Posted in Life and Awareness, Nature, The Saturday Symphony

The Saturday Symphony #37 March Marvels

Ola everyone,
The 36th edition of The Saturday Symphony welcomes you to a March of marvels. This is a monthly feature that may one day become an online magazine which showcases its bit of the wordpress community magic (fingers crossed).

It's 5.am
The sweet-spot for insomniacs
A hill-top mosque moons a summons to sacred vespers
And an eager rooster ignites a cackle of crows vying for dominance
The insomniac does not hear them
This is their ONE hour
And yet they must rise.
The bedside clock shames the exuberant cockery
and jolts you from the peace that nothingness brings
To make joy from your something

Luiza Zambrotta’s tautogram prompt (P) is so fun and I recommend joining in. Here’s my bit:

Perplexing pleasantries portray ponderous parodies.

March is a month of changing seasons. The first quarter of the new year is ending.
Whether it’s Spring or the wet season, wherever you are, if you allow it, you may feel a shift in the air, the spirit, and your psyche. An opportunity to start anew or boost what’s already started.

How about this keepsake from Garima of Be Inspired blog: How To Improve Your Luck .

Can you foresee positive, lovely things occurring?

You’ll be mad not to check out Sally Cronin’s, Smorgasbord Funnies 2023. (Feel free to thank me later)

I hope Sally forgives me for sharing just one of her jokes to send you to her post:
Patient: “Doctor, I get heartburn everytime I eat birthday cake.”
Doctor: “Next time…. Find out the punchline in Sally’s link. (Sorry I didn’t want to steal the joke)

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Shared lessons.

This section will be for one fellow blogger’s shared lesson every month. I’ll reach out to different people just for a little paragraph, not more than they are willing to share. Since this is new, I’ll say something this month.

Before I diversified from poetry and short stories to fiction novels, I learnt a vital piece of advice which makes writing really cool. ‘Let your characters guide you.’ As you try to follow this advice, you develop a new appreciation for Karma and its mysterious ways. Everyone has their own story. Nothing is black and white, I mean, even black and white are spectrums of colour. In real/tangible life, I wait and listen more often, and I’m genuinely very interested in what people are saying. This has really improved all my relationships. I find more people calling, and opening up about really personal things. I mostly just listen and once in a while, I tell them a story.

Outside life's challenges, 
waits a flamboyant beauty 
Verdancy that is a tonic for our souls
It dwells in everything
In the fine desert-sand where no two grains are alike
In the morning dew or pouring rain
The floral blooms and butterfly hues.
Or perhaps on the otherside of day
Where one may enjoy a moonlight caress
or savour a star-twinkled kiss, 
A place to cry where none can see
To let darkness reclaim your darkness.
 
So step outside

Into the wild

Trace the alignment

Of beauty to joy.

Book Candy Collage.

This year, I created corners for my wordpress posts. Visitors to my blog may have noticed the Book Candy Corner, Tall Tales Corner, and Tiny Treasure Corner. These three, cycle in turns from post to post. I’ll collage the monthly book-candy in that month’s Symphony, just in case you missed out.

Ponderous Thought Prompt

From today and through the month of April, find any three aspects in nature, relate yourself to each of them, and publish something on that. It can be dark or bright, just have at it.

You can use art, images and any form of writing. Pingback here by pasting this post’s link in your own post, and I’ll visit and feature your works in next month’s Symphony. These features, in time, will get a more creative showcasing (watch this space).

earth divinations
must one be Witch or Guru
to wake their soul

Sadly, or thankfully, we’ve come to the end of this month’s symphony.
Here’s a last recent poem from my twitter:

Echoes of a bedevilled kiss
Have you known the taste of sin
Or the hidden truths in dream-drenched deceits
Have you imagined grace in a silent expanse
Like dances in the eye of dysthymia
Fleeing gawking stares
Yet hoping-
Someone will see you…

Hope you enjoyed this. I look forward to your ponderous-prompt submissions, which should be posted before the 28th of April.

