Michele Lee Sefton's Blog, page 33

Dusk

A dynamic background
massaging my senses
changing faster than my steps

The golden glow from lampposts
sparking my imagination
remains a gentle hum, constant

my photos, Saturday sunset

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Snow, Sonoran style

“Whenever she turned her steep focus to me, I felt the warmth that flowers must feel when they bloom through the snow, under the first concentrated rays of the sun.”

― Janet Fitch, White Oleander

“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”

― Carl Reiner

If music video doesn’t load, click here: White Daisy Passing by Rocky Votolato

Note to fellow bloggers: I’ve been enjoying photos of your winter wonderlands, your snowy mountaintops, and your frolicking in the white. I cannot share any of that from where I stand, however, I can’t sit this photo opportunity out. Playing in fallen pollen is my Sonoran version of falling white. Thanks for stopping by. Happy weekending! Michele

photos of me at Papago Park by Larissa

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Over coffee

I would spill everything.

Enjoy One More Cup of Coffee Bob Dylan’s and/or Frazey Ford’s (cover)

Hope your New Year is off to a pleasant start. It is back to (creative) business for me… classes, workshops, and queries, with my next novella, Honeysuckle Heat, percolating in my writer brain. My next novella will be set in the American south and will be a bit steamier than my first novella, Her Coastal Cottage, which you can learn more about by clicking on my Tumbleweed Spirit logo. If you would like to learn more about the query process I’ve been going through with a longer novel project, please visit my “Writing Journal” page. There you’ll learn more about my process of turning a short story into a novel that I am querying with literary agents. Enough about writer me. Wishing you a wonderful week! Michele

my photos, coffee shop yesterday and a Tucson road from a few weeks ago

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Misty Encore

Fortune tellers
I shall never seek
The mystery of not knowing,
I prefer

Celebratory smoke
has replaced
last Sunday’s mysterious mist
leaving a pungent odor
that burns

Loud sounds
startle the senses
and rattle the windows
drowning the midnight call
of a hidden owl

Temporary are the celebrations
and the resolutions

Celebrating change
loud, I’ve never been
just a silhouette in the fog
quietly observing
and privately reflecting

Because this foggy scene feels so foreign, it makes beautiful sense that my musical selection would be as well. If the song does not load, click here for Camélia Jordana’s gorgeous singing of her song, Miramar. As I first mentioned in my post, “Swoony September Morning,” music is a wonderful way to enjoy and practice my HS French.

Miramar by Camélia Jordana (translated)

Ah Miramar, there’s the Horizon that wanders,
And thinks he’s a Shaman,
Lost in the fog.
From there one can no longer see, the idol with the foot of clay,
Which dominates the streets above the city…

I remember, how much I love Miramar.
Even if she’s waiting for me, I’ll be too late…

The song of the golden islands silenced the criers.
The shore dreams then, the shore dreams then…
Walkers pretend to watch in the wind,
Valentine vines gone for a long time…

I remember, how much I love Miramar
Even if she’s waiting for me, I’ll be too late…
I remember, how much I love Miramar
Even if she’s waiting for me, I’ll be too late…

I remember, how much I love Miramar
Even if she’s waiting for me, I’ll be too late…
I remember, how much I love Miramar
Even if she’s waiting for me, I’ll be too late.

Thank you for visiting my last Saturday post of 2023. Cheers to you and the New Year! However you choose to celebrate, may it satisfy and suit beautiful you. Michele

my photos, a few more from “A Most Magical Morning” (12/24)

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Cold Moon heats up the night

Sleepwalking
            she floated into the evening

A woman
            wearing white cotton
                                                flowing


to the moon, she was lifted

                        closer
                                    and
                                            closer
                                                        and
                                                               closer


landing softly, the man in the moon caught her

            calmed by his presence
            admiring his gentle radiance
            touching time’s roughness
            dancing to heavenly songs, soothing
            breathing in his wisdom


to the earth she returned

A woman
            wearing white satin
                                                fitting

Knowing that I was going to be posting a photo of the last full moon of 2023 (weather allowing) I spent some time yesterday listening to moon-themed songs after writing the first draft of this poem. A pleasant holiday quest. Nothing was feeling quite right, so I gave up on the idea of a song with this post. Then this song appeared on my stream today. I am thrilled it found me; Russell’s voice has a soulful sensual vibe, and the lyrics feel perfectly right. Click Nightflyer by Allison Russell if the video doesn’t load.

