Jamieson Wolf's Blog, page 64
January 24, 2016
Magician of Light and Words – A Poem by Kimberlee Sweeney-Rettberg
This poem was written for me by Kimberlee, my Writing Sister. I’ve read it ten times and will read it many more. She wrote it for me and about me, the first time anyone has ever written me a poem!
I’m honoured beyond words, WS. I can’t thank you enough. Kimberlee said I could share it; I wanted you all to see how gorgeous it was.
So without further ado, I present to you:
The Magician of Light and Words
In spite of a spilling helix of stars
And the rattling maraca’s of meteor-fire–
In spite of the breathlessness
Of trumpeting tiger lilies in the garden
(always the first to announce a portent,
Incapable, as they are, of secret-keeping)
The small piercing glow of a lovely new Light
Passed quite unnoticed by most.
Yet, those who received this soul auspicious
Far from nourishing, had fed mainly pains;
A family: an infrastructure
Tottering on rotten legs, twisted and cruel
Bade him: Be silent-!
Swear the oaths a child should never
Never have to carry in heart.
But that Light budding inside his soul
Wide and mysterious as a flung-open galaxy
Growing larger, brighter, higher—
And like all Cinderella’s and secret genies
The bottle that trapped him smashed-!
He’d found one day, like a treasure map
With its “X” marking booty: the world behind Worlds
The great gold beacon of books and words-!
Books: ornate skeleton keys that flipped old tumblers
Tickets, invitations where one is never turned away
But words themselves the chest beneath the X!
‘Words: worlds’! he said. ‘What a power I have!’
Indeed, invocations of arcane magicians
The scrawled names of gods, demons, angels:
One word out of place
And the spell falls to impotence–
The Latin prayer faltering upon god’s very altar.
The novel of novels made and undone.
‘Ah, you who hurt me: I leave you far, far behind
Further than Saturn’s rusty rings
Stories and magic I shall create’,
The young man smiled.
Free, at one to found that kingdom:
Our Magician, unselfish with his rising visions
Shines gem- facets of fire, inviting Light upon our Light
He is our Storyteller, our Poet, our Seer.
January 22, 2016
The Love Tree – A Poem
I was wandering
in the forest.
The sky was
filled with stars
that shone bright
lighting my path
and leading the
way, shining yellow
against an indigo
sky. I could see
red ladybugs flying
past me and
landing on leaves
as green as
an emerald. I
walked further and
watched as the
sky turned to
daylight, the orange
sun brilliant against
the blue sky.
I came upon
a tree covered
in violet coloured
flowers. There were
words written on
the leaves and
I tried to
read them, but
time passed quickly
here. The leaves
turned brown and
were swept off
of the tree
by the wind,
words floating into
the distance to
make a poem
in the sky.
Only one leaf
was left upon
the tree. I
wondered what word
was written upon
it and got
closer so I
could see. The
leave was still
bright green and
I leaned in
close to read
the scrawl of
letters upon its
surface. It read:
LOVE.
As I wondered
about what love
was to me,
I heard a voice
on the other
side of the
tree. Looking through
its branches, I
saw you there,
calling to me.
I touched the
tree branches to
get a closer
look at you
and the tree
erupted into bloom,
leaves of every
colour imaginable covered
its surface. The
light around you
grew brighter still.
I walked around
the tree, stepping
over a small
stream, the earth
under my feet
lush and green,
the air around
me smelling of
honeysuckle, the fire
of the sun
bright against my
skin. I went
to you and
embraced you. As
I felt your
heart beating in
time with mine,
I let out
a breath I
hadn’t even known
I was holding.
The rainbow coloured
leaves flew from
the tree, filling
the sky like
shimmering lights and
I was content
in the knowledge
that I finally
knew what love
really was.
January 16, 2016
Dancing with the Flame – The Movie!
I created a book trailer for Dancing with the Flame!
Turned out a lot better than I had hoped! Take a look below!
Remember, you can pre-order the ebook by clicking HERE.
Keep dancing everyone!
