I've posted a new poem, "Lungs Know of Grief", written to mark my late brother's 63rd birthday tomorrow.

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2013/03/lungs-know-of-grief-poem.html

It's so satisfying to complete a project and have it enjoyed and appreciated by others. The fourth story, Truly Free,  in my Turning the Tide  series of novels has now been released. This series is based on my family history in Australia, beginning with the first fleet of convicts who arrived on our shores in 1788. It's been a fascinating venture for me to research and then to write the stories of survival, courage, tragedy, overcoming, love and endurance. There's lots of facts in my…

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I enjoy reading inspirational books. Hearing His Whispers by Lauren Miller not only inspired me, but it taught me to become a more committed believer in God.

 Along with the inspirations came many hours of non-stop tears. Can you imagine at the young age of 38 going through a divorce and at the same time fighting for your life? Well, Lauren Miller was…

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Sunday's Thought for the Day comes from Toshiro Ogura, a Hiroshima survivor quoted in Rahna Reiko Rizzuto's memoir Hiroshima in the Morning.

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2012/07/thought-for-day_29.html

I've posted a new poem, "What Light Fell Then Burned After", inspired by a Holocaust Remembrance event I attended this past Sunday. I've included an audio recording of the poem.

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-light-fell-then-burned-after-poem.html

Dealing with the imminent death of someone you have spent the majority of your adult life with, knowing you would rather be anywhere, but with that person and having to sort through varied emotions could be mind boggling. I know I… Continue

Today's post is a brief look at the marvelous documentary "Poetry of Resilience":

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/09/monday-muse-poetry-of-resilience.html

 

Anita Woodley, a journalist and radio producer, channels her younger self, her mother and grandmother in a one-woman play she has written to tell a powerful story about women’s leadership.  It is an earnest story about sickness and healing, aging, love, and survival. Read more about Anita on my blog… Continue

One of my preoccupations has to do with the incredible survival ability of human beings--and, specifically, how artists keep going when jobs consume, health fails, crises hit.  This weekend I will be privileged to run a guest post by poet Wendy Brown-Baez, who writes about how poetry rescued her in…

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Color Of Broken Eyes

© Angeliad of Surazeus

2011 06 07



Ice glitters in a glass of water forlorn

if silver were true color of broken eyes

or nothing swallows hot milk of death

so she chokes and gasps for breath.



Bow rips across her violin heart soft

as feathers plucked from crippled swan

whose last song is smothered by hand

of iron doctor twisting wires ripped sharp.



Eighty-six girls in torn white gowns

stand staring at you… Continue

Now that I have entered my fourth decade of life, I feel I’ve finally “arrived” and life has thrown me so many curve-balls, I've earned the equivalent of a PhD from the "School of Hard Knocks."



Admittedly, at times, I am a hypocrite and half of what I say is comprised of the same mantras I’ve repeated to myself for decades.  However, these very clichés are of the stuff that keeps me believing, striving, hoping and… Continue

Stacey Lennert felt she was her daddy’s little princess. Her fantasy turned into a nightmare when at the age of nine, daddy raped her. When the man began to force himself on her younger sister, Stacey decided to take action. She shot and killed her father who had raped and sodomized her for a decade.…

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Dear all,



This is completely off-topic, but the situation is desperate. As you may have heard on the news, the Egyptian population is rising up against 30 years of tyranny, dictatorship, corruption, torture, and oppression. The government is, as expected, fighting back. The protests started on January 25 and were peaceful, but we were subjected to water cannons, beatings, mass arrests, tear gas (the nastiest stuff I've ever experienced), and rubber bullets (as well as live ammunition… Continue

by: paris barrie

Let me explain.

Raising kids is like running a marathon. You start out full of exuberance, fresh water bottle in hand, but by the half-way point you’re dogging it and by the end you’re just hoping you’ll have the stamina to cross the finish line. Today, I'm dogging it.