Robbie’s Inspiration – W3 prompt, Esther Chilton’s writing challenge & spring paintings for Teagan #poetry #springflowers #paintings

Once again, my poem is doing double duty today.

Esther Chilton’s prompt is dilemma.

You can join in her prompt here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2024/09/25/writing-prompts-33/

This poem is also for David’s W3 prompt as follows:

Nolcha’s prompt guidelinesCompose a poem that includes at least 1-2 lines from Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ poem:‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert FrostTwo roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This is my poem!

You can join in W3 here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2024/09/25/w3-prompt-126-weave-written-weekly/

Fateful Day

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

Creating a dilemma for the traveller

Which path should she take?

The one she’d planned for five years

Or the other where she could only see

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Who knew what hidden opportunities lay

Along that lessor travelled and secret way

Resolutely, she turned her back

On the well laid plans she’d made

In her secret heart she knew that

A lack of imagination and adventure

Would never empower her to reach

Her full potential and fulfil her dreams

She followed the siren call of the new

The track was not a straightforward one

But each twist and turn presented her

With a different and exciting chance

To develop a new and unknown skill

She discovered hidden talents

Made extraordinary acquaintances

Which led her on and on further along

That intriguing and wonky road

She found balance and happiness

Things she may never have know

Had she followed the straighter path

On that fateful and life changing day

Here are a few more spring pictures:

Picture caption: yellow rosesPicture caption: my pale pink irises are amazingSpring paintings

I painted these three watercolour pictures for my author friend, Teagan Geneviene. The two paintings of a young woman with green hair are depictions of her character, Meadow, who features in her delightful book, Atonement in Bloom. Meadow is a manifestation of environment well being and everywhere she goes flowers grow.

You can find Teagan on her blog here: https://teagansbooks.com/2024/09/24/announcing-new-nonfiction-real-steampunkery-tech/

In case you missed it previously, this is my review of Atonement in Bloom:

Atonement in Bloom picks up where Atonement, Tennessee left off. That being said, you can read this volume on without reading the first book as the story stands alone. The first book is also excellent though, so I recommend you start at the beginning.

The story opens with supernatural beings, Gwydion and Cael, both having left Atonement suddenly following the great supernatural battle at the end of Book 1. A grand mansion appears overnight and Ralda and her best friend, Bethany, both believe that Gwydion, Guy for short, has a hand in it. After all the trouble he caused, they would prefer he stays gone. This magical occurrence seems to trigger a series of events and as the two women head back to Ralda’s house, several strange and obviously magical flowers make their appearance. The flower discoveries are followed by odd dark spots and sooty singed marks. Something is happened, but what?

In the meantime, Lilith the cat is having her own adventures and comes across Beira, a fae woman with a long braid of blue hair. Soon afterwards, Ralda and Bethany finds a strange woman with mint green hair wrapped in a blanket of greenery in her cemetery. The stranger, whom the two ladies call Meadow, has no memory of where she came from. She has unusual powers and everywhere she walks, flowers grow in abundance. She also has a strange attraction for men who are completely mesmerized by her, including the eccentric Lou Lawton-Gyffes, the owner of the magical mansion and relative of Guy.

All these strange magical happens and characters are tied together and Ralda and Bethany must try and unravel the mystery before anything terrible goes wrong that effects the entire town.

I enjoyed the characters of Ralda and Bethany in Book 1 and I liked how they grew in this second book. Some other friends from Book 1 show their true characteristics and become opposition to Randa’s quest to save the town and her friends from evil.

Atonement in Bloom is a fast moving and exciting story set in a the fantasy town of Atonement where the veil between non-magical and magical is thin and can be pierced either way. Lilith the cat plays an important role in this story and Robin the Sherriff, whose memories have been tampered with so that he forgets the magical battle, makes a reappearance. If you like highly imaginative story of mystery and magic, this is the series for you.

Picture caption: Meadow swinging. Flowers have grown where she touches the swing.Picture caption: Meadow in a dress comprised of flowersPicture caption: Multicoloured irises as grown by Meadow