Happy Mother's Day!

Once upon a time, motherhood inspired me to start writing Mother's Day poetry. (Shocking, I know!) But, my muse has been on vacation much longer than I had planned, so, (please accept my apologies, Mom,) I have nothing new this year. Instead, I'll share two of her favorites, written for Mother's Days past....

In My Mother's Garden

In my Mother’s garden I watched many things grow,

How she made it happen, I never thought I’d know.

But as I watched her work, I learned to tend the plants,

Sometimes even helping, until distracted by some marching ants.

In my Mother’s garden it seemed everything came alive,

The world will never be as green as it was when I was five!

A new creature would be revealed with every stone unturned,

Each with a new (and sometimes painful!) lesson to be learned.

Wonder

Hidden messages, plain, in sight,

Whisper, Here, true magic thrives.

Nature beckons, See Earth with open eyes,

And Wander, unraveling its Mystery

While marveling, with Wonder,

At what Miracles appear in the ordinary.

Thank you for reading! I hope you're having a beautiful day, night, or sometime in the between....

Roari

Falling Leaves

Legends of Autumnal Splendor 

Unfold in changing Leaves,

Emblazoned memories

Of Glorious Golden Afternoons,

Drift away, one by one,

Curling up to slumber 

Under Pale Winter's white light,

Dreaming with Hope

To Awaken, Anew, with Spring.

Autumn Leaves Image from Pixabay

Mother's Day Greetings!

A Letter to My Muse

Photo: Kathy VanDeventer All-free-download.com

I am listening, waiting, for you to whisper in my ear. Sing to me your song, of wordless meaning  that creates life with paper and pen. Speak to me, evasive spirit! I anticipate our next encounter, that I might find answers for questions left on the last page we wrote together. I am selfish, demanding You devote your time to me. You are timeless though, and so much of mine is devoted to other mundane daily rituals. Tell me, what can I do? I begin these tasks at your beckon, And you leave me at your whim, How do I finish... (See what I mean?) I wrote that one awhile ago, but it seemed appropriate for today.  Tonight, and hopefully over the weekend, I'll be working on the Fore Shadows, and the first of the stories supporting Isiterra - my next series.  (It will be posted by next Friday.)  Maybe there will be another post here in there somewhere.  Until then, back to my other mundane daily rituals :) I hope you're having a beautiful day! Roari

Sometimes you just have to listen.

This one is for the woman I met in the bookstore yesterday.  A book triggered her grief, and she needed someone to listen.  I'm glad I was there.

To K-

The sadness was plain in your eyes.

I wondered, "What causes the tears she cries?"

Weary wells, windows of your soul,

They poured it all out.

A stranger, I might walk away,

The choice to stay was just as simple.

Could I not lend my ear? 

You didn't expect me to listen,

Much less respond, sharing in kind.

But, I had to.  Someone did.

You needed a tether to the world,

And I let my own fall away,

That afternoon, I needed to hear what you needed to say.

I didn't have the answers you sought to find,

But, I hope it gave you some small comfort,

Knowing I am just as unknowing.

One thing I've learned about grieving, everyone does it their own way, in their own time.  She thanked me as we parted, for taking the time to listen, but I should be thanking her.  It was a reminder of what is important - how we treat those around us.  We share this world together, for the little time we have on it.  Small acts of kindness cost nothing, and are more rewarding than you think.  When others have shown me kindness, I appreciated it more than they probably know.  I do believe things happen for a reason, even if we never understand why in this life.     

K-, this rose is for your mother.  I hope you and I meet again one day.  Even more, I hope your heart finds peace.

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Roari

I'd rather be in my own little world....

I've been accused of spending more time in one of my own little worlds than the real one.  It's probably true, but not just of being in the worlds of my own creation, I get lost in those of countless other authors and artists as well.  It's an escape from the ugly reality we see on the news, or may even encounter first-hand, every day.

Photo by Alishba Farooqui at Stockvault.net

I can escape into a piece of art, such as the photo above, as easily as a book.  Now that I think about it, various pieces have been inspiration for several of my stories.  Now this, I just saw today, but it could be the flower fields in the valley of Naharran on Isiterra, though there would have to be five moons in the sky.  Really, it's more of a scene out of The Land of All But Forgotten Things.  See the glow of the fairies, waking up in the flowers?  Places like this are what I've dreamed of seeing for as long as I can remember.  Since I can't draw them, I write about them.

The Shadow Watcher is different from from my earlier novel attempts, the landscape looks like your typical Southern California neighborhood.  (If you've seen Roswell, you've seen Novica.)  It's my first novel set in the "real world," and I was intentionally setting out to write something different.  It resulted in my first published novel as well - who knew?

