Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
ASCENDING TO ATHENA
Galvanised by Apollo’s scathing rejection
She thought it best
To take all her treasures
Gathered in her winnowing-net
Journeying through green valleys
Where a new feeling of comfort grew;
Finally, she felt safe on earth
Peaks of the mountains she sought
Reared high ahead of her
The glisten of crystal rock
Sharp; Pristine; beckoned her
Sliding across the ice plain
She looked for a likely path
To the summit of the tallest peak
Amidst outcropping stone
She spotted an ancient goat-path
Still negotiable – albeit very steep
Sure-footed she climbed
Negotiating the perilous slope
Exulting with each footfall,
Then – thick fog enveloped her
Rasping in frosted air
She knew the pitiless mist
Presented a real danger to her
To be safe she needed shelter
Blinded by fog
She tumbled on to a ledge
Furious, she cursed the darkness
Stretched to her limit
She crouched and gathered her breath
Needing warmth, she wrapped herself
In her winnowing-net
Her treasures held safe
She sensed all was not lost
Slowly she regained her focus
Through the greyness
She could see specks of pure white
First, she thought it must be snow
But flittering sounds said not
They drew nearer
And she saw crystal-winged moths
Dancing a spiral around her
More movement – high above
Saw a great owl hover
Then alight on a spire of ice
He stared at her;
Huge golden eyes
Regarded the net full of treasures
“Trust me to carry you “, he said
“But leave the net
It is too heavy”
She knew she needed him
To reach the High Place
So, clutching her solitary pearl
She cast her treasures, hard-won,
On to the valley below
With tears in her heart
She wrapped the empty net around her
And the great owl’s talons
Grasped her, lifting her high; higher
Above the dancing moths
Her tears stopped when she looked down
And saw the ice-blue beauty beneath
Reaching the High Place
The great owl released her;
Finally, she could stand
Before the goddess of Courage
Extricating herself from the net
She waited in nervous silence
And the bitterly cold wind
Bronzed cascades of light
Revealed a helmeted figure
Standing tall beside her shield
“Why are you here?”
Athena spoke icy as the wind
“I come to request help,
For humankind”
“And in return?” Athena asked
“I tried to bring my treasures
But they were too heavy
I had to throw them away
In order to reach this High Place”.
“What were your treasures?
To what use did you think I could put them?”
“I am my Father’s daughter
So have little need, nor want,
For frail human treasures”
Angered by such a cavalier response
She cried “you are no better than
Your arrogant brother!
You disappoint me!”
Resolutely she opened her hand
To hold high her solitary pearl
“Is this of no use?”
Athena pulled back sharply
Softening, Athena demanded the pearl.
Refusing to give it up
She turned her back to descend
“This is my human treasure; Mine!”
With no owl to help her
She clambered from the summit
Trying to find the goat-path
The burnished light of Athena faded,
Leaving her in total darkness
But her intuition served her well
She retrieved the path
Sure-footed again, she made good progress
Until the darkening mist dropped again
Exhausted, she paused to rest
Back came the crystal-winged moths
Fluttering round her, urging her
To complete her descent
Within their gentle spiral light
APOLLO the light-bearer
The silence of darkness woke her
She rose to her feet
Peering only into gloom
She sought a pathway
Through interminable twilight
She was lonesome,
Daunted by the darkness
First footfalls trod soft and wary,
When her passing was strangely lit
By beams of paled glow-worms
Which glimmered and pulsed
She relied on these humble creatures
And her own instinct
To guide her Path more surely
Towards the eastern horizon
Early sunlit further lit the way forward
Brightening to a blood-red dawn.
Her pale companions extinguished
Their welcome, subtle beams.
Momentarily alone
Her composure almost eluded her
The maw of a tunnel
Yawned before her
Where, ensconced in a portal
She saw a guttering firebrand
Spitting its spiny embers
She grasped it firmly
And lit her own progress
Descending into darkness
She thought she heard
Beautiful melody fill the tunnel
The music seduced her onwards
Through the tight of the tunnel
Which opened suddenly
Into a vast cavern
A scintillating cathedral
Slaked in gold – spellbound she stood
When a serpent uncoiled
Issuing a warning, it hissed
“Stay away or declare your Self”
Rearing and weaving
It dared her to try to pass it
Rendered speechless
She stood stock still
Keenly surveying the splendour
Enveloping her
To her right, a swaying tree
Yielding one redolent apple,
“I come in search” she cried
“For the source of all Light
And Healing in this world”
Suppressing mirth – hardly gracious
The serpent demanded a gift in return
Opening her hand
She offered her treasure
Her solitary pearl
Serpent sniffed – “tis meagre enough,
You should know
This god despises despair”
Furious, she bristled
“Dare you, Lackey!
To not lead me forward
To stand naked on his threshold!”
The music was interrupted by a rumble,
Rippling and teasing.
“She’s plucky enough, snake
Come before me child
Until sunset I have Time
To hear your petition.
Bow before your Master!”
Asserting she bowed before nobody,
Fearless now, she stepped forward
Offering her singular pearl
The God scoffed
“I have no want,
Nor need, a seed of the sea
Go from here now!”
She stood her ground
No longer blinking
In his blinding yellow rays.
“Hear me woman!
To Light, Music and Art
I lend myself.
Humanity must heal itself!”
Infuriated she retraced her steps
At the portal, the serpent waited
It showed pity for her failure.
