Birds and scenery at Anclote Key, FL

LuckyOtter – sand, birds, and sun

Lucky Otters Haven

I had a wonderful time with my son in Florida. It’s amazing what a week away can do for your soul. I stayed away from the news, and therefore had no idea what was going on in Trumpland, and didn’t really care either (I was able to put my concern on hold while I was away).

I will post a selection of photos I took later, but my son, who is a professional videographer now, took these amazing photos of some sea birds when we went out to Anclote Key (a national park consisting of a group of small uninhabited islands and sandbars about 4 miles into the Gulf of Mexico from Tarpon Springs). This is a wonderfully remote place, accessible only by boat.   The many tidal pools are a shellers’ paradise.   There are two ferries that go there  several times a day.

I had a great time, and got…

View original post 30 more words

Galaxy Quest

Christine Ray – A sort of Yin and Yang of feeling

Brave & Reckless

some days
I cannot tell
if I am conquering worlds
the new boss queen
of Jupiter
or whether I am
a delusional ostrich
wearing goggles
silk scarf slung
around my neck
dreaming I can fly

Image courtesy of Pinterest

© 2018 Christine Elizabeth Ray – All Rights Reserved

View original post

Crystalline Memory

Christine Ray – Together

Brave & Reckless

we fell into memory
like sea salt
into soup pot
crystalline structure
losing integrity
dissolving
into warm liquid
like the bath water
you poured me
scented with lavender
when we belonged to each other
we would lie close
skin to skin on long winter nights
under thick blankets
our boundaries dissolving
like foam on our tongues

© 2017 Christine Elizabeth Ray – All Rights Reserved

View original post

Dangerous Woman (Revisited)

Christine Ray – Dangerous in her ownership of herself and her desires

Brave & Reckless

I am no girl
I am woman
darkness entwined
with light
complete
on my own
willing to share
myself
with you only
when it suits me

I will meet
your gaze
unabashed
bold
knowing

I love to
dance alone
in moonlight
music alive
in my veins
eyes closed
arms moving
sinuously
hips swaying
lost in the beat
you may join me
if you wish
but I lead

I am deep
rich red wine
taste of blackberry
plum
on my lips
leaving you wanting
more
you will not soon 
forget
my kiss
or the touch
of my hand
lazily caressing
your skin
my fingers
entwined
in your hair
drawing you closer
my lips
at your throat
your body will whisper
it’s secrets to me

I will be
the taste
your mouth
continues
to crave
aroma of
lavender
sandalwood
clary sage
that lingers
on your sheets
ghost of a touch
down your spine

View original post 22 more words

We, The Broken – Aurora Phoenix

The “We, The Broken” series continues at The Whisper And The Roar with an offering from Aurora Phoenix

Whisper and the Roar

come play, poetic friend
the full moon waxes
idyllic on the starless night

glimmering invite reflects
stark fear from the silvery scar
of my ever-unprotected flank

breathless, transfixed
I rummage among
my branded entrails

forage for rose-colored glasses
to gaze upon
luna’s beatific face
 
find them bloodied
from werewolves’
prior bites

moonbeams’ harmonic strains
drag piercing fingernails
across the chalkboard
of my angst

we, the broken
long to frolic carefree
in cool-limned incandescence

hang frozen

in shattered indecision
having forgotten
what it’s like
to be whole

Inspired by Jessica Nodarse, Eric Syrdal and Megha Sood

View original post

Hope Was My Weapon

Stephanie Bennett-Henry – “and not to yield”

Stephanie Bennett-Henry

I have had my feet kicked out from beneath me, fallen down to my knees, the breath knocked out of me. I have had to find out the hard way if I was brave or if I was weak, searched for courage in the lowest parts of rock bottom, lost my faith a hundred times. I have questioned my own spirit, misplaced my will, looked for grace in the ugliest moments and could not find it. I have tested the waters, swam against the most uncertain waves, begged the sky for more chances, screamed profanities at the silence. I have been tested to the limit, forced to prove who I am and all I am made of. It wasn’t easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever is. And the fight never stops, so I cannot ever stop. I was fighting for myself. I am still fighting and I will continue…

View original post 91 more words

We, the broken – Eric Syrdal

At The Whisper And The Roar, Eric Syrdal – “We are parts searching for a wholeness”

Whisper and the Roar

Hundreds of gallons
Of water
Rumble and crush against
My feet
Standing here
I feel the sands
Pulling at my skin
Downwards
Ever downwards
To drown the light
Behind the shadows
Of a ribcage split wide
Upon this shattered shore
She took the white froth abeam!
Rolled against the rocks
As I gulped down the brine
my hands grasping for nothing
And filled with so much nothing, they clung
For dear life
To the flotsam
Of this derelict existence
As crawling upon blooded knees
I made my way to this spot
And with heaving gasps of sanguine pride
I look out upon that raging sea
We the broken
We are parts searching for a wholeness
unremembered

View original post

We, the broken- Megha Sood

At The Whisper And The Roar – a “We, The Broken poem by Megha Sood

Whisper and the Roar

Dreams crushed and pulverized to the core
I walk alone on this path
broken and sore;
this emptiness seeps
loneliness sits neatly in my pores
Silence screams the loudest
at its core;
a flag stripped of its mast
I’m trying to gather the pieces of me
splintered and stuck in
hundreds of soul
faces– known to me
faces I ignore;
I unpluck and unclutch parts of me
lodged in all the bleary hearts
I once loved
to whom I bared my soul;
We, the broken
like a lost piece of the puzzle
always searching
always alone.

–Megha Sood

Inspired by Eric Syrdal and Jessica Nodarse

View original post

We, the broken – Jesica Nodarse

At The Whisper And The Roar, Jessica Nodarse – Broken, but still here

Whisper and the Roar

Im not sure I have the words to explain
Even my vast vocabulary fails me
I should be used to it
Ive been here many times before
We, the broken.. forget what its like to be whole 
So please bear with me
My compass has turned off
The sun rose from the West
And its rays emit an eeriely cold glow
Even the maps refuse to unfold
I’ll overcome
Time and again
Its all I’ve known
Somewhere along the line, the purpose will make itself known
Till then ..
I’ll be here
Nowhere at all

Jesica Nodarse
Artist unknown (Pinterest)

View original post

Wings

Christine Ray – Fragility and power

Brave & Reckless

some days
i am a newborn dove
fragile
wild-eyed
innocent
wet, delicate wings untested
trembling heart beating rapidly
as i teeter at the edge of the nest
dangerously close
to oblivion
other days
I am a dragon
ancient
patient
jaded by humanity before me
thick scales
offering impenetrable protection
of guarded soul
fire rumbling deep in my belly
coiled lightning waiting to strike
at the first sign of danger
ready to protect my dragonets
my territory
roar my rage
a challenge fierce enough to split the heavens

© 2017 Christine Elizabeth Ray – All Rights Reserved

View original post