This week over at Writer's Island we are remembering those things we can never forget. The prompt is "Unforgettable".
I'm taking a somber turn with this one. I wrote this poem in February of 1996, after I lost a friend to a drunk driver. He was the sort of person you just never forget, but less forgetable is the pain I felt upon losing him. He's been on my mind for some reason lately, so it felt fitting for this prompt.
Not Leo
The world turned
everything changed in a single instant
it only took 5 seconds,
5 words
"He was killed last night"
that bitter taste lingers
I never had my chance to say goodbye
I lose control
unable to see through tears
unable to feel...numbed
unable to hear past those words
over and over again in my mind
"he was killed last night"
At first, "How" and then "when"
followed quickly by "where, why and...
Not Leo"
words tattoed forever in my mind
etched in pain in my memory
"yes, Leo, he was killed last night"
Now, when it rains I cry
when the sun shines, I wonder why
friendship borne, only to die
nobody ever really knows why
and I still cry
forever asking why
why Leo?
Why did he have to die?
And the words,
those fucking words
over and over
again and again
"Leo...he was killed last night
he was killed last night
he was killed..."
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Be sure to visit Writer's Island for other castaways, who will hopefully have much lighter fare for you.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Sunday Scribblings #7 - Money
This week's Sunday Scribblings Prompt is "Money". Ah..Money...as I'm in the middle of both NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo (on my other blog), I'll keep this one short and sweet:
The root of all evil
the seed of all hope
the end
the beginning
a slippery slope
we spend it
we save it
we hoard it
we share it
without it we crave it
but with it
we bear it
what is it about it
that makes us so crazy
how is it without it
the world becomes hazy
This thing we call money
some paper, some ink
it all seems so funny
and yet in the blink
of an eye
you'd grab it
don't lie.
Copyright 2007 - Karina
The root of all evil
the seed of all hope
the end
the beginning
a slippery slope
we spend it
we save it
we hoard it
we share it
without it we crave it
but with it
we bear it
what is it about it
that makes us so crazy
how is it without it
the world becomes hazy
This thing we call money
some paper, some ink
it all seems so funny
and yet in the blink
of an eye
you'd grab it
don't lie.
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Thursday, November 1, 2007
NaBloPoMo
I'm doing NaBloPoMo over at my other blog Candid Karina. I'm also doing NaNoWriMo. Therefore, I'm not going to comit to doing NaBloPoMo over here...however, I'm going to try to post something creative in here daily. I may not do it, but currently I only post here once a week...so even if I manage to post a few more times a week over here, it'll be something. I will post snippets of my NaNoWriMo novel in here periodically, and then some other poems or prose which might come along. I will also continue to do "Writer's Island".
That said....a little Haiku for the month of November.
Write a post a day
and a novel in a month
this is November.
That said....a little Haiku for the month of November.
Write a post a day
and a novel in a month
this is November.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Writer's Island #8 - Haunted
The prompt for Writer's Island this week is "Haunted", just in time for Halloween. My entry is not so much Halloween themed, still, here it is:
Faded Memory
No longer able to recall
Your face
without some effort
your smile
without some struggle
your voice
without some thought
It takes focus now
To see
That twinkle
In your eyes
that mischief
in your grin
that vigor
in your stance
I must stop and concentrate
To recollect
The way you’d hold
My hand
The way you’d say
My name
They way you’d kiss
My lips
But somewhere in the recesses
of my mind
the power of your love remains
It haunts me
At the most inopportune of moments
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Faded Memory
No longer able to recall
Your face
without some effort
your smile
without some struggle
your voice
without some thought
It takes focus now
To see
That twinkle
In your eyes
that mischief
in your grin
that vigor
in your stance
I must stop and concentrate
To recollect
The way you’d hold
My hand
The way you’d say
My name
They way you’d kiss
My lips
But somewhere in the recesses
of my mind
the power of your love remains
It haunts me
At the most inopportune of moments
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Writer's Island #7 - The stranger
This week's "Writer's Island" prompt is "The Stranger". I realize some of you may be wondering whatever happened to my continuation of the story I started a few weeks ago, but for some reason that's been put on hold. Don't ask me, ask my muse...
