Roberta Writes – W3 Prompt #91: Chasing The Light, a poem and Thursday Doors, Vervet monkeys #doors #poetry #artwork

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Thursday Doors

These pictures are of the dining room doors at Thakadu River Lodge. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/01/25/more-doors-from-traffic/.

These are the large doors leading onto the balcony surrounding the dining room at Thakadu River Lodge. The balcony overlooks the river.

The dining room attracted visitors in the form of vervet monkeys.

This vervet monkey terrorized an Italian couple who insisted on being moved right across the dining room to just outside the kitchen door. The monkey was naughty, it jumped up and pinched a roll off the table. The restaurant management kindly moved my family to the rejected table next to the outside doors. Clearly, they thought we could cope with a few mischievous monkey visitors.

Perhaps my standing on the pathway watching a mama and her adorable baby clued them in to our lack of anxiety:

Picture caption: Can you see the baby clinging to mama’s tummy

This monkey like us so much, it came to our tent for a chat.

W3 – Wea’ve Written Weekly

You can join in here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2024/01/24/w3-prompt-91-weave-written-weekly/

Our W3 prompt

  • Poetic form (required): Rondeau
  • Theme (required): Freedom

Rondeau?

The rondeau is a syllabic construct of three verses: a quintet, quatrain, and sestet. The lines are of two distinct lengths: 1) the main length and 2) the refrain. The refrain is the first few words of the first line.

  1. Three stanzas: A quintet (five lines), a quatrain (four lines) and a sestet (six lines).
  2. The first half of the first line in the quintet is the refrain line. This refrain is used for lines 9 and 15.
  3. Rhyming:
    • The quintet has a rhyme scheme of b-b-c-c-b.
    • The quatrain has a rhyme scheme of b-b-c-A, where A is the refrain drawn from the first half of the first line of the poem.
    • The sestet is rhymed b-b-c-c-b-A, where A is again the refrain line.
  4. The refrain line is usually 4 syllables or two verse feet.

Chasing The Light

My paints give me freedom, I mix colours with great delight

Applying a spectrum of shades, I attempt to capture the light

My heart throbs with creation, I feel completely alive

An antidote to everyday life, this is how I survive

Chasing the interplay of shadows, lying just beyond my sight

***

A splodge of gold, a dash of yellow, capturing sunrays bright

Don’t look for darkness in my work, I’m not a creature of the night

The subtle interactions of hues on canvas, these I ingest to thrive

My paints give me freedom

***

Daily doses of war and economic woe wound; my spirit must take flight

Living in ignorance is not an option, but my soul is entitled to respite

Through immersion in nature’s splendour, peace and happiness I derive

The artist’s palette and creative journey, enthusiasm for life must revive

To maintain my personal faith in humanity, against despair I always fight

My paints give me freedom

This is my most recent painting called The King:

This is a YT video I made of the painting. I added the soundtrack from YT’s offerings:

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

133 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – W3 Prompt #91: Chasing The Light, a poem and Thursday Doors, Vervet monkeys #doors #poetry #artwork”

  4. A friend of mine got bitten by a little 🐒 when in Thailand. The monkey was trying to snatch the child’s bottle, and the mother reached out to stop him. So, I’d be like the Italian couple, new table please! 😄🐒🐵

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  6. Thanks for including Thursday Doors in your mix of challenges, Robbie. I can imagine the monkey being a pest, but I’m not sure it would bother me. It’s pretty darn cute.

    “An antidote to everyday life” – What a great way to describe a creative activity. I like that poem a lot, and your painting. I hope you have a great weekend.

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    1. Hi Dan, the monkeys seem to scare the tourists a great deal. They can be naughty and they steal food but they are easily scared. The staff use rubber slingshots to scare them off. They don’t need stones or anything like that, they just flourish the slingshot and the monkeys run. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem. It was quite a personal interpretation of the prompt.

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  9. Until reading various bloggers through the years, I had no idea there were so many identified styles of poetry. It makes sense, at least I’m now aware. Love how you connected your poem to your painting. Cheers your appreciation of light. 🙂 …. The monkeys made me smile, but to be honest, I’m not sure how I would react if that happened to me.

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    1. Hi Frank, anyone would get a fright if a monkey suddenly jumped up their table and purloined the bread. I didn’t know about all these poetry types either when I started blogging. I have always written poetry though and have taken to all the different form challenges like a duck to water. It stretches my creativity and I love that. Thanks for visiting.

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  15. That dining room is certainly inviting, Robbie, and the monkey thought so, too. 😊 Until I read your caption, I thought the mama monkey was pregnant. 🤣 I think your poem is fantastic! ❤ A person’s artwork is chasing the light.

