Originally posted on The Writings of William C. Pennington:
There are two kinds of dead in war: those who die and those who live. Those who die stay dead; those who live die again and again and again until, someday, they too stay dead. He died in World War II during the Battle of Okinawa, but lived another forty-nine years filled with anger that he… Continue reading Eighteen Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty
Originally posted on The Writings of William C. Pennington:
The tall white mountain beckons. Beckons me across the years to return, calls me to climb again his steep, rocky face by the trail beside the stream. The stream of cold, cold water that rushes down the mountain much faster than I will ascend the mountain, rushes by with a gurgle, a gurgle as if laughing… Continue reading Old Speck
August 8th At sea Dearest Soul, At sea, the horizon remains the same distance away, day after day, neither receding nor advancing. The sun rises every morning in the place I came from yesterday, arcs across the sky, sets every evening in the place I will be tomorrow. It is the second most constant occurrence in my life. My dear, your love is first to greet … Continue reading From a Sailor to his Sweetheart
I long for intimate conversation. Two people, leaning on elbows over cups of coffee on a small table in the little coffee house around the corner, eyes only for each other, oblivious to the buzz of life surrounding them. She smiles and looks down, and I love the way her lips curl, the delicate filigree of her ear revealed when she brushes her hair back, … Continue reading I Long For Intimate Conversation
Love arrives breathing, warming Love that develops, pulses From your heart, love Beating keeping time, love’s Symphony surrounds us, love. Love before death, soothing Love that envelopes, light Dimming your eyes, love Cherished and remembered, love’s Eyes close forever, love. Continue reading Love, Ten Times Over
Splash me across the sky, Throw me upon the universe, Let me shine upon your face As the light of a trillion stars, Your past, your present, your future. Scatter me upon the ground and kneel, Kneel and plow your fingers into my grains, Feel my billions of years of Earth. I blow my wind upon your skin, Fill your sails, Billowing white clouds Waft … Continue reading Splash Me Across The Sky
We worked at Busch Gardens and saw each other often at the Festhaus. Freyja enchanted me from the beginning. Twenty years old, short blonde hair, bright blue eyes, pale skin, red lips, cherry cheeks: a petite Teutonic Goddess. Freyja worked as a server, while I delivered food and dry goods from the food service warehouse. We were on smiling terms but not much else, although she seemed … Continue reading Revelation
There are two kinds of dead in war: those who die and those who live. Those who die stay dead; those who live die again and again and again until, someday, they too stay dead. He died in World War II during the Battle of Okinawa, but lived another forty-nine years filled with anger that he did not die in the war and stay dead. … Continue reading Eighteen Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty
My life bleeds from the pen in blood-red ink staining paper with great swathes of sorrow and towering pillars of joy. I live passionate in this life, laughing and crying, not knowing what lies before me, remembering what lies behind. I capture emotions with the lens of my mind and send them pounding through my veins to plant themselves in my heart where they fill me … Continue reading Why I Write
Susanna plucked a shrimp from the paper cone in my hand and held it over my head like a seal trainer. She laughed as I tipped my head back and opened my mouth, playfully wagging my tongue as I struggled not to laugh. She brought the shrimp to my mouth and I captured her long, graceful fingers between my lips and…hesitated. She gazed deep into … Continue reading Susanna Avila
Larger than life, standing astride the threshold of the birth of a great civilization. Behind, the bucolic life of a shepherd bounded by faith, ritual, and history. Beyond, the fathering of a new age mothered by faith, ritual, and history. Betwixt past and future, the present, a looming, gigantic presence threatening annihilation and erasure from history. An obstacle of hesitation, uncertainty, fear. To flee means to cringe and crawl, … Continue reading David
