Poetry/Poems · WordPress · Writing

Raindrops…

She stood in the elements…

tears mingled with raindrops…

a mix of nature and emotions…

soaked her chiffon kaftan.

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Rain evoked numerous feelings…

It reminded her of how they met…

of days cuddled under the blanket…

sharing stories and breathing each others air.

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It reminded her of home…

of cups of warm broth…

and woolly socks for her feet…

as she listened to his heartbeat.

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It reminded her of the things lost…

of his last words ‘I will be back soon’…

but never to be fulfilled…

he died on a rainy day.

Jacqueline 2023

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Book · Book Review

Just Thinking – Book Review

The words on the cover aroused my interest. I wanted to know what the little writings were and what thoughts I would have.

A
little book,
for when
you have
a little time,
with some
little writings,
which may
produce
some little
thoughts.

Colin Chappell’s collection of verses ‘Just Thinking’ published in July 2017 is a volume of quiet and pleasantly smooth lines covering a cross-section of life’s experiences that takes you through a gamut of feelings. I love feelings.

I enjoyed retiring in the evening to read and mull over his words for several days when I was done with the daily run-around chasing after life’s this and that.

He painted emotions and thoughts in a way that I could visualize the scenarios captured in the verses. Sharing his experiences with his best friend Ray, a German Shepherd made me think a lot about my Alsatian ‘Sheila’ and how her life was laid short with Cancer. They are thoughts pet owners can relate with.

Snippets of a well-deserved tribute to his loyal friend.

You wanted to be friends.
I was rather surprised.
A nose touch… yours to mine
Was all it took to melt my heart.
A nose touch… and a moment of time.

Perhaps our souls indeed did touch.
The inner me perhaps was found.
Perhaps it was just your big brown eyes
Saying so much… yet with no sound.
But that’s history… to you and I.

Going further, his evocative lines continually keeps the mind moving toward richer connections. Many pieces will leave you teary-eyed and melancholic and some will leave you with a sense of lightness and peace.

But I’ll see you quite soon,
If tomorrow ever comes.
My mind is racing through time.
But the clock is so still,
And there’s an eternity to kill,
But then… once again…
Will you be mine?

I appreciate the simple feel of this book, yet it’s rich in thoughts and texture. Being in free verses, it didn’t have that contrived feel of traditional rhymes and stanzas.

Just Thinking, Collin Chappell, Poetry Book, Author Zone

Available on Amazon

Poetry/Poems

Hold It!

I seek my contentment and peace without apologies because it can’t be purchased and it’s so easy to lose in today’s world.

Contentment, Meditation, Healing, Life, Joy, Pain, Letting Go, Release, Human, Emotions, Feelings, Poetry, Healthy Living

when you’ve been pierced
by the blunt edge of pain
you will know that
the sharp sweetness of joy
is far better to hold
close to your chest.

©

Jacqueline

Product Details

Now Available

Amazon

Kindle

Gratitude

When the feelings are down…

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Having spent two scores on Earth, I know from experience that life’s manual is not built to be easy by default. Yes, some may get more free rides than others now and again, but all of us have issues that we are battling with which does seem overwhelming at times.

For days, waves of anger and depression have lurked under the surface of my emotions and I have found myself snapping and breathing fire like a Dragon over minor issues at my family; as a matter of fact, after tossing and turning at night over the issues behind my mood, this morning during our quick prayer session, I had to apologise to my children for my snarling and snapping at them unnecessarily, because I not only have to be accountable for any bad  behaviour on my part and the possibility that I hurt their feelings through my expressions, I equally have to teach them by example.

I could list loads of reasons behind my poor thoughts and depressed feelings at present and choose to marinate in them as well, but going down that track only creates more chaos, ill-feelings within me and most likely won’t resolve my challenges.

Would I wish that everything is in perfect shape? Yes!  Of course. Is it ever going to be perfect? NO! The lesson that I have learnt over time is that by focusing on the small things that are not going as well as one wants, takes away the focus on all  the blessings that we’ve received.

Sometimes we have to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and jumpstart our gratefulness. I had to start praising and expressing my gratefulness and not only did I feel a shift in my soul but calming answers dropped into my heart.

The power of praise uplifts and opens up the spirit while the spirit of gratitude takes little and turns into a lot. I enjoy listening to the renditions of “Women of Faith.”

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

There are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfilment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog, Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges.

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

Accumulated Points…Streams of consciousness Saturday.

I love accumulating points or funds in the kitty and watch it amount to something that’s useful later. I also have favourite things such as books that I tend to hold on to but over the past few years, due to our moves from Continent to Continent, I have learnt to minimise my pile by giving them out and the thing is that once I’ve given something away, I don’t miss it. socsbadge2016-17

A number of times, I have been privileged to use the points accumulated from my travel miles to purchase a treat for myself from the flight’s tempting catalogue without paying a dime extra and the feeling from such freebie is totally awesome 🙂

As a thrifty spender, I keep my eye’s peeled for great bargains on food stuff because a penny kept, is a penny saved and the accumulation of those pennies come in handy. On Friday I used the 50 Dirhams (14 dollars) bonus credit that I accumulated from previous purchases to buy 2 dozen oranges, some strawberries, mangoes and grapes; the fruits tasted extra good 😉

Naturally, it’s a challenge to accumulate anything because it takes time and patience to build up anything and this equally applies to the finer points of human relationships such as trust.

The only thing I don’t fancy accumulating is stress, anger and lest I forget ‘weight.’ 😉 I’d rather address an issue that’s getting on my nerves and move on rather than to keep ignoring it until it gets too much and all that accumulated emotion comes bursting out one fine day.

Such an approach of storing up negative emotions tends to lead to overreactions and it takes just mere minutes to tear down that which has been built over time.

Accumulation – SoCS

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha


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Rononvan's Weekly Haiku Challenge

Rhyme for no reason – Ronovan writes weekly haiku challenge.

I chose to have a little fun with the prompt ‘Rhyme & Reason,’ that Ronovan gave us for this week’s haiku. We need no reason to make a rhyme and sometimes I don’t follow any rules of poetry and write a free flow.

A man from Thyme loved to rhyme
during Summer season, for unknown reasons.
He played the pipe, he hummed and mimed,
he danced a jig and earned some dimes.

Sometimes I make some silly rhymes
for absolutely no real reason,
just for fun and a smile.

Sometimes I write deep, emotive rhymes
to express my inner thoughts
and expose how my mind reasons.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Image credit: Pinterest


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Rononvan's Weekly Haiku Challenge

Sleek Tongue – Ronovan writes weekly haiku challenge.

What an interesting pair of words we are given this week for Ronovan’s haiku. Sleek & Sizzle makes me want to say, shizzle ma nizzle 😉

Inciting words rolled off his sleek tongue
that my nerves sizzled in annoyance
at his attempt to sell his snake-oil.

I’m amazed at the sleek salesman audacity
even with a reputation that sizzles
he convinces people with his wicked intentions.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha


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I hear the reverberations of the magic that’s hidden within.

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