brief moment
captured in stillness of time
and memories smile
© JG Farmer 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Muse to the Music 31 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
The prompt for this challenge is a piece of music, the idea
being to share where the music takes you.
This week’s piece is: North Star by Mike Oldfield
If you use this prompt please link back
Classical Piece of the Day 31 October: Philippe de Vitry
On this day in 1291 the French poet and composer Philippe de
Vitry was born. The clip is a selection of Vitry’s songs.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Winter
First flakes falling
like gentle kisses igniting the senses
while crumpets lean forward
grasping the warmth of winter flames
eyes close in memory
of seasons past
when love left impressions in the snow
and fingertips lingered here and there
in the dreams of dancing flames.
© JG Farmer 2013
Notes: Write a poem about one or all of the four seasons
In the Dead Afternoon’s Gold More by Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935)
I first heard this poem on the radio a couple of weeks ago and every word resonated through me, and they still do.
In the dead afternoon’s gold more –
The no-place gold dust of late day
Which is sauntering past my door
And will not stay –
In the silence, still touched with gold,
Of the woods’ green ending, I see
The memory. You were fair of old
And are in me …
Though you’re not there, your memory is
And, you not anyone, your look.
I shake as you come like a breeze
And I mourn some good …
I’ve lost you. Never had you. The hour
Soothes my anguish so as to leave,
In my remembering being, the power
To feel love,
Though loving be a thing to fear,
A delusory and vain haunting,
And the night of this vague desire
Have no morning.
Fernando Pessoa, tr. Jonathon Griffin
Chocolate Fudge Pudding
Cold winter days are just made for steamed puddings and this
chocolate pudding with its rich fudge sauce is the perfect winter warmer.
5½oz/150g soft margarine
5½oz/150g self-raising flour
5½oz/150g golden syrup
3 eggs
1oz/25g cocoa powder
Chocolate Fudge
Sauce
3½oz/100g dark chocolate
4fl oz/125ml condensed milk
4 tbsp double cream
Lightly grease a 2 pint/1.2 litre pudding basin
Place the ingredients for the sponge in a mixing bowl and
beat until well combined and smooth.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared basin and level the top.
Cover with a disc of baking parchment and tie a pleated sheet of foil over the
basin. Steam for 1½-2 hours until the pudding is cooked and springy to the
touch.
To make the sauce, break the chocolate into small pieces and
place in a small pan with the condensed milk. Heat gently, stirring until the
chocolate melts.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream.
To serve the pudding turn it out onto a serving plate and
pour over a little of the fudge sauce. Serve the remaining sauce separately.
Next Time: Saucy
Chocolate Pudding
Who Needs to Know
Baptism by recorded delivery
the paperwork declares it so
ticking them off one by one
as copies sent to official pen-pushers
with quizzical looks of
you cannot have a boy’s name
I said
‘Get over it’
I am reborn
© JG Farmer 2013
Whimsical Wednesday 30 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
As a poet I read a lot of poetry and some more on top. I
also find one line taken out of context can lead to a whole new dimension of
creativity. The idea of this challenge therefore is to create what comes to
mind from lines of poetry.
This week’s lines of poetry are:
- Has shone in the water for ages - Late August on the Lido by John Hollander
- simmering like wasps - The Old Flame by Robert Lowell
- but the anarchists now occupy - The Barcelona Inside Me by Robin Becker
If you use this prompt please link back
Classical Piece of the Day 30 October: Peter Warlock
On this day in 1894 the English composer Peter Warlock was
born. The video is Warlock’s Capriol Suite performed by European Community
Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Eivind Aadland.
Tuesday’s Thinking 29 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
Today’s prompt is:
Write, using the prompt word: brave.
If you post a write from the prompt, please post a link in comments or pingback
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Classical Piece of the Day 29 October: Emmanuel Bondeville
Today in 1898 the French composer Emmanuel Bondeville was
born. The featured piece is Bondeville’s Symphonie Chorégraphique performed by L'Orchestre
National de France under the baton of Georges Tzipine
Monday, October 28, 2013
The Portal
 |
| The Squealer by Al Forbes |
The blast of dated muzak drowns out the excited echoes
from below as each spin turns faster and higher. You and I look at each other
knowingly. The time of destiny is coming. Our time with the squealing Earth
dwellers is at an end. They call us carnies, gypsies and travelers as they
look for a quick thrill.
Indeed we are travelers. As the spinning gets faster we
feel the vortex approaching. The air turns cold as the ride reaches its highest
point. It is then we feel the grasp of the portal take us through time, flying
into a distant dimension. At last we are going home.
