....An Old Man's Fancy

"When its spring time in Alaska... it's 40 below" or so the song says.  Many of my awesome Toad friends have been feeling the pain this year, waiting for a  lily pad to unfreeze, forearms the size of tree trunks after shoveling so much snow. Waiting and wishing for any day above 30 degrees so that they can take off a layer or two and show off that hot bod born from what a only a hard winter can create.

Herotomost at your service, and while here in in Sunny Phoenix, Arizona, I have no knowledge of these winter trials and tribulations (and I know that some like Kerry have just the opposite this time of year) I want to do what I can to help the rest ease into what I am sure is going to be one of the most anticipated springs in some time.  Hedge is already planting, that's a good sign.

So, for my challenge this week I want you to find a comfortable, quiet spot, tune out the rest of the world, close your eyes and let it all hang out.  I want you to visualize what it is that you might do on your perfect spring day given the time and the inclination. Who would you be hanging with if anyone?  Would you be walking, fishing, picnicking with that special someone? Imagine breathing in the sweet smell of citrus blossoms, wisteria, or whatever smell you associate with springtime.  Maybe you would be planting your garden. Don't pick up your pen until you can fully realize the scenario, relax a bit (you look fabulous in those yoga pants) and when you are ready, write me something that doesn't just describe spring.  We all know how wonderful that is, write yourself into spring, give me that feeling that you get.  Show me why I should be hanging with you on that one awesome day (there goes the relaxation...lol, I swear not to show up).

As always, form and format are of no consequence on a perfect day like this.  You can write, draw, make me a marble sculpture, produce a broken tile mosaic.  It is totally up to you. And as always, if this prompt does not suit your fancy (cuz in the springtime a young mans fancy turns to thoughts of love...and for us old men, it turns to thoughts of lust and sometimes food) please write whatever you would like or skip it and just enjoy your perfect spring day without worrying about writing a single word.

I love you all and Happy Spring!!!!!

Road Trip!!!

Well we officially made it to 2015 Toads! Give yourself a nice round of applause and then strap it back on and lets get this year moving in the right direction.

Herotomost here and I think that 2015 is going to be a fantastic year for me personally and here in the garden. It's my first challenge of the new year and with it I want to wax nostalgic about a hot little number I new when I was 16.  Her lines were hectic. Her rear end a little greasy. I have to tell you the truth, she really got me going, she was a fox.  A 1974 Audi Fox that is.  Oxidized orange with one brown fender, no grill and she whistled when I drove down the road.  If anyone has ever had a old german car....you know how she smelled.  Her name was Julie, of course it was, that was the name of one of the many girls who I adored but wouldn't give me the time of day. The car I drive has changed, but the way women treat me has remained the same.

This is About a million times nicer than the one I had.

My challenge today is for you to summon up memories of that first mode of transport, the one that gave you the freedom to get from A to B without that nosy family butting in.  Maybe it was a car, maybe a horse or maybe a motorcycle.  I want you to write a little ditty in any format you would like describing not only the details of this majestic beast, but how it made you feel.  As usual there are no rules except it has to be an original.  If this one isn't your cup of tea, feel free to skip or write a bit of whatever you want and post it.  We'll still read it.

Here's to all of you on this shiny new year....behave each and everyone of you, or not, you're all adults.

I don't know what to think....really.

Oh my dear Toads what a week it has been.  I am sitting in my RV in Campland in San Diego on Mission Bay right now thinking about what I should post for my Friday.  Should it be Thanksgiving...no, someone else probably has that covered.  Should I post a prompt about San Diego?  Nahhhh....not everyone has been there. Then I thought....Herotomost, you are a damn fool (I finally see what you all have seen since I've been here).  You just gave your daughter away on Monday and were a wreck beyond wrecks for the entire day before and for the entire event.  Toads let me tell you, and many of you probably know already, I had no idea how I should be feeling about the auspicious event.  I mean, the 18 months of planning by my daughter was insufferable.  The price tag hard for a man of my meager means to support.  But onward and upward and soon enough it was time for the wedding.  Up until that point it seemed like something happening to someone else.  Then all of the sudden, it was upon me and I had know idea how to feel about it.  I was numb, I was sad, I was happy for her, for me, for her groom David.  I was bitchy, I was emotional and I was all around a bit of a mess.  I was a mess until she said I do, until I gave the speech, until we had father-daughter dance. At that point I was just grateful that she was happy, and that the wedding was everything she had hoped.

My wife and I in our finery

I look like the kid from A Christmas Story in his snow suit but my daughter looked exquisite

So my lovelies, today's prompt is to think about a situation in your own life in which you had no idea how to feel about what was happening.  I think it happens all the time.  Not just weddings, but funerals, death, love, lust, births. Anything.  Like always, form is of no consequence....none whatsoever.  Just tell me your experience the best way you know how.

