Twisted

July 24, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A tree swallow twisting for a scratch – oh how I wish I could do that. Roadside, tree branches twist and bend to avoid traffic – that I feel like I do all the time, lol. (For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week challenge: twisted)

Lost and Found

July 23, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Fallen limbs and pathless woodsno obstacle for a wild childleft to her own devices,searching for a self. Only with age, and sproutingcurves, did I learn to be afraidof shadows, that the woodsequated with wolves and lurking And that abandoned placeshouse evil – held captive therejust this side of adolescence – lost all that innocence gifts […]

V.J. Weekly Challenge #58: Just When I Thought…

July 22, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Just when I thought I knew where we were headed, life threw another curveball. It happened simply enough. Ric experienced a brief period of blindness in one eye. “Just the bottom half of the eye,” he’d tell the doctor later. “And some weakness in my left arm.” The family doctor recommended a trip to Urgent […]

Sacred Witness

July 21, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Illness affords me time,and time begs observation. Used to think that if I prayed enough,was enlightened enough, I could call uponthe presence of a divine spirit to intervene,change the course of suffering. Now, I know that we are not called uponto alter God’s plans, control not withinour mortal hands, but we are commanded to observe, […]

Such a Romantic!

July 19, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

For Proscenium’s Friday Follies.

A Trip To the Beach

July 17, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

As the temperature rises we are drawn to nearby shores, for a patio lunch overlooking the water. Merely observers now – the sun a threat to aging skin, and the sand too difficult to navigate – we are content to people watch. Impossible to capture the entirety of our view in one shot, so I […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #57: Presence

July 15, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

“Isolation threatens to consume me,” I tell my therapist in a recent visit. “I’m not willing to disappear into the woodwork again.” The doctors say my illness is relapsing; it’s how they explain the onslaught of infections. I’ve just finished another round of even stronger antibiotics. While my immune system fights invasion, I am staving […]

Shadows Speak

July 14, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Shadows stalk our conversations, Mother and I. It’s not so much what is said, but what hovers between the lines spoken. Fear stalks her – death so close – and I sidestep darkness. It’s an illusion, of course, this thought that we can think ourselves well, or avoid pain by focusing only on the light. […]

Five or More

July 13, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Fifth, as in wheel, an uncomfortable count,more than two, definitely a crowd… A table for two, or even for four, but five?well that seems to be a viewing gallery… For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Five + items.

Like My Kitchen

July 12, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

#profri

This Life A Road

This life a road –the way preparedsigns to guide me,and still, I get lost. Construction, distraction,disobedience – throw me off –tendency to choose tougher routes,broken down and been sidelined And yet, the road still beckons,invites progression, thrills.A rolling stone gathers no moss,my father liked to say, and so… I push ahead, keep motoring,trust the obstacles […]

Wings

(Written during my bedbound years with ME/CFS)

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

May is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis awareness month. Also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, this disease is characterized by exhaustion after exertion. The exertion can be physical -taking a shower; emotional – worrying or obsessing; or mental- filling out forms. The best source of information about ME/cfs, as we call it, is the Bateman Horne Center. They […]