I feel so much satisfaction watching the word count grow in the little story flowing from my pen. This joyful enterprise, this crafting of a universe built from memories of a lifetime. This imaginary world I have peopled with those I’ve grown up with, played, schooled, worshiped, worked, and served with. Decorated with scenes that have thrilled my eyes and my mind and lifted my … Continue reading My Little Story
Dreams are bad news. Good dreams or bad dreams, it doesn’t matter. When you awaken you are the same person, only sadder. You wake with less happiness, less hope than before you laid your head on the pillow and closed your eyes and sleep took you to that place you yearn for but hate with hot tears when your eyes open again. The place you … Continue reading Dreams
When two hearts break, it’s a compound fracture with all the ugliness of a leg bone sticking out awkwardly from torn, bloodied flesh, a crippling injury that takes a lifetime to heal, if it ever really heals without leaving memory of an exquisitely harsh pain, a bruise of purple and black on the soul, and a reflex action against falling in love again. Continue reading Heartbreak
On this Thanksgiving, I want to wish all of my friends and family a day filled with thankfulness, joy and happiness, peace and fellowship, family, friends, togetherness. What is one of those I have mentioned without the others? And love. What are any of those I have mentioned without love. And forgiveness. To love is to forgive. To forgive is to love. I have so … Continue reading Thanksgiving 2014
He holds his secrets for himself, Holds them for himself, As if he has secrets For no one else. He sees his world in his own way, Sees it his own way, As if he sees his world For no one else. He does not share what’s in his mind, Shares not his own mind, As if he thinks alone For no one else. He walks … Continue reading Secrets
I flew from you last night, Reluctant, bound to her despite The dimming of the light That lies, and die vows of troth and love. Joy hastened sweep of hand, Relentless, bound to her demand And damning of the band That lies, and die vows of troth and love. Miles increase my desire, Reliant, bound to her cold ire And temp’ring of the fire That … Continue reading I Flew From You Last Night
Her love caressed with the softness of a mother’s lips. Passion gripped me for this beautiful Catalan woman whose green eyes pierced and tugged at my soul with the gravity of a thousand suns. My heart wrenched when we parted and exploded when we came together. Life had just begun. My mind emptied when her arms enfolded me, enveloped by her breath, her fragrance, her warmth, … Continue reading Susanna Avila
Boot Camp I craned my head around and watched through the window as sentries, wearing sidearms and carrying rifles, lowered the traffic barricade that shut off contact with the outside world. My heart skipped two beats and a stab of fear flashed through my mind. Fear of the life-altering weeks ahead of me. Fear of the unknown. I fought back a panic attack and looked … Continue reading Boot Camp
It bothered me well into my teenage years that I didn’t have a hometown. It bothered me when a classmate or friend proudly defended his state, or touted his state’s greatness. It bothered me, too, when I heard or read of a state celebrating a native-born citizen for an achievement. I felt jealous that my friends had a place they could call their hometown, a … Continue reading My Hometown
I forgave you, Dad, and asked you to forgive me. Your heart attack occurred early in the morning on November 30, 1994. I was aboard the USS Tripoli, returning to the states after a long six months at sea when I received notice. The Chaplain came to my stateroom to inform me and leave me a copy of the Red Cross message. The message said … Continue reading As You Lay Dying
When we moved into our new home on Trilby Avenue in Tampa in 1967, after living in Holland for three years, I thought we would stay there a while. But we only lived in that house for two months before packing up and moving to a brand new house in northeast Tampa. One day, I knocked a clapboard off the side of the house while … Continue reading Turkey In The Straw
My Family My family’s thread is long and unbroken and woven into the fabric of America. Penningtons, Gillards, Peaveys, and Campbells, Strands, Thoresons, and Tollefsons emigrated from nations in Europe, settled America, tilled her soil, fed her people, sent sons and husbands and brothers to fight America’s wars, worked in her factories, and helped make her a great nation. The blood of brave men and … Continue reading My Family
