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Sunday, April 3, 2011

D is for DRAWING says THE TURQUOISE WOMAN


Greetings, Humans :

I am the Turquoise Woman.

For some of you the challenge of the day is D.

I chose the word DRAWING :

From your heart you may DRAW love.

So few of you do that.

I understand.

To love at all is to be vulnerable.

Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken.

If you want to make sure of keeping it intact,

you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.

Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries;

avoid all entanglements;

lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.

But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--

it will change.

It will not be broken;

it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.


There is another meaning for DRAWING, of course.

As with Roland's DRAWING :

From now to May 21st

(the day some addled two-leggeds believe Judgement Day will come --

as if each day were not Judgement Day for each of you in so many ways)

From now to then,

if you write on Amazon a review of his book, THE BEAR WITH TWO SHADOWS,

you will receive 5 entries for a drawing for three autographed books (one of them to be left a mystery)

{those who have already written a review now have five entries in this new drawing}



Another sense of DRAWING is ,of course a representation in ink,

an etching if you would.

But each of you etch your soul by the choices you make

and by the life journey born of those choices.

I am Day.

I am Night.

I am the World.

I am the Turquoise Woman.

And a traveler like all of you.

You walk miles.

I spin through the vastness of space,

listening to the ghost songs of the solar winds.

I awakened already spinning through space,

hugged to the sun's warmth by his invisible arms of gravity.

But the sun is a distant lover,

following his own path through the stars, drawn by bonds of his own.

He is caught like a glistening bead of dew in the web of the solar system.

Together, he and my sisters journey in a cluster

which is itself part of a moving community of stars you call the Milky Way.

Travelers all,

we can neither turn to the left nor to the right of our own volition.

We are children of gravity and explosion,

cast into the darkness by forces we little understand or know.

I used to envy you your freedom of movement, of choice.

But the longer I watched your scurrying over my surface,

the more a dark truth spoke to me :

You, too, are children of the gravity of your species

and the explosion of the times around you -

which you little understand or know.

You bristle with denial?

If you cannot understand your own heart,

how can you understand another's?

Which choices are yours totally?

As gravity and momentum send me on my path,

so do your DNA, location, and experience

spread the pattern of the paths before you.

You are no more free than I am or the goldfish wandering the narrow confines of its bowl.

From within its bowl, the world seems so large to the goldfish.

Yet, it is trapped within invisible walls.

As are you.

Freedom is an illusion to the goldfish, to me, and to you.

Do we choose or do the choices choose us? ***
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27 comments:

  1. Obviously, I am sorely irritating folks right and left. Yesterday I had 847 followers. Earlier tonight I had 846 . Now, I have 844.

    I don't collect followers like some do friends on Facebook. If you like my posts well enough to follow, I am happy to have you. I will be your friend and listen to your concerns and problems in emails gladly.

    My ego is intact whether I have one or a thousand followers. But it disturbs me that I might have unintentionally so hurt three people in a row that they walked away, letting me know and not know at the same time.

    Is there something offensive with this post that has escaped me? If I have somehow written or behaved in an inappropriate manner of which I am oblivious to, please let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah Roland; sometimes blogger deletes people for no other reason than its own entertainment. I've been dropped sometimes from blogs and had to follow again. It takes me several months sometimes to realize my icon doesn't appear when I visit a blog. And of course, blogger doesn't always show the icon if you've been a long-time follower, even if you can find yourself in the followers list.

    I'm sure you're not offending people. There have been a few bloggers closing their sites, or moving them, or making other site changes that could affect followers on your blog.

    But if you did lose a follower, ya know, you really can't please everyone all the time.

    Anyway . . this was an intriguing post. I love Adiemus. I hadn't seen this particular version before, but it is fitting you would find it :)

    I finished the novel finally - was a little surprised by the ending - and will have my review up, hopefully, within the next few days.

    ........dhole

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  3. Nothing offensive here, friend.
    Unless insightful and thought provoking content is offensive. (= I'm sure it's a glich or something.
    Or maybe some people prefer the shallow end of the pool. Won't find that here. (;
    Virtual hugs.

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  4. Donna :
    At 80,000 words, THE BEAR WITH TWO SHADOWS is long for a YA fantasy.

    So I left it with a cliff-hanger. Also I liked leaving the readers with the sense that the adventure continues on with our friends fighting the good fight while sniping at each other good-naturedly.

