Sunflower Satisfaction

up close
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL 

grown up
ALL GROWN UP, STANDING TALL AND PROUD

new bud
NEW BRILLIANT BUD

the fighter sunflower
THIS ONE WAS TRAMPLED BY COPPER AS HE
DASHED QUICKLY TO CATCH A SQUIRREL,
WHICH GOT AWAY (HE WAS SO SORRY
ABOUT THE SQUIRREL AND SUNFLOWER). 🙂
THE 
STEM LIES HORIZONTALLY, THEN STANDS UPWARD
AS YOU SEE IN THIS PHOTO. IT’S PRETTY AMAZING

THAT THIS LITTLE ONE PERSEVERED AND FOUGHT
TO LIVE. IT MAY NOT BE THE TALLEST, BUT IT’S THE
BRAVEST AND STRONGEST. WE CALL IT, ‘THE FIGHTER.’

bee on sunflower
MY HUSBAND CAPTURED THIS BUZZING BEAUTY!

(Please excuse any weeds you may see; we’re a little behind in that 

glorious task. And I hope you’re not tired of these beauties just yet. This
year has been our first for sunflower experimentation. So, to see
them grow and bloom has been a real treat for all of us.)

Sunflower Satisfaction

Feeling a sense of wonder
watching them sprout
with newfound delight –
entering into the land
of blossoms and buzzing,
a gift unto all who enjoy
beneath the golden light

Lauren Scott © 2018  💕🌻

 

 

A Trio of Sorts

An icy gust shadowed him
around the corner,
grazing his earlobe and
sending chills across the way
His Italian wool threads
exuded perfection
even as he slid into leather –
heading for someplace
he labeled important

Then birdsong matched
her mood and with her cell
on speaker,
passersby became privileged
Her long coat sufficed,
but she tightened the belt
as the gust wrapped itself
around her like a python
When the hailed driver
met the curb,
she smugly skimmed
over the back seat
until satisfaction found her –
phone chat uninterrupted

And across the way,
huddled against the
weathered building,
he imagined a handful
of warmth
yielded from his worn beanie
and threadbare coat –
layers of blankets
occupied his dreams
No complaints fell
from his chattering teeth
Instead, his eyes were alert
and his mind formulated wishes

Lauren Scott © 2018
(re-write)

 

 

Timeless Echoes – New Release by Balroop Singh #bloghop #poetry

I’m excited to participate in the Bloghop for promoting Balroop Singh’s new poetry book – Timeless Echoes. The cover alone gracefully pulls the reader in only to be captured by Balroop’s amazing poetry that will surely resonate with all of us. One of her lovely poems is included in this post, as well. 

Balroop Singh

Getting to know the Author:

Balroop Singh, a former teacher and an educationalist always had a passion for writing. She is a poet, a creative non-fiction writer, a relaxed blogger and a doting grandma. She writes about people, emotions and relationships. Her poetry highlights the fact that happiness is not a destination but a chasm to bury agony, anguish, grief, distress and move on! No sea of solitude is so deep that it can drown us. Sometimes aspirations are trampled upon, the boulders of exploitation and discrimination may block your path, but those who tread on undeterred are always successful.

When turbulences hit, when shadows of life darken, when they come like unseen robbers, with muffled exterior, when they threaten to shatter your dreams, it is better to break free rather than get sucked by the vortex of emotions.

A self-published author, she is the poet of Sublime Shadows of Life and Emerging From Shadows, both widely acclaimed poetry books. She has also written When Success EludesEmotional Truths Of Relationships Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited and Allow Yourself to be a Better Person.

Balroop Singh has always lived through her heart. She is a great nature lover; she loves to watch birds flying home. The sunsets allure her with their varied hues that they lend to the sky. She can spend endless hours listening to the rustling leaves and the sound of waterfalls. The moonlight streaming through her garden, the flowers, the meadows, the butterflies cast a spell on her. She lives in San Ramon, California.