Shalom
Namaste
Namarie

Posted in Life and Awareness, The Saturday Symphony

The Saturday Symphony #29 Inner Child #JuneEdition

Hey everyone,
Welcome to the 29th edition of The Saturday Symphony. This is a monthly feature with its roots in giving back to the blogging community.
This June, we indulge our inner child.

We are all born as creatives, molded in the image of the Great Creator. But somewhere along the road, we abandon our inner child.

Paraphrased from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Well, the good news is that everyone on my wordpress is bristling with creativity. In this June edition, may we break the mental piggy bank, buy a bunch of candy, cakes, gold and silver stars, then dust old favourite toys, and let our inner child sparkle.

Silly slimy snail
with a pretty shiny shell
how slow you move
how boring you are
So I drink my chocolate milk
and take a nice quick snooze
to wake and find you gone
to where I only imagine

However insurmountable a dream may seem
if your inner child calls to you, answer
Reach
Nurture
let joy be your soul’s toy

digital art by Aryana Golchin

This month’s five featured posts

To further spoil your inner child, this month’s features are five awesome prompts. Go ahead and open these links, feast on the amazing roundup submissions, or find them in the comment sections. You won’t be sorry and your inner child will be spoilt for choice.

#Whatdoyousee

#Writephoto

#Reena’sxplorationchallenge

#Tastetherainbow Tanka Tuesday

#Eugisweekly

Brush, skulk, hide
Fifi the fox fetters in the meadow
Brush, skulk, hide
Railey the rabbit rushes
No nose so sharp as Fifi’s
No ear so true as Railey’s
Searcher and sneaker
My two fondest loves
But when fluffy-Railey is pinned beneath Fifi’s deadly paws
Instead of fear I laugh aloud
For I raised them together
And no matter how different they may seem
My Fifi and Railey are bonded for life

Art by Julia Taillon

PONDEROUS THOUGHT Prompt

This month indulge your inner child. Be goofy, be fun, be whiny. Rhyme, share or compose a favourite bedtime story, tongue twister, song. Tell tales of pets, old toys and forgotten delights. Just be playful and have fun.

You can use art, any form of writing or media.
Pingback to this post and drop a link in the comments so I can visit, and feature you in next month’s symphony.

As a toddler I clang to my sister Anna
We sat through late nights
with a candle in between
Then with spell-binding oration
and nerve-racking enchantment
Anna told tales so wonderful I could never get enough
And my inner child remembers
And I crave
And I long to feed my sou
l, and others like mine

May’s Ponderous submissions “Finding”

Enjoy these beauties from last month’s ponderous prompt.

From generation to generation. Sharing love, traditions, and faith. Gifting confidence amid turmoil of the people of the land…

Inner sight by Jules

peaceful solitude// a hit-or-miss to my soul// seeking to embrace…

Foggy deliberations by Eugi

Come, my darling,
and hold my hand in yours.
Never let go of my hand,
so don’t dodge me. Come closer…

You by Jane Aguiar

I dream of me
In a place with you
I dream of laughter
And pain accepted by two
Of fears shared
And hopes reborn
I dream of dreams
Coming true

©judeitakali


Hope you enjoy this. I’m looking forward to your thoughts.

To further indulge your inner child with something I’d like to think is riveting, then my debut novel Realms of the Mist is available here.

Posted in The Saturday Symphony

The Saturday Symphony #28 May Edition “Finding”

Hey everyone,
Welcome to the 28th edition of The Saturday Symphony. This is a monthly feature with its roots in giving back to the blogging community.
Let’s dive right in.

If we look, we may yet see what’s in front of us
If we listen, we may yet hear that which is hidden
And if we stop
For a breath
and a sigh
To center our minds
and open our hearts
Then we may truly find
The things we have never sought
yet so desperately need.

This month, I hope we can finish reading this feature and be the tinniest bit more able to find that something. That we can accept to open ourselves to the goodness which often awaits anyone who prepares for it.
But first;

May’s featured posts

Derwentwater’s oaken shore// gives onto waters, crystal pure// or so they were, now marred with foam…

Seedhead hope song by Ingrid.

