d’verse challenge: Quadrille #200: Today, your 44 word poem must contain the word “blaze” or a derivative. This challenge is hosted by Mish and you can read her poem here: https://mishunderstood.wordpress.com/2024/04/29/oasis/
On an angled branch of a tree
Unadorned by leaves
Sits a little bee-eater
It’s gorgeous; ablaze with colours
Green, yellow, red, and black
Bzzzz! Its head snaps forward
Sharp beak clicks
A tiny splash of yellow and black
Vanishes down its bright throat
Shawnee and Mayhem continue to wreak havoc on the Killzme Corporation—the largest animal trafficking ring in the country—by killing one poacher at a time. The stakes grow increasingly higher when the nefarious group retaliates by putting a bounty on their heads.
Meanwhile, the traffickers set their sights on capturing Orca for profit and pleasure.
With a ticking clock and no place left to hide, Shawnee and Mayhem alternate between undercover surveillance and clandestine battles to save their loved ones and the Innocent Ones from Killzme’s evil plans. Skills are tested. Tenuous alliances are formed. Not everyone will make it out alive.
Set in a world of cultural wonder, environmental threats, and looming danger, this heart-stopping eco-thriller will have you glued to the page from the first sentence to the last.
Merciless Mayhem is a different genre of read for me as I don’t read much in the thriller line. It is this book’s eco based plot line involving a group of characters who are determined to help save wildlife from exploitation by ruthless corporations, that attracted me. It turned out to be a good decision, and I thoroughly enjoyed the fast paced and exciting storyline that revolved around the exploitation of orcas and other sea creatures for financial gain.
The reader is introduced to Shawnee and Mr Mayhem and it is soon apparent that the pair have recently been embroiled in a nasty showdown with a corporation called Killzme which captures and sells endangered animals. Shawnee’s grandfather, Jacy Lee, goes missing, the evidence pointing towards a kidnapping, and the pair know the kidnappers are employees of Killzme, seeking revenge. Mr Mayhem comes up with a conservative plan to rescue Jacy Lee, but excludes Shawnee in an attempt to keep her safe from danger. This does not suit Shawnee, who sets off on her own with one of Mr Mayhem’s crow companions, to rescue her only surviving relative. Shawnee is captured by Killzme and, as a result, becomes involved in new Killzme animal operation. After this fast and captivating start, the story keeps going at a bottleneck pace guaranteed to keep the reader engaged.
Mr Mayhem is a mysterious character. His wife died saving Shawnee at an unspecified earlier date (I have not read the previous books), and Mr Mayhem has not recovered. He is still grieving and has embraced the friendship of Spirit Ghost, a white crow, her son, Poe, and another crow called Odin. These three birds all play supporting character rolls in the story. Mr Mayhem is devoted to saving wildlife from evil corporations like Killzme and has adopted Shawnee as his assistant. He is a ruthless man, who will stop at nothing in pursuit of his objectives. He is happy to kill for his cause.
Shawnee is young and still learning. She doesn’t have particularly good self-control and can be unpredictable and misguided in her behaviours. Devoted to her grandfather and also to wildlife, Shawnee does her best to learn from Mr Mayhem and become a good fighter for the cause. She is headstrong and comes into conflict with Mr Mayhem and his crow friend, Poe, but her heart is in the right place.
I found the information about the Cheyenne traditions, culture and spiritual beliefs very interesting, although the use of two names for each character did require some getting used to. In the beginning, I found it quite confusing.
This is a great story, but the book does contain scenes of attempted sexual assault and graphic violence which some readers may find disturbing.
Merciless Mayhem is available from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CJVW4699
Here is your assignment! Choose one of the artworks contained herein, and write a poem inspired by the artwork. Simple enough, right? There’s just one catch–you may not use the word cat anywhere in your poem, including the title. Other feline terminology is acceptable. Do let us know which work you have chosen in your post.
You can read other poems for this prompt here: https://dversepoets.com/2024/04/23/if-you-dont-like-cats-im-sorry
Louis Wain, What Shall We Do With The Feathers?
“Pushy!”
The shriek electrifies my fur
Alerts the feather ball to danger
Destroys my hunt
The baby bird flaps across the lawn
Leaping straight into the pool
Drat! I don’t like water
Turning, head held high
I stalk away
My human snatches up
the long-poled pool net
Scoops the bundle out of the water
Out of the corner of my eye
I watch her rub it dry
She sets it under a flower in a pot
Bonus!
There is no accounting for her stupidity
She leaves
I watch her walk up the path
I feel the grin
It’s splitting my face
My stomach grumbles
One leap – I’m perfectly balanced
on the lip of the pot
One swat – the quivering baby flies
up and out; landing on the grass
with a slight bounce
Eager for a game
of play with the mouse
or, in this case
play with the bird
I pounce
It’s dead
How disappointing
Baby birds are no fun
It died of shock before I could start
my teasing and tormenting
Pathetic!
