Category Archives: Essays

March 17, 2017

Smaragdine – Friday’s Word of the Day Haiku

By Kat Myrman

Happy Friday. And Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Dictionary.com‘s perfect word for today is Smaragdine, which means of or relating to emeralds; emerald-green in color. Perfect right? It’s originated around 1350–1400 from the Middle English word smaragd that literally means “emerald” as well as Latin smaragdīnus and Greek smarágdinos, which are equivalent to smáragd(os).

Of course on a day like today I naturally think of my Irish heritage and my Chicago roots where the river through the city runs green every year. Here’s a little history about the river that I found on Wikipedia:

The tradition of dyeing the river green arose by accident when plumbers used fluorescein dye to trace sources of illegal pollution discharges. The dyeing of the river is still sponsored by the local plumbers union.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlawed the use of fluorescein for this purpose, since it was shown to be harmful to the river. The parade committee has since switched to a mix involving forty pounds of powdered vegetable dye. Though the committee closely guards the exact formula, they insist that it has been tested and verified safe for the environment. Furthermore, since the environmental organization Friends of the Chicago River believes the dye is probably not harmful, they do not oppose the practice.


In 2009 First Lady Michelle Obama, a Chicago native, requested that the White House fountains be dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Clearly that smaragdine river leaves quite an impression on us Chicago daughters!

An imaginative 17th century depiction of the Emerald Tablet from the work of Heinrich Khunrath, 1606.


I found one more cool reference to the word. It has to do with an ancient cryptic piece Hermetic lore called the the Smaragdine Tablet. It’s origin is a point of debate, with some scholars who believe it to be 1200 years old and others who claim that it is over 38,000 years old, chiseled into a smaragdine tablet by the gods. It has been associated with the philosopher’s stone, laboratory experimentation, phase transition, the alchemy and magic.

There is even a reference from the tablet in the Gnostic Gospels of Phillip and Thomas in the text “above and below” as much as “inside and outside.” You can read more HERE.

And there is even a modern reference to the tablet in the 2006 miniseries, “The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb”. If you have several hours to kill, you can spend some time researching this tablet. It’s definitely an interesting read if you like a good mystery.


Which brings me back to Chicago and the green river and St. Paddy’s Day. Trust me it does….take me back, that is. When I was a girl I always believed that it was the magic of leprechauns who turned the river green.

We all need a bit of magic and mystery every now and again so we don’t take ourselves and the crazy realities of the world too seriously. I think I understand why Mrs. Obama asked for that green fountain on March 17th. I find myself googling Chicago every year to see the green river. As crazy weird and mysterious as it is, it gives me comfort and memories of home…and of course Spring! 

Sláinte ~ kat

smaragdine rivers,
stones etched mysteriously
greening is magic

kat – 17 March 2017

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Essays, Haiku, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

March 14, 2017

Twittering Tales #21 – 14 March 2017

By Kat Myrman

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If you accept the challenge, be sure to let me know in the comments with a link to your tale.

A final note: if you need help tracking the number of characters in your story, there is a nifty online tool that will count for you at charactercountonline.com.

I will do a roundup each Tuesday, along with providing a new prompt. Have Fun!

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Twittering Tales #20 – The Round Up

You all wrote some fantastic tales for last week’s photo prompt. Here’s the line up! This week we had break ups and break downs, alien invasions, loss, desperation, intrigue, mystery, art…oh the drama! Thanks everyone for having such a good time with this one. Hope to see you next week! 🙂

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Gayl at Gayl Wright-Words, Photos and Art wrote:

Trust Betrayed
Tired of his shallow, twisted excuses, she became angry.
Hurling the goblet to the floor she screamed,
“Go! I never want to see you again!”
(139 characters)

Broken but Determined
Like this broken glass
A marriage had been shattered
He chose another

Not to be kept down
She worked hard for their children
Filling in the gaps
(139 characters)

Michael at Morpethroad wrote:

I carried it around the world, through every customs place imaginable, and as fate would have it, I dropped it out of the box at home. Ugh!
(139 Characters)

Kathryn at Another Foodie Blogger wrote:

She held her wrist inches above the glass. “God, please someone help me!” she pleaded. The door opened slowly, as tears streamed down. “Mom?”
(141 Characters)

Lorraine at 25 Words, More or Less wrote:

She is like a broken wine glass; the stem remains, but her mind, the bowl, is gone.
(84 characters)

