Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 7

“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

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday, Autumn #poetry #photography

I’m a little late with my entry this week. TC was sick yesterday so my day went a little pear shaped. Luckily, he was okay on Saturday and we got some nice autumn pictures during our walk at the Country Club.

Willows challenge is to write a seasonal poem incorporating hope. She suggested writing a seox. You can read the other entries here: https://tankatuesday.com/2025/05/27/tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-14-27th-may-2025/

Waiting (seox)

cold pockets

interspersed with warm patches

beneath bare winter trees

waiting for spring

to breath life

The word seox in Anglo Saxon means six. This is a verse form written in 6 lines in keeping with its name. Form created by Ann Byrnes Smith. The elements of the Seox: a poem written in six lines, a hexastich, 3-7-6-5-4-3 syllables per lines. Unrhymed.

Flowers on the first day of winterPicture caption: pretty pink and white flowers on a tree in my garden

Picture caption: a young tree in yellow finery. I was trying to capture the light

Picture caption: This huge rosebush is in the garden of the Country ClubPicture caption: I was delighted to find this gorgeous rose in the rose garden on the first day of winterPicture caption: A lovely flower in the garden.Picture caption: A surviving flower on a tree. The surrounding flowers were all dead.Picture caption: a cheerful orange flower to light the path to the car park

Poetry has always appealed to people who appreciate the genre—Robbie Cheadle

Thank you to Juan, Barbara and Nolcha for sharing this fun poetry interview.

Juan Re Crivello: Do you think poetry is back in fashion? Robbie Cheadle: I don’t think poetry ever goes out of fashion for people who appreciate the…

Poetry has always appealed to people who appreciate the genre—Robbie Cheadle