Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 33

Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and author, Kaye Lynne Booth, and a review #TreasuringPoetry #poetry #bookreview

My Treasuring Poetry guest for August is the versatile Kaye Lynne Booth. Thank you, Kaye, for being my guest.

I am very excited to be featuring Kaye Lynne Booth for my August Treasuring Poetry post. I have been working with Kaye Lynne for a number of years now and I have short stories in all of her anthologies. Kayne Lynne and I also co-edit the annual Poetry Treasures anthologies.

Small Wonders is Kaye’s first book of poetry and I am pleased to include my review of this delightful collection here today.

I know that your poetry collection, Small Wonders, includes poetry from throughout your writing career. Do you think your poetry writing has changed much over this period?

My poetry has been a series of experiments. I like to play with words and styles. I have written syllabic poetry, limericks, acrostic poems, shape poems that form visual images on the page, and more.

Do you do a lot of editing of your poetry or does the poem manifest itself fully formed?

It depends on the poem. Intimacy & the Harlequin Dance was written when I was on a fifteen minutes break at work, but they usually don’t come quite that easy. Aspen Tree is minimalist poem and I worked several days on it to get the words just right. 

Continue reading here: https://writingtoberead.com/2023/08/16/treasuring-poetry-meet-poet-and-author-kaye-lynne-booth-and-a-review-treasuringpoetry-poetry-bookreview/

Robbie’s Inspiration – After Rain Skies: Second edition by Michelle Ayon Navajas #poetry #bookreview

What Amazon says

After Rain Skies (Second Edition) is a collection of true and inspiring stories of abuse and violence in prose and poetry.

My review

You could say this is a book about victims of abuse and suffering or you could say this is a book about women and children overcoming the worse that life can throw at them and embracing survival and change. I chose to see these stories and poems the second way and salute all the women and children who shared their personal experiences for the talented Michelle Ayon Navajas to turn into powerful and compelling poetry to share with the world.

This is not an easy read as you must first travel the path of shame, suffering, and pain to reach the much better place of hope, upliftment, and redemption. Each poem tells the story of a different woman or child and walks their journey of violence and subjugation with them. The prose sections set out more detail about the circumstances of the victim during these terrible times and shares each personal success story.

For me, the greatest value of this collection is sharing the message that there is hope and there are people who are willing to lift up the downtrodden and help them back onto their feet. A powerful and worthy read that I highly recommend.

I am sharing an extract of one of my favourite poems in this collection, Masquerade:
“you are poised and elegant
they admire you for that
you speak of love and compassion
they adore you for that
underneath it all
is a soul crumbling and struggling”

Purchase After Rain Skies

Amazon US

Michelle Ayon Navajas Amazon Author Page

About Michelle Ayon Navajas

Michelle Ayon Navajas (born June 23, 1976) is a Filipino poet, writer, and educator. She is a Best-Selling international Poet known for her books reaching the #1 spot within days of their release. Her 8th poetry book, “I Am In Itself Poetry In The Dark,” went straight to the top of both the best-sellers list and new releases on Amazon on short notice. Her 7th poetry book, “It Ain’t Winning If Without You,” went straight to the best-sellers list on Amazon in less than 24 hours of release by pre-orders alone and eventually became the number Poetry Book on Amazon India on its actual release day, soon after the book rose to the best- sellers list as well in all other Amazon Markets worldwide.

Currently, Michelle holds the title of having 4 books published in a row to have made it to Amazon’s Best-Sellers List (“I Will Love You Forever, Too,” “After Rain Skies, 2nd Edition,” “It Ain’t Winning If Without You,” and “I Am In Itself Poetry In The Dark”) and 3 books on Amazon’s #1Hot New Releases/New Releases (“I Will Love You Forever, Too,” “It Ain’t Winning If Without You,” and “I Am In Itself Poetry In The Dark”.)