In the meantime, here's my contribution for today's prompt. I'm not entirely sure I'm done with this one yet, there might still be some tweaks to it, it doesn't feel quite finished...Constructive criticism appreciated.
Rock Star
I stare mesmerized
Hypnotized
By his voice, his lips, his eyes
His confident swagger
His presence on stage
In his element
He commands attention
And I can’t take my eyes off him
Falling in love from afar
With a rock star
A stranger behind a guitar
His knowing smile
His furtive grin
Confident in his power
He knows he has the crowd
And I can’t look away from him
I can’t lie
So familiar am I
With everything about this guy
His middle name I know
His birth date I’ve memorized
From a stranger to a lover
He’s transformed himself
And I have never even met him
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Be sure to visit Writer's Island for other participants!
In the meantime, here's my contribution for today's prompt. I'm not entirely sure I'm done with this one yet, there might still be some tweaks to it, it doesn't feel quite finished...Constructive criticism appreciated.
Rock Star
I stare mesmerized
Hypnotized
By his voice, his lips, his eyes
His confident swagger
His presence on stage
In his element
He commands attention
And I can’t take my eyes off him
Falling in love from afar
With a rock star
A stranger behind a guitar
His knowing smile
His furtive grin
Confident in his power
He knows he has the crowd
And I can’t look away from him
I can’t lie
So familiar am I
With everything about this guy
His middle name I know
His birth date I’ve memorized
From a stranger to a lover
He’s transformed himself
And I have never even met him
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Be sure to visit Writer's Island for other participants!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Writer's Island #6 - Message in a Bottle
The prompt for this week's Writers Island is as follows: You have each found a “Message In A Bottle”. Please share with the rest of us what mystery was revealed to you, or what urgent dispatch, or deep secret you discovered, or what solemn ‘last words’ you may have read — and tell us what you did after reading this communication from a time past.
I wasn't really sure where to go with this, and I'm still in the experimenting stages with Haiku, so I figured I'd use this prompt for a bit more practice in that genre:
Washing up on shore
something sparkly and round
what could this thing be
slowly I walk up
pick it up and examine
nothing here to see
Just an old bottle
a discarded artifact
but wait what is this
Look inside and find
Old rolled up parchment paper
Holding secret words
Anxiously I read
"If you are reading this note
Then I have yet hope"
"Send help quickly please
I am alone and adrift
I want to go home"
Looking around me
Not quite sure what to do next
I write a response
"No help to be found
I too am alone out here
Missing home as well"
Alas, we wait...
Copyright 2007 - Karina
See other Writer's Island enries here.
I wasn't really sure where to go with this, and I'm still in the experimenting stages with Haiku, so I figured I'd use this prompt for a bit more practice in that genre:
Washing up on shore
something sparkly and round
what could this thing be
slowly I walk up
pick it up and examine
nothing here to see
Just an old bottle
a discarded artifact
but wait what is this
Look inside and find
Old rolled up parchment paper
Holding secret words
Anxiously I read
"If you are reading this note
Then I have yet hope"
"Send help quickly please
I am alone and adrift
I want to go home"
Looking around me
Not quite sure what to do next
I write a response
"No help to be found
I too am alone out here
Missing home as well"
Alas, we wait...
Copyright 2007 - Karina
See other Writer's Island enries here.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Writer's Island #5 - Renewal
Welcome Islanders! Today's prompt finally directed me as to which path my story should take. There are still many questions to be answered, and it's quite possible that this tale is taking on a life of it's own, as the best stories seem to do. I'm happily jumping aboard and allowing myself to go along for the ride. I hope you'll join me.
