A Smiling Acquaintance – A Riddle Poem

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I live in the Americas, in Central and the South

I am a happy mammal, with a constant smile upon my mouth.

There are two families of my species, named after our feet

And also we are different, in what we hunt and eat.

**

Eleven thousand years ago, a few of us were living on the ground

The size of elephants we were weighed in tons, and not with pound…

But the arrival of humans made us easy targets, eaten and extinct

What stayed was our mini-version, the one that smiled and blinked.

**

Also, we are easy target, that means we moved us to the trees

Where we do all, eat and sleep, and slowly move, breed and pair and sneeze.

We don’t have much energy, we don’t do well with others too

Normally, we all are loners, unless we are playing peek-a-boo.

**

We haven’t much developed lately, we stay frozen in our form

We smile, we eat, and we move slowly, to us that is the given norm.

Once a week we might come down from our favorite living tree

Fertilize the soil below it, before climbing up again to be.

**

Our fur is brown, sometimes beige, always straight, and never curled.

We are breeding a very special, unique moth within the insect world.

Our name comes from our movement, sluggish, lazy, very slow.

The name is program, you might guess, we are a ‘sloth’, that is to know.

*****

(Copyright, Aurora Jean Alexander, April 2022)

Picture courtesy of Google.com

Spring Is In The Air

This one here, it is for Lisa

And she knows I’m teasing her

I’m glad you finally woke up

After winter went out in a blur.

**

The past weeks when it was colder,

you were tired and also sad.

But when the sun came out today

I almost thought you had gone mad.

**

Suddenly you turn from a grumpy,

tired lady, within only a short whirl,

in a colorfully dressed and beaming

almost dancing teenage-girl.

**

The outside world got more attractive

And I can see, you’re breathing life!

Go on like this, dear friend ‘in crime’

And soon enough you’ll be a wife!

**

But joke aside, it does get warmer,

We all should laugh more, and should smile.

It’s spring time, a very special season,

To feel refreshed, and show some style.

**

The world awakens, first blossoms grow

Birds are singing, happiness we can find

All over the place, so let’s agree,

We love to leave the cold behind.

*****

(Copyright: Aurora Jean Alexander, March 2022)

Picture courtesy of Pixabay

A One Of A Kind Spy – A Riddle

I’m considered beautiful, and also shy

I can be hidden, still watch you, like a spy.

My eyes are big, my features strong

I’m still not predator, don’t go wrong!

**

I am very fast, I won’t pry

But be aware, I cannot fly.

Just when I’m threatened, then I go

But far too often, it’s useless, though.

**

I’m useful to nature, and still I’m prey

Wolf, bear, cougar, what should I say?

They all look at me like food

That fills the belly of all their brood.

**

You can find me all over the world in different size

My life can be peaceful, but that comes with a prize.

I’m not protected like so many these days…

And that’s why I wander on different ways.

**

My babies are tiny, and should you find one on your lawn

Please, don’t feed them, they are my spawn.

They’re cute, I know, but if you intrude

I’ll leave alone, and they’ll be screwed.

**

I’m sure in the meantime you have an idea about me

Well hidden, beautiful, shy and I love to be free.

I would say, by now it should be clear

It’s no secret, I am called, a deer.

*****

(Copyright Aurora Jean Alexander, February 2, 2022)

Picture courtesy of Google.com

Winter Time 2021

This year, for no apparent reason

Winter is a special picture in my head.

Remember these older Christmas paintings?

A landscape with thick snow, all spread.

**

I see a house on a snow-covered hill

It’s not daylight, but neither is it dark

The houses’ window are enlightened.

Warm shimmer lets the snow there spark.

**

In front of the house there is a fir tree

Festively prepared for the Holy Night.

It’s winter time, it’s Christmas time

The candles on the tree shine bright.

**

I can imagine the smell of cinnamon

Apples, oranges and gingerbread.

Warm and cozy is the inside of the house

Preparing for Santa Claus’s sled.

**

After a vivid daydream I went searching

For the picture that ruled my brain.

I felt nostalgic, a little childlike

And there it was, with no extra strain.

**

The ‘painting’, close to what I pictured,

Radiates warmth, and smiles and Christmas flair

I can almost hear the laughter

And the smells fill the happy air.