Jane at Jane Dougherty Writes wrote:

The reception committee paused, champagne untasted, as the aliens munched through their coupes before starting on the silver cake stands.
(137 Characters)

Di at Pensitivity101 wrote:

‘Darling, you know I can’t attend these dos without a glass in my hand!’
‘Does it have to be full? Hang on, I have the perfect solution.’
(136 characters)

Francine at Woman Walking Max wrote:

Romantic dinner, I’m the only one for you? Liar. Your turn to hurt now. Cheers
(79 Characters)

Sudha at SriSudhaK wrote:

Wow geeta! You sketched it with perfection. I must say,”Amazing 3d art dear..!” And here goes my caption “A bit of optimism -Last hope”
(135 Characters)

Reena at ReInventuions wrote:

Jim was the container to hold her joy in life. He disappeared. The base was intact. She just had to drill a hole, for happiness to re-enter.
(140 Characters)

Irena at Books and Hot Tea wrote:

“It’s done. You broke it,” she wept. 

The tone of her voice hit him like a punch. It sounded like she wasn’t talking about the glass anymore.
(140 characters)

Peter at Peter’s Ponderings wrote:

The magic flute was no more.
It had refilled itself with champagne for the last time.
Paula had savoured, slurped, then sloshed.
Both smashed!
(140 characters)

Kirst at Kirst Writes wrote:

You’re late. Again.
I’m here now. Happy anniversary.
She could smell cheap perfume. As he leaned towards her, she hurled the champagne flute.
(139 characters)

John at Broadsides wrote:

There are no fingerprints. It is washed. There are slivers still in the flesh of his throat, He cannot, they cannot, say who struck the blow.
(141 Characters)

and I started everyone off with this…

“I will never forgive you!” she cried. “It was my grandma’s.”
“I’m so sorry,” he lamented. He knew she wasn’t crying about a broken glass.
(138 Characters)

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Twittering Tales #21 – 14 March 2016

First off, WHAT IS THIS? Haha! Just kidding. I love antiques. But I must admit, I remember plunking on a modern version of one of these. And then I remember getting really excited when they became electrified. Of course many were over the moon over word processing machines…not quite a computer…where you typed on a keyboard and the words showed on a tiny screen instead of paper. No more carbon paper to make copies or chalky correction tape, no more messy typewriter ribbons. It was fabulous. My, my how far we have come. Anyhow, I like this photo because there is a bit of text on the paper in the typewriter. Your challenge…if you like…write a tale that continues the line typed on the paper. Or just let yourself go like I did and write what first pops into your head. Words, words, words swirling around in our heads…whatever shall we do with them! Have Fun! 🙂

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Photo from Pixabay.com

The former owner of the old house was a writer. Ten years after his death he finished his novel. The author’s name? Ghostwriter, of course!

~kat
(139 Characters)

 

 

93 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Flash Fiction, Random Thoughts and Musings, Twitter Tales

March 12, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 12 March 2017

By Kat Myrman


Happy Sunday! During the wee hours of this morning we lost an hour here in the US. Sixty minutes made up of sixty seconds made up of nano-seconds…moments lost in our quest for more daylight…moments.

It makes me think about how I use the moments that I have. I like to complain about that lost hour of sleep. I like to argue that it makes little sense to add an hour of daylight in the Spring when the days are gradually lengthening on their own. Any mother of young children will tell you that daylight savings time is a nightmare when it comes to convincing their children, whose circadian rhythms know something is amiss, that it really is bedtime when it is still light outside. They have a point. There is even a recent article at Reuters that suggests even the slightest change to our sleep pattern is bad for us.

As if we believe can control time by shifting the clocks forward…who do we think we are? And yet…

We are each in control of how we spend those nanoseconds…those seconds and hours. We can fritter away time fretting or we can take control and seize the day. We decide who we are and how we react to each moment we are given.

It’s true, we live in troubling times. But we are not victims or innocent bystanders. None of us can afford the luxury of wasting daylight or even the dark night by giving up on our dreams.

I have always believed that the best way to respond to adversity is by pushing back. It’s messy. It’s hard and exhausting. But we are not the first generation to face challenges. We owe it to our ancestors as well as to future generations to make the most of time. We owe it to ourselves to seek the treasure to be found, even amidst the ashes.