Book Blurb:

Certain desires and thoughts remain within our heart, we can’t express them, we wait for the right time, which never comes till they make inroads out of our most guarded fortresses to spill on to the pages of our choice. This collection is an echo of that love, which remained obscure, those yearnings that were suppressed, the regrets that we refuse to acknowledge. Many poems seem personal because they are written in first person but they have been inspired from the people around me – friends and acquaintances who shared their stories with me.

Some secrets have to remain buried because they are ours
We do share them but only with the stars
The tears that guarded them were as precious as flowers
Soothing like balm on festering scars.

While there are no boxes for grief and joy, some persons in our life are more closely associated with these emotions. Their separation shatters us, their memories echo, we grieve but life does not stagnate for anyone…it is more like a river that flows despite the boulders. When imagination and inspiration try to offer solace, poetry that you are about to read springs forth.

How to order your copy:

Title: Timeless echoes
Author: Balroop Singh
Genre: Poetry
Available at: Kindle Click on the link

US UK DE FR ES IT NL JP BR CA MX AU IN

The Editor’s Review:

Half of what we say are lies although they might be considered true, but truth with one’s self is an accepted bundle of lies except for those rare moments of self-realization. These lines right at the start of Timeless Echoes, ‘Each moment is precious, we try to cage it within our heart, where it perches in perfect rampart, embalmed by memories,’ reveal how this book is a healer, promising to lay bare the ills of the soul as it soothes, cleanses, and nurtures; instilling in us a will to learn and live without fear, and a will to not hurt others: ‘Why can’t our hearts feel the hurt we hurl at others?’

Balroop’s new book is a steadfast repudiation of those ills that we painfully hide under the covers of our flesh to present the polished exterior as truth. This magnetic collection of poems highlights our precious human lives with all their varied emotions and imposing relations: the lives often blinded by the strictures of the self-made duplicity, an excessively common phenomenon. ‘Listen to your heart, my friend. It knows you well,’ she writes.

I treasure these ‘forgetting fragile facets of love, facade of fading memories, echoes of dwindling love, is all I have now, yet love echoes refuse to subside’ believing that love echoes are soul-launched signals, ready to hug our pretenses to forge a divine assimilation because the struggle has always been with the self that we excommunicate to build up a wall, which obscures the travails plaguing the core. And finding a path to the core is the cure since there’s no villainy in the soul.

As Balroop proclaims ‘love is such a strange emotion, it gives less, it claims more…the facade of love is so delusive,’ I concur how our infirmities require urgent banishment, more pressing now than ever. And once I’ve made peace with the self, ‘the dark corridors are like meadows, they glow with my presence.’ Yes, without an iota of my own falsehoods plaguing me.
   ~ Mahesh Nair

A peek inside Timeless Echoes:

Moments That Echo

     Each moment is precious
We try to cage it within our heart
Where it perches in perfect rampart
     Embalmed by memories!

     Moments of love croon around us
Offering eternal passion that blinds
Drowning in the deluge of delusion
     Validating ephemeral enchantment!

     Moments of joy glisten on the sand of time
Fleeting away faster than dappling light
Peeping through the corridors of life
     At the mercy of others’ delight!

     Woeful moments smile through strife
Each one stretching far and wide
Into every nerve and sinew
     Sneering at our impertinent divide!

     Each moment an experience in itself
We grow in its glow to wend and win
Divesting the ignorance of our thoughts
     Solace echoing within!

AND you may visit Balroop at her Social Links:

Her bloghttp://balroop2013.wordpress.com

Connecting links:
https://twitter.com/BalroopShado

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emotional-Shadows/151387075057971

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+BalroopSinghsrao/posts

https://www.pinterest.com/balroops/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7340810.Balroop_Singh

https://www.amazon.com/Balroop-Singh/e/B00N5QLW8U/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!
~ Lauren❤

 

 

A Rare Jewel

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We sit on the shore
feeling inconsequential
in its vast presence,
watching it sparkle
like a rare jewel
that has just been discovered

The dragonflies attend
in their tiny-jet manner
The damselflies gracefully flit about
with their delicate bodies,
and blue, iridescent wings

