Robin Burrows's Blog, page 16

Poem: Empty by Robin A. Burrows

I have decided to start posting some writing samples on this website from time to time. I wrote this poem as a response to the Writers Digest Wednesday poetry prompt to write an "empty" poem.

Empty

By Robin A. Burrows

Blind words

Crawl the path

To the stone arch

Uncrossed.

Crystal cylinders

Swirl inside a

Midnight box.

Tangled emotions

Vault;

An inky fountain

From notion

To crypt.

 

Empty the vessel.

Akashic

Will hold your grief.

Your longing.

Your unrequited hope.

Empty it all

Into the pandora.

Empty.

Clean.

Fresh.

Pure.

You are born anew.

Fill thy vessel

If thy will.

Fill the empty

Ccanvas

Of life.

It's All In The Presentation

I am a big fan of movies and tv shows. Probably because of the storytelling parallels to books. My taste in movies typically follows my taste in books: something that includes an element of fantasy, science fiction, quirky characters or romantic intrigue - usually catch my attention.

Recently, I stumbled across a new tv show (new to me). And before you stop reading just know that the show is nothing like how the ads present it. It has been airing for two season, but the ads I saw posted all over the web never caught my attention. The name of the show is Drop Dead Diva and from the web banners I always thought it was a knock off of Ugly Betty and Devil Wears Prada meets America's Next Top Model. Although I can't recall ever seeing a preview for the show other than the generic web banners that were plastered everywhere.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn the show was nothing like how it was presented in the ads.

Ultimately, it is a chick flick with an epic romance (the main character of course unable to pursue the man she loves). But the hook that caught me in the first few minutes of the show is the paranormal twist –  the main character is actually dead. She tried to return to her life and ended up getting stuck in the body of someone else who had just died. Now she has to live the life of the other person which is opposite of her old life in almost every way.

The show is also witty. For example the "Dead" in the show's title is actually a pun referring to how the protagonist is actually dead!

In her new life, the protagonist is an attorney. It has the seriousness if a legal drama combined with the lighthearted humor of a chick flick, placed up against the paranormal background of a couple of the characters who have ties to the afterlife.

I can't believe I didn't find the show sooner. I blame it on the presentation of the marketing efforts. While targeting the Top Model crowd, the web banners never included anything that would draw those like me to the show. I was just lucky to stumble across it. Anyway, I would recommend it to anyone who likes chick flicks and/or legal dramas.

Oh and speaking of Drop Dead Diva, I have one other question. In season two and three Jaime Ray Newman (Vanessa) is the girlfriend of the protagonist's love interest. I love the actress and would love to see her character(s) get the guy if only her character were the one the viewers were setup to root for first. Why is it that she's "the other woman" in nearly every role I've seen her in recently? Eureka, Life Unexpected, and now Drop Dead Diva – she's "the other woman". Perhaps that's how directors see her since that's what she's done recently?

Last week I saw a new movie posted on Hulu. The description didn't catch my interest. But then I saw the same movie posted on Netflix and their description of it made me want to watch it. So I guess as the saying goes, "Don't just a book by the cover"… because the designer may no have actually read the book!  Anyway, check out Drop Dead Diva and decide for yourself. I think it's actually pretty good!

Joey No Tail's Search for a Home

I have been working on a children's picture book with my friend, Tim Robbins, and am finally ready to share some information about it.

The story is based on a concept by Doreen Crawford, but the words are mine, and all of the illustrations are the original work of Tim Robbins. The working title is: Joey No Tail's Search for a Home.

The story is about a puppy looking for a home. Joey No Tail lives in a shelter with lots of other puppies. Everyday families visit the shelter to adopt a puppy. All of the puppies wag their tails hoping to catch the people's attention. But Joey has no tail to wag. How will he ever find a family to take him home?

The text for the picture book is complete and Tim is working on the art. I wanted to go ahead and share a couple of pieces of concept art with those who might be interested. The first piece is a sketch of Joey. The second is the shelter where Joey currently lives.

 

 

I hope you enjoy! To be notified when new content is posted, subscribe to the blog feed via one of the icons in the right hand column. (If you read this on another one of my sites, feel free to visit http://www.robinaburrows.com/blog to subscribe.)

Infinite Possibilities

I recently had the most vivid dream of my life.

Normally most nights, I don't remember dreaming. When I do, it is usually a blur of randomness, or very occasionally, it is a strongly emotional dream which I am awoken during (and that's probably the only reason I remember it for the next few hours before it fades away). This dream was different. Between the snoozing of the alarm clock, I only woke long enough to hit snooze and went back to dreamland. It was a blur of grey randomness. I don't really remember what was happening in the dream until something made me stop and realize that I was actually dreaming (which almost never happens to me). The few times in the past when I have realized I was dreaming during a dream, it was a bad dream and I was trying desperately to wake up and couldn't really interact with the dream world.

However, this time when I realized I was dreaming, it was in the middle of a random grey dream. I remember becoming really excited when I realized I was a dreaming, because I realized I could do anything I wanted in the dream. And the one thing I wanted to do was fly. I have never in my life had a flying dream before. Ever.

