complex white blossoms
soft expressions that can maim
regard them highly
Tag: women
Changing Of The Guards
Inspired by Moonwashed Weekly Prompt #136 – Hiatus &
Reena’s Exploration Challenge #274 – Being in charge of hell
humanity ends
men being in charge of hell
please take a hiatus
challenged and yet strong
when the feminine rises
life begins again
Taking Back Our Power
Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #271 – Embrace Equity &
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt #133 – Conversant
all women are conversant
with the inequality befallen their sex
millennia of injustice
every generation fighting
all human beings
if they’d only embrace equity
acting as a collective
what a glorious world we’d be living in
Wicked Strength
Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #255 &
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Transcending
they called her an evil woman
yet her transcending beauty drew me in
red, fiery locks promising danger
her spikey halo protecting her power
remember what will happen
should you cross me
slowly she lifts the box to reveal the skull
of the man who dared to lay claim to her
remember that i am stronger
Livestock
Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #237 – Zeitgeist
& Eugenia’s Weekly Prompt – Opalescence
the zeitgeist of the 70s
shimmering opalescence
of hope
springing forth
what we thought
eternal
now
powerful crusty men
attempt to dim our light
by deciding our future
i ache with a desire to fight
for and with my sisters
never in my lifetime
had i thought we’d be subjected
to this orchestrated control
forced upon us
our bodies
once again not our own
Joe Wells
I’VE SAVED ENOUGH FOR SHADY PALMS
I’ve saved enough to go in Shady Palms,
assuming I die at the end of the week.
If I reach old age, or get dementia,
then I’m surely up shit creek.
I find it hard to understand the system,
which pays if it’s your leg that’s broke.
You pay though if it’s your head that’s ill,
and to me that’s not a joke.
I have no desire to go in Shady Palms,
to find I’m fading and walking toward the light.
I want to stay home, then one day on waking,
find I’ve gone and died in the night.
GINGER ROGERS, BACKWARDS AND IN HEELS
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
with Ginger Rogers made a pair.
Her fancy footwork always appeals,
amazing, as it’s backwards and in heels.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
did tap with Ginger with such flair.
Moving fast as light with flashing feet,
man oh man dig that rhythm, dig that beat.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
rehearsed for hours with no care,
No thought for Ginger her feet so sore,
taking off her shoes and the blood would pour.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
hit the top in the floodlights glare.
Asked the secret of his success to explain,
he thought for a while then said, no pain no gain.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
then Ginger’s thoughts did share.
My feet bleeding until dances he perfects,
I am proving women really are the stronger sex.
Hard dancing Fred Astaire,
with Ginger Rogers made a pair.
Her fancy footwork always appeals,
amazing, as it’s backwards and in heels.
JRR TOLKIEN AND THE NOBEL PRIZE
JRR Tolkien, author of great repute
was nominated for a Nobel Prize
by C S Lewis, a writer and his friend,
then suddenly came a surprise.
His Lord of the Rings books were rejected
the jury called them second rate,
poor storytelling was also cited
as the reason they met this fate.
I wonder if the author JRR Tolkien,
these comments cut him in half
but as a bestselling author,
he certainly had the last laugh.
WOKE IN THE UK
As an older fellow, I would like to reach out to the younger members of society in a vain attempt to retain my sanity going forward for there are certain expressions and phrases which are used by the youth of today which are causing me anxiety and are interfering with my mental health, some of which I have placed in bold type.
For example, starting a sentence with So punctuating it with Like talking with a Multicultural London accent emphasising any word ending with ility and now I find I’m having to contend with Woke.
I’m getting a little sick and tired of it all and would like to go back to English as a language and for modern Woke people to stop taking offence on behalf of others who are probably more capable of dealing with the situation themselves.
That’s the end of my minor rant for now but I am certain I have missed a multitude of things and will no doubt think of more going forward, sorry I mean in the future.
BACK BENCH MP’S
In Great Britain, we have numerous traditions and peculiar habits which I personally love, especially the ones that make no sense at all, an example being The House of Commons.
A person can stand for Parliament and when elected become a Minister of Parliament and assuming they continue their way up the greasy pole of Politics can become a Member of the Cabinet, an example of which is the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, or slightly stranger the post of Minister Without Portfolio, which is a post for a Cabinet Minister with no specific responsibilities.