I want to wish each and everyone of you the Happiest of Thanksgivings.  Eat, drink and be merry, and if this prompt is not in the cards on this holiday weekend then so be it, just have fun whatever you do.

Its ma thing.........

Hey Toads, Happy Friday!!!!!!!! Herotomost here, been getting ready for our annual Halloween party.  It would be easy enough to come up with a Halloween themed Friday Challenge but I am about sick of Halloween after decorating for three weeks..lol. So forgive me...especially you Kerry, darling, light of my life because I am going to get nostalgic.  I know, romance....nostalgia....just like the title of the challenge, it's ma thing.

For this challenge I want you to think back to your childhood.  I want you to think about all the things that you were into. My sister was into horses, then band, then boys, then music and boys.  I was into KISS (posters all over my wall), I was into writing (unfortunately never really got any better...lol) I was into well, thats about it, maybe music. My niece who is growing up to look and sound just like my sister just won a contest to sing the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo.  Pretty big deal since it was a national contest. She's into singing and music, much like my sister was.  Its hard to come up with things that you are as excited about as you get older.  But those few things that turned your crank when you were young were so consuming, so intoxicating.

So, I want you to think back to what your big thing was at some point during your life.  Think about how you felt, good, bad, overwhelmed, relaxed, fulfilled, sad.  Whatever filled your heart and head for good and bad reasons....I want you to write me something that encompasses that feeling.  As always, it can be a poem, short story, a slogan, a technical manual, a catch phrase on a sticker, whatever.  Form is of no consequence on planet Herotomsost.  But please do look back and feel those feelings, hear those sounds, smell those smells.  Show me what you were into and tell me....It was ma thing!

Happy Halloween Toads, love you all, behave or not...you all resemble adults.

I Must Refrain.....

Happy Friday my toadalicious garden dwellers....I hope this Friday finds you all on the brink of a great July weekend with lots of fun and frolic.  Herotomost here and I am once again tasked  by the Dominatrix of Dandelions, the Purveyor of the Pond, the Basilisk of the Blogosphere, Kerry, to come up with a Friday Challenge. Today I am going to talk about a little thing that I do in my poetry, not sure how it started, but it seems to have stuck with me and I like the way that it makes some of my pieces feel.  It is the use of a refrain of some sort to separate stanzas that would normally be able to stand on their own, but the refrains seem to give the piece a little more depth and punch. (some folks think they are unnecessary and curse me for doing it, but what the hell, I am a writing rebel!!!!). There may be a sophisticated term for such refrains in poetry, but if there is I am woefully unaware. 

When writing my refrains, it makes me feel like there are two sides of myself waging a little battle for context and reality.  The non-refrain portion of the piece is usually a straight forward, sort of cultural norm style of voice that says what I am expected to say or think and the refrain portion is usually that emotional consciousness side of my brain trying to see past the idealism and find that dark little truth that we may think to ourselves, but hide from everyday interactions with others.  Here is an example of one of my poems with the refrains.  Most of you have already read this so it is merely a refresher.

Lower the Casket

Standing storm calm, still, on that hardened patch of sand

A beach of forever and forever's, broken without so much as a pardon

He pissed himself and tried to stop his hobbled heart from beating

Watching as her silhouette became a soul sickened memory he wanted

Lower the casket fat bastard

This one's a fuck

Hung by the neck with an idiots rope

May God shut the doors lest his shadow fly

And grip heaven in a liars fist

She had blown in on that very beach with a confidence worth measuring

Who wouldn't have wanted to spend eternity probing those eyes

Sharp tongues and the power born of rum soaked dreams....misplaced

Watching the look on her face turn from fancy, to hollow, to hate

Another shovel full fat bastard

This one's a king

Beheaded in haste with a simpletons blade

The wrought iron gates of purgatory sing

Emblazoned with his crest alone

Mind your thoughts and move through this life with a heart like a shelf

And place on it only those things that make you better than the night

Rejoice in the fact that you are not God and certainly not merely a man

And give her, her due and then some, that skin is beautiful history

Say the prayer fat bastard

This one's a man

Bludgeoned with a hustlers hammer

That sacred moment before death's dance  
Was the moment he saw God

So, good or bad, that is what I am talking about.  Now, to the challenge!!!!  I want you talented toads to write me a piece that has some sort of refrain.  It can be a repeating refrain that lends rhythm and punch, it can be a shadow refrain speaking from that bi-polar side of your brain that does not necessarily agree with what you think you should be thinking, or it could be a refrain that adds playfulness and agility to pick up the pace of the message.  If you want to get really creative, it does not have to be poetry, as always it can be anything your little amphibious hearts desire. And also, as always, if you find this challenge creepy, against your religion, not up to your standards or flat out too hard and you find you would rather take a nap, then you are welcome to take that nap or write and post whatever you would like to.  I'm easy, just ask my wife.