© J Farmer 2013
Inside Her Eyes
 |
| Glamping by MaryAD Art |
In roseate shadows where dreams are seen
Her fingers tap her thoughts across the screen
The words of love upon hi-tech device
As old as time; for love remains the same
It is no science nor is it precise
As it catches the soul in its embrace
Lingering gazes lead the heart inside
The eyes. For love is where the passions race
As secret desires melt when they collide
Emotive senses we once brushed aside
Retold each night while talking by machine
As typed words become a whispering name
In separated tears that leave no trace
And sleep softly reclines in love’s entice
© J Farmer 2013
Notes:
Form: Ivorian Sonnet C
Monday’s Masterpiece 28 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
Today’s challenge is to take inspiration from a work of art
and write from it.
The masterpiece choice for today is Summer Dawn Haze by Jill Griffin
 |
| Summer Dawn Haze by Jill Griffin |
View more of Jill’s work at:
Please leave a link in comments or pingback if you join in
the challenge
Classical Piece of the Day 28 October: Gershon Kingsley
Today in 1922 the German composer Gershon Kingsley was
born. The featured piece is the earliest video of Kingsley’s Popcorn.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Haiku
glowing grace
dancing on the breeze of dusk
as wax drips
© J Farmer 2013
Notes:
Prompt: Candles
Classical Piece of the Day 27 October: Miloje Milojević
Today in 1884 the Serbian composer Miloje Milojević was
born. The featured video is Milojević’s Kosovo Suite
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Words at the Weekend 26/27 October
The idea of the challenge is to use any one or more of the
given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem.
For the weekend I am going to give four prompts that can be
used individually or together depending on how the creative juices flow. There
will be a single word with its definition, a word bank, three phrases and a
photograph – all are random so may not connect in anyway but as is the way of
randomness they may connect in the creative thought – you never can tell!
This week’s prompts are:
Photograph: Circumspection
by Delia Lendecski
 |
| Circumspection by Delia Lendecski |
Word: kulturkampf
Pronunciation: (kool-TOOR-kahmpf)
Meaning: noun: A cultural conflict, especially one religious in nature.
Phrases:
- decorating life
- light of the party
- we know you are a spy
Word bank: ambivalent; stockpile; attorney; bout; phone.
If you create something please link back to here
Classical Piece of the Day 26 October
Today in 1685 the Italian composer Giuseppe Domenico
Scarlatti was born. The clip is Scarlatti’s Sonata for Guitar in E minor
performed by Luigi Attademo
Three on Friday 25 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
The challenge today offers three quotations to inspire the
creative muse, using one, two or all three as a prompt.
The quotations for this week are:
Write how you want, the critic shall show the world you could have written better – Oliver Goldsmith
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning – Louis L’Amour
The day of the sun is like the day of a king. It is a promenade in the morning, a sitting on the throne at noon, a pageant in the evening – Wallace Stevens
Friday, October 25, 2013
Classical Piece of the Day 25 October
Today in 1838 the French composer Georges Bizet was born.
The video is Habanera from Bizet’s opera Carmen performed by the legendary
Maria Callas
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Muse to the Music 24 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
The prompt for this challenge is a piece of music, the idea
being to share where the music takes you.
This week’s piece is: Farewell, My Homeland by Medwyn
Goodall
If you use this prompt please link back
Classical Piece of the Day 24 October
Today in 1725 the Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti
died. The video is Scarletti’s Concerto Grosso No.3 in F major
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Whimsical Wednesday 23 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
As a poet I read a lot of poetry and some more on top. I
also find one line taken out of context can lead to a whole new dimension of
creativity. The idea of this challenge therefore is to create what comes to
mind from lines of poetry.
This week’s lines of poetry are:
- and after Anthony left I got a whiskey - [I'm not with my] by Joshua Beckman
- Outside, the wind's incomplete unrest - Talking in Bed by Philip Larkin
- a clockface, an eye, but it's the ring of water - Oldest Map of the World by Kelle Groom
If you use this prompt please link back
Classical Piece of the Day 23 October
Today in 1923 the American composer Ned Rorem was born.
The featured piece is taken from Rorem’s Piano Concerto in Six Movements,
performed by the Louisville Orchestra under the batons of Jorge Mester and Robert
Whitney
Tuesday’s Thinking 22 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
Today’s prompt is:
What did you see as a child that affected you for the rest of your life?
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Classical Piece of the Day 22 October
Today in 1811 the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt was
born. The video is Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C# Minor
Monday, October 21, 2013
Monday’s Masterpiece 21 October
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to
create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
Today’s challenge is to take inspiration from a work of art
and write from it.
