour away is a big part of why. So far I've been to the beach with friends three times, and I'm hoping to go again soon. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU__ngPHGqTttJ6j6CKT32odSmOQaqCmKf38el32P3YZvO_dHbw7KEX5BzA966OZw_mAPJMFkeWaPsAstVb5P5ptivXFgxL3LbXG2Pjf_zDxUgk9WxgieWDxXOnxYIhXaxs03HmELLanM/s4032/IMG_2725.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU__ngPHGqTttJ6j6CKT32odSmOQaqCmKf38el32P3YZvO_dHbw7KEX5BzA966OZw_mAPJMFkeWaPsAstVb5P5ptivXFgxL3LbXG2Pjf_zDxUgk9WxgieWDxXOnxYIhXaxs03HmELLanM/s320/IMG_2725.JPG" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Epic sand turtle a friend sculpted on the beach (I did the eyes; does that count as contributing?). For scale, this bad boy ended up being about three feet across. So magnificent.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bRIXMEBUSeWGzbaGO_BqXVDHaMc5VKut6XVH8JA7Px8aJ_hczW193NYQ2y4Iuf6Ncgu3R8LZxE4nsdPk_oPNsZDJaXAhMormp51L4UAmprH1e3ookZvz03HP2ABIK-gYF-Poqe47gg0/s668/IMG_2772.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-bRIXMEBUSeWGzbaGO_BqXVDHaMc5VKut6XVH8JA7Px8aJ_hczW193NYQ2y4Iuf6Ncgu3R8LZxE4nsdPk_oPNsZDJaXAhMormp51L4UAmprH1e3ookZvz03HP2ABIK-gYF-Poqe47gg0/s320/IMG_2772.PNG" /></a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">The highlight of my first week here, tbh. I still have that Reese's somewhere and should probably eat it soon.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4bAbpEe46mDoJrOviQtgOTUq5mpVunSLx2-dD9faD1Zgyz__Mm9Nj77VAvN3YolHkxBVE5Hto2nFo_BHcnFbl5BssPjxHs6flm_JG8NfKsgcnFCAfPRRvWjY-unV7aLnHKYTSjuiwpM/s4032/IMG_2671.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4bAbpEe46mDoJrOviQtgOTUq5mpVunSLx2-dD9faD1Zgyz__Mm9Nj77VAvN3YolHkxBVE5Hto2nFo_BHcnFbl5BssPjxHs6flm_JG8NfKsgcnFCAfPRRvWjY-unV7aLnHKYTSjuiwpM/s320/IMG_2671.JPG" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Not the best picture of it, but on my dresser is the calligraphy I made for Sleeping at Last's lyrics of the song, "Taste". I love the way this turned out and how it fits into my room decor.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebg3C7pHfRj_EQcZ-t3fjzBwGz99X_ZAkAFoc5Rf2vf8UVQ6f1ndTXFbLBGxfIfUWnziInwvc6cmYNnbF-E5fPGad_9Ta5SEhm-cd-xc4osr_8pu1pSS-fzKm5Jxifd50TEPgE4woBZI/s4032/IMG_2739.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebg3C7pHfRj_EQcZ-t3fjzBwGz99X_ZAkAFoc5Rf2vf8UVQ6f1ndTXFbLBGxfIfUWnziInwvc6cmYNnbF-E5fPGad_9Ta5SEhm-cd-xc4osr_8pu1pSS-fzKm5Jxifd50TEPgE4woBZI/s320/IMG_2739.JPG" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the first things I cooked in my new kitchen! The beets turned out great, even though in the process of concocting this deliciousness I ended up staining my kitchen counter and the bottom of a glass dish purple. (I have a pale pink counter so the stain showed up realllly well. Also, after much scrubbing, it came off. Huzzah.)</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xA6sftHdydjYv3LezAU9PhWPRcZ5ccK_LFQABSx4Dp4_TNqfG2MijO-TZS-nE3D5PCLD0a2DLUdbswY2MbmaUAsH5mc9bHh4MdbHNoUSr8hNfaS2ozwrOGYuJo59SuIPbLS2G210g4M/s1280/62057615075__5D4CA913-10DF-489C-867B-937A9F86C780.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xA6sftHdydjYv3LezAU9PhWPRcZ5ccK_LFQABSx4Dp4_TNqfG2MijO-TZS-nE3D5PCLD0a2DLUdbswY2MbmaUAsH5mc9bHh4MdbHNoUSr8hNfaS2ozwrOGYuJo59SuIPbLS2G210g4M/s320/62057615075__5D4CA913-10DF-489C-867B-937A9F86C780.JPG" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Moi. This was taken in class on a day last week when I had forgotten a mask and improvised instead with a scarf I was wearing as a belt/sash. The lengths I go to for an education...Heh. This was actually quite the breathable set-up.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRp21QEXmHvIirli_6wzKWFWe1ftPBp8khnTxnxQgp5C4jyfLCiAnYV0b9qn4vhFCq-_QxiQIDAaHr2ZSfK2zIIKsmhyphenhyphendKbdrqZwjNW3yz9wZY1oZpmay-GqOOzR2eUZGNKw-h8p4rMrg/s4032/IMG_2768.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRp21QEXmHvIirli_6wzKWFWe1ftPBp8khnTxnxQgp5C4jyfLCiAnYV0b9qn4vhFCq-_QxiQIDAaHr2ZSfK2zIIKsmhyphenhyphendKbdrqZwjNW3yz9wZY1oZpmay-GqOOzR2eUZGNKw-h8p4rMrg/s320/IMG_2768.JPG" /><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"></span></a><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEJAHvfqPHpXQ5TAgg13dVQna_yR5hp0DlcZMLjm-8EM1Pnh2gi6AyQj0XEigcUvy7_Hz4pYDjJuIKyVzdvsEmGaJX1WkNz_Twikm-FsE119ktgbbBJCikJ_dmKmVLFJyHuukMAcD7xI/s4032/IMG_2677.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEJAHvfqPHpXQ5TAgg13dVQna_yR5hp0DlcZMLjm-8EM1Pnh2gi6AyQj0XEigcUvy7_Hz4pYDjJuIKyVzdvsEmGaJX1WkNz_Twikm-FsE119ktgbbBJCikJ_dmKmVLFJyHuukMAcD7xI/s320/IMG_2677.JPG" /></a></span></div> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">On the left, a study room in the law library where I spent 6+ hours yesterday and still didn't finish everything I wanted to. Life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Honestly, though, the study rooms rock and I was way more productive than I would've been attempting to draft papers at home. I just have to get used to the idea that everything always takes longer to do than you think it will.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And on the right, my desk in the apartment the day I moved in.It has not looked this neat since, so I wanted to reminisce a little...also all the work I thought I would do here I have ended up doing in the library and at various coffee shops. Apparently, it's harder to do work knowing that just behind me is a comfy bed. Who knew.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Side-note: in the upper right corner you can see another work of calligraphy. For close-ups see my earlier post: <a href="https://dangerofdreams.blogspot.com/2020/08/day-8.html" target="_blank">https://dangerofdreams.blogspot.com/2020/08/day-8.html</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And that's it for right now. Here's hoping to post again soon.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Till then,</span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Clara <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> <br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span><br /></div>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-30930160441134890792020-08-24T23:25:00.005-04:002020-08-25T10:48:32.389-04:00Day 12<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 19,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 12, I'm analyzing the poem I posted yesterday.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Yesterday I shared a poem with y'all as part of a mini-series of sorts. Link below to get you caught up: <br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://dangerofdreams.blogspot.com/2020/08/day-11.html" target="_blank">https://dangerofdreams.blogspot.com/2020/08/day-11.html</a></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I mentioned the context of the poem, "World Keeps Turning": it was born out of frustration with a theology that emphasized God's grace without jointly emphasizing our great need for that grace as sinners. I get it. You don't want to scare people away from the gospel by heaping condemnation and judgment on their heads right off the bat. And you don't want them to view God as angry and vengeful, just waiting for sinners to stumble so he can cast them off into the outer darkness.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">God is easier to introduce to others as loving, forgiving, and saving. And He is, and He does.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But without a full understanding of how unworthy of love we are; how little we deserve forgiveness yet how much we need it; and how vast the rift between our sinful selves and our holy, righteous Savior; we can shrink God's grace too small.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">We can lull ourselves into complacency,continuing in sin "that grace may abound" (Romans 6:1).</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">We can end up with a distorted view of God's love as enabling us to do whatever we want, which in turn distorts our love for others into enabling them to do whatever <i>they </i>want. And that's not a show of love to them on our part: it's a lack of care.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Now with all this in mind, we can start unpacking "World Keeps Turning". Throughout, the stanzas of the poem (</span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span><i>formatted like this</i></span></b></span></span>) are juxtaposed with their meanings and my haphazardly reflecting on them. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> <br /></span></span></i></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span>We tell the story as we heard it long ago</span></i></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i>
</i></b></span></span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span>They gathered stones and threw her at his feet</span></i></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i>
</i></b></span></span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span>He stooped in silence while they watched and let her
go</span></i></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i>
</i></b></span></span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span>Their quaking footsteps sounding out defeat <br /></span></i></b></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">This first stanza recounts the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). Intending to trap Jesus, the religious leaders of his day brought before him a woman whom they claimed to have been caught in adultery and asked him whether he would stone her as the law prescribed. Instead of answering their question, Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger, and then told them that whoever among them was without sin should throw the first stone at the woman. They left one by one, till finally only the accused woman was left with Jesus. </span></span></span><b><span></span><i><span> <br /></span></i></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i>
</i></b></span></span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span> </span></i></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i>
</i></b></span></span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span>But we end the telling there, we forget the final
lines</span></i></b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i>
</i></b></span></span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><i><span>When he told her go, and sin no more, and looked her
in the eyes</span></i></b></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">It's a powerful story with a poignant ending. Seeing that the Pharisees and scribes had all left, Jesus asked the woman if there was anyone who condemned her. She answered that no one had, to which Jesus said in his last recorded words to her:</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more" (John 8:11, ESV).</span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> <span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I feel like the tendency here is to emphasize Jesus' compassion and lack of judgment of the woman. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Come as you are and the Lord will not condemn you.</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But that's not entirely accurate. By calling her previous action sin, Jesus does make a judgment of the woman, albeit in a compassionate manner. And how else can his order to "sin no more" be taken but as a charge for her to repent and live righteously?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Yes, by all means, come as you are. But know that the Lord who loves you enough to take you as you are also loves you enough not to let you stay there. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Tomorrow I plan to unpack the next few lines of "World Keeps Turning", which speak to the effect produced by our tendency to gloss over sin with a wrong view of God's love and grace. I realize that this content is quite different from a lot of the writing I post on here. In the past, I haven't mentioned my faith much, if at all, because I didn't want to alienate any potential readers. But it's such an important part of my life, and I couldn't continue to write honestly without letting it permeate into my work. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Thanks for sticking around through it all.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span class="words-of-christ"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: medium;"><i>Clara </i></span> </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> <br /></span></i></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-83105007007330793382020-08-23T22:24:00.003-04:002020-08-23T22:31:01.331-04:00Day 11<p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Can I just start off with a big ol' "Yikes?" </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">It has been SIX days since I last blogged...six (6) whole days. So much for consistently blogging every day.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">I apologize for my general flakiness(mostly to myself since I'm trying to build a habit here, but I realize y'all are along for the ride too.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">In my defense I was attending my first week of law school...but that excuse will have to wait till later in the semester to carry more weight.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Where do we go from here? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">The last time I skipped a day I combined Days 3 & 4 in one post. That worked at the time, but it's less than ideal for six (6) whole days of missed content. So instead I think I'll just extend the length of this project/experiment by six days. The great part about setting your own deadlines is that you tend to make exceptions to your own standards for yourself <i>generally</i>, so making an exception in any particular case is not too hard. That being said...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 19,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 11, I want to</span></i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i> share a song/poem type-thing I wrote. Today I'm sharing it without too much context so you can form first impressions, and over the next few days we'll be teasing it apart to analyze for meaning<br /></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">By way of introduction, I wrote this poem on the notes app of my phone one afternoon senior year of college. It was born out of frustration, actually. Frustration with the flimsy, "God-is-love" theology that I saw in so many churches pandering to my generation.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And by God-is-love theology, I don't mean to downplay the importance of love as a character quality of God. After all, God is Love (1 John 4:8). I mean blowing up a nebulous concept of love as this warm, fuzzy feeling and then applying that (Hallmarkesque, enabling, and all around <i>wrong</i>) concept of love to God. In its most extreme form, God-is-love theology would be more accurately termed Love-is-god theology. And it <i>sounds</i> just right enough to be dangerous.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So anyway, the poem:<br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><b><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">9. World Keeps
Turning</span></span></b></i></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We tell the story as we heard it long ago</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They gathered stones and threw her at his feet</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He stooped in silence while they watched and let her
go</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Their quaking footsteps sounding out defeat</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But we end the telling there, we forget the final
lines</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When he told her go, and sin no more, and looked her
in the eyes</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s a twisted sort of mercy</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s a clouded shade of grace</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Makes us wonder how the world keeps turning</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Time and time again</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The knife goes in, we twist it</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We wring out our bleeding hearts</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We wonder where we go from here, and how we’ve come
