A Dozen Roses Contest Entries, Entries, Featured
Diane Cresswell’s magenta is pulsating! A Valentine’s Day Love Story
Jan
(The Battle of Magenta added color to the Italian War of Independence…but you knew that!)
Good morning, my loving Literati!
Diane Cresswell has warned me that should my nose hairs freeze together and I sneeze I could blow my brains out, here in the frozen north country, the land of the double entundra. Sound advice indeed. White flakes accumulate out the window of The Towers today; ‘sno wonder I look for comfort and warmth in the entries into our contest A Dozen Roses from a Single Thorn: A Valentine’s Day Love Story.
Diane has cleverly hidden the prompt “but it was only a rumor” into her story. How about hiding your own rumors? Here is how to do it with panache and alacrity!
Better hurry up and let your love show! Contest ends Feb tenth!
And here is
Rumor Has It Life is Love
by Diane Cresswell
Observations of Life: But…
It looks lopsided. Why… is the question. Moving I see it from a different angle… it does appear to be lopsided. I make the bed bemusing the fate of the mattress. It was once new, but it now reflects the fate of a single person’s sleeping habits; a one sided affair.
Observations of Life: It’s…
I read the letter announcing my newly assigned parking space. But… as I read I felt confusion. It says Area 51. Isn’t that in Nevada? Have I been invited into the Twilight Zone? Maybe that’s why it’s available! Cool!
Observations of Life: Only…
They’ve arrived. Their youthful energy stirs the morning air. Adults oversee their charges as excitement trounces stillness. They listen moving into position, stepping out of line then back in always watched. Trooping into the cave- like setting, they settle in. Shhhhs fill the air. Welcome kids. It’s showtime!
Observations of Life: A+…
Ahhh… youthful liveliness! I watch the children infiltrate the museum. They giggle, dance, jump, hide, whisper, question, observe, listen, point, absorb, play, chatter like raucous magpies, captivated and exuberant while robed in flashes of wildly mixed psychedelic colors. I love the joy they bring.
Observations of Life: Rumor…
Better to give than receive. An amazing concept that is not totally true. A gift to someone, whether small or large, brings pleasure to the recipient. It can come in many forms: a hug, a card, a phone call, a treasure, etc. Given with love, the smile is the reward. Receiving that smile is a wonderful gift… back.
Observations of Life: Or…
There’s something about early mornings that comfort the spirit. The sun rising up over the horizon sends it’s tendrils of light leisurely towards closed eyelids, birds sing their individual songs floating gently into the eardrum, the wind stirs the leaves of the eucalyptus. Sleep withdraws; a new day has dawned.
Observations of Life: Is…
Southern California is a treat for the eyes. Brilliant color is everywhere created from a plethora of blooming plants and trees; pulsating magentas, screaming yellows, neon oranges, spiritual purples, quiet blues, greens of every hue and pinks defying description. The breathtaking beauty is so astounding that I forget to breathe.
Observations of Life: It…
Rain is coming down
Turning smiles into frowns,
But be that as it may
It’s much needed today.
It brings life and a promise
Of a rainbow hanging over us.
The trees and plants soak it in
For without the rain it would be quite grim.
No leaves, no green, no flowers to see
For the death of them would make me flee.
So do not be upset or frown
As the rain comes falling down,
It brings beauty to life’s forms
After each passing of the storms.
Observations of Life: Reality…
Love: poets have written about it; songs have been sung to it; stories written of the ups and downs of love’s effects; even art has attempted to capture it, but all have failed. Love is life!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Zant0O2lhF0
A true tribute to Valentine’s Day!
Thank you Terrie… what could be better than giving Life a Valentine.
Rumor has it that Diane Creswell is one with nature which is life which is love and indeed she is in her story telling and in living. I am enchanted by these scattered thoughts which are lyrically more poetic observations than they are story. The clever use of the must include phrase is equally scattered but brilliant in concept I thought as I read “Rumor” for the second time. There is an abstract garden which when taken in whole is too diverse to be a singular conclusion, but when observed detail by detail proves that life is love.
What a wonderful compliment from you my dear. You’re right…its not really a story per se, but definitely observations that are in and of itself a story for all to see, read and understand our place in it. No matter where we stand, life spills forth it’s stories which are but a reflection of who we really are. I came in an observer, and now I find that skill to be useful; teaching me to be a part of everything as much as I observe. Thank you.
What a great piece of “Magenta” journalism. The author opens up and exposes all her deepest thoughts and observations to her readers in true, “I am Diane and This is how I see and love the world around me. Please join me in an excursion into what you may be missing as you struggle through your day.” She encourages us to slow down and feel the groove around us – to see what is overlooked, and to hear what nature has to say.
Thank you, Diane. Someday I’ll tell you why I needed this story to come to me this very day. That’s the magic part of writing. We never know how our words will touch our reader.
Technically – original, creative format, words that pour out like the gentle rain she describes. The reader cannot read this without seeing the images Diane paints. I have printed this story out and placed it in my notebook.
Wow Cowboy, what a compliment. And thank ye most kindly. You’re right, we never know how our stories that we write or the words we put together in those stories will be received. That’s the downside to writing albeit a small downside. I have a couple of ‘somedays’ coming from you, so I’ll wait until you’re ready. And to think I have a place in your notebook…now that makes my heart sing – you wild thing!!! Love and life, life and love are really the same thing.
<———————Wild Thang!
Diane said so.
Thrilling, just thrilling. Your story is full of warmth and bed cozy, comfort around the edges. Can I come and stay with you for a while? It’s been so long since I’ve seen the rain…
Diane, you have written new heights in your already impressive literary history. Terrific!
Ah Mikey Mikey… you do have a wonderful way with words. Its suppose to rain here tonight…so I imagine you will be receiving some of that liquid very soon. But as always of course you can some and stay. Thank you my dear for dropping into my life with your wise ways. Another one of life’s fun loving surprises.
A great use of the journal format. I particularly like Space 51; it brings me out of the reality so I can appreciate the tour of this mental world so filled with seeds and possibilities. A truly gentle piece.
Thank you Ken. You know I didn’t think of this as a journal format. Thank you for letting me see this. As I said before, I’m an observer and I take delight in what I see, allowing my thoughts to roam with the vision. I’m still parked in Area 51 and have had no encounters of the unusual kind. Of course for me – those encounters would really have to way out there!!!!
Loved your prose on early morning especially…yes, to most of us, early morning is alarms, waiting for the shower to turn hot, and foaming at the mouth for a cup of coffee…that particular passage, reminded me of what is always offered, yet too often refused…a chance to feel the tendrils of light on your closed eyelids, listening to birds singing…very lovely.
thank you Kristine…today we have rain finally and the sound of raindrops falling… takes my breath away. If one listens closely – you can hear the melody that they play. Its the small things that vibrates with life.
Thank you for e-mailing this exquisite piece of literature. I’ve read it often and hope others will love the words and meaning as much as I do. We must learn to bring into existence of what we want to happen…not what we don’t want to happen. This reminder brings us the melody of life’s beauty.
We always have choices and sometimes we make a choice that goes against what our heart and soul want to do. I often need reminders to slow down and feel the pulse of life that can stir our senses, restart the heart in beating to the right rhythm of life, feel the caress of the sun, kisses from raindrops, laughter through a child’s eyes, pulse to colors that vibrate with possibilities, know the joy that is inherent within and is shown to us constantly outside of our inner world. That is love in action.