It’s not about saving daylight. It’s about shining the light on what is right and just and good, and recognizing the light to be found in ourselves and others that matters most. Clocks are just disks with sweeping hands and numbers. Let YOUR light shine. Time’s a-wastin’!

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 12 March 2017

they forget who we are
she wasn’t crying about a broken glass
bring us days of blissful peace
days of wine and blooms
bellowing bursts of cold breath
on that day she will play and play, and the people will dance once again
tell me what happened
you know it’s true
I saw a different side

Oh

destruction’s embrace
it helps to be an odd bird
some may think you’re a lost fool
whisper, lovely in pink

~kat

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A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer,providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week. 😊

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Week in Review

March 10, 2017

Stravage – Friday’s Word of the Day Haiku

By Kat Myrman

stravage

Happy Friday. Today’s Dictionary.com Word of the Day is Stravage.

Originally entering the English language in the late 18th century this Scottish/Irish word is derived from an aphetic contraction, which means that it is a word formed by combining two words as well as by aphesis (the loss of an unstressed vowel at the beginning of a word (e.g., of a from around to form round ).

From Medieval Latin we have ‘extravigari’ which means to wander out of bounds, digress or ramble. ‘Vagare’ is an Italian intransitive verb that means: to wander around, roam around, to roam. I particularly like this Italian phrase: “vagare con la fantasia” which means to give free rein to one’s imagination, let one’s imagination run away with one.

And to round out the etymology of this most interesting word, the Italian verb ‘vagare’ or ‘vargari’ is derived from the adjective ‘vagus’ which means strolling or unsettled and is thought to be a precursor of the English word ‘vagrant’. Back to our word, stravage. To get to its current form, the “ex” from the original Latin ‘extravigari’ was dropped by the Scots who converted the word to ‘stravaig’. It was later embraced by the English, dropping the ‘i’and adding an ‘e’.

I was able to find a delightful, award-winning Glasgow restaurant called Stravaigin in my stravaging across the internet. True to its name, their website’s “About” page links us back to this 18th century word: “‘Stravaig’ meaning ‘to wander’ encompasses our ‘Think Global, Eat Local’ ethos perfectly. So wander off the beaten path into either the street level cafe bar or the downstairs restaurant where you’ll find menus showcasing Scottish produce that isn’t tethered to its roots. Awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand every year since 2012.” Stravaigin is quite modern however, offering local fare with an exotic flare. Click on the link of their name above to check them out. If ever you’re in Glasgow…;)

The Scots, I have learned, are very proud of their native language and heritage. There is an entire website devoted to all thing Scots…but I suppose I am digressing…or stravaging you might say. Since I am descended from Scottish ancestors, this will be on my to-do list for future study. 🙂

I am quite fond of stravaging. I admit that I do it often! Those who know me are able to recognize my stravaging ways immediately. I am told my eyes glaze over and I may start humming a tune to myself, which drives people batty. But in my mind, I am having a jolly good time taking it all in. The scenery that is. I am not so worried about the destinations in life that I do not pay good mind to the journey. The journey after all is where it’s at. (whatever “it” may be) I have a tin plaque in my room that says, “I never worry when I get lost, I just change where I want to go.” A friend got it for me. Stravage is a good word of the day for me. Fits me to a “t”. Have a great Friday!

to those who stravage
some may think you’re a lost fool
 but you are seeking 

to be an artist
it helps to be an odd bird
with stravaging wit

delicate ivy
stravages up walls, clinging
destruction’s embrace

~kat – 10 March 2017

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Haiku, Random Thoughts and Musings, Word of the Day Haiku

March 5, 2017

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 5 March 2017

By Kat Myrman


Happy Sunday. Wow! Normally I would be trying to make sense of the lines that I lifted from the past week’s posts. But today, as I sit outside in the bitter nip of winter, the birds are trilling as if it is spring…like mercury colliding…moments of unexpected clarity…consume me…

Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 5 March 2017

Simplicity, just being it, is best
Everything happens for a reason,
the past best left to ashes
but I always smile as if…
to have a do-over
Touched by the divine
its light burns fog into mist
A life of worry
It’s a waste of time
The cruelest fate
It is such a waste
But plenty
had to see if the rumors were true
to slip anonymously through the crowds
feel their presence ever so near
as a great flash of light consumed them
beware of the glitch
I see your heart
the loveliest flowers
Color me

~kat

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A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer,providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week. 😊

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Shi Sai, Spirituality, Week in Review