Her poetry appeared in several international literary magazines and anthologies such as Spillwords NYC, MasticadoresUsa, and MasticadoresIndia. Her poems “Holding Hands” was voted as Spillwords Publication of the Month for November 2021 and “Love Happens” was voted as Spillwords Publication of the Month for December 2022.

She is also part of the award-winning ensemble of authors in two Poetry Anthologies, that are both Amazon Best-Sellers: Hidden In Childhood and Wounds I Healed.

Graduated with a Master of Education majoring in English in the Philippines (University of San Agustin, Iloilo City). Michelle was a former college professor, teaching literature, speech & oral communication, creative writing, drama, and theatre arts. She is also a graduate of Mass Communications major in Journalism (Centro Escolar University, Manila).

Michelle is active in her writing profession and works as a freelance creative writer.

Follow her online:

www.michnavs.wordpress.com

IG @poetrybymich

FB https://www.facebook.com/poetrybymich

Robbie’s Inspiration – W3 Prompt #66, International Scone Week and a new book #limerick #newbook #ISW

David from Skeptic’s Kaddish is the host for W3 Prompt #66. This week, the inspiration is as follows:

Write a nonsense poem with at least one invented word of your own.For inspiration, click to read  ’10 of the Best Nonsense Poems in English Literature’

You can join in this challenge here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2023/08/09/w3-prompt-67-weave-written-weekly/

I didn’t look at the 10 best nonsense poems in English. I just wrote this limerick which relates to Michael and my new rhyming verse Sir Chocolate High Days and Holidays story book for children. Sir Chocolate and the Chinese Candy Dragon is a Halloween themed book.

Cakes and Mistakes

The cake artist takes photographs of her bakes

And she shares many of the things she makes

The Chinese Candy Dragon came out well

With a rumdiddlyumptious smell

But know, she doesn’t share her mistakes

PS Michael cam up with rumdiddlyumptious

This is the book trailer Michael and I made:

Sir Chocolate and the Chinese Candy Dragon is available from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Chinese-Candy-Dragon-holidays-ebook/dp/B0CDPTXNWX

ISW – Green olive and mozzarella scones

International Scone Week is hosted locally by Tandy Sinclair from Lavender and Lime blog. You can find Tandy’s recipe for fig scones here: https://tandysinclair.com/dried-fig-scones/

Ingredients

450 grams self raising flour

115 grams salted butter

150 grams grated mozzarella cheese

5 ml sweet basil (dried)

1 egg

150 ml milk

250 ml green olives, pitted and halved

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Prepare a baking tin. Measure the flour into a mixing bowl and add the butter. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingers until it looks like fine crumbs. add most of the cheese, green olives, and the sweet basil. Break the egg into a small bowl and add the milk, beat lightly. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using your hands, mix to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. press down until the dough is about 1 1/2 centimetres thick. Use a glass or round cutter to cut out the scones. Place on a the baking tray and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

Bake in the oven for +- 20 minutes until they have risen and are nicely browned. Cut in half and serve with butter.

Growing Bookworms – Meet prolific children’s book author and poet, Victoria Zigler, and two reviews

I am delighted to host Victoria, Tori, Zigler as my Growing Bookworms children’s book author for August. I hope you enjoy Tori’s entertaining thoughts about writing for children and my reviews of two of her delightful books. Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.

Growing Bookworms – Meet prolific children’s book author and poet, Victoria Zigler, and two reviews #bookreviews #GrowingBookworms #childrensfiction

Robbie’s Inspiration – Fifteen First Times by D.G. Kaye #bookreview

What Amazon says

This book is a collection of stories about some of Kaye’s first-time experiences with life’s most natural events. Told through the intimate conversational writing we’ve come to know from this author, poignant personal steppingstones to learning moments are revealed. She encompasses the heart of each matter with sincerity and sprinkled inflections of humor.