so far</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s a twisted sort of justice</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s a silent stab of pain</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And we wonder how the world keeps turning</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Time and time again</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We’ve poured out the horn of plenty</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In a dry and desert land</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tossing dice with the devil</span></span></i></span></p><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Playing hide-and-seek with the Reaper Man</span></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> <br /></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">How's that for first impressions?</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">It's late and I have early classes tomorrow, so I'll have to end this post right when things are just beginning. Rest assured, tomorrow we'll pick up where we left off and explicate this baby line-by-ever-loving-line.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Here's to every line and to everything in between them.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara </i></span> <br /></span></span></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-36354513847642392782020-08-17T18:00:00.005-04:002020-08-17T18:02:40.696-04:00Day 10<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 10, a post about....well, me.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> <br /></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Today, I'm fulfilling one of my biggest small dreams: blogging in a coffee shop. If you've read enough trashy fanfiction and/or coffee shop AUs, you'll understand why I'm *slightly* thrilled at this prospect. Just...the vibes, dude. The uniquely coffee-shop vibes. Essence of Chill Productivity. <i>Eau de Work</i>. A focused attitude that could not be more unlike the "hustle" culture of relentless millennial productivity that is never more than a couple steps from burnout. A hum of quiet conversation and the smell of coffee beans in the background. Chill music (which I'm blocking out with headphones and my indie folk playlist, but, like, it's the thought that counts.)There's a mom playing board games and eating muffins with her two kids at a table just opposite me and I'm falling in love with all of them just a little more every time I covertly glance over. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Of course, now that I'm in the perfect setting, I have nothing substantial to actually say. Life.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Fortunately, there is subject matter that I always carry with me (because I have no choice): Me. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I've said comparatively little about myself the entire time I've had this blog. Part of that is because this blog isn't really about me: it's about the writing process, mostly, with a few other things thrown in. And a large part is because I don't want to give any creeps lurking on the internet the chance to track me down and kill me. Given that my readership consists of like two of you on a good day, I realize that this is somewhat presumptuous. Indulge me. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But the most important reason for my lack of self-revelation (yes, even more so than watching out for hypothetical creeps) is, quite simply, that I hate self-revelation. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I've perfected the art of answering "How are you?" with "Better now!" *looks significantly at the other person* or some other variation of an answer that deflects the focus back to the other person, especially when I'm clearly not okay but don't want to talk to them about it. Ironically, those situations would probably be the times I most need to reach out to someone. But why would I ever do that when pushing them away is <i>so </i>much easier? <i> </i></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>This, ladies and gents, is only the first stop in our exclusive tour of Clara's Vast and Terrible Museum of Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms! Now just this way, folks, where next we'll view Clara's habit of reaching out to others to avoid thinking about her own issues...</i></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Whew. Too much? Well, so am I. Heh.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I've always been more comfortable talking about what I've created or achieved, or what I'm thinking about or researching at any particular time, than what I'm feeling or how a situation is affecting me. That in large part stems from being uncomfortable with feeling any emotion too strongly. <i>That</i> in turn comes from feeling <i>every</i> emotion too strongly whenever I let myself feel them. I'm an empath (according to the uncontested wisdom of a myriad of internet quizzes and conversations with friends): I don't sympathize with people as much as I feel their pain like a physical ache in my chest. Which, frankly, is exhausting. So I limit my circle to as many people as I can handle interacting with on any given day in terms of residual emotions I will pick up without being able to help it, ideally with time to de-escalate and process after each interaction. And it ends up being a pretty small circle. Which can be lonely and frustrating and isolating. Aarrrghh...</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I wouldn't have it any other way, though. The same hypersensitivity that can leave me completely drained after prolonged conversation with a particularly animated person allows me to write believable characters and situations by tapping into how the person made me feel and writing out of that discomfort. Knowing that emotional overload looms on the horizon has made me more intentional, choosing to spend time with people who enrich my life instead of those who "use up the air in the room", figuratively speaking. I'd like to think it's made me more perceptive, considerate, and an overall nicer person to be around. At least I hope so. Honestly, Covid-19 has been quite the godsend when it comes to socializing, at least for me. You mean I can have a constantly valid excuse <i>not to see people? </i>Hallelujah.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So there it is, the constant push-and-pull between needing people and not being able to stand them in large doses. Life is full of juxtapositions, and when we see someone who's mastered the art of tiptoeing the ragged edge of disaster between two extremes, we call them a well-adjusted human being.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">This didn't end up being the light-hearted "all about me" post that I intended when I started writing, but I hope it's given you a glimpse (however brief and muddled)of the girl behind the keyboard. It's been a wild ride so far--thanks for sticking around this long.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara </i></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> <br /></span></i></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-55346176688453003632020-08-16T18:15:00.003-04:002020-08-16T18:22:33.234-04:00Day 9<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 9, I want to share about a project that's been in the works for...years. It's very close to my heart :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I don't understand why so many coming-of-age movies and books romanticize high school. High school sucked. <i>But Clara</i>, the bright and critical reader who has read ahead in this post challenges,<i>you literally wrote a musical about high school.</i> To which I say: Touche. Ya got me. If you look back at that first sentence, however, you'll soon realize that it's not high school itself I have an issue with,but rather the unrealistically rosy picture of high school often portrayed in so many stories. I admit that my own writing on the subject can seem unnecessarily dark,maybe in subconscious-yet-direct retaliation to this particular overused trope. Who's to say.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The germ of the idea that led to writing <i>Shadows</i> the musical came from my own high school experience. I struggled with some mental issues as a high-school freshman, some of it the normal hormone-fueled angst that is a rite of passage for adolescence, some of it severe anxiety and depression that persisted well into my college years (I finally started counseling for it senior year of college. Long story beyond the scope of this post. Therapy's great; y'all go get some if you need it.)</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Anyway, back to <i>Shadows</i>. It started with a couple lines popping into my head (which eventually made it into the title song): <i>Though the monsters on the walls are only shadows / They're closing in on me from day to day</i>. Dismal? Well, yes. But accurate? Also yes. And especially to the high school experience, in my opinion. So many of the worries and fears ("monsters") we experience during high school are "shadows", intangibles born out of our own imaginings, or at least enhanced by them. I dare you to list one problem from high school that still bothers you today. The problems in our heads are far worse than the ones we interact with in the real-world. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And so many things in high school are built up as important, all-or-nothing issues... but only during high school. Studying for a class matters...until the class is over. Then you never touch the information again. Busting your butt to ace the SATs matters...until you get the score you need. Then the material can fly out of your brain; you no longer need it. No one in college cares what you got on your SAT: you're all on the same sinking ship that is higher ed and the current struggle matters more than your past success. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Being
part of a particular social clique matters...until two days after
graduation. Five years after high school the only interaction you'll
have with some of your former "friends" will be when they try to recruit
you for their direct-marketing scheme online. And I'm sorry in advance
for that. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Everything felt redundant in high school to me because, given enough time and distance, it was.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Shadows</i> tells the story of a high-school senior, Adam, who in some sense is coming to terms with the ridiculousness of it all. He's tired of struggling to keep his place in the high school pecking order when it doesn't matter to him. After the sudden death of his estranged father in a car accident, Adam is left devastated. He and his father had just been beginning to mend their relationship over the past year, and now another foothold in his life has been ripped away. He can't accept that the death was an accident, going so far as to hire a down-on-his-luck private investigator</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">(such a farcical, humorous character to write)</span></span></span></span></span> to find evidence to the contrary . His outward struggles with being placed in a foster home following his father's death mirror his battles with the demons inside. Through a series of failures and an unlikely friendship with his Western Civ teacher, Adam learns to let go of the need to have all the answers. He learns that life goes on if it is lived, not merely deciphered from a distance.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Pretty hefty stuff. In retrospect, I probably should've cut a few supporting roles and minor plot arcs. I most likely will do so, but I can't bring myself to make those cuts just yet. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Instead, today I want to share a couple of songs from <i>Shadows</i> the musical with brief explanatory notes. Here goes:<br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">1. "Shadows"</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The title song of the musical, sung by Adam shortly after his father's death. He has just been sent to his foster placement, thus the references to going "home again." </span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Adam:</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">The light fades from the sky</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Leaving me alone in an endless night</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">When it’s dark, the monsters come to find me</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">When I’m all alone and out of sight</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And though the monsters on the walls are only shadows</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">They’re closing in on me from every side</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And nothing that I tell them makes a difference</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">There’s nowhere I can go to hide</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">[Chorus]: <br /></span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Shadows, whispers, half-forgotten memories</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">That tell me everywhere is somewhere</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And every day is now</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Fighting, yearning, hoping, disbelieving</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">That tomorrow is another day</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And I can go home again</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">The stars dance in the sky</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Lighting up the dark of this endless night</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Until the day dawns, I stand up alone</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And I’m dancing with the shadows on the walls</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And the monsters on the walls are only shadows</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And they flicker as they fade away</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And all I have to tell them doesn’t matter</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Nothing that I tell them makes them stay</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">[Repeat Chorus]</span></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Yeah, tomorrow is another day</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">The shadows come, the shadows stay</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And I can go home again</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">And I can go home again</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Home again</span></i></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">2. Absolutely Revolutionary</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;">This song introduces the character of Alexander Kane, Adam's Western Civ teacher. It's his first year of teaching and this song captures his youthful idealism about the positive impact he intends to make. Whether he can live up to those self-imposed expectations is a different story (spoiler: he can't). </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--></span></span></span></span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Kane:</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">This morning I looked in the mirror</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">While tying my lucky striped tie</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I flashed me a grin, before I begin</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">To begin again</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">This morning I smiled at the mirror</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">For the first time in a while</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">At the guy I saw standing there</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">How long has it been?</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I remember when that guy was just a boy</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Thinking that the world was mine for the taking</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Playing like the world was just a toy</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Like everything was mine for making and unmaking</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Oh I’ve done my share of living</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Of giving and forgiving</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Of being and doing and striving to see what’s ahead</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Oh I’ve done my share of wandering</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Of reaching, searching, climbing</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Of falling and landing on my feet again somehow</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">But not now</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Not now</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">[Chorus]: <br /></span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I intend to be absolutely revolutionary</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I intend to be what I never was before</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">A rebel and a revolutionary</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Now and forevermore</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I open the door</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Oh I’ve done my share of living</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Of giving and forgiving</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I used to think I knew what life had in store</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I’ve done my share of sighing</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Of falling, breaking, crying</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Of spending the night hoping I’d live to see another dawn</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">But not now</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">Not now</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">[Repeat Chorus]</span></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></i></span><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I open the door</span></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span></i></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: courier;">I open the door</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;">3. The Hunt is On</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;">And finally, a bonus funny number to lighten the mood somewhat. J.D. Hennessy, the hilariously incompetent private investigator that Adam unwittingly hires, sings this high-energy song as soon as Adam is out of earshot in the waiting room in an attempt to get his overworked secretary Julia Finch on board with his impossible scheme. Intending to recover his reputation while providing Adam no actual assistance with a situation that the police have ruled as an accident, Hennessy is prepared to lie, cheat, and swindle his way to the top. This song is currently incomplete, but it will continue in much the same vein as the bit below: <br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;">
