Category: Blog

Blog, Hope

Escape from Chaos

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Desperate to escape the chaos
I reach for my formula of medicine
Journal and writing implements in hand
Slipping quietly into oblivion

My thoughts become an epiphany
Exploding in my head
Furiously I write them down
Capturing all before they are dead

The clear night
Gave forth to brilliant stars
Lighting the sky
Like a fireflies in jars

The soft breeze
Was calming my soul
Musical leaves fluttering
I will soon again be whole

My words move quickly
Across the page
Reminiscent of ballerinas
Dancing on a stage

My heart empties
Its tears of pain
Forming verse so beautiful
Reminding me I am sane

When inside my head
Becomes dark and captured
I can set the demons free
With writings enraptured

Flowing effortlessly
Like waters in a stream
Unleashed onto paper
As if in a dream

Therapy for my head
The jumbled pieces of my brain
Coming together in harmony
My heart does not beat in vain

The pen is mightier than the sword
My words are my power
Grounded by my enlightenment
While adversaries inhabit ivory towers

Christine Bolton

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Blog, Survival

Save the Sailor from the Sea

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Save the Sailor from the Sea

Demoralized, discouraged
Surrender to darkness
That will surely come
Life held in the balance
Leaving it heartless
 
Joy drowning
Breathless and weakened
Laughter comes no more
Spirit trodden, squashed
Thoroughly beaten
 
Treading troubled water
Exhausted by endeavor
Resistance fading fast
Hope is lost at sea
Now gone forever
 
Voice hoarse from the cry
Who would have listened?
Words fallen on deaf ears
Nobody cared
It was as if imprisoned
 
Nothing left to fight for
It was not meant to be
Insignificant and invisible
was his life, no one could
save the sailor from the sea
 

Christine Bolton - Poetry for Healing ©

Reworked in 2020
 

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Blog, Pain/Sadness

Trigger

by  • 

Trigger

There is a trigger
I unknowingly squeeze
Time after time
I’m blindsided
God help me please

Not recognizing
All the warning signs
I stumble blindly
On your mood this day
Failing to read between the lines

On reflection
It was there to see
In plain sight
Why did I not know?
So foolish of me

Clear indications
Of your displeasure
Slowly building
Gaining strength
Difficult to measure

I had opportunities
To notice the clues
But once more I failed
Blind to the fact
You would soon accuse

The last interaction
Was highly explosive
We are struggling
To find our way back
From a place so corrosive

More than a squabble
It was a full-blown fight
Once more we jump
On the merry-go-round
Too eager to incite

I don’t know how
To keep us afloat
I navigate your angst
Running on to the rocks
And capsizing the boat

Until we find common ground
And begin the repair
There is no hope for us
We will surely drown
In our mutual despair

Christine Bolton

Daily Word Challenge: Squabble

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Blog, Life

What Happened To Us?

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What happened to us?

Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses
Lady Liberty welcomes you
You can escape the classes

Come here, it will be safe
You will be able to flourish
Bring your family with you
So they can be nourished

America was founded
So those could flee
Oppression in their native land
Come to America and be free

Sadly this is not the case anymore
America has its own oppressor
Preposterous that he has been allowed
To become an aggressor

Putting children in cages
What a despicable plan
Crying for their Mama
The work of a bogeyman

How can this happen here
His party is enabling
He speaks only to his base
Dividing and dismantling 

This is so far removed from liberty
What kind of person cannot relate
To the plight of these families
America is no longer great

Christine Bolton

Fandango one Word Challenge Preposterous

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Blog, Life

Circle of Life

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I’m a little late with this poem for the Word of The Day Challenge on June 20, but hope you enjoy it.

Circle of Life

From first breath 
Anticipation 
Mouth open
Seeking mother’s breast
Confirmation

Christmas coming
Anticipation
Gifts under the tree
Santa is on his way
Gratification

Puppy love
Anticipation
Love at first sight
Heart is broken
Devastation

Walk down the aisle
Anticipation
Love forever
Happy ever after
Excitation

Baby on the way
Anticipation
Names on a list
Which to choose
Rationalization

Future to share
Anticipation
Sharing life
A growing family
Dedication

Broken agreements
Anticipation 
Heartache to come 
No relief in sight
Humiliation

Alone again
Anticipation
What to do now
Where to go
Devastation

Christine Bolton

Word of the Day Challenge: https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/anticipation/

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Blog, Uncategorized

Sunshine Blogger Award

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I have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Tales From The Mind Of Kristian Thank you, I am honored!

The Rules are:

  1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
  2. Use the “Sunshine Blogger Award” logo on your post.
  3. Answer the 11 questions the selector asks of you.
  4. Nominate 5-11 bloggers you want to give the award to.
  5. Ask the following bloggers that you selected 11 questions of your own

My Questions from Kristian

1. If you could travel in a time machine, where and when would you travel to?

Seeing as I am an ancestry buff and I have traced back in my family tree, I would love to go back to around late 18thCentury Northern Ireland where my great great grandparents were from and experience what their lifestyle would have been like as farmers and weavers.

