July 22, 2015 by warjna

My Father’s Prayer

This is a short post, and it isn’t something I wrote. It’s something my Dad wrote.

When I was cleaning up his apartment, getting it ready for him to move to another place, I found this in the drawer of his nightstand. Apparently, it was something that came to him while he was sleeping, and he wrote down what he remembered when he woke. Later, I snagged it, intending that it should be on those cards they hand out at funerals. But it, and the picture of him and my Mother that I had intended to put in the casket with him, went missing. Eaten by my house, only to appear again well after their purpose was past.

But it stayed with me, and now it has surfaced again. THIS time, I’ve saved it on my computer, and I’m posting it here, because the simple beauty and faith of it still stays in my mind. And that deserves to be passed on to others. So here it is.

.

.

… sleeping. Feb. 8, ’93

In the evening the flowers are gone

Sooner or later we too are gone

We enter a new beautifull world

A gift from God

.

There were more beautifull words that I have forgotten

But that’s all right

God said it all

.

.

.

I miss you, Dad.

July 19, 2015 by warjna

The Faerie Court

I guess it’s about time for another post. Unfortunately, I’m still running like the Red Queen trying to find a job, so my current writing is limited to boring cover letters and updates to my résumé. So instead, I’m posting something I wrote quite some time ago. It’s your fault, PD. You’re the one who brought up the Tylwyth Teg.

These are actually lyrics to a song for which I also wrote the melody. It’s out on a CD for the SCA (that’s the Society for Creative Anachronism, a historic recreation group I belong to) called Vivat Trimaris! Yeah, I sing, too. Sorry, I don’t think WordPress does mp3. 😉

The Faerie Court

My mother was a lass both wild and free,
And she told me of her life ere she had me
Her lover was no common sort –
Oh, my father was a Lord of the Faerie Court.

Chorus:
Ly a lady-o durrim dow
Ly a lady-o durrim day-o
Ly a lady-o durrim dai
Ly a lady durrilee day

She went out on a summer’s day
When the world was sweet with the smell of hay
She met a lad both tall and fine,
And he said to her, “O will you be mine?”

Oh, she was wild but she was wise,
She looked him right within his eyes
She knew he was no common sort,
Oh, she knew he was a Lord of the Faerie Court.

Chorus:
Ly a lady-o durrim dow
Ly a lady-o durrim day-o
Ly a lady-o durrim dai
Ly a lady durrilee day

She said, “If you would marry me
Then you must give me kisses three
And give to me a gown so fine
That it shimmers in the light of the bright moonshine.”

He said, “If you will marry me,
I’ll give to you your kisses three
For that I am no common sort,
For you see I am a Lord of the Faerie Court.”

Chorus:
Ly a lady-o durrim dow
Ly a lady-o durrim day-o
Ly a lady-o durrim dai
Ly a lady durrilee day

He took her slender hand in his
And gave to her a Lover’s kiss,
He gave to her a wedding gown
That was woven of the silk of the thistledown.

Oh, then he took her slender hand,
And led her through the sun bright land,
And thus it was he paid her court
O for that he was a Lord of the Faerie Court.
Chorus:
Ly a lady-o durrim dow
Ly a lady-o durrim day-o
Ly a lady-o durrim dai
Ly a lady durrilee day

Now in the Grove he laid her down
And made a bed of her wedding gown
And there they were so wild and free
Oh, that somewhere in the night – well, they made me!

“The dawn is coming, Lady mine,
Put on your wedding gown so fine,
For now you are no common sort,
Oh, for now you are a bride of the Faerie Court.”

Chorus:
Ly a lady-o durrim dow
Ly a lady-o durrim day-o
Ly a lady-o durrim dai
Ly a lady durrilee day

Oh, she was wild but she was wise,
She kissed him right between the eyes
And said, “Oh, this can never be –
A mortal maid and a Faerie free.

“Oh, you must have a Faerie wife,
And I must live a single life
For that you are no common sort,
O for that you are the Lord of the Faerie Court.”

Chorus:
Ly a lady-o durrim dow
Ly a lady-o durrim day-o
Ly a lady-o durrim dai
Ly a lady durrilee day

They parted there within the glade,
The Faerie Lord and the mortal maid,
But he said, “You are no common sort –
O, you could have been the Queen of the Faerie Court.”

Chorus:
Ly a lady-o durrim dow
Ly a lady-o durrim day-o
Ly a lady-o durrim dai –
Ly a lady durrilee day!

