Never Give Up

Photograph    Maleko ©2012

In the Morning

Photos taken of the morning sunrise in late August 2012 on my early morning bike commute in the Pacific Northwest! (Collage done using PicMonkey) ~©Maleko 2012

That Silver Spoon - (Free Write Friday)

I stared a the words below wondering where they would take me.  Once the first line came the rest flowed very easily and although this writing is very different from what I normally write, I am intrigued by where my mind went.  It may be a strange place, but there is also light there and I know what this writing speaks to me.  What does it speak to you?

This writing is for the word prompt to the right 

for Free Write Friday using what is called 

stream of consciousness writing.  No editing, 

no proofing, just write!  Please check out 

Kellie Elmore's blog for more information 

on Free Write Friday.  Join the fun and 

use the twitter hashtag #FWF, post on FB 

and your blog; just start writing!

Love in Black and White

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." 

John 13:34 

 

 (A picture of my girl and her dog, edited using PicMonkey  Maleko ©2012)

Consequences

Wearing Masks

"Wearing Masks"   ©Maleko 2012

5x6.5 inches  ~  Watercolor Pencils and Pastels  ~  Drop shadow border added using PicMonkey

This picture of three horse heads in vibrant colors struck me as looking like masks that were being worn while something devious is being planned.  What could that be?  What is being said?  What are they trying to hide?     Better question what do we hide behind the masks we wear in our daily lives?

Falling

 

(This writing is for the  text prompt above   

for Free Write Friday using what is called 

stream of consciousness writing, no editing, 

no proofing just writing!  Please check out  

Kellie Elmore's blog  for more information on 

Free Write Friday's, use the  twitter hashtag 

#FWF and join the fun and just write!)

“Hold on!” she screamed.  The rain continued to come down hard causing her hair to hand over her face as she knelt at the edge of the cliff.  Water streamed down her face in steady rivulets.  The sky was a dark grey steel color, broken sporadically by flashes of lightning followed by loud rolling thunder.  Her grip remained steadfast as the muscles in her shoulders began to ache from the strain.

He struggled to get a foothold against the side of the cliff, but with each attempt his foot would only slide down the muddy wall. He knew neither he nor she could hold on for much longer.  As he breath came in ragged gasps he mind returned to memories from the past.  Memories of dancing in the rain under the streetlights on the rain soaked pavement of the city sidewalk.  

His life had been a series of setbacks, facing each day alone seemingly misunderstood.  But on an overcast spring day a light had entered his life as she stood behind him in line for his morning coffee.  His life had come to a point where he expected nothing from anyone and often that is what he got.
 

She smiled her blue eyes twinkling as their eyes met.  As he felt a rush of adrenaline he quickly looked away pushing away the hopeful longing thinking this would be just another disappointment on a dead end road just as it had been so many times before.  He was determined not to let his heart be broken. Something would not let him stay in that place, so he slowly turned around to look back and she was till staring intently right at him.  For the second time that morning his breath caught in his throat and his heart skipped a beat. The journey down a road less traveled lay invitingly open now before him.

That first unlikely encounter led to long conversations, a growing friendship and trust.  She seemed to understand him and more so accept him for who he was.  They were kindred spirits and he believed that fate had finally found him.  The weeks and months that followed were the happiest of his life.  The adventures they shared ad brought them to this place hiking into the remote back country wilderness.  The sudden thunderstorm had caught them unaware and now he hung dangerously from the edge of the cliff, tightly clutching her hand as she struggled to keep herself from falling. He looked up and into her eyes realizing that these few moments were all he had left.  A small smile crossed his lips as he felt her grip loosen slightly as their fingers slowly began to slip apart.  Terror flashed in her eyes, a fear so overwhelming she could make no sound.  

As their eyes locked once again she saw a contentment and peace reflected back from him.  Calm settled over her from some distance place as she leaned slightly forward in an effort to keep her hand secure in his.  But slowly their fingers were sliding steadily apart as the rain continued to fall.

Just as their fingers slipped to where they were only holding on with their fingertips and their grip came apart, they both smiled as the outside world faded from view.  She felt a relaxing peace and assurance like she had never known in her life.

