Cookala's Read At Your Own Peril Thread

[BrianIsSmilingAtYou]

cookala

Good to see you back!

Unfinished and Unresolved - covers some territory I am familiar with. Those kind of questions can haunt you.

Alpha to Omega - the whole cycle of life and purpose and meaning distilled into a few lines

Scars - some interesting sonics and wordplay here with internal rhyme and alliteration. On top of that it asks some good questions about life, and the scars that we all bear.

Vows - as with Scars, you do some interesting internal rhyme here. Even though you posted this before Scars, it sounds like an answer to Scars in some ways

Too Many Questions - you are big on the questions this month, and the title here brings that in focus.

beachkus - 13 - you're already talking about August! 14 - undulate is a good word choice here 15 - I think we all need a "cool nirvana"

Blue Jay Way - immediately brings to mind The Beatles song by George Harrison on Magical Mystery Tour (one of George's weaker compositions), but you went a totally different way with this, going after the bird itself, the nasty "little thieves"!

beachkus -10 another kind of siren 11 - there's that nirvana again, the beach is your place 12 - a serenade of pebbles!

Keep writing!

BrianIs AtYou

[larryrap]

Hi Cookala, excellent rebound!
I still love the Beachkus the best - your latest batch is delicious (though you used "nirvana" twice - tsk-tsk). Your special connection to the beach gleams through brightly.
There's a skilled buildup of tension in the latest two - the first with rain developing from ominous to fearsome, and the second with a novel's worth battle of loneliness and hope which had me fear for the protagonist, but you left it at a cliffhanger. In my mind it then moves into crisis and finally maturity and realignment, I guess like As Good as it Gets. But you're the boss.

[Dunc]

Cookie!

Wecome home!

Now let's see ...

Beachku 10 ─ "sing sea siren songs" would be immensely flattering to our local variety, so my admiration for your boats is boundless!

11 ─ Gee, that sounds ─ ahm ─ very interesting, being warm and being tongued to Nirvana!

12 ─ Soft ocean evening with guitar accompaniment ─ yes, that'll do it!

Blue Jay Way ─ Thanks for that affectionate introduction to the blue jays, who, it seems have a certain toughness about them not to mention cunning. And they seed oaktrees? More power to 'em! Toronto would be attributing quite a bit of aggression to the jay to name their team for them ─ the Toronto Canaries doesn't have the same sound.

13 ─ Late August? Well, if you say so. Zip and zoom, sounds perfect.

14 ─ I like that one, and I can sort of see it. Well caught!

15 ─ That also has the true sound to it; but I take it summer's not yet achieved full blast?

Really? ─ In Sydney we used to call 'em Westies, that is, those from Sydney's western suburbs, a long way from the coast, and cheaper to buy a house. But that was always unfair, since parts of the western suburbs have been subdued and civilized and their land prices risen accordingly. Up to maybe 2005 or so they used to drive into Sydney and block the two main city streets by driving in a long circle; but the cops finally, ah, dissuaded them. And now Sydney has no problems with immature males, although ...

Too many questions ─ You'll recall the James Bond movie The World is Not Enough which is a translation of Latin Orbis non sufficit which can be traced (in old Greek) to the epitaph of Alexander the Great; so you're right, humans have always had their questing, conquering side. Rather like climbing Everest 'because it's there'. (It used to be more often a bloke thing.)

Vows ─ Amen. And YAY!

Scars ─ And again I agree, though perhaps you'd agree we should avoid living in the past.

Alpha to Omega ─ Memento, homo, quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris but until then, live long and prosper. (I seem to be in a sloganeering groove.) Upbeat is good,

Unfinished and Unresolved ─ Yes, spot on. My dad died a fair while back and after a while I thought I'd put together a family history and try to fill in the blanks. My first stop was at the Genealogical Society's office in the city. I walked uncertainly towards the desk and before I spoke the man said, "Don't tell me ─ your father died five years ago and now you regret not asking him all those questions you've come here for," So it seems to be universal phenomenon. Which reminds me ─ have you written your own history and put a copy where it can be found?

