Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 4

Robbie’s Inspiration – Thank you and I’m travelling #thankyou #poetry #bookreviews #art

I will be travelling until Sunday, 13 July, and won’t be around much during that time.

I have posted about my latest acrylic painting called Cape Buffalo. You can view my painting process here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/my-latest-painting-cape-buffalo/

You can read the poem I wrote for this painting as part of Marsha Ingrao’s Poetry Day Story Chat here: https://alwayswrite.blog/2025/06/24/story-chat-digest-june-poetry-day/

Marsha also wrote a beautiful review of Burning Butterflies which you can read here: https://alwayswrite.blog/2025/06/25/embracing-30-years-of-summer-solstice-over-a-cuppa-with-my-love/

I have received a few wonderful reviews of Burning Butterflies over the past few weeks. Thank you so much to Smitha, Brenda, Lauren, Jan, and Denise for their wonderful appreciation of my book.

Smitha is a wonderful poet and author. You can read her review here: https://smithavpennings.com/2025/06/11/book-review-2025-14-50-burning-butterflies-by-robbie-cheadle/

Brenda writes beautiful poetry, mainly in rhyming verse, and has a few lovely poetry books. You can read her delightful review here: https://writingthroughthesoul.org/2025/06/13/reading-through-the-soul-burning-butterflies-by-robbie-cheadle/

Lauren has delightful poetry books and a wonderful and informative children’s book called Cora’s Quest. You can read Lauren’s review here: https://baydreamerwrites.com/2025/06/21/book-reviews-poetic-voices-of-love-egypt-iowa-heritage-south-africa-flora-and-fauna/

Jan has a number of delightful novels and short stories. You can read her lovely review here: https://jansikes.com/april-book-reviews-part-2-better-late-than-never-colleenldonnell-worddreams-robbiecheadle-bsky-social-dlfinnauthor-bsky-social

Denise has a number of wonderful novels, children’s books and poetry books. You can read her review here: https://dlfinnauthor.com/2025/05/13/may-book-reviews-writingcommunity-bookreviews-whattoread/

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday and Sunday Stills #poetry #photography

Selma’s prompt this week is to write a rensaku on the topic of relationships. My relationships are more obsure in this poem and relate to the relationship between the natural world, including me, and winter.

You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2025/06/17/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-17-june-17th-rensaku/

Dreaming of spring

peacefully sleeping

trees disrobed of needy leaves

focus inwardly

deep within winter’s cold grasp

they dream away freezing nights

***

tucked snuggly within

soil coated with glistening frost

seeds and bulbs slumber

flowing with each season’s change

certain of spring’s gentle touch

***

cocooned in warm clothes

comforted by crackling fire

I too dream of spring

capturing warmer season

with acrylic paints on board

Sunday Stills

Terri’s challenge is sunshine. These are pictures of my mid-winter garden and mom enjoying the winter sunshine. I took them today, 22 June, the day after the winter solstice. You can join in Sunday Stills here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/06/22/sunday-stills-capturing-the-sun-in-public-parklands-in-the-great-outdoors/

Picture caption: Mom enjoying the winter sunshine. I love the way the sun has caught her white hair. PS I chose her new glasses.Picture caption: yellow rose in the winter sunshinePicture caption: my white standing roses in the winter sunshinePicture caption: Dark pink rose in the sunlightPicture caption: red hibiscus in the sunshine … yeah! yeah! we have sunshine all year round here.

“The Nature of Happiness: Is it a Choice or a Result?” Essay by Michael Cheadle

Thank you to Michelle from Hotel at Masticadores for sharing Michael’s essay on The Nature of Happiness.

“The Nature of Happiness: Is it a Choice or a Result?” Essay by Michael Cheadle According to Britannica: “happiness, in psychology, is a state of …

“The Nature of Happiness: Is it a Choice or a Result?” Essay by Michael Cheadle

Robbie’s Inspiration: Treasuring Poetry – A chat with poet and blogger, Marsha Ingrao #poetry #poetrycommunity

Today I am delighted to welcome Marsha Ingrao as my Treasuring Poetry guest. Marsha is a well known and supportive blogger with a huge heart. Thank you to Kaye Lynne Booth for hosting.

