Author: whisperingsbyjkl

The Vegas Facade

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A View of VegasLights sparkle on buildings
and dance on water.
Red, blue, purple, gold
embrace the  night
with the magic of hope…

People rush to gamble,
to win, to hit the jackpot,
People rush to drink,
to dance, to get lucky,
People rush to be mesmerized
by Le Reve – The Dream.
People dream…
to be a star.

Shining brightly,
endless possibilities
for love and fortune,
unlimited opportunities
for debt and regret.

Here in Vegas, reality is blinded
by light and clouded by smoke
from fruity cigars.
When the lights go out
and the sun comes up,
it’s another city.

People without homes
beg for money.
Young, beautiful girls,
their faces and dreams
scatter the floor,
and you step on them.
Frankenstein, Mario
and many minions
wander the streets.

You feel slightly,
just slightly
depressed…

Climbing to Great Heights at Castle Rock State Park

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I read this quote on one of Marc and Angel’s post, “Climb a mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you,” and it reminded me of my first and so far (only) experience going outdoor rock climbing, which was an amazing experience. I wanted to relive that experience and share that with you.

jenuineinspiration's avatarJenuine Inspiration

I have always enjoyed indoor rock climbing because it feels empowering.  Having your mind communicate with your body, watching your arms and legs crawl up the rock, and finally reaching the top is rewarding.  It’s definitely not a motion that you do in everyday life.  I had dreamed of taking that hobby outdoors, but never acted upon it until I saw a Groupon for Treks and Tracks and decided to take a climb.  Yesterday was my big milestone day and I definitely didn’t regret it.  The experience was awesome (I mean every sense of that word and am not just using that adjective because it sounds cool).

Daniel, the co-owner of Treks and Tracks, was our guide for the day, so he emailed the group a list of things to bring and a description of what to expect 2 days before the event.  Knowing that we would be taking a…

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Landscapes or Seascapes

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Cee’s challenge this week was landscapes or seascapes, but I’m going to do something a little different and post images of skyscapes that resemble seascapes 🙂

On my trip to Vegas, our flight was delayed a total of 4 hours, so what was supposed to be a noon flight ended up being a late afternoon flight where I got to see the sunset in the sky. It was an amazing view and probably the only thing beneficial about our flight delay (being stuck at the crowded LA airport for 3 hours).

I hope you enjoy these.

Sunset in the sky with foam-like waves
Sunset in the sky with foam-like waves
Thrashing waves in the sky
Thrashing waves in the sky

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Glass

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I came across moj punkt patrzenia’s post today and it reminded me of some old photos that I took that I wanted to share with you =)

These photos were taken in 2009 at the de Young Museum with my 35 mm camera.  If I remember correctly, no Photoshop was used.  Now, all of a sudden, I’m tempted to dig up my old camera and film canisters and take some old-school, authentic b&w photos.

Sparkling Glass

To join the challenge, go here.

Thanksgiving

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Turkeys, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, food galore
Humbly saying thanks for things we’re grateful for
Appreciating the company of family and friends
Notating what sale items we want and when the sale begins
Kissing and hugging our loved ones until we go shopping
Sipping sparkling wine and eating yummy toppings
Giving thanks for great company and good food
Inviting loved ones to celebrate next year at your hood
Visiting with family is always a blast
If only the hours and days didn’t go by so fast
Now it’s time to leave and find deals galore
Giving thanks for Black Friday, that’s what this holiday is for.

Or is it?  Have the times changed?

Thanksgiving Dinner
image from Google

Recent News and Postings

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The Whisperings Publication was mentioned in the Poetry Center San Jose (PCSJ) eNewsletter In So Many Words.

Last month on October 16th, I read my poem Moonbathing at the Willow Glen Poetry Project.  It is now posted on their website.  There were a total of 31 readers that night.  You can see the full list here.  Dream Cather was one of my favorite ones that I heard that night, while Cyborg Penis was probably one of the more unique ones.

I also attended the Willow Glen Poetry Project this month, on November 20th.  The featured reader that night was Ellen Bass from Santa Cruz.  As part of the introduction, the MC discussed the beauty of Ellen’s work, in particular What Did I Love, which was a poem that was praised by the 2011-2012 Poet Laureate of the United States, Philip Levine.  You can read the full introduction here.  Ellen shared many beautiful, witty and inspiring poems that Thursday night.  I look forward to attending more of these local readings 🙂

On a more personal note, I am still deciding on which library to book for my Whisperings poetry reading in late January, stay tuned for that!

Living with Stress

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In my previous post “A Poem for Your Thoughts: Experiment 1: Stress,” I posed this question: If stress were tangible, would it be a person, animal, plant or object?  One of the first images I came up with was a dog biting your pant leg.  My dog liked to do that a lot, it was adorable.  But it was also a little annoying, especially when you had things to do.  Anyhow, when I decided to write a villanelle piece to describe stress, this image didn’t quite fit in because it was too cute.  I created a new poem just for this.

