Mar 7
Coming
Touching the moment I realize
I’m aware not just awake;
morning dawns in my mind.
An alert announces in the wee
small hours.
What thought has summoned me
from my quiet slumber
is here to announce
change is on its way.
Stand fast, stand open
have faith
be encouraged
to sail through
the advancing
rushing
waters.
©2012 Shari Lynne Smothers
Mar 6
Time passes.
Nothing do I write.
Awaiting the unmarked
re-starting point
to vomit verses
that simply must
issue forth
no matter the cost
or company.
Today—lately—
I feel it coming on.
I’m pulling
away from
all the people things
that deluge me
ordinarily.
Making certain
I carve moments
to record;
Making certain I have
the pens and papers
to complement
my advancing machinations.
Nesting for me
is making ready
for the steady
stream of random
lines stanzas spaces
pressing forth to exit me
by way of
my willing fingers.
© 2012 Shari Lynne Smothers
Jul 24
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.
©2011 Shari Lynne Smothers
Jul 7
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
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.
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:
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
A collection of websites submitted by writers to share their daily poems for National Poetry Month.
The following sites are no longer active social sites. However, their managers have left their information up for you to continue to take advantage of.
All original content
© Shari Lynne Smothers.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Unported License.
