She ordered drinks,

but would take them in plastic cups

so she could enjoy

them outside the bar

on the steps

“She thinks she's too good for us,”

said the other girls. “Doesn't

wanna drink with

losers.”

“She's just crazy,” said another girl. “Leave

her be.”

“That's her art and the thing

she's best at,” said another girl. “This girl,

oh, she can out-crazy all the crazies.

I like her. Love her.

It wasn't that long ago

when she

was approached outside

in the darkness by some

thug-looking dude

who invited her into the back alley

and she agreed.

But, she removed her clothes right

there on the steps.

An' pulled a goddamned switchblade from

between her legs.

Told the guy that she doesn't take money.

Tongue, ear, eye, or finger, she told him.

Asked, which would you like

me to carve out and

tuck neatly in my lady pocket for

fermentation?

There was nothing but seriousness in her

eyes.

Apparently, it works. She spoke with the heart

and not the mind, so

it worked.

She outcrazied the crazy.

And the guy just ran away.

There's real knowledge to be taken from

this.

The way out of any situation

is to break the rules, to refuse to play

by the script. Do something

unexpected, something extraordinary. And you'll

always end up on top of

any challenge.

Craziness then, is only a statement

made by the heart

that the mind can't agree with.

Cheers!”

They all drank

and nobody had anything else to say

It was time to

think

and drink

***

INSTAGRAM:

https://www.instagram.com/bogdan_1_dragos/

I’m a mess of shit in a bowl,

spicy, smoked,

maybe left on the stove a little too long

and not stirred quite enough

so the bottom sticks to the pot

and no matter how hard you try,

you just can’t scrape it out,

and if you tried,

you’d scratch up your favorite bowl.

I’m andouille sausage and shrimp and crawfish and rice and vegetables,

a little French, and yes a little African

because my children, the people I love the most in this world

are brown-skinned and beautiful.

And it’s all mixed together

in a brown rue,

looking like a jumbled mess,

and tasting delicious, savory,

comfort with a kick.

Loneliness is dark. It's cold. It's painful.

And it feels like it'll never go away.

But my Old Life promised me its return, and that's what keeps me going.

As time goes on, people fall out of my life the way snow falls out of the sky.

My flowers are withering away, and my branches feel bare...

When the only hands that can hold me are my own, I think of the hands that once held me and suddenly I feel wistful but also a little more warm.

...

At last, I return to the chiming bells, the stacks of books, and the rustling papers in a zoo full of children who feel too big for the cages of their own body.

Life floods back into me, and I start to remember that there are hands to catch me when I fall.

This is an insult to the hours.

I am not special

I am ruthless

I seek truth like it

hurts me to do less.

My art is more

than mere minutes

I bore into it

I just love to write

to rhyme when they tell me not to

love to find that kernel of proof

that grain of sand they took

with my word. My mind is driven—

not by destiny, but by pride

Skill is more than

talent over time

Photo by Renel Wackett on Unsplash

#talent #pride #life #poetry #wisdom #lifelessons

I drank the Kool-aid, believing everything you said was true.

Every morning, never questioned, as I pledged my loyalty to you.

But they told me it was all a lie, try to keep an open mind-

I didn't believe them, or at least I tried...

But you lied.

"It's a failing plan," more like a falling plane

They're throwing cargo off the back to lose some extra weight

grab the parachute, but it's too late.

They warned us of the flood, but never of the fire,

wanna call you a liar, I desire to conspire

But maybe you never knew either.

And I stay up at night,

wondering what's wrong and right,

but lately I think it might

be better if we didn't survive.

No I stay up at night,

wondering what's wring and right,

but lately I think I might

have been feeding a parasite.

The flowers blossom

Is why Spring is so awesome!

A flower for every occasion

Even if you don’t have an invitation.

A rose, a tulip, or even a daisy

Occasionally these flowers seem a bit lazy.

Every flower to bloom in Spring time,

Is when these flowers are at their prime.

All of the flowers to blossom from Earth

Are bound to be considered as rebirth.

Put them in a pot on your window

Drown them in sunshine and let their skin show!

I had never seen him break down before.

He was a blasé person, to the point where he had become a being of pure apathy in my mind. If others began to panic, he would be the one to restore peace.

Yet, seeing him crumpled in a chair, it wasn't the case tonight. He was noiseless, but his eyes screamed. Tears became waterfalls as he fixated on looking at the floor. I edged my way forward.

"Adam?" Silence filled the air as I awaited a response. I could hear small, shallow breaths. He moved his gaze from the floor to his hands. Then, he spoke. Barely a whisper. A haunting whisper.

"I lost her," his voice cracked after finishing his sentence with shuddering gasps. I found myself at his side. My throat closed as I tried to find the right words to say.

"It's not your fault—"

"Yes! Yes, it was!" Nearly falling backward, I clamped my mouth shut. Regret filled his eyes. "It was. I told her that she was going to make it. I told her she was going to grow up and look where that got her!" There was nothing I could say.

"You can't blame yourself," I whispered.

"It's hard not to when you have other people's lives on the line," he snapped. "There is so much weight on you to get it right. If you don't, there's heartbreak, grief, and loss. You have to save them and it's your fault if they don't make it." The world became heavy. By some divine providence, we embraced. There was no word or warning. Short intervals of comfort made their way through the hug. Through it, I learned more about the soul of people especially those in life-or-death positions.

If souls could be weighed, theirs overpower the weight of the world.

I was born; happily, I am here, still alive to write for you, fellow Readers.

I live in Ukraine. We struggle, and I must assure you, this is not going to stop. Fighting for freedom is too much in human nature, it seems, to stop in the middle of fighting.

Now a few more words about me. I write for challenges only, being too idle to challenge myself; that means I must thank fellows who post challeges for introducing my into the world of writing.

Thus, thank you, everybody!

I believe Lord of the Rings made a major impact on the movie industry, particularly in the realm of fantasy.

1. Visual affects. These movies set an expectation for the affects surrounding beings and creatures that exist only in the mind and must be slowly brought to life by an animator.

2. These movies also brought fantasy to a place where it was appreciated, and not just for weirdos.

3. Tall elves.

Thank you for your time.

the universe

is indifferent.

it's open eye

gazes upon suffering

and does not look away.

the universe

is an impartial observer,

and each action

we make

in its name

is mere amusement,

a joke told

in a bar

to be laughed at

and then forgotten.

humanity

has learned

to take indifference

personally.

after all,

exclusion is

the most common form

of cruelty.

we can be punched

and get back up.

we can be celebrated

and torn back down.

but how can we stand back up

if our enemy merely

walks away?

there is an injustice

in indifference

a sense of loss

in every battle

left unfought.

by remaining

impartial,

the universe

has unwittingly chosen its side.

by seeking apathy

it has become

hostile.