2. Which extinct animal would you love to bring back to life?

The Woolly Mammoth.  A great looking creature!

3. Would you rather be Rich but without friends (money can’t buy you friends but they can buy you acquaintances) or have lots of lovely friends but very little money?

Both! There’s no right answer to that one.

4. What is your favourite meal to have in a restaurant?

Anything Seafood

5. Do you prefer Savoury or Sweet?

Savoury….I love cheese 

6. Name one of your favourite authors and one of their books

Seeing as I prefer thrillers and mysteries it would have to be Tom Clancy.  My favorite book of his was Patriot Games.

7. Do you have a favourite song or piece of music? Which is it?

A song that always makes me happy when I hear it is “Baby I Love Your Way”, by Big
Mountain.  It was a Reggae Style version of the old Peter Frampton song.

8. Why did you start blogging?

I needed an outlet for my writing and so far it has been a good choice for me.

9. What type of blogs and posts do you most enjoy reading?

Obviously Poetry, but short fiction and those concentrating on the environment interest me a lot.

10. If you won a holiday, what type would you prefer? A sightseeing holiday taking in lot
of scenery? A beach holiday with lots of relaxing? An Adventure holiday with lots of
activities? None of the above?

Definitely action.  I live on the Florida Coast so I’m already on a beach vacation!

11. If you wrote a novel, or maybe you already have, or are in the middle of it. What
would its title be and what is it’s genre?

I haven’t written a novel but maybe one day. For now I just want to concentrate on my poetry and perfecting it. 

My Nominees are:

The wonderful Whacky World of one Single Mom

Poets Paradise

Musings of an Honorary Counsellor

Escape to the High Country

Change Your Life

My 11 Questions to the nominees are:

              1. How long have you been blogging?
              2. Where are you located?
              3. When you are not blogging, how do you spend your time?
              4. What’s the best Halloween Costume you’ve ever had
              5. What’s your favorite word?
              6. What is the worst job you ever had?
              7. What is a dream you have that you’ve yet to achieve?
              8. What do you fear most?
              9. If you could spend a day in someone else’s shoes, who would that be?
              10. Do you have a hidden talent?
              11. What was the last text you sent?

OK, I hope you like these questions. There is no time pressure to do this straight away. Save it until you have more time.

As usual, if you have been nominated, you are not required to participate…blogging is all about fun! I hope everyone who reads this post will also check out the blogs and websites of my nominees (and Tales from the mind of Kristian

A note to my nominees: You may already have been nominated in the past for this award and I apologize if you find this annoying. You are under no obligation to accept the nomination, equally as much the same applies to the questions, if however you wish to answer just the questions, that is also fine.  Being new to blogging, I look forward to finding out more about you

Thanks for participating!

Christine Bolton

Blog, Survival

Camaraderie

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Camaraderie

When the chips are down
You’re not going to drown
Keep your eye on the prize
Focus on the game in hand
No more head in the sand
You are on the verge of a rise

You’ve developed your strength
Keeping enemies at arms length
You don’t let them see you sweat
You are the captain of your ship
Sailing at quite a clip
There is no need for a drift net

How did you find your force?
Did you dig deep for the source?
The camaraderie of good souls
Is likely the healing answer
To this malignant cancer
Giving you the ultimate control

Leaning on your friends
Not having to make amends
Is the support we all need
Reach out when you’re drowning
There’s no time for accounting
Or we die in the weeds

Christine Bolton

Word of the Day Challenge: Camaraderie

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Blog, Flash Fiction

A Shark’s Tooth Tale

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Venice Beach, Florida

The sun was dropping low in the sky as Lisa took her evening walk along the beach.  Since she moved to Venice, Florida just two months earlier, this had become her ritual after her long day in the ER at the local hospital. As a nurse her days could be quite stressful and this activity calmed her frazzled brain.

Venice, believe it or not, is known as the Sharks’ Tooth Capital of the World and in her short time there she had already found several on her evening beach walks.  Mostly they were tiny teeth, and for those not familiar with them, they could easily be mistaken for little flat black pebbles. But she had seen several larger ones discovered by other beach goers who patiently comb the sand with the special, long handled sieves she had seen for sale in the many souvenir shops close to the beach. The largest tooth she had seen reminded her of an Indian arrowhead she had observed as a child in The Natural History Museum in New York. It was black and triangular and she hated to think of the size of the shark that had once owned it.

On her walk this particular evening she saw the usual crowd gathering on the beach with their Tervis Tumblers of varying cocktails and beers in hand, waiting to toast the sun as it set.  This was a nightly event quite common on the west coast of Florida.  If you’re lucky you might even see the elusive “Green Flash” as soon as the sun disappears on the horizon.  She had yet to witness it but was assured by the reveling beach goers of its existence. Maybe the alcohol had something to do with it she thought with a smile.

