ON THOSE DAYS -- Blogophilia 10.5 (with photos)

Blogophilia week 10.5 - "Whereat With Blade ..."

Bonus Points:

(Hard, 2pts): use a foreign expression
(Easy, 1pt): include transcendental in your blog


Final date to post BLOG: May 5, 2012 - Saturday, midnight Pacific Time
Final date to post ALL GUESSES: May 4, 2012 - Friday, midnight Pacific Time

Please highlight or otherwise point out your bonus points attempts.

Guess correctly who submitted the topic... and a correct guess at who submitted the picture earns you additional points.

Guess correctly the secret "word or phrase" earns a chance at more points. Including the secret word or phrase within your blog content earns an additional point.

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ON THOSE DAYS

Sometimes I feel
like throwing up my hands,
like tossing in the towel
and making other plans,
nothing going quite right,
the day rather askew
and at a complete loss
as to what I can do.

And on those days,
when I'm not quite sure
whether to laugh
or to cry
or to jump up and down --
those are the days
that find me searching
for those words
to say how I feel,
instead I find myself
rather speechless,
abandoned by the muse
I've come to love
and to rely upon so,
and left wondering where
my friend has gone --
To rest?
Reset?
Recharge the flame?
Imagination on vacation,
looking for rest and relaxation,
as that transcendental spark
grows dim
and flickers
in the dark,
getting harder
and harder to see.


What a predicament
for a lover of words
to be in!

But instead of saying,
as I certainly could,
c'est la vie,
that's life,
the way it's got to be,
I'm not one to give in,
or give up quite so easily.
I take a deep breath
and try it once again.

Whereat, with blade
(in a metaphorical way)
I take a stab in the dark,
trying my hand
at some things
I never imagined
or ever dreamed,
finding myself
quite outside my normal view
and having a bit of fun
along the way,
in an attempt to find
my sometimes wayward
and absent muse.


(c) barbara kausteklis 5-2-12

Written for Blogophilia 10.5/"Whereat With Blade."

http://www.myspace.com/blogophilia/blog/545649448
GUESSES

TOPIC SUBMITTED BY: Sallon

PICTURE SUBMITTED BY: Liam


PHRASES: Dazed and Confused, Anne of Green Gables, Pelican Brief, Green Pastures, Alone, Wuthering Heights, Greener Pastures, Out of the Fog, Footsteps in the Fog, Waiting for Godot, Busstop, Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, Green Acres, A Foggy Day in London Town, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Fast Food Nation, The Fog, House of Sand and Fog, Night and Fog, The Fog of War, The Mist, Clueless in L.A. . . . .

*******************

Thanks always for your visits and comments even when my "muse" seems rather wayward and absent.

UPON SPRINGTIME BREEZES -- Collab with Photos

UPON SPRINGTIME BREEZES

Fields of butterflies
flying so free in the Spring,
free as the wind blows
and as the sun is high,
they float upon breezes
before landing at my feet.
Their colorful beauty
catching my eye,
the butterflies touch my heart
as they playfully pass by.
Wings in flight connected
as we all become one,
miniature painted canvases,
they sparkle in the sun.

On this springtime afternoon,
as I watch them spread their wings,
we soar together in my mind
up past the clouds,
way up in the sky.
And I waltz with the butterflies
as they float through the air,
not a dry eye in this flight so fair.
But soon our tears will dry and fade
as spreading their wings,
they’ll fly high and away,
leaving us their beauty
and memories rare and sweet,
as out of their cocoons
they’ve emerged and left
treasures behind for us to behold,
as the butterflies are free.
most precious gifts
to each one of us.



(c) barbara kausteklis 4-28-12

Thanks to the following Pals
for sharing their lines with me:

Angel Love, Bettie, Michelle K, Mary Margaret,
Flossie, and Me, Barbara

Lines selected in addition to my own:

Butterflies are free (Angel Love)
Fields of butterflies flying free (Bettie)
Free as the wind blows and the sun is high (Bettie)
Their colorful beauty catches my eye (Michelle K)
As I do gauge as they pass me by (Bettie)
Flights of wings connected all becoming one (Mary)
The beautiful sights as we pass by (Michelle K)
Soon these tears in our eyes will dry (Angel Love)
Tomorrow will be a brighter day (Angel Love)
Out of the cocoon in a new world to see (Michelle K)
Spread your wings and fly free Flossie

****************

Thanks always for your visits and comments.


~barb~

IMPASSIONATA'S TRANCE (with photos) -- Magic Monday

IMPASSIONATA’S TRANCE

Flames dancing
with a magic
and life of their own,
consuming my emotions
and spinning them around,
their delicate dance
igniting a passion deep within,
enlightened moments
within the flames
enveloping my soul.

