Now that I am home
laughter lines are deepening,
frown line fade away.
Proofing on Paper
Good Grief! I thought I’d proofed my book “Falling Awake” very thoroughly before I printed out a copy!
To make a long story short – I’m on the third go ’round and still finding dumb typos! Anyone who thinks they can do all their proofing on screen is sorely mistaken. It’s as though I had never heard of punctuation! I, the ‘grammar hall monitor’ of Facebook, making bonehead mistakes all through the book!
This will, hopefully, be the last go through – then I’ll send it to the ultimate proof reader (my hubby, Bill) who will, indubitably, find the last of my sins against the English language, and finally we will publish. Sigh…
For all those out there who wanted a copy of the book, hang on, it’s comin’!
Frozen Heart – (song lyric)
I thought you might be interested in another form of ‘poetry’ that I write – song lyrics. If you click on this link (it’s the fifth song down) you can scroll down and hear the song being performed (from my CD “Breathe”)
There’s a chill in the room
I put another log on the fire
But I know that the flames are never gonna burn much higher.
There’s a chill in the room
No need to wonder where it starts
It’s a cold wind blowin’ over my frozen heart.
The ice – began to form – – years ago
Like a glacier creepin’ through the snow
The ice age came then rumbled on
Freezing my heart like a mastodon
Now I’m ancient hist’ry, me and my frozen heart
This I Understand
The world rushes by
every crisis jockeying
for my attention.
The clock claps its hands
to get my attention and
scoot me out the door.
Everyone has plans
that require my presence
except for the moose.
Outside my window
a moose browses willow buds.
This I understand.
The Chip off the Old Block
You may think you’re a star, you may think you’re a freak
You might believe that you’re special and unique
But there’s a chip off the old block sitting on your shoulder
and you’ll act like your parents when you get a little older
Get a grip on your load
there’s a dip in the road
O’er which you’ll probably
trip in the road
There are roads to the left, there are roads to the right
and choosing which to follow can really be a fright
and the chip off the old block sitting on your shoulder
may be all that keeps you level when you get a little older
Get a grip on your load
there’s a dip in the road
O’er which you’ll probably
trip in the road
And one day when you sing this little ditty to the kiddies
Don’t try to give advice, don’t bother with forbidding
and the chip off the old block sitting on their shoulders
will keep their feet on the ground when they get a little older.
Phoenix Without Fire
I will shed my skin
wiggle, slip, kick, and it’s gone
as I slide away.
I will dream it first,
deathless reincarnation,
not me, but still me.
I will rise from ash,
stretch newly fledged wings, and fly.
Phoenix without fire.
Her Joy
Her joy will eventually emerge
like a single blade of grass slicing
through slowly melting snow.
Winter’s frost patterns adorn memories
of fond summers and soft falls
but her joy is starting to emerge.
Like velvet pussy willows bravely standing
in a pool of spring sunshine,
back to the wind, she emerges.
Strong, serene, one with the world,
at peace within her skin,
she emerges. Her joy emerges.
The Paper Edit
So I finally had the book printed out. It weighs in at 184 pages but I imagine that might shrink a bit. It’s amazing how many errors you can miss when editing on a computer screen, mostly periods vs. commas so far, but nearly every poem has a little oops that needed fixing!
Anyone who knows me can attest that I’m nowhere near being a Luddite when it comes to computers, but I have to confess to a serious feeling of well-being when holding my book (even though it’s just a mark-up copy) in my hands. There is a committment to a book that just isn’t there in an e-book. Someone said “Yes, this is worth the time, effort, energy, and resources that go into printing a book.” It also says “Yes, I’m satisfied that it is finished.” That’s the hard part. I know it will never truly be finished – I only hope I can abandon it in an interesting place.
This morning I’m doing a TV interview and I’ll be reading a poem from the book – I’m still not sure which one it will be – and the reality of saying “Here is the mock-up of my book, I hope to have it in print by…..(place date here)…” is both exhilarating and frightening!
Wish me luck… but if experience is any indication I know my hair will be doing something weird and although th camera may add ten pounds it also, in my case, seems to remove an undisclosed number of IQ points as well! 🙂
Here goes…
The Coat
Some days I wear a coat of wet blankets.
It becomes me,
with its heavy, sweeping hem
damply swirling the world
into chaos as I pass.
It becomes me,
with its drooping shoulders draped
in a moist muffler,
dripping paindrops from its tassels.
It becomes me,
with a strange, soggy, sincerity,
it becomes me.
And I know if I don’t take it off soon
I’ll become it.
Cover Art
Well, I’ve edited the book, proofed the book, formatted the book, named the book (“Falling Awake and other poems” in case you missed that post), now the cover design…
I’m leaning towards one of my own paintings as a cover. I created/designed my CD covers for my first two CDs so it’s not unprecedented. I’ve uploaded a copy of the proposed cover art and would appreciate any input, just as I have appreciated the input you’ve given me on the poems.
Thank you for coming along with me on this journey!
Linda Studley 