2026 PAD Challenge Day 5
my response is:
all knowledge began
with the blank page,
a pen at the ready,
and oral tradition
ready to be written down.
without the blank page
the oral tradition dies
when the last storyteller
died without passing it on.
how much knowledge was forgotten
for the want of ink and paper,
or because the book was then burned?
2026 PAD Challenge Day 4
Serena’s response is:
Dripping ink pours
from every pore
as if it were my
lifeblood leaking
I need to write to survive
and still it drips freely
as if I am unable to use it
fast enough
2026 PAD Challenge Day 1
my response…
in the twilight,
I found the perfect
partner.
dancing to the song
sung by the crickets
at the setting sun.
no steps out of place,
the rhythm of our souls
perfect as our bodies sway.
Lyrics –
Slaughter The World
Lyrics by Ryan Sohmer
Excitement abounds
I almost can’t wait
Relax, I don’t want your baby
I already ate
Though I do tend to generally kill
Kill things that don’t fight back
I see this village
What does it hold?
What shall I butcher them with
Fire or cold?
Running from me sure you’d think
‘He’s a pathological bloodthirsty homicidal maniac!’
I’d kill kittens and puppies and bunnies
I’d maim toddlers and teens and then more
You see a wife? I see a widow
But what then?
Can’t you see?
I’d kill four!
I want to incinerate and decapitate
I want to melt
Want to melt some faces
Watching the peasants…what do they call it?
Ahh…grieve!
I suppose that being undead there’s not much to life
A soul is needed for loving…feeling…
How does this all not make me…what’s that word again?
Heave!
You’ve nowhere to hide
Nowhere to run
Your village will burn like the heart of the sun!
With infinite glee
It’s going to be me
That slaughters the world!
How could I glare into these eyes
And then not stab them?
How could I stare at their loss
And then not laugh?
I’d cut him in half
Then I’d graft
His head back onto his shoulders
Or after I’d lop it
I’d make a puppet
On top of a staff!
I am a lord that is sometimes bored
Have some urges and need to fulfill them
After my mayhem I simply don’t…what’s the word?
Care!
The stench in the air
The smell of the gore
The carnage far greater than any war
My legacy
Death becomes…me!
I’ll slaughter the world
My 2 cents –
okay I am in a silly mood. this is one of two great parody songs that the looking for group comic guys put together with an animated video for. I love them both.
okay I have always been a voracious reader…and I am also easily distracted. I try to set up a goal for book reading of at least half an hour a day – which can be a good amount of time considering that I am quite a fast reader. the problem is that no one else will ever understand the half hour is my mind focused on the book.
that being said … I realized something earlier. in any given day I will read a dozen news articles and perhaps half as many stories that are sent to me for publication or put up on A03…(no I will not ever reveal my tags) so I spend still quite a bit of time reading even if I don’t go through books as often as I used to.
It’s fairly frustrating as I used to go to the library and get 20 books for 2 weeks and easily return them on time. I have always loved reading. And now I am finding myself changing what I am reading to shorter pieces. Not by choice but by the way people around me are. I am no longer left alone with my books for hours on end.
oh. and my son bought me a new book for my upcoming birthday. So now I have to find time to enjoy it. It looks like it will be a wonderful read.
Lyrics –
It’s in the way she often calls me out
It’s in the cut of your pretty gown
Your come-on legs and your pantyhose
You look so precious with your bloody nose
We’re gonna come together
We’re gonna celebrate
We’re gonna gather ’round
Like it’s your birthday
I don’t want to know just what I’m gonna do
I don’t care where you’re going
I’m coming along with you
Walking her home with the grassy field
Falling and laughing at the drinks we’ve spilled
Just one of those nights that I have to share
Chasing the death, without a care
We’re gonna come together
We’re gonna celebrate
We’re gonna gather around
Like it’s your birthday
I don’t wanna know just what I’m gonna do
I don’t care where you’re going
I’m coming along with you
You know I love the way you curve
Yeah
We’re gonna come together
We’re gonna celebrate
We’re gonna gather ’round
Like it’s your birthday
I don’t wanna know just what I’m gonna do
I don’t care where you’re going
I’m coming along with you
My 2 cents –
Thursday is the birthday of my boyfriend. we will be 32 years together in May. Happy birthday Joe.
