Sonnet 17

I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don’t know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

-Pablo Neruda

 I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life… I wanted to live so sturdily and so Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life… to drive life into a corner to know it by experience and be able to give an account of it in my next excursion.  

- Henry David Thoreau

I write because I’m afraid to say some things out loud.

- Unknown

(so true…)

Edinburgh is a village. No matter where I go, I run into either someone I know, or someone who knows someone I know. Although I sometimes like the familiarity of it all, sometime I miss the anonymity of a larger city, like London. When I lived there, I could go months or even years without seeing someone I knew by chance. Now, I can scarcely go a week.

I guess the point is, that I sometimes struggle to keep the people who occupy different circles in my life separate. The few times I have brought people together it has been fun, but the worry that people won’t have anything in common troubles me sometimes. I also worry about how to behave when people mix and mingle. I think most of us act differently with our friend than with our colleague, with family and with acquaintances.

Just for fun – try writing a scene where someone suddenly finds themselves with the following: a colleague, and ex, a friend, a family member and a stranger. What kind of trouble can you get your character into. To make it more interesting, Try writing the scene in pure dialogue  – play format.

Writing Prompt: Six Degrees

Have you ever tried to write a horror story? I’ve toyed with a few ideas in the past, but always gave up in favour of something I was more comfortable with. The funny thing is, I love horror stories. I love stories of Werewolves, Ghosts, Demons and Ghouls, but it has to be said, my absolute favourite type of horror story is reserved for the Vampire. The first horror film I ever say was the original Bela Lugosi Dracula. I was a little girl, probably no more than five or six when something woke me a few hours into my bedtime. I wandered out into the hallway and stumbled upon my Mom and Dad watching a black and white film. It wasn’t the film itself that scared me, but the idea of something evil creeping into your house, through the window and hypnotizing you, making you go to it and offer up your blood. Over the years, I’ve seen dozens of vampire films and have loved the folklore and different possibilities that come from the legends.

So, I’m going to have a crack at it again.

Try this – seeing how it was Halloween this weekend, have a crack at writing an outline for a horror story. Any type at all you fancy. Me, I’m going for one with teeth..happy writing.

Writing Prompt: Horror

Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use…

- Wendell Johnson

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
 
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

There are so many times during each day when I hold my tongue. I want to say something, but don’t because I know that the repercussions could be severe and unpleasant. At other times, I want to say things to people that I know will change how we deal with each other and forces me to keep still.  Each of us has things that we want to say, but good sense holds us back.

All of these things are frustrating,but nothing is worse that having no words at all. I stood talking with a group of people the other day, when an uncomfortable silence descended upon us like some horrid cloud. I looked from one face to the next searching  for inspiration, for something clever or engaging to say, but nothing came.

I searched the eyes of my friends and thought of a few subjects I could have raised had I been alone with each of them, but there was no common denominator, nothing I could say that would not exclude someone else in the group, so I remained silent. It wasn’t until after we had all parted company that I though of things I could have said to break the deadlock.

 If I could have that night (like so many others) over again, I would have done something different.

Have you ever been tongue tied only to think of the perfect thing to say when it’s too late?

try this – write a to someone, saying everything you wish you had said and didn’t…

The work never matches the dream of perfection the artist has to start with.  – William Faulkner

I woke up this morning completely unaware that the clocks had gone back and that I was in possession of another waking hour today. I’ve been ill for the past few days, shivering and sweating in my bed with my DVD player and laptop to keep me busy. I’ve been thinking all day about what to write. A few things occurred to me. It’s not just the hour that has changed, it’s also the season. Winter is here. My friend Samantha just gave birth to her new son a few hours ago after a long, frightening and difficult labour. She’s safe, they both are and I’m grateful that someone so dear to me is taking a step into another chapter into her life. They haven’t decided names yet, but I’m hoping that like her first child, Cassandra, he’ll be my new god-child.

I’m anxious for something new too. A new city, a new challenge, a new anything. (not kids, that’s what my friends are for )

I’ve been thinking about some of the people I admire and love the most. They all share something in common. They’re brave, they take chances, they are uncompromising in their desire for something that’s all their own. I guess that’s what I want for myself too. So, a few things to think about. If you had one hour to do anything, with no restrictions, limited to only your imagination, what would you do? If you could take a risk in your life, a real risk that could change everything, what would it be?

Be brave, write it down. You might surprise yourself and you might just decide to do something about it.