Dream: Forbidden Loves

The first night, I had a dream that I was very interested in a guy, only to find out that he was only interested in his sister.  She said that he was upset about being in love with a woman he couldn't have.  The second night, I dreamed that I was interested in a guy, but he was only interested in his dog.  This is just getting bizarre.  

So when I woke up yesterday, I finally realized this was all coming (I hope!) from the book I'm currently reading.  It's about a woman who is in love with a man who is in love with another man who is in love with both of them.  So, the one man slept with the bisexual, got upset, slept with the woman out of guilt over his feelings for the man, but he kept calling out the man's name while he was having sex with her, which upset her, so afterwards, she slept with the bisexual (how's that for a run-on sentence?).  Anyway, the book is not about who slept with who, it's about the daughter who was conceived that night who ends up being raised by the two men after her mother disappears.  Complicated?

Books Read in April 2011

Christie, Agatha
- Miss Marple:  The Complete Short Stories
Fiction, collection of the Grand Dame's English cozy mysteries.

Harwin, Patricia
- Arson and Old Lace
Fiction, first in the Far Wychwood cozy mystery series about an ex-pat American living in a small English village.

Havens, Erin
- Warriors: Forest of Secrets
- Warriors: Rising Storm
- Warriors: A Dangerous Path
- Warriors: The Darkest Hour
Fiction, last four books in the Warriors cat series starring Rusty/FirePaw/FireHeart, a cat who leaves the comfort of a home with the two-legs to find adventure and acceptance with the feral Thunderclan.

Kimberly, Alice
- The Ghost and Mrs. McClure 
Fiction, first in the Haunted Bookshop cozy mystery series about a woman who owns a Rhode Island bookshop, and the private investigator ghost who helps her solve mysteries.

Lee, Lisa
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Fiction, the entangled lives of two young girls in 19th century China.

Shayne, Maggie
- Eternity
- The Gingerbread Man 
Fiction, first in the Immortal Witches series about a couple who keep finding themselves living through one lifetime into another, and their journey to find each other and escape the evil one; police detective works with a young woman to solve the cases of a serial child killer.

Dream: Hair Clumps

I had the oddest dream the other night.  Like all my dreams, it was long and involved, but the most interesting part was me running my hands through my hair and pulling out fuzzy clumps of dead hair.  My hair started out very poofy, but as I got more clumps out of it, I could see and feel clean, shiny healthy hair underneath.  I filled up one wastebasket, and still had barely made a dent in all the clumps.  I figure the dream was about clearing out old "dead" stuff and making room for new things/ideas/ways of life.  Rebirth.  Basically, the same decluttering process that I've been working on in my room.  I think Stalking Tiger is happy that I'm finally working on something productive.  It's been a long time coming!

Poetry - "Druid Magick"

Druid Magick (© Naomi L. Shank, 1991)

I followed him up the trail, a fragrant purple and gold dusting the rolling hillside.  His tall spare frame clothed in simple white cotton, worn leather sandals cradling feet like oak roots.  Curling silver tendrils of hair flowing downward, reaching almost to his waist.

On the far hill stands the ancient henge, eternal and shimmering in the fading solstice light.  Swirling mist lies low, sheltering the treed vale below.  My heart racing in anticipation, we step lightly over the bubbling brook.  Twinkling rainbow spray over the tumbling, giggling water.

Reaching the tall stones, he turns and smiles, the face I'd thought as granite now kind and loving as any father's.  Moving to the center, I close my eyes, senses reeling.  My heartbeat steadies.  Silence.  Energy, like tiny sparks of light trickle in a kaleidoscope of colors down my skin, my feet grow roots anchoring me to the earth.  I open my eyes.

He turns now and faces the North.  His grizzled beard flecked with down, he stands straight and tall, one hand outstretched, beseeching, the other clamped tight, certain, round the knobby stave of ashen wood.  Sunlight glinting off the ruddy hairs of his raised forearm, he calls out in ancient tongue in a voice graveled and deep.

Turning, he circles the ring of white, white stones -- East, South, West, then North again, voice growing ever stronger, ever clearer, touch, touching me deep, deep inside me.  Feel my heart grow, my soul takes wings!  And as he closes his eyes, I weep.  And as the ground beneath my feet begins to tremble, I burst into flame.

Poetry - "Morose" and "Pele's Fiery Embrace"

Morose (© Naomi L. Shank, 1990)

Death pokes its leperous head up between weed roots
Peering at me through the twisted vines of my addiction.
Mocking me toward the abyss,
And daring me to jump.

Pele's Fiery Embrace (© Naomi L. Shank, 1999)
(O Kalapana e o Anson, Me Aloha*)

Visage of charcoal skin and ashen glow,
Billowing ropes of blackest licorice.
Deceitful crust, the lava's deadly flow.
The homes and lives of man, Her sacrifice.
Wild reddened embers spark engulfing flame,
Hot coiling entrails searing o'er the land.
Devastating all, sparing none.  She maims.
Charred remnants of ghost palms, spirit of man.

Queen of desire.  Queen of fire.  Goddess.  She.
Consuming all, to rocky shore She comes
Embracing sea with a deafening roar.
Crashing.  Pounding.  Steaming.  Full geysers seethe
To the rhythm of ancient native drums.
Where once breathed a village, there lives no more.

(* To the people of the village of Kalapana, and to my brother Anson, with love)
*****
My brother Anson died November 16, 1998 at the age of 43. Kalapana, Hawai'i was an ancient fishing village on the Big Island until Pele covered it with volcanic flow from Kilauea in 1990. This poem is dedicated to both Anson and the village of Kalapana.

Books Read in March 2011

Butcher, Jim
- Storm Front
- Fool Moon
Fiction, first two books in the Dresden Files series about a private investigator who just happens to be a wizard.

Child, Lee
- Killing Floor
- Die Trying
Fiction, first two books in the Jack Reacher mystery series starring an ex-military cop who can't settle down in one place.


Damsgaard, Shirley
- Charmed to Death
Fiction, second in the Ophelia and Abby Mysteries cozy paranormal mysteries starring a librarian who is also a very reluctant witch.


Havens, Candace
- Charmed & Deadly
- Like a Charm
Fiction, third and fourth books of the Bronwyn the Witch paranormal cozy mystery series starring a High Witch bodyguard living in a small Texas town.

Hunter, Erin
- Warriors: Into the Wild
- Warriors: Fire and Ice
Fiction, first two books in the Warriors cat adventure series starring Rusty/FirePaw/FireHeart, who leaves a comfortable life with his two-leg owners to find a new home with the feral Thunderclan.


Riccio, Dolores Stewart
- Charmed Circle
- The Divine Circle of Ladies Making Mischief
Fiction, second and third books in the Circle paranormal cozy mystery series starring herbalist Cass Shipton and her circle of friends.

Bright Blessings!

Welcome to my Lair!  

I am creating:

- a dream journal
- my book reviews

- a Book of Lights 

- a list of favorite recipes

- a compilation of my thoughts and philosophies 

- my writings and rituals 

- a journal of my fears and delights
- reading list

In other words...a blog :)