For the following to make sense, you may want to read parts 1 and 2 first.
"My Name is"
"The Key"
Done? And now...Renewal:
“Click”.
Hearing that sound always made me smile. It was still amazing to me how something as simple as turning a key in a lock could open up a whole new world. Of course it wasn’t quite that simple, it wasn’t just any key, and it most certainly wasn’t just any lock, any door. I pushed open the door and stepped into a hallway much too long to be contained within the space of a closet in the backroom of a bookstore. I grabbed and switched on the flashlight resting on a shelf by the door, and closed the door behind me, locking it with the key.
“Click”.
Suddenly, the sounds of the city were extinguished, and I was left with a silence so profound, it took my breath away for a second. It was always like this, the moment of re-entry always left me a bit awestruck, feeling heavier instantly, my shoulders tensed, my mind a bit numb. Regaining my composure, I started down the hallway. As I walked, the path widened, the walls opened up, and within moments, the light from the windows and the fluorescent bulbs ahead erased the need for the flashlight. I shut it off, and placed it on a table. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the well lit conference room.
“Ah, there she is, you’re a bit late today” Alfonse said getting up to greet me.
“I’m sorry, I got caught up” I smiled to myself, thinking of my breakfast encounter.
“No worries, no worries,” Alfonse said smiling and taking my hand and leading me to the big conference table in the middle of the room “we were just getting settled.”
As I approached the table, everyone stood “Good Morning Madam President” echoed throughout the room.
“Good morning everyone, please be seated”. I said taking my own seat at the head of the table. From here, I had a perfect view out of the main window in the room; a view that looked out above the remains of a city once bustling with activity, but now mostly dormant. A cloud of grey mist hung over the skeletons of buildings once filled with the noise of office equipment, telephones ringing, and people exchanging their morning pleasantries. It was silent now, a ghost town, and signs of the mass desertion were still visible in things such as the abandoned cars in the middle of the streets, and the store fronts with their “OPEN” signs flapping in the wind.
THIS was my world. This was where I belonged. Not the sunny, cheerful coffee shop, or the dusty, antique bookstore full of character, but this, a conference room in a secured and air locked building, where I governed over a world so splintered and devoid of beauty that it hurt to look out the windows. Yet there was hope. We’d discovered the key, and long with the key, was the legend. If the legend was true, we could create a renewal of this world, and bring back its beauty and magic. So far, every prophecy had manifested itself; therefore we had to believe the legend of the key would as well.
And that is what I was doing on the other side of the door. Hoping to bridge a gap between the two worlds, in order to infuse color back into the land I loved so deeply. It wasn’t going to be easy, and the road to get even as far as we’d already gotten had been filled with obstacles and pitfalls. But we had located the door, passed through, established a connection, and I wasn’t giving up until I’d either succeeded or taken my last breath. And even then, I had them, my council, my advisors, my soldiers. They would never stop.
I looked around the table at their expectant faces. All waiting for me to deliver some good news, tell them anything that would give them enough hope to keep fighting another day. And today, for the first time in weeks, I had a glimmer of that hope to hand out.
“Well,” I said sitting back in my chair and smiling “It’s not much, but I’ve made contact”.
A collective sigh echoed throughout the room and Alfonse was the first to speak
“He spoke to you?”
“He did,” I smiled “and we have a breakfast date tomorrow morning”.
The smiles were grand, but cautious.
“And you really think he’s the one?” This time it was Percival who spoke.
“We’ve been over this” Alfonse said quickly “We can’t be sure, but he seems to be the best candidate so far”.
“And if it’s not him?” Margarita asked anxiously “We’re running out of time”
“We still have time Margarita” I said “If it isn’t him, we’ll keep searching”
“And if it is him?” Percival spoke again “Then what?”
“Then we wait…” Alfonse answered “We let the magic take its course, and we wait.”
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Please visit Writer's Island for other participants.
