Tag Archives: write

Inquiring Minds, Poetry Work, Poetry/Quote of the Week

The Whole – A poem about trying to understand your place in life

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The Whole

All of us in this world

are made up of bits and pieces.

The failure of a father, the loving

kiss of a mother, the slap to the face,

the hug when most needed, the stomp

to the head, the shove in the right direction,

the mysteries from out of the elusive aether.

Puzzle pieces from an endless box

are continuously being dumped on to our table top

of life that you must pick up

and put together to form

a solid picture from.

Place your pieces carefully one at a time

into the spaces that fit.

Dwell not on the picture you think you see forming,

for it is an illusion, a trick

most dire to the eye and mind.

Your puzzle is not yet finished,

if it ever can be,

for how are we

to ever know

the whole.

when so many

pieces have

yet to be

placed.

by Philip Wardlow

Inquiring Minds

My Endless Climb over an ever Growing Mountain of Rejections

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I said I would keep you abreast of my progress in the world of writing regarding my submission for my stories/poetry  to various publishers so here goes.

I have been racking up a lot of rejection letters lately for my writing of my stories and poems.

I received my first rejection letter for my 23,00 word  Novella, “Roadkill“.  that I submitted approximately 60 days ago. One good thing I guess is I got it back early so now I can submit it to other publishers for consideration. Always gotta look on the bright side. The only things that bugs me is all they said was “We have finished reviewing Roadkill for publication and have decided to pass.  Thanks for submitting to us and best wishes.”  I know there probably  busy but they  could they have least  thrown me a bone. Like,  feel free to try submitting again with another story when you are ready. Something like that maybe. Just a little encouragement would be nice.Cmon!

Trouble is I’m realizing that Novella length stories are hard to push to most publishers. They either want short stories from 1,000 words to  15,000 words with the average being accepted being about 8-10,000. There a few out there who to take them but only a very few I’m learning want the Novella Length. They want full length Novels in the 90,000 + Word Count or Short stories period.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not sitting on my hands waiting for rejections on one story. Hell no! I’ve  still been writing new stories and submitting & waiting on rejections for those as well…ha ha. I have  recently sent in a much shorter story at about 3,300 words called “Devils in the Details” to various  publishers. Two have since rejected it. I have just sent it to another publisher just the other day so we will see about that one.

I did already find another publisher  to submit “Roadkill” to so I will be sending that one in again soon; and the countdown begins all over again.

I have submitted some of my darker poetry into various publications with no luck yet as well. One called “Into the Deep Woods”, I think is really good. I am waiting on one online magazine response so we will comes of that.

I am also just finishing up another  story in the  7000 to 8000 Words range that  I will try to be turning into a publisher soon as well.

I am pretty pragmatic about my writing. I know its a long shot careerwise. I do know that all this writing is shaping me into the writer I am supposed to be one day.  I am really trying to work on my prose by fine tuning character development, plotting and scenes along with conflicts that insue in all that goes with it. If anything these short stories help me with that greatly, and besides to create a character and building a new world, for me is a satsifying thing. I want to know what happens to that man who is cast out into a boat in the middle of stormy night on an open  dark ocean. You wanna see what happens to him.

Wish me luck in my endeavors and I wish you luck in yours as well

Inquiring Minds, Poetry/Quote of the Week

My Favorite Poem/Quote of the Week

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Decided to give you a snapshot and a little insight into where my mind is at, by adding a new category to my blog posts entitled as you can  see above  “My Favorite Poem/Quote of the Week”  . To me that can be a poem I may have run across on the web, or something  I’m currently reading in a book or have read in the past.

One of my favorite poets is Langston Hughes and I thought the following little poem would sum my psyche up this  week.

“Looks like what drives me crazy

Don’t have no effect on you–

But I’m gonna keep on at it.

Till it drives you crazy, too.”

by Langston Hughes

Inquiring Minds, Poetry Work

Dung Beetle

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Sometimes I feel like a  Dung Beetle,

rolling shit around,

first up one hill then down the next,

then up another hill,

continuously rolling and pushing and prodding

it across the ground.

What is the purpose of this rolling, and tolling

this incessant cajoling

of this excrement that falls into a perfect form;

a sphere of shit?

Well I guess you could look at it  this way

at the end of the day

I get to eat it.

Inquiring Minds, Poetry Work

At my side – A poem

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SWORDatSide

At my Side –

I carry this sword at my side.

It shines bright in the morning light

it reflects.

I have made it so,

for ne’er will you see it pitted or dull

while it lays in my hands.

Ne’er will you not see the blade as

keen of edge as when it was first cast

that fateful day from the folded metal within.

I count it a true companion for you will

ever see it at my side.

More faithful than the rest ever have been

from days forever gone and treacherous roads long

ago tread.

Ours is a pact forged of conflict,

Where we have both stood together

and tasted the promise of another

day as the blood dripped from both of

us to soil the ground beneath.

I will wake and it will be there.

I will live while it still shines,

for we have each other

My sword and I.

By Philip Wardlow 2012

This poem is about more  than a sword. It’s about what’s in us all. The will to to fight when hope may be lost but we fight and struggle and continue to climb out of it no matter what the odds. May you always keep your sword close by your side my friends…

Inquiring Minds, Poetry Work

Zombie

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If Zombies could talk they would

probably sound just like you.


You’re just a walking stick of bones

with a speech impediment.


Dull and lifeless,

it seems you don’t  have a clue.


You shamble around in a daze,

seemingly half crazed, while spittle

forms around you in a pool.


Your brain must be brimming with

maggots all the way to the core.

 

Hey, your ears are bleeding profusely,

and here I thought I was just being ignored.

Wait here,  I’ve got something for you that might

clear that up…..

Steady, Steady, don’t move,   click  BOOM!

All Better my friend