Cynthia A. Morgan's Blog, page 224

Wisest Soul – #Poetry of the #NaturalWorld

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I walk among your Viridian Shades,

Your Golden Spires and Russet Tones,

Wondering about all you’ve Seen,

Who you’ve Watched and who you’ve Known.

What Wisdom you could Whisper to me,

If only I would Pause to Hear,

Instead of stumbling on alone,

Mired in tugging doubt and fear.

Speak, to us, O Wisest Soul,

Who’s Stood Witness to the Shifting Time,

Make Cool our Frenzied Calamity,

Sharing all your Humble, Majestic Rhyme.

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Photograph of 1500 year old Tree found at: googleplus.com

Filed under: Poetry Tagged: Beautiful Photographs, BnV, BooknVolume, Harmony, Natural World, Nature, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog, spirituality, time, Tree Spirits, trees, ~Morgan~ [image error] [image error] [image error]

Be Still (#Guestblogger)

 

There is a lot to be said for the Sound of Silence!  While this was one of my favorite songs back in the 70’s, it is also my favorite time of day.  Early morning, still dark, not a car moving, not a bird chirping, not even a cricket squeaking.  Just silence.  A perfect time for daily devotions, prayer while walking, or just sitting and enjoying the stillness.

In today’s hustle, bustle world, make time for the silent moments.  Make time to hear from God, not just talk to Him.  Make time to look at the stars way before the sun comes up.  Make time to enjoy the darkness.  Be still!

Filed under: Guest Bloggers on BnV, Poetry Tagged: Morning, Music, Silence, Stars

Poem: “In the Fire” (#guestblogger)

For what it’s worth,

and for what it may be,

I say that you can be charcoal,

stripped to black –

– only don’t let them see.

A. R. Frederiksen is a recurring guest blogger here at BnV, and her own writing blog can be found here, where she dabbles in flashfiction/poetry and reflects over the, much elusive, ABCs of writing.

Filed under: Guest Bloggers on BnV, Poetry Tagged: BnV, BooknVolume, Fire, Poem, poetry, spilled-ink, Truth, words, Writing

Tender Embrace – #DailyHaikuChallenge

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Soft Tender Embrace

Whispering Serenity

Soothes the deepest chill

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To take part in the Daily Haiku Challenge see The Original Post from Day One

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Day 111 / 365

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Photograph found on Pinterest.  Credit Gratefully Acknowledged to the original photographer.  Thank you~

Filed under: Daily Haiku Challenge Tagged: Beautiful Photographs, Beauty, BnV, BooknVolume, Fogs and Mists, Nature, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog, Poetry Challenge, Winter, Writing Prompt, ~Morgan~

A Writer’s Muse (Guest blog)

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Image: Pixabay

The relationship you have with your Muse can be filled with a bewildering range of emotions, ranging from angst, occasional stupidity (yours, not theirs) to the utterly sublime. It’s unique to each writer, much like our human relationships. The participants can take each other for granted, argue, make up and lose touch. It’s often complex and can initiate great transformation. If this is rather far-fetched for some people, it must be remembered that the Greek Muses were divine in origin and highly revered in the ancient world by artists, philosophers, poets and writers. They inspired, elevating the mundane to greater heights, so allowing the object of their attention to create and manifest works.

The essence of their spirit and those of other muses still lives into our present times. This concept is not constrained by either a particular religion or spiritual path. Once could say they are the driving force within our subconscious, a part of Jung’s Collective Unconscious. In the final solution they are not here to write our work for us, we have to do the hard graft. Terrible realisation but unavoidable.

What of my Muse? Please take a seat, this may take some time. I encountered him as a child in the British Museum, London, UK. The Egyptian Rooms were of particular interest, what a civilisation! The animal headed gods of this ancient land were amazing to a child’s eyes, such an utterly fantastic mystery. This fascination with ancient Egypt has remained enduring and unceasing.

As for my main Muse, Anubis, an ancient deity who seems to have lingered in the shadows for as long as I can remember. Anpu, but more commonly called Anubis is an immensely ancient figure, with more than a hint of shamanic roots. Originally presiding as the Great Lord of the Dead before being supplanted by Osiris. He’s also known as Walker between the Worlds, a traveller between different states of consciousness and Initiator. An odd choice you may think but not without significance. Most of my writing has an underlying theme relating to ancient Egyptian and Jungian concepts. Death, transformation, eternity, gnosis. Not your usual light read, but please don’t let me put you off from tackling an emotionally intense story/article. These are the ones that stir and move the reader, you most importantly.