As she continued along the shore she noticed a young family setting up a celebration at one of the picnic tables, complete with a birthday cake and candles.  Someone was going to be 5!  A little further on she saw a small group gathered at the water’s edge peering at something.  She wandered over to see what had them so interested.  A tall young man was holding something in his hand and the others were staring at it and shooting questions at him.  He lifted it high to stop the children pulling at it.  Lisa noticed something black and as she got closer she saw the biggest shark’s tooth imaginable.  It was as wide as the man’s palm and really quite astonishing.

Someone jokingly said “I hope the tooth fairy has enough money on her tonight.  She may have to write you a check!”

Lisa asked the man if she could hold it and he refused.  She was a little taken aback as she was hardly going to steal it from him.

“I can’t let you touch it, this is gonna be worth a lot to someone.” he said sharply as he dropped it quickly into some strange contraption on his belt.

Lisa studied him closely. He looked like he had been sleeping on the beach for a month.  He had straggly hair and a leathery skin that you would attribute to the outdoor life of a homeless person.

He looked back at her and said, “You can have it for $20”

She was silent for a moment thinking that this guy really needed the money if he’d been sleeping on the beach.  He’s probably hungry too.  She heard one of the adults in the small crowd say “I’ll give you 10 bucks for it”.

Lisa quickly put her hand in the pocket of her shorts and pulled out the $20 bill she always had there when she walked, just in case of an emergency.  She handed it to him and he pulled out the shark’s tooth dropping it in her open hand and then he took off running down the beach.

As the small crowd looked at her with anticipation, she touched the tooth with her other hand and realized immediately it was a plastic souvenir.  She could even make out the words, Made in China.  It was a hoax.

As the nearby sundowners began to cheer and raise their glasses, Lisa looked up, just in time to see The Green Flash

Christine Bolton

In response to the Three Things Challenge June 18: Shark, Birthday Cake, Tooth Fairy

Word of the Day Challenge: Hoax

One Daily Prompt: Contraption

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Blog, Love

Memories

by  • 

Memories

She said she would be there
As she had promised
I couldn’t wait to see her
One thing about her
She was always honest

A summer day
In a daisy filled meadow
My grandmother and favorite Teddy Bear
Were my most special guests
And we all wore our best chapeaux

We called it the Teddy Bear Picnic
A regular event of memories to cherish
A day to look forward to
So I would forget the hell at home
That was always so nightmarish

We would sit on a blanket
And set out the tea things
She would bring homemade cake
With little sandwiches
And we would pretend we saw fairy rings

We would pick wild flowers
To take home and put in a jar
Play hide and seek in the woods
And sing songs on the way home
So I wouldn’t fall asleep in the car

She was my saving grace
So loving and deep
The warmth of her arms
Encircling me
Are memories I will always keep

The mainstay of my life
She kept the wolf from my door
Giving me safe haven
And a constant source
Of love which does not ignore

Christine Bolton

In response to Three Things Challenge June 17: Grandmother, Daisy, Wolf

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Blog, Uncategorized

Looking For The Other Half

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The Word of The Day Challenge for June 17 is Moiety. Admittedly I had to look this one up, but I’m thankful to learn its meaning.  It’s definition according to Merriman-Webster’s dictionary is “Moiety: one of two equal parts – Half” It reminded me of a Plato allegory that I discovered some years ago and instantly loved. It’s a beautiful story and worth the read. Here is a brief synopsis of the lengthy document I found on theconversation.com with some links to the Symposium if you are interested.

“In the beginning, humans were androgynous. So says Aristophanes in his fantastical account of the origins of love in Plato’s Symposium. Not only did early humans have both sets of sexual organs, Aristophanes reports, but they were outfitted with two faces, four hands, and four legs. These monstrosities were very fast – moving by way of cartwheels – and they were also quite powerful. So powerful, in fact, that the gods were nervous for their dominion. Wanting to weaken the humans, Zeus, Greek king of Gods, decided to cut each in two, and commanded his son Apollo “to turn its face…towards the wound so that each person would see that he’d been cut and keep better order.” If, however, the humans continued to pose a threat, Zeus promised to cut them again – “and they’ll have to make their way on one leg, hopping!” The severed humans were  a miserable lot, Aristophanes says. “[Each] one longed for its other half, and so they would throw their arms about each other, weaving themselves together, wanting to grow together.” Finally, Zeus, moved by pity, decided to turn their sexual organs to the front, so they might achieve some satisfaction in embracing.”

I find this story very romantic.  For those of us who believe in soulmates and two halves making a whole, this allegory would seem to confirm our thoughts.  I found it buried in a self-help relationship book that someone had recommended to me.  I felt better instantly because I always had an indescribable feeling my whole life that something was missing.  As if I were limping through life with only one leg. For fear of sounding dramatic, the book, and Plato’s allegory, changed my way of thinking about life and the universe.  We waste too much time searching for the wrong things and not realizing that it is us who hinder our own progress.   I hope you enjoyed this. Christine Bolton Word of the day Challenge: Moiety Follow Poetry For Healing on WordPress.com

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