Then we close our eyes
as tiny threads of peace 
weave into our whole beings,
allowing worries to fall
like the cleansing of raindrops

How fortunate are we
to play a part with nature
in this moment of our existence –
for this point of time will soon transform
into a most profound memory

Lauren Scott © 2018
Photo: Loon Lake, El Dorado County, CA

 

Moonless Night

Sitting in a chair
where confidence
hides within 
the tattered fabric,
she’s mesmerized
by raindrops
sliding down
the fogged
window pane

Then she stares
at the gadget
in her hand,
a lifeline to
the outer world

where she is
irrelevant

Only her thoughts
keep her company,
and they can be
her worst enemy

She gathers just
enough strength
to wonder
if this is the end-all

Lauren Scott © 2018

 

 

Emotional and Awe-Inspiring

Dear Friends,

I am happy to announce that Betty’s book, Skipping Stones, is available again on Amazon. There was a glitch, but all is fixed now, and here is the link to my introduction post where you’ll also find my review of her amazing book: https://baydreamerbubble.com/2018/07/01/skipping-stones/. 

Skipping Stones cover

The photo for the cover was taken by her son, Jason, and is absolutely stunning. Doesn’t it entice you to explore the magic and depth of her writing inside?

Here is the convenient short link for Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/yccscdzk, and if you haven’t already visited her blog, I encourage you to pop over. She is an amazing writer, so all it takes is one click on the link below, and you can also purchase a copy by clicking on the book image on her right sidebar. 
https://raindancepoetry.wordpress.com.

IMG_6374

As stated by Candice Daquin, “Albright’s voice is pure and deep simultaneously, and she writes using the dichotomy of human gravitas, fancy and folly, and our enduring relationship with the natural world as her quill.”

Thank you again for reading and for supporting Betty’s writing.
~Lauren ❤❤❤

The Music

It was a moment
when coyotes sang 
their usual chorus –
running with 
freedom
on their backs, over hills

golden from the rays,
no longer emerald by the mist

that carried me into a 
dream state – my breathing
in sync 
with his, our minds
cloud-
floating in a
marshmallow 
sky

even in this tranquil state,
I managed a smile
while 
Frank sang, “Come
dance 
with me”

and so, we gently tapped
and swayed to his rhythm,
embracing like there’s no
tomorrow –
a charmed moment of bliss
that ended in one tender kiss

Lauren Scott © 2018

Skipping Stones

Dear Friends,

I am thrilled to announce the publication of my good friend’s book, “Skipping Stones.” Betty is a lover of nature, Mother Earth, gardening, song and dance. She writes beautiful poetry that leaves the readers sighing…She graciously asked me to write a review for the back cover of which I remain honored to do so. Please see below…

“Betty’s poetic narration in Skipping Stones is mythical and dreamlike, moving and heart- wrenching, delightful and thought-provoking. All facets of Mother Earth play an integral part in Betty’s life, and after reading her poetry, including the poignant personification of a tree, the reader feels more compassion. The language of grief is strongly persuasive, as if pulling the reader to the ground, weeping. The poems of love and romance seamlessly interlace joy, sorrow, and passion. Each word, each line, each verse in the Maeberrie series portrays vivid imagery and a mastery of captivating storytelling. Betty’s writing illustrates the seasons of life, peeling through many layers, touching countless levels of emotions, while adding clever wordplay. This book of poetry impeccably represents the devoted, empathetic, and beautiful spirit of the author.” 

Skipping Stones cover

The photo for the cover was taken by her son, Jason, and is absolutely gorgeous and enticing enough to turn the pages and discover the beauty that lies inside. So…

Here is the convenient short link for Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/yccscdzk, and if you haven’t already found her blog, I encourage you to pay her a visit, as you will not be disappointed. She is an amazing writer, so all it takes is one click:
https://raindancepoetry.wordpress.com.

IMG_6374

Thank you for your support, and I know you’ll love not only Betty’s poetic style, but also her heart.
~Lauren 💕🌷