Perpendicular Perspective – A Poem

You look down on me without realizing 

Your strength and beauty perfectly balanced 

From your perch 

A perpendicular perspective 

Your artist eyes watching 

My plateaued trajectory 

You don’t realize your wings are ready

To feel the air and lift

An arrow at the end of your line

Infinite, vertical 

Do not continue to look down

My line ends in a point

Flatlined living

Look up with your artist eyes

And imagine, create

Look up with your eagle eyes 

And focus, achieve

The scale has shifted

I look up at you and realize

You’re strength and beauty perfectly balanced 

Image credit: Sonny Mauricio
For the visually challenged reader, this image shows a bald eagle sitting in the bare branches of a tree. It is looking down at the camera

Hello! Hello! It’s been a while – over a month (yikes!) since I’ve last posted. I’ve been busy – and I’m excited to tell you with what – but first, I’m catching up…well, you know, catching up in my usual “late to the party” way…is there any other way? (cue eye-roll and self-deprecating facetiousness)

Three things inspired me with this poem. First, was this adorable picture from Sadje’s What do you see #73. I missed the deadline to be included in her round up, but you can read all the other wonderful submissions here. Second, was Patrick’s Pic and a Word Challenge #268 – Scale and #269 – Perpendicular. Now, I have been a long time fan of Patrick’s challenges and am actually on a streak. Being the “competitive” person that I am, I will have to go back and complete the other challenges because there are no breaks when streaking!

Third, and probably the most meaningful inspiration for this poem is my older daughter who just self-published her first book at the tender age of 12! Yes – my daughter has published her own book before I have! At an age when I was consumed with awkwardness and other growing pains, my daughter has the self-confidence, the motivation, and the perseverance to spend this past pandemic year writing a book and designing and creating the cover art. She even did all the research for how she can self-publish it.

If you can’t tell, I am very proud of her and very much in awe of her accomplishment.

You can find her book on Amazon. She joins the ranks of other esteemed writers on WP such as Mich (see her book here) and Ivor (see his books here and here) and Chris (see one of her many books here).

©️ 2021 iido

As the World Burns: Writers and Artists Reflect on a World Gone Mad

Now Available: As the World Burns: Writers and Artists Reflect on a World Gone Mad

It is my honor and pleasure to announce that three of my poems have been selected to appear in the anthology, As the World Burns: Writers and Artists Reflect on a World Gone Mad. This collection focuses on the unprecedented happenings in 2020 including reflections about the COVID-19 Pandemic and it’s repercussions and the Black Lives Matter movement. This is an international gathering of poets and artists from ten countries including 30 states from the USA.

This is the 2nd time I have been published through Indie Blu(e) Publishing. The 1st time, they accepted two of my poems in their anthology, We Will Not Be Silenced: The Lived Experience of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Told Powerfully Through Poetry, Prose, Essay, and Art (you can read my post about this here).

I am most grateful to the team of inspirational editors and writers at Indie Blu(e) for the opportunity to share my work with a wider audience. The book is available on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions.

©️ 2020 iido

THE BeZine, Vol. 7, Issue 3, June 2020, SustainABILITY — Jamie Dedes’ THE POET BY DAY Webzine

Ultimately, talking points preserve narratives seeking to keep the status quo or create a reality that aligns with the person’s ideology or personal needs. Marshall Shepherd 3 Common Things In Race, Coronavirus And Climate Change Debates, Forbes, June 12 2020 We want to start this introduction to the SustainABILITY issue of The BeZine with a […]

THE BeZine, Vol. 7, Issue 3, June 2020, SustainABILITY — Jamie Dedes’ THE POET BY DAY Webzine

I am so honored to be a part of this collection! Thank you to Jaime Dedes and Michael Dickel at The BeZine for their commitment to raising consciousness about climate change as well as racism/anti-racism and the current pandemic – not just as individual concerns but as an intersection of issues that affects us all.