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  23. You got the best seats in the house, Roberta! Can’t think of anything better than dining with monkeys 💕🐵
    The King is magnificent! And your poem is one after my own heart ❤️
    I love it. 👏👏👏

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  24. Robbie,

    I love the painting ~ you’re so talented… And your rondeau captures light with its own vibrant palette, steering clear of darkness. I’d say your art serves as an antidote to daily woes, providing a sanctuary!

    ~David

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      1. There’s a garden in Los Angeles. The owner brought back many peacocks from another country. He let them roam in the garden. They laid eggs and multiplied. They even roam in the neighborhood and many people don’t like it. The city doesn’t want people to kill them so ask them to report and they would go get them. 😊

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    1. Hi Jan, the monkeys are naughty and if you try to stop them they can bite. I’m not scared of them but I appreciate that they are wild animals. The lion is done with watercolour paints and a variety of paint brushes.

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  29. O Roberta, this is a wonderfully refreshing post: vibrant and warm with cheeky, cute monkeys,a commanding portrait of ‘The King’ and an accomplished, all embracing poem that is going STRAIGHT into my commonplace book !

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  30. When my daughter went to Costa Rico a few years back, she brought back tales of maurauding moneys in the dining room. In addition to food, they also stole jewelry and other shiny objects. Your poem resonates with me. The King of Beasts came to life as regal under your paint brushes.

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  31. Excellent post in all ways Robbie. You are so good at everything you do! That’s a wonderful painting, and a thoughtful response to the prompt.
    And you are right, we must never give in to despair. (K)

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  37. Wow, Robbie, I’m not sure to start. I think dining with monkeys nearby could be very intriguing. It sounds like an amazing experience, and the setting looks beautiful.

    Your poem is fantastic! It’s not enough to express yourself so stunningly in paintings (like your remarkable The King), but then you convey the experience in words that sing. I loved the vid, too.

    This was an outstanding post!

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    1. Hi Mae, I’m so pleased you enjoyed this post. The monkeys are fun to watch but you do have to be respectful of them as wild animals. Poetry comes much more easily to me than prose. That is probably why I write so much more poetry. I’m loving the painting. It is a wonderful new challenge 💞

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  39. Hi Robbie – I totally get your message about gaining freedom when you paint, as an antidote to life. I feel that way when I play the piano. As for your meal at the lodge, I’m not sure my family and I could handle those mischievous monkeys!

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  41. I think the monkey’s intrusion during dinner would have had me startled but laughing, Robbie. What a delightful experience really. I guess the restaurant manager knew you well. I could relate to your poem, my friend. Sometimes being creative offers a much-needed, soothing break from the world’s turmoil. Your painting of the lion is majestic, and the music you chose for the video is perfect. (On a side note, huge kudos to S. Africa for taking a stand against genocide, something the US is too cowardly to do. I’ve been meaning to compliment your nation for having the moral compass to do what is right).

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    1. Hi Diana, the monkeys certainly generated mixed reactions. It was interesting, because there was an American guest who looked just like blogger, Trent McDonald. He reacted very well to the monkeys. I’m glad you like the lion and the poem. That court case has resulted in mixed reactions locally and abroad, as is usual with such things. Thanks for your comment.

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  42. LOVE your art, Robbie.
    The lion is breathtaking.
    Your poems about art…. I know how you feel.

    I’ll eat with the monkey! The little rascal can steal some of my food. Heck, I’ll buy him a dinner!
    I love coming on your African adventures. Thank you!

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    1. Hi Resa, thank you for you wonderful comment. I’m so pleased you like the lion. I am sure you do know exactly what this poem was all about. Art is so uplifting. As for monkeys, they always make me smile and I love watching them. I do understand that foreigners find them a little scary though.

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  43. I’ve heard that monkeys can be problematic in a home situation. They are cute, cute, cute, though! I love your painting and your poem about painting. It’s gorgeous. You are so creative! 🙂

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      1. They make a big mess if they aren’t potty trained. Dogs have accidents on the floor. Monkeys are not so limited. A friend of mine bought a house where a monkey had lived. It was quite a clean-up experience. 🙂

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  46. The closest I came to an animal stealing my food is seagulls at the beach. I have not been in any places where local animals have the freedom to take food off my plate 😉 But then I’m not a camper. While I have camped… I feel I’ve had enough of roughing it 🙂

    Good to have hobbies that distract us from the day to day. While it is important to know what is going on in the world – it is also important to find peace so we can gain insight on how to act in peaceful ways.

    I do like your lion!

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      1. I guess one has to be prepared, or go elsewhere? Reminds me of a movie I went to… It wasn’t for children, but the Mom…didn’t know the humor of ‘Mel Brooks’ – She wasn’t happy. She thought ‘Blazing Saddles’ was an regular western movie.

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          1. And then there are those relatives that say they know all, yet are the first to a) forget something and b) blame someone else because they lost something or weren’t prepared.

            I am not perfect but I am more likely to be on time, if I am early – than miss the ‘train’ if I am late.

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