</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Hennessy:</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Don’t let him out the door </i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Till he’s signed on the dotted line</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Don’t let him walk away</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Till we’ve got some reward for our time</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i> </i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>It’s been far too long, Finch</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>It’s been far too long</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>For a chief investigator</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>For a detective of incredible finesse</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>To be idle and distressed</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>To be bored –it’s unacceptable</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Unbelievable, inconceivable—</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Don’t let him out the door!</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i> </i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>And I know you think I’m crazy</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>And I know you think we’re done</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>But believe me, Finch</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>Believe me now, when I say the magic words:</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i><span></span>The hunt is on!</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i> </i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>The hunt is on!</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>And you and I will be heroes</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>The shot is fired!</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>And we’re raring at the bit to go</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>This could be my chance</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>If I play it right</i></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i>This could be the one big chance I’m given in this life!</i></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i> </i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And that's it for now! Hope y'all enjoyed this little snapshot into a project very near and dear to my heart. It's undergoing pretty extensive revision at the moment, but I hope to be able to share more in future.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara </i></span> </span></span><i> <br /></i></span></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-34713640606260789062020-08-15T14:23:00.008-04:002020-08-15T14:40:10.876-04:00Day 8<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 8, I'm switching things up from writing to art, specifically calligraphy. </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By way of introduction,I recently bought a set of calligraphy markers in all colors (a welcome change from the black ones I had before!) and I've been looking for any excuse to use them. And by way of yet more introduction, one of my all-time favorite artists is Ryan O'Neal, popularly known as Sleeping at Last. The ethereal beauty of his instrumentation, the poetry in his lyrics, the sheer perfection that is his Enneagram EP--I may be slightly obsessed. And as a pianist, it's SO validating to hear the piano being used prominently (or even exclusively!) in much of his instrumentation. (Seriously, anyone who relegates the piano to the role of sad-sidekick-filling-in-background-chords or--heaven forbid--PERCUSSION ONLY should have all their pianos forcibly removed and replaced with lil' 10-key melodicas instead since that's all they need. Oh, and charged with crimes against humanity because honestly, the <i>audacity</i>.)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ok, coming off of that impassioned tangent; it turns out that my moving to an apartment for law school this past week led to <strike>the perfect excuse</strike> a great reason to make some calligraphy to decorate my space with. And of course, what better to feature in my work than Sleeping at Last lyrics? I got a little carried away and made more than I could use for display, but thankfully, my little corner of the internet is bound by no such limits of space and/or taste. (And tbh I feel *slightly* apologetic about the caffeine-fueled disaster of a poem that was last night's post, so here's trying to make it up to y'all.) </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Phew, introductions are finally out of the way. Now onto the main shindig:</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl8qQCLsXOQgdmftr4dYf35thyphenhyphenrHDP8s210bd_OaW-CRiynZ5ftuoNl8zzLXYtgBGSenYWO3vtciaItaFCBvKKjP_P-naynllSW33Be9biq4_aXFWTz_xLZZkHDxGn7SCE377pP83U4k/s3024/IMG_2643.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2270" data-original-width="3024" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl8qQCLsXOQgdmftr4dYf35thyphenhyphenrHDP8s210bd_OaW-CRiynZ5ftuoNl8zzLXYtgBGSenYWO3vtciaItaFCBvKKjP_P-naynllSW33Be9biq4_aXFWTz_xLZZkHDxGn7SCE377pP83U4k/w512-h384/IMG_2643.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">First, my enneagram type song. Proud 5w4 here. </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2irYDJgxgCXL2ydrjVODy2g9JI2smsU7GeG6ZJ1lNvjJf9SRWiRCiwbNUV8ofOBly-5KCHUnM4_UZm2yC0LoeOwk1Vxx2Tcx1TZoSJswFVSOlFEzKqIl0FaTWTymeOT2WHuICTvYa-8/s3639/IMG_2639.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3639" data-original-width="2910" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2irYDJgxgCXL2ydrjVODy2g9JI2smsU7GeG6ZJ1lNvjJf9SRWiRCiwbNUV8ofOBly-5KCHUnM4_UZm2yC0LoeOwk1Vxx2Tcx1TZoSJswFVSOlFEzKqIl0FaTWTymeOT2WHuICTvYa-8/s640/IMG_2639.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first of two attempts at the song "Taste". I didn't end up using this one, but I like the two-color styling and will definitely be trying it again in future.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpKzZtkJjBZrDR-kv-UTH9qTr1misBDZjyA0wpYvwUL9pZyXKRerwaAemVcke65Alv1aultxUZa8ta9MOjnEJChLBFTESV-1B5GvuTnUdYIx0Y5RL7PGAFBdyMuCizX6g-cgvc6CBswU/s3385/IMG_2642.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3385" data-original-width="2688" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpKzZtkJjBZrDR-kv-UTH9qTr1misBDZjyA0wpYvwUL9pZyXKRerwaAemVcke65Alv1aultxUZa8ta9MOjnEJChLBFTESV-1B5GvuTnUdYIx0Y5RL7PGAFBdyMuCizX6g-cgvc6CBswU/s640/IMG_2642.JPG" width="508" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrgptJsv_D9P50cXXl54_hYbNwbA5d6lUjzvSaPb9J-bTenOd9h5e3hpq8tO396pt0JDXuDou2kAoEISvpoFUjxn7tfrnuQ32csjmTcZcLCczn4EWx8kMVsofpIV1MjEOO65Lxisjiwg/s3664/IMG_2641.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3664" data-original-width="2884" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrgptJsv_D9P50cXXl54_hYbNwbA5d6lUjzvSaPb9J-bTenOd9h5e3hpq8tO396pt0JDXuDou2kAoEISvpoFUjxn7tfrnuQ32csjmTcZcLCczn4EWx8kMVsofpIV1MjEOO65Lxisjiwg/s640/IMG_2641.JPG" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXkshcgNIasXgm8BJV8TFzpRP5om8M6-tORUW_05sHQogTIPARN1vjmfkCySXTYw1fsKTy_9hyphenhyphenuL5nkRHpqcYmLvVJlniotH87n04M74za6AZW9CwcsWVm44pESFU93fiQ2E-tLMCOA8/s3227/IMG_2640.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3227" data-original-width="2612" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXkshcgNIasXgm8BJV8TFzpRP5om8M6-tORUW_05sHQogTIPARN1vjmfkCySXTYw1fsKTy_9hyphenhyphenuL5nkRHpqcYmLvVJlniotH87n04M74za6AZW9CwcsWVm44pESFU93fiQ2E-tLMCOA8/s640/IMG_2640.JPG" /></a></i></div><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So the three above are the ones I ended up framing and displaying. I think they work well together since all three songs deal with life, from the living of the present moment to the end of a life well-lived to the transience of life as a whole. The three different starting pronouns (I, you, we) also add a nice touch, I think. One of those little details that contributes a sense of completeness to the three songs as a unit. A final, minor consideration was that my room decor ended up being mostly blue and purple, so these three fit right in with everything else.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Finally, one more that I didn't end up using (but loved the results of), and three salty short quips that I wrote out just for fun. They do make great reaction-images when you need to shut down a mind-numbing discussion in any unfortunate group chat you may be part of. You're welcome in advance.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_JJc3K4n-AlSPB6Pis9_TStk1yIxR9N7qX6_YFkk20JDwWqLq2emE2TVWWeJVc3fDcV6c5egWdvoEfcWCfcu3ks__b57_kipcghqNhcUmMJmvZaJ4bh9aU84z8ICPF2sq-_sYaQeltA/s3671/IMG_2638.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3671" data-original-width="2904" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_JJc3K4n-AlSPB6Pis9_TStk1yIxR9N7qX6_YFkk20JDwWqLq2emE2TVWWeJVc3fDcV6c5egWdvoEfcWCfcu3ks__b57_kipcghqNhcUmMJmvZaJ4bh9aU84z8ICPF2sq-_sYaQeltA/s640/IMG_2638.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love the connecting letters here. And I want to sing this song to my first-born child someday--definitely give it a listen. #sentiment<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG32cdJx-JLMgVUMahWdakmhp8ymXwYXVXSh0WUVHCFSOeVFDRXDVUsbpp_rJQSXJBzy1uKtTwuv65XtclaZZg8vx0Vt3wTkwLATWjcLAKzRCHg-wUIi2R2CSvwcT84YpgFa5h9Wa6Ln8/s2964/IMG_2646.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1823" data-original-width="2964" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG32cdJx-JLMgVUMahWdakmhp8ymXwYXVXSh0WUVHCFSOeVFDRXDVUsbpp_rJQSXJBzy1uKtTwuv65XtclaZZg8vx0Vt3wTkwLATWjcLAKzRCHg-wUIi2R2CSvwcT84YpgFa5h9Wa6Ln8/w512-h315/IMG_2646.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"all due respect" = could be none. Ya never know.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></span></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dUOj07Si22G-ZSeP_DsPUS98KFm5Q2pl4QhUhdA3zfxiPPW3c1m3mJtY2yrQSxX8hTBTsLLw_oN2lyoMh7DT3KXFjBtUmc1Td6q48vESmTILi_n77Mve6n8Yof3LjAcpLTh0zC3GhZs/s3810/IMG_2651.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2432" data-original-width="3810" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dUOj07Si22G-ZSeP_DsPUS98KFm5Q2pl4QhUhdA3zfxiPPW3c1m3mJtY2yrQSxX8hTBTsLLw_oN2lyoMh7DT3KXFjBtUmc1Td6q48vESmTILi_n77Mve6n8Yof3LjAcpLTh0zC3GhZs/w512-h326/IMG_2651.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me @ every political conversation this election season #2020 #everyonedeservestolose #makepoliticsirrelevantagain<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQiC5TD0iaWaVxtN4mFRMYmA6iV1N1zFcfUJJ2MbJQk62JgWGu6hnBOaTyB8CtBZPjHSkkyYRYosmBUGoZGIhlsI2RbDCpJgxRPR2bTkLPcGIRojRLOqtVAHzXcj9Vt0FRuLEDyQsjtU/s2971/IMG_2650.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1844" data-original-width="2971" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQiC5TD0iaWaVxtN4mFRMYmA6iV1N1zFcfUJJ2MbJQk62JgWGu6hnBOaTyB8CtBZPjHSkkyYRYosmBUGoZGIhlsI2RbDCpJgxRPR2bTkLPcGIRojRLOqtVAHzXcj9Vt0FRuLEDyQsjtU/w512-h318/IMG_2650.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I do intend to use this one sparingly, but sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And there you have it, folks. </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I hope this post had as much entertainment value for y'all reading it as it did for me writing it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">My space is classy and decorated and color-coordinated for the cheap cheap price of almost no money (I did have to spend ~$5 on frames, but I got the cheapo plastic kind). If you've ever wanted to get into calligraphy but doubted your abilities, consider this a sign to get started. I learned exclusively from how-to books on hand-lettering and from copying fonts and labels that I thought looked cool. Pretty sure my technique is way off (which might explain why I have so much trouble making the letters evenly sized and spaced), but calligraphy is so fun and therapeutic and requires little equipment for big results. Try it out and you won't regret it. <br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara </i></span> <br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span><br /></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></i></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-9216098758269307122020-08-14T23:40:00.011-04:002020-08-15T14:41:40.014-04:00Day 7<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 7......whatever this is: <br /></span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To whom it may concern</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And to all whom it may not:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">For the sake of things remembered</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But almost left forgot(ten)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">(Rhyme or grammar,a hard battle;</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Parentheses, a compromise) <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">On the seventh day,God rested.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And who am I to attempt to best the Divine?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Maybe in another place and time<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I would try that line.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Excuses, excuses</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I admit </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">It's time to face the truth and write.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The truth might set ye free</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But it wears an ugly face <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The truth is ticking, ticking, ticking--</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">It's 11:25--</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And I'm scrambling madly</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To publish this in time.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Quality or quantity</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Coherence or rhyme</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So many decisions</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">So little ti--</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">It's fine.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I can't rhyme a word with itself</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But using the same vowel can sound right.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">If this rambling on is garbage</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">At least it's garbage done ri-- </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And there it is again.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">But we've come to no lasting harm</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">After all, third time's the charm</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Suffice it to say, a poem about nothing</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Takes a surprising amount of effort to write</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">No spontaneity, no creative flight</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Devolving into couplets with no clear meter</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Striving to satisfy both critic and hater--</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Which rhymes with</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"See you later"--</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Which I will </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Tomorrow and the next day and the next after</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Now and Then and Hereafter</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">For sixty-six days</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">A self-imposed malaise</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">A completely arbitrary test</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">To showcase my incompetence</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And cater to your entertainment</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">A mutually beneficial arrangement? <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Two birds with one stone?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Till tomorrow,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Clara</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">P.S.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">An epistolary poem full of absurdity</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Is quite the monstrosity</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">(I had to end this drivel with a couplet</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">And for good measure, to double it.) <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-18184534551185457052020-08-13T11:41:00.004-04:002020-08-13T11:46:34.249-04:00Day 6<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 6, I'm trying out a new type of post focusing on "the process of poetry". This post centers on my poem, "Unraveling", from first draft to final product.