From first kiss to first car to walking in the desert with four-inch heels, Kaye’s short coming-of-age stories take us through her awakenings and important moments of growth, often without warning. Some good and some not, life lessons are learned through trial and error, winging it, and navigating by the seat of her pants.

My review

Fifteen First Times is a memoir of fifteen significant moments in the author’s life. It is a very entertaining book as most of the experiences are fairly universal for women so I could easily relate to the author’s emotions, anxieties, and joys. It was enlightening to read about the same experiences I had in the author’s different environment and lifestyle. Such experiences are so huge and often devastating when they occur, but when we look back on them, they really weren’t that awful after all. Hindsight definitely helps in life.

My favourite story was when the author had a small accident in her father’s car as a result of a defiant response to her grandfather’s spoken and non-verbal critisism of her driving. I had a similar experience but I did a lot more damage to my mom’s car and I’ve also never forgotten it. I got such a horrible shock at the time.

The author’s experiences travelling as a young woman were intriguing for me. I was quite sheltered by my father and never did anything like she describes. It certainly helped her achieve independence and learn some important life lessons.

Fifteen First Times is a wonderful way to remember the highlights of young life from a humorous and witty perspective.

Purchase Fifteen First Times

Amazon US

D.G. Kaye Amazon Author Page

Robbie’s Inspiration – Guest post on MasticadoresUSA: Wallowing, a syllabic poem #poetry #elephants

I am delighted that Barbara from MasticadoresUSA has featured my poem, Wallowing, from my poetry collection, Lion Scream, on her lovely site.

I am taking this opportunity to share that post and also to announce that Lion Scream is now available as a hardback book. I am pleased that I managed to create the cover and content for a hardback book and am glad that my favourite of my books is now available in that medium too.

I am also sharing a five-star review of Lion Scream where Wallowing was specifically mentioned as being a favourite poem.

The cover alone is worth owning a copy. A superb collection of poems based on the author’s experience and observations. Some are sad and disturbing, especially when depicting endangered species, while others are joyful and full of hope, like the elephants spraying water in “Wallowing”. The poems are accompanied by fabulous photographs taken by the author in her homeland of South Africa. The book includes many interesting and often unknown facts, like using sunflowers to cleanse the environment. This makes it a great teaching tool for children and adults, at home or at school. Some of my favourite pieces are “Hiding”, “Brothers”, and “Playing with Food”. Anyone who loves animals, as I do, will adore this book.

Thank you to Darlene Forster for this wonderful review.

Lastly, I have to mention that my son, Michael, helped me to design the cover of Lion Scream.

“Wallowing” by Robbie Cheadle

Publicado por MEELOSMOMel6 AGOSTO, 2023

Image by Robbie Cheadle

Water gleams in welcome
Vital refreshment
The matriarch accepts the invitation
Submerging completely
In one swift movement

Continue reading and listen to my audio recital of this poem here: https://masticadoresusa.wordpress.com/2023/08/06/wallowing-by-robbie-cheadle/

Robbie’s Inspiration: Book promotion – Ever So Gently, A Collection of Poems by Lauren Scott

I am delighted to help promote Lauren Scott’s new poetry collection, Ever So Gently, A Collection of Poems. Having already read a few of Lauren’s poetry collections, I am greatly looking forward to reading this one.

Lauren son created this beautiful cover. It is a painting on canvas.About Ever So Gently

In Ever So Gently, Lauren Scott shares her strong link to nature, taking the reader on a tranquil walk through a redwood grove. You’ll find an invitation to sit quietly on a patio, captivated by the simple beauty of a hummingbird. She’ll entice you to revel on the shore of a freshwater lake, mesmerized by its stunning beauty.

Scott shares how love has shaped her life. From that first delicious kiss to celebrating decades of marriage through a love that deepens over time. How her heart melted when she became a mom, then ached when her children started their adult lives across country. And how her adorable canine companions found their way into her heart.