And with that I sign off...thank you for thinking about playing and.......

Everyone jump upon the refrain....ooooaaaaaeeeeeaaaaaaooooaaaaaaa....come ride the refrain!!!!!  lol...that was just sick.

Camped Out In the Garden

enpundit.com

Ohhh….you Toads look delicious on this fine Friday.  When I gaze into my crystal ball I see each and every one of you doing what you do best, and that is making the world a better place. Through words, deeds, family, work, I am always so proud of each and every one of you.  Except you Hedge….Ok, you too…damnation quit your hollering, I was only kidding. So unlike some of my USA friends and many of the overseas folks, Spring is really on full tilt boogie in my neck of the woods,  Here in Cowboy Land, eighty plus degree temperatures, plenty of sunshine to shovel, got my pool cleaned and ready for the bikini models to show up at my house for a pool party….its been all too lovely.  I have also been camping a couple of times already this year and that is what I am going too use as inspiration today.  Nothing too hard as I know you are busy planting bulbs, smelling flowers and procreating.

nothjersey.com

I am giving you three choices to choose from this time, maybe that will make it easier, maybe not.  I want you to envision the last time you went camping, or your favorite camping trips as a youngster, or maybe that hot and sultry camping trip you took with a lover that turned out to be an axe murderer.  Think of the feelings, the smells, the sights, the fire, the darkness, peeing outside, whatever you can conjure up in those canyon minds you all seem to possess.  Use one of the following three prompts to write something.  You know the drill, it can be a poem, story, soup can label, underwear tag, screenplay…whatever you want. Now on to the prompts:

1. Write me a Smore, something crisp and crunchy for the beginning and ending stanzas, but soft and gooey in the middle stanzas.  Make it yummy, make it warm and above all don't skimp on the chocolate.

2. Tell me about a bump in the night, a scare, a ghost story.  Something to get my blood pumping, put me on the edge of my seat. No one armed men with hooks on lovers lane though, I am sick of standing trial for that one year in and year out.

3. Give me a Lewis and Clark run down of the lands you have surveyed, what types of indigenous creatures or plants that moved you or utter beauty you beheld, or the near death experience at the hands of Mother Nature.

Ok, there you have it. I am missing the Garden as of late because of all of the traveling and work.  But rest assure good Toads, I will lend an eye and an ear to each on of your delicate submissions, and will savor every morsel long into the night as the coals from the fire burn down to nothing more than shadows and tendrils of smoke.  Love you all and have a happy weekend!!!!

All Mixed Up!!!

Happy Friday my dear Toads, Herotomost here with another improvised challenge, I nearly forgot that I was up today. My post vacation memory still has me sitting on the beach, talking to the Argentinean girls and scarfing on fish tacos that only we were able to get much to the chagrin and irritation of the rest of the guests.  I felt like royalty. Its nice to be special...lol.

Anywho, enough about all that. I want to talk about the age old romantic art of arranging mix tapes for your mad crush. You know, that one mix of perfectly ordered songs that you knew would bring that special someone to their knees, the one that would endear you to him/her so completely that you spent hours trudging through your collection to show them your wide range of musical tastes and the fact that you are as hip as any beatnik sipping coffee and wearing turtle necks on the second floor of Vesuvio.

So to honor this tradition of love, I want you to write me something that screams "look at me my love", but not in a way that is lacy and ethereal like some writing about love.  I want you to be cheesy, lusty, rapturous, obsessed, candid, fun, belligerent or awkward.  I want the real face of love, clumsy and heady, obtuse and full of blushing. You can use the mix tape as a subject or not, but I want that idea to at least hang in the air. This should be new writing, poem, snippet, billboard, short story, autobiography or an ode to a long lost tribe of talking rabbits....I am easy....you know that.

If you feel that this challenge is not for you, you are welcome to skip it or write whatever the hell you want, I like that too. If your piece will over 300,000 words long please inform Kerry as she will already be mad that I have spoken of romance once again, although in my defense...it has been awhile and spring is coming, you know about a young (ha!) mans fancy!!!!!!

Thanks so much for at least considering the challenge, I always look forward to seeing what you have up your sick little sleeves.  Love you all!!!!!

