Today I have a poem about mental illness up on Coffee house.
http://coffeehousewriters.com/war-within/
Go check it out and tell me what you think.
Category: poetry
Monday Poetry
Thursday Tea Party
Welcome! Pull up a seat, and pour the tea! Today I am having my lovely lavender.
Have you ever felt staggered and humbled by the response to a single statement? That was me a couple of days ago. I posted on my Facebook about how much I enjoy sharing the wonderful things that my artist and author friends are doing. Everyone was so generous in their response. It makes me feel so happy to know such amazing people.
Did you notice the guest blog post a couple of days ago? Well the Blogger who wrote it has two wonderful blogs. Her poetry blog and a really nice homestead blog. I highly recommend that you check both out! She is also a fellow coffee house writer. I am so thankful that she was willing to come visit.
October passed too quickly. I swear I blinked… Tomorrow will see Serena starting Nanowrimo, and me starting the P.A.D. challenge. I have been slacking off due to illness, so I am still a couple of poems needed for Beauty’s Tears. I have no doubt that I will be done in a day or two, but I was wanting to start a clear volume in November. Sigh. It is what it is.
Fae corps blog will be posting a daily prompt for November. I am doing Layout for Faery Footprints. It is planned for publication in December. The deadline for Through the Sunshine submissions is January 31…we hope to see some wonderful light fae stories!
Have you had a chance to get a copy of Inspiration Without a Home? I would love to hear any opinions.
2020 is going to be an interesting year for me. My art studio will be useable. I am planning to be out more. Fae Corps will be releasing a light fae anthology. There is a book that we are publishing for Deedra Nichole. And who knows what else that will be generating for us there. I should be releasing audiobook versions of my books starting in December. The first planned is The Princess Lost.
…I know there is still two months! Why am I talking about 2020? I am seeing November as being so busy that I may not be able to do a lot of planning. December will be recovery and edits. Layout and publishing. So I think that I am going to be busy.
So, tell me… What in the new year would you like to see this blog cover? Do you like the way that I have been handling it? What can I improve? What irritates you that I do?
Quicksilver Poetry
First the inspiration back story..
So… On tumblr I managed to by virtue of sheer exhaustion do something that has me so embarrassed. I had a talented poet enter into my asks wanting to recieve a poetry prompt. Now… I am on a midnight schedule. My boyfriend works midnight to 9am, roughly. So, I usually am in bed between 2ish pm and 11pm. Well, I am also an insomniac…. Yesterday was a no sleep day. The poet thanked me for posting it… And I in my exhaustion… I did not double check the response before sending it out. Autocorrect got me. I sent Your welcome instead of the You’re welcome that I thought I was sending. So I think that I will attempt the prompt myself as recompense.
The prompt was : memories buried.
©2019 Patricia Harris
Six feet down,
In fresh turned earth…
Lays love once so dear.
He chose another heart,
Betraying mine.
So his memory,
I buried.
To prevent my pain,
In hopes that it would
Never rise again.
As the wheel of time turned,
Away that heartache burned.
So here I am with shovel in hand,
At the graveside I stand.
Hoping to revive
All of the memories
Buried inside.
A Mad Poet’s Thoughts On Life
There are three things which dictate the way we live: the society we’re born into, the experiences which impact us, and the reality which we choose to believe in.
None of us can help the first two. No one gets to decide the time, place, or family they’re born into and, while we may have some control over our experiences in general, the things which impact us the most are usually out of our control.
It’s “thing” number three on the list which us mad people are experts at: reality. Or, rather one’s choice of reality.
Oh, you think reality is a fixed thing, do you? It’s solid, reliable, steadfast, and true? Well, my dear reader, allow a mad mind to enlighten you with one simple question….
Can you describe the color blue?
“Of course I can, you mad writer! Blue is…well…it’s blue- The color of the sky, of the ocean, of…those raspberry-flavored ice-pops from my childhood!”
Okay, now go and ask someone who grew up in Alaska or India or Japan, for that matter. Is their version of blue the same as yours? No. It isn’t. Better yet, ask a widower whose wife’s favorite color was blue to describe it. Then, ask a woman who’s color blind. Ask yourself the meaning on a sunny day and one on a day full of storms and sorrow.
Reality is fluid, flexible and the reason for this is because it changes based on our perception of the moment at hand. Want to know the secret to a mad life full of adventures? It’s quite simple:
Choose The Reality You Want To Live
Mad people get it because we already don’t like to be held down by something as paltry as reality. We understand from quite a young age that reality is meant to be questioned, to be rebelled against, to be contorted to our own quirky wills.
How do we do this? By choosing what we want to be true and then making it so:
- The world isn’t crashing down around me; it’s just raining opportunities.
- It’s not a failure; it’s just a fantastic way to learn.
- Thank God I was wrong! Being right all the time is boring.
- It’s okay if he/she doesn’t like me. I don’t need anyone’s approval to be awesome.
- I’m not broke; I just spent too much on being responsible.
- I’m not lost; I’m just on an adventure.
- This job isn’t boring; it’s just making it easier to have fun when I’m off.
- Maybe it isn’t loneliness. Maybe it’s boot camp for self-love.
- It’s not daydreaming. It’s idea cultivation.
- Life truly is an adventure.
“You can’t help that. We’re all mad here.”
-Cheshire Cat
Do you have any mad sayings that help you choose your reality? Share them with us!
Monday poetry
Friday Prompts Midnight
Midnight.
My attempt. Comment yours!
©2019 Patricia Harris
The clock strikes,
all is still.
The hour of mystery
of magic and power,
time for mischief to be done.
Darkness reigns
as the veil falls,
creatures of the night
take to flight.
Power of the natural world
set about being heard.
Thursday Tea Party
Hello lovelies! Tonight, I have coffee instead of tea… And lots of it. I am in the home stretch for Beauty’s Tears – only 9 poems left to write. I am hoping to knock out the writing before the first. I likely will not be getting to Layout until December, but it means that Heart Drops will be started with the poems of the PAD challenge.
Fae Corps will be doing another round of daily prompts in November. I will probably be reblogging many of them. The first group got a good reception so we decided to do them for nano/poetry writers in November.
I have been approached by another poet/author about doing a guest blog. Her idea intrigued me! So I will be posting it as soon as she gets it to me for you to read. I enjoy her poetry so I believe that you will enjoy the post.
So… I am facing my fears… And then some. I asked about doing a author signing event yesterday. I also have found a craft fair to try and sell my art and crafts at. This is such a big thing. I have been making art, jewelry, and resin pieces. And due to fear, I have been sticking it all in bins. Anxiety often keeps me from doing. I was called out for my bs. Joe, my boyfriend, told me that if I was not going to do anything to sell or use it then I should stop making it. I hate it when he is right. So I am swallowing the what if I fail fear. The first craft show is a local hot dog sale on the first Saturday in November. I have to get to earning money for books for the signing event. I personally have 19 poetry volumes, 3 kids books, and a memoir. Plus Serena’s 2. And the anthology. That makes it expensive to have even a small amount of copies to sell. Those numbers just make me want to cry.
The beginning of the year will be seeing a lot of new things, from me and from Fae Corps. We have a lot planned. I will be seeing the release of my Beauty’s Tears and the anthology Faery Footprints in December. I am hoping that Serena will have a book ready for release with the new year. I am looking at the release of the audiobook version for the princess lost.
This year is still going to be bringing new challenges. What are you hoping to do before the end of 2019?
My Name Was Ignorance – Coffee House Writers
Monday Poetry
Pattimouse 