Each day I wake up with one intent: to write as much as I can. In the morning I’ll start off with some journaling and a poem. I can often find time for a blog post here and there, but my sticking point is stories. Short stories come easier than longer ones, but the hardest … Continue reading Tea, biscuits and self-sabotage: a writer’s reflections on procrastination
The Valkyries
The Valkyries were ridinga crescendo nearing peakThe blues played on behind thembut I was too in awe to speakThey rode that day a second timefrom the pages of a bookI wondered would they ride a thirdbut was too afraid to lookThe battles I’ve been fightingare within and not withoutMy courage slow to risingin a head … Continue reading The Valkyries
Ordinary Magic
I used to see the sunset Glorious shades of pink and blue Overwhelmed by its magnificence I knew not what to do The swooping owl the glistening grass the ancient knotted tree So much natural beauty To smell and touch and see Helplessly enthralled by Earth’s beauty and its grace Lost in insignificance how could … Continue reading Ordinary Magic
Salary
If celery were salary perhaps we’d all live healthily but money’s bought and money’s sold no longer backed by the price of gold the salt of the earth if you work hard enough not worth your salt if the getting gets tough in times of Rome it was salt you see whose ownership would set … Continue reading Salary
Screw-ups: the school of life’s most successful teacher
I’ve been working hard over the years to cultivate a state of being that sweats the small stuff less. I’ve been more successful than I dared hope, but just when I think I’ve got it all figured out, a curve ball reminds me there’s always more work to do. I’ve just returned from a week’s … Continue reading Screw-ups: the school of life’s most successful teacher
The winds of change
It creeps up without notice soft and stealthy on the breezeA growing sense of discomforta burgeoning uneaseYou wonder how you got here doing nothing but the sameStaying still won’t stave its coming when you’re playing the long game It announces its arrival like a big slap in the faceKnocking you lopsided when all was poise … Continue reading The winds of change
In the game
Her heart hammered in her chest and her breath came in short, sharp gasps. Her focus was entirely on this last lap of the pool, not the other competitors, nor the time on the clock. For these moments she embodied one singular purpose: winning. She concentrated on her stroke, practised to near perfection. There was … Continue reading In the game
Write it out
I used to be a great sleeper. If you asked me what my superpower was, it would be sleep. I was a sleep ninja, adept at drifting to the land of nod and staying cocooned there until morning (discounting those years when my children were young and a solid night's sleep was a distant memory: … Continue reading Write it out
The Silent Sparrow
The house sparrows felt at home in the noise and din of another day Chirping, chirruping, chattering, tweeting all they had to say Banter was their birth-right, they made their presence known Quarrel by name and nature, seeds of gossip daily sewn But one young sparrow merely listened, to the chatter of all the rest … Continue reading The Silent Sparrow
The Straw That Did It
‘Well what on earth did you do that for?’ Sue asked, as she set the iron carefully down on the ironing board and turned it off at the plug. Ron muted the TV and shifted in his armchair to face her, ‘Well I didn’t know did I? Thought he was gonna shoot the lot of … Continue reading The Straw That Did It
Rae Cod’s Writing 