Eleven days of relentless killing of innocent Ukrainians by a madman obsessed with rebuilding the glorious USSR and the West still dithers over whether to stop buying the madman’s oil. I feel the pain of four dollar gas, but at least I’m not feeling the pain of family and neighbors dying in a hail of bullets, shrapnel, and, soon, what, gas? Mustard gas? Nuclear fallout? … Continue reading At What Price?
Apologies to Irving Berlin’s Puttin’ on the Ritz Have you seen the Russian troops Wearing bloody combat boots? As they’re marching on the West Earning medals for Vlad’s chest. Vlad’s seeking who knows what? Looking for his billionaire’s cut? Money’s no object in his war Biden’s billions help kill more. If you’re bored and don’t know where to go Why not go and declare a … Continue reading Putin on the Blitz
Well….. You….. Live in El Dorado And your pocket’s full of gold You live a life of ease and peace of mind You pay the taxman whining And you cuss at the TV Your favorite singer’s twerking While you quaff your pale ale Your lobster bisque is tepid And the ice in your tea melted Well….. Your….. World crashed around you Your day is beyond … Continue reading Life Sucks…May I Have a Glass of Whine?
Reflections from my annual Sanity Restoration Vacation in Maine. I spend two weeks alone camping and hiking in the Moosehead Lake Region. After fifty weeks of human congestion, I need time to recharge and rejuvenate My spirit goes flat for most of the year Though I’m normally joyful, filled with good cheer The world seems tuned to negative press Nature is where I go to … Continue reading Refreshing My Sanity
From the prompt: Drunk on Promises They said She was smart She had a beautiful heart Had The world at Her feet Dream big Little darlin’ And when You feel the heat Remember You got a world Of promises In a jar She was drunk On promises And gin When she died Far from home All alone In a car Continue reading Drunk on Promises
On the Road with My Old Man Looking ahead beyond the highs and lows I just now realize I don’t have far to go Now that I know what to look for and see There ain’t much more can up and surprise me Rocks in my path have mostly crumbled away But nothing is smooth in this life anyway I’m taking my next step on … Continue reading On the Road with My Old Man
How long did I know you It was so long ago You were a woman I had yet to shave I toed your waters Afraid to dive in You said come here I was over my head I was so young How little I knew About love and loving So little about you But you were gentle And when the time came I told you … Continue reading Tokyo Bar Girl
Well, I’m goin to hell and there’s nothin I can do Why would God forgive me when I never heard a truth I’m a sinner by birthright and a devil in disguise Born of sinners, raised in sin, no light in my eyes Shine a light on my heart Shine it in my eyes Make me turn against myself And see you through their lies … Continue reading Whose Truth?
Riddled through with eyes Dogs my furtive footsteps Creeps my sweating skin Turns me round and around Though, unseen, I think, by any, Or, maybe seen, perhaps, Yet does my anxious mind See shadows in the dark Concealment is my friend My prison too, at that Hidden from prying eyes But nervous of surprise Too fearful to confront Lest give away the deed If blackmail … Continue reading Guilty
Inky blackness, and the faintest glow Of light from around the door, Reminded me again Of the people I was serving for The blackest of night Devoid of light But for the faint patch Around the ship’s hatch Within the gray, steel hull Five thousand people Live, laugh, and, occasionally, cry When loneliness creeps in as it does by and by Funny, I think, how … Continue reading Inky Blackness and the Faintest Glow of Light from Around the Door
In fairy tales we often read A speck of truth as a mustard seed, A leap of faith, a bitter pill to some Who swallow whole without question Tales of fancy scribed by men whose Dreams compel the scratch of pen, The leaving of some trace of thought That, perhaps, all is not for nought. Continue reading Faith
Shadows hover above me grasping at my heels swiftly pulling me into an unfamiliar sky; wailing at the light that blinds I’m unwilling to abide while slapped then cradled until my cries subside; fear and wonder fill my head as I leave the world to which I’m tied slate clean and pure as snow and casting the first stone at fate; by the time you’re … Continue reading All Love is Colorblind
I am excited! excited! excited! honored, humbled, and – did I say excited? – that my poem, Perfection, arranged for piano by composer and pianist Margin Alexander, will be presented in concert February 27th in New York City alongside works by fourteen other international poets. I can’t be there in person but I provided a recording of myself speaking the poem. I’ll join the concert … Continue reading “Raining Words On the Piano”
The oath I took when I enlisted in the Navy and, for twenty-seven years, re-affirmed to at each re-enlistment and promotion, states that I will defend the nation against all enemies foreign and domestic. That hallowed oath resides in me until I leave this Earth. My veteran friends who align with me politically often state that they are ready to take up arms to defeat … Continue reading What the…?
