Friday Flash 55 & Friday Fences "Hungry Like a Wolf"

Hungry like a Wolf

Tethered emotions

struggle for freedom

as I, mesmerized

by your wiggle

hunger to take the plunge, 

risk drowning

for your taste 

upon my tongue.

Don't be prudish.

Throw me a life-line

even if it means 

loosing your head.  

Break the rules;

my reputation as a wolf

is heresay.  Trust me,

darling, I'll be gentle.

by Margaret Bednar, Dec-6-2012

This is for Friday Flash 55 - (supposedly) a non-fiction story in 55 words, no more, no less.  I am also linked with Friday Fences #61.

I have been nursing our dog, Moxie, for the past few days.  Back & forth to the vet ER and bringing my daughter back and forth from school has me a bit behind on visiting blogs.  But I will be backtracking and catching up soon.

My daughter brought her home almost nine years ago and their bond is very tight, very special - this devotion is what has ME in tears.  She has rebounded and is stable.  There is hope.  Her liver numbers were off the charts and they think she has pancreatitis.  The liver is very regenerative and the pancreas can be maintained sometimes.  Time will tell.

Friday Fences, "Forbidden"

Forbidden 

For little boys

temptation is the rule,
not the exception.

Locked? Well then,
up and over...

"Come on, Mom,
you can do it!"

As if that is why I said "No."

Margaret Bednar, 11-30-2012

This is for Friday Fences #60.

Rural Thursday #3 "Mugshot", Friday Fences #21, IGWRT's "Haiku", & Friday Flash 55 "Guilty"

I BELIVE I FINALLY TURNED OFF MY BLOGGER "COMMENT VERIFICATION".  THE NEW VERSION WAS CRAZY.  PLEASE,  LET ME KNOW IF IT IS STILL ON.  I APOLOGIZE, I have NO idea why blogger has done this.  (If you use the new interface and want to turn "word verification" off (and you should as it makes responding very difficult - and I'm not going to respond for long to those who have it), on your dashboard page, click the gear symbol to the right of the "Save Settings" button, and choose the "Old Blogger Interface" setting, so you can go back and change it by using the "Settings" tab, and then the "Comments" link. After it's fixed you can switch back to the new interface.I hope this helps. 

Eagerness embraced
sun's soft warmth invigorates
confidence instilled

Nurtured no longer
life changing philosophy
tumultuous clouds

Suspicious bias
spring's playful romps, forgotten
expectantly still

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, February 16, 2012

The above is an "attempt" at a series of haiku for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Haiku with Grace.  I'm not that happy with these... it is HARD to do a traditional Japanese Haiku!

The post is linked with "Rural Thursday #3" AND "Friday Fences #21"... I'm being a tad lazy but I'm tired what with sick children and all...

and here is my quick, quick "Friday Flash 55" for this week:

Guilty

Life's eagerness and sweetness mingle with utter dependence
as the calf tugs upon the bottle teat.

Feeling a chill run down my spine, I glance over at his "big brothers".

A suspicious countenance has turned their once warm brown eyes to a piercing glare
and I feel guilty about the hamburger I just burped up.

Poetry Jam "A Recipe for "I'm Sorry" and Friday Flash 55 and "Rural Thursday"

For "Poetry Jam", "Friday Flash 55", "Friday Fences" & "Photo Art Friday" scroll to the bottom of page) 

Piglets

A gentle surge undulates
upon the straw,

pink cherub bodies
ride springtime's current

fall, ripple, sway,
roll forward

like a miniature wave train

gathering force
only to fall back again,

as squeals rise in pitch
against a warm shore
quivering snouts snuggle,
round elfin beach balls

bumpily bump about

tummies content
as spirits flourish,
faith-filled

life will forever be 

a safe harbor.

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, revised 2-9-2012 (original 1-2-11)

I have a linked Mama pig & piglets to "Rural Thursday #2" .  