Scott underscores how life presents mysteries we struggle to solve. We can’t help but ponder the deeper meaning of a simple vision. She prompts you to reminisce and reflect on your past, present, and future. Through the ups and downs. what matters most is to love and live ever so gently.

Book trailer

I helped Lauren put together this beautiful book trailer which showcases some of her poems:

Purchase Ever So Gently

Amazon US

My review of More Than Coffee: Memories in Verse and Prose by Lauren Scott

This lovely book is a mix of a memoir about the author/poet’s life with some beautiful freestyle poems included after each prose section to enhance the emotion and moments shared. The memoirs are relatable and cover delightful memories of family brought back through inherited items and stories shared by family members as well as the author’s own life experiences including achievements, romance, parental love, and overcoming fears. The author’s personality and humour comes through strongly in her writing and poetry, as well as her joy and pleasure in the simple things in life.

My favourite poem in this collection and the one that summarised for me the spirit and essence of this book is Fulfilled.

Fulfilled

Let me drink from the gaze in your eyes
Eyes that have me wildly mesmerized
Mesmerized under their vivid piercing spell
Spell which only you many cast over me
Me, with a heart madly in love
Love, a whirlwind of euphoric emotions so true
True in not only our hearts, but in our minds
Minds, fully aware of their endless thoughts
Thoughts so amorous of us entwined
Entwined in each other’s arms eternally,
Eternally, still to few seconds for our time together.

I recommend this book to people who enjoy basking in the bright rays of happiness in life.

Available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/More-than-Coffee-Memories-Verse/product-reviews/0578892456

Robbie’s Inspiration -W3 Prompt #65: Wea’ve Written Weekly: Why do I write? A poem, and Sunday Stills: Doubles #poetry #SundayStills #wildlife

David from The Skeptic’s Kaddish blog is the host and coordinator of this weekly prompt. He uses poems contributed by participants for the weekly inspiration. You can find his latest post here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2023/07/26/w3-prompt-65-weave-written-weekly/

Why do I write? by Robbie Cheadle

What drives me to write? 

To share my innermost thoughts 

The answer is clear 

It’s my personal attempt 

To make some sense of this world. 

What drives me to write? 

Exposing personal ideas 

To unhearing ears 

In this large, uncaring world 

I believe I reach a few. 

What drives me to write? 

To cast my words like pebbles 

Into the water 

To join the endless ripples 

That may swell into huge waves. 

What drives me to write? 

A hope to instigate change 

To do some small good 

In a world of endless pain 

Doing nothing destroys hope. 

Sunday Stills – double troubleTwo male impalaTwo giraffe and two aloe veraTwo chocolate and liquorice spiders – you can learn how to make them in my forthcoming book, Sir Chocolate and the Chinese Candy Dragon. Two acrobatsTwo bears

You can join in Terri’s Sunday Stills challenge here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2023/07/23/sunday-stills-double-delights/

Robbie’s Inspiration – A new anthology: THIS IS HOW WE GROW – a book about Perspective Taking and a poem #bookrelease #poetry #perspective

I am delighted to be part of this new anthology compiled and edited by Yvette Prior.

Dragonfly by Ana LindenUntangle & Learn by Mahesh NairMade My Day by Sherri MatthewsBeneath by Trent McDonaldGround Zero by Jeffrey D. SimmonsCombatting Caregiver Burnout by Mike F. MartelliThere’s No Return to Sender by Robbie CheadleNumbers Lie by Lauren ScottGrateful & Graceful Grandparenting by Miriam HurdleSeeing Through by Yvette PriorWinding Road of Writing by Mabel KwongBlogging & Rekindling by Marsha IngraoRight and Wrong by Cade PriorBook Mini Intro: 

Stories have allowed human to transmit ideas, beliefs, and behaviors throughout history. The underlying premise of this book is that we can enhance growth and develop empathy by understanding the perspective of someone else. 