Sky Bound ─ It might be because he's younger'n you, or it might be just a bloke thing.

Kiwi ─ From your careful portrait you draw a mighty moral! Maybe go stunting in your biplane after all?

Deluge ─ Yes, that's a sad story we'd better get used to, The weather isn't tipped to get much sweeter this century.

Tortured ─ And regret; and the time it may take us to recognise opportunities when we see them. But for some of us, flight will be a natural response.

Delighted to see you back!

Regards / Dunc

[Sorella]

Cookie!!!!!
So relieved to see you back, and how terrific that you kept writing poems – even without our support as fellow sufferers in April!
Your beachkus show your love for the beach (Long Island, right?) – and the sonics!
sing sea siren songs, cast nets,
catch fish
Blue Jay is so interesting, as are all your bird observations (on Facebook too!)
Really? -- Very lively and concentrated snapshot of the future!
Too Many Questions – cosmic food for thought here, love stardust
from a distant planet (…) entwined with our DNA
Vows – again the sonics in place, truly romantic this time:
Cocooned against the cold
in our bower of bliss
Yay for love in the time of Covid!
Scars – My favourite of the recent batch: The intro ‘tissue issue’ and the apt images, the idea that they don’t go away. Do we ever heal? A thoughtful poem.
No, wait – the favourite has to be Alpha to Omega – swans in a cycle, all to each other – very moving love poem, beautiful imagery. The title is perfect.
Unfinished and Unresolved – so what if the topic was used before, this is so human and universal. (Bench has a No Inspiration poem, the ‘all I got’ poem -- I had one! and with a title like this, you could say this was yours – except it is a very good effort!)
No no, hold it – Sky Bound – all action and movement and excitement! My favourite so far, inspired!
Kiwi – haha – a corona bird lazing around! Great picture of an exotic bird from Dunc’s part of the world!
Deluge – this made me feel like a drowned rat! Excellent submersion of the imagination – Part II is a standout!
lacquered nails
on the bleary window panes
Tortured – The title should be more positive than that: you have always done sensuality very well, I remember those pears, and this is another hot sizzler!

You did very well on your own, time you got well and truly fluffed! Hope the red wine was plentiful in your ivory tower? Welcome back in time for the tango!

Sorella

[cookala]

thanks muchly you guys!
Brian – thanks again for all your reads and comments – I am happy you appreciate the rhyming, as it’s something I usually strive for when I poem. and yes, I think the self-quarantine of about a month now has made me too introspective, wondering too much about things.

larryrap – I’m happy you’re enjoying my beachy kus. I have had an on-going love affair with the ocean beach I go to since I was in my teens, so it’s easy to write about it, knowing it as well as I do. and yes, cliffhangers usually have sequels – but that will probably not happen this year. maybe 2021 will find me poeming the sequel.

me dear Dunc – I so enjoy your comments and witty takes on what I’ve written – and while they are aggressive and nasty in some ways I do love the blue jays for their bold spirit and smarts. Westies, eh? just goes to show you those types exist on a global scale. and they scare me. I think to myself, and these are the leaders of tomorrow? yes, they scare me a lot. and agreed – it’s not good to dwell in the past. not if you want to move forward! and hey, we get to dance in 3 days!!!