This poem is one I blew the dust off and rearranged a bit.  When we lived in Michigan, the girls and I often went to Pond Hill Farm.  One day we went, we were luck enough to see new born piglets (above).  We went back several times just to watch them grow a bit and romp around the barnyard (below).

The photo below I will be linking to "Friday Fences #20"

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I was honored when asked to host an interview over at Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.  Please hop on over and read about a fascinating woman, Mary Ann Potter.  She is a gifted writer, poet, and photographer!

Below is a poem for Poetry Jam - this week's challenge is to create a recipe!  Since it also turned out to be 55 words, I will link this to Mr. Know-it-Alls' "Friday Flash 55"(a story in 55 words, no more, no less!)

A Recipe for "I'm Sorry"

A dozen roses I offer
and a heart
filled with regret.

I'll throw away all excuses,
smash the sarcasm, the bitterness
and spread a more tolerant
state of mind all over my body,
top it off with a soft
lingering kiss of humbleness
seasoned to perfection
with passion and persistence

if you will forgive me.

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, February 9, 2012

And this beautiful textured photo I was able to create for "Photo Art Friday"  using Bonnie's texture "Goodness".  Click the link to see other entries and explore other free textures Bonnie offers.  She also has a plethora of others for sale at a reasonable price.

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AND, earlier this week, my horse, Sebastian, wrote a Friday Flash 55!  I have reprinted it below and added the YouTube video of him as a colt of about 4 months old:

Tamed Passion

Passionately I prance

to my own rhythm

structure unacceptable.

A noble steed am I

breathing in untamed freedom,

all rules cast aside.

Intensity shines forth

from my poetic soul,

feet drumming

a mystical beat,

but I confess

I'll humble myself,

cast it all aside

for a tempting morsel

of apple, carrot, or grass.

By Sebastian, Art Happens 365, February 3, 2012

Rural Thursday #1, Creative Exchange, Friday Fences, Friday Flash 55 "No Commitment"

This will be linked with Friday Fences #19.  This is near Asheville, NC and taken last fall and I have linked the top photo with "Creative Exchange".

And a brand new challenge, "Rural Thursday #1".  This tomcat hangs out at an old mill where I buy fresh ground flour mixes.  One nice day, I opened my van door and Mr. Tomcat just hopped right in!  I picked him up and told him he had it made right where he was!

No Commitment

Ol' Tom's full of charm
rubbing my leg with a
feline smile, hoping
for a little lovin' in return.

Not promising much,
just willing to spend
a night, maybe two, before
he's off howlin' for  more
at another door.  His
gorgeous green eyes
honestly twinkle
"no commitment".

Perhaps that's why
I offer the porch instead.

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, February 2, 2012

This is for Mr. Know-it-Alls' "Friday Flash 55", a story in 55 words, no more, no less.  (linking up after 8 pm every thursday evening)

 This mill is over 100 year old, and this angle, believe it or not isn't her "good" side.  As the traffic is busy around 4 pm, I am unable to safely walk along the side of road for the perfect location.  One Saturday morning I will drag my sorry self out of bed early and get a beautiful shot of this place and share a bit of its history with you.

I have also been interviewed over at "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Real Toads Interview"!  Thanks, Lolamouse for doing a wonderful job.  I am truly, truly humbled that you selected me.  So, hop on over if you get a chance, not necessarily to read about me but to check out this wonderful community of poetic encouragement.  Thanks IGWRT's for the honor!  

Barn Charm, dVerse - "The Battlefield at Hoskin's Farm", Haiku Wednesday, Poetry Jam "The Ocean"

My Poem for Sensational Haiku Wednesday and another for Poetry Jam are at the bottom of this post

Tannenbaum Historical Park is located in Greensboro, NC and is the site of Joseph Hoskins farm settled as early as 1781.  Hoskin's Pennsylvania farm (near Valley Forge) and family had been devastated by the Revolutionary War.  He relocated his family to a remote area in North Carolina and cleared the land for harvesting crops and warded off occasional threats from the Cherokee.  By 1781 he had 150 acres with fields, gardens and split rail zigzag fences. It was a foggy morning and I think it lends a bit of nostalgia to the photos which is appropriate for this setting.