Perspective refers to how we see and think about something as well as what we choose to focus on. Our perspective, or viewpoint, is impacted by mental filters, which infuse and sieve how we make sense of the world. There is a gap between what is and what we know or think something is. Learning about how others see the world can help us fill that gap and possibly expand our ability to empathize. 

My story: There’s No Return to Sender

When Yvette shared the topic and purpose of this anthology, I decided that it was time for me to share a little bit of my personal story about my two sons chronic illness.

During my 20 years of dealing with their conditions, operations, and illnesses, I have always found comfort in perspective. During my numerous periods in the hospital with one or the other of my sons, I have seen other children whose conditions are so much worse and whose life expectancies were shorter. It helped me understand that my own plight wasn’t that bad.

Both my sons are still living and we have treatment plans in place for both of them. The treatments are inconvenient and Michael suffers from frequent illnesses, but at least it is manageable. Gregory’s condition is now very well managed and it rarely raises its head.

My piece shares a little bit about the years between Michael’s birth in 2006 and his first major surgery in 2012. It also covers some of Gregory’s medical history. I have included some of the stories of other children we met. The children whose diagnoses helped me to put my own children’s conditions in perspective.

I hope that by sharing some of my personal journey, I will give other parents going through similar trials in life a bit of upliftment, perspective and hope.

Picture caption: Michael on the day he was born

You can purchase This is how we grow from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCCNBNWV

You can learn more about This is how we grow and the other 12 contributors here: https://priorhouse.wordpress.com/2023/07/25/introducing-this-is-how-we-grow-a-book-about-perspective-taking/

Wedding Cake

A tiered wedding cake

Created by loving hands

Symbolizing hope

Top tier for the first baby

Second tier left cruelly scarred

Robbie’s Inspiration – W3 Prompt #64: Wea’ve Written Weekly: Power #poetry

David from The Skeptic’s Kaddish has offered the following as his W3 Prompt which you can join in here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2023/07/19/w3-prompt-64-weave-written-weekly/

Write a poem of any style and any length on the topic of “Power.”It can be anything related to power in any way, whether it’s physical, emotional, or even electrical.

This particular topic as applied in the corporate world, is particularly close to my heart. I have written a few poems for this challenge.

Set up to fail

Erosion

Of competencies

Through unwise

Promotion

Based on meaningless factors

Leads to frustration

Peter Principle

Poor judgement

When promoting staff

Undermines

All involved

Creating incompetence

Peter principle

I recently came across the Peter Principle which Wikipedia describes as follows: “The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to “a level of respective incompetence”: employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.”

The above two poems are based on this principle.

Quiet Quitting

Cry for help

Or real withdrawal

Power play

Or despair

When leadership disappoints

Some quit silently

I also recently came across the term “Quiet/Silent Quitter”.

Investopedia says the following about Quite Quitting:

The term “quiet quitting” refers to employees who put no more effort into their jobs than absolutely necessary.A 2022 Gallup survey suggested that at least half of the U.S. workforce consists of quiet quitters.However, skeptics question those numbers and whether quiet quitting is a new trend or simply a trendy new name for worker dissatisfaction.

You can read more about this trend here: https://www.investopedia.com/what-is-quiet-quitting-6743910

Collateral Damage

Who or what

is to blame

for employee

disillusionment?

For silent withdrawal

chronic disengagement

loss of faith

Not the corporate –

Sightless

Voiceless

Emotionless

and deaf

Legal persons

are merely

the dumb vehicles

of men

Driven by greed

Selfishness

Authoritarianism

Megalomaniacs

with a private agendas

Rewarding loyalty

and hard work

With burnout

perverted

growth opportunities

and low pay

The corporate

an unknowing recipient

of all blame

Is powerless

against the power struggles

fought in its name

A mindless

Soulless

Vehicle of destruction

It’s demise

collateral damage

The above poem was inspired by the following quote from Grapes of Wrath, one of the saddest books I’ve ever read:

The above passage, the blaming of the bank for the decisions of men, quite enraged me.