Tag Archives: life

“My Life had stood — a Loaded Gun” (764) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

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My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -
   In Corners - till a Day
 The Owner passed - identified -
   And carried Me away -
 
And now We roam in Sovreign Woods -
   And now We hunt the Doe -
 And every time I speak for Him
   The Mountains straight reply -
 
And do I smile, such cordial light
   Opon the Valley glow -
 It is as a Vesuvian face
   Had let it's pleasure through -

And when at Night - Our good Day done -
   I guard My Master's Head -
 'Tis better than the Elder Duck's 
   Deep Pillow - to have shared -

To foe of His - I'm deadly foe -
   None stir the second time -
 On whom I lay a Yellow Eye -
   Or an emphatic Thumb -
 
Though I than He - may longer live
   He longer must - than I -
 For I have but the power to kill,
   Without - the power to die -

PROMPT: Hardest

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Daily writing prompt
What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself?
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To be an ever-better version of myself. It is relentless, requires engaging fears and weaknesses, and it is worth it.

Young & Old [Kyōka]

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roadside saplings
 take Fall colors for a time,
  before going bare;
 the envy of humans:
 at once young & old.

PROMPT: Grown Up

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Daily writing prompt
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
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In retrospect, I’d say it was when I was on an airplane headed to Basic Military Training. I left a few days after completing high school classes, and a week or so before our graduation ceremony. That would definitely have been the point at which I had to realize whatever transpired, I was on my own. My problems were no longer distributed between myself and parents or myself and teachers, but it was all on me.

That said, I suspect that as a teenager I would have reported moments long before then, like my first solo out-of-state road-trip. I think a general feature of the adolescent condition is feeling grown up before one actually is in any real sense.

“Surgeons must be very careful” (156) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

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Surgeons must be very careful
   When they take the knife!
 Underneath their fine incisions
   Stirs the Culprit -- Life!

BOOKS: “Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow” by Jerome K. Jerome

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Idle Thoughts of an Idle FellowIdle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Project Gutenberg Site

This is a collection of fourteen humorous essays on a range of topics related to human existence. Besides the titular topic of living a life of idleness, other discussions include: love, poverty, vanity, attire, eating, pets and babies. (The latter two being distinct topics addressed in different chapters, though not with an altogether different attitude.)

Much of the humor holds up well considering this book originally came out almost a hundred and forty years ago. That said, it must be acknowledged that some of the humor and a number of the attitudes have not aged well and will not necessarily be relatable.

If you’re looking for a collection of essays on life that are humorous, if not contemporary, this book is worth looking into.

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Last Dance [Haiku]

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tattered butterfly
 comes to rest after a
  spastic last dance.

PROMPT: Time of Day

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What’s your favorite time of day?

Mornings. I’m a lark. It’s when I’m at my highest energy level.

PROMPT: News & Life

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Daily writing prompt
Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.
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It is by no means uninteresting, nor did it require “scouring” (though it probably would have if I was in the US,) but Bangladesh is imploding (PM ouster, protests turn violent, all exacerbated by flooding, etc.,) and we were planning to visit later this year. So, much for that trip.