Tag Archives: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie

Jacket Blurb Challenge

I doubt they are best sellers, but these real titles are definitely unique. This week MindLoveMiserysMenagerie’s Sunday Writing Prompt challenged us to choose a few REAL book titles from a list and write a “jacket blurb” in 10 sentences or less. I chose two. If you’d like to give it a go you can find the list HERE.  To make things interesting, I also put together mock covers. As you can see, I had a bit of fun with it. 🙂

He has spent the last 20 years observing people from a 16 square foot, fluorescent lit, glass-framed booth collecting subway tokens, granting access to travelers from every walk of life on their way to destinations unknown. Retired city employee, Albert Morton has seen it all, including what he calls “Magnets”. These oblivious people seem to attract the spirits of the dead who haven’t crossed over.

Morton identifies himself as a “sensitive”. From childhood he has possessed the uncanny ability to see dead people.

“They come to the subway,” Morton explains, “because they’re confused and perhaps a bit lost. They know they need to go somewhere, but they don’t know where, so they attach themselves to unsuspecting travelers.” Morton claims to have helped hundreds of these lost souls find rest.

In People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to do About it”, Morton shows you how to recognize the signs of super-unnatural attachments and provides 3 simple steps to get those needy trolls off your back for good!

If you’ve ever felt goosebumps for no reason, you need to read this book!

 

Cherries Jubilee! Créme Brûlée! Bananas Foster! Chef Luigi Valenti shares the secret to creating fabulous flame-kissed gourmet dishes in his sizzling new book, The Pyromaniac’s Cookbook. All you need a blow torch! (…and fresh batteries in your smoke alarm and  um…maybe a nearby fire extinguisher.)

From desserts to main courses, Chef Luigi takes the mystery out of working with fire while providing life-saving tips in blow torch operation with a special chapter on burn first aid using items you can find in your own kitchen! You’ll be brûlée-ing in no time, and, without losing your eyebrows!

Amaze your family and friends at your next dinner party! As Chef Luigi always says, “Everything a-tastes a-better with a little flambé!”

~kat


Graying Streams of Consciousness

Graying Streams of Consciousness

bleary eyed, bright
lights, crying, gulping
air, breathing,
soothing sweet
milk flowing, warm
love, bunting soft, safe
she’s in there somewhere

wobbly knees, feet
pressed on cold linoleum,
toes-gripping, step by
step, walking, mouthing
sounds, wording,
mama, pa, talking
she’s in there somewhere

butterfly kisses, bumped
knees, bruised
elbows, big bed, tucked
tight, prayers for
soul keeping, fairy
tale whispers, magic sprite
she’s in there somewhere

books bags, bologna,
bread, mustard, cursive
scratch, fountain pen
perfect, friendly foe
drama, first crush,
pep-rallied awkward
she’s in there somewhere

young love, bliss
wedded, babies, more
babies, 9 to 5 working
surviving, surviving
love fading, still
thriving, heart breaking
she’s in there somewhere

empty nest echo, wild
dreams deferred, then
finding herself, soaring,
smile-lined, curled
locks graying, young,
wise, remembering
she’s in there somewhere

~kat

For Mind Love Misery’s Menagerie Sunday Writing Prompt: “Know Thyself” inspired by this monologue from the film/play “The Dresser”:

I thought I caught a sight of him tonight
— or myself as he sees me –
speaking reason not the need I became detached from myself, my thoughts flow and I was observing from a great height
— go on you bastard I seemed to be saying or hearing, go on you’ve more to give, go on more more more —
and I was watching Lear
— each word he spoke was fresh invented, I had no knowledge of what came next, what fate awaited me, the agony of acting was in the moment created —
I saw an old man and the old man was me —
outside myself —
do you understand?
— outside myself


Battle of the Bands

“…And…we’re back! Welcome to the 13th Annual Greater Suburbia Battle of the Bands! I’m your host, Martin Blaylock, WXRK, and I’m joined this afternoon by critic extraordinaire, Louis Axlerod, from Music Today Magazine. Tell me Louis, what do you think of this year’s battle line-up?”

“Thanks Martin. I’ll tell you, this is the first year we’re seeing all-original tunes. It raised the bar, I think, when we added that requirement to the mix.”

“I’ll say! This is one creative bunch!”

“Right. I caught a few of them at rehearsal. We’re in for a show tonight!”

“If you had to pick a favorite going in?”

“No question, I’m impressed by Abstract Evil Barbie and their track, “Ken You Hear me”. Those girls can rock! But they’ll have some fierce competition from the Squirrel Nut Zippers. They’re bringing a rap mash-up to the table in “Ball n Chains” that’s sure to raise the roof! And we can’t rule out newcomers GoGo Penguins and their new tune, “Iced”.

“I’ve been following The Pineapples from the Dawn of Time since they first came on the scene. They’re upping the ante with “Sweet Zombie”. And I heard that Reign of Frogs got a new lead singer.”

“The Pineapples are a solid group. No question. I’m looking forward to hearing Brent Barlow with the Frogs. He’s a decent songwriter too. We’ll hear that first hand with his track, “Lily Popped”. And I wouldn’t count out LoudMouthKitten’s “Scratched”. Judd Lowell, their lead, is a powerhouse! But the sleeper this year is Bimbo Toolshed. They’re promising a show-stopping solo by drummer, Liz Rayne on vocals singing her new song, “Hammered”.”

“I don’t believe she’s ever taken the mike! And she writes too!?”

“Exactly. This year’s battle is epic! In a word, EPIC!”

“No doubt, Louis. no doubt! If you’re just joining us, I’m Martin Blaylock here with Louis Axlerod, hosting the 13th Annual Greater Suburbia Battle of the Bands! First to the stage from Craigstown, is Kissyfoot, with their tune “Toe Jam”, followed by Stop Calling Me Frank, “Who Am I?” and then, from Hell’s Kitchen, Devil with Cheese, blasting their latest tune, “Cut it”. Hold on to your knickers kids! You’re about to be blown away!”

~kat

For MindLoveMisery’sMenagerie Sunday writing Prompt prompted by this list of actual Band Names:

Squirrel Nut Zippers

GoGo Penguins

Abstract Evil Barbie

Bimbo Toolshed

The Pineapples from the Dawn of Time

Reign of Frogs

Devil with Cheese

Stop Calling Me Frank

Loudmouthkitten

Kissyfoot


The Sun and The Moon

The Sun and The Moon

brilliant as the sun you are / cool as the moon are you
drawing me into your orbit / moving me like the tides
singeing me with white-hot passion / salty swells pounding the strand
warm flush reducing me to ash / over the edge, swirling shards of bone
sweeping me into a smoky haze / foaming flecks of sticky wetness
though others find your face alluring / reflecting flecks of distant luster
your steadfast devotion / illuminating the darkness
greets me at dawn / filling my nights
dewy mist rising / with sweet dreams of eternity
brilliant as the sun by day / cool as the moon’s pale glow
love’s slow burn / consuming me

~kat

A Cleave Poem for this week’s Mind Love Miseries’ Menagerie Sunday Writing Prompt Challenge inspired by Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet XVI (see below).

A cleave poem is three poems in one. Read the first column top to bottom, then the second top to bottom, and finally, read each line across top to bottom.

Sonnet XVI by Pablo Neruda

I love the handful of the earth you are.
Because of its meadows, vast as a planet,
I have no other star. You are my replica
of the multiplying universe
Your wide eyes, are the only light I know
from extinguished constellations;
your skin throbs like the streak
of a meteor through rain.
Your hips were that much of the moon for me;
your deep mouth and its delights, that much sun;
your heart, fiery with its long red rays,
was that much ardent light, like honey in the shade.
So I pass across your burning form, kissing
you – compact and planetary, my dove, my globe.


Mothers and Daughters

barely a woman, girl-child, mother
she gazes into her daughter’s eyes
soul deep pools of ebon wonder
rockabye, sweet dream, lullabies

toddling sprite, she lives to hold her
barely a woman, girl-child, mother
exploring together, all life’s treasures
fierce protector, prone to hover

years soon pass like fleeting seconds
tears of joy, consuming anguish
barely a woman, girl-child, mother
left to tend an empty nest

bittersweet, the blooming season
wings now flexed, she yearns to fly
some return, but others wander
barely a woman, girl-child, mother

~kat

A Quatern for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Sunday Writing Prompt based on the collage above and Sylvia Plath’s beautiful verse.