I’ll discuss why I choose to obsess over poetry…

why I write poetry by Alina Happy Hansen

Kindness can take courage// When the world can be cruel…Kindness can take honesty// And challenge your views…

Kindness by Caley

Click the citation links to read full posts.

Stories read by father, books found by mother
The seeds of passion
Child-to-work days and work-to-child holidays
Sharing life with another
All the pains of failure
and the encouragement of success…
Institutions and interactions
Friendships, love and family
Heartbreak and grief
That thing is always there round that bend
we need only to look
For the scales of balance
Are often tipped by hope
and perspective

PONDEROUS THOUGHT PROMPT

This month, share about anything precious that you or anyone you know, have found but were never looking for.

You can use art, any form of writing or media.
Pingback to this post and drop a link in the comments so I can visit, and feature you in next month’s symphony.

Clink Clink, fate shakes fortune’s coins
A gold one for her
Silver for him
And bronze for us each
Different in value
but same in potential
For what is it you truly value?
The thing you need most
To find what you desire…
Clink Clink, fate shakes fortune’s coins
Tossed like treasure upon our paths
Will you not help me find mine?

April’s Ponderous submissions “Tree Bliss”

I was about six feet tall when I was brought// To my forever home// barely a twig with some leaves…

Storied willows by Jules

life’s ado not me// harried hoi polloi driven// to the nth degree…

away from the daily grind by Eugi

For the ceremony// a pylon of your leaves is hung on the door

Kalpavriksha by Jane

Thank you all for your submissions. I really couldn’t get enough of those trees.

What turns strangers to dear ones?
What fractures the bonds set in stone?
What heals and yet can wound?
Could it be
This willingness to help another to find?

©judeitakali

I hope you enjoy this. My apologies for being a few days late. Can’t wait for your ponderous-thought submissions and I look forward to engaging in the comments. This feature after all is meant for interaction.

I’m still caught up with exams till end of May but I’ll fleet in and out here whenever possible.

Stay safe everyone, Stay loving.

Posted in Nature, The Saturday Symphony

The Saturday Symphony #27. April Edition. “Tree Bliss”

Hey everyone,
Welcome to the 27th edition of The Saturday Symphony. This is a monthly feature with its roots in giving back to the blogging community.
You can peruse previous editions HERE

I hope you’re strapped in because this month we have treats ranging from wholesome featured posts, to a most remarkable array of submissions from last month’s ponderous thought, and most sumptuously of all, we have TREES! Lots of trees. Amazing trees. Oh, and lots of poetry as well.
Let’s dive straight in.

These realities, only nature can dream
Hope that sprouts from deepest darkest depths
A recluse for those with the will to find it
Do you not see what I see?
Will your eyes not feast upon this visage?
Lonely with beauty
Proud to have defied
Willow of Wanaka

The lonely Willow tree on Lake Wanaka in New Zealand.
It takes quite a hike to reach it, but it’s all so worth it.

April’s Five featured posts.

Just when I finish a book, the first thought is well.. time to write the review. The start is uncomfortable for me because even though you write your honest thoughts…

Writing a book review by Deeksha Bhardwaj

The flowers know. Mother knows. And what do they know? That All is…

Now by Amy Rose Photography

When lmaginations lose to Celetials…

Shadows by Uniz Bissie

This is the story of a certain intelligent species in the Chroma Key Galaxy. Unfortunately, they weren’t intelligent enough…

Absurdis Extreme by unbolt me

Like each season offers us something new, books do the same thing. Taking us on an exciting journey into the unknown…

Books that changed me by D.L. Finn

Beneath an Angel’s wings
I recall that which is most sacred
Where light sprinkles down like soft heavenly laughter
Cleansing and refreshing
Where to reach for those in need
Is not to exhaust oneself, but rather to grow
To become a playground for soulful emotions
And a canopy that protects.
Angel oak
Grow, won’t you grow.