The masterpiece choice for today is
Ball Boy by Chris Jones
View more of Chris’ work at:
https://www.artfinder.com/artist/chris-jones/
Please leave a link in comments or pingback if you join in
the challenge
Classical Piece of the Day 21 October
Today in 1879 the French composer Marie-Joseph Canteloube
de Malaret was born. The featured piece is Malaret’s Cantos de Auvernia-Parte
II performed by Dame Kiri te Kanawa and the English Chamber Orchestra under the
baton of Jeffrey Tate
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Autumn
She left on the autumn winds
as weary trees took on their vibrant dream
and the saddened heart walked away from love
while Nature’s clock keeps on ticking
the golden leaves twirled
with spirals of red
dry as the shattered senses
with tears frozen in time
in the acrimony of the impudent winds
thoughts linger among the dance of colours
unwanted now
as the creaking pole casts out
its final line
the winds form a far-reaching good-bye
and the summer died.
© J Farmer 2013
Love Constant Beyond Death by Francisco Gomez de Quevedo (1580-1645)
The metaphysical endurance of love after death is captured beautifully here by Quevedo, who by the age of just 23 was an acclaimed poet.
The final shadow that will close my eyes
will in its darkness take me from white day
and instantly untie the soul from lies
and flattery of death, and find its way
and yet my soul won’t leave its memory
of love there on the shore where it has burned:
my flame can swim cold water and has learned
to lose respect for laws’ severity.
My soul, whom a God made his prison of,
my veins, which a liquid humour fed to fire,
my marrows, which have gloriously flamed,
will leave their body, never their desire;
they will be ash but ash in feeling framed;
they will be dust but will be dust in love.
Francisco Gomez de Quevedo
tr. Willis Barnstone
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipes dedicated to chocolate would not be complete without
the popular chocolate chip cookie. This basic recipe is delicious on its own
but can also form the basis of several variations the only limit being the
imagination.
6oz/175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4½oz/125g soft margarine
3oz/90g light muscovado sugar
2oz/60g caster sugar
½tsp vanilla extract
4½oz/125g dark chocolate chips
Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat
until well combined.
Place tablespoonfuls of the mixture on to the baking trays,
spacing them well apart to allow for spreading during cooking.
Bake in a preheated oven, 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5, for 10-12
minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.
Using a palette knife, transfer the cookies on to a wire
rack to cool completely.
Variations
- Choc & Nut Cookies – add 1½oz/40g chopped hazelnuts to the basic mixture.
- Double Choc Cookies – beat in 1½oz/40g melted dark chocolate
- White Chocolate Chip Cookies – use white chocolate chips instead of the dark chocolate chips.
- Mixed Chocolate Chip Cookies – use a mixture of dark, milk and white chocolate chips in the basic mixture.
- Chocolate Chip and Coconut Cookies – add 1oz/25g desiccated coconut to the basic mixture.
- Chocolate Chip and Raisin Cookies – add 1½oz/40g raisins to the basic mixture.
Next Time: Chocolate Fudge Pudding
Puberty Revisited
 |
| Testosterone Molecule |
Chemical interjection
rearranging bulk locations
redefining muscular shape
like a chisel in a sculptor’s hand
shoulders stretch and broaden to take the flack
as the curved facial lines straighten
into the masculine grin with a husky voice
visual changes to meet inner spirit
the increased sensuality tenderly growing
eruptions beneath the skin
but there is just one question –
should it be before or after
the longed for flattening?
© J Farmer 2013
Classical Piece of the Day 20 October
Today in 1874 the American composer Charles Edward Ives
was born. The featured piece is Ives’ Symphony No.3 performed by the New York
Philharmonic under the baton of Leonard Bernstein
Saturday, October 19, 2013
The Performance
Since the day they said ‘I do’ they had done the same
ritual. Like actors on the stage they pucker up for set piece kiss as lips
brush briefly implying affection. Behind her eyes she is seeing a shopping trip
the highlight being a cappuccino in the higher end coffee bar on the High
Street. She loved watching Mario’s deft hands create a masterpiece in the milky
froth just to please her. As she thought about how the twinkle in his eye made
her heart skip the wry smile on her lips was just enough to convince her
husband she had heard him say goodbye as he left for the office.
He closed
the door a little too quickly and drove in the wrong direction to a discreet
hotel, where Miranda, his secretary, was waiting his arrival and their early
morning meeting.
© J Farmer 2013
Dance Free
Tonight I waltz within your arms once more
Across the night sky’s celestial dance floor
As love extends her touch beyond the veil
And should you care to reach out, take my hand
And join me once more so our ship can sail
Upon the everlasting heavenly sea
And if you should ask me the question why
I’ll say again it is my heart’s decree
A whisper of truth upon a soft sigh
That to feel your love again I must die
And let the angels play the music’s score
For in you I have come to understand
That in your love I cannot fall or fail
As for all of time we dance where we are free
© J Farmer 2013
Form: Ivorian Sonnet XCIX
Haiku
a first breath of sound
precious in a mother’s heart
now shut up
© J Farmer 2013
Prompt: Baby's first word
Words at the Weekend 19/20 October
The idea of the challenge is to use any one or more of the
given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem.
