creative writing

Gideon’s Challenge

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SelfSelf…

Rough and ragged.
Flesh once smooth
now
scored and scarred.
Damaged walls protect
inner softness.
What lies within
concealed.
Supportive and nurturing
and yet
thick walls hide
what lies beneath.

Like the tree I have thick walls, although unlike the tree, as I age those walls become thinner. You chip away at them again and again, tirelessly exposing the meaty softness of tender wood beneath. And yet, there is always more bark… more walls to work through.  The bark of this fir tree marks a part of my ‘self’ that I strive to defeat… strive to find balance with. Each year we are together, I get a little bit closer to finding that balance between damaged mess and flawed perfection.  Each year, you help me find another step along that path.

Thank you.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

 

 

Weekly Creativity Prompt – Magical Spell

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Pull (at least) three cards and use them to write about a magical spell.

The Magus Arcana Deck

There was once a young girl (The Fool) named Emmaline that spent all of her time frolicking by herself (The Hermit) in the forest among the Fae. They taught her many things (The Hierophant) and filled her days with an abundance of joy (The Sun).

Her mother was worried for her daughters safety (The Empress), and did everything in her power to dissuade Emmaline from going out into the woods on her own (The Magician).  When nothing seemed to work, the mother eventually consulted with the old crone witch that lived at the edge of their village (The High Priestess).

The witch was powerful and used her significant magical abilities (Strength) to cast a spell upon Emmaline and pin the girl in place at home (The Hanged Man).

It worked! But it made Emmaline very sad, and the Fae missed her very much (The Tower). So much so that they came to rescue the little girl (The Chariot) and allowed Emmaline to choose if she wanted to live in the forest forever or stay at home with her mother (The Lovers).

Emmaline chose the woods (Death).

The Fae’s powerful magic broke the spell and the little girl bounded off into the forest with the Fae, never to be seen again by human eyes (The World).

DECK USED:  THE MAGUS ARCANA DECK

Gideon’s Challenge

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HomeHome…

Hidden deep
swirled within
a bit of spark
has found its home.
Quiet and sweet,
wild but shy
it lingers
trusting
but not alone.
A piece of nature,
a home to one
entrusted
to me.

I can sense the energy of what lives within this broken shell, a little spark glimmering in the dark, hidden beneath the shell.  It lives in my home, invited and cared for, carefully loved and given a spot all its own.  Perhaps some day it will feel safe enough to peek out and say hello.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

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SupportSupport…

I can’t see me
lovin’ nobody but you
For all my life
When you’re with me,
baby the skies’ll be blue
For all my life
Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice,
it had to be
The only one for me is you,
and you for me
So happy together

Okay, so I didn’t write today’s little poem.  They’re actually from the song “Happy Together” by The Turtles. But…. it was just so perfect for the picture.

The thing is? You are my support… and I’m yours.  Just like the branch above and organisms that make their life upon it.  Some might classify our relationship as co-dependent, but I don’t see it that way.  I see it as a perfect balance of support reinforced with the snug comfort of love added in.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

 

Gideon’s Challenge

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ComfortComfort…

Come
slip into the water
with me
into a cool embrace.
Let the nymphs
pull you deeper
with me
as embracing waves
caress.

I find comfort within water.  Floating within it’s caressing embrace, I can close my eyes and allow everything… absolutely everything… to just drift away.  Where the forest is my grounding and my center, water is the conduit to my freedom and greatest moments of peace.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

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TendernessTenderness…

It comes
with the softest touch.
Delicate
like a feather.
Warm
like the kiss of sunlight.
With senses
heightened
even the slightest brush
creates fireworks.

As much rough and tumble as we enjoy, it’s the tender moments that sink the deepest.  Intimacy between us is so intense and often violent, and yet the aftercare is the sweetest tenderness I’ve ever known. I do not need to be treated like delicate porcelain, I crave that intensity and collision of power and need… but it’s the tenderness that comes after that touches the heart and breaks open the inner protective shell, granting you access to that part of me that none other has ever been allowed to witness or touch.

Photo © ZenStatePhotography