Treasuring Poetry – A chat with poet and blogger, Marsha Ingrao, and a review #TreasuringPoetry #poetrycommunity #bookreview

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday and CFFC: Views from Above #CFFC #TankaTuesday

This week, I’d like everyone to write a tanka Puente, featuring a quote of your choice from the Pioneer Woman: 75 Best Moon Quotes That Mirror the Magic of the Sky HERE.

You can join in here:

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 16, Full Moon Magic, 6/10/25

Growth through acceptance

a flowing river

sometimes stormy, sometimes quiet

life must run its course

fighting turbulence creates

an unbalanced frame of mind

“Don’t tell me the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” – Paul Brandt

giving yourself time

to process through acceptance

allows new ideas

to germinate and expand

leading to more fulfilment

CFFC – View from Above

Dan’s challenge this week is views from above. You can join in here: https://nofacilities.com/2025/06/16/view-from-above-cffc/

Picture caption: garden mushroom. I liked it because of the pinkish centrePicture caption: grey loerie in the gardenPicture caption: another mushroom from my garden. I liked the colour and the pink frillPicture caption: shell of a dead leopard tortoise. It is interesting how the outer layer of the shell peels away. Picture caption: wild hibiscus

Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle – Volcanic Adventures in Tonga by Ann Goth and Lamb Tagine #bookreview #readingcommunity #lambtagine

What Amazon says Embark on an unforgettable journey through the remote islands of Tonga with Ann, a young conservation scientist, in this captivating…

Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle – Volcanic Adventures in Tonga by Ann Goth and Lamb Tagine #bookreview #readingcommunity #lambtagine

“Humans – wait your turn please”

Thank you to creative diva, Resa, for this marvelous pairing of street artworks with my wildlife poetry.

That is a line from one of the poems in Robbie Cheadle’s new book Burning Butterflies. I Found a Wall with a Simian, a Tiger and a Leopard … and I …

“Humans – wait your turn please”

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday

Yvette is this week’s Tanka Tuesday host and this is her challenge: This week, I encourage you to write an American cinquain, or one of its variations, about a beginning or an ending (or maybe both).

You can join in here: http://tankatuesday.com/2025/06/03/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-15-commencements-6-3-2025/

I’ve written a mirror cinquain.

Our Failure

winter

brings cold mornings

brittle grass frost crusted

flames warm homeless hands that vanish

into darkness

hidden

***

daybreak

gradually they appear, ghostlike

as black softens to grey

tributes to our

failure

I attended a Watercolour workshop today. It was very cold so it was nice to paint a cheerful summer scene.

Picture caption – Mediterranean scene. I was pleased with the ocean. I like the colours.

“Painter’s challenge (garland tanka)” by Robbie Cheadle

Thank you to Barbara Harris Leonhard for sharing my poem, Painter’s challenge.

Anguish reflectedBut not absorbed by waterWhich also soaks upEssence of trees and buildingsFor serene contemplation***Natures pain entrappedWithin …

“Painter’s challenge (garland tanka)” by Robbie Cheadle

Robbie’s Inspiration – W3 challenge: The Mask, a poem about pain #poetry

Bob’s prompt for this week’s W3 poetry challenge is quite long and complex so I’m not going to repeat it here. You can read it on David’s blog here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2025/06/04/w3-prompt-162-weave-written-weekly/

There are not photographs to go with this poem as it must stand alone in all its agony.

The Mask, a poem about pain

The oxygen hisses softly

through the tube

and into the mask

disturbing the weighty darkness

of the still predawn

I standing watching

from the shadowy doorway

observing your chest rising

and falling, rhythmically

while oxygen pushes its way

through obstructive scar tissue

bringing relief to needy lungs

bringing relief to your

sleep deprived mind

bringing relief to my

tormented heart

how many times

have I stood over you

listening to the sound

of oxygen being dragged

into your deprived lungs

I’ve studied your lips

by moonlight

checking for tinges of blue

I’ve agonised over your

snoring and snorting

as you strain to exhale

sometimes the room is still

the rising and falling obscure

and I reach out to feel

the warmth of your breath

on my clammy hand

and I feel pain

and I feel anguish

and I feel the crushing

weight of my fear

and now, they say,

I can relax – hand over

my tireless nineteen year vigil

to the machine, with its shining

blue light and soft hiss of oxygen

passing through the tube

and into the sealed mask

With time, the machine

may earn my trust and

my mind may relearn how

to sleep through the night

not waking, desperately wondering

if your lips are blue and silent

and the breath gone

from your cold and still lungs