An Acrostic Poem that Creates an Atmosphere

A damp heaviness hangs in the air,

The witching hour is near.

My eyes are tired from squinting into the darkness and

Owls are hooting, I think.

Scary sounds seem to be growing louder or

Perhaps it's my imagination running wild.

How did I get in this situation?

Even I don’t remember what prompted me to get in the car and

Ride with reckless abandon, aimlessly. Then suddenly...

Everything goes black.

 
Happy Halloween!

For another scary Halloween acrostic poem, check out Exploring Superstitions, in an Acrostic Poem.

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This post was written for The Writers' Post group on Facebook. This week’s challenge is to create an atmosphere in your writing. I approached the challenge by trying to create an atmosphere within an acrostic poem.  If you want to connect with other bloggers and join the fun, go to The Writers' Post Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.

An Alternative Look at David Bowie's song, Changes

This post was going to be about David Bowie’s song, Changes. I love the song. It’s brilliant how the lyrics are just vague enough to be open to individual interpretation, of which there are many.

Some believe that the Changes lyrics focus on the obsessive nature of artistic reinvention, which Bowie mastered. More common interpretations include taking a hard look at the process of aging and how you’ll handle the changes that go along with it. Even deeper, the lyrics examine a young man's attempt to figure out how he'll react to moving from the ‘cool, hip’ side of the generation divide to the ‘old, outdated’ side.

My plan was to take an excerpt of the Bowie lyrics and wax academic about the primary text and sub texts, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.  

BUT…

…this is so much more fun. As I was researching the lyrics I noticed some word discrepancies—especially after the Ch-ch-ch-changes hook. I always thought the lyrics were:

> Turn and face the strain
Ch-ch-changes

It turns out, I may not be correct. Here are some of the alternative suggestions:

> Turn and face the strange
As in - move out and face the unknown.

> Turn and face the change
Which is an obvious repeat of the hook

> Turn and chase the grain
Guessing that Bowie drinks whiskey with a beer chaser

> Turn and get my cane
The refrain Bowie will sing when he gets older

Other notable interpretations:

> Turn and take the train
> Turn and face the stain
> Churn your face in Spain
> Turn and face Loraine
> Time to eat chow mein

Okay, I’m easily amused but these are laugh out loud funny to me. Here, take a listen and tell me what you think the mystery lyrics in David Bowie’s song, Changes are.

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This post was written for The Writers' Post group on Facebook, and this week’s topic is changes.  If you want to connect with other bloggers and join the fun, go to The Writers' Post Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.

The Power of Words

I love words, I started collecting them when I was little girl. Some girls collect dolls or stuffed animals. Not me. It was all about words.

As a kid, I had 2 notebooks with me at all times. In one notebook, I’d record new words that I heard or read. If I didn’t understand what the word meant, I’d look it up and write down the definition. Then, I’d try to use the new word casually, in conversation. My (mis)use of these oversized words was hilarious to the grown-ups in my life. In fact, we still laugh about a few of the golden nuggets I stiltedly pushed through my kid-mouth to form an awkward sentence. We call those comical phrases ‘quotable quotes.’

Still, I persevered. Words held power. I wanted to know words, to understand them, to use them properly.   

In the second notebook, I collected quotes. I was (and still am) moved and amazed at the power of the right words strung together to express the perfect thought.

My love of words, quotes, song lyrics and poems comes naturally. My paternal grandmother was a published author and poet. Her first gift to me was a rhyming poem. I still have it, in her handwriting. What a treasure.

Now my 11-year old niece is keeping the tradition alive. She uses the funniest words sometimes, struggling to work them into a cohesive sentence. She has her own notebook full of favorite words. When she grows up, I hope we’ll laugh together about her ‘quotable quotes.’ I hope she’ll use the power of words in a positive way.

Even as a kid I knew that words have power. I wanted to understand the power, harness it and use it well. 

I still want all that.

The pen is mightier than the sword. ~Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." ~Rudyard Kipling

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This post was written for The Writers' Post group on Facebook, and this week’s topic is The Power of Words.  If you want to connect with other bloggers and join the fun, go to The Writers' Post Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.