As much as I'm enjoying the endless possibilities here on Earth, I want to hurry up and be done with A Shadow in Doubt already!  Isiterra is calling to me - that world is truly my own, and I've been away too long....

I hope you're having a beautiful day in your corner of the world - or can at least escape to one you prefer!
Roari

The Weight of Time

The Weight of Time

The weight of Time 
presses against my shoulder,
urging me forward, 
on, and on,
toward what end,
I could never imagine,
I only know Time will not wait.


I started that as a post on a poetry blog last May.  I may or may not finish it.  Maybe it is finished.  I don't think so though...   

I was feeling this pressure of time slipping away, like I was missing out on my kid's childhoods, always saying "maybe next year," knowing there are only precious few of those years before they are grown and living their own lives.  (And that I would never finish writing a book.)  We were fortunate at that time to be in a position where I could leave my job to stay home, so I did.  

There is still the pressure of time.  Getting to school.  Getting homework done.  Filling in the holes the dog digs. Editing the sequel to The Shadow Watcher.  It's a different kind of weight, one I don't mind carrying.  Speaking of editing, I'm going to get back to it now...

Enough rambling for one night.  I hope yours is beautiful!

Roari  

Innocence

"Innocence" - Roari Benjamin

And there it was, glittering in the afternoon sun,
A forgotten jewel of memory
Floating above the schoolyard field,
Where the children - running and laughing -
Unlocked it unwittingly with their unknown magic.
To reach out, to take it in hand, would be too much,
Pain, knowing there is no path by which to return.
To try to make them understand,
Would tarnish their lens to look back in time.
It is better they know not the treasure they hold,
The infinite possibilities that may unfold,
For, in that, is the beauty of it all.


(I was inspired spending the afternoon with my daughter's class for "Water Day."  Oh, the memories it brought back...)

"The Land of All But Forgotten Things" is not forgotten! And other ramblings....

With Mother's Day approaching, my Kindle book of poetry, "In My Mother's Garden" is available for free today and tomorrow.

It includes the first portion of "The Land of All But Forgotten Things," which is an epic poem, or it will be when it is finished.

To be honest, when I started writing TLOABFT, I was bored.  The first four lines wandered into my head, and were hanging out there for a day or two, and then, one night, after the kids were tucked in, I decided to write start writing an epic poem in rhyming couplets.  For fun.  (Go ahead, call me crazy - I take it as a compliment.)  How the unicorn happened, I don't know.  Maybe we were watching The Last Unicorn? I don't remember, it was a long time ago.

The problem is, I keep getting stuck.  But today, I was thinking about it again, and I think I've been going about it all wrong.  I'm trying to write each couplet consecutively, or is it chronologically?  I need to focus less on the line by line, and just write lines, then put the pieces of the puzzle back together.  That's how most of my poems come to me, in pieces I fit together, so why should this one be any different?  I feel like a weight has been lifted!

So there's a big note now taped on my desk.  EIGHT LINES A DAY.  That's not much at all.  EIGHT LINES A DAY.  Doesn't matter where they go in the story, so long as they rhyme.  They can even be four couplets in four different sections.  EIGHT LINES A DAY.  If I can hold to that Monday through Friday, forty lines a week, well that would be more progress in one week than I've had in two years on this one.  I will let you know how it goes!

As far as what it will be when it is finished ... I love the idea of having it illustrated as a children's book, but that is beyond my personal capabilities.  Then, last year at the kid's book fair, I found "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai.  Totally different subject matter, but it is told all in poetry.  It is a beautiful telling of a sometimes painful and difficult journey, but at the same time a celebration of life.  You should read it.

It also inspired me into thinking a chapter format is more suitable for TLOABFT.  If that's the case, I suppose the excerpt from "In My Mother's Garden" is chapter one, the fairies would be chapter two, the centaurs chapter three, and so on.  Each of the "All But Forgotten Things" represented by its own chapter.  I still don't know if I can finish this year, even at eight lines a day.

I have a bad habit of doing that in my writing, starting things I don't know if I'll ever be able to finish.  (Yes, in other areas of life too!)  That's why I had to move on from Isiterra for awhile, because I'd lived there (in my head) for so long, I was starting to speak in Siyen and Malorian tongues to actual people.  But I think once The Shadow Society is finished, that vacation will be over.  I've been waiting too long to share my Aria's story, part of which is over at Writing.com.  Actually, I think the whole book is still there, but it needs to be rewritten, and I was planning to add three new chapters in the beginning - I think I only finished one of those. If you check it out, don't get hung up on titles, I still haven't decided on that, but I will definitely be working on that again this year.

Oh, wandering through my trove of ideas that need to be written is an adventure.  I could spend days here, but I need to get back to The Shadow Society (sneak peeks at WDC too!).  I hope you're having a beautiful day!

Roari