Dog Biting Pant Leg
image from Google

Living with Stress

Stress follows me around
like a puppy dog
biting my pant leg.
He chases after me, watches me,
glares at me, snarls at me.
He tugs and pulls,
but he never lets go.

I push him and shove him,
shake my leg, shake my fist
tell him “shoo” to no ado.
He only barks and whines.
This damn stray
won’t go away.

He follows me
from the house to the car,
from the car to the office,
here, there, everywhere,
I drag him by the pant leg,
he just won’t let go,
slowing me down
from chasing dreams
and buttery happiness.

Tired and annoyed,
I take a breath, lean down
to pet him, love him,
pick him up and hug him,
set him down to play.
It’s okay.
Stress is now happy,
Stress will go away
and come biting back
another day.

Battling Stress

~ whisperingsbyjkl ~ 3 Comments

Last week, I posted “A Poem for Your Thoughts: Experiment 1: Stress,” but since no one really commented on the post, I decided to use my own imagery to create a poem about stress.  Since stress is something that constantly nags at you and is hard to get away from, I thought that writing a villanelle would be a great fit due to its repetitive nature.  I actually haven’t heard of a villanelle until earlier this year when I attended the Willow Glen Poetry Series and one of the open mic readers read “Mad Girl’s Love Song” by Sylvia Plath and then shared a villanelle of his own.  The two poems were beautiful.  I was then curious and inspired to try out this poetic structure.  Anyhow, I hope you enjoy my first try at a villanelle and that it makes you feel “stressed.” 🙂

Puppet Master
image from Google

Battling Stress

He slobbers my mind and sucks my soul.
From inside out, Stress devours me.
He slurps my blood and bites my muscles.

My nerves, puppets under his control,
my eyes, confused, blinded, cloudy,
He slobbers my mind and sucks my soul.

Deep inside, I tug and pull, tug and pull,
looking for me, of who I used to be.
He slurps my blood and bites my muscles,

and in my heart, I see, a giant hole.
Missing are thoughts that made me happy.
He slobbers my mind and sucks my soul.

The more I lose, the more Stress grows.
I am frightened, alone, and very, very angry.
He slurps my blood and bites my muscles.

I reach out. I need help. Stress knows
I’m fighting, desperately, to be free.
He slobbers my mind and sucks my soul.
He slurps my blood and bites my muscles.

Unattainable

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Last week,  I posted “A Poem for Your Thoughts: Experiment 1: Stress” and I didn’t get too many comments.  However, one of my friends did respond.  While this poem isn’t focused on stress, I had a lot of fun writing it and do consider it a fun and collaborative piece.  I will be posting an actual poem about stress later this week, but for now, I hope you enjoy this slightly “stressful” poem 🙂

 

UnattainableJogger

My heart tightens in my chest
as the sound draws near
and I can hear
the dog’s leash jingle
in his grasp.
I watch his movement,
his biceps, triceps, hamstrings, quads
as he jogs with his dog
on this fine morning.

I watch his chest muscles,
his wavy hair, chiseled face,
oceanic eyes
as he jogs past me
yesterday, today, everyday
into my life, into my memory,
he stays.

His smile
takes my stress away.
His simple “good morning”
melts my heart
like sweet chocolate melting
on my tongue.
I want to hold him, touch him,
embrace him, love him
tenderly,
but all I do  is mutter
“good morning” back.

I go jogging everyday
just to see his handsome face,
to share some jokes, some words,
some accidental touches,
some innocent glances,
my oh -so imagined kisses
that will never come true,
but only in my wishes,
I pretend they do,
and sometimes he does too
as I bid him farewell
every single day.

I can’t help but stare at
his muscular arms
and gentle hands.
I want to hold them,
intertwine his fingers
with mine.

He tells me his obsession
with Angel
and in a flash,
I become the Devil
for I hate Angel, despise Angel.
I never met Angel,
but soon Angel will sleep with him,
cuddle with him, love him,
touch him tenderly, erotically.
I just jog with him
like his dog
and I really hate to jog.

But there’s a glimpse of hope,
Maybe, just maybe,
I think, could it be?
Could it really be?
Could Angel be a He?
Then he tells me
he loves women
smart, sweet and sexy,
just like her.

In that moment a giant boulder
comes crushing down on me
taking away all hope
for love and serendipity.

He asks if I have a crush
on anyone
and I just want
to punch him.
Doesn’t he know
I love him secretly?
He is the shining star
in my wet dreams,
the one that makes my heart sway,
my tummy cringe
and my brain go dumb.

He is the one
that teases me and pleases me,
jogs with me, accepts me
as a friend, as a companion,
to talk to, to joke with.

He is the one
my heart desires
but he will never
appease me
for he doesn’t swing
my way
and I just want
to punch him
and punch him
and punch him
so I don’t feel so stupid
for falling
in love
with someone
who’s straight.

“No, I don’t have
a crush.”