Chalice of Hope

11/26/10

Give Thanks


Today is Friday, which means it is Six Word Fridays at Melissa’s Making Things Up. To learn how it all works, visit her Six Word Fridays info page.

This week’s prompt, “Give Thanks,” is a hard one for me this Thanksgiving season. I almost skipped it altogether. My depression, after lurking beneath the surface for a couple of months, has manifested itself in a great sadness in me. To illustrate, here is a link to my last post, Cupcakes.

It is hard for me to be grateful when I am so bogged down in my heart and my spirit and my soul. However, this morning, I read a post by Christine over at Hope Despite Depression in which she states that she is grateful for her depression. I am not grateful for this black cloud, but Christie inspired me to search my soul for reasons to be grateful.

So here goes.


Chalice of Hope

A blue sky through a veil
of tears still lights the earth
and sea, creates a backdrop
across which birds soar and butterflies
flit from flower to flower, dancing
in the wind on their rounds.

Sad dog eyes, soft pawings of
concern still carry utter belief in me
soothe my wounds, stop the bleeding.

A tear stained face can still
reflect hope of climbing from the
pit into light, escaping the chill
of frozen hopes into warm sunshine.

A fractured heart holds the possibiity
of mending, pieces melding once more
to weld it, cracked and crooked,
into a chalice filled with hope.


© cj Schlottman

Thanksgiving at Small Stories and Stuff

11/20/10

"Pardon me," said Tom T. Urkee..."

That’s this week’s prompt from Jenny Matlock’s Saturday Centus. Trot on over to her site by clicking on the Saturday Centus link above to learn all about it. You will find a diverse community of talented and supportive writers. Be sure to read all of the posts. If you don’t, you’ll no doubt miss something really good. Also, check out Jenny’s ...off on my tangent. She’s a great writer.

My take on this week’s prompt:


Sitting in the Corner Café, the group spoke of Thanksgiving - where they would be, who they would see, the most dreaded relative who would attend.

They chewed on toast and drank coffee, and the conversation died away as they lost themselves in thought.

"Pardon me," said Tom T. Urkee, as he waddled to the table. “May I sit down?” He perched on a chair, and the conversation once more sprang to life.

“We were discussing Thanksgiving. You know, the holiday we love to hate.”

“Jeez, folks,” gobbled Tom. How the heck do you think I feel? I’m on the menu.”


© cj Schlottman

Early November - 11/17/10

Well, here I am again, entering my Saturday Centus on Wednesday. On call all weekend, then two drives to Atlanta for concerts. Enough excuses. As most of you know, Saturday Centus is one Jenny Matlock’s many ingenious writing exercises. If you aren’t familiar with it, please click on her Saturday Centus link above and learn how to become a participant. You will find a community of great - if somewhat disturbed - (and you know who you are [Tom] ) writers. Please read and comment on all the posts. You will find some fine writing and want to join in yourself! And be sure to check out Jenny's Blog, off on my tangent....

This week’s prompt from Jenny is:
"The early November sunshine cast golden rays..."
Here is my conribution. The prompt is in italics.


Early November at Small Stories and Stuff



The early November

sunshine cast golden rays

on the creek, shone amber,

glinted on the marsh grass.

Tide running low, dolphins

rolled their way back to sea

in the afternoon glow.

Great Blue Herons took flight

soaring to their roosting

trees across the expanse

of waving fingers of gold.

In flocks, Egrets joined in

winging their way home.

The sun shone its last sparks

of light, dropped beneath

the horizon, seeking

its own resting place.


© cj Schlottman

Poor Ole Abe @ Small Stories and Stuff

10/31/10

Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus prompt for this week is: "Abraham Lincoln was a lot shorter than I thought he would be...” To learn all about Saturday Centus, the rules, and to read the other posts, just click on the button on my sidebar or on Saturday Centus above. You won’t be disappointed!

Jenny hamstrung us a little by limiting our posts, not including the prompt, to 50 words instead of the usual 100. I suppose it’s her Halloween “Trick” for us!


Poor Ole Abe


"Abraham Lincoln was a lot shorter than I thought he would be...no doubt because he had been hounded, hammered, harangued, pummeled, persecuted, punished, disturbed, drummed, denigrated, disparaged, downgraded, deprecated, dismissed, rattled, ruffled, trivialized, traduced, minimized, maligned, battered, berated and, yes, belittled by Mary Todd.”

© cj schlottman

Just Once More

It’s Friday, time for Six Word Fridays over at Making Things Up. Melissa prompt this week is “treat.” As usual, I have written a poem with six-word lines. This week, I am adding a link to My Poems.



Just Once More - 10/29/10

Treat me to one more kiss
soft lips, sweet breath of dying.
Give to me one more touch
fingers tracing my face, my shoulders.
Treat me to your belly laugh
dissolve me into tears with it.
Wash my back again, water warm,
gentle caresses down to my spine.
Lie with me naked in your
arms, legs pulled up to fit
the curve of mine as silent
tears flow down my cheeks, knowing
you are leaving me, taking the
air from the room as you
love me with tender words, whispering
“Darling, its been a great ride.”



© cj Schlottman

Nuts! @ Small Stories and Stuff

This is my take on Jenny's Matlock's Saturday Centus prompt for the week. To read all the rules and join in, just click on the her button on my sidebar. Also, treat yourself to a trip over to her blog, ....off on my tangent

This week's prompt: "This is the scariest story I've ever heard..." You will find it in bold italics.


NUTS!


“Good Lord, Hazel, Macadamia Plantation is down to one bed - The Filbert Suite. I’ve been trying to save it for a VIP, perhaps Jumbo Cashew, but it being Halloween, it looks like we are going to have to give it to Peanut.”

“He’s delusional, thinks the folks over at Skippy are after him and his family to make peanut butter. They’re a large group, so they would make a nice jarful.”

“He needs medication. I gave him some Trazabone, and he turned into a skeleton and hung himself from an IV pole, clacked his teeth and said ‘Nuts’!”

“Now, this is the scariest story I've ever heard."

Enough of This Blasted Cast

It’s six word fridays time again, and once more, I’m showing up on time. Melissa at "Making Things Up" gives us a prompt each Friday and with it we may use only six words to say what we want - or, and this is what I usually do - write a poem or essay using only six words per line. This week’s prompt is “enough,” so here goes............(sob)



ENOUGH


enough of this right wrist cast

now my thumb is set free

only I still have a blasted

uncomfortable, ugly, bulky cast to wear

getting in my way, making me

hate to type - my favorite thing