Picture caption: This is my own photographic entry for Dan’s Writing Challenge. It is an artwork by Louise Bourgeois which I saw at the Mori Art Gallery in Tokyo
Floating (shadorma)
ideas float
finding nothing to
adhere to
candy floss
thoughts, discombobulated
and quite meaningless
Picture caption: This door photograph is contributed by Dan, our challenge host
White door
“You want to keep the door white?”
“Absolutely, it’s so pristine and clean”
“I have to rethink this marriage –
I don’t want to spend my life with someone
who wants a white painted door”
“I don’t understand – what’s wrong with a white door?”
“It’s clinical, sterile, and it just looks wrong.”
“Okay, well, what colour door would you like?”
“Buttercup yellow with a blue postbox.”
“You’re right, we need to rethink this marriage.”
Tsukiji Hogan-ji Temple in Tokyo
Picture caption: Tsukiji Hogan-ji Temple in TokyoPicture caption: Doors to the Tsukiji Hogan-ji Temple in TokyoPicture caption: A peep through the temple entrance doorPicture caption: A man doing the cleansing ritual before entering the templePicture caption: The alter at the Tsukiji Hogan-ji Temple in Tokyo
Dora gave the poetry challenge ” Use within your poem a familiar word(s) or phrase(s) from a language other than English, transliterated if using a non-Roman alphabet, which you feel expresses a distinctively peculiar thought or emotion.”
Ubuntu is a term from the Nguni Bantu languages of Southern Africa, which encompasses a philosophy emphasizing the interconnectedness of individuals within their communities and the broader world. The word “Ubuntu” is often translated as “I am because we are” or “humanity towards others”.
Ubantu
I am because you are
communal existence is vital
to our collective survival
I am interconnected
to my surroundings
and to all humanity
By showing kindness to others
I make the world more welcoming
My environmental choices
ensure a better future for us all
and gives a voice to the voiceless
through proactivity in political and social matters
I help resolve injustices peacefully
Helping others is important to me
whether through donations or time
it all helps make my society better
Most importantly
by thinking before I act
I am a positive contributor to this planet
South Africa is a melting pot of interesting and vivid cultures.
This is my video of traditional Zulu dancing on New Year’s Eve:
My reading of a traditional Zulu story:
In this video you can hear the undulating call of the women:
Merril asked poets to write a piece of prosery, no longer than 144 words, using a specified phrase from the poem “The Magnificent Frigatebird” by Ada Limón. I used the phrase as a heading for my piece. I wrote an initial piece and then I edited it down to achieve the 144-word requirement. I have included both pieces as the longer pieces includes a lot more details about one of my favourite birds, the ostrich. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/05/12/prosery-ada-limon/
“I have no skills for flight or wings to skim the waves effortlessly, like the wind itself.”
This is the 144-word piece:
“Mama, why can’t we fly. We’re birds, aren’t we? All the other birds can fly.”
“Well, Little One, we are ostriches. We don’t need to fly. We have evolved to become flightless.”
“But Mama, I want to fly. I want to be the same as my friends. I don’t like being different.”
“You should be proud to be part of a species of bird that has adapted so well to its desert home. It’s more useful for us to have speed and endurance. We can sprint at over 70 kilometres an hour.
“And we do use our wings, we just don’t use them to fly.”
“I remember how you sheltered me and my siblings from the rain and the sun with your wings, Mama. Thank you for explaining. I feel much better now and I’m going to tell my friends how special I am.”
This is the longer and more detailed piece:
“Mama, why can’t we fly. We’re birds, aren’t we? All the other birds can fly, even my friend the kori bustard.”
“Well, Little One, we are ostriches. We no longer fly because we don’t need to. In the distant past we did fly but over time we have evolved to become flightless.”
“But Mama, I want to fly. I want to be the same as all my bird friends. They say I’m not a proper bird because I can’t fly and my wings are useless. It makes me sad.”
“Ostriches are proper birds, my son. You should be proud to be part of a species of bird that has adapted so well to its desert home. We don’t use our wings for flight because it was more advantageous for us to develop speed and endurance on the ground. You must remember that ostriches breed on the ground and we also take advantage of abundant ground-level food sources. Our main predators are hyenas and lions, so we need to be able to outrun them. And we can outrun them. We are the fastest runners of any bird or other two-legged creature in the world. Did you know that? We can sprint at over 70 kilometres an hour.
“And we do use our wings. We don’t use them to fly, that is true, but we use our wings for many useful purposes. Our wings reach a span of approximately 2 metres and we use them in mating displays, to protect our chicks, and to cover the skin of our upper legs and flanks to conserve heat when it’s cold. We also use our wings as rudders to help us change direction while running.”
Little One cuddles up to Mama. “I remember how you sheltered me and my siblings from the rain and the sun with your wings, Mama. You are right, your wings were very important to protect us. Thank you, Mama, for explaining. I feel much better now and I’m going to tell my friends how special I am.”
