I looked round today and
all I saw was ash,
The ash of my life, spent,
The flame gone out, dead dreams on the ground in rubble.

The scene was bleak, my eyes
Beheld no beauty,
All was ugly, spent now,
I stood there stripped, knowing I could not pick up ash.

Dreams disintegrated,
Hope gone for ever,
Nothing to re-ignite,
Barrenness was my empty companion today.

But suddenly I heard
A voice, saying “Sing,”
What song could I sing now,
Here in this strangest of strange lands, alien now?

The voice insisted, “Sing”
I opened my mouth,
But no sound would come out,
“ Tell me how to sing,”
“Caged birds can sing, but you don’t have a cage, just sing.”

I looked around again,
I couldn’t see ash,
I saw the makings of
A new world, building bricks,
Beauty from ashes, I opened my mouth, and sang.

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I got an opportunity to take part in research ‘Living with a sky’ in front of St Trinity, University of Wales, where essentially we explore how contemporary humans relate to sky. I thought it was a great idea to perform part of research among poets, as the sky, cosmos, moon..have always been a source of inspiration to artists and writers. With some of you I already had a personal contact/information, but I thought of doing this as a separate post, if it needs some additional clarification. Additionally to that, this is also a perfect way for me to get back on track with businessinrhyme and wordpress.

So what is your connection to the sky? If you would like to participate in this research below are the questions. It would take you only few minutes to answer and confidentially of your data…

Letter To My Son

(Ilse Weber – 1903-1944).

My dear boy, three years ago today
You were sent into the world alone.
I still see you, at the station in Prague,
how you cry from the compartment, and hesitate.
You lean your brown head against me
and how you beg; let me stay with you!
That we let you go, seemed hard for you —
You were just eight, and small and delicate.
And as we left for home without you,
I felt, my heart would explode
and nevertheless I am happy that you’re not here.
The stranger who is taking you in
will surely go to Heaven.
I bless her with every breath I take —
Your love for her will not be enough.
It has become so murky around us here,
Everything has been taken away from us.
House, home, not even a corner of it left,
Not…

What Amazon says

We all have dreams, loves and hopes; but what if you are a girl growing up in 20th century Northern Ireland before, during and after the ‘Troubles’?
From the poetic thoughts of our Mother, we get a sense of what it was like, ranging from humour, sadness, wistful thinking and sometimes just downright nonsensical, these are the words of one such girl.

My review

I have always loved to read poetry and I do favour well written rhyming poetry as I enjoy the way it flows and how the words roll off your tongue when they are spoken. In my opinion, poetry is meant to be read aloud with passion and expression.

My vibrating vertebrae and other poems is a collection of delightful, rhyming poems that fall into this category. The collection features poems about people discovering inner strength, courage and overcoming adversity as well as delighting…

Would you like to write a guest post and be featured on this blog?

If you are a writer, artist or photographer…

If you have a poem, story or memoirs to share…

If you have a book to promote, a character to introduce, an exhibition or event to publicise…

If you have advice for writers, artists or bloggers…

If you would like to meet new members of the blogging community…

Why not be my guest?

I don’t bite and I don’t charge.

I am also hoping that more people will share their true experiences with those elusive realities that hover on the edge of perception.

You can find a list HERE of all the contributions so far to this series.

If you have had a strange experience or encounter that you would like to share, please get in touch.

I am not looking for sensationalism or fictional tales… but in…

My Review of “The Tattooist of Auschwitz ”  by Heather Morris

Kudos to Heather Morris, Author of “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” for combining the Historical Fiction and Fiction genres. From the Goodreads Blurb”, “The “Tattooist of Auschwitz” is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia.”

In this novel, Heather Morris portrays Lale as a charming, and enterprising individual. To save his family, Lale volunteers to leave with the German Gestapo, believing that his family will be safe. Of course, Lale realizes when he is in a crowded  Cattle Car, he suspects that this is the beginning of a devastating time. Lale does reach out and helps calm some other men. In Auschwitz, Lale somehow finds himself becoming The Tattooist,  having to tattoo the numbers on his fellow prisoners. There he meets Gita, a young…