For the following to make sense, you may want to read parts 1 and 2 first.
"My Name is"
"The Key"
Done? And now...Renewal:
“Click”.
Hearing that sound always made me smile. It was still amazing to me how something as simple as turning a key in a lock could open up a whole new world. Of course it wasn’t quite that simple, it wasn’t just any key, and it most certainly wasn’t just any lock, any door. I pushed open the door and stepped into a hallway much too long to be contained within the space of a closet in the backroom of a bookstore. I grabbed and switched on the flashlight resting on a shelf by the door, and closed the door behind me, locking it with the key.
“Click”.
Suddenly, the sounds of the city were extinguished, and I was left with a silence so profound, it took my breath away for a second. It was always like this, the moment of re-entry always left me a bit awestruck, feeling heavier instantly, my shoulders tensed, my mind a bit numb. Regaining my composure, I started down the hallway. As I walked, the path widened, the walls opened up, and within moments, the light from the windows and the fluorescent bulbs ahead erased the need for the flashlight. I shut it off, and placed it on a table. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the well lit conference room.
“Ah, there she is, you’re a bit late today” Alfonse said getting up to greet me.
“I’m sorry, I got caught up” I smiled to myself, thinking of my breakfast encounter.
“No worries, no worries,” Alfonse said smiling and taking my hand and leading me to the big conference table in the middle of the room “we were just getting settled.”
As I approached the table, everyone stood “Good Morning Madam President” echoed throughout the room.
“Good morning everyone, please be seated”. I said taking my own seat at the head of the table. From here, I had a perfect view out of the main window in the room; a view that looked out above the remains of a city once bustling with activity, but now mostly dormant. A cloud of grey mist hung over the skeletons of buildings once filled with the noise of office equipment, telephones ringing, and people exchanging their morning pleasantries. It was silent now, a ghost town, and signs of the mass desertion were still visible in things such as the abandoned cars in the middle of the streets, and the store fronts with their “OPEN” signs flapping in the wind.
THIS was my world. This was where I belonged. Not the sunny, cheerful coffee shop, or the dusty, antique bookstore full of character, but this, a conference room in a secured and air locked building, where I governed over a world so splintered and devoid of beauty that it hurt to look out the windows. Yet there was hope. We’d discovered the key, and long with the key, was the legend. If the legend was true, we could create a renewal of this world, and bring back its beauty and magic. So far, every prophecy had manifested itself; therefore we had to believe the legend of the key would as well.
And that is what I was doing on the other side of the door. Hoping to bridge a gap between the two worlds, in order to infuse color back into the land I loved so deeply. It wasn’t going to be easy, and the road to get even as far as we’d already gotten had been filled with obstacles and pitfalls. But we had located the door, passed through, established a connection, and I wasn’t giving up until I’d either succeeded or taken my last breath. And even then, I had them, my council, my advisors, my soldiers. They would never stop.
I looked around the table at their expectant faces. All waiting for me to deliver some good news, tell them anything that would give them enough hope to keep fighting another day. And today, for the first time in weeks, I had a glimmer of that hope to hand out.
“Well,” I said sitting back in my chair and smiling “It’s not much, but I’ve made contact”.
A collective sigh echoed throughout the room and Alfonse was the first to speak
“He spoke to you?”
“He did,” I smiled “and we have a breakfast date tomorrow morning”.
The smiles were grand, but cautious.
“And you really think he’s the one?” This time it was Percival who spoke.
“We’ve been over this” Alfonse said quickly “We can’t be sure, but he seems to be the best candidate so far”.
“And if it’s not him?” Margarita asked anxiously “We’re running out of time”
“We still have time Margarita” I said “If it isn’t him, we’ll keep searching”
“And if it is him?” Percival spoke again “Then what?”
“Then we wait…” Alfonse answered “We let the magic take its course, and we wait.”
Copyright 2007 - Karina
Please visit Writer's Island for other participants.
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