July 2, 2015 by warjna

Three Day Quote Challenge, Day Tree

Last day, Capricorn 16s. Year of the city… oh, where was I? Oh, yeah!

Last day of the Three Day Quote Challenge. I knew I could do it. I am the Queen of Quotes!

First, to fulfill the rules: Thank you, Addy! This was a lot of fun and very interesting. Thanks for nominating me to do it!

In turn, I nominate my partners in crime:

Periodically Demented at: http://p33d33.wordpress.com/
Thumbup at: http://livelovelaughdotme2.com/
Addy at: https://adamskistoryblog.wordpress.com/

And last – I blow off the rules. Addy had originally posted that there were to be three quotes per day (although posting only one, naughty, naughty!) and I have faithfully followed that rule heretofore. But now, I will only post one quote. But it’s a big one, and one that is very important to me. And I’m not even going to type it myself, nor am I going to comment afterward, because I truly believe this says it all.

As for all of you — I wish you peace, and silence when you need it, and raucous friends and fun. I wish you hope, and all the things that are good to have. Most of all, I wish you enough.

July 1, 2015 by warjna

Three Day Quote Challenge, Day Too

Da Rulez:

Thou shalt thank the person who nominated you: Thank you, Addy!
Thou shalt nominate three other bloggers with each post, no more, no less.
Three shall be the number thou shalt nominate, and the number of the nominating shall be three.
Four shalt thou not nominate, nor either nominate thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three.
Five is right out.
OH! Sorry, I got carried away…
Um, I don’t actually know many bloggers, so y’all are it:
Periodically Demented at: http://p33d33.wordpress.com/
Thumbup at: http://livelovelaughdotme2.com/
Addy at: https://adamskistoryblog.wordpress.com/
And honestly? I don’t really feel you need to respond. It’s fun if you do, but I know we all have lives, and sometimes we might want to post something else, or nothing if we want, so there!
Thou shalt post 3 of thy favorite quotes each per day for 3 recurrent days.
So endeth the lesson.

So, the quotes for today? Okay, let’s go with some of my favorites:

Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass. — Anton Chekhov
This is my most absolute favoritest of all favorite quotes on writing. MUCH clearer than the usual “show, don’t tell” you usually get. I think it is the best advice for writers, and that if a writer only follows this one piece of advice their writing cannot help but become their best possible.
Because of something I once wrote, this quote always makes me think of Kristallnacht. Of fires burning in the streets, of shattered windows and shards of glass reflecting an angry glitter, of the smell of fear. Of frightened people hiding behind bolted doors or scuttling down alleys like furtive rats with the sound of heavy boots and cruel laughter echoing in their ears. But always, always, the sight of broken glass seen from the viewpoint of someone lying broken on the street looking for one last glimpse of their dying lover.
Maybe I’ll post that story sometime.
Unexpressed emotions never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways. — Sigmund Freud
I know this for a fact. If you don’t let it out somehow, you will end up sick, or with some kind of behavioral quirk, or try to take it out on someone. Or end up an alcoholic or drug abuser or someone who self harms. What you feel WILL show up somehow. Cancer, ulcers (mine), or misery. Find someone to talk to, even if it’s just a letter to Dear Abby. But let it out!
Just as an FYI, I’m a really good listener. That’s an open invitation, there. Any one, any time.
My goodness, I’m grim today. Let’s see if I can find something not so much of a downer for #3.
Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. — unknown
I really do believe this. Despite how negative my quotes seem to be, I actually am a positive person. I’m just also a realist. I recognize how difficult life can be, how dark and discouraging. But I also believe that we have the capacity to make a difference — in our own lives, and in the lives of others.
I also believe that we have the responsibility to try to make that difference, even if all we can do is toss a quarter in the Salvation Army pot at Christmas, or smile at someone who seems down. But whatever we can do, we should do it. In fact, that reminds me of my school motto (or prayer, or whatever the heck they called it then, It’s 44 years ago, cut me some slack!).

I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.

Okay, not so much the religious part of it — no longer a Catholic or even a Christian now — but the rest of it? Absolutely.
I also believe that we are stronger than we think we are, and that if we think we are weak still we are stronger for others than for ourselves. That is an underlying theme of the stories I write; that each of my characters may or may not feel able to stand up for themselves, but when another is threatened they find that strength. (Which I just realized just now. Am I smart, or what?)

OH! And I know just EXACTLY what tomorrow’s quote will be! Only one, but it’s a long one. Trust me on this, it’ll be worth it, and it will show you so much more about who I am and what I believe in.