Picture caption: Mama ostrich with brown and white feathersPicture caption: Papa ostrich with black and white feathersPicture caption: Mana and Papa ostrich together
The Pilanesberg mountain is an ancient volcanic structure, circular in shape, that rises from flat surrounding plains. It is formed by three concentric ridges or rings of hills, of which the outermost has a diameter of about 24 km.
“The crater of a long extinct volcano, where Pilanesberg is set, is a fascinating alkaline complex produced by volcanic eruptions some 1300 million years ago. It is one of the largest volcanic complexes of its kind in the world. Its rare rock types and structure make it a unique geological feature.”
It was very cold the morning we stopped at the viewing point for the Pilanesberg volcanic crater lake for tea.
Picture caption: TC and I in front of the lake and volcanic mountain ring viewPicture caption: The temperatures dropped so quickly the lake was steaming
This is my Youtube video of the mountain volcanic ring:
Picture caption: Red and white stripped bridge across a canal in Amsterdam. There are houseboats to the right of the picture Seven bridges sighting point on a canal in AmsterdamA boat coming through an enclosed bridge on a canal in Amsterdam
Picture caption: Book cover for A Nobel Bargain by Jan Sikes featuring a young man in old fashioned working clothes with a dog and an old fashioned vehicle.
What Amazon says
A true testament of character, resilience, and the magic of never giving up.
The year is 1948 and folks in the sawmill town of Crossett, Arkansas, work hard and play hard. Oliver Quinn does both. Oliver is the son of Irish immigrants who firmly believe in pursuing the American dream. His deepest desire is to play major league baseball. He only needs one chance to prove himself.
Rose Blaine is living in a nightmare where dreams don’t exist. She’s suffered for years at the hands of her violent moonshiner father and his partner. During a brutal attack, she must fight back or die. The aftermath is devastating.
Fueled by desperation, Rose strikes a life-changing bargain with Oliver. If he’ll take her and her brother to St. Louis, Missouri, she’ll introduce Oliver to her uncle, a baseball legend.
While their journey is fraught with unseen perils, they forge an unbreakable bond and make surprising allies.
When destiny throws them a curve ball, they must find the courage to create a hopeful future out of the ashes of shattered dreams with newfound fortitude.
My review
A Noble Bargain is a delightful tale that starts of with the main character, Rose, in one of the worst imaginable situations for a young woman and lightens and brightens considerably as it progresses, despite some dramatic events.
Rose and her two brothers, Harlan and Jack, are victims of their alcoholic father’s moonshine induced rages, their abused mother having passed away some years previously. Sadly, seventeen year old Rose, is also a victim of her father’s lecherous partner.
Oliver is the son of Irish immigrants who, despite suffering loss, are a loving and close knit family. He has a good job and is working hard to improve his situation and help support his family but he dreams of playing professional baseball. He has no idea how he could go about making this dream a reality.
Oliver meets Rose at a dance and is immediately taken with her. It quickly becomes apparent to Oliver that Rose’s home situation is far from idea and he sets out to try and help her and her brothers.
This is a lovely story about overcoming adversity and achieving dreams. I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to all readers as everyone could use some upliftment and happiness in their choice of reading material.
The story is well written and the characters are well developed and believable. Rose is a strong minded individual who has drawn a very poor set of circumstantial cards in life. You just can’t help rooting for her and hoping for the best possible outcome.
I enjoyed the previous book, A Beggar’s Bargain, and it was nice to see those characters making an appearance in this second book.
Picture caption: Door featuring two fashionable young ladies having tea. This picture was provided by Willow Willers who blogs here: https://willowdot21.wordpress.com/
Sharing Tea (Shadorma)
Young ladies
Share tea and gossip
Dressed to kill
In big hats
And smart dresses with full skirts
One version of life
Three lion brothers we saw during our recent trip to Pilanesberg National Park.
Picture caption: This is the dominant brother. That is why he has a collar and is tagged. The tagging is so they don’t escape the park and wreak havoc in the surrounding community lands not to help the game rangers find them.Picture caption: This is the first of the brothers. A gorgeous boy.Picture caption: This is the third brother. Another gorgeous boy.Picture caption: Given their tender years (they don’t have proper manes yet as they are juveniles), these boys are HUGE!
I read to you, teaching you to thirst for knowledge
I show compassion to others, teaching you kindness
I encourage you to build on your strengths
Thereby giving you the tools to succeed in life
I encourage you to work hard on your weaknesses
Thereby demonstrating the power of perserverence
But, most of all my son, I love you
I put you first, I give you my time
Teaching you to be a giving and loving man
I’m sharing one photograph from my recent trip to the Pilanesberg National Game Reserve. We saw a leopard early in the morning. It was just getting light and the leopard sat like a queen on top of the rocks.
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