Angel Oak on John’s Island Charlestone.
Its dense canopy covers over 17200 square feet.

PONDEROUS THOUGHT PROMPT

This month, pick a tree and write about it. It can be one you have visited, or one you have only seen in media, or one with special significance or sentiment to your life, even one from childhood. As an added bonus for your readers(and me), let us know how that tree makes you feel.

You can use art, any form of writing or media.
Pingback to this post and drop a link in the comments so I can visit, and feature you in next month’s symphony.

My jaw drops; I forget to swallow
Eyes bulge; I forget to blink
Heart skips a beat; the soul oggles.
If you told me this were heaven I’d believe you
For this beauty be divine
oh Wisteria in the park
How I swoon
How I try to woo thee
Yet each time I’m rendered speechless
And each time you watch aloof
Knowing how beautiful you are

Famous Wisteria tree in Ashikaga, Japan.
Alive since the Meiji era.
Its pulchritudinous foliage covers roughly half an acre.

March’s ponderous submissions; “In between the lines”

It was here that I fell in love with you
And it was here when my heart got broken in two

(Wasn’t I?) Special by Maria Michaela

Gertie Simple was tired of goodbyes. While she did miss all of her husbands… She was never one to take any man too seriously,

Safe in the woods by Jules Paige

devotion blurred with passion~ adoring moments yet to be embraced~ the spirit of love grace’s hesitant

The way we were by Eugenia

every word spoken~ every little act you’ve done~ creeps in like nightmare

Hurt by Weng

I loved you~ with all my heart~ and soul~ but maybe~ I don’t know how to connect

and express my love.

A Pit of Despair by Jane Aguiar

Love is not easy~ It demands perfection~ It needs sacrifices

In between the lines- Love by Sadje

Thank you all for your submissions. If it weren’t for the trees, your amazing posts would be my favourite part of this month’s feature. I really enjoyed them and read all more than once.

Sacred Banyan
enigma of mysticism
The origin of many awakenings
The root of countless mysteries
You ask how much a tree can give
I say;
More than you can imagine!

Banyan tree, Bermuda.
Banyan trees send roots down from their branches into the ground, allowing them to spread laterally for long distances. There are even more famous Banyan trees in India and South America.

As I stare up the Madagascan Baobabs
I recall their fire resistant Barks
Their drought resilient nature
And I marvel
For if love is a two-way street then this must be love
Trees and We
Their lives in our hands
and ours in theirs
Root, branch and leaf!

The Iconic Baobab trees along a dirt road called the Avenue of the Baobabs in Morondava, Madagascar.

Fun teaser;
The Gifted in my debut novel Realms of the Mist, travel long distances in a short time through different special trees. They send messages written on leaves to one another between trees of the same species. Intrigued? You can get yourself a copy HERE

It took me almost five hours to write this, but I was smiling all through.
That’s just what trees do to me.
There are so many wondrous trees on this blue-green(though fading in shade) planet of ours,
that I feel I must apologise for using only five samples in this symphony.
However, another wondrous thing about trees is that they need not be unique or majestic to be special.
The most ordinary of trees can be most special to us in different ways;

Like these fledgling teak trees beside which I wrote quite a chunk of my debut novel. At the time I was struggling with writer’s block and they soothed it out of me. How cool is that?

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this 150yr old Japanese wisteria really does things to me.

Remember to protect the trees around you. They are so easy to care for, just make sure you have a rake handy for those leaves.
Also, no matter how little, support the cause for world forests that are being exploited just to make someone rich.
And lastly, the best way to love trees in our time is to plant them. So let’s each plant more than we are doing currently.

I hope you enjoy this. Can’t wait for your ponderous thought submissions and I look forward to engaging in the comments. This feature after all is meant for interaction.

copyright judeitakali

P.S I’m putting this up today(Friday) instead of Saturday because I do have tests tomorrow and the weekend may sweep me to where I cannot post. Otherwise I’ll repost through the weekend when or if I can.

My debut novel available on Lulu

Stay safe everyone, Stay loving.