“Yowl!”
I call my sister over
We enjoy our snack
“What about these?”
Smudge waves a paw
at the bloody pile of feathers.
“Don’t worry, sister,
I have a plan”
“Pushy!”
The screech pulls me from sleep
What now?
“Maybe she didn’t like our gift”
We look at each other
And grin
Today, I am delighted to welcome talented author, Sarah Angleton, to Roberta Writes with a post about her new novel, Paradise on the Pike.
Paradise on the Pike is a historical mystery set in Hagenbeck’s Zoological Paradise and Trained Animal Circus on the grounds of the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis. By 1904, Carl Hagenbeck was already a well-known name in the animal trade, as a pioneer of more humane zoo design and gentler training methods. He brought those things to the Fair, which has been identified by some historians as the largest human zoo in history, where thousands of indigenous peoples from all over the world were on display.
The novel explores this uncomfortable parallel and the complexities of the uglier aspects of a world’s fair also defined by its awe-inspiring displays of industry and wonder. In the following scene, protagonist Max is beginning to question the quick, possibly racially motivated, assumptions made by detectives in the investigation of a murder at the Animal Paradise. The scene also incorporates a historical account included in a biography of Hagenbeck animal trainer Reuben Castang, in which Lizzie the elephant makes a surprise visit to Cheyenne Joe’s Cowboy Bar just outside the fairgrounds:
An apology half formed on Max’s tongue, stopped only by the simultaneous shift of every saloon patron’s attention toward the wide swinging doors as a large, gray elephant stepped inside Cheyenne Joe’s.
Max joined the others in turning toward the door where Lizzie struggled to slide her bulk through a doorway constructed with room enough for a cowboy to enter on horseback, but evidently designed without the consideration of an elephant’s requirements. From behind her boomed a sharp command from Reuben Castang. “Lizzie, crouch!”
With remarkable coordination, the elephant pushed her head forward and stretched her thick legs, dropping her back so she could inch her way through the frame as a cat might slink under the bottom edge of a fence. The cowboys sitting closest to the door whooped and jumped up to pull tables and chairs out of the way. At another word from her trainer, Lizzie settled on her belly in the empty space. Walking in behind her, Reuben carried a large piece of red and white checkered cloth that he luffed like a great sail over the top of the animal’s back, doing his best to smooth it over her as it fell.
“Joe!” Reuben called, stretching out a hand to indicate the recently displaced cowboys. “Drinks and sandwiches for the gentlemen at the elephant table. It’s all on Lizzie.”
Cheers and guffaws filled the saloon as the cowboys slid chairs back up to their unusually gracious hostess and attempted to balance their drinks on her back. Reuben took a bow, in complete command of an audience with much lifted spirits.
Max chortled along with them, glad for his accusatory comment to be so amusingly overshadowed. He turned to Lorenz and said, “Not a bad elephant show for a white Englishman.”
Lorenz shook his head and stood. With mirth on his lips, he lifted his mug in a toast to Reuben. “Never underestimate Reuben Castang. I should know that better than anyone.”
Lorenz reclaimed his seat and drained the last swallow of beer from his mug, before saying, “Look, Max, I wouldn’t worry too much about this murder business. The police have less evidence against Inesh than they have even against his tiny sister. And maybe there’s something to this gangster theory. They’ll be free again before you know it.”
“What do you mean they’ll be free?” Max asked, his question nearly swallowed by the noise of the boisterous crowd as Lizzie, apparently tired of playing the role of picnic table, stood to send food and drinks spilling to the floor.
Fearing the distraction would prove too great, Max repeated his question. Lorenz shrugged and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. “I’m sure there’s nothing to it at all, but they arrested Shehani, too.”
Max couldn’t speak. The muscles of his neck clinched, forcing waves of pain through the back of his head where the information he’d just received should be processed but instead was being violently rejected.
“Why?” It was the one word he could manage at last.
Lorenz failed to notice the question, absorbed as he was in Lizzie’s antics. The elephant shook off the last remnants of sandwich stuck to her hide and turned to squeeze her way out the door.
“Oh, God in heaven.” Lorenz pushed back his chair and slithered out from behind the table. “There she goes.”
Lizzie had managed to wiggle outside and bellowed a loud trumpet that faded as she ran farther away, Reuben scrambling behind her into the night.
1903
Twenty-year-old Max Eyer is still reeling from his father’s recent death when a mysterious stranger’s offer to buy the family farm outside of Hamburg, Germany presents to him and his mother an unexpected opportunity to make a fresh start in America.