    Roger Zelazny, my favorite author, wrote THE GREAT BOOK OF AMBER (ten separate novels published a year apart), leaving the story dangling with a cliffhanger for ten novels!

    But you have to love an author who wrote :
    "I like libraries. It makes me feel comfortable and secure to have walls of words,

    beautiful and wise, all around me. I always feel better when I can see

    that there is
    something to hold back the shadows."

    Thanks for the light on Blogger, too.

    Jo :
    Thanks for the virtual hugs. I needed them. Guess my center needed a bit of support after all!

    I thought you might get a chuckle that Roger Zelazny wrote himself into one of his novels as a dungeon card :


    "Good evening, Lord Corwin,'

    said the lean, cadaverous figure who rested against a storage rack, smoking his pipe, grinning around it.

    "Good evening, Roger. How are things in the nether world?"

    "A rat, a bat, a spider. Nothing much else astir. Peaceful."

    "You enjoy this duty?"

    He nodded.

    "I am writing a philosophical romance

    shot through with elements of horror and morbidity.

    I work on those parts down here."

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  5. Hi Roland,

    Turquoise Woman sounds fo full of wisdom!

    I love all her advice!

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  6. Nas :
    Turquoise Woman is the essence of the world herself. Gaia the Ancient Greeks called her. She has seen so much, even more than our minds could comprehend.

    Thanks for liking her post, Roland

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  7. Hey Roland I've tried to follow you again about 6 times and have given up. I think maybe blogger can't handle 1200 people blogging every day. Recently my followers would go down one day and up the next. Strange as. Not much you can do. I will keep trying to hook up again. Oh, and blogger makes it very hard to unfollow so you know rarely it's people unfollowing.

    A very lavish D is for. I just posted C is for... so I hope soon you can visit me. Use the link below.

    Denise<3

    L'Aussies Travel Blog A - Z Challenge Posts

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  8. Beautiful and very profound use of and discourse on Drawing(s)!

    Take care
    x

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  9. Awesome, I'm feeling the Turquoise Woman's wise words on love. Hope you're book is doing well, I must pop over to amazon to check it out too!!

    And don't worry about blogger, I clicked onto 2 followers one day, and blogger seemed to make them 'disappear' - which was wierd, and then they reappeared a week later, I think its blogger playing with us sometimes.

    Best
    Tx

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  10. Of course that should read 'Your' - *deep le sigh*

    I can't post-tweet straight right now, so lacking in sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I simply love Susan Seddon Boulet's paintings. I have several of her prints up around my house. She drew from the soul for the soul!

    Working my way towars posting Hibb's review. He's my favourite bear! :)

    I've put my cover up on my blog - if you get a chance to peek at it, Roland, I'd really appreciate your take on it (Hibb's opinion would also be good!) Thanks!
    Judy (South Africa)

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  12. Hi Roland,
    You've been busy! Your turquoise woman is wonderful. Love this, "But the sun is a distant lover, following his own path through the stars, drawn by bonds of his own. He is caught like a glistening bead of dew in the web of the solar system. "

    Congrats on the book release!

    ReplyDelete
  13. L'Aussie : If you think of the tremendous amount of cyber-traffic Blogger handles, it's a wonder there are not more "bumps in the silicon road."

    Kitty : Thanks. Ms. Boulet's drawings have always been favorites of mine. Words, like people, wear many masks. I thought an entity like the Turquoise Woman who loves words and sees much -- would talk much as well. Oops. I just heard the thunder of her warning to tread lightly!

    Talei : As a weary blood courier, I know a bit about sleep deprivation as well! The Turquoise Woman yearns for love, but the lives of those who awake upon her surface are so fleeting, she is bereft all too soon. Thanks for checking out my book where The Turquoise Woman plays a major role.

    Judy : You have tapped Ms. Boulet's appeal, "drawing from the soul for the soul." Her work is evocative and intricate -- as is the work of the creator of the cover of your book, the Kwa-Zulu Natal artist Martin Wenkidu.

    Hibbs is looking forward to your review of his adventures. He hears the critique of his actions all too much from Little Brother and Surt!

    May the sales of your book sky-rocket!

    Jodi : I'm really happy you like the prose style of the Turquoise Woman, the estranged daughter of the sun and eternal wanderer through the dark void.