I’m sure all this makes perfect sense to all those of you who may not live in our rather wonderful country but just to throw a spanner into the works, should one of these Ministers cause a bit of a hoo-ha by having an affair and groping his secretary and breaking the current Covid restrictions he or she will lose their Ministerial position and be banished to the back benches of Parliament, this is rather like becoming one of the naughty children on a school trip who sits at the back of the bus and causes a commotion, although smoking is not permitted in the Chamber.
There you are, the British Parliament in a nutshell, I hope it all makes sense to you!
~~~
Joe is a retired actor, author, and blogger. thediaryofacountrybumpkin.com is an amusing take on the more quirky aspects of modern life. His books are available on Amazon, the latest of which is a murder mystery set in 1947 and is called The Case of the Grease Monkey’s Uncle. Joe was first featured on The Short of It on March 6, 2020, and then published in our first anthology – The Sound of Brilliance.
Submissions are now closed but if you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submissions guidelines.
#TheShortofIt
June 18 – Wounds I Healed Book Launch & Release Date!!
Below is the description of the anthology as it will appear on Amazon:
Award-winning authors, Pushcart nominees, emerging poets, voices of women and men, come to the fore in this stunning, powerful, and unique anthology. Their poems testify to the challenges that women face in our society, and to their power to overcome them. A memorable collection of over 200 poems by more than 100 authors, this anthology is a must-have for anyone. We all can benefit from the poetry of survival, and of healing. We all can benefit from the experiences so beautifully evoked in this book. We can all come together to emerge triumphant from pain.
On the day of the release, the Book Launch event will be live-streamed via social media, so everyone will have a chance to hear poems from the anthology read by the poets themselves. For further updates check Gabriela’s or Ingrid’s social media accounts:
Twitter
@shortprose1 (Gabriela Marie Milton)
@Experimentsinfc (Ingrid Wilson)
Instagram
@experimentsinfiction
@gabriela_marie_milton
I’m so excited for this anthology to release soon! Can’t wait to read the incredible voices that are showcased in this powerful book.
2 Pieces Accepted for Wounds I Healed Anthology!!
Good news, first thing this morning! The upcoming anthology Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women notified me that my two pieces My Self Evolving and Loud, were selected! This highly anticipated anthology, edited by Gabriela Marie Milton (Short Prose) and published by Ingrid Wilson (Experiments in Fiction), debuts in early June 2022. I’m grateful they felt my thoughts spoke the message of this anthology—the power and boldness of strong women. Thank you so much, Gabriela and Ingrid.
Stay tuned for more information about its upcoming release!
Akhila Siva
Aureate waves
Dusky rays
dive into the depths of ocean
to strip off the chores of a day
Littered waves
flown in aureate color
wake up a star-studded sky
Woman
She is like a hurricane
never try to tame her waves
you will be blown away
But reach for her eyes
she will smile like a confetti
and let you dance in the core
To the mind
Dear mind,
I am never ever giving you up
for you are pouring indefinite closeness
I am never ever letting you go dull with time
for you are pressed deep within my heart
I will keep on writing for you
and make you bloom like a euphoric moon
as poetry is nothing but a POisEd TheRapY!
Fallen flowers
Petite petals of Bougainvillea,
wild, pink, and purple
adorning the silence of a season.
She feels everything, but not heavy
lying unappreciated on the ground
she embroiders a cobblestoned street.
You’re the beautiful wilderness on fire
My love quotes are all about a single person,
a clear crystal which is the Armour of my heart
He came as a flutter into my soul
and kissed my heart like an unending confetti
He holds my hands and pulls me closer to him
letting me crown his kingdom
His adventures brush my lush storms
intoxicating my hard and scrubby skin in his arms
And at the edge of every naked hot hug, he whispers
‘you’re the beautiful wilderness on fire’.
~~~
Akhila Siva is a plant-woman breathing poetries, a self-motivated lifelong learner decoding signs from the universe, and a blogger bleeding out all the intoxicated imperfections of her soul through her words. Her works have been featured in several online publications and anthologies. She is the founder and sole contributor of Words and Notion and Quality Notion. Akhila was first featured on The Short of It in 2020, published in The Sound of Brilliance in 2021, and showcased on I Write Her a few times too. You can find all the links HERE.
Submissions are now closed but if you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submissions guidelines.
#TheShortofIt
Pursuit
Inspired by Sadje’s What do you see #124
they say girls are bad at the maths
they’re not actually
young one
prove the naysayers wrong
change the long-held stereotypes
be a strong, assertive voice
for yourself
for those who will follow
you have the skills
find the courage
and your confidence will guide you
to success
to your dreams
I Write Her 