Welcomed by his uncle’s bustling family in St. Louis, Max finds employment on the grounds of the upcoming 1904 World’s Fair, where he is hired as a zookeeper at Hagenbeck’s Animal Paradise on the Pike. Max’s enchantment with the trained animals shows, ostrich rides, and water sliding elephants is rivaled only by his fascination with Shehani, a beautiful Sinhalese woman who captivates the crowds of fairgoers by dancing among the lions.
However Max’s paradise unravels when a grisly discovery leads to an accusation of murder against the woman he loves. His efforts to uncover the truth may save her, but in this fantasy land of the fair where palaces are temporary, animals roam free, and people are on exhibit, will his own dreams be shattered by an ugly reality?
Purchase link for Paradise on the Pike
Sarah Angleton is a storyteller and history buff who has degrees in both zoology and literature and still isn’t quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up. A Midwestern girl at heart, she spent a brief time living and writing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest before settling near St. Louis where she currently resides with her husband, two sons, and a very loyal dog. She is the author of Launching Sheep & Other Stories, a humorous look at history from the perspective of everyday life, historical thrillers Gentleman of Misfortune and Smoke Rose to Heaven, the historical family saga White Man’s Graveyard, a Paradise on the Pike, a historical mystery set in the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
You can find all of Sarah’s book on Amazon USA here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B06XS5YFJX
You can find out more about Sarah on her website here: https://sarah-angleton.com/
This month I’ve featured African painted wild dogs for my In Touch with Nature post. They are highly endangered so seeing them in the wild during our January bush trip was a real treat. They have very large and interesting bat-like ears which enable them to hear very well.
Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.
If you are sensitive and can’t stand the sight of blood, do not read this poem.
You can find out more about the challenge here: https://dversepoets.com/2024/04/16/dverse-poetics-maggie-smith-and-conversational-mode-of-address/
How is your new home, Elsabee?
The jacaranda tree looks comfortable
The branches are wide and well-spaced
You will love it in October when
it explodes with vivid purple flowers
I am so glad you stayed in the garden
After your horrific loss. Your mother
stayed, as did her mother before her
But they weren’t traumatized. The barn owl
swooped down on your previous nest –
an untidy collection of sticks in a
convenient fork, high up among the
top branches of the African Mahogany –
snatching your only surviving baby
I found the body, viscarated and bleeding
I broke my heart to see evidence
of your tragic loss. Nature can be
very cruel, Elsebee. But us mothers –
we have to carry on regardless
You know I don’t feed you often
It makes you dependent and tame
but, in these unhappy circumstances
I’m prepared to bend the rules
I’ve made you some meatballs
They are raw, just how you like them
I’ll just leave them here – on the outside table
Enjoy them at your leisure, Elsabee
Oh, and invite Edward if you want. It’s
his loss too, although he hasn’t
demonstrated any understanding or
visible distress. Not like you, my
feathered friend. You disappeared
Mourned until I removed and buried
The sad remains of your little one
Spring will be here before you
know it. A fresh opportunity for you
to lay more eggs, have more chicks
Hopefully, next season, you’ll have
more than just the one. You could
hatch up to five adorable chicks
Just think of that, Elsabee
You’ll be able to have your own
hadeda choir
Detective Inspector Walter Button is called upon to investigate a violent burglary that takes place at the stately mansion called Ardwick House, in the centre of Manchester. Button’s Victorian police team have become known for investigating ‘flash houses’ and their associated killings and violence. These public houses, amongst other establishments, are implicated in a crime wave of fencing stolen goods – a big problem for many big towns and cities throughout England.
The ongoing investigation of the Ardwick House burglary takes its toll on Button and Kathleen, his wife. His step-son Josh is the young copper on patrol in Ardwick Green and the first to be alerted by broken glass at the rear of the mansion. As events proceed, a number of other knotty problems and plots come to the surface; not discounting two dead bodies, a secret business plan and pressure from the inspector’s superiors. How does all of this involve the adult sons of the original partners and iron foundry owners, David Fraser and Mitch McCallum? Can Button disentangle it all to the satisfaction of his senior officers and before he loses his wife forever?
Seeking Truth at Ardwick House is the 5th book in the Quarry Bank Tales series, all of which I have read and enjoyed in order.
Inspector Button is back with a complex murder and burglary at Ardwick House, home to wealthy industrialist, David Fraser. The butler is found dead on the floor, his head bashed in, and surrounded by pieces of Lord Fraser’s prized art collection from the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome. Unfortunately, Inspector Button’s young stepson, a recent addition to the Ardwick Green, Manchester police force, is seriously injured during the incident. When Button’s wife, Kathleen, learns of the injury to