The relationship hasn’t always been easy, as there have been many periods of wandering alone in the metaphorical desert. There have been occasional sightings of a lone jackal though. The writing is carefully navigated around work commitments but that’s fine for now. Nothing is set in stone, except if you’re incising hieroglyphs on them! Anubis is known as Initiator for very good reasons. Initiations can result in profound transformations within the Self, often increasing self-awareness. An essential component of the creative process and life. As writers we must remember that our words are creating magic, spinning wonderous concoctions out of mysterious sigils.

Filed under: Guest Bloggers on BnV Tagged: Anubis, British Museum, Inspiration, Muse

Enchantment – #DailyHaikuChallenge

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Soft Delicate Dance

Tufts of whimsy Smiling Sweet

Perfect Enchantment

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To take part in the Daily Haiku Challenge see The Original Post from Day One

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Day 110 / 365

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Original Photographey by:  ClarabellafaireStock – DeviantArt

Filed under: Daily Haiku Challenge Tagged: Beautiful Photographs, Beauty, BnV, BooknVolume, Nature, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog, Poetry Challenge, Snow, Winter, Writing Prompt, ~Morgan~

Grandma’s Kitchen (#guestblogger)

My grandmother passed away when I was very young.  Years later, my grandfather remarried a lady who we always affectionately called Marge.  Marge was a lifetime resident of Maine, and had the down east accent to prove it. They lived near Blue Hill, Maine, way out in the country and a short distance from the ocean.   We loved to visit every summer, spending a week or so with them in a cottage.

Marge was an amazing cook, but there are two things I remember most. The first is her omelets.  She would separate the whites and yolks and cook the fluffiest omelets, part of the time on the stove and the rest in the oven.  Then she would cover it with strawberry preserves and fold it in half.  So delicious!  The other dish was a family affair.  My brother and sister and I would go down to the shoreline and dig up clams at low tide.  We would get as many as we could and bring them back up to the house.  Marge would then steam them for supper.  She would place the whole big pot in the center of the table, each of us would get a bowl of drawn butter, and we would go at it.  I would love to be at that table again to enjoy more of those steamed clams.

My wife grew up living at her grandma’s house.  Her mom and dad and five brothers and sisters also lived in the 6-room farmhouse, along with grandpa of course.  It was quite a full house!  Grandma Lundquist cooked just like you would expect a grandma to cook – never used a recipe and cooked for an army.  She was almost always in the kitchen, and my wife was often in there helping her, learning the craft.

I remember my first meal there.  I had moved out to Iowa from Massachusetts just for this girl, and it was time for me to meet the family.  So Janeen took me out there, and I was greeted not only by her whole immediate family, but cousins, uncles, nieces and nephews and friends.  A huge crowd had gathered to see this city boy who was who was sweet on the country farm girl.  But the most impressive things to me was the spread of food on the kitchen table.  It looked like Thanksgiving minus the turkey!  I thought there was enough food to feed an army, and there was.  Everyone gathered in the kitchen and just went at it, filling their plates and heading back to one of the other two rooms downstairs to eat.

After that event, and marrying that country girl, I watched grandma as she took care of the kitchen.  Janeen would help her when she could, but we had little ones that needed caring, so it wasn’t too often.  Grandma was a country cook, and everything she made just came out right.  From fried chicken, which was often, to noodles – homemade of course – her touch was on everything in that kitchen.  I liked to cook as well, but this was a master at work.  As my wife started to cook more, I found out she was a master as well.

At Thanksgiving time this year, we had one of our granddaughters stay with us for a few days, and grandma, who is my wife, taught her how to make pie crust.  My wife’s pie crusts are amazing.  This granddaughter then made pies for Christmas at her other grandpa’s house.  Then she made pies to raise funds for a school trip.  I think she made something like $300 from that venture, and the pies came out great.

Just a week ago, two other granddaughters were here visiting, and my wife had to make a cake for the pie granddaughter for her birthday.  The two of them wanted to watch and help grandma bake and decorate he cake.  I sat in the living room listening to them, and thought how wonderful it was that the skills and knowledge are being passed down to another generation.  When I married my wife, she was still learning at her grandma’s side.  Now she is the grandma, teach her grand-kids the skills they will need.

