Jul
27

Ring Through

I sit at my computer.
Familiar surroundings newly revisited.
I remember the bells I hear
ringing from the neighborhood church.
Chiming out
a familiar chant
my soul recalls effortlessly.
They herald a message
to any near enough to hear it,
though I take it personally.

I’m home. From wherever I’ve been,
for however long I remain,

I am welcome.

© 2011 Shari Lynne Smothers

 

 

The bells I can hear, ring at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, in Treme, a largely African-American populated neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Jul
24

Coming Home

It’s been a long week for me, getting adjusted to my new old city, my new digs. I’ve not written much in the way of my novel. I’ve made a few changes and settled upon a crime. Just working that out begs for minutes I can’t seem to string together.

It was a good week for learning what I will need to do and how some things will have to work. So, next week I can move forward productively, working through a text book of information compiled last week. Adding to my new Book of How as I go along.

I found some inspirations in the week I spent tooling around New Orleans, learning the new landscape, remembering my way around. All while I worked to stave off the aches and pains of moving that threatened to waylay me, seemingly permanently. I see buildings gone, new ones erected, schools closed down, slated to not return and I wonder why.

What formula are they using to say that Valena C. Jones Elementary School will not return? Quite likely, it’s of a demographic nature. And yet, however logical, ensconced in rationality and business savvy, it still stings a bit to see it gone for good after generations of family and friends passed through its halls.

My week ended with a funeral of a dear friend of the family, my parents’ friend. That ritual, familiar too. Sad definitely. But still so good to see old friends, many not seen since my dad’s funeral almost four years earlier. We had a little time to catch up before we’re apart again indefinitely.

My next weeks will be spent job searching and catching up. Family and friends I neglected excusing myself with having been away. Now’s my chance to re-connect before more go on in, as tomorrow is not promised to any of us — not them or me. And, I find I want people to know my heart before we part permanently.

 

I can’t say if this is prose poetry, if you’ll recognize it as such. However, this was my intent.

Jul
07

Early

My eyes are closed
my mind alert
listening
for signs the sun
may have arrived
before me today.

Dammit.

Peeping out
from behind my lids
I find I won
again,
even though
I laid down my head
only just three hours ago.

© 2011 Shari Lynne Smothers

Jun
27

Community Fan Fiction Website

Site Find

I found this new site. Well, new to me, not new altogether. But I was excited by the find and wanted to share it.

The website is The Chamber! http://www.valentchamber.com/. The home page had an informative welcome message:

Welcome to the Chamber. An archive of fan fiction and original stories featuring women of color.

How did I end up Here?

Way back in April of this year, (three months ago), during some insomniac nights, I came across the fictional couples from “One Life to Live” [OLTL] on YouTube. I learned of:

  1. Cristian and Layla
  2. John and Evangeline
  3. Cristian and Evangeline
  4. Todd and Evangeline

They were great, flawed, funny couples and friends. Quickly, John and Evangeline became my favorite. But, I was drawn into each of them and others for different reasons. Still, several things got me down about these OLTL scenarios.

  1. The inflexibility and inability of the show’s owners to go with things that work well
  2. The crappy demise of John’s fitful relationship with Evangeline
  3. The dogmatic intent to pair John and Natalie, easily the most banal, trite liaison on the show
  4. Screwing with Todd and Evangeline’s friendship instead of nurturing it
  5. The overarching use of African American characters as little more than transient tools

These are only my opinions informed by my personal interests and predilections. It occurred to me that OLTL isn’t wrong; I just don’t like the way the soap opera ran so many of it’s relationships into the ground—case in point, the Bo and Nora connection they kept getting wrong.

Notwithstanding that the John and Evangeline couple was built well (to Michael Malone’s credit), I wanted their ending to go differently. Or for them to not end at all. For me, that meant things in the good times might need to change to affect a different end.

So I started to work out scenarios I would use if I were writing this couple’s life. The Chamber came up during my search for insights into these characters, (on the off chance that OLTL would share details I wanted to know). Lucky me!

Hooked on the Site

It’s nice to find people doing what I wanted to do. They are rewriting stories or adding to them however they were creatively led. It’s a social site that’s a repository of contributed stories built around characters from TV, movies, and books, as well as completely original fiction. And, you don’t have to join to read the stories.

I saw what other people thought about the relationships and the pairings through their story lines (called ‘fan fiction’). I even found a story that put Evangeline with Jason, that’s One Life to Live and General Hospital.

One Story I Liked

One story I found included much of the sentiment I have for John and Evangeline and other characters in the show. At just over 30,000 words, it’s the length of a novella. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. I finished it Sunday night. The story I read is Promises by “destinysdiva” (pen-name).

Check out The Chamber if you enjoy this kind of fiction. I’m very much looking forward to reading more. Heck! I may even join and contribute—one day.

Cavaet

Heed the warnings. This site is not a porn promo site. There are no explicit nude pictures allowed. However, there is room for explicit sexual content and expletives in the stories posted. And, these guys are great enough to provide readers with a popup warning if you’re about to view a story that contains this kind of content.

Jun
27

Restless

Lately, every time I
pick up a pen
songs come to mind.
First lines that invite
joy sorrow love hope from
times I only vaguely
recall, memories long faded
leaving only the
resonating emotions.

Feelings betray me
pushing up random smiles
shoving out unexpected tears
pulling up old songs;
playing the familiar tunes in my head
to keep themselves awake.

I wish they were dormant
not mingling with my present
to at least allow me to
pretend to be peaceful.

© 2011 Shari Lynne Smothers

Process notes: First, old songs brought up old feelings and faded memories. Then I wondered about what it was exactly that brought me to the old music.

May
27

Insomniac Nights

Can’t account for when they
assail me. Although,
I’ve noticed a pattern of
when I declare sleep will rule
it mockingly evades me
as if to say
whatever damned mocking thing
it says.

My worst nights are those
when I’m forced to lay there
mapping ceiling bumps
in the barely moonlit room,
listening for
shifting carpet fibers,
wondering if there are any
nocturnal bugs trekking through;
hearing the birds
scratching the awning
on their way
to some secret rendezvous.

All because I have
an important thing to do shortly.

My best nights are those
where I have no appointment
to face in a few hours.
I can get up and indulge
my lack of sleep with
YouTube, writing, reading,
Lego’s
not necessarily all or in that order.
Just whatever entertains me, things
that let me say, to sleep,
whatever damned snubbing thing
I can find to say.

© 2011 Shari Lynne Smothers

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