Persons of Interest

My darling Toads, it seems another Friday challenge is upon me and to tell the truth it has me thinking of my annual trip to Isla Holbox, Mexico which is coming up in February. It will be my sixth time to this little island paradise, a fishing village of 2500 people on the Yucatan peninsula about three hours from the hustle and bustle of Cancun.  This isn't your normal tourist destination, at least not yet.  There are no cars, no all inclusive resorts, no locals hocking trinkets on the beach. It is a destination that requires relaxation.  There is no TV in the room of the hotel that we stay at, but that has never been a problem. What there is, is an abundance of people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world.  It's palapa bars, great food in charming, quaint restaurants. It's soccer in the sand, flyfishing on a stretch of beach that runs for miles with not another living soul in site.  Holbox is one of the few places that I have been where time doesn't seem to matter in the least, its tequila and a cold beer, micheladas and fresh Cobia. Ok, ok I know, you get it.  The bigger point I want to make is the best part of the whole thing is the people that I have met on these trips, good, bad, beautiful, interesting and as wonderful as the day is long.  That is what I am basing this challenge on. If you awesome amphibians are up for it, I want you to think of someone you have met on a special trip to your special place and write about them.  Once again, it can be a poem, a story, a soup can label, an advertisement, I don't care about the format.  I find that giving some unsupervised space helps the creativity flow.  Below is a  picture of the beach in front of our room and a poem about the wife of one of my favorite Argentinian island boys that arrived on the island to work the very day we checked in for the first time,  his name is Christian. The title is his wife's name and he calls my wife and I mom and dad......heavy sigh!  So go forth and propagate my loves and don't stop until it feels right! As always thank you to all who participate...XXOO!

Jeevyl

He brought you this fish mi amor, to hang your life on

Under his hand, life struggles to be a perfect circle

Under yours, the circle changes into shimmering possibilities

The softness of your skin, matching the bright red spot on his heart

Mi casa es su casa, mi amor

For you the sea called and you answered with unblinking brown eyes

It asked you for a favor, one that only you could fulfill

It handed you the silver chain, the one attached to his soul

A prize stolen by the sea in days of doubt and contemplation

Mi corazon es su corazon, mi amor

"Put this under your pillow child and hold him with your eyes"

You did and for one week the tide whispered your name as you slept

And the chain dissappeared from this world silently

Slipping around your waist, your soul, securing this Mexican destiny

Mi vida es su vida, mi amor

A little Emotion, A Little Romance and a Whole Lotta....ahhhhhhhh.....

Waiting until the last second once again...its just my style, love it or leave it...but...really, don't leave me!!!!!!  My turn for a favorite...a Poet I discovered while shopping at the Visiting Nurses Book Sale in my home town of Phoenix, Arizona.  She has this dark and romantic lilt, you know, the kind that I love and it is packed with emotion and a bit of torture in my opinion.  I am no professional...but this woman saw some things, wrote some things....and I like. Here are a couple as here stuff is rarely long. Hope you enjoy!!!!

ANNA AKHMATOVA

Muse Went Away

Muse went away by the road,
The autumnal, narrow, steep,
And her swarthy feet were slopped,
With large drops of dew in her slip.

I begged her, with hope and fear,
To stay till the winter’s white lace,
She answered, “There is a grave here, 
How can you still breathe in such place?”

I wished to give her a she-pigeon,
The whitest in our doves’ nest,
Bur suddenly and without reason,
She fled after my slender guest.

 

I looked after Muse, and was silent,
I loved only her till my end,
And in skies grew a sunrise giant,
As the gate into her own land.  

 

Thank You, God

Thank you, God: I dream of him more seldom,
And don’t see him now in every place,
The white path with clouds has been laden,
Easy shadows o’er the waters raced.
And all day the chime of bells arose
O’er the ocean of the ploughed soil;
Here the toll is best-heard from Saint John’s 
Belfries which are seen afar, the tall.
I am cutting off the lilac fashioned 
For the brunches that have lost their bloom;
Two black monks passed by in conversation
On the ramparts to the aging doomed. 
Let, for blind me, the plain, dear and earthly
World again be turned into alive.
Our Lord has made my soul healthy
With the icy calm of the non-love. 

When I Write Poems

When I’m embraced by airy inspiration,
I am a bridge between the sky and earth.
Of all what heart high-values in creation
I am a king, when breathing with a verse!

Just if my soul wishes it, my fairy,
I shall give you the peaceful coast band,
Where, with a hum, the pinky sea is carrying
The dreaming tide to reach the dreaming land. 

I can do all, just trust in me: I’m mighty;
I have the roots for kindness and for love;
And if I want, from clouds and from the lightning
I’ll make a cover your sweet bed above.

And I can, dear, create a word such special,
That it would change laws of the whole world,
To call again its own celebration
And stop the sun from fall in the night cold.

I’m all another in my inspiration,
I am a bridge between the sky and earth.
Of all what heart high-values in creation
I am a king, when breathing with a verse!

Yeah....just sayin'. let me know what you think! Blogger is messing up on me so I cant get the spacing exactly right...forgive me.