She came across it quite by accident, a memento of a different time, a time of youth. When you are young time seems to float by gently but as you get older, as events take over, time rushes past so fast reality becomes a dream until you wake up and everything you ever cherished has gone.
The faded photograph was a picture of that time when she’d lived in grandeur and had servants to wait upon her. There she stood on her family’s front porch, dressed in white lace for her wedding day, her husband beside her looking young and vital with that roguish grin. How she had loved him, but he’d been a gambler and now she was reduced to her current state. When once she had eaten steak and caviar, now she had nothing but cabbages to look forward to. Cabbages and memories were all that were left.
[150 words]
I hope you enjoyed this story, my first in a long while 🙂
His body lay in the gutter. He could feel the hard cobblestones, but the discomfort they caused was nothing next to the pain of the wound in his side. Stabbed by a Knife. It was Ironic he should end this way, bleeding to death in the street. The rain washed the blood away and with it, his life ebbed.
He took one last look at the London street, lit by the gaslamps that produced a flickering uneven light.
I wrote this poem and shared it back in February 2019. It was a different world back then, but I wanted to share it again with you and I hope it makes you laugh.
Chelsea Owens, on her blog, has thrown down the gauntlet in her latest Terrible Poetry contest. Click on the link below to see the post, why not have a go?
It was quite early in the morning when the telephone rang. Alice had only just brought in the breakfast tray consisting of a soft-boiled egg, toast, some marmalade and the compulsory cup of strong tea.
Placing the tray down on the bed next to Lady Patterson, Alice went and answered the phone.
It wasn’t every day that Audrey Patterson took breakfast in bed. In fact, she would usually have been up, washed and dressed by now, but she had slept badly and her head wasbeing rather a pain. Her mind kept going over and over the events that had taken place. The murders of her friend, Claudia Halifax and her Maid, Elsie, had affected her badly. She had sworn to catch their killers, or it may well be that the killer of Claudia and of Elsie were one and the same.
I’ve decided to repost this poem that I wrote back when COVID first appeared. I’m pleased to say that the signs are the COVID threat is passing but it hasn’t gone away.
Today’s Word of the Day is Bizarre.
Life is quite strange at the moment
It’s bizarre, it’s weird and completely surreal
Like an old-time disaster movie
Waiting for the villain to finally reveal
His twisted scheme for world domination.
And so, Covid-19 has been released
Threatening mankind and all of creation
An obituary for the deceased.
If we heed the advice we’ve been given
And stay at home for our own survival
We may yet find we’ll come through fine
It may bring about humankind’s revival.
No more selfishly thinking of ourselves
No more being, by crowds, pushed and shoved.
By staying indoors and being dependent
We find out that we are truly loved.
We may feel at times, scared and delicate,
Adrift in a sea of doubts and cares.
But we are all in this boat together
And togetherness can beat despairs.
So, I bring you this one and final thought,
That turns this whole disaster on its head
There is always a silver lining of a sort,
So, think about this positively instead.
It’s strange that a deadly virus, although
it’s keeping us all apart, however,
Also appears to be the very thing
that has brought us all much closer together.
Copyright: Kristian Fogarty 24 March 2020
This poem was written in the hope of spreading some positivity in these desperate times.
I have to say, the theme this week is absolutely brilliant! It sent my mind whirring as there are so many great films with some fantastic music. I was faced with a quandary. Should I go with something more traditional, like Moon-River by Henry Mancini, sung by Danny Williams for the film but also performed brilliantly by Andy Williams? Or Should I go with Ennio Morricone and use Gabriel’s Oboe from the Mission? Then I remembered one of my favourite Actresses who is also a Singer, someone who I have been surreptitious about being a fan of in the past, has often sung a song in a film that has become a hit. The person I refer to is Cher.
When this particular song came out, I used to dance along to it, secretly in my room, watching like a hawk to make sure no one could see me. I was never the cool kid at school, but my one consolation was I had no pressure to act cool, if I did something weird like sing along to Cher, then I had no street cred to lose.
The one i’ve chosen is The Shoop Shoop Song, that was featured in the film “Mermaids”.
The film came out in 1990 with Cher in the main role along with Bob Hoskins. Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci played her daughters. Set in the 1960’s the film was about a young single mother with two kids who move to Massachusetts.
The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss) was written by Rudy Clark and first released in 1963 by Merry Clayton but it didn’t chart. It was later recorded by Betty Everrett in 1964 who had a hit. It was later recorded by other artists and then Cher’s version for the film Mermaids became a number one hit in the UK, only her second since Sonny and Cher “I’ve got you, Babe”. Apparently in the US, it did not do quite as well. It may not be a majority view, but I consider Cher a fantastic actress. Her performance in the film Tea with Mussolini is my particular favourite of her roles.
The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss)
Does he love me, I wanna know How can I tell if he loves me so?
Oh, no, you’ll be decieved (Is it in his sighs?) Oh, no he’ll make believe If you wanna know (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss
(That’s where it is, oh yeah)Oh no, it’s just his charms (In his warm embrace?) OH no, that’s just his arms If you wanna know (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss (That’s where it is) Oh, it’s in his kiss
(That’s where it is)Whoa, Hug him and squeeze him tight Find out what you wanna know If it’s love, if it really is It’s there in his kiss
Oh no, that’s not the way You’re not listenin’ to all I said If you wanna know (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss (That’s where it is) Oh, It’s in his kiss (That’s where it is)
Whoa, Hug him and squeeze him tight Find out what you wanna know If it’s love, if it really is It’s there in his kiss
Oh no, that’s not the way You’re not listenin’ to all I said If you wanna know (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) If he loves you so (Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop) It’s in his kiss (That’s where it is)
Oh, It’s in his kiss (That’s where it is) Oh, yeah it’s in his kiss (It’s in his kiss) (That’s where it is) Ooh, it’s in his kiss (It’s in his kiss) That’s where it is
It’s in his kiss That’s where it is Ooh, it’s in his kiss That’s where it is Ooh, oh it’s in his kiss Oh, oh, it’s in the kiss That’s where it is That’s where it is
I must admit that the theme for this week forced me to think about a topic I try to ignore, that of death. It was quite debilitating but with dogged determination, I considered the options that were out there. Songs about death often come at the topic in a gentle, euphemistic way, describing someone resting or asleep. The emotions expressed often comprise an element of regret or a wish to see that person again in the future. I finally chose a song that doesn’t skimp on tugging at those heartstrings. “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor was written in 1969 and released in August 1970.
The song follows Taylor’s reaction to the suicide of Suzanne Schnerr, a childhood friend, and his experiences with drug addiction and fame.
Lyrics
Just yesterday mornin’, they let me know you were gone Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song I just can’t remember who to send it to
I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend But I always thought that I’d see you again
Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus? You’ve got to help me make a stand You’ve just got to see me through another day My body’s aching and my time is at hand And I won’t make it any other way
Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend But I always thought that I’d see you again
Been walking my mind to an easy time My back turned towards the sun Lord knows, when the cold wind blows It’ll turn your head around Well, there’s hours of time on the telephone line To talk about things to come Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground
Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend But I always thought that I’d see you, baby One more time again, now Thought I’d see you one more time again There’s just a few things coming my way this time around, now Thought I’d see you, thought I’d see you, fire and rain, now
Tales from the mind of Kristian 
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