Gently chiding, he said
“To the peaks you should go,
There you might find She
Who will hear your appeal”
PRO-CREATION
The shivered sun
Hung low on the horizon
She took moments to realise
It was setting. not rising
Watching the sun move low
She tried to recover
The passion and effort
Of her young mothering
Birthing four times
Her children were her primary colours
Eternally enriching her life
Despite her many failings
Red Vitality
The will-to-succeed
Through vexations and wranglings
Heart-thrust conforntations
Sometimes ripped holes in her rearing
Healed only be the rose-glow
Of forgiving and holding
At the close of the day
Brave Yellow
Spun-gold in the thinking
Entailed in teaching
Empowering young minds
To know what they needed
To thrive; take control; aspire upward
With clarity and optimism
And the thrill of succeeding
Without a Mother-s knowing
To muddy their progress
Calm Blue-smilings
And hugging
The peace of the lake
Of passionate emotion
And oceans of sighs
When tempests subside
And peaceable times restored
With elegant poise
For them to breeze into friendships
Away from her gaze
She thought she was a good enough mother
Not perfect, but keen
And caring that her offspring
Receive what they needed
For living and loving
Portioned such that
They would thrive
To express singular virtues
Successes and odd failures
To her abiding sorrow
Her children did not think
She was a good enough mother
She had to find a way
Through life’s maze
To forgive herself her mistakes
Still, with eyes misted
She knows
Her children cannot forgive her
SPIDER GRANDMOTHER SPEAKS
She recalled her rearing
In a purely Martial family
Cold and Brutal; Callous in their casual disregard
During many spite-filled beatings
Forced to bury her childhood
Deep in her ocean
She could then stay afloat
She constructed her Tower
To protect her from the harshness of Mankind
As soon as she could
She fled the worsening confines
And ignorance of her family
Taking only one thing
Her solitary pearl
Gaining experience, not always easy
She steadily built up Resilience
The more of Mankind she encountered
The more she came to understand why
Human life was suffocating
ALLURE OF SIRENS
She had rested in triumph
Delightful warmth suffused her
And a fleeting absence of guile
Shining with Sorrow
She surfaced; fearful
Tear-soaked, she hauled herself
Watchful and reticent
On to dry land
Averting her sea-gaze
She turned her eyes to the land
Her landscape was fashioned
As a web, a net
Full of Troubles, Memories
Mirrors of Yearning
And her gift, the solitary pearl
Overwhelmed, momentarily
She turned sight
To take comfort from her Familiar
Translucent blue sea
Successfully, she resisted her urge to dive
Stock still, she stood
On the rocks
Calling; crooning; imploring
But Neptune repulsed her pleas
Challenged her to learn to live on land
Earth, which had snared her
Too many times before
Unbowed, she tried to tear free
From the tangled skeins of Youth
Hag-weaved to entrap and enfeeble
From nowhere came Strength
A Right-ness formerly unknown
Steered her; blindly
She traipsed unendurable plains
Dry-throated; screaming for relief
Escorting Strength came Clarity
Gving her the means
To lovingly breathe;
To revoke her siren calling
Free now to resist the allure of blue oceans
Renewed by nascent Perception
She gathered up her Life-net
Certain she could appease
Whatever happened to her
In negotiating Earth-ways
Unfamiliar Paths she walked
One step after one step she trod
Cautious; careful eyes scanning horizons
Looking to avoid the waters
To which she would inexorably return
THE CITADEL
The tower always was a powerful presence
Patient and strong in the world,
Lately it had become
Unyielding to Life
Haphazard blocks of defence
Protecting its waning vigor
No longer offered
A welcoming portal
Where the curious
Might gain unwelcome access
So, the Tower rarely emitted Light
That might reveal her presence
To watchful predators outside
Despite her caution
Heavy-strained pillars faltered
Corroded by plasmic waters
Threaded through this murk
Sodden memories throbbed
Demanding attention
These child wraiths
Clung grimly to stone shelves
Outcropped from the water
Hollow, unsung beings
Keening desperately
For rescue and rehabilitation
From the obsidian recesses
Of this weakening stronghold
So accustomed to inviolate resistance
Black swift fliers tormented her
Eventually minding her
To rescue the torn shreds of youth
Her flinty carapce
Wrought from childish fears
Buried for sanity’s sake
Held long-forgotten braveries too
Again, the black fliers stung
Until she renewed Faith
In the resilience
Of her citadel to defend her Self
During her absence
She stood, tipped and swayed
Mesmerised by a calypso of children
She dived – deep as she dared
Bitter gasps of memory
Guttered through her
Grim – she held on
To pull out those children
Before they swept past her – always to be lost
Grasping her charges
Exhausted, she span upwards
Wrestling herself and her children
They regained the sanctuary of her citadel
Breathing tears, she listened
“You held us so deep
We feared you’d forgotten
Our early days of cruel violence
Which underpin your self-defence today
Little can we do for you now
Except to offer this as a symbol
Of that which you already know
Carry it with you
Allow it to inspire you to keep faith”
Exulting in her rescue
She knew her citadel would withstand intrusion
Patiently waiting for her to compose her Self
Gather Strength
Then, to move on
THE TALE OF SPIDER GRANDMOTHER
Come here to me
Come near so I can tell you my story.
I will speak of the conceits of Mankind
For which those such as I
Are banished to the periphery
Of the life of humankind
Listen with hearts open
For I deserve to be heard
Dreams, Rhythms and Records I keep
To share with those who do not know
From where we come
Or to where we can go
From our most ancient origins
Human life moved in cycles
Today time moves faster; is now linear
A means used by oppressors
To shatter the crystal of natural human life
Hear this tale
Know it is spoken in truth
Strengthened by heart-broken turmoil
The kind which ultimately can teach
A means to live at one in the world
As well as be of service to others
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
