The Long Way Up

A heavy, sinister canopy covers the sky as distant rumblings of thunder reverberate through miles of tranquil dreariness. Overhead, clusters of stratus, cumulus, and nimbus clouds seem to intentionally congregate for the sole purpose of darkening the already somber midday. Strong gusts of cool wind dance to and fro above the pitch black mountain peaks, making occasional dives into the valley below it; they make ominous whistling sounds as they bounce off each other, adding to the natural orchestra of boisterous thunder and deafening silence. On the ground level, three men dressed in distinctively different black-themed outfits arduously trudge on the valley floor made up of dark charcoal soil and jagged gravel. As they slowly persist on the terrain, they notice the barrenness of the landscape: treeless slopes as far as the eye can see; several gradients of gray, ash, and lead decorate the sides of cliffs jutting out of the earth; no sign of any possible shelter from harsh elements; an...

A father plays a major role in the lives of his children. An understatement? An overstatement? Well, whichever your preference, it's a true statement; one that has been poorly heeded, greatly ignored, or severely missed out. Anyone can biologically sire a child -- we got a lot of that going on these days; but to be a father in every sense of the word is, for sure, such a tall order, which is why many men -- for several varying and valid reasons -- opt out of their responsibilities. One such responsibility inherent to the paternal role is the privilege of representing the Heavenly Father to his children. This wouldn't be much of a stretch if men, to begin with, had an existing relationship with their Father in Heaven growing up, and have spent their season of singleness practicing being God-conscious in whatever form of relationship they had with other people. But sadly, that isn't the case most of the time. So, whatever a man learns during his bachelorhood he usually carrie...

Even after realizing lies Analyzing rude, loquacious eyes Risking life, embracing aftermaths Leaving every artificial rath Easing, and releasing lethargy  Also reeling, lacking empathy Running low, espoused antitheses Learning endings are resyntheses Every afternoon resetting light And requited ladylove elide Rambling, languishing, eating, aching Losses earned adding, ricocheting  Elected at reordered limits  Affected, reading lasting edits Romance, like electorates, adjure Livid, each anathema recur  Essex adjusts, rousing lawlessness Apathy rusts, liquid earnestness Righteousness leaving every abode Living entreaties already rode  Escape, a recourse laborious  Anon, reprobates left egregious Routing lust, evading atrophy Leches exposed, agile rectory Embers arise, rekindling lovers  Amplified, radiant laurels enter Rectify lucid errors appealed Lyrical emotions are revealed Endings are restarts legitimized Ardor refreshed, lenses energized Roads lead...

Zeus indeed commanded it Compelling all to bow A deafening sound, a rumble What do we do right now? Olympus dwellers exclaim And mortals choose parlay The father of the deities  Had something else to say Elsewhere, far, however The Son of Asgard tries Without a heavy hammer Who knows how he will fly Preceding or proceeding It ever will be heard When Odinson approaches The skies produce one word Perhaps another wielder Of wind and rain and hale Can aptly demonstrate here Where others ably fail Demanding eyes to witness And ears to hear the peals Let Miss Ororo Munroe Show you the real deal But really, as it turns out The noise, the boisterous din Brought stormy clouds and rainfall And joys come from within 'Cause Willy's favorite product Got soaked and melted, flowed Into a chocolate river Confectioners explode

"Jordan, make sure you stow the hose and the cart properly in the barn, okay? It's almost dinner time. You know your Mom does not want us to leave the food waiting at the table and get cold!" The voice of the elder male reverberates across the field as he finishes herding the last of his sheep into the pen for the night. His instructions were promptly heeded by the younger male, who was making his way into the mahogany-hued outhouse. "I'm on it, Dad. Were you able to catch up with Polly? Today has been the twelfth time she's gotten lost -- or run away. Such a cheeky little bugger, she is!" As Nigel shuts the gate of the sheep pen, he starts heading towards the barn, where his son is. "Yep! She'll be right, son. She never wanders too far off anyway. But..." he pauses mid-sentence as he stops by the door of the outhouse, looking at Jordan tidying up the rest of the barn. "We could definitely use some help around here. I'm knackered e...

My girlfriend gave me a book on writing prompts for Christmas, knowing that I write, just as she does. Today, I was able to take time to stretch some writing muscles with the first of the many prompts in the book, 'A Year of Creative Writing Prompts' . The first five-minute challenge was to write around the word 'peaches' . This is the result. Not quite orange, neither yellow I took a bite; it made me mellow I'm not much of a fruity fellow But for peaches? I'll always say "hello!" Get it fresh from the market Or from the many aisles of Target Outside the grocery, vendors park it Or in a lovely dress, girl, work it! Mix it with the fluffiness of cream See it in vivid, colorful dreams Put in a pie, or a single-hued ream Splash it on a suit, or hinted at the seams There's quite a lot to say about peaches Of softness, sweetness, joy -- it teaches One taste, and flavor boundaries it breaches Alluring tint...

The writing prompts I've discovered at thinkwritten.com are really doing wonders for my blog and my love for concocting word cocktails on a regular basis. Today's challenge was to go to my mp3 player and randomly find a song to write about. I ended up with The Used 's 'Blue and Yellow' , a song I've never heard before from a band I know nothing about. So, I googled the lyrics and played the song while sitting in the bus on the commute home. Now I have been a music lover for the past 35 years and have developed a welcoming ear for every genre from every era in this industry. I always seem to readily appreciate rhythm and rhyme, vocals and style, lyrics and delivery even from the most obscure song. But I must say I was quite unimpressed by Blue and Yellow on the melodic, technical and lyrical levels. Perhaps the years of poring over carefully crafted music and words from Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, and, most recently, OneRepublic contributed greatly to this ...