A blend of emotions, I am, as I wrap up my last full moon post for the year. I’ve been admiring and pondering the moon’s presence since I was a child, camping under the stars and night fishing with my brother and parents. Although a long-time moon child, the moon has taken on a greater influence in my life, my writing this year. I added a “Full Moon” category to my homepage that will include moon-inspired posts, including my flash fiction pieces, “He Sketched Her” – an unfolding story that I posted with each full moon from January through April of this year. I loved the process of writing that story!

my photos, Cold Moon and the setting sun (12/26)

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

A most magical morning

Woke to a white that made every cell in my body tingle with delight. Seems I was dreaming. May have fallen into a land of make-believing. Dense fog in the desert city, how could that be? My morning bike ride through the Valley was anything but ordinary. A quiet holiday I was anticipating; however, I did not expect the quiet to be so profoundly enchanting. Merry Christmas!

Tis the magic of the season. Thank you for visiting. Michele

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Protective animal spirit (w/audio)

excerpt from Her Coastal Cottage ~ Where Truth and Love Rise

On a beach blanket she pulled her four-legged companion closer. His panting, close to her left ear, comforted her. Sharing space with another living being saved her. She wrapped her blanket around him. He did not need the extra warmth during a summer morning, but she needed his. She needed to feel the source of his unconditional love next to her heart, less sure. The two of them, woman, and canine, looking toward the rising sun. She leaned her head against his while he looked on. She cried at the beauty of it. She cried over the pain of the mere thought of it… what if she were here alone without the presence of this protective animal spirit?

Thanks for visiting and listening. Felt like a good day to share a reading from my novella and complementary photos from a park in Ireland. Kind regards. Michele

Clicking my TS logo will take you to book preview. Thank you and Happy Holidays to you!

featured photo by Pafnuti

Border Collie catching a stick – my photos from Ireland

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Solstice Suprises

My dreams will take flight on winter’s first night.

Click link for Something to Believe in by Madison Cunningham if lyric video doesn’t load.

One of the things I love about photography is seeing something in a photo that I didn’t first see with my naked eye, like a crescent day moon or a bird in flight. A surprise that doesn’t startle with a yell, rather it waits to be found, through the lens of subtle and sublime. Thanks for stopping by. The shortest day of the year has ended, and I now find myself under a starry sky with surprises yet to be revealed. Warm winter wishes. Michele

my photos from the road

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

From the road

“Never did the world make a queen of a girl who hides in houses and dreams without traveling.”

― Roman Payne, The Wanderess

Click link Wild Sweet (Ayla Nereo, Rising Appalachia, Tina Malia, Marya Stark) if music video doesn’t load.

This is my attempt at a “Wordless Wednesday” post. Thank you for stopping by. I hope your week is going well. Should you choose to leave a comment, thank you in advance for your patience; I will be catching up with comments and blog reading as soon as I am able. I am on the road. Beep beep!  Be well. Michele

Quote note: The Wanderess by Roman Payne is a book I read a few years ago and recommend. Quote and photo shared with Paula’s Words of Wisdom.  

my photos, last night’s sunset

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Whispering White

White walls, in a literal sense
I’ve never cared for
            colorful has been a life-long preference

vibrant brightens a room
                        the day

Seeing white for the first time
            in a new light
                        I am

White is an aura, pure and rare
White makes bolder colors pop, favorably
White is a background that blends, quietly
White is the first snow falling, gently
White is a wave, cresting

White is a speckless canvas

            awaiting

                        infinite possibilities

Click here for Dúlamán by Ajeet if the video does not load. A bit about the singer Ajeet, if you’re not familar: “Ajeet Kaur (Siobhán Moore) is a recording artist and yogi whose music and teaching draw on the sacred traditions of Ireland, India, and other world folk traditions. Her love of yoga, meditation, and sacred music meet her upbringing with traditional Irish music and her unwavering love of poetry through song.” (kripalu.org) For the hearing impaired I am including a link to the lyrics for this song. Although written in Irish, the linked site does offer a line-by-line meaning, if you are interested.

I hope your week is off to a great start and that the coming days greet you cheerfully and joyously, however you choose to celebrate the end of the year and season.

Thank you for stopping by. Warm regards. Michele

my photos, Pacific Coast, California

© 2023 MyInspiredLife