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">First, my initial draft. At this point I had a vague idea in mind, that this poem, written after processing a difficult break-up, should include the aftermath of that time and the decision to love the mundane moments of life even if things seem hopeless on any given day. As you can see, there're the beginnings of some interesting imagery here, but nothing especially coherent.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjQl02J3ZovZPZFkmjxv16cENmOOSobcfB8aoyFkRtHPrkN9yPX7E82_4VwXnvSlNM6VF5piqZa0SFbKXj8eByPZ4G23qFKW0ZWNDPe_xQco_HO-jNCwCka-Sk75RqZAOEJpe2sLEudQ/s4032/IMG_2627.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjQl02J3ZovZPZFkmjxv16cENmOOSobcfB8aoyFkRtHPrkN9yPX7E82_4VwXnvSlNM6VF5piqZa0SFbKXj8eByPZ4G23qFKW0ZWNDPe_xQco_HO-jNCwCka-Sk75RqZAOEJpe2sLEudQ/s640/IMG_2627.JPG" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9CKqBYF9VJYbaOwFKkCFpaj6wDhY5eqILk2b5H96z4pQi1_70OX4l8rBoqh3SVuTNYj9R0ro-3zSJ-wza2Lh7_L6R8awjQrUKwGR4T-RH_IgHvPkgujFYlP2Vge1kjTYSB4NbGARkbE/s4032/IMG_2628.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9CKqBYF9VJYbaOwFKkCFpaj6wDhY5eqILk2b5H96z4pQi1_70OX4l8rBoqh3SVuTNYj9R0ro-3zSJ-wza2Lh7_L6R8awjQrUKwGR4T-RH_IgHvPkgujFYlP2Vge1kjTYSB4NbGARkbE/s640/IMG_2628.JPG" /></a></span></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">From this rough beginning (much of which did not get used), I refined my ideas into a second draft that expanded some of the initial imagery, grouped lines differently, and discarded lines that didn't seem to fit. I also tried to impose some type of regular meter on the poem, but it still ended up pretty loose, especially in the second half.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">A much more coherent second draft(I only got a photo of the first half of the poem, unfortunately): <br /></span></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7x7r70aSzPX8j7fXLwMW4hyWHfzcT-UgWkP-RTzp4hJnaraimA0orKzDqc2cQwytD6QacJ0P1DQ6QYFvcVI_rUJTJ5v53aImTI8I0owqRsQ0cNhw_AYjJVuf9J1ErU0PMCEUucYG1B8c/s4032/IMG_2629.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7x7r70aSzPX8j7fXLwMW4hyWHfzcT-UgWkP-RTzp4hJnaraimA0orKzDqc2cQwytD6QacJ0P1DQ6QYFvcVI_rUJTJ5v53aImTI8I0owqRsQ0cNhw_AYjJVuf9J1ErU0PMCEUucYG1B8c/s640/IMG_2629.JPG" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">And this is pretty close to the final version of "Unraveling"! I broke up the lines into stanzas, edited a little more, and sent the result to a couple friends for critique. One friend did find the loose meter in the second half jarring after the shorter, tighter lines in the first half. However, another friend told me not to edit further, that the poem in its current form sounded like genuine words from the heart. I, being lazy and confident in my genius, listened to this second bit of advice instead. (No, in all honesty, I would've loved to impose a regular rhyme and meter to the entire poem. Doing so while keeping my meaning intact was just beyond my abilities). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Voila:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>"Unraveling" </b></span><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">
</span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Is it safety, or is
it pride</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">To keep all my fears
inside,</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Every millionth
might-have-been</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">So I can never miss
them?</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Is it fear, or is it
kindness</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">To push against
love’s rosy blindness</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">By pushing you away </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">When I want nothing
more than you</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">To hold my hand, and
I your heart?</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">The price we pay
when castles fall apart </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">We keep on paying
after we find cottages to dwell in </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">With flowers bravely
struggling to grow in window-boxes </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I hide from you
between the window and the wall </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">In the space between
the silences and words </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">And you wonder why I
seem so far away</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I could recite to
you the lies I’ve spoken<span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">And every lie that
was told to me </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">And that I keep on
telling myself again and again and again</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Broken phrases,
broken syllables<span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Broke my walls so
long ago<span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">That the cracks no
longer show<span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Hairline fractures
pierce my heart </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Pulling every thread
apart </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">So now I love
without a single string attached</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Unraveling,
unraveling, unraveling </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">My dream-spun
tapestries into<span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">A web of threads I
lay beneath your feet </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">As if to dare you to
see beyond </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">The faded, fraying
mess I spread </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">To every dream I
wove in them </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">When hopes were high
and </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Promises were for
believing </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">When love was blind
and in its blindness </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I saw everything I
wanted </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">So now I love
without a single string attached</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I love the fleeting
moment and the one-in-thousand chance </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I love the glint of
sunlight dappling crests of ocean waves</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I love the wave that
overwhelms the message in the bottle, lost at sea</span></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> I love the rushing whisper of
the faster-rushing wind </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Between the light
and shadow, where to breathe is to begin </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I love the faltering
footsteps of the children and the aged<span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">The hollowness of
silence and the pulsing hum of change</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I hold my hand
outstretched, no grasping fist </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">Tries to contain the
world and make it wait within</span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">While I catch my
breath </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I love the waking
and the waiting and the never knowing </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I love as if I had
no second chance </span></span></span></p><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";">I love without a
single string attached</span></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: right;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new";"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara </i></span> <br /></span></p>
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<![endif]--> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> <br /></span></i></span></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-34621177815948904292020-08-12T18:16:00.001-04:002020-08-12T18:18:24.410-04:00Day 5<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 5, I'm straying from the pattern thus far of posting poetry. Today's entry is a 400ish-word fragment from a current WIP, The Lockbeam Society. I love this scene (and not just because I wrote it) because it introduces us to Ness Lockbeam, the main character, indirectly, through Lockbeam's initial impressions of another character, Argo Kane. The perspective is limited, the dialogue is scarce, and the impression left on the reader is ambiguous. It's the kind of beginning that needs another fifty pages to develop into the start of significant plot action, but I venture to say it might just succeed in keeping a reader's attention for that long. (Note: I do plan to edit it to replace more of Lockbeam's mental narration with spoken dialogue between the two characters.)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</span></i></span></p><h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The Lockbeam Society</span></span></h2><span style="font-family: courier;">
</span><h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">I: Enter Argo</span></span></span></h2><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span> </span>Argo Kane was the name he gave. He’d
used it for a while and he liked the sound of it. The fact that the name was
not, in any legal or technical sense, his real one, had ceased to bother him
long ago.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span> </span>Ness Lockbeam had asked for his
name, not that he had needed it. No, Lockbeam made it a policy to create files
beforehand for each man he interviewed for the job. These he would rifle
through as they had their little back-and-forth, looking up to reward the
anxious young man with an occasional second of eye contact here and there.
Fiddling with the files made him look disinterested and in control of the
situation. And it kept him from being bored. Bored of the same rambling prattle
from the same empty-headed young fools who applied at the Lockbeam Agency day
after day. Bored of the humdrum routine of pretending to listen to them
flounder for a few minutes before dismissing them with a practiced smile and a
“We’ll keep in touch”. He never followed up with any of them.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">But Lockbeam hadn’t glanced down at Argo’s
file even once, and it had been at least ten minutes since Argo had walked in.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">He looked Argo in the eye instead, inventing
questions whenever there was a lull in the interview without listening to the
answers. He inventoried Argo’s features in his head as if checking off a mental
list: roughly-falling brown hair, dark eyes, wide cheekbones, slight underbite,
average height and a frankly unimpressive physique. You could pass a hundred men
like him in the street every day without giving any of them a second glance. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Lockbeam decided right then that Argo
was the man for the job. But of course, he wouldn’t settle it with him right
then and there. He never did this kind of thing in a hurry. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Rising to his feet, he offered his hand
with a practiced smile.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span> </span>“We’ll keep in touch, Mr. Kane.”</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Argo nodded, shook the offered hand,
and turned and walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Alone again, Lockbeam glanced at the
file sitting on his desk and flashed it quite a different smile, grim and
narrow-eyed. Had he been the cartoon villain of a children’s book, he would
have rubbed his hands together and cackled. Finally. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: right; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Till tomorrow,</span></i></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: right; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Clara </span></i> <br /></span></span></span></p>
Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-89670054975431850952020-08-11T22:10:00.004-04:002020-08-11T22:10:46.186-04:00Days 3 & 4<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Just two days in, I've managed to skip a day. How very on-brand for me. (In my defense, I was moving to a different state, I didn't know the Wi-Fi password of where I was staying, yada yada yada. On with the content.)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Here, then, are what would have been the entries for Day 3 and Day 4. Consider it a double-feature (and not a belated addition):</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Like Glass Breaking</b></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span>I spoke without thinking <br />
Accusation ringing out <br />
Harsh, hanging in the air<br />
Making distance between us <br />
There is a silence after harsh words<br />
The opposite of the silence after storm<br />
Like an unresolved chord resounding<br />
Long after the song is ended<br />
And the pianist wishes he could sink<br />
Through the floor into the abyss<br />
Away from the flinching audience<br />
<br />
If I could see my words they would look<br />
Like glass breaking<br />
Shattering across a brittle tile floor<br />
Bright shards, bright shards<br />
Brought about by a trembling hand<br />
<br />
They say we can eat our words<br />
But we can only ever taste them<br />
On their way out into the air<br />
Never can we swallow them down again<br />
I would eat them, I would chew<br />
The broken glass<br />
I would swallow down the bright shards<br />
To stop them from piercing you<br />
<br />
Ah, your glass-window eyes<br />
I have shattered the window-panes with a word<br />
Ah, your butterfly-soul<br />
I have crushed your iridescent wings</span><br /><span><span>Ah, your heart of gold<br />
Worthy of words like apples of gold in hangings of silver</span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;">I broke a part of you today<br />
I cannot take back the jangling discord, the ugly sound<br />
Like glass breaking<br />
So I gather the broken pieces in my hands<br />
And lay them before you<br />
A glittering heap of destruction <br />
In all its transparent shame<br />
See through the shards to me, I beg of you<br />
<br />
Forgive me<br />
Forgive me</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Night-Kingdom</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span>There was a time I held the strings</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And moved the puppets from the wings</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was a time I set the tinfoil crowns</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On painted puppet kings</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once upon a time I ruled the world.<br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I built my kingdom late at night</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hammer and chisel, saw and knife</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Working all night long</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By the light of the moon and the stars</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Working till the morning light</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was a time my kingdom stood</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Made of cardboard, paper, wood</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Every turret a cereal box</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And every flag a white handkerchief</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ironwork of paperclips and staples</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Underneath the dining table</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A blanket pulled low over the side</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Whenever I wanted to hide</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And I wondered what I’d built before all
night</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With the moonlight through the window</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Turning kingdoms dark and bright</span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Once upon a time my kingdom stood.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara </i></span> <br /></span></span></p>
Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-80563348403228394702020-08-09T13:27:00.001-04:002020-08-09T13:28:06.112-04:00Day 2<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I
read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the
interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to
publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13,
2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses
my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry,
prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding
something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 2, a poem:</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> </span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Genesis, a Beginning</span></span></b> </span><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p>Genesis, a beginning:<br />
“Let there be light”<br />
And there was light.<br />
And the light he called Day<br />
And the darkness he called Night<br />
And there was evening and morning<br />
The first day<br />
<br />
Genesis, a beginning—<br />
We begin to begin again—<br />
But how many false starts lay<br />
Between the hand and the pen,<br />
Between the pen and the paper,<br />
Between the paper and the words,<br />
Between the words and the silences?<br />
<br />
So many dimly remembered worlds<br />
Forgotten before they were born<br />
<br />
Genesis, a beginning<br />
At the start of every day<br />
Sunrise in a lovely, broken world<br />