Lyrics –
I dance around this empty house
Tear us down
Throw you out
Screaming down the halls
Spinning all around and now we fall
Pictures framing up the past
Your taunting smirk behind the glass
This museum full of ash
Once a tickle
Now a rash
This used to be a funhouse
But now it’s full of evil clowns
It’s time to start the countdown
I’m gonna burn it down down down
I’m gonna burn it down
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fun
Echoes knocking on locked doors
All the laughter from before
I’d rather live out on the street
Than in this haunted memory
I’ve called the movers
Called the maids
We’ll try to exorcise this place
Drag my mattress to the yard
Crumble tumble house of cards
This used to be a fun house
But now it’s full of evil clowns
It’s time to start the countdown
I’m gonna burn it down down down
This used to be a fun house
But now it’s full of evil clowns
It’s time to start the countdown
I’m gonna burn it down down down
I’m gonna burn it down
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, fun
Oh, I’m crawling through the doggy door
My key don’t fit my lock no more
I’ll change the drapes
I’ll break the plates
I’ll find a new place
Burn this fucker down
Do do do do dodo do
Do do do do dodo do
Do do do do dodo do
Do do do do da da da da
Do do do do dodo do
Do do do do dodo do
Do do do do dodo do
Do do do do dodo doo
This used to be a fun house
But now it’s full of evil clowns
It’s time to start the countdown
I’m gonna burn it down down down
This used to be a fun house
But now it’s full of evil clowns
It’s time to start the countdown
I’m gonna burn it down down down
I’m gonna burn it down
My 2 cents –
This is what the US feels like right now.
Lyrics –
“The Show Must Go On”
Empty spaces
What are we living for?
Abandoned places
I guess we know the score
On and on
Does anybody know what we are looking for?
Another hero
Another mindless crime
Behind the curtain
In the pantomime
Hold the line
Does anybody want to take it anymore?
Show must go on
Show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on
Whatever happens
I’ll leave it all to chance
Another heartache
Another failed romance
On and on
Does anybody know what we are living for?
I guess I’m learning
I must be warmer now
I’ll soon be turning
‘Round the corner now
Outside the dawn is breaking
But inside in the dark I’m aching to be free
Show must go on
Show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on
My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies
Fairy tales of yesterday will grow but never die
I can fly, my friends
Show must go on
Show must go on
I’ll face it with a grin
I’m never giving in
On with the show
I’ll top the bill
I’ll overkill
I have to find the will to carry on with the show
On with the show
Show must go on
My 2 cents –
Fun fact about me . I was a theater brat in high school. I did this song for an assignment on lip syncing.
Today is my appointment, finally with the gyno. I chose this song because Freddie was dying when he recorded it. He found the way to get up and be present even though he was in immense pain and suffering. while I am in no means comparing myself to him…it feels like a strong song for me to face the doctor with.
Lyrics –
My mother says I have Irish eyes
Irish eyes, Irish eyes
My mother says I have Irish eyes
They go ever so blue under stormy skies
But they’re never so blue as when I let them cry
My father says I have English hair
English hair, English hair
Brown like the bark of an oak somewhere
Like the bed of a lake where the hemlock grows
Like the thorn in the stem of an English rose
I’m a map of the world and the ones before
One foot in sea and one on shore
Every step, every hope flung high
I’m a map of them all with my Irish eyes
My Nana says I have travelling feet
Travelling feet, travelling feet
Slippers for princesses don’t fit me
But I dance to my own drum, bright and bold
And my travelling feet always get me home
My sister says I’ve a restless soul
Restless soul, restless soul
Easy to catch, but I’m hard to hold
Like a song on the wind that you caught one day
I get under your skin, then I slip away
I’m a map of the world and the ones before
One foot in sea and one on shore
Every step, every hope flung high
I’m a map of them all with my Irish eyes
My mother says I have Irish eyes
Irish eyes, Irish eyes
My mother says I have Irish eyes
They go ever so blue
‘Cause I’m a map of the world and the ones before
One foot in sea and one on shore
Every step, every hope flung high
I’m a map of them all with my Irish eyes
My 2 cents –
I have been thinking a lot lately about the women I came from. I remember my great great grandmother on my father’s side. I really enjoyed my great grandmother on both sides. both of them were strong women. One taught me how to play scrabble when I was a toddler and I never once won. lol
I don’t have Irish eyes but I have enough of each one that I am a happy person.
Lyrics –
Gazing through the window at the world outside
Wondering will mother earth survive
Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her sometime
After all, there’s only just the two of us
And here we are still fighting for our lives
Watching all of history repeat itself time-after-time
I’m just a dreamer
I dream my life away
I’m just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days
I watch the sun go down like everyone of us
I’m hoping that the dawn will bring a sign
A better place for those who will come after us this time
I’m just a dreamer
I dream my life away
Oh, yeah
I’m just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days
Your higher power may be God or Jesus Christ
It doesn’t really matter much to me
Without each other’s help, there ain’t no hope for us
I’m living in a dream of fantasy
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
If only we could all just find serenity
It would be nice, if we could live as one
When will all this anger, hate and bigotry be gone?
I’m just a dreamer
I dream my life away today
I’m just a dreamer
Who dreams of better days
Okay
I’m just a dreamer
Who’s searching for the way today
I’m just a dreamer
Dreaming my life away
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
My 2 cents –
you know what… the world is too hard right now. dreams are good. be creative. be crazy. Dream. Dream Big.
