Slip From Grip

June 1, 2020June 1, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Current events, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Poetry, Reflections, Trauma and Development, Writing Tags: better future, Courage, Current events, dVerse, Finding a way, Freedom, Grip, History, Poetry, Quadrille, Slavery, Trauma, Writing prompt 28 Comments

Enslaved persons cutting sugar cane on the Island of Antigua, 1823, (The British Library)

She fed them well so

They would

Sleep,

And silently

She gave the slip,

To all she knew

Yet did not sweep

Away the bite

Of whip.

She fled,

So the child in

Her belly’s keep,

Would not writhe, helpless,

In another person’s

Grip.

For the dVerse quadrille challenge: slip

(Note: Dedicated to all who suffered and still suffer under the yoke of injustice, discrimination, racism, and pretense. We can do better than this. We must do better than this.)

If It Ain’t Broke

May 18, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Poetry, Reflections, Trauma and Development, Writing Tags: Adversity, Challenges, Creative writing, dVerse, Help, Independence, loneliness, Poetry, Poetry prompt, Pride, Quadrille, Stubborn 28 Comments

Photo: Will Malott on Unsplash

She refused to budge

Or borrow.

She would not allow herself

The slightest

Reach.

“If it ain’t broke,” she said,

Hiding sorrow –

Holding on to life

In tatters

Yet refusing to

Give in even

A stitch –

“There is no need to seek

A fix.”

For the dVerse quadrille challenge: Fix

The Footprints Of Her Years

May 12, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Poetry, Reflections, Writing Tags: Betrayal, Creative writing, dVerse, Flow, Just for fun, Patchwork, Poetry, Poetry prompt, Relationships, Stream of Consciousness, Writing prompt 30 Comments

Photo: Louisa Potter on Unsplash

She spilled

A trail of tears

Along the footprints of

Her years.

At first she was the

Princess.

The apple of her parents’

Eyes.

Half-grown, she had become

The Black Beauty

Sitting on the class’s

Throne.

When she first met him,

He was her wizard.

Jacob

Of the dazzling blue eyes.

They all followed him

Like cattle.

She swooned

Into his charm.

Into what she believed to be

His tender and true

Heart.

But her prince charming

Turned into

The Czar

Who wielded

A sharp tongue like a

Purple sword.

Who called her

Drab.

Unlovable.

A lazy housewife.

With her

No longer his

Purple queen,

He left in search of

Better.

Found his golden acre.

And she,

In tears of ice

Wept storms,

As blue fire

Drew Aurora Borealis

Across her broken heart.

For dVerse poetics

Silly Billy

May 4, 2020May 4, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Funnies, Muse and Flow, Poetry, Reflections, Writing Tags: Creative writing, Ditty, dVerse, Guard Duty, Just for fun, Oops, Poetry, Poetry prompt, Quadrille, Rhyme, Silly 33 Comments

Photo: Smadar Epshtein

Silly Billy was too chilly

So he too a little nap.

Silly Billy did not really

Think it would cause him mishap.

Frilly Tilly woke him shrilly

And with very little slack,

Sent him home and told poor Billy

That he isn’t welcome back.

For the dVerse poetry quadrille challenge: silly

Note: I find this photo too delightful to use only once… So if you think you’d seen it before, you are not imagining things … 🙂

Central Park, New York City

April 28, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Meditations, Muse and Flow, Photography, Poetry, Reflections, Writing Tags: Central Park, Creative writing, dVerse, History, Home, New York City, Photography, Poetry, Spring, Writing prompt 40 Comments

Photo: Na’ama Yehuda

Where waters tide

‘Round canyons

Carved by time

And ice,

Other canyons

Rise

Man-made

To tickle skies.

Where greenery

Respite to

Millions

Provides,

Sleep memories

Of others

Who used to there

Reside.

Where footfalls mask

The horns of cars

And rustles hold

More sway,

There breathes the city

That like me

Many call home

Today.

For the dVerse challenge: take me with you

Her Heart Be Known

April 20, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Poetry, Reflections, Writing Tags: Be yourself, Being seen, Communication, Courage, Creative writing, dVerse, Energy, Flush, Poetry, Quadrille, Writing prompt 21 Comments

alexandra-lammerink-7KIIe6ska9M-unsplash

Photo: alexandra lammerink on Unsplash

She did not know how

To have her heart

Be known,

Other than to

Let her spirit

Be flush with

Hope,

And to allow her

Soul to

Blush bright

With the

Intent,

Even if

Her words paused,

Timid,

From the moment

She’d left

Home.

For the dVerse quadrille poetry challenge: flush

The Order

April 14, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Current events, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Poetry, Reflections, Writing Tags: Adversity, Courage, Creative writing, Current events, dVerse, Have a voice, Order, Poetry, Tenacity, Trust, Truth, Writing prompt 22 Comments

Photo: Linn W on Unsplash

She’ll refuse, for she must,

The order

To adjust.

She will hold up the laws

And go forth

Just because.

She will not, not today,

Bow to cults

Or obey.

She’ll refuse, for she must,

In her own heart

Have trust.

For the dVerse poetry challenge: Order

According To Plan

April 13, 2020Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Reflections, Writing Tags: Creative writing, dVerse, Escape, Flash Fiction, Getting Away, hope, Micro-fiction, Planning, Prosery, Quote, Working together, Writing prompt 54 Comments

Photo: Jon Sailer on Unsplash

So far all went according to plan.

Part serendipity, part preparation, part desperation. Sheer stubborn, too. She needed all of it.

She slunk around the building, her heartbeat almost drowning out the hum of voices reverberating in the air. She used to find the monotone of prayers soothing. Now it was the buzz of wasps.

Thomas had promised to keep any from straying. Promises were at most hopes in the Commune, but indeed the path seemed clear. Where normally there would be at least one man leaning against the door in fake calm that nonetheless effectively barred the exit, there was naught but empty space. The guards imbibed.

She quickened her pace. She’d have to time it perfectly. The once-daily pass-by train was her only chance at freedom. The rails shook. No one left and no on came on the bare platform. She leaped.

Prosery prompt quote: “No one left and no one came on the bare platform.” Edward Thomas

For the dVerse Prosery challenge: Edward Thomas