It was like these scales fell away from my eyes when I realized I was dreaming because the grey dream world became vivid with color and sensation. Everything was so brilliant and so pretty. At the time I didn't think I had ever seen such vivid colors in real life. And when I thought I wanted to fly, I realized I was flying. I was moving upward over a body of blue water that sparkled in the sun. I could feel the gentle air blowing around my skin. And I concentrated really hard and I could still feel my body laying in bed at the same time that I felt the wind blowing around me as I flew up into the air. I flew a circle in the air and dove towards the lake where I grazed my toes along the water as I flew over it. I wasn't the least bit afraid of the water or heigths or of flying. Maybe I wasn't afraid of anything at all (I dont know because it really didn't come up in the dream). I was in complete control of the dream and it was amazing. I could do anything I wanted. It was such an incredible experience.

At that point, the dream started to pull me back down into it a little, but I was still mostly in control.  All the people on the ground below were staring at me, and someone who was seemingly a guardian of some sort told me to come down because no one in this alternate world could fly. So I decided to come down and pretended to be my alternate self, even though I didn't have any memories of the dream me, so i didn't know what the dream me was doing in the dream. Come to find out, it was a  medieval-type world and I was traveling with a group of adventurers to complete an Arthurian-type quest. I remember coming to a puzzle on the quest. There was a mirror and I could see a blurry reflection of myself in the mirror. We had to figure out the solution to a riddle in order to pass. I don't remember the riddle, but the solution was to climb through the mirror (looking-glass) to get to the cave where the bad guy was hiding. I still seemingly had lots of control over the dream and I kept changing the face of the bad guy at will and influencing the plot of the dream/adventure as it continued along.

At some point, I know I hit the snooze button again on my alarm. I think that's when everything started to get a little blurry again. I do remember one final scene. I was eating a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream. It had the most flavor of any ice cream I have ever eaten. I could feel the coldness on my tongue and taste the intense flavor. I'm normally a chocolate person, but in the dream this was the best ice cream I had ever tasted. That might have had something to do with how in my normal dreams tasting something is like tasting something in a novel. I remember a strand of my hair blowing in my mouth as I took a bite of ice cream. I could feel the strand of hair surrounded in ice cream as I removed it from my mouth. Then about that time, either my alarm went off again, or something happened (I don't remember exactly what) that woke me enough that I wasn't able to return to the dream even though I tried.

The whole dream was really vivid; the most vivid I have ever had. Throughout the dream, I had a sense of control that is often lacking in the craziness of real life. In the dream, I could have become anyone I wanted. I could have done anything. And I could have changed anything. Like how I was able to defy the laws of gravity that existed even in this dream world and fly. It was very empowering.

When I work up I realized the silliness of some of the dream notions. In our day-to-day life, we often become chained to the daily cycle: wake, work, eat, sleep, repeat. It continues on and on until the point where we start to forget that we can change our lives. We can do almost anything in our lives, if we try hard enough. The hardest part may be believing in the dream enough to do all of the work necessary to achieve it.

Every dreamer out there has something they would like to do with their life. Life is full of infinite possibilities. There are probably more things than a single person could experience in one lifetime. We have the power to do anything we want in life. We just need to do it.

Promotion Winners

     

The month of June has flown by and now it's time to announce the winners of the "LIKE" To Win Promotion! Each winner will receive an autographed copy of my recently published poetry book, Of Hearts and Souls. Winners have 72 hours (that's 3 days) to claim their prize or a new name will be drawn. And the winners are…

FaceBook: Stacey Moore of Van Buren, AR

GoodReads: Karen Warner of Alexander, AR

Twitter: @catnipmeow (Yvonne Wilburn) of Macon, GA

If you are a winner, please send me a message with your mailing address to claim your prize.

I would like to thank everyone for participating. To order you own copy of my poetry book, visit http://www.RobinABurrows.com/library/books.

Independence Day Wishes

When I was a child, I was fascinated with fireworks. It may have had something to do with the fact that my parents thought we would blow our fingers off if they ever let us set off our own fireworks. Living in the middle of nowhere, you either set off your own fireworks, went to town to watch a public display, or went without. For a long time, my parents chose to go without. They much preferred that to the almost probable trip to the hospital with a bloody kid, had they given us the opportunity to set off some fireworks. And an evening drive to town was way too far with three energetic kids.

I don't remember how old I was, probably a young teen, when on the 4th of July I realized I had a deep and powerful wish to "actually see fireworks". At that point in my life, I couldn't conceive actually seeing fireworks in person. That would never happen in a million years; or at least until I grew up and could do anything. So I wanted the next best thing; I wanted to watch the fireworks on the late-night newscast. I'm sure I had probably seen fireworks before on tv. Most local television stations briefly show some sort of fireworks display on slow-news holidays. But it was the 4th of July and people watch fireworks on the 4th of July, so I wanted to watch the fireworks on tv. I begged my parents to let me stay up to watch the fireworks on tv, but they were tired and sent us all to bed at our usual time. I was disappointed, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it.