**

We all should pause and should remember

When the world’s in trouble as it is.

That nothing is more important, than respect,

Compassion, love and peace.

*****

(Copyright: Aurora Jean Alexander, December 2021)

Picture courtesy of Kohls.com

ODE TO A GREEK GOD – Written By Marla Todd

Ode to a Greek God

A story by Marla Todd

I’ve been 6000 years at the top of my game. I knew it was too good to last.

I’m having breakfast on my deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean with the perfect amount of salty warm breeze drifting over me. A beautiful redheaded woman is still in my bed and I can still feel the warmth of her skin against mine. Fortunately she’ll be gone in an hour.

Anyway, I’m having coffee and some amazing cheese and apple pastries my son dropped off this morning. I’m also checking out a box Pan had dropped off with the pastries. That’s my son Pan, the famous happy-go-lucky satyr who dances through the woods making merry. That’s over. He settled down about 150 years ago with a wood nymph named Gloria and they’ve been keeping domestic bliss ever since. I never thought I’d see the day. Anyway, they were cleaning out some closets and found some stuff I’d swiped a few years ago. Thirty-four years ago to be exact.

It looked like I’d gone into the backpack of a college girl. I’d been in college mode that year for a change of pace. I was young, buffed and blue eyed and a killer smile. Female heads all turned in my direction.

In the box was a silver hair clip in the shape of a flowering tree branch, a delicate sexy lacy cream-colored underwire bra size 32C, a sea shell and a folded up piece of college ruled notebook paper. I unfolded the paper and read the words that would change my life.

It was a poem. It was in a round girlish script written in blue felt tip pen. No name identified the writer. I started to read, expecting the usually silly girlish babble about the meaning of life, teen angst and the horrible nature of never being understood. What I read was something else entirely.

As I stood upon the steps,

Halfway between the land and sea

The messenger god Hermes

Came to me,

Swift footed and bright

But somewhat overtaken

By his cousin Dionysus’ last visit

He brought me a message

And I read it through his blue eyes

“I bring you myself” he said.

No answer came from my lips

Except a kiss,

Which spoke very clear.

Oh happy was I,

When hand in hand

Under the stars we ran

For my mythical Hermes

Turned into a man

I took a gulp of coffee and stared at the poem. A poem about me? People had written poems about me, of course, but this was personal. It was a poem about ME, not a god of tales and lore but about ME, Hermes. It was about ME.

This girl knew me. I mean she KNEW me. She knew who I was. How? I never let on to any mortal to who or what I am. Never.

She wrote me a poem. It wasn’t a great poem. It wasn’t even a good poem. It wasn’t epic. But by my father Zeus, it was tender and sweet, full of the promise of love. It was happy. It was from her heart. A heart that considered me more than just a good body and maybe a great fuck, if I did indeed fuck her. I know I must have kissed her. I must have made love to her, because a girl who wrote the poem would never just fuck a guy. She’d have made love to me in a way I should have remembered, but damn it I couldn’t remember a thing.

CONTINUE READING HERE

Autumn 2021

It is the time when days get overcast and cool

When the leaves on trees change from green

To yellow, rust or brightest red

Unless you live in Southern California, I mean.

**

But even here trees lose their leaves

Prepare for the colder wintertime

The world gets tired after a vivid summer

Some rest more often, write, or read – or rhyme.

**

The ocean’s breeze feels cold by now

And so does the sky which’s overcast.

Sometimes even here, we expect a few raindrops

Sometimes I wish the rain would last.

**

Occasionally I miss the third of four seasons

As others have them on the Earth

Before winter comes and fall prepares

Everything for the new year’s re-birth.

**

I always thought, here in the land of eternal sun

I’d never be cold, freeze or even wear long sleeves

But I was wrong, and I search for my fall clothes

Once I see the trees and watch the falling leaves.

*****

(Copyright, Aurora Jean Alexander, October 2021)

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Picture courtesy of Google.com

Nature’s Touch

This gentle light, won’t do me harm

It’s nice, caressing, keeps me warm.

The sun, what does it stand for?

It’s our universe’s heart

In life, it plays the biggest part

Do I have to tell you more?

**

The wind, the moon, they all depend

On our light, with no start, or end.

Nature is the biggest power

It influences all around

Sometimes quiet, sometimes with sound

The human, animal, and the flower.