So bright and so brittle<br />
Too much and too little<br />
We begin and end with the sun<br />
<br />
We breathe in to remember<br />
We breathe out to forget<br />
We breathe in to remember<br />
We breathe out to forget<br />
We breathe in to remember<br />
An echo in the rise and fall:<br />
<br />
“Let there be light”<br />
And there was light.</p><p> </p><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Till tomorrow,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara<br /></i></span></div><p><br />
<br />
</p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-83497001974546412142020-08-08T12:54:00.001-04:002020-08-08T13:04:16.886-04:00Day 1<p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">I read somewhere that it takes 66 days to form a new habit. In the interest of getting into the habit of blogging regularly, I plan to publish one post a day for the next 66 days, finishing up on October 13, 2020. Content-wise, each day's post can include anything that crosses my mind and that I hope will spark something in yours, whether poetry, prose, art, or the occasional rant. Here's to 66 days of finding something to say :)</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">For Day 1, an untitled poem: <br /></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"> </span></i></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: black;">
</span></span></span></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">To the boy<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>in the blue raincoat,</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Straight and
tall against a greying sky—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I saw you
through the window of the bus</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And sat and
let the thought pass by</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">That when
you’re that tall</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You don’t
walk, you stride</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">With
nothing to hide</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You kept
straight ahead, not looking back</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And I—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I stayed in
my seat on the bus</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It looked
like rain</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">But in that
split-second—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Fleeting,
going, gone—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I would
have given anything </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">To know you
would have stopped for me</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">If I called
out your name</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">To be
walking next to you</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Wherever
you were going—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I’d be
struggling to keep up</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">But you
might have slowed down</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You didn’t
turn your head to look</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Till the
bus turned the corner</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And then
you were out of sight</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">All too
soon, out of mind</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">There’s a
metaphor in there somewhere</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">For someone
else to find</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It was
three seconds, maybe four</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I was late
for work already</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I felt the
first few raindrops</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And walked a little faster</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">But I’ve
been staring straight ahead</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">For half an
hour now </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Not hearing
the voices on the phones—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“How may I
direct your call”—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I blink—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Why are the
walls still standing?</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A
modern-day Eurydice</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I dare you
to glance back at me</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And sink me
in the depths where I belong</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Consign me
to the hell that I deserve </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">To castles
built of sticks and stones</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Where I can
bind my broken bones</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Where I can
wonder why I cared</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">If you
looked back for a moment—</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">One
throwaway day in February</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">When the
sky was cloudy</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And it
looked like rain</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Till tomorrow,</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span face="" style="font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>Clara</i></span> <br /></span></p>
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<![endif]--></span></span> </span></span></i></p>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-85948549262765698882020-08-07T21:11:00.006-04:002020-08-07T21:15:16.088-04:00Born of Ragged Perfection<div>My writing process has never been very systematic. Despite all the structure I impose on myself at later stages in the process, my initial thoughts tend to flow best without too many rules to hem them in. Nowhere does this haphazardness show up more than in my first drafts of poems and songs, which can read more like lists of brain-stormed images and metaphors than anything resembling meaning.</div><div><br /></div>Case in point, this first draft:<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JKT4vWpa2s_aWfQe8r30LOyjNIPyK8RWg9hpeAx7r4ztqTCOW3JcyMyECErIAhSXY3m7wmlQQwlPVtCTunx_MDjPis2V-2vIcupG-VkSP9p-HIssndOUCxfbtG195ovuZCHRf5kW77I/s4032/IMG_2593.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JKT4vWpa2s_aWfQe8r30LOyjNIPyK8RWg9hpeAx7r4ztqTCOW3JcyMyECErIAhSXY3m7wmlQQwlPVtCTunx_MDjPis2V-2vIcupG-VkSP9p-HIssndOUCxfbtG195ovuZCHRf5kW77I/s640/IMG_2593.JPG" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The lines read as follows (cross-outs replicated):</div><div><br /></div><div>And this is born of ragged perfection</div><div>Edges of a glimpse of glory</div><div><strike>Past the never-ending story</strike></div><div>Running off the gold-dipped (gilted) pages</div><div>Into chasms down below</div><div><br /></div><div>There's an edge and there's the fraying</div><div>Threads unraveled, never staying</div><div>Put--unraveling bit by bit as long</div><div>as <strike>motion</strike> we're in motion</div><div><strike>Stand still and</strike></div><div><strike><br /></strike></div><div>Bit by bit the thread unwinds</div><div>Stretching out in life and time</div><div><strike>Peaks and va</strike></div><div>Zig-zagged edges, <strike>then the stil</strike></div><div>winds and turns</div><div>Scarlet threads within the maze</div><div>till the waves all straighten out</div><div><strike>Every</strike> leaving naught to chance or doubt</div><div>The scarlet cord hung down a city wall</div><div>Straightens, flattens, turns into a line</div><div>Flatlining on the heart monitor--</div><div><strike>No mo</strike> All stands still.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>So this fragment definitely has some potential. There're some phrases I really like, one of which became the title of this blog post. The extended metaphor of a fraying thread representing a human life I also appreciate. <i>As long as we're in motion we unravel</i>. </div><div> </div><div>These lines were written as the second half of a song which takes place in the second half of a musical that I started writing at fourteen and promptly forgot about as soon as freshman year of high school started rearing its ugly head. Blech, high school. Revisiting the half-finished musical years later, I found the song's lyrics predictably terrible, sounding as if they were written by an angsty fourteen-year-old, mainly because they were written by an angsty fourteen-year-old. But the lyrics weren't <i>irredeemably</i> terrible: they were bursting with potential. I just needed to breathe new life into them. Hence the lines above.</div><div> </div><div><div>I'll be honest: I didn't end up using this fragment at all. Nada. None of it.</div><div> </div><div>At least not the way I was expecting to.</div><div> </div>None of these lines made it into the final cut of the song. Introducing a new metaphor about the unwinding thread of life so close to the end of the song turned out to be confusing and unnecessary. </div><div> </div><div>What, then, was the use of writing these lines?</div><div> </div><div>Potential.</div><div> </div><div>Potential yet to be actualized.</div><div> </div><div>The tingly-in-the-fingertips feeling of almost-thereness that I get when I read them. The snapshots of memories that spring to mind as I scan each line--fleeting, going, gone. The reminder that not everything I write needs to see the light of day, and that I write for all the shadows in between the page and the reader. Being able to determine that these lines turned out to be useless for the project they were intended for encourages me, because I am now assured that I know my vision for the musical well enough to know what <i>not </i>to include--even after years not working on it!</div><div><br /></div><div>I realize that this isn't the most helpful post for aspiring writers. <i>Hey, guess what? Some stuff you write might be completely useless, and the lines you like the most might just be the ones you have no use for.</i> Not exactly an encouraging message. The only advice I could give at the end of this would be that if you, like me, have piles of throwaway scribblings that you're still holding onto, even though you feel like you should get rid of them--keep them with you a little longer. Give your words time to breathe. Look at them with fresh eyes once you've forgotten what you wrote. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>All will be well. All in time.<br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div style="text-align: right;"> </div><div style="text-align: right;">Till next time,</div><div style="text-align: right;">Clara <br /></div><div> <br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-18950762001861339462020-07-20T11:43:00.001-04:002020-07-20T11:49:23.747-04:00After All This Time<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Darlings, it has been quite the hiatus. Aside from an angsty ramble of a letter to myself that I published a few weeks ago (and I refuse to believe that garbage exists, much less that I posted it on the interwebs. Denial is a heck of a drug.)I haven't blogged for three years now. Yikes. Life, ya know.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In our time apart (and in no particular order), I have:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">graduated college (woot woot!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">applied and been accepted to law school, which starts this fall</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Finished a 300+ page Percy Jackson fanfic</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Staunchly refused to edit said fanfic for over a year</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Started a sequel to said fanfic (not having edited it)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Questioned some life decisions</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Wrote a bunch of mostly sad poems to distract myself</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Started writing a musical because why not</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Escaped some more problems (see above note on denial in the first paragraph. I'll wait.)</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As you can see, I've been quite productive, all things considered.In addition to all the writing, my days have been spent (1)doing an absurd amount of online shopping; (2) altering so many clothes in my attempts at tailored, vintage perfection; (3)discovering indie folk bands on Spotify. Again, productivity.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Oh, and did I mention the *GLOBAL PANDEMIC* that I'm currently living through right now? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">2020, what a year. It's been surreal as a recent grad to watch the world fall apart and come together like a chaotic pulsing heart. Who knows what the other side of this will look like. It was partially to journal my impressions of this wild time that I decided to take up blogging again. One day, I'll want to look back and retrace what I was thinking when all this went down...or will I?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Going forward, this blog will look a little different. I plan to organize posts better into categories and to have pages for each of my WIPs, where I'll post chapters and "behind-the-scenes" types of posts about the writing and editing process. My little corner of the internet here did start out as a writing-focused blog, and I intend to keep it that way. The changes will focus on how to make my content more accessible to y'all and more personal to me. I want to share what my works mean <i>to me</i>, not just what they contain and why they were written. For someone who delays feeling her emotions till she's had time to process everything else, and who hates revealing personal things, this'll be a *fun* challenge for me. But hey, there's a first time for everything. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Here's to new beginnings. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Here's to tweaking things that don't work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Here's to taking ourselves with a grain of salt and never missing the comic relief in any disaster.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Thanks for sticking around for so long, my loves. And if you're new here, thanks for checking out this mess and reading this far! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">To close out this post, enjoy an assortment of photos that seemed to fit, complete with vague explanations:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEine2JIh3CZGBJKPZ5U66MLIG0m9JIZTXUekdoAbqdXz5DMCKD527P0snswM-8xiB69Vbtl0oX1wMXAjSyKD5HC8C449bh24Q0w8OygkheCL4WB_ahrom3wFB-yiP4bs93MSQ5R4gQ6Aj8/s1600/selfie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="804" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEine2JIh3CZGBJKPZ5U66MLIG0m9JIZTXUekdoAbqdXz5DMCKD527P0snswM-8xiB69Vbtl0oX1wMXAjSyKD5HC8C449bh24Q0w8OygkheCL4WB_ahrom3wFB-yiP4bs93MSQ5R4gQ6Aj8/s320/selfie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Moi. Your favorite sporadic rambler.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQTAUHnYf1hn7CkTlGPxwQdpaZ_UVCCDomMZJPu8d7Zq37lzH9dB3RsVie53iO60JXGCUX1xbaiMiRm7mfTcpHfOgAO7RXOYrwA4IBVgWv95zB4HoGq8NCbeC5k_Gq4NA_UUvF5pl2u0/s1600/notes-college.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQTAUHnYf1hn7CkTlGPxwQdpaZ_UVCCDomMZJPu8d7Zq37lzH9dB3RsVie53iO60JXGCUX1xbaiMiRm7mfTcpHfOgAO7RXOYrwA4IBVgWv95zB4HoGq8NCbeC5k_Gq4NA_UUvF5pl2u0/s400/notes-college.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From my notes app not too long ago. A whole mood.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRosz4bpN6TQ3vPKgWPb11bP_MylxLSZB6d61W7G7KzhURIIxXAb2Q3TJcm8xllJUcKfXd9CPlYrXMBZlY2sBgEVv-mSErT1nfUdIJAmEtXovcEC7nLcS3THrqX9w_eOvh1n1sjINDN6c/s1600/art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRosz4bpN6TQ3vPKgWPb11bP_MylxLSZB6d61W7G7KzhURIIxXAb2Q3TJcm8xllJUcKfXd9CPlYrXMBZlY2sBgEVv-mSErT1nfUdIJAmEtXovcEC7nLcS3THrqX9w_eOvh1n1sjINDN6c/s320/art.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quarantine = free time that MUST be spent inside. Ergo, art.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="goog_499945682"></span><span id="goog_499945683"></span><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And finally, a tiny video showcasing my handy-dandy mask-and-scarf-holding-contraption (new name suggestions appreciated). We're all in this crazy time together--might as well have some fun with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Till next time,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Clara</span></div>
Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-35143324425052637892020-05-31T21:00:00.002-04:002020-05-31T21:01:44.706-04:00Dear Future Clara<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Dear Future Clara,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">What even is this but a motley mismanagement of words. My
dear, my dear. You write without knowing where the words are going, only that
it’s been too long since you’ve created anything and the overwhelming urge to
vomit words on a page must be satisfied. Let there be light. Let there be
madness.Let there <i>be.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i> </i> </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And you scan the paragraph you just wrote, and it strikes
you how pretentious you sound, but you keep writing anyway because no one will
ever read this but you and maybe two people and a super-advanced NYC subway rat on the internet, and let’s be honest—your future self could use a laugh.