A year later, I had forgotten about my wish to see the fireworks on tv. I guess my parents hadn't forgotten though, because we all stayed up late to watch the fireworks on the late-night newscast that 4th. However, my anticipation was overshadowed by my disappointment. At that point in time, my parents had an old black and white television that my dad had bought back when he was still a young bachelor. It still worked just fine, so there had never been any reason to replace it. So we all gathered around the little black and white television to watch the fireworks. Giant starbursts in various shades of grey popped up on the screen. This wasn't what I had expected at all. This wasn't anything like watching fireworks. You had to be able to see the colors to experience the full beauty of the fireworks. I was disappointed and decided to revise my wish. I wanted to see fireworks on television in color. I had no idea when or where or how I could possibly make that happen, but that was my greatest wish that night.

A year later, by a coincidence which had nothing to do with me or my wish, my parents had acquired a color television. We stayed up late and watched the fireworks on television. The bursting balls of color were some of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I was happy to finally see fireworks in color on television, but I still felt like I was missing something. I wished by some miracle that my parents would let us set off our own fireworks the next year.

Twelve months later, as the 4th of July rolled around again, my parents did actually buy some fireworks. I'm not sure how they came to that decision; especially since they were so sure we would blow our fingers off. But they did. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that their three children were not longer young kids. Or maybe it had something to do with my brother's undaunting persistence on the topic. Either way, our parents bought us some sparklers, a few firecrackers and a couple of small roman candles. I was so excited. Finally, we would see real fireworks!

Given that  I had only seen fireworks on tv, I didn't really know what firecrackers were. I quickly learned that they didn't make the pretty starbursts. All they did was make loud noise. Why would anyone want a fireworks that just made loud noise without the pretty show?  I lost interest in them almost as soon as the first package was set off. The sparklers were pretty and I liked them. But what I really wanted to see were the roman candles. We had to wait until it grew a little darker before my parent set them off. They would be my first real fireworks!

Of course, I didn't know that the five-ball roman candles were barely skinny cousins to the gigantic explosions in public displays. I was expecting something big, and the little roman candle barely cleared the tree-tops of some of the mid-sized trees in our yard. It was nothing like the "real" fireworks I had seen on tv. I was happy that I had finally seen fireworks in person, but I still felt like I was missing the real experience. I wished that the next 4th of July I would see a real public display of fireworks. Please didn't misunderstand. It may sound like I was ungrateful; which isn't the case at all. I was more grateful about all the little things in life than most children my age. When you don't have very much, everything becomes important. Yet at the same time, I was always dreaming – aspiring for greater things. And as a child, anything - however logically impossible – is possible. All you have to do is grow up.

Anyway, a year passed and strangely enough, a year later, I saw a full fireworks display in person. I was dating the boy who would many years later become my husband. We happened to have a date on the 4th of July. The holiday must have landed on the weekend that year, because I only saw him on weekends. Seeing the fireworks display in person was one of the most magical moments of my young life. They were so beautiful. They made me feel like anything was possible and that all of my dreams could come true. And I realized that each year on the 4th of July for the past several years I had made a wish on the 4th. By the time the next year rolled around, each wish came true. For the most part, it was pure coincidence. Yet it was a pattern and something about the pattern was inspiring.

I decided that if a person can make a resolution (or several) on New Year's, then they could make a wish on the 4th of July. The wish would have to be something small and achievable within a year's time.  It was a dream and a goal and a resolution all wrapped up into one. It was magical because I could make the wish come true in a year's time. It was magical because I believed it could happen.

Since then, I have made many wishes/goals on the 4th. I don't remember a lot of them. Most of them were small things that I could accomplish in a year. Most years, they had come true by the next 4th of July. Some years, I didn't really make a wish, or didn't wish for something achievable. But the years I have tried, I have always succeeded. Today, as I think of the 4th and fireworks, I am reminded of a child's blind enthusiasm. If you believe you can do something, chances are, you can make it happen.

So tonight as you are watching the fireworks, pick one wish; one thing you would like to have or change in your life within a year. It can only be one wish and it must be achievable within a year. Wish your wish. Dream about it. Then step forward and make your wish come true!

"LIKE" To Win Promotion!

Do you like to win?
    
Then "like", "friend" and "follow" the FaceBook, GoodReads, and Twitter pages for author & poet, Robin A. Burrows for a chance to win an autographed copy of her poetry book, Of Hearts and Souls!
   
There will be one drawing for each website so "like" all the profiles for more chances to win! Everyone who "likes" the pages at the end of June will be entered into the drawings (including those who "liked" her from the very beginning)! :P
   
The winners will be announced on each website and will have 72 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be drawn.
    
Spread the word! The book also makes a great gift!
    
http://www.facebook.com/RobinABurrows

http://www.goodreads.com/RobinABurrows

http://www.twitter.com/RobinABurrows
    
You can also purchase the book online. Visit http://www.robinaburrows.com/publications.html for details!