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

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

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.

View all my reviews

Last Dance [Haiku]

tattered butterfly
comes to rest after a
spastic last dance.

PROMPT: Time of Day

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

Daily writing prompt
Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.

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.

PROMPT: 30 Things

List 30 things that make you happy.

1.) Movement; 2.) Learning; 3.) Chocolate Chip Cookies; 4.) Nature; 5.) Travel; 6.) Discovery; 7.) Spontaneity; 8.) Funny Comments; 9.) Music; 10.) Silence; 11.) Harmony; 12.) Freedom; 13.) Seeing Beauty; 14.) Flow; 15.) Transcendence; 16.) Tacos; 17.) Coffee; 18.) Quintessence; 19.) Paper Masala Dosa; 20.) Mushroom; 21.) Thwarting of Convention; 22.) Pad Thai; 23.) Novelty; 24.) Entrancement; 25.) The Unknown; 26.) Reading; 27.) Writing; 28.) Puzzling; 29.) Mango; 30.) Coming To The End Of Meaningless Lists.

PROMPT: Typical

Daily writing prompt
Was today typical?

I’m not traveling, so — at one level of specificity — it could be said to be typical. The flow of my routine is more or less as usual for recent weeks. Then again, at another level of specificity, it could be said to be a day filled with completely unique experiences never before had (precisely as I’m having them) by anyone, anywhere, at any time in the history of the world. I guess I prefer to look at things in the latter way.

Long Lost [Free Verse]

crumbled ruins: 
once a fine home,
occupants long gone

did their voices
resonate into stone,
trapping something
of their existence:
some subtle indication
that there was life here...

Pond Life [Haiku]

dragonflies zip
from point to point
amid swaying reeds.