Writers Rally Against Anti-Asian Hatred Amid Pandemic; May 27, United Against Hate: An Online Day of Solidarity — The BeZine

“We realize that this anti-Asian sentiment comes alongside an equally troubling uptick in xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Black violence,” said writer and PEN America Trustee Min Jin Lee. “This is a clarion call that all forms of racist hatred, especially at this moment, are unwelcome, unacceptable, and intolerable. As writers, we reckon with the power […]

Writers Rally Against Anti-Asian Hatred Amid Pandemic; May 27, United Against Hate: An Online Day of Solidarity — The BeZine

Please read the article and sign the petition. Thank you to Jamie Dedes for amplifying this important endeavor. Racism in all it’s forms must not be tolerated.

In a World Full of Maids, Choose to Be a MerMaid – A Running Update

I am a runner who loves FREE stuff so when I heard about a FREE race, I was all, “Where do I sign up?” When I heard that the race was a 24 hour relay hosted by the Mermaid Running Series (one of my favorite races when I was in San Jose, CA), I was even more excited! I am a night owl and now my nighttime wakefulness superpower can finally be put to good use!

Thank you to my friend and fellow MRTT/SRTT Chapter Leader, Katie for telling me about this run. Katie has run numerous Mermaid races out in CA. She also introduced me to the Taji 100. She doesn’t even have to “triple dog dare” me to get me to sign up for these awesome physical challenges. (Do you guys remember that TV show?)

I signed up for a slot after my friend, Kristi (who also completed the Taji 100 with me this past February). We’re going to run our miles “together”, meaning running separately in our own houses on our own treadmills while we video chat. I’ll be joining her for her “fin” (aka, leg) of the relay and she will be joining for my “fin”. We chose the 11:30-midnight, midnight-12:30 “fins” as we’ve never run “over two days” before! Haha! I’m so thankful for friends who are willing to join me on these crazy adventures!

I am also very appreciative of the 3rd hand treadmill we have at home. It is loud and it shakes if you run between 3.2-4.7 miles per hour. but it’s been keeping me moving during these days of shelter in place.

So, 1 hour of running at midnight…and maybe more, as they still need people for the slots between 12:30 AM – 6 AM EST….oh gosh, my brain is saying, “You’ll be awake anyway…” Should I sign up for another slot??

I’ll be back to give an update on this run! If you’re one of my readers who runs (especially if you’re international), please consider signing up and let me know if you do!

The relay starts at 8 AM PST (so 11 AM EST for me)…you can follow the race on their Facebook page and also check out other cool races they have including their FREE virtual on June 20th.

© 2020 iido

Wabi Sabi Welcome Back!

I’ve been MIA from the blogging world…maybe I’ve been jet setting around the world, running in various exotic locales…or maybe I’ve been writing the ending to the next, best-selling novel….or maybe I’ve been inundated with various domestic duties that have left me depleted….if you can think of another, much cooler, excuse for being away, please comment below so I can use it for next time!

But after a week of starting and discarding blog posts, I’ve realized that there will never be a “perfect” post that would make getting back into a blogging routine “better” or “easier”. I just have to post and be ok with the imperfections.

Jamie Dedes’ Wednesday Writing from two weeks ago requested “wabi sabi” poems that celebrated the “perfection in imperfection” (read the perfectly imperfect responses here). In this wabi sabi post, I’ve included this poem about the imperfect, transient process of blogging:

My fingers hover over the letters

Indecision clearly part of their fingerprint

The chosen, one-second press

Several strung together

Garland on paper

Fleeting clarity

Waiting for to be noticed.

So that’s it!! My first post back! My first poem back! Oh – and here’s a wabi sabi photo – an uncentered ceiling with fake blue sky:

I’m catching up on reading all of your (non wabi sabi 😁) blogs, messages/emails and getting my mind and thumbs moving again. An imperfect post still serves its purpose of connecting and communicating. Wabi sabi wonderful!

