blushing when you stutter
you search for one excuse to linger
he needs change for a buck
you’re due back at work
he’s such a cute stranger
here’s where destiny hits you like a truck
on the other hand maybe just a really great —
© Alex Ankarr 2015 All rights reserved
Image Andy Miccone, public domain.
the paperwork’s a bitch when you shoot lightning from your hands
getting paid by angry clients is no easier it seems
and then there’s the spandex ‘cause it fits with people’s dreams
if not the same time every night
if you’re lucky, he understands
you have to fight and fight the good fight
(even though dating a lawyer or a cop
you’d think they’d know the drill
the bad guy don’t go home and shut up shop
just because your guy has needs to fulfill)
but count it up at the end of the day
the grateful appreciation of the populace
and a mundane boyfriend with super-powered cuddles
go a long long long long way.
– Alex Ankarr, 2016
Photo credit: gunner111, https://www.flickr.com/photos/moto101/
“Your prescription now is stronger,”
My optician says to me
He only means to give the dimming
Fuzzy world a clarity
You, I’ve not explained to him yet
He has not asked that I do
Only wants to know my headaches
An alphabet recital too
Think you I’ll love you less dearly
If I see you sharp and clear
If I see your flaws my dear one
Once I excused myopically
It’s not the case, although it should be
I love you not for fuzzy glow
For radiant halos stemming only
From faulty curve of lens, I know
I love you for your faults, you bastard
And when I see them close and sharp
I’ll pull the hornrims off my nose, dear
Vowed haloed angel, sans specs, mit harp.
© 2015 Alex Ankarr.
Image – Zuukuo Wuu public domain.
a bouquet of roses,
of diamonds and baby’s breath
a few stars thrown in
to confuse over scale
and Satan peering from a black black hole
deep, deep, deep in the vase
a bouquet of roses
roses, foxes and diamonds
diamonds and baby’s breath
breath, and a few stars
the scale is confused
and Satan’s in there too
peeping out a black hole
gravity in the vase
down deep, deep
© Copyright Alex Ankarr 2017
Image – Vaughan’s Seed Company; Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection, no known copyright restrictions.
© Copyright Alex Ankarr 2017
Image – Ludovic Bertron via Creative Commons Licence
pleased with pleb vitality
contempt for hothouse blooms
I was a dandelion, she thought
from under tons of concrete, tons
broke anyway
through a hundred metric tonnes of rock
a smiling flower at the tip
poking through
© Alex Ankarr 2017
Image – Orest Ukrainsky, public domain
burn a few petals at a home-made altar
incense rises up
caffeine’s done its job but good
proof’s the dregs in the cup
tribute is silence
creeping around
silent feet, for him
working stiffs
don’t get much sleep
it’s a gift, for him
clock says
{chimes}
it’s two a.m.
the birds and I, we can’t sleep
but we
{chimes}
can keep
the peace for him
at least with a shotgun
disturb a few feathers
and leaves
image – Mark K. https://www.flickr.com/photos/17708700@N07/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
Latest iteration of my Pam Grout-inspired tarot card, Kali the librarian of destruction! An improvement on the first efforts, I feel. I’ll be documenting every stage of the game here, because this version was fun to do, I’m quite happy with it so far and I’ll probably be cocking it up completely at some point! So she’s currently unfinished – but don’t worry! She’s completely ‘armless, Guv!
And she’s got a rack on her, cuz I’m rollin’ that way!
You Bet Your Boots I Can by Jessie Hosford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Long-time favourite.
image – Stephanie Vacher https://www.flickr.com/photos/trufflepig/ licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
Week 9 (boy, these weeks are going by fast, ain’t they?) and Ms Grout is talking, in ‘Art And Soul, Reloaded’ about finding the time for your creative projects.
Phew. Easier said than done, half the time. Isn’t it?
Well, Ms. Grout’s first suggestion is not to just to stay up later writing, or to get up early. In fact, she says, have a lie-in! Daydream for half an hour!
Hey, I’m liking the sound of this!
Her second bit of advice: ditch the perfectionism, then that makes it easier to bang out a bit of your project without worrying about reaching some peak of creative perfection. Ehh, I don’t think this one is so applicable to me. In the midst of writing, I’m generally whistling, laughing my arse off, and holding a simultaneous conversation with the OH about whether Wyatt’s dead wife on Timeless is going to be re-animated via the wonders of time-travel, and spring out at him from a closet — giving him a heart attack in the process.
It freaks the OH the fuck out when I type and talk simultaneously. Which is of course most of the reason that I do it.
Bit of advice, no. 3 from Ms. Grout – give up on self-sabotage. Ehh, also not my problem. I write lovely stories for lovely people. Those other folks, ehh, not so much.
And finally – Pam says – in essence – do what you wanna do. (Yes! This is right in my wheelhouse!) Including your projects.
Yep. She’s a genius. This is the proof.
And the main task for the week? Give her 3 ideas for smartphone apps. Well, at least I don’t have to actually program them…
gif by Shane on Flickr, licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