**

The smallest things, that’s what I learned

Are worth so much more than what we earned.

Beauty is not in a model’s face

It’s not in artificial things

It’s not in princes, queens, or kings

It’s in an angel’s loving grace.

**

These few words, how can it be

That they mean so much to me?

They touch my heart, they calm my fears

They hold the love that’s in my heart

In my soul they play their part.

But most they comfort me and dry my tears.

*****

(Copyright: Aurora Jean Alexander, August 2021)

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picture courtesy of Google.com

Summertime – Sunshine – Warmth

Finally, the time is here

a time awaited, full of fear.

Can we ever again reach

out to others at the beach?

**

But finally we are in luck

we’re loading car and also truck

It’s time again, we join the fun

enjoying water, warmth and sun.

**

We can dine-in without a strain

enjoy our friends and chat again.

Precautions, they are needed still

But all in all, life is a thrill.

**

Positivity and laughter can be seen

to swim and walk, I am too keen.

We waited too long, we thought it lost

But finally, we all can defrost.

**

Enjoy the warmth, enjoy the heat

go out, swim, meet friends and eat.

Time runs fast, and before in gear

you’ll read an autumn poem here.

*****

(Copyright: Aurora Jean Alexander, June 2021)

Picture courtesy of: Google.com

Author Spotlight – Pat Garcia

Please welcome Pat Garcia on ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’. I’m very proud to have this wonderful author, poet, singer and friend on my blog, and I thank her so much for being my guest today.

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Welcome!

Please introduce yourself?

I am Pat Garcia. That’s my pen name. I write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and Lyrics, and I sing and play piano.

1.            When did you start writing?

I started singing when I was three and started writing when I started school at the age of five.

2.            What motivates you to write?

My raison d’ etre. It my purpose for living.

3.            What genres do you write in and what made you choose this particular genre?

I write in several genres that are important for me. Romance to include Romantic Suspense, Women Fiction, Erotic and non-fiction I love writing creative non-fiction

4.            What is your goal in writing? Do you have dreams where your writing should take you?

My goals and my dreams are very personal and private, so I am not going to share them.

5.            Do you ever suffer from writer’s block and if yes, how do you deal with it?

There are times when I get stuck and when I do get stuck, I start on something else, or I write in my journal or I stay with the same story and just write until I find a spark.

6.            What advice would you like to give new, hopeful authors?

To not put a time table on what you want to achieve. In fact, I would advise them to not be so quick to share their souls with others. There are some things that the writer has to keep to himself.

7.            Please, tell us about your work.

We are coming out of lockdown here in Germany. During the lockdown, I wrote. I submitted two stories to two different publications, started working at THE PIPELINE, which is an RRBC International online literary magazine as the chief staff writer, and now, I am finishing up a submission for another writing contest and a novella that will come out in 2022.

Thank you for being my guest. It was such a pleasure to have you here!!

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Meet Pat Garcia:

Born in Blythe, Georgia, USA, Pat Garcia enjoys writing, music, and games like Bridge, Solitaire, Bid Whiz, Chess, Checkers, and Knitting.

She lives as an ExPat on the European Continent.

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Connect with Pat Garcia

Facebook.com- Facebook.com/patgarciaauthor

Twitter – @pat_garcia

Blog – http://patgarciaauthor.com

Instagram – https://instagram.com/pat7garcia

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Pat Garcia’s Book:

Turn The Light On – Kindle edition by Garcia, Pat, Publishing, 4Wills. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

A Dream Deferred by Pat Garcia @RRBC_ORG, @RRBC_RWISA

Please read this phenomenal blog post, written by my friend, author Patricia Garcia. She’s not only an amazing writer and poet, but also a great, caring and loving person and wonderful friend.

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At the age of eight, I wrote and established my first newspaper in our dinky little neighborhood. Staff members-one person. Me. 

Being without a typewriter, I wrote it by hand. Personal computers were a thing of the future. I didn’t tell my parents about it. I desired to spotlight the positive changes in my community and give what I used to call the other people a different light on how they perceived black people. It was a fact that when we made the news, that meant we had done something wrong and was going to jail. 

To get writing materials, I went door to door selling the paper to my neighbors. I charged twenty-five cents a piece for each edition.

CONTINUE READING HERE