©️ iido 2019

Tygpress is NOT Authorized to Reprint My Blog Content

This post is a follow up on my previous post about Tygpress (hosted by Digital Oceans). They continue to scrape my blog as well as others’ blogs. We have lost one blog (maybe two) because of this issue and that makes me very sad.

Fandango created a badge that he kindly allowed other bloggers to use. I am going to be using this badge on all my posts going forward.

Also, check out this post at Renard’s World. He wrote a thoughtful article about this issue with some excellent explanations and suggestions about how to further handle this issue.

I hope you are not affected by this issue, but if you are – know that you aren’t alone and that there is something you can do about it. As for me, I will continue with my posting and and my brand new badge while continuing to explore options to shut down this unethical website.

©️ iido 2019

Please Read – Your Blog May Have Been Harvested!

Fellow bloggers/writers –

It has come to my attention, via Gina’s post @alifelesslived (click the following link: Attention all! Please read), that a website called Tygpress has been harvesting posts from various bloggers and posting them without consent from the original writers/bloggers. This website is being hosted by Digital Oceans.

I found my entire blog on this website (I’ve attached this here as proof). I have filed a complaint with their web host (the link above for Digital Oceans goes right to their “report abuse” page) under the DMCA (Digital Millennium CopyRight Act) as there is no contact information on the Tygapress Website to contact someone there directly. I’ve looked up a few of the blogs that I follow and have found many of my favorite blogs on this website.

While this may be an issue for those bloggers hoping to someday publish their work (in a book, magazine, etc.), even those who aren’t thinking of publishing should be concerned. Reposting someone else’s work without their consent is stealing content. Writers work hard to create their blogs. We have the right to share our work with others however if others want to share our work, they should be getting our permission and not just attributing that work to us. Some people may have different Creative Commons Licenses on their blog however if your work is copyrighted, then this website has definitely infringed on your work (check out the link prior and this one for information on copyright infringement). These types of unethical practices should be addressed to prevent further copyright infringements.

I’ve done research on this issue and filing the DMCA complaint is fairly easy. Feel free to comment or message me for details or help.

©️ iido 2019

 

 

I’m in a REAL Book!

I am honored to announce that two of my poems were accepted in the powerful anthology, We Will Not Be Silenced: The Lived Experience of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Told Powerfully Through Poetry, Prose, Essay, and Art.

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Facebook Launch event today at 4 pm EST. Please join at https://www.facebook.com/events/313051015968528/?ti=icl

Read below for more information:

We Will Not Be Silenced: The Lived Experience of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Told Powerfully Through Poetry, Prose, Essay, and Art is the brainchild of Kindra M. Austin, Candice Louisa Daquin, Rachel Finch, and Christine E. Ray. The four indie writers and survivors felt compelled to do something after the strongly triggering Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings. Ultimately, they decided to advocate, educate, and resist through art.

They opened submissions for only two weeks to women and men around the world. The response from writers and artists was overwhelming: the final anthology includes 166 pieces of writing and art from 95 contributors around the globe.

The editors decided early on that this was a project of passion and compassion, not profit. 70% of the royalties raised above the publishing and promotion costs will be donated to organizations that provide services to sexual harassment and sexual assault survivors. The editors have prioritized making the book accessible to as many individuals and organizations that could benefit from it. The retail price is only a few dollars above the publishing cost to keep the 300-page plus Anthology as affordable as possible. They have also created a Wish List so that individuals and organizations such as rape crisis centers, gender studies departments, and public libraries who might not otherwise be able to afford copies might be able to receive one.

The truth matters, our stories matter, and you can help.

We Will Not Be Silenced is available in print and Kindle editions through Amazon.

To help provide copies to others who might not otherwise be able to afford them, please visit our Go Fund Me page.

To be placed on the Wish List for a copy, please email the editors at indieblucollective@gmail.com