My friend Glenn and I dropped by The Pirate Bully Hayes Nightclub in Pearl City one night for a couple of beers. Although I had been stationed in Hawaii for three years, I had patronized Bully Hayes only once – the previous night. I don’t know what compelled me to go to that particular club on consecutive nights; serendipity I suppose. Bully Hayes had a … Continue reading Getting Lucky
I didn’t know what cutoffs were until I moved to Tampa, Florida with my family after living in Holland for three years. My next door neighbor, Terry Parrish, a boy three years older than my seven years, walked over to me on our first day at the new house while I helped dad unload the car of suitcases, the old beat-up red metal cooler with … Continue reading The Red Metal Cooler
The tall, white mountain beckons, beckons me across the years to return, calls me to climb again his steep, rocky face by the trail beside the stream. The stream of cold, cold water that rushes down the mountain much faster than I will ascend the mountain, rushes by with a gurgle, a gurgle as if laughing at my slow, halting progress. Progress marked by lungs gasping for … Continue reading Old Speck
A leaf is a thing, That brings joy to my heart, Vibrant green, With points like a star, It hangs from the tree, waving at me, O, pretty leaf, what do you see? So live your life like a leaf, Just hangin’ around, And when your time comes, Just leap for the ground, A flying leap, brave and gay, O, what a great end to … Continue reading Live Your Life Like A Leaf
My heart melted when I saw her pink, chubby face and heard her cries for the first time. I felt no shame at the tears that trickled down my cheeks and threatened to drown my shoes in a pool of warm saltwater. The doctors and nurses were invisible. I had eyes only for my daughter. My life had changed in the last ten minutes, and … Continue reading My Daughter
Midway between Pearl Harbor and Hong Kong, in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, the USS Tripoli lost her heartbeat. I woke from a sound sleep. My brain registered a change in the ship and woke me. Something was wrong! The always-there subtle vibration and low background hum of the ship’s heartbeat, her life, were not there. Light from the battle lantern next … Continue reading My Ship
My friend Andy was eleven years old. He lived in an old, old house on Bearss Avenue in Tampa. Bearss was properly pronounced ‘Bears’ but some folks drew out the second ‘s’ until it sounded like Bare-ass. When things were slow at Andy’s house and we were bored, when it was raining and we had to stay indoors so we wouldn’t run in the puddles … Continue reading My Friend Andy
Flying across this land, greeting the coming dawn, Far below a network of highways, Homes, rivers and byways, Cars, trucks, and trains rolling on and on. People down there moving about, specks like ants fretting, Purpose in each, What? Out of reach, Lives, like vines, strands sprouting and spreading. I think of my own people, homes left behind, Covered wagons filled, Treasures of life’s yield, The … Continue reading Lives, Like Vines
My parents were the genesis Of all I have become, Their hopes and dreams, Immortality, Vested in the son. Father gave me purpose Skill at work and play, Mother gave me love, Home, And held me every day My parents made the sacrifice To help me find my way, Their toil and sweat, Prayers, Inspiration to this day. I haven’t always met those hopes, I’ve … Continue reading My Parents Were The Genesis
Swish, swish, swish, his tail sweeps the air, Shining eyes, he crouches there. Arcing high, the ball flies up, Leaping now, my flying pup. He takes the ball, prances ‘round, Twinkle toes, not earthbound. Come here, boy! but, oh, not he, Away, away, chase after me! Faster, farther, prancing still, He smiles at me, such a pill. Lets me near, then lies down, I come near, … Continue reading The Rogue
My alarm clock goes off at 0510, There’s no snooze button and no plug to put in; But his nose is cold and his tongue quite wet, And he growls ’til I roll out of bed. Continue reading My Alarm Clock
I love to sit on the rocks at Ka’ena Point, and Wonder at the beauty of the sea; I love to stand atop Old Speck, and Gaze in awe at God’s handiwork about me; I love to lie in the open field Near Spencer Pond at night, and Ponder the vastness of the universe Spreading out before and beyond me; I love the simple joy … Continue reading I Love To Sit On The Rocks At Ka’ena Point
The Writings of William C. Pennington 