For the weekend I am going to give four prompts that can be
used individually or together depending on how the creative juices flow. There
will be a single word with its definition, a word bank, three phrases and a
photograph – all are random so may not connect in anyway but as is the way of
randomness they may connect in the creative thought – you never can tell!
This week’s prompts are:
Photograph: Coming and Going from National Archives of Norway
Word: Kaffeeklatsch
Pronunciation: (KAH-fee-klach)
Meaning: noun: An informal social gathering for coffee and conversation
Phrases:
- unseen power
- no hard edges
- blessings from miracles
Word bank: wearing; timely; crest; decade; process.
.
If you create something please link back to here
Classical Piece of the Day 19 October
Today in 1828 the Italian composer Adolfo Fumagalli was
born, The piece featured here is Fumagalli’s Grande Fantasia su I Puritani
op.28
Only Tears
How can words speak of love
when there is nothing left to say
and romance is the withered rose
cursed by pain
as affections turn against the tide
a single kiss dies on the lips
softly unspoken
lost in the reciting of ‘life moves on’
like a forgotten dream lost in the sunlight
never to be heard again
the pulse that once could resonate
with passion lies silent
battered and broken
so how does the voice sing
or murmur ‘I love you’
when there are only tears left to cry
© J Farmer 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Blemished Heart (Strambotto Toscano) in The Poetic Round Forum
The memories return with the autumn leaves
And love’s old bruises burn in echoes of pain
Without an invitation a thought retrieves
The eternal need to feel your touch again
Each night sleeping eyes close as a dream believes
The sun will return to shine after the rain
For in the realms of sleep I know love is real
And in your embrace I am able to feel
Invasion
Demons of thought
the dark talons that push me
towards the edge of insanity
twisted tensions of torment
claiming existence denying life
as I walk alone in the dark.
Blinded eyes cannot see
the shards of hope that shimmer in sunlight
while the spirit lies dying
like the spent skeletons of leaves in winter
there is no shelter from the northern winds
as they take me
to walk alone in the dark.
Eternal sleep beckons
and I seek it
as resistance floats like silken fabric
that gently swirls to the ground
caressing my feet
as I walk alone in the dark.
© J Farmer 2013
As imperceptibly as Grief by Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
There is nothing that quite captures the turn to Autumn as perfectly as Emily’s poem – I hope you enjoy
As imperceptibly as Grief
The Summer lapsed away –
Too imperceptible at last,
To seem like Perfidy –
A Quietness distilled
As Twilight long begun
Or Nature spending with herself
Sequestered Afternoon –
The Dusk drew earlier in –
The Morning foreign shone –
A courteous, yet harrowing Grace,
As Guest, that would be gone –
And thus, without a Wing
Or service of a Keel
Our Summer made her light escape
Into the beautiful.
Emily Dickinson
Haiku
lonely wanderer
carries the tears in waiting
yet rain still falls
© J Farmer 2013
Prompt:
Haiku Heights #304
Step by Step
One foot forward
a small step into a giant leap
grasping destiny
the last sense of perspective
when all else is confusion of time
decisions demand questions
forcing answers into logical explanations
where there is no logic
living the reality of self
inside out
as needles piece the skin the vocal chords snap
towards radical surgery
once more to blend into the real world
© J Farmer 2013
Chocolate Crispy Bites
Classic chocolate
crispy bites with a new twist – ever popular as a treat for children and
grown-up kids alike.
White Layer
1¾oz/50g butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
5½oz/150g white chocolate
1¾oz/50g toasted rice cereal
Dark Layer
1¾oz/50g butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
4oz/125g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
2¾oz/75g toasted rice cereal
Grease an 8 inch/20cm square cake tin and line with baking
parchment.
To make the white chocolate layer, melt the butter, golden
syrup and white chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering
water.
Remove from the heat and stir in the rice cereal until it is
well combined.
Press into the prepared tin and level the surface.
To make the dark chocolate layer, melt the butter, golden
syrup and dark chocolate in a bow set over a saucepan of gently simmering
water.
Remove from the heat and stir in the rice cereal until it is
well coated. Pour the dark layer over the hardened white layer and chill until
the dark layer has hardened.
Turn out of the cake tin and cut into small squares using a
sharp knife.
Next Time: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three on Friday – 18 October 2013
The idea of these challenges is to use the given prompts to create a piece of flash fiction (100-500 words) or a poem
The challenge today offers three quotations to inspire the
creative muse, using one, two or all three as a prompt.
The quotations for this week are:
When kindness has left people, even for a few moments, we become afraid of them as if their reason had left them – Willa Cather
A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die – Franz Kafka
Chastity is a monkish and evangelical superstition, a greater foe to natural temperance even than unintellectual sensuality – Percy Bysshe Shelley
If you take up today’s challenge please leave a link in the
comments
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