THE MORE YOU COUNT THE STARS, THE MORE YOU GIVE UP

Lifted from Rado Gatchalian 

THE MORE YOU COUNT THE STARS, THE MORE YOU GIVE UP

By Rado Gatchalian 

The revolution of the mind:

evolving like a little piece of chalk

which serves no purpose —

and all those dust become remnants

of consumed effort,

days and nights of attempts

to change the world.

But to what end?

How would logic

become a mentor of fortitude —

when it won’t be able to supply 

the last amount of oxygen you need?

But shall you just oblige to faith

and surrender to a cause or purpose

you can’t even fathom?

You read the books — and want to find

answers to all your questions;

but endless nights of erudition

can still not satisfy the hunger of your mind:

the more you know, the more you give up.

Then, you try to quiet your mind,

silence covers your whole being,

you walk in the forest:

count the flowers, leaves, and rocks,

the trees, and those beautiful stars;

then you stop counting —

because the more you count,

the more you give up.

Then, you surrender to peace

which is called by many names:

Joy

Beauty

Contentment

Now

Love.

Here: you stop counting

but you become part of those beautiful stars.

Because you are.

You become what you are 

when you let what is in you shine:

not because you know more

but because you believe.

MUM'S THE WORD

12 May 2024

ON MOTHER'S DAY

To Lily, Noemi 

Mum's the word
With arms that measure love
From east to west and north to south.
They encircle you with warm embrace. 

Mum's the word
Whose mind thinks deep
Where thoughts of you dwell-in

Wond'ring about your safety and well-being.

Mum's the word
With heart as tender as a bud

Yet strong and firm in discipline 

Encompassing peace and joy.

Mum's the word
With lips that encourage 
When you're down and broken 
Her kind words heal your wounds.

Mum is the anchor of your life

When the foundation turned asunder

Enshrine her with love and affection  

For her faith in you is beyond limits. 

©️ Leah C Dancel 

Copyright ©️ 12 May 2024

All rights reserved 

SH-AUSTRALIA 

ON MOTHER'S DAY 

WALTMARIE CHALLENGE

ILA 

WOW

Let's Twist to...A NEW WOW POETRY CHALLENGE!

Choose any one of this week's (WOW) Vocabulary Words:

(PERT, DIGRESS, PERUSAL or BON MOT) and apply it to your poem. Here is the twist. You must find as many words as you can within the WOW you choose and apply all your found words into your poem. You may write up to 12 lines but NO MORE THAN 12. You may choose to rhyme if you so desire though it is not required. If you are not sure what the definitions are for each word, please look it up on this week's post. If you get stuck in trying to find words within the WOW, there are two great sites if you search on Google, like Word Maker or All Scrabble. 

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BEGINS TODAY (June 28, 2023) and ENDS SUNDAY, (July 2, 2023).

Looking forward in reading your great work!

FASHION SENSE

Her charismatic beauty compelled me to WEND my perspective 

About 

fashion trends that DIGRESSED in recent years, away from conservative style of dressing. 

I am

firm and STOLID by not conforming to the whims of women in society.

I frowned 

upon their glitterati temperament of endless demand in emulating the Hollywood

 glamour,

Who snubbed 

their mediocrity in fashion sense which to me is rather a

SELCOUTH. 

©️ Leah C Dancel 

Copyright ©️ 25 December 2023

All rights reserved 

SH-AUSTRALIA 

#ILA MAGAZINE 

#WALTMARIE 

#WOW: DIGRESS, SELCOUTH, STOLID, WEND 

ILA MAGAZINE - WOW Poetry Challenge:

The "WALTMARIE" - a two-in-one poem invented by Candice Kubinec.

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It is a ten-lined poetic form

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ODD LINES have NO SPECIFIC SYLLABIC COUNT, which means, the poet can write in as many syllables as he/she desires

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EVEN LINES are written in 2 SYLLABLES, only.

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The even lines create a "mini-poem" if read apart.

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There are no rules for rhyme or subject - the option is left for the poet to choose whether to rhyme or not

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The poem is usually titled but this is left for the poet to choose.

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ODD LINES: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

EVEN LINES: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10

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EXAMPLE OF MY POEM (I only used one of the wows yet poets must use ALL 4).

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"ETCHED ON A TREE"

Should I digress on something I least desire

Before

I utter with myopic stance which I may be intolerant of

or more

Expressing proverbial logic in a cloud of words that fog

in time

traversing through a squall of reasons and of rhyme

My brain

unshackling new strength I have inside me now

feels free.

Annette Nasser

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THIS IS A WOW CHALLENGE, so you MUST TRY TO APPLY all 4 words: (DIGRESS, STOLID, SELCOUTH, WEND), to be considered as a “BEST ENTRY”, which I will choose (several), shortly after this challenge ends. 

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BEGINS NOW (12-14-23)

ENDS TUESDAY (12-19-23)

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If anyone needs guidance, please do message me.

GOOD LUCK, POETS!

NOTHING

PENSEE POETRY 

NOTHING
is emptiness.
No one can do anything
Under any circumstances
For nothing is but void.
©️ Leah C Dancel
20 January 2024
SH-AUSTRALIA 

LESSON: 

ILA MAGAZINE PROMPT - This is NOT a WOW Challenge.

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PENSEE Poetry Challenge!

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PENSEE Poetry Form is a 5-Lined Syllabic poem - no rhyming or meter required unless you desire to write in rhyme.

LINE 1 is the SUBJECT and written in 2 Syllables.

LINE 2 is the DESCRIPTION and written in 4 Syllables.

LINE 3 is the ACTION and written in 7 Syllables.

LINE 4 is the SETTING and written in 8 Syllables.

LINE 5 is the FINAL THOUGHT and written in 6 Syllables.

REMEMBER ME

By Margaret Mead

“To the living, I am gone,

To the sorrowful, I will never return,

To the angry, I was cheated,

But to the happy, I am at peace,

And to the faithful, I have never left.

I cannot speak, but I can listen.

I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.

So as you stand upon a shore gazing at a beautiful sea,

As you look upon a flower and admire its simplicity,

Remember me.

Remember me in your heart:

Your thoughts, and your memories,

Of the times we loved,

The times we cried,

The times we fought,

The times we laughed.

For if you always think of me, 

I will never have gone.”

Source: American Literature 

HOPE

By Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

By Emily Dickinson

FEAR

It is said that before entering the sea

a river trembles with fear.

She looks back at the path she has traveled,

from the peaks of the mountains,

the long winding road crossing forests and villages.

And in front of her,

she sees an ocean so vast,

that to enter

there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.

But there is no other way.

The river can not go back.

Nobody can go back.

To go back is impossible in existence.

The river needs to take the risk

of entering the ocean

because only then will fear disappear,

because that’s where the river will know

it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,

but of becoming the ocean.

~ Khalil Gibran

MY HUMBLE LIGHT

By Jeffrey Cejero

My Humble Light

Grains of sand continue to drop

As the waves of seasons ebb and flow.

A tiny me started to pulsate

Until I have my flickering light.

The great sun shows its might

Illuminating the sky with its full bright

Where day is born, glowing like divine,

Leaving no place for me to shine.

Night time comes

And silvery moon hung up in the sky.

Only those powerful gems could still shine

Unlike me whose glow, like fainting fireflies.

Then storm came bringing chill to everyone

Where sky is covered by thick black clouds,

Where the moon has finally set

Bathing in the cold waters of disputed west.

The night was flooded by tears

Till the clouds emptied its burdening load.

The sky finally gave way for everyone to shine

And found myself shining with my humble light.