Why daffodils became the last straw ~ metaphors that strike to the heart

Why daffodils became the last straw ~ metaphors that strike to the heart Say the word “daffodils” and any literate person will probably reply with “I wandered lonely as a cloud,” and any poor fool who grew up with Not The Nine O’ Clock News will probably put on a funny voice and say, “He [...]

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Green Willow

Green Willow The astringent smell of wet willow leaves filled the air as she pounded along the tow path, and danced in and out of the puddles. The cold spring rain lashed against her face and dripped off the peak of her running cap but the pounding of her feet and the drumming of the [...]

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Sensitive skin, sensitive soul ~ Toughen up or die?

Sensitive skin, sensitive soul ~ Toughen up or die? Did you know that the skin is actually the largest organ of the body? More than merely a cosmetic layer to hide our insides and hold them together, skin is extremely important to health. It helps regulate our body temperature, excrete unwanted waste products via sweat [...]

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Ties That Bind Us 2 ~ a poem about the bonds of love and loss

Ties that Bind 2 Do not cut those ties To those you have lost. The blade hurts beyond bearing And cuts more than you know. Let those ties fray rather In the winds of passing time. Thread by thread Strand by strand, Time wears the fabric down. The first to fray is need; Wiry like [...]

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Man of Straw

Man of Straw   You were a man of straw, Dressed in stolen rags Lonely in a ploughed-up field Bereft of all but crows. I dressed you in a suit of clothes Gave you shoes and voice, A backbone made of wood And a bravely painted face. You took these gifts as your right; Your [...]

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“The Black Mist Descended” ~ a guest post by the legendary Jake Barton

 My guest blogger today is the amazing Jake Barton, enigmatic author of Kindle bestselling thrillers Burn, Baby Burn, its sequel Blood and a number of others (one of which is FREE currently). Do go and look him up on Amazon or at his blog:  Ramblings of a Deluded Soul  The following bio is written by Jake at [...]

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In Memoriam ~ when the dead speak to us

In Memoriam ~ when the dead speak to us Today is the Autumn Equinox and I woke crying. I woke crying because I dreamed about a friend who is dead. Debbie was one of those extraordinary people who just brim with talent and ability; she was doing a doctorate in Zoology at the same time [...]

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Rakes in the Grass ~ Hidden Triggers for Emotional Meltdowns

Rakes in the Grass ~ Hidden Triggers for Emotional Meltdowns.   I used to think that the kind of accident you see usually in cartoons where someone steps on a rake and it springs up and hits them in the face were pure fantasy. I mean, surely no one could ever be that stupid as [...]

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The Tear-Glass

TheTear-Glass (a tear-glass was a tiny vial of glass that was used at a Roman funeral in ancient times to collect the tears of the mourners and which was then sealed and placed in the tomb. I saw one for the first time today in a little local museum.) Dim blue-grey glass Translucent still with [...]

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Doorways ~ an open and shut case?

This one? or this one: “Footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage we did not take towards the door we never opened into the rose garden. My words echo thus in your mind. But to what purpose  disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose leaves I do not know.” T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton [...]

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