Originally posted on Writers Envy:
1984 came and left; people wondered at the commotion. As it turned out, 1984 was only a prophecy of the brave new world to come, an inferno that we’re entering now. We wanted a republic, but we’ve built an animal farm ruled by self-righteous pickpockets in a world where the temperature creeps ever closer to Fahrenheit 451, a degree of… Continue reading 1984 Redux
Each stroke sends passion flying. An exuberance of current with the drop drop drop of joy splashing into the river that greets and flows goodbye. A spray of elation brings shivers under goosebumps and a warming embrace. The back burns hot and skin turns red but the driving force is strong. The final thrust is yet to come, but come it will, spent in a … Continue reading The Timeless Echo
Haha 😂😂😂😂 Continue reading Hindsight
I know I should help But lets wait and see Maybe someone Will do it for me This couch is so soft I’m not going to move I did my part In the voting booth If there’s a war on They’ll fight it for me I’m on their side Just let me be I read the news I know what’s going on I pray from … Continue reading Let Someone Else
To-Be Am Then Time permeates me relentlessly in a stream rushing, babbling, trickling as the case may be I inhale you You inhale me We exhale us To Be, Am, Then flow through and out a stream of us tobeamthen Autumn is for sowing seed for growth that follows winter not every winter ends in spring but every autumn ends in winter … Continue reading Every Autumn Ends in Winter
Originally posted on Her Writing Haven:
There are days when you are close,but mostly days when you are far.And sometimes, even the starsseem to wonder where you are. This pushing and pullingdue to some odd gravitational forcealways leaves me to wonderif you’ve just gotten off course. And my soul is forever searching,looking for a definitive sign,to show me you’re alright,in the midst of this decline.… Continue reading How are you?
The picture window in the richly appointed office of the Secretary for the Elimination of Fascist Activities overlooked the National Mall. The Secretary left his mahogany desk and stood at the window, hands behind his back. Outside, off to the left, the tall, black National Oppressed Peoples’ Monument stood needle straight within the Ring of Flags representing countries liberated from capitalist oppressors. The gray sky … Continue reading The List, Part II, First Draft
They came in the middle of the night. Expletive-screaming teams of jackbooted, black-clad List Enforcers battered down doors. Family pets were shot as Enforcers dispersed to round up sleeping children and parents. Bound and blindfolded, whole families were herded into cattle trucks, crammed in so tight taking a full breath was impossible. The weak and elderly succumbed quickly. They were fortunate. The wailing of terrified … Continue reading The List
Mortally wounded Lashing out Harsh is the fight Harsh tongues Harsh eyes Harsh lights Harsh sounds The call of the eagle is muted By the death cry of the hyena. Continue reading Death Throes of Civilization
A very rough draft of the opening chapter to Dancing with Orange Blossoms, the prequel to Honey Ko. I’m not sure I could write an entire novel this way, or if readers would enjoy it. Maybe I could bookend it this way but write the rest in the traditional manner.Thoughts? Is the italicized portion disconcerting? Is narration by a dead person too much. Finally, is … Continue reading Dancing with Orange Blossoms
I don’t fill the room I’m in, my presence slips quite thin between the walls, behind a chair, outside in the air; the vacuum I exist between pushes me both ways, to pop the empty bubble, to see what isn’t there. Is there a name for the space between two slabs of concrete block? That’s the way it’s always been, I’m a shadow drowned in … Continue reading I Don’t Fill The Room I’m In
Here’s a very rough draft of the opening chapter of my next novel, William Goodfellow. A tale of hope, self-discovery, disillusion, repentance, acceptance, and peace William Goodfellow dashed the hoe from his hands and stared at the earth packed beneath his torn fingernails. “This is madness. I am a man, not an animal,” he cried, and fled his field of corn and the blazing sun … Continue reading William Goodfellow, Farmer
A loud, noisy grateful shoutout to Ana P. Rose for the post idea. Thank you, Ana! 😊 My first foray into writing was a poem I wrote when I was 15. I still have it. English was my favorite class. I dedicated my first novel, Honey Ko, to my High School and College English teachers. Mr. Grundy told me I could write, Mr. Karlin taught … Continue reading Random Thoughts – Writing and Writers
Soft curl of a sweeping wave breaking on a sandy beach; crystal clear dew drops dangling from a leaf; wind- whispers leaning on pond grass with feather-tips softly sighing for the dragonflies hovering near; random dreams while dozing in the warmth of a sunny day in May; rose petals’ intimate, layering spirals; the delicate filigree of your ear; soft caress in the touch of your … Continue reading Perfection
When it snows, lips closed, eyes shut tight, seeing you, behind the mist, you’re so smooth, slip away, beating breast, burning up, snow-capped peak, kiss your lips, let it go, push away, catching flakes, on your tongue, melting snow, on your cheek, wipe away, tired me Continue reading Snow-Capped
Green, green of eye, with strangled cry and knuckled mouth, chasm-echoed tricks of thought, devil-filled, of shadows in the dark Behold the crack of heart’s desire, where love is thwarted, thinking he, she seeks another, one not he, but he his brother He must fly at risk of thunder from fool well-versed in blunder, bethought a man, beheld a cripple weak of heart and branded … Continue reading Gentle Dove of Sweetly Cooing Breast
Did the Greatest Generation sacrifice for nothing? The further removed we are from that era the greater the life of ease we’ve gained. Returning Sailors and GIs came home to an American economic machine powering the world. Old military barracks were turned into housing while the forerunners of Levittowns were built. Suddenly, suburbs were springing up all across America, dads were using the GI Bill … Continue reading What is Freedom?