She leaned her body slightly forward further over the edge in an effort to keep her grip on his hand.  Suddenly her knees slid in the wet mud and she let her momentum carry her over the edge.  Their eyes locked  and they both saw the blinding bright light bursting open the dark around them as they fell.

Maleko ©2012

Snoopy for President!

"Snoopy for President"  
Collage of pictures using PicMonkey, a free on-line photo editing site.

Aren't we better off with man's best friend in the White House?

The campaign begins now!

The reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why.  ~Author Unknown

I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands.  When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat.  For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that.  ~W. Dayton Wedgefarth


With the exception of women, there is nothing on earth so agreeable or necessary to the comfort of man as the dog.  ~Edward Jesse, Anecdote of Dogs

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.  ~Author Unknown


A man may smile and bid you hail, Yet wish you to the devil;
But when a good dog wags his tail, You know he's on the level.
~Author Unknown

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.  ~Josh Billings

I love a dog.  He does nothing for political reasons.  ~Will Rogers 

 

God's Bright Sparks

It’s after midnight. You find yourself in an eerie yet, magical swamp. You hear whispering and see flashes of light…what happens?

Out of the dark
Out of the night

Goodnight on Fairie Swamp Garden 

(Photo credit: echoroo)

Dancing and glowing
White orbs of light
Magical and mysterious
A glorious sight
The hour is bewitched

It had just began
For time stopped
Past midnight at 12:01
The fog hovered
Barely off the ground
The voices of the swamp
Was the only sound

The stories told
Of ghosts who dwell
In legends of old
Passed down in song
For without a verse
The past is forgotten
To be forever cursed

(The writing is for the image & text prompt 
above   Time & Place Scenario  for

Free Write Friday using what is called stream of 

consciousness writing, no editing, no proofing just 

writing!  Please check out  Kellie Elmore's blog  for 

more information on Free Write Friday's, twitter 

hashtag #FWF and join the fun!  Just write!)

Lost in the moment                     
The voices sing
Casting out lights
Love is what they bring
For without a prayer
The depths will drown
Rise above the fears

The lights float 
Singing sweet songs
Of joy and love
We all belong
Not fearing the dark
The black is broken
By God's bright sparks

Horse Graffiti

"Horse Graffiti"      ©Maleko 2012

4x6 inches  ~  Colored Pencils on Black Paper  ~  Border and Background added using PicMonkey

Always the Hero!

From the sky it was horseshoe shaped from one end to other where it met the main street where the cars traveled quickly carrying people on their way to somewhere.  The street was simple asphalt with no sidewalks. You only encountered the main road if you turned right out of the driveway, but if you turned left you saw the bend of the road forming the bottom corner of the horseshoe, but we so often deviated from the bend in the asphalt.  We would quickly duck under the electric fence marking the edge of the neighbors field that kept the horses and cows from roaming free.    Crossing the field on the banks of the irrigation ditches we walked carrying our BB guns like some might hunters looking for wild game.

                                                      

On the other side of the field we took turns holding the barbed wire apart as we each crawled through the small opening emerging into the larger agricultural fields that were planted with corn, potatoes, alfalfa and others crops depending on the year.  This is the street that I grew up on. The fields and beyond yielded a world where young boys pretended to be men by exploring, discovering and imagining the world in our own special way.  There were irrigation ditches to wade and swim in, trees to climb, brambles of branches to explore, silos to climb, old barns to explore and horses to dare each other to climb up on.  A world where the expectations of daily duties of chores, school work and being a good boy were left far behind.  

Hunting for our dinner as if our very lives depended on it, perfecting our aim with our BB guns we shot at many small birds, snakes, frogs and even each other on occasion. Although, we very rarely hit anything we believed we could survive in the wilds on our own.  Then as the sun would sink low into the western horizon the realization sunk in that we must return to that other world in which we lived.   The street that I grew up on lead to a world where imagination ruled and boys could be men, dream of adventure and always be the hero!        ©Maleko 2012

(The above was written for Free Write Friday using what is called stream of consciousness writing, no editing, no proofing just write!  The story was prompted by the text "The street you grew up on…" and image above, please check out Kellie Elmore's blog  for more information on Free Write Friday's, twitter hashtag #FWF and join the fun!  Just write!)

That Distant Spark