Headstall

Hello, Albert. My blacksmith has come and gone. He says I am doing a great job of keeping my mare going, and that while she looks aged, she looks really healthy. I mentioned how I check her manure for consistency and how she is digesting her food, and take note of how much she urinates by checking for wet spots in her stall wood shavings. While I was putting her back in the stall, I heard him say to his intern that 'Gary' is the way all horse owners should be, and that my mare is still going because of the care I give her. The intern said 'she could see that'.... and that she's 'never come across a mare so old'. She said earlier her family has been breeding and showing Quarter Horses all her life. I fret over her day and night, and it feels good to hear that. Even my vet said she would be willing to put her down if it made things easier... she was being kind, so I don't fault her, and if the mare was ever in severe distress or pain, I would choose that end for her, as much as it would pain me. In a perfect world she will just lay down in green grass under her favorite shade tree and fade to black.

Hey, all! My blacksmith is late and it is raining/snowing. Got the barn swept nice, though.

Your Haiku are excellent, Terry. I love the word saurian. Haven't seen it used in years. The best Haiku are about capturing the things around you, and you have done that here. Great job, buddy. I've read them twice, and truly enjoyed them. Cheers!

Finding our voices is a process. It took me a while to learn what I like and don't like about poetry, and a lot of that came from reading it and then thinking about it, but becoming adept at the forms let me understand why some poetry is not my cup of tea... while others really speak to me. I appreciate all of it, and I think some poets were ahead of their time in a lot of cases, but some are lost in the translation in modern times. Their voices are important, but there can be a disconnect since language is so much different with each new generation. Finding out what works for you is the key to being authentic. Copying someone else's style is filled with pitfalls/potholes, though it doesn't mean we can't appreciate our differences. I have written poetry that made me feel like a pretender, more concerned with style than substance. Fortunately, it became clear quickly that was not me... and was not something I could post and be proud of. When we read our own stuff we should hear the integrity in it... the honesty, the vulnerability, the hopes, dreams, regrets, emotions... all of those we feel... and the love it can express like nothing else, be it a person or an animal or the beauty of the natural world. It should make us feel, inspire us to reach for new heights, or give cause for introspection. Or, it can simply entertain. Good lord, I am becoming an old windbag, as my mom would have said. My long-winded point is you are going about it the right way. One more thing I would say is take advice and criticism, but don't let anyone change your voice or your message. Not every single reader has to like your poetry. Happy writing, my fellow poet.

How about a word for both? Drew do do.

Thanks, B. I remember Morningstar scaring the hell out of me. The idea of it. Like, could I really pull this off? Not only a shifter story , but a mystery that kept readers interested and engaged? I knew I could write short fantasy stories, but an epic on the scale of Cards on the Table? There were already so many good shifter stories out there, so could I write something different... something unique? Bloody terrifying, but it helped that I had all this amazing support from readers who kept telling me they would read whatever I wrote, so I kept piling up chapters until I really had no choice but to start posting (somewhere around twenty chapters were written before I found the courage. I am so proud of the finished product, how I wove it all together and didn't fuck it up. If I never write a Book 2, it won't diminish what I've accomplished with this one story.

Oh, shoot! Blacksmith coming tomorrow, so I have to sweep the barn before I can relax. Dagnabbit!

I have my cupboards shortened and reinstalled and the vent hood moved up as well... just have to put the cupboard doors back on. I have on one already but I'm too worn out to keep going. My shoulder refuses to do any more labor. Now I can order my new fridge. Decision time is near, but I'm leaning toward LG because their compressors are warranted for 10 years. I really like the look of the Samsung, and they have a compressor warranty of ten years, but they had reliability problems prior to five years ago. Sigh....

Thanks, Man.

Um... you just described me (not full sleeves, but big tattoos on both biceps).

@Drew Espinosa I'm still terrified when I post something. Yes, I have some confidence as to the writing quality because of how hard I've worked at improving, but I'm never sure readers are going to connect with what I'm writing. Don't let fear stop you, and remember, the more you write, the better you get. If I let fear control me, I would have quit Morningstar after a couple of chapters.

Thank you, terry.

Ditto, Albert.

There are comments about merging, and I call for us to merge myself, but I think I will always see that young boy as a different person from me. In truth, I still marvel at what he withstood... and I weep for him, but he is he, and I am me. yes, I owe him... and I am proud of how quick witted he was as he bent but never broke. He is definitely embraced... I am proud of him and I am proud of me (mostly). Thanks, Terry. This one hits home.

Thanks so much, Terry. I don't know if it is my best... I am partial to "A Beautiful Mess" which just came to mind... but it is definitely a favorite of mine, for the rhythm of it and more importantly, for who I read it to over the phone one evening.

I kind of like the idea that despite the history and traditions of poetry, I can write what I want. I can decide if there are rules, and maybe that is because I learned the forms first, and wrote in those forms, from Tanka to Ballade and everything in between. For me poetry is freeing, so why would I impose limits. That's not to say I don't like the forms... structure can be very important, but free verse and experiments like this allow for so much expression. Did this form work? If people read it and thought about it... felt something... then it did. Thanks, buddy.

Thanks, Terry. I hadn't read this one in years. Glad it stands up, and that you liked it. I was learning who I was as a poet back then.

CG is a good man. He is talented and thoughtful and has knowledge of so many things. But most of all, he is kind and caring. It was heartbreaking when he first lost his vision, but now he has some of it back, and he is one who deserves such a blessing.

Thanks, Terry. I love to walk in the cold, especially as fall is leaving, and the chill is such that it makes me move quicker. Once there is snow to trudge through, it is not as fun. I've come to appreciate there is a new day to face.

Oh no, you didn't make me feel sad or inadequate. I took what you said as a compliment actually. I was only continuing the conversation and sharing my thoughts. I don't write at the pace I used to... and I'm pretty much okay with that. Still, I produce fairly regularly... like three entries in the Spring anthology... and the same for the poetry anthology which has been going on for a couple of weeks... mine will start posting next week. I also finished up chapter 12 or 13 recently, of a story I have partially written... with maybe six or seven to go. "Larkspur: A Sidewinder Tale" was a very satisfying endeavor for me... thanks for calling it awesome.

Nighty nite, Man.

I think Reflections contains some of my very best poetry.

And it still might be one day. I don't control these things... I have to be pretty much certain I'm up to the challenge of a sequel, though, even if my muse says go. That first book took up most of my time and energy for a year and a half, not to mention the time I spent formulating the story before I ever pushed a keyboard key. And all the time and energy I gave gladly to responding to the incredible comments the story received... that was almost another book in itself. To my credit, I did write a sequel to Sidewinder... one I think measures up okay.

I like my readers greedy for me. Same with my men.