My first attempt at a video ad. Thoughts? Continue reading Honey Ko Video Ad
Originally posted on Ana Linden:
“Help yourself. You still smoke?” Pointless question, stating the obvious, so it would fill the air between them… He tilted his head apologetically and smiled back, that embarrassed half a smile of his, when she’d catch him doing something she didn’t approve of and she’d point it out. He lit up and inhaled deeply, turning to ashes a good portion… Continue reading Frames – Trespasser (Sample Fragment 1)
I was but a boy of seventeen, Still wet behind the ears When I waved goodbye to mom and dad And manned up against the tears Twas then my first time on my own Not counting Camp Hiawatha I knew no one on the Greyhound bus As we rolled south out of Tampa The ride was long into Miami The motel sure wasn’t home But … Continue reading My Dear Sweet Lady
Nailed it! Continue reading Social Distancing 101
❤️❤️❤️Honey Ko Update!❤️❤️❤️ The paperbacks are in and available on Amazon! If you’d like a signed copy please email me at: william.c.pennington@writersenvy.com Thank you all for your support! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086L5ZVB7 Continue reading ❤❤❤Honey Ko Update!❤❤❤
In love againWhat if this is the one?Ache in my heartStabbed in the gut againWhere have you gone?Standing right next to meDon’t leave me nowDon’t be the one to leaveCome to me nowWhat will our love become?How do we know?Will the sun rise again? It’s all the sameNever a change of heartShaded in blackPurple and blue the bruiseSleep is my fearEnemy of my nightsDreams come … Continue reading Why Did You Come?
Writing a novel is easy. Marketing a novel is hard, especially when you’re not fond of selling yourself or trying to get a stranger to buy a product. It’s a special type of person who not only enjoys enticing people to buy their products, but who can also smile in the face of rejection. I disliked going door-to-door as a young boy and selling things. … Continue reading Self-Marketing a Self-Published Novel
What is in a kiss, William? What do you mean, Susanna? What do you feel when you kiss me? Oh… I feel the sensual moisture of your mouth; the Tender bumping of your nose; the Tickle of your eyebrows, and the Tingle in my toes; I feel the texture of your lips, and the Curve of Cupid’s bow; I feel the softness of your cheeks; … Continue reading What do you feel when you kiss me?
Hello Everyone, I just pressed the publish button and my first novel, Honey Ko, is available on Amazon as an eBook download. The paperback edition will be out soon. Thank you to everyone who inspired me, pushed me to finish, encouraged me, and believed in me 🙂 ❤ Will Continue reading Honey Ko – Published!
I bared my heart When you closed yours I’d hoped to make amends For all the times I stood by you You stood apart from me For all the words You didn’t say I heard those words so plain For all the love You didn’t share I shared my heart alone It’s a curious way To be in love When love has passed you by … Continue reading It’s Curious
Walked I now upon concrete path in town, Crisscrossed here and there with poles of brown, Wires black, and stacks that belched like clowns; Buildings dark and squat gave good Earth an ugly frown; People passed, eyes avert, unsmiling, looking down; I felt no joy on the concrete path in town. Upon hard bench I sat, no music thrilled the air, No child’s laugh or … Continue reading The Frog and the Granite Shore, Part V
From windswept shore I climbed to rocky perch, Crowned like giant stairs to steepled church, Solid and immovable, no waver, without lurch; Pitching boat ‘mid rolling waves, fragile as the birch, I feared for frail men, how perilous the search; When calmed the wind, I climbed from rocky perch. Continue reading The Frog and the Granite Shore, Part IV
Away the wood, I walked on Granite Shore Pounding waves, like knuckles rapped upon a door Lobster boat, weather-worn in winds that tore And red-faced men, like fishermen of yore Whose raw ripped flesh labored evermore To work the sea that swept the granite shore Continue reading The Frog and the Granite Shore, Part III
I stopped to ponder my neighbor in green, Who, eyes near closed in dreamlike sheen, Lay ankles crossed and head on arm a’lean; He snorted, half asleep in his pastoral scene, Then snapped halfhearted at black fly on wing; I chuckled then and left my neighbor in green. Continue reading The Frog and the Granite Shore, Part II
I walked through a wood one summer’s day, Afternoon light dappled a forest glade; Lily pad in green-black pond and on it lay A frog whose languid croak appeared to say, As he scratched white belly in sun’s warm ray, I shall not move on this hot summer’s day. Continue reading The Frog and the Granite Shore, Part I
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