Hitched To A Bewitching Journey

Birth starts our time to shine … some get lucky breaks, others misery, most a bit of everything inbetween. I don't want to get grim at this bewitching hour but birth is also the start of dying. Although some rest in regal corners and others in unmarked graves, we cozy up to the elements together, converting to matter and, some say, pure spirit.

The moon teased the night sky, a glowing yet clouded crystal ball shrouding the future.

Poets and Storytellers United had me contemplating death and life with the prompt, el Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), when souls of the deceased rejoin family briefly for a celebration. (I should note Day of The Dead, despite similarities, is not Halloween in Canada on October 31st, a time for treats, costume-wearers, spooky lawn ornaments and black cats.) It's fine to pick a special day but loved ones are never far from my thoughts. Family that passed away as well as cherished friends, and dear pets, all flit in and out like ghostly gusts in my head while I absorb and am absorbed by the scenery.

      

Explore more at Poets and Storytellers United, SKYWATCH and Saturday's Critters. 

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.

Check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.

HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

Why Does Anything Exist

It's human nature to ask why. We've done it since childhood. Humankind is propelled by curiosity, isn't it? Because we need reasons, it's inconceivable to most that creation exists for its own sake with no particular point or purpose. Scientists and mystics learn over time while we fill in the blanks with our stories. Pondering in verse the Poets and Storytellers United word prompt "why", I sought calm in a world overfull with drama.

Along the shore, I saw swimmers floating with ease.

Nearby, windows reflected the heavens.

Moody clouds whisked along the blue sky.

A cozy house nestled amid the foliage.

Plants said their final goodbyes.

Autumn glowed around every corner.

Some flowers hesitated to go.

Trees were ablaze.

Paths were littered with leaves.

Forests shrugged off the clutter.

The stairwell took me to a deeper level.

A gate closed to the coming cold.

The cat settled into a Buddha pose.

Although the truth about existence eluded me, a new song about liars by Dolly Parton gave me odd comfort ... her words perhaps more suited to last week's post.

Explore more at Poets and Storytellers United, SKYWATCH and Saturday's Critters. 

Check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.

HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

Earth, Air, Fire & Water All Together

There is lush greenery in Santa Monica, California, providing shade to the residents of a State that is somewhat at the forefront when it comes to climate initiatives in the US. Were it not for conflicting goals and deniers blocking paths to change, Earth would be a healthier place. But now even doubters are realizing elemental truths about "earth, air, fire and water", the Poets and Storytellers United word prompts that I incorporated into a poem. When disaster strikes their neighborhoods, skeptics become believers.

Our responsibilities are inescapable even as harmful habits are hard to break. Space travelers reluctantly clumped together, there is much to agree on and preserve.

    

In the very early mornings hours, workers operating machinery, watered plants and scrubbed some Santa Monica streets. The bloom (above) is the Aeonium Blushing Beauty, a hybrid that I believe was developed in California. The flower (below), seemingly about to take flight, is commonly called bird of paradise.

     

Thanks to the farmer's market, fresh fruit and vegetables sell twice weekly at Santa Monica's pedestrian plaza. Rainbow cherry tomatoes show the beauty of diversity. 

    

Nearby I found topiary/metal sculptures (below) along with murals, some spouted water and some left messages on walls.

     

The fate of dinosaurs, extinct but fondly remembered, tells us something about existence. Impact from a massive celestial object likely began their demise. But dinosaurs didn't self-destruct the way humankind seems to be doing.

We are all skeptics and believers at differing times but also always inhabitants of the same place in space together. When at war with others, we are at war with ourselves. When our neighbour's home is in flames, it is our larger common home, the orbiting planet, that is impacted by every blaze, bomb blast and poisonous deed.

I wonder ... if humankind should vanish, who or what will remember us, fondly or otherwise, or contemplate the bigger picture. We are the note-takers, the seers and articulators of life, capable of immense compassion and grotesque cruelty. 

Tempting as it might be to wound and divide, we survive by becoming unified.

Explore more at Poets and Storytellers United, SKYWATCH and Saturday's Critters. 

Check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.

HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

October Forever: From Venice Beach To Crescent Beach

The sky was dark in Venice and a little spooky in the West Los Angeles community. Somehow I missed seeing the canals and bridges reflective of its namesake in Italy.

Night arrived and a sense of Noir filled the Venice air which is reflected in the mural (above) painted on a parking lot wall. My visit was in late August but it seemed a bit Halloween-ish, when I look at my pictures, and more like "October", the Poets and Storytellers United prompt. If I were a month, I would be October … summer still lingering in places yet on the cusp of a deeply foreboding but great winter mystery.

It wasn't just black and white in Venice or nearby Santa Monica. Murals and street art covered a vibrant spectrum of colour and designs as part of beautifying initiatives. 

Back home (below) I found autumn in its early transformative stages at Crescent Beach where the frailties of life, still lush, were changing for all to see.

Why is it that a random toss of nature so often lands like a work of art?

I was glad to see the pumpkins and puddles back ...

but not so sure about the decorative spiders.

Explore more at Poets and Storytellers United, SKYWATCH and Saturday's Critters. 

Check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.

HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

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