The bible tells us in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 that we should teach our children about the works and word of God while we sit in our house, or walk by the way, or lie down or rise up.  Basically, all the time!  But this doesn’t just apply to God’s word.  It applies to life!  We need to reach our kids and grand-kids about life and all the things that pertain to it.  Cooking, cleaning, finances, relationships, handling troubles and disappointments.  These things are so crucial, and they need to be learned in the home.  I know it takes twice as long to cook when that 4 or 5-year-old wants to help, but what a blessing it is to be able to teach them.  Make sure you are doing all you can to teach the young ones in your life the basic fundamentals of life.  Pass it on!

Filed under: Guest Bloggers on BnV Tagged: cooking, Guest Bloggers

The Bookshop

[image error]This blog post is brought to you from the mind of Ste J, book defender/lover/obsessive, knowledge seeker and occasional afternoon napper who can be found https://bookmust.wordpress.com and is always happy to make your acquaintance.

The Bookshop

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Entering the gateway

quaint handle and ring of the bell

a friendly greeting and the musty scent

that pleasantly assails the senses

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A world of infinite dreams surrounds

of pirates, distant worlds and lavish parties

each crafted teaming with life and imagination

all waiting to be explored and devoured

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The ages gather here too

ordered casually together

side by side

covered in dusty patience

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Time moves differently here

slowly…

the world outside ceases to be;

the perfect existence

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And now there is just you

and sound of pages turning

the crackling breaking the silence

adding to that unrivalled atmosphere

Save

Save

Filed under: Guest Bloggers on BnV, Poetry Tagged: BnV, BooknVolume, Books, Drams, Guest Bloggers, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog

In The Lime Light – Mary Anne Yarde -#Author #Interview

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I recently read and reviewed two fantastic books by Author Mary Anne Yarde, and I was fortunate enough to entice her to stop by for a natter!

Mary Anne Yarde is the Award Winning author of the International Best Selling Series — The Du Lac Chronicles. Set a generation after the fall of King Arthur, The Du Lac Chronicles takes you on a journey through Dark Age Briton and Brittany, where you will meet new friends and terrifying foes. Based on legends and historical fact, The Du Lac Chronicles is a series not to be missed.

Born in Bath, England, Mary Anne Yarde grew up in the southwest of England, surrounded and influenced by centuries of history and mythology. Glastonbury–the fabled Isle of Avalon–was a mere fifteen-minute drive from her home, and tales of King Arthur and his knights were part of her childhood.

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Hello Mary Anne, So glad you could visit with BooknVolume today.  Please Introduce us to your Blog.  What is it all about?   What sorts of posts do you lean towards?

My blog is called Myths, Legends, Books and Coffee Pots.

Oh. My. Days! I so love my blog. My posts are focused on the mythological and historical wonders of this world. I like this mix because sometimes the two overlap, particularly in my chosen field of — I am not going to call it expertise, because I hate the word expert — let’s call it knowledge, yeah, that works. My chosen Field Of Knowledge is Arthurian folklore and history, so there is a fair amount of that on my blog. I also love to have authors in the same genre as the blog, come on and share their stories and their inspirations about their books.  My to-read list has gone through the roof thanks to my blog!

What Inspires and stirs your creativity?

That is a difficult question to answer. I don’t know. I don’t look at a view, or a picture, or hear some music and suddenly feel inspired and quickly dash for my computer. This is going to sound a little daft, but I think writing, in general, inspires me. The more I write, the more I want to write. It is like a drug for me. I really hope they never find a cure!

I often hope the same thing!  Well, in that case, what do you find difficult to write about?

What do I find difficult? Umm… There are some things I wouldn’t write about, full stop. Just the same as there are some things I don’t want to read about or watch on the television. I am not going to write blog posts that I don’t feel comfortable sharing with my readers. So to answer your question, I don’t find writing blog posts particularly challenging because I am writing about, and sharing the things, that I enjoy.

What Message, if any, do you hope to Share through your blog/posts?

I hope my posts are fun and informative and I want my readers to enjoy them, and if they come away having learnt something — bonus!

That’s always a pleasant surprise, I know

Bliss – #DailyHaikuChallenge

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Lavender Twilight

Soothes and Whispers Quietly

Bliss in rose-hued tones

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To take part in the Daily Haiku Challenge see The Original Post from Day One

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Day 109 / 365

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~Morgan~

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Beautiful Photograph found on Pinterest. Credit is Gratefully Acknowledged to the Original Photographer.  Thank You~

Filed under: Daily Haiku Challenge Tagged: Beautiful Photographs, Beauty, BnV, BooknVolume, Nature, Peace, Poem, poetry, Poetry Blog, Poetry Challenge, Twilight, Winter, Writing Prompt, ~Morgan~