Keeper of Wishes – A Poem
They would find me at night:
small balls of light
that shone and pulsed
in tune to the words
that were being uttered
from within the orbs:
“I wish I was more popular.”
“I wish I was more beautiful.”
“I wish that he loved me.”
I would touch one of the
balls of light and would be shown
the person’s face. I would know
instinctively how to find them.
what their names were,
everything about them.
I would clasp their orb of light
close to me as I went
in search of them,
keeping it safe as I travelled.
With their wish, they had given away
their light and I knew that
they needed it back.
I could answer their wishes in a way,
I could help them be happier
with who they were.
By sending their wish out
the cosmos, they had
sent out a piece of themselves
with it by filling the with
with so much need and so much
intent. They did not know it
but they had sent out parts
of their soul, had diminished
their light, even if it was just
by the smallest degree. They needed
it back. I wondered what to do
while I kept their wishes safe,
pondered on it, thought of the
power of wishes, an ordinary magic
that everyone can do. However,
all magic has a price, even if it’s
something as simple as a wish.
As I contemplated, my own light
began to grow stronger,
the light increasing with each
moment of intense thought.
Then it occurred to me what I
could do for these people that
needed their light back. I sat
with each with and added a bit
of my own light to the orb,
filling each with a message.
“You are loved by the people that matter.”
“You are beautiful outside as well as in.”
“Love yourself first and love will follow.”
I sent each of the orbs sailing
out of the window. Soon, the sky
near my apartment was filled with
hundreds of glowing orbs,
each pulsing and glowing with its own
bright and brilliant light, so bright
that it was as if the sun had chosen to glow
within the dark. As the wishes went back
to the people that had made them,
I watched them and, taking a deep breath,
made my own wish, in hopes that someone
would hear it.
January 15, 2016
Choices Meant for All by Sandy Lender – A Book Review
Onweald is in peril.
The land is at war and the Geasa’n, the substance that gives the inhabitants their magic, is broken and gone. Amanda Chariss Deridriu, the protector of the Gods, is gone and she is the only one who can save them.
Nigel Taiman, betrothed to Chariss, is desperate for her return. So is Hrazon, the man who acted as her father and kept her safe from Jamieson Drake for sixteen years. He’s bereft without her and wants her back. Not only because she is his daughter, but she is also the only hope they have of winning the coming war.
Juliette and Jamieson Drake have plans for Onweald. They want complete and total control and Chariss is a pawn in that game for Juliette. Drake, however, has other plans for Chariss. He has held a burning flame for her for such a long time that to have her this close to him seems like a dream.
He professes his undying love for her. Chariss knows that the only way to get out of this alive, and have a chance to flee Dreorfahn, where Juliette has her camp, is to play along…no matter what the cost.
Nigel knows that dark times are here, that the storms that have threatened their horizons for so long have finally arrived. He knows that he must save Chariss, whatever the cost. Chariss, for her part, knows that she has some difficult choices to make.
Will she be strong enough to make them? Her choices could affect one and all…
I flat out loved every word of this novel. My meagre plot summary doesn’t come close to describing the epic scale of the story. This isn’t just a fantasy novel you read; it’s one that pulls you in until you can smell the sizzle of magic in the air.
What I loved most were Lender’s characters. Yes, I’ve been with them for three books now, but they are not just mere people on the page. I love Chariss most of all. She’s a kick butt warrior and can handle her own, but knows when to ask for help when it’s needed. I love how grounded she is, how real.
I also have a soft spot for Jamieson Drake. He’s the bad guy you love to hate, but in Choices Meant for All, Lender manages to give Drake a lot more depth and heart. She shows that even the darkest people around us are driven by something, be it their heart or what they desire most.
I’m also in awe of her world building. Onweald feels like a real place to me after three books. It’s as if I can take a walk into the mountains and find it on the other side, waiting for me. Sandy Lender doesn’t just write. She creates, she’s an artist, and the page is her canvass.