This peace was disturbed by the American and British armies as they swept through and eventually engaged in direct battle Haskin's farmland - he just couldn't get away from the fighting! The above foreground building is a relocated tobacco barn and is set up as an early American kitchen.  The photo below is the Hoskin's house constructed between 1811-1813 and it was lived in until 1925.

Joseph Hoskins bought his 150-acre farmstead for £200 “Current money of the State of North Carolina” in May 1778. Not much is known about the property and how it was utilized after Hoskins purchased it, but his will indicates some of the activities that took place on the farm.

When Hoskins died in 1799, he left three horses, two cows, five head of sheep, 250 acres, and a variety of personal and household items to his wife Hannah and to his four sons and four daughters. To his wife he gave the “use and profits of the plantation whereon I now live,” but instructed her “not to sell or dispose of the timber except what is necessary for the use of the hous and plantation.” Choosing not to name a specific heir, Hoskins left all the “farming utentials” for the general good of the plantation.  
(I grabbed the above two paragraphs from HERE.)

Today, people walk and jog along this and the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park which are connected.

These barn images, specifically the last one, are for "Barn Charm #69".  This is called a double pen barn.

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Below is my poem for "Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Personal Challenge 7"  If you want the details, please click on link.  Basically a series of haiku, (no less than 3, no more than 7) These are not traditional haiku, I'm sure, but I tried to hint at a season in all but one as I think that element is supposed to be there... I'm not sure.  These "haiku", I'm sure, are non-traditional.  I don't think one is supposed to put a title to a Haiku either, but I did ;)

I also linked the poem up with "dVerse - Open Link Night"

The Battlefield at Hoskin's Farm

Flaming  chokeberry

reminiscent of spilt blood

of life, sacrificed

Silent sounds linger

float, upon thick morning's mist

of life, hovering

Milking seats, wheels, troughs

idle, harvesting cobwebs

of life, remembered

Light of faith, guiding

our presence out of darkness

along forebear's path

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, January 24, 2012

The last Haiku is specifically linked to "Sensational Haiku Wednesday" and I hope it makes sense in this series of related Haiku's.  The prompt is "Silhouette" and I hope I can allude to the word and not have to use it.  This photo was taken at the Tannenbaum Historical Park over a year ago, but the sense of history, the sense of those who have come before certainly are felt here, at least by me.   

And the following image and poem are for Poetry Jam - topic this week - sensual poems AND Mr. Know-it-All's "Friday Flash 55" - a non-fiction story in 55 words, no more, no less (I will link up Thursday after 8pm)

The Ocean

Sinewy arms, pail laden

I sleepwalk towards the barn.

Nature's morning breath

inhaled,

moistly kissing me awake

from a dream

I'm unwilling to release...

   like sandpaper

   against my flesh

   his memory,

   passion aroused,

   long buried

   endearments

   tickle my ear,

   needs whispered,

   upon my tongue

   his saltiness...

a single tear

escapes

joining an ocean of regret.

by Margaret Bednar, Art Happens 365, January 25, 2012

Friday Fences #11 - Mare and Foal

This is linked to "Friday Fences #11".  This was a farm we drove by in Michigan last year... do you see the lake in the background?  If you see an interesting fence, photograph it and come join the fun!

Friday Fences #8

I found a real fun photo prompt that will utilize many I have in my archives!  It is "Firday's Fences".   I linked up to the November 17th post, Friday's Fences #8.  I am not sure if the subject must be behind the fence or if a fence just needs to be somewhere in the photo.  I hope to find out by next week.  To see the photo I linked to this challenge, please click on this link to my horse blog, "Just Horses".