More found poetry from Carrot Ranch

Still catching up (with work, this time) and still finding inspiration at Carrot Ranch.

Pieces

memory is not exact
but combined
with time
rather than being
recent brain activity

it is possible
even if it is not true
remembering creates fiction
a part told truthfully
our life story

identity is not researchable
through our actions, our parents, our name
labelled, repeated, assumed
selective stories keep
who we are over time

(from Irene Waters’ post at Carrot Ranch: https://carrotranch.com/2018/07/13/life-is-a-memoir-what-is-fiction/)

And here’s what’s blooming in the garden this week: Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Lord Baltimore’

Found poetry from Carrot Ranch

Trying to catch up on several weeks’ worth of e-mail, I was struck by the latest Flash Fiction Challenge at Carrot Ranch. Charli Mills’ introduction provided a jumping-off point for me today, even if it ain’t flash fiction.

The privilege of a lifetime

I want to be that woman bold enough to wear buttons
as a necklace, who can look cool

on a hot summer day. We all want our characters
to be heroes. Like others hit by disaster

before us, we know the word strong but dance
around the word hero. We all resonate

to the journey, the cave, the return, the elixir of hope —
just not the label. We all deny the call.

The hero’s journey is messy: uncomfortable moments
and difficult seasons, a tadpole

in a ray of sunlight. It’s like birth. It’s like death.
We know it can never be the same.

Button up.