In Choices Meant for All, Sandy Lender pulls out all the stops. The story moves at a lightning fast pace to the most thrilling conclusion to a trilogy I’ve read in years. Chriss and Nigel must do battle not only for each other but for the good of Onweald. Lender wields her pen like a sword as she gives us a story that goes beyond myth and into the realms of legend.
I can’t wait to go back again.
January 14, 2016
Dancing with the Flame – Available for Pre-Order!
Hey Everyone!
Check it out! My new book of poems, Dancing with the Flame, is available for pre-order! How awesome is that?
It’s released on February 5th, just in time for Valentine’s Day! As there are quite a few love poems in this collection, it seemed appropriate.
Here’s a bit about the book:
Following the number one best sellers, Talking to the Sky and Talking with the Earth, Dancing with the Flame contains poems that are part memoir and part journey towards self-love.
They are Wolf’s attempt to not only find balance but to love all parts of himself, even those that are most difficult to love.
They are a testament to the strength of the human spirit. The poems show us that whatever life throws at us, with courage anything is possible.
With unflinching honesty, Wolf talks about disease, sexuality, physical disability and the healing power of love.
You can pre-order your ebook copy of Dancing with the Flame here:
The paperback will be released at the same time, but for now only the ebook is available for pre-order.
I truly hope you enjoy Dancing with the Flame when you read it. Come with me as I go further on the journey that is my life.
January 9, 2016
What I Had Become – A Poem
When the New Year began,
I looked into the mirror.
I saw a reflection of myself
from long ago. I was
lying on a bed, weak,
my whole world changed.
I watched as my reflection
lifted a hand and beckoned to me.
“Come on.”
He said.
I touched a hand to the glass
and it was as if
there was no glass there.
The veil between the present
and the past was thin.
I stepped through the mirror
and found myself in a place
that I remembered but fought
so hard to forget.
It was dark and there was only
one small light in the room.
Even so, by that light I saw
who I used to be lying
on the bed, my past self,
my other self. He regarded me,
and I looked at him.
I remembered that day,
how the night before the New Year
my life had changed forever,
never to be the same again.
I knew just how he was feeling
as I had been him, he had been me.
He was weak and disoriented,
unable to walk very well at all,
his whole world seeming to
move around him, unable to keep still.
He regarded me with tired eyes,
the fear in them so total.
He knew that something was wrong.
“You forgot about me.”
He said.
“You forgot our anniversary.”
It was true. I had forgotten.
Every year since that day,
I always wondered if this
would be the year that it happened,
the year where I lost control
of my body once more.
For a while, I lived in fear
of December 31st, of who I had been
and of what I had become on that day.
“I’m sorry.”
I said.
“I did forget. I did forget you.”
“Why?”
He asked.
“Because I left you behind. Because I’m so much stronger now. So much happier.”
He regarded me with a blank expression,
the fear increasing in his eyes until
they were full of tears.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so afraid.”
“I know.”
I said kindly.
I sat on the bed beside him and took his hand
in my own. It was cool and sweaty and
I remembered how warm I’d been,
how nothing had felt right,
and how my own body had turned against me.
“You’ll have to be strong.”
I said.
“There is a lot more pain coming, but you’ll have to be stronger than you’ve ever been. Can you do that for me?”
“I don’t know how.”
“You don’t, but you’ll learn. There will come a moment when you’ll want to quit, where you’ll want to give up and head towards the darkness. But I promise you, good times are coming.”
He looked at me with such
an open expression, one of yearning
for something better. I remembered
wearing that look, wishing and hoping
so fiercely that it was painful.
“Okay.”
He said.
“Okay.”
I heard my partner calling me from
the other side of the mirror,
his deep voice making the liquid glass
move in ripples. I took one last look
at who I used to be and patted his hand,
leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead.
“I have to go now.”
“I know you do. Don’t forget me, okay?”
“I won’t, I promise.”
With that, I stood and moved towards the glass.
When I stepped through the glass,
I left behind what I had been
and into what I had
become.