Emblazoned against
a velvet midnight sky,
every fear swept away
and into the night
as enraptured by
their hypnotic spell,
I’m drawn once again
into their lyrical dance,
flames finding their way
through winding passageways
so long concealed
and into my heart
as I’m mesmerized
within the trance
of midnight’s blaze
and Love's impassioned dance




(c) barbara kausteklis 4-30-12


Written for CPC Magic Monday/
"The Magic of Our Passionate Hearts"

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/85337/magic-passionate-hearts/

Thanks always for visits and comments.

~barb~

IF (AND BECAUSE) YOU LOVE ME (with photos)

IF (AND BECAUSE) YOU LOVE ME

When it comes to the subject
of love and romance,
I must admit
that I really don’t have
too much to say
that hasn’t already been said
by those who can say it
so much better than me.
But the words that I offer
as I set them down here.
The words that I’d offer,
certainly come from my heart
and they mean what they say.

Love isn’t a subject
that I talk about much,
though very important,
as we most definitely know.
But for the purpose of this,
I’ll jot down some words
on the subject of love
as they come to me . . . .
I don’t set down many conditions
when it comes to love,
for love is unconditional
when it’s true and it’s real.
The topography isn’t complicated
and the maps are quite clear;
the roads are rather straightforward,
each one leading to my heart.

So I won’t say, “If you love me,”
but I will put it like this –
BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME,
you know how simple my needs,
respecting the me that is me,
as I respect you for you.
And because you love me,
you have a listening ear
and hear exactly what I say,
just as I listen in turn
to you and each and every word;
and because you love me,
you smile at least
every once in a while,
focusing on the good in life,
not dwelling on the bad.

And finally this –
Because you love me as you do,
you’ve handled with care
this heart of mine,
and I’ve done the same for you.



(c) barbara kausteklis

For CPC "The Friday Fling Writes Spring Romance."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/87362/friday-fling-writes-spring-romance/

Thanks always for all visits and comments.

ONCE MORE RELEASED -- A Simple Sunday" Piece

"Artissimo" by Istavan Sandorfi


ONCE MORE RELEASED

Caught up again
within the tangled web
of my own imagination’s making,
I struggle to make some sense
of the shadowy visions,
the comings and goings
within shaded corners
where fragmented thoughts
so very often reside.

And as the light
shines down on me
and illuminates the dark,
all I can do is offer
who and what I am,
my hands and my heart,
whatever darkness
inside of me finally
released and cast aside,
inhaling the precious
breath of calm sweeping
over and through
my restless soul
and absorbing each
and every ray of light
that begins to find
this heart of mine.

(c) barbara kausteklis 4-29-12

Written for "A Simple Sunday"
today featuring Istavan Sandorfi.

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/87729/simple-sunday-istavan-sandorfi/

Thanks always for your visits and comments.

Wishing everyone a peaceful week ahead
as we begin a new month.


~barb~

WITHIN A REFLECTIVE MOMENT

WITHIN A REFLECTIVE MOMENT

A chill in the air,
I pause a moment to reflect
on the yesterdays of my life
as I see them once more
in the rivers and forests,
where again I go in my mind
to find the self that is me.
And sometimes,
lost from sight,
Nature sweeps them away
as blotting them out,
I leave some
of those days behind.



(c) barbara kausteklis 4-25-12

Pic-Apart Celebrates April With Robert Frost.

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/87391/pic-apart-celebrates-april-robert-frost/

Thanks for your visits and comments.

~barb~

FROM ME TO YOU (with photos)

FROM ME TO YOU

What can I give you
to say that I care?
Money or jewels
or other fancy things,
wrapped up in special boxes
and tied with pretty bows?
I’ve thought long and hard
about what it could be,
something that will last
more than just a day or two.
And now I know what they are
because you give me the same –
I carry them with me all the time,
and they get me through
even the most difficult days.

So I give you a smile
and a cheery hello;
and a hug to let you know
that everything’s going
to be okay no matter what;
and I give you a simple melody,
one that you can hum out loud
or simply sing within your heart.

For it’s those little things
that make my day,
the sweetest song
sung out of tune;
rainbows and flowers
colored outside the lines;
sparrows splashing in puddles
just after a spring rain;
a smile,
a wink,
the smallest hug.
These are the things
that you give to me,
that make me smile
and make me laugh
and make me cry
and soothe my soul
and make my heart sing.

And each of these words
is a hug from me,
from my heart to yours
across time and space.




(c) barbara kausteklis 4-26-12

Written for "Thematic Attic/Hug a Friend."

http://www.friendburst.com/blog/87461/thematic-attic-thursdayhug-friend/