In the distant future when you somehow learn to stop taking yourself too
seriously, you will appreciate this mindless verbiage and you will be glad you
took the time to do something pointless and stupid and time-consuming. At least
I hope you will.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Prose. Prose is the problem because you feel like you have
to be candid and honest with yourself when you write in prose. Ambiguous
fragments strung together into an indecipherable poem? The <i>angst</i>. The power. The presence. But
prose demands substance as well as style, and it makes it harder to disguise a
lack of either. So in typical you-fashion, you get around the problem of prose
by hiding behind metaphors that take on a life of their own, writing in slow
downward spirals that never quite hit rock-bottom. Cue self-referential
example. How meta.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Were you making a point in any of this?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">You will find your own voice as a writer. Eventually, you
will stop having to hide behind ambiguity and purple prose. Your words will be
a finely tempered steel blade, cutting to the heart of the matter with clean
precision. You’ll stop dithering. You’ll stop second-guessing. You’ll stop
toning yourself down on the page.You'll stop hyping yourself up on the page. Halfway between the Slump and the Mania, you will flow on the page, and your words will be made of breath and blood and bone.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">But until then, you find refuge behind a wall of words, and
you succumb to the need to write angsty poetry as is your birthright as a
teenager because for the next almost-two-months, that’s still true.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
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<h4>
<b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Eyelids drooping</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A slight tremor in
the fingers</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Betrays the weariness
of nights spent awake till the early hours of the morning</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A silent vigil spent
reading and re-reading</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Regrets already
forming but realization delayed</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Was it worth it all?</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Of course it was, for
the time being</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Let tomorrow worry
about itself, no need to chase it down</span></i></span><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble</span></i></span></b></h4>
</div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">That was terrible. You actually hate that, at least in the
moment. Maybe it’ll grow on you, and maybe if it does that will simply confirm
your worst suspicions about your lack of taste. Who’s to say?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">But pointlessness for its own sake, though it does have its
charms, tends to get old after a while. And you’re bored right now of the
immense pointlessness of this first letter because you had grand fantasies of
its being a profound exercise in self-reflection and instead it is a steaming
pile of garbage wrapped up in pretty language. Ahahahahahahahahahahaha the
idiocy of it all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">More to come later.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Much love, </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Past Clara </span></span></div>
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<![endif]-->Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-67887921679807891102018-07-08T15:24:00.002-04:002018-07-08T15:27:11.593-04:00FanFest: The Gamble of Orpheus<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Hi everyone!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Thanks for keeping up with this rather sporadic poster, and for being willing to beta-read my fanfiction, <i>The Gamble of Orpheus</i>. So first, a few general tips and guidelines about the fanfiction:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>The Gamble of Orpheus </i>is intended to be a full-length fanfiction of at least 50,000 words. Also, it is a sequel to a previously written work, <i>The Son of Hestia</i>. I will be happy to email the prequel to those of you who might be interested, but it is not necessary to read the works in order to follow the plot of either one.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i>The Gamble of Orpheus</i> contains the following additions/inconsistencies with the PJO canon:</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Children of the Big Three, though rare, are possible.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">The exception to the "Demigods can't use technology" rule is known as "godly immunity": if a half-blood is using technology to exercise a godly ability, he or she is shielded from the effects. As soon as the technology is no longer necessary to help with the godly ability, it attracts monsters again.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul><ul>
<li><span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">The virgin goddess, Hestia, has claimed certain heroes (demigod and mortal) as her children. Together, these chosen by the goddess form a loose network of communication across the United States.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">That being said, here's the blurb for <i>The Gamble of Orpheus:</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>The ancient Greek myths are back, if anyone's there to watch them play
out. Alex is Orpheus. Lauren is Eurydice. Kira is missing. And James is
just about to lose it. Can an ending be rewritten thousands of years
later? Can a teenager bargain with the Lord of the Dead? And can all
four half-bloods stay alive long enough to see the end of the story? Not
if the gods of Olympus have anything to say about it.</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">And here's the first two chapters (more to come later); enjoy! Please see the guidelines below the excerpt for feedback procedures before commenting. Thanks!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></span>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">¨</span></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The stars declare that all is well</i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Searching not the depths of hell</i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where empires crumble, lives are lost</i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">For a game of dice the demons tossed</i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Symbol;">¨</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hesitated in front of the heavy
gray door to which Lazarov had directed me. Then I knocked. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Might as well get it done and over with</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Come on
in, James”, a familiar voice rang out, cheerful in direct contrast to the cold,
forbidding efficiency of its surroundings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Lyra?”
I asked, opening the door and staring like an idiot, in disbelief. Sure, I had
known that Lyra served as one of the lab school’s student mental health
researchers, but somehow, I hadn’t connected that to this for so long. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
peered at me over the rims of her green-framed glasses and grinned in
amusement. The purple streaks in her dark hair glistened in light of the
sunbeams streaming in through the half-closed window.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s
Ms. Kazantzakis to you”, she corrected with a quirk of her jaw. “Lazarov made
sure I’d be filling in your preliminary mental health form. So come on in,
let’s get this out of the way.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Isn’t
your specialty computer science?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Well,
technically. Digital communications, to be exact.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“So
you’re not exactly qualified to—“</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Please,
James”, she interrupted. “Were any of those previous quacks qualified?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Unbidden,
memories of previous counseling sessions and mental health forms whirred
through my mind. The student researcher who insisted on asking me a series of
questions about my mom, even though I told him again and again that I had no
idea who she was. He had diagnosed me with the infamous ‘anger issues’ just two
sessions later when I yelled at him to stop asking about my mom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I guess
not”, I admitted, “but it’s not like I made their lives any easier than they
made mine.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“What
kind of world would it be if people went around making people’s lives easier?”
Lyra mused. “Reality TV would disappear altogether.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Cynical.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Stalling.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’m not
stalling, Lyra.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But I
was. Even though I knew this little interview was just a preliminary that
neither of us would take seriously, I hated to become the patient again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You can
leave the door open, James. It’s stifling in here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
looked at the chair across from her, then at me pointedly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I left the door ajar and crossed to
the other side of the room in four steps, settling into the hard-backed chair.
It was too short for me, so Lyra waited patiently while I folded my legs under
it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Then she handed me the manila
folder in her hand, one that I’d seen many times before in the school
counselor’s office.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“And before you say it; yes, I know
that students aren’t allowed to look inside their own folders. As long as we’re
having an illegal little therapy session, we might as well be totally illegal
in the way we go about it.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Spoken like a true Hermes kid”, I
lauded her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Oh, wait till you see the inside.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I flipped it open and squinted at
the tiny print; which in addition to being ant-sized to ants, was faded as if
from repeated handling to the point that some spots were beginning to run.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Someone loves reading about me”, I
observed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Oh, they all do”, Lyra answered.
“You’re the talk of the student research department. Chris, our head counselor,
calls you a ‘mystery wrapped inside an enigma, seasoned with a healthy dose of
devil-may-care attitude’. Thankfully, I convinced him to let me make you my
special project.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Should I be scared or relieved?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Just keep reading the rest of the
file.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So I did, growing more confused
with each line I read. There was no mention of my ‘anger issues’, my ‘family
problems’, my ‘strained relationship with my father’, or any of the other
things previous student counselors had identified.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You
rewrote my file”, I told Lyra, and she understood that the statement was a
question.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
nodded.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes, I
did. James, I’m convinced that someone in the counseling staff is out looking
for demigods. With your true file, the ADHD, anger issues, or whatever else
could be enough of a trigger for them to seek you out. I doctored Alex and
Kira’s files as well, just in case. The real documents are safe with me, but
these dummy files will keep you guys safe for the time being.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you don’t do anything stupid</i>;
the tone of her voice carried an unspoken warning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Flip to
the last pages”, she instructed. “I marked them with a blue sticky-tab.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I found
the tab and peered at the date on the top of the page.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“This is
a transcript of today’s mental health consultation, Lyra. A conversation that
never happened.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s
where you’re wrong, James. This conversation, the one we’re having right now,
never happened. You remember the mental health consultation that I recorded in
your folder. All those responses that prove you’re qualified to TA for Lazarov
next semester and then graduate from this miserable place. You remember every
response you made perfectly. Or you will by Monday morning when I need this
back so I can turn it in to Chris that afternoon.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Got
it.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I placed
the folder between the pages of my chemistry textbook inside my backpack.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“See ya
Monday, Lyra. And thanks for saving my sorry butt, I guess. Again, that is.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Not for
the last time, I’ll warrant.” She sounded annoyed, but she couldn’t keep a
smile from breaking through her scowl.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I smiled
back and stepped out of the room with a wave. My hollow footsteps were the only
thing I heard as I walked back down the tiled hallway, back the way I came.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I could
tell myself that it hadn’t always been this way. That a few months ago I was a
normal kid, just trying to make it through my junior year of high school
without proving to be a complete and utter disappointment. But self-deception
isn’t particularly useful, no matter how comforting it is at the time. The
truth is, my fate was out to get me sooner or later. It had just happened to be
sooner, that’s all. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">After seventeen years of living a
somewhat normal life, I had learned that the man who’d raised me that whole
time was not actually my father, that my mother was alive and living under a
slew of false identities, that my best friend was a son of the Ancient Greek
god of music and drama, and that the girl I’d had feelings for since the
beginning of the school year was a kleptomaniac with a talent for breaking and
entering inherited from her father, the god of thieves. As if that wasn’t
enough to turn my brains inside out, I’d also participated in a heist in which
everything went wrong, yet we still managed to reunite my mom and my adopted
dad, get a fugitive from the Russian mob safe passage to Canada, and plan a
wedding in the aftermath of the whole operation. I liked to think that this
meant my chances of ever having a normal life again were pretty much
nonexistent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And yet, in the months after the
heist, life had sunk back into an approximation of ‘normal’, whatever that
meant. I had stopped looking over my shoulder wherever I went, suspecting each
passerby to be more than they appeared. Looking back on it, I regret that I
wasn’t as vigilant as I should have been. The truth is, I was tired. Tired of
constantly suspecting that everyone I met had it out for me, tired of searching
for double meanings and hidden truths everywhere, tired of forging my own path
instead of plodding down the one that had been marked out for me, and which I
had rejected almost a year ago.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Monday morning found me dutifully
trudging along to Grantham Lab School at the ungodly hour of six o’clock in the
morning to open up the building, checking each bathroom and trashcan before the
place opened for the day. It had been my job for the last two years and now I
made my rounds mechanically, my mind far away from the mundane tasks at hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As usual, Kira was waiting for me
on one of the benches that lined the open area leading to the school, formally
known as the Concourse but mockingly called a variety of things by student
bodies throughout the years ranging from “The Highway” to “Lover’s Lane.” This
year, in homage to the school play, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Little
Shop of Horrors,</i> which had garnered the school notice in the local news,
the walkway was unofficially known as “Skid Row”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“You’re late”, she announced as
soon as I stepped within earshot, checking the ancient-looking pocket-watch she
always kept in her pocket. “By six minutes and counting.” This was the kind of
sweet, romantic greeting I had grown to expect from Kira in the months we’d
been together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Inadvertently, I felt the corners
of my mouth pull upwards into a dumb grin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Your watch is early”, I countered.
“By six minutes and counting. Should’ve left it in the eighteenth century where
it belongs.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">She stuck out her tongue at me in
response. Typical.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Here”, she continued, handing me a
lidded paper cup with steam wafting from it. “Since you’re basically useless in
the mornings till you’re properly caffeinated.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Thanks”, I replied, taking the cup
from her hand and sipping from it experimentally. The coffee was excellent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I sat down next to Kira on the
bench and sighed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Where’s the file?” she asked,
prodding me with her elbow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Fully committed to memory. I
returned it to Lyra last night.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Nice.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We sat in silence for some time on
the bench, looking out at the pale winter sunrise and feeling no need to say
anything. Then Kira sighed, abruptly rising from the bench.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“I don’t like this”, she muttered.
“I don’t like this at all.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“By which you mean what, exactly?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“This. All of this”, she answered,
waving her arms around to indicate just about everything. “It’s too quiet. It’s
like the heist never happened at all.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I puzzled over that for a while.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Isn’t that what we want, though?
The less people remember the heist, the more chance we have of, like, staying
alive and stuff.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Absolutely not. We have little
enough chance as it is. That heist was calculated to be extravagant, showy, and
unreasonable. Lyra knew someone was on our trail from the get-go and the heist
theatrics were meant to lure them out into the open.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“And here I was thinking you guys
were just trying to help me find my mom.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">She glared at me, her eyes glinting
dangerously like daggers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Wallowing in self-pity suits you
even worse than your normal snarkiness, James.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Because using me instead for your
own purposes without telling me, while dangling my own mother over my head to
get me to cooperate, suits you just fine, doesn’t it?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I stood up then too, facing her,
and she tilted her face upwards to meet my eyes with her darkly flashing ones.
