Category: The Daily Post

The Daily Post

All Time Favourites…

jacquelineobyikocha5 Comments

I must say that I felt initial dismay and a silent ‘oh no’ hummed in my head when I read that The Daily Post prompts for the weekly photo challenge is winding down. What a bummer! I feel like my favourite neighbour has just moved out of town, like my age-old, worn and comfy dressing gown has finally fallen apart at the seams.

The challenge is/was a powerhouse of creativity and inspiration and I remember many Saturdays when I would check out the prompt to ginger my creative juice. Anyway, change is a constant thing, otherwise, life will stagnate and become a monotonous bore. Who knows, maybe something equally as interesting will come up.

When I think of it, I realize that I have no favourites photos per se, but there were some prompts that I really enjoyed and got some messages whilst doing them especially the one below.

To the friendly editors of the weekly photo challenge, thank you for all your inspiration and support. You fostered a warm community, nurtured a whole lot of us and encouraged our growth. My warm appreciations and regards. See you around.

 

Sunrise, Sunset, Days of our Lives, Our loved ones, Reflection, Life, Parenting, Love

Somehow the prompt ‘rise and set,’ made me dwell on bittersweet memories of my late dad. I even sang a song at the end. When The Sun Is Sinking Low: Rise and Set prompt

 

The Daily Post

Forest of Possibilities…

jacquelineobyikocha7 Comments

art-ball-ball-shaped, bubble

You were afraid
to live your dreams,
and you buried them
in the place you believed
they would be safe;
now everyone who goes by
sees a forest of possibilities.

#Buried dreams

Forest – The Daily Post

©

Jacqueline

This piece is an excerpt from my upcoming 3rd Poetry book.

You can read my 2nd book, Unbridled on Kindle Unlimited for free.

Amazon
Kindle

Parenting · The Daily Post

When The Sun Is Sinking Low…

jacquelineobyikocha25 Comments

Daddy always said ‘rise with the Sun so that you set the tone of your day,’ and throughout my growing up years, like clockwork, we rose way before the Sun.

Sunrise, Sunset, Days of our Lives, Our loved ones, Reflection, Life, Parenting, Love

Today the most important things I inherited from my dad are the ethics, the values, the wise words, the memories and the parenting influence that he had on my life.

Ever so often, a saying of his will echo in my mind and I feel suffused with the warmth of his presence albeit through his words.

As a child, I truly had no deep understanding of losing loved ones’ – not sure that I still do – and like the sunrise and sunsets of my young days, I felt that those that mattered most would always be there.

Well, I am deadly wrong. I think that life is so unfair to take away those we love and yearn for, on the other hand, I am deeply thankful that I had the opportunity to know such love.

Knowing what I know now, the glorious rise of each Sun, reminds me that I’m alive, that I must embrace the day and that there’s no time to waste in looking back at yesterday. By the time the sun sinks low, I’m reminded to leave every form of acrimony and as much as is humanly possible to end my day with a cleansed mind.

Below is a little tune from me. Excuse the croaky voice 😉

Oh I often sit and ponder
when the sun is sinking low

where shall yonder future find me
only God in heaven knows

shall I be amongst the living
shall I mingle with the free

wheresoever my path may lead me
Saviour keep my heart with thee

Oh the future lies before me
and I know not where I’ll be

wheresover my path may lead me
Saviour keep my heart with thee

©

Jacqueline

The Daily Post: Rise and Set

 

Poetry/Poems · The Daily Post

The Little Flame..

jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

The Fire within, Anger, Poetry, Rage, Minor and Major, Burning

 

Our silence sufficed. We thought that

if we didn’t talk about those micro things

that made us uncomfortable,

they would disappear.

 

So, we walked the fringes of invisibility.

Hiding our thoughts from fear and shame

hoping that no one notices

the tears running down our face.

 

Our silence became brooding anger.

Micro things became macro things

and in the fringe of invisibility, we plotted;

fueled by the stokes of little flames.

©

Jacqueline

An Igbo proverb says, ‘when we overlook the small pot, it puts off the fire.’ Never underestimate the little things, for they can become the big things.

The Daily Post – micro

 

Scary · The Daily Post

Caught In A Vicious Cycle…

jacquelineobyikocha35 Comments

Related image

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when she’s set free
she still can’t fly

‘cos she has lost
the sense of her wings

his intriguing web of toxic deceit
is far too captivating.

When I saw the prompt,  a ‘lost friend’  came to my mind. She lives in an abusive marriage ‘physical, verbal and mental.’ Every attempt made to help her has never worked out because, for some reason, she simply loves that toxic relationship and keeps finding her way back to more beatings and abuse. I silently wonder what it is that keeps anyone in such a harmful relationship.

I hope that one day she’ll wake up to the truth and walk away before she and the children are damaged beyond repair. In my opinion, her young children have already been far too exposed to the ugliness and it shows in their constant acting out – the 6-year-old son is constantly hitting his younger sisters and getting into fights in school.

Two nights ago she called me and we chatted in whispers ‘she was hiding in the bathroom,’ to escape his berating, hoping that it will subside. I told her to call the police if it gets bad, but I’m done with getting involved and trying to talk some sense into her or to whisk her away to safety only for her to go crawling back to him within hours. It has become a vicious cycle and I’m weary of such nonsense. Short of cutting off our friendship, I can only lend a listening ear, but I have run out of advice for someone who refuses to hear them. For every possible solution that I proffer, she has more problems to counter them.

Hope · Poetry/Poems · The Daily Post

Steer it up….A compilation of prompts.

jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

sea, waves, boat

Meandering through our days in pursuit of success
with ‘our hope’ the rudder that steers us along

Suddenly a rogue wave rocks our boat
and we lose our balance momentarily

We wonder if we should simply give in,
if we can ever set our rowing right

The fact is that with uncompromising faith in our focus
we can steer over, under and around the waves of life

although our movement may be staggered and messy
and success may look dim in our sight, it waits at the shore.

©

My target was to come up with a poem using 7 days prompt words from Daily post. I almost abandoned ship, but glad I stuck to it and only 30 minutes later, I like the message that I derived from the compilation.