Sorella sista! - I, too, am relieved to get back! I thought for awhile I was going to miss it again this year, but my prayers were answered. It’s not easy being without internet access these days!!! even though, I still am feeling like I did miss most of it anyway. and yes, LI it is, where the pandemic just might be the worst in the US and perhaps most of the world as far as # of cases. I think NY leads the US in cases and I forget who else globally, but I know NY is way up at the top of the list as far as # of cases. very scary times here for me as I’m a high risk person between age and asthma and weakened immune system. I think if I got corona I’d probably die or come very close to it. well, nuff doom and gloom! and oh! for a bottle of wine! except all the liquor stores are closed! and I finished off what I had left in the bottle of vodka maybe 2 weeks ago. poopoos!!!!!!!!!!!! and fuhgetabout finding toilet paper, paper towels and hand sanitizer – and now I’m afraid people are going to start hoarding meat because Trump in his infinite and arrogant wisdom has just ordered the meat processing plants to stay open, but then there’s all the laundromats, and hair salons and massage spas, all are closed....everything is shut down here except for fast food places, drug stores and food stores. and I won’t allow myself to even think what if I get sick for any reason at all and have to go to the hospital cause it’s just too damn scary to think about. and its
going to be a long time until things can get back to the new normal, whatever that will be. I tell you it sucks not having my creature comforts during Napo!!!! no booze, no chocolate. but I do have coffee and creamer and the necessary basics as far as enough food so that alone is a huge blessing. and weather-wise it’s been either too cool or too windy or too icky out to get to the beach yet, plus they were closed for a little while last month but have reopened again, except there aren’t any facilities open...*sigh* damn corona. well, this has turned into a rant so that’s enough! (but it felt good to let it go. one needs to vent at times! thank you!) ok, nuff said cause now I want to go read some
poems and try to catch up a little.

[cookala]

gosh, I feel like I finally got back here and now it’s almost over. poooh!

April 29

That Year at the Beach

She-

Memorial Day. The first day
she goes to the beach she is hungry
for the soft shoosh of sand
beneath her feet and the warm lap
of the southern breeze. Communing
with the salted sea’s mist
and the quick in and ex-
hales of the earth’s breath
matching her own.
She is home.

He-

He’s been a gypsy for far too long; lately
he’s been dreaming of roots
reaching slender fingers deep into the ground.
His wanderlust has culminated, its rainbows’
dried up and paled. He sees himself
in the dead sea horse he finds washed above
the tide line desiccating in the sun
and takes it as a sign
when he sees her coming towards him, ambling
along the shoreline, sunlight bright behind her
silhouetting.

Together-

They are two moths
drawn to the light of a flame.

[cookala]

Debby Downer alert...cause I just finally got back online and back here and now it’s over. woe is me. I feel like I’ve missed another year of napo. poopoos.


April 30

Love Takes A Holiday

There is no light at the end
of this tunnel,
and hope has vanished
in the cold, gray mist.

Love no longer exists;
Cupid’s been acting nonchalant,
casting away his arrows,
shooting them into a dark abyss.

Their feathers have become
torn and tattered, lost in flight
scattered like so many
dead leaves spiraling in the wind.

[Dunc]

Cookie

This Year at the Beach ─ And a beach love song, perhaps less two moths than two planets orbiting each other.

Love Takes a Holiday ─ Ah, so at a deep level you're equating NaPo with Cupid and seeing the end of NaPo as the end of true affection? I'll reflect deeply on that.

Thirty, babe!

To the dance floor!

Regards / Dunc

[PClem]

Cookie - enjoyed your Beachkus, makes me almost wish I lived near the ocean, definitely makes me I could visit the ocean. Really enjoy your bird poems, you have the Blue Jay nailed. Scars - like the questions, answers and, finally acceptance of the real and metaphorical scars.
The love poems - wow. All the different shades. And I can relate. Joy, fear, regret and hope. And poor, poor Cupid at the end.

[Sorella]

Cookie,
You finished in style, early even, and had your dance -- I managed it 5 minutes before my midnight, having written 4 in a day -- phew!
Congratulations, and so pleased you made it. No NaPo finish without that dance with Dunc...
Even if the last two of yours start a great love affair, and then finish it with autumn, I do like the ending to
be about love!
Sorella

[prokopton]

"spewed like thick honey
poured over thunder.."

is an image I hope I never forget.
One of the best metaphors ever!

I like to think that writing the kitty ditty warmed you up to write Moonsingers.


Congrats on a successful NaPo,
Geoff