December 31, 2015
On the Road of Yellow Brick – A Poem
She wakes within
the dream to
find herself in
an expanse of
green. A field
of grass stretching
for as far
as the eye
can see. Along
the grass, there
is a road
of bricks, coloured
in a bright
yellow hue. The
colour is impossibly
brilliant, as is
the green of
the grass. It
is as if
the colour here
is magnified by
the sun. She
looks up at
the sky and
sees a bright
orange sun, three
times as big
as the sun
she sees at
home. Looking down
at the road
of bricks again,
she sees a
man standing on
the path, smiling
at her in a
gentle sort of way.
“Where am I?”
She asks, uncertain.
“Well, where did you want to be?”
The man says.
He has dark
hair that looks
to be made
of leaves. He
shrugs and she
sees hay fall
out of the
collar of his shirt.
“It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are.”
She nods, even
though she has
no idea what
to say.
“I want my life back. I want it as it used to be.”
The straw man
gives her another
kind smile and
his words are
soft and comforting.
“Well now, I wouldn’t want that. If you went back to the way you used to be, you wouldn’t be who you are meant to be.”
She shook her
head, the uncertainty
deepening, the unease
she carries with
her in the
waking world alive.
“I don’t follow you. I just want to be normal again.”
The straw man
waves his hand.
“Pshaw! Normal. What is normal? Normal is boring. Normal is a bowl of porridge without brown sugar. Normal is what you want, but it’s not what you thirst for.”
She nodded, seeing
truth in his words.
“I suppose you’re right. I know I’m not like everyone else.”
“You’re special, Kimberlee. So very special. You have a light in you that shines brightly for all to see it. We are drawn to you like butterflies to the sun. You wouldn’t have that light if you were normal.”
The light that
he mentioned
begins to glow
from within her,
as if she is
carrying the sun
within her. She
watches the glow
intensify, even as
the light from
it makes the
road and the
straw man start
to fade away.
“Wait! What do I have to do? What can I do? How do I move forward?”
Even though the
man of straw
was fading from
sight, she could
see him smile.
“What you’ve always done. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep shining and keep living you life to the fullest. Everything else will fall into place. Trust yourself.”
“But why is it so difficult to do?”
“It’s always harder for people like us. You are a bright, beautiful spirit. You will find your way and then the journey on the road of yellow brick will become a joy instead of a hindrance. Trust yourself.”
He said again.
Then the light
that was glowing
from inside of
her grew even
brighter and she
knew the dream
would fade away.
But she knew
that when she
woke, she would
have a brighter
sense of self
and the life
that was hers.
And from that
she drew comfort.
She looked forward
to the next
step she would
take along the
road of yellow brick.
December 30, 2015
The Beginning of Goodbye – A Poem
I thought I
would feel sadness
or discontent. I
thought I would
be depressed or
sad that part
of my life
had ended here.
However, all I
experienced was a
sense of rightness,
the thrum of
gratification running though
my veins. I’m
not sure, but
I was probably
glowing. I got
the papers stamped
and paid my
fee. I expected
to feel sadness
but there was
only this overwhelming
sense of relief.
Too long I
have waited to
feel something other
than resentment or
despair when I
thought of him.
Now I was
filled only with
joy and peace
of my own making.
It was only
the first step,
but it is
that first step
that is the
most difficult,
the most frightening.
The first step
looks down from
a cliff, high
up in the
air. I had
two choices. I
could cower at
the top of
that cliff as
I had done
for years, or
I could take
the leap of
faith and trust
that my wings
would save me.
Instead of waiting
for him to
do the right
thing, I did
it myself. I
took the power
away from him
and made it my own.
My life is
mine to live
and I choose
to live it,
to embrace it,
whatever it may
bring. It is
the beginning of
goodbye for us,
but I’m so
much better without
him and will
be even better
when I’m not
carrying the shards
of what was
around with me.
Instead of carrying
those shards of
a chalice always
with me, I
take those shards
and fashion something
from them so
that rather than
cause me pain,
instead they capture
the sun, shining
light upon all
in my life
that is beautiful.
December 29, 2015
2015 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. It’s pretty cool to see how active this blog was in 2015!
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 32,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 12 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