Looking down at her, I knew then that we had nothing left to say to each other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">“Thanks for the coffee, Kira”, I
told her as I turned and left, stopping only to unlock the heavy double-doors
of the school before making my way inside. My footsteps sounded hollow behind
me.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>..................................................................................................................................................................</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And that's it for now, folks! Please leave feedback in the comments. If you're not sure what to talk about, please start by rating each of the following elements in these first chapters from 1-5 (with 1 as the lowest and 5 as the highest): Grammar and Mechanics, Opening, Character Development, World-Building, Word Choice and Usage. Feel free to include other constructive criticism and to cite direct quotes from the chapters if you point out specific things. Thank you so much!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">--Clara</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>
</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i> </i></span> Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-23536915589998349162017-03-09T21:05:00.000-05:002017-03-09T21:10:18.540-05:00From Anna<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<h3 class="normal">
<i><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Hullo, hullo!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you’ve
probably guessed, I’m Anna Groover, from Girl
with the Binder (girlwiththebinder.blogspot.com), my blog where I write overly long posts about reading, writing,
and eating pokeberries (spoiler: don’t do it).</span></span></i></h3>
<i><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span></i><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Clara approached me in February (I think, but who knows?) with
the idea of doing this blog swap, and you have no idea how excited I am to be
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s always been an awesome
friend to me, since years ago when she came up to me sporting a cheek-splitting
grin, shook my hand enthusiastically, and said, “Hi, I’m Clara!!!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you know what’s even better than doing a
blog swap with an awesome writer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doing
a blog swap with an awesome friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fortunately for me, she happens to be both.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My topic is officially writing and inspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve read my blog, you know that I have
trouble staying on one topic, and I tend to ramble, but for y’all’s sakes, I will
try to keep it as trimmed and succinct as possible (ha!).</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I’ll probably put in little clips of my writing whenever I feel
like it, but the first, and main, piece is here; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rivenbark</i>, one of my favorite things I’ve ever written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was actually unsure about using this piece,
because it’s over a year old, and I have newer stuff, but in the end it came
down to inspiration, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rivenbark </i>is
a great example of inspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Below
you see the first two scenes of the book.</span></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<h3 class="normal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> .<span style="font-size: small;"> .<span style="font-size: large;"> . <span style="font-size: x-large;">. <span style="font-size: large;">. <span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;"> .<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> .</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></h3>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
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<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Theodore was reading the morning</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> newspaper
as he did every day when his mother entered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had originally started doing it only to imitate his father, but it
soon developed into a habit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mother
placed a kiss on his cheek and glanced over his shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Oh, Theodore, do you see that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The water situation just seems to get worse
and worse every day over there.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">He folded the newspaper, following his
father’s example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Women should not read the news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It ruins their disposition.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>“Don’t
worry, Mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure the drought will
be over soon.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He attempted to kiss her
cheek, hit her ear instead, and focused on the wall clock behind her, a little
ashamed of himself for being too distracted to give his mother proper
affection.</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“And how’s my son today?” Father
bellowed as he stormed his way over the stairs, seeming as always as if his
very presence would tear the house apart in an instant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His grey beard was neatly trimmed, with not a
hair out of place, and his suit was flat and perfectly fitted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theodore would never expect differently.</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Still, he mused, perhaps a surprise
would be welcome just once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
Mother would neglect to put her hair up before coming downstairs, or Father
would dress in a t-shirt and overalls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the thought, he smiled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
image was just too ridiculous.</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’m well, Father.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took a sip of his black coffee and
straightened his tie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And yourself?”</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“Grand!”</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Norwood family had accomplished its daily morning interaction, and
they were set until dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theodore
returned to his newspaper, feeling a strange combination of disappointment and
relief.</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Father cleared his throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Actually, Theodore, there’s something we’d
like to discuss with you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He waited for
his son to look up, a long pause taking place, during which Mother could be
heard pouring milk into her tea, adding sugar, and stirring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sounded nervous, Theodore thought,
listening with rapt attention, though he seemed utterly fascinated with the
paper in his hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At last, as she sat
down next to him at the table, he looked up, fully meeting both of their eyes
before speaking a word.</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“Oh?”</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’m going to see a client in Norway in
two weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We--your mother and I--due to
several complications in this case, are going to be staying there for four
weeks, which means you will be staying here alone.”</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">They looked at him for a reaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theodore didn’t give them one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was obvious they expected some kind of
response: fear, irritation, happiness, et cetera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, he didn’t see how them going to
Norway for four weeks would be that dramatic of a change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was sixteen years old and could take care
of himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The servants would prepare
food, and his time would be spent with Sebastian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only things he would be losing were
distantly affectionate greetings in the morning and sober candle-lit dinners in
the evening that never amounted to much.</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“Theodore?” his mother prompted, and he
responded with a smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kind,
charming smile he forced on his face when confronted with irritating but
important strangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“I wish you well on your journey and
thank you for your trust in me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father
frowned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mother’s face fell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theodore picked up his coffee cup and took a
sip, the dark liquid tasting like guilt in his mouth.</span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #134f5c;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Two weeks later, he sat in that very
spot right after his parents left for the airport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He found himself looking at the clock, at its
habitually swinging pendulum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tick
tock reminded him of the passing of time, and he almost growled in frustration,
but instead formed his features into a cynical smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clocks were prone to habit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How typical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And how very depressing.</span></span></i></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "alegreya"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“It’s inexcusable,” Theodore announced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Absolutely inexcusable, Sebastian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find myself bored.”</span>
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal">
</div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Sebastian looked over at his friend,
noticing the way Theodore’s eyes were narrowed in frustration, his lips pressed
in a straight, firm line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every feature
of him spoke rigidity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though only
sixteen years old, Theodore Richard Norwood IV was more imposing a picture than
most adults.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“How about a trip to Arrowood?” he
suggested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></i></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“I have been to Arrowood,” the boy
said, his voice dripping with disapproval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“I like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It belongs to
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have been there, and there is
a whole world outside of mine that I have not explored.”</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“And?”</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“I want to explore it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve come to realize that there is something
that appeals</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">to me
about always taking the hardest way.”</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Theodore’s
gaze was unreadable, his face bathed in evening light as he stared out across
the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A face like stone, Sebastian
thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A wall more impenetrable than
any ancient civilization had ever built.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“If you’re <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">trying </span>to make
things as difficult as possible, you’ll never be disappointed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life will be regretless.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hint of a smile cracked the stone
wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Of course, it’s hope that gets in
the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s hard to prepare for
despair when there’s a nagging expectation that something good will happen.”</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sebastian didn’t say a word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew that whatever Theodore said next, it
would be important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really, things that
his best friend said were almost always important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Theodore was evidently restless, and that
meant anything could happen.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A bird called out as it dipped low over
the water, and Theodore’s eyes followed it, he evidently lost in thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sebastian tore a piece of grass apart,
waiting for his companion to speak.</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“Pack your bags,” Theodore said
suddenly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We leave tomorrow.”</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Sebastian was used to surprises, so he
merely nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Where to?”</span></span></i></span></div>
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></i></span><br />
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Theodore looked calmly over at
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Somewhere far away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somewhere very, very different.”</span></span></i></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;">.<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: large;">.<span style="font-size: x-large;">.<span style="font-size: large;">.<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;">.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></i></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It’s not fantastic writing, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some would call it rubbish (by “some” I mean
British authors, of course).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
parts of it that I almost cringe at, and would if they didn’t make me laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s the thing about this little
excerpt, that actually holds true for the entire book, in my case at least: it
makes me laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it makes me excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It draws me in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when it stumbles in places, I like it
enough that I feel comfortable laughing at it and loving it still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know, like how I do with my friends.</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Now, I said something very important back there that you may or
may not have missed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said, “It makes
me excited.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Rule #1: <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Never write
something that you’re not excited about.</span></b></span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So in case you’re wondering, yes, that “1” right there means there
will be more rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, I know, this
is a post about inspiration!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
supposed to be wild and free, unencumbered by all the rules and regs of
structured life!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I’ll tell you right now, and don’t you forget this, that
without rules, without structure, inspiration has no place to thrive.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Now onward!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s see
about applying Rule #1 to our excerpt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was fantastically excited about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rivenbark</i>,
because of Theodore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What inspired
Theodore was actually Anthony Lockwood from Jonathan Stroud’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lockwood & Co.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not Anthony himself, though he is a beautiful
character, but how he was described.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because he WASN’T.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rivenbark</i>, my character development was
awful, no doubt about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just didn’t
know how<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>to make a believable
character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My books have always been
very character-inspired (I write for the people, through their stories), but I
never actually loved my characters after I’d started writing them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least not with the passion with which I
love Theodore, or with which I loved the characters I was reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t understand a fairly simple, but
profound, rule of CD: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more is less.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And so, when I began plotting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rivenbark </i>in the months before NaNoWriMo, I went in with these
guidelines: Theodore is mysterious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do not EVER need to feel
like we know him completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will not
even know his thoughts, except for at the beginning and end of the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything in between will be third person
subjective to the people around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That being said, the book is about him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I was excited by this, excited to try out an experiment,
excited to go all in writing a character that even I wouldn’t understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, why do you think I wouldn’t write
from his perspective?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rivenbark</i> was an
experiment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was not expecting a masterpiece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was not expecting it to be
publishing-worthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I was expecting
was to follow Rule #2:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Rule</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> #2: <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wr</span></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ite what you
want to write.</span></span></b></i></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></span></span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Sounds simple, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sounds a little like Rule #1, yeah?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But whereas #1 was forbidding something, #2 is commanding
something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yikes, that sounds
harsh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But here’s the deal: you aren’t
inspired by something because of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>You’re inspired by something because of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Because
something in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you </i>is wired to respond
to that thing, whatever it is.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Do individuals change?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You bet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I change all the
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You change all the time, even in
the smallest of ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can we change
which things we’re inspired by?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because
if what I said up there is true, it’s not about changing external things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s something that starts here, in us.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Rule #3: <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">To be an
inspired writer, you must learn to control inspiration to a certain extent,
rather than let it control you.</span></span></b></i></span></span></div>
<i><b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span></b></i><br />
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">
</span><br />
<div class="normal">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Some writers take to structure easily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s Clara.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then there are some who are disorganized, clutter-brained, and intent on
plowing on anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is my Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My earthly parents are pretty awesome
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have seven siblings, each
unique and talented in their own ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My whole life, I’ve lived in a really interesting area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I call it the country-ghetto, because it’s
pretty much a fusion of the two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
childhood was full of conflict with my siblings, and I’ve still got scars from
that, but I never doubt that we all love each other, and we can have the best
times, we eight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My point is, if I ask myself what I’m inspired by, all I have
to do is look around me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And somehow,
when I wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rivenbark</i>, I stopped
trying to write something unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
stopped trying to be as good as everyone I read, and I wrote something I wanted
to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote it because I loved it,
because it excited me, and I gave my inspiration exactly the skeleton it needed
to grow right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Look, I could write a whole book on this, but this post has
gone on long enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll try and wrap
it up for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Those two scenes you read were messy, and filled with things I
never followed up on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they
accomplished exactly<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>what I wanted
them to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theodore remained mysterious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sebastian remained cool (not the right word,
but whatevs, you know).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I didn’t
care one bit that it wasn’t my neatest piece of work!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was glorious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And it was exactly what I needed in order to keep plowing ahead without
care.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Here’s one last thing for you to chew on until my next post,
which will address this a lot more.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Rule #4: <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Never try to
separate yourself from what you are writing.</span></span></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hope that was some sort of help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was a pretty shallow overview of
Rivenbark and the inspiration behind it, so if you didn’t get all you wanted
out of it, come back and you just might get it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Thank you, Clara, for having me on your blog!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And thank you, readers, for reading
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please, feel free to ask any
questions you might have, and do go on over to my blog, Girl with the Binder,
where Clara has her first post up.</span></div>
<br />Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-86150244663143809742017-02-25T09:38:00.001-05:002017-02-25T09:38:19.367-05:00<h2>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Apologies, Announcements, and Alliteration</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm sorry that it's been quite a while since the last post. I could make up a list of excuses as to why, but I'm pretty confident that most of you wouldn't find such a list all that interesting. So I'll refrain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We've been preparing for some awesome things on The Danger of Dreams beginning in March, but routine things have fallen by the wayside in the meantime. Well, here's to picking up the pieces and carrying on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<i><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Thus, feast your eyes on two exciting guest post announcements for the upcoming months!</span></i></h4>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>1. March--Anna Groover of <i>Girl with the Binder</i>!</b></span> (link here: http://girlwiththebinder.blogspot.com/)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Anna is an amazing writer and a great friend of mine. She's always willing to listen to my rants and talk about anything and everything, imagined or otherwise :) She'll be addressing the topic of Inspiration and taking her own unique spin on what it means and how we as writers harness it. I'm definitely looking forward to her posts!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b><span style="color: #0c343d;">2.August--Yovela Ng of <i>Matcha Melodies</i>!</span> </b>(link here : http://matchamelodies.wordpress.com/)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Yovela is an equally amazing friend and writer. As an Indonesian-American who has had experience living in both the States and, presently, in Indonesia; she's got a unique perspective on life that she'll be sharing over the month of August. With Indonesian Independence Day happening on August 17, August will be an </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">especially fun month on The Danger of Dreams.</span><br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm looking forward to our journey throughout 2017 on The Danger of Dreams; and I hope you'll join me for these fantabulous guest posts! </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span></h4>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span></h4>
Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-38367339794425819982017-02-15T17:23:00.002-05:002017-02-15T17:25:04.049-05:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: large;">Calling All Writers! Looking for some method in your madness?</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;">.<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: large;">.<span style="font-size: x-large;">.<span style="font-size: large;">.<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;">.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then</span></span> <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">look no further! A new opportunity awaits on The Danger of Dreams for you especially; whether you wish to</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">(1) start the writing process, </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">(2)start blogging, </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">(3)refine your written work, </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">(4) find opportunities to publish your work online for free,<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> and/or</span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">(5)Exchange ideas, inspiration, and guest posts with other bloggers!</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our theme for 2017 is inspiration. I am working with some friends who are writers to provide you with inspiration,advice,editing; and maybe even a mini-series on copyrights and publishing over the summer.</span></span></span></span></h2>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">In September and October, we'll shift our focus slightly to poetry (September) and song-writing (October). These will help us to understand writing far better and to sharpen our skills.I</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">t takes a different sort of skill to write these, a kind of condensed
language that's difficult for prose writers to convey sometimes. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">Throughout November, we'll shift again to the topic of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), applying our new skills and gauging our progress; as well as reading other writers' NaNoWriMo works.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">And finally in December, we'll take a break from new content to take some surveys and evaluate how this series has helped each of us. There'll be polls and surveys where you can provide feedback for future improvements; and finally, a virtual <i>Christmas Party at Writer's Cafe</i> to culminate the year and promote all of our blogs. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">By the end of 2017, my goal is that you will gain the confidence and resources you need as a writer to get your finished manuscripts published!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">And the name of this helpful series is...</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #073763;"><u><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Method in My Madness: Writers' Perspective on Our Craft</span></span></i></u></span></span> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Method in My Madness </span></span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">debuts in March with a post on Inspiration & Organization by a blogger friend of mine who will be introduced shortly...Till then, stay tuned.</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">If you'd like to contribute or would like to be updated as this series progresses; please email me at clak717@gmail.com so we can work something out.</span></span></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> <span style="color: #76a5af;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;">.<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: large;">.<span style="font-size: x-large;">.<span style="font-size: large;">.<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: x-small;">.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Happy Writing!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">--Clara </span></span><br />
<br />
Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-20624444541107088052017-02-12T21:44:00.002-05:002017-02-13T15:06:03.807-05:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>A Resource for Writers</b></span></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Hello again, you fabulous people! Well, well, well, what a productive blogging weekend this is turning out to be for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I have a gift for you people out there in internet-land, from an aspiring writer to other writers....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">If you're already a super-organized writer, then this gift is a little less useful; but I suspect that many of you, like me, need a way to map the contents of our messy minds so that our writing can make sense to ourselves throughout its various stages of completion. A useful combination of a bookkeeping method, a map, and a set of guidelines--preferably concise, attractive, and versatile.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">This gift is a way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Note that just before "way" in the previous sentence is "a", not "the", or heaven forbid, "the only". Every writer has their own best way of processing and organizing information. For some of you, it may even work best to purposefully <i>disorganize</i> your information and scatter pieces of it in many different places, if this helps you make creative connections between the pieces that you wouldn't have otherwise realized. And that's okay. And this gift is still for you anyway, just in case you want to try something new.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">And here it comes: The gift is... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">.....A Writer's Organizing Page!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Using it enables you to generally organize an entire work of writing on one page! That's right, one page. Only one page. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">However, here's the second disclaimer: the Writer's <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Organizing</span> Page is not magic. If it were, I would sell it and make a fortune to pay for college, while instead I sit here giving it away for free.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It does<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> not </span>automatically organize and micromanage every little detail of your work. It is not an instant solution to a draft that is little more than a brainstormed list of phrases. It is not a solution to an essay that is little more than a few disconnected sentences with quotes in between. It will not do the thankless tasks of thinking and writing for you, as much as I wish it could.Using the page might even make you work harder as a writer, but in the process it will also make you work smarter.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A good general guideline is that the longer and more complicated your work of writing is, the less help the Writer's <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Organizing</span> Page will be to organize your own thoughts, although it will still be a great help in making you look more organized to people with whom you're sharing your work. Ideally, you would use it<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> during <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">your pre-writing planning process, to make your future work clea<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">rer and more productive. Additionally, </span></span></span>I find in my own writing that one planning page can effectively organize about 20 pages at most, so feel free to expand beyond one page if you need the space.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Below is the Writer's Organizing Page! If you copy-paste it with its original formatting into a word doc, omitting either section 1. or 2. as applicable, it should be one page long, in a slightly more readable size of font.If you encounter glitches, please let me know so that I can fix them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">If you'd like a pre-formatted blank version of the Writer's Organizing Page instead, fancy heading included, please email me and I'd be happy to send it to yo<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">u for free </span>as an attachment<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Thank you, and happy writing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">--Clara</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">............................................................. </span> <br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Writer’s Organizing Page</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Working
Title: </span></span>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Author/s:</span></span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Genre:</span></span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Date
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Estimated
Word Count (If you are unsure about the estimated word count of your work,
enter an estimated number of pages instead, designated by a “P” following the
number):</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Author
of Original Work (For Fanfiction/Direct Response to another Source):</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span>For a work of fiction, please
complete this section only.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Intended
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Main
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Major/
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Minor
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Setting/s:</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Works
cited (if applicable):</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Additional
Notes:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For nonfiction, please complete
this section only.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Intended
Audience and Purpose:</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thesis
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Topic
Sentence/s (if applicable):</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Works
cited (if applicable):</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Additional
Notes:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> ©2017 by Danger of Dreams <br />
</span></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">All rights reserved. Please email the author at <a href="mailto:clak717@gmail.com">clak717@gmail.com</a> to request publication
permission.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-6445479642548012962017-02-12T14:10:00.006-05:002017-02-12T20:36:03.582-05:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Poem Sunday</b></span></span></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hope you all are having a great weekend!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My first series of posts on this blog is called "Poem Sunday", and it consists of my sharing at least one original poem every Sunday afternoon or evening for the month of February. If you enjoy the upcoming poetry and would like to read more, feel free to say so in the comments below<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">.</span>I'd be happy to extend "Poem Sunday<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">" over <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">M<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">arch,<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> and even April, if enough of you are interested.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">To introduce it, I'll answer the obvious question many of you might have: <b><span style="color: #073763;">Why is Clar<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">a writing the poem<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> series, "Poem Sunday"?</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I feel like our weekends have become so busy and cluttered sometimes that it<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> gets</span> hard<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span>just to breathe, relax, and enjoy the quiet for a<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> little while</span>;<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> just to </span>pause in the hectic bus<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">y</span>ness that is life. To let our hearts make new connections, <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">t</span>o daydream and reflect without overtaxing our minds, <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">t</span>o rest for<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span>a few minute<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">s...</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">...A</span>nd the<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">n</span> to face reality agai<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">n<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">, </span>discovering<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> as we r<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">et<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">urn </span></span></span></span></span></span>that<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">this </span>little time<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"> </span>waste<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">d <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">was</span> time well-spent.</span></span></span> </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hope that reading and reflecting on these first three poems gives you <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">all</span> some well-wasted time :)</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Possibility</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Is not bottled up in dark,murky glass</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To be carefully unstoppered and measured out</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>In little drips and dots called possibilities</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>One by one</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>One after another</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>One at a time</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To be drained dry</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>In some mischievous hour</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To the sounds of keening</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>And lament</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>No</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>It is not so</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Not like that will the possible turn impossible</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Never </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Possibility</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>is the tide of a boundless ocean </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>whose shores none living have seen</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Ebbing and flowing</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Chasing and fleeing</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Crashing, retreating</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Never close enough to grasp</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>And never truly gone for good</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Endless and ever-changing</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Never to<span style="font-family: inherit;"> grow dull</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Never to run dry</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Nev<span style="font-family: inherit;">er to <span style="font-family: inherit;">vanish <span style="font-family: inherit;">for goo<span style="font-family: inherit;">d</span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">O<span style="font-family: inherit;">r for ill</span> </span></span></span></span> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A<span style="font-family: inherit;">n<span style="font-family: inherit;">d</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">it bows</span> to</span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">the impossible</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ne<span style="font-family: inherit;">v</span></span>er</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>II.</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The dream is the reality</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The story is the truth</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Our castles in the air</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Are far more than dreams of youth </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>We see our own tomorrow</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Which no midnight can occlude</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>And even though the daylight fades</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A<span style="font-family: inherit;">nd even as the night b<span style="font-family: inherit;">rings s<span style="font-family: inherit;">torm</span></span></span> </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>And<span style="font-family: inherit;"> even as the<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> thunder scoff<span style="font-family: inherit;">s</span> </span></span></span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>We <span style="font-family: inherit;">l<span style="font-family: inherit;">isten<span style="font-family: inherit;">, yet <span style="font-family: inherit;">our hearts are glad</span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">hear and still we falter not</span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomorrow</span> is <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">of</span> </span>silver<span style="font-family: inherit;"> hewn</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tom<span style="font-family: inherit;">orrow <span style="font-family: inherit;">comes in golden<span style="font-family: inherit;"> clad</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomorrow <span style="font-family: inherit;">ne<span style="font-family: inherit;">ver comes too soon</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomorrow</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">will arrive at <span style="font-family: inherit;">last</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>And in <span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomorrow from Today </span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">We <span style="font-family: inherit;">see what will be, and what may</span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And</span> in <span style="font-family: inherit;">its<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>gleaming, glinting, glow </span></span> </span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>We see <span style="font-family: inherit;">our dreams made flesh and know</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Far more than ever <span style="font-family: inherit;">minds</span> c<span style="font-family: inherit;">an know</span> </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They</span> beckon--and we know</span> </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>III.</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Where the shouting of<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>waves <span style="font-family: inherit;">fades</span> into a whisper</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At </span>pale forgotten</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span>shores that rim <span style="font-family: inherit;">the</span> sea</span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Will we <span style="font-family: inherit;">strike<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and chip</span></span> a cavern<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as a</span> foundation</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> <span style="font-family: inherit;">T</span>o <span style="font-family: inherit;">ground</span> our castle in the air</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>From the mountains <span style="font-family: inherit;">shall we</span> quarry marble</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Dove-white and silver-veined and strong</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To <span style="font-family: inherit;">raise</span> into <span style="font-family: inherit;">her</span> towers and <span style="font-family: inherit;">her</span> ramparts</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">To raise</span> our castle in the air</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>From moonlight shall we weave her drapes an<span style="font-family: inherit;">d</span> tapes<span style="font-family: inherit;">t<span style="font-family: inherit;">ries</span></span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>From<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>diamond<span style="font-family: inherit;"> shall </span>we <span style="font-family: inherit;">cut</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">her</span> window-glass</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>From starlight and from pearls<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>we fashion lanterns</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To light our castle in the air</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A fortress strong and certain shall <span style="font-family: inherit;">this</span> palace be</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>But there shall stand no grim and heavy gate</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To guard against the murmur of the seashore</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Outside our castle in the air</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The warm and blue-green waters shall caress the c<span style="font-family: inherit;">rags</span></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>And s<span style="font-family: inherit;">hall through many years smooth<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">rocky shores</span></span></span> </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Till they both night and day reflect the gleam</i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cast by <span style="font-family: inherit;">our </span></span>castle in the air </i></span></span></span></div>
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<br />Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1675537989838724617.post-45856800123975316622016-12-13T17:26:00.002-05:002016-12-13T17:26:26.179-05:00Introduction<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">T.E. Lawrence claimed that <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Those
who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to
find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for
they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Through this blog, I hope to turn my own daydreams into something dangerous, something ready for action and raring to go, something fully realized and capable of taking the internet world by storm.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A lofty goal? Yes. Idealistic and unrealistic? Probably. Impossible? Maybe not...Won't you join me?</span></span><br />
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All men dream, but not
equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds,
wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day
are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to
make them possible.
T. E. Lawrence<br /> Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/telawren130039.html</div>
<div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
All men dream, but not
equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds,
wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day
are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to
make them possible.
T. E. Lawrence<br /> Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/telawren130039.html</div>
<div style="left: -99999px; position: absolute;">
All men dream, but not
equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds,
wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day
are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to
make them possible.
T. E. Lawrence<br /> Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/telawren130039.html</div>
Clara K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06868882739653409974noreply@blogger.com6