    Thanks for the well wishes on my book release (where the Turquoise Woman is a major player). Download the free application "Kindle for PC" and download the free sample of my book to read more of her.

    Have a great new week, Roland

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  14. Beautiful image and lovely poetry.

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  15. Thanks, Luana. Susan Seddon Boulet's artistry is soulful and evocative. Her images fit perfectly the Turquoise Woman and Hibbs, the bear with two shadows.

    I'm glad you liked both the image and the prose painting of the thoughts of the Essence of Our World.

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  16. Nothing bad on this post, or any of your posts.

    I lose followers too, and they show up later (or don't). I try not to take it personally. There are only so many hours in the day to follow blogs, and some people outgrow our blogs, I think.

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  17. Well I hardly have followers in the scale that you have. But I am a dedicated follower.
    And I like your posts and your creative mind.

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  18. Thanks, Lydia.
    I was just doing a reality check. I hate uncaring people who tramp on others' feelings without regard or consideration -- I certainly didn't want to be one of them.

    I think you're right. Tastes change.

    Trickie :
    Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate you dropping by and commenting. Hibbs is taking credit for the creative mind, of course! LOL.

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  19. You aren't offensive. I'm with Donna -- blogger is probably cleaning up stagnant profiles.

    - Eric

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  20. 'Do we choose or do the choices choose us?' Beautifully said! I've often pondered that.

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  21. All I can say; there is nothing offensive here and if they left you my friend I have no idea where they are going. This post was so beautiful it makes me want to go find my Cherokee ancestors.

    Peace my chosen one :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  22. I love the ethereal quality of this post!!! Just beautiful. And terribly wise. Love the part about etching our souls with the choices we make....wow!

    Like everyone else said, blogger drops and adds all the time. I've had people show up on my followers list and have a particular number...then the number changes and the people stay the same...?

    And I've followed people and months later, they're not on my blogroll and I have to re-follow. And they've had the same problem with following me.

    I can't imagine any of your posts being offensive. Maybe jealous making....

    I wouldn't worry about it. Either way.

    May 21st, huh? I have a friend who would literally faint if I could give him a signed copy of anything Stephen King....I need to carve out some reading time!

    Have a great Tuesday!

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  23. Eric :
    Stagnant accounts. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks. I just didn't want to unintentionally hurting anyone.

    Heather : I think it is a blend of the two myself.

    Jules :
    Thank you for the support and the kind words. Your ancestors are within you, murmuring to you in the night.

    WordsCrafter : I hope you win that autographed Stephen King for your friend. And thanks for the very kind words of my portrayal of the Turquoise Woman. Roland

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  24. HI, Roland.

    Woven like the tapestry in Native American folklore. Beautiful.


    Don't freak about blogger... it does funky things.... look how it plays with you at my blog. lol

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  25. Hey :)

    Firstly, I'm sorry I haven't been visiting. Been crazy with the A-Z, and I had no idea you were participating!

    Secondly CONGRATULATIONS on publishing your book, learnt of it from Donna's review. Don't have a Kindle, so will borrow somebody's to take a look. Unless I can figure out some way to download your book and read it on my ipad.

    Thirdly, in case you don't recognize my url, I'm Damyanti from http://amloki.blogspot.com, a long-time follower.

    And lastly, don't worry about lost followers. I have physically tried to un-follow folks who haven't posted in two years in order to clear my list, but have failed. It is not as easy to unfollow on blogger as on twitter!

    All the very best wishes...will tweet your kindle link :)

    And see you more often on A-Z!

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  26. Hi, Damyanti!
    Good to see you again. As an over-worked rare blood courier, I don't get to all the friends I want to. The demand for sleep usually gets to me all too quickly at night.

    There is a free application at the iPad app store for Kindle for iPad!

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000490441

    Thanks to your bringing it to my attention, I now have a link for the free "Kindle for Ipad" app on my blog. See what a good friend you are? Will see you more often, too, Roland

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  27. My husband is travelling, and he has the Apple Store password, which of course, he has forgotten, and will have to retrieve from some keychain thing in his Other Blackberry, which is at his office! Isn't my life interesting? LE SIGHHH! I have to wait till the weekend to download your book, cos that is when he comes back :(

    On another note, I'm doing fiction flash pieces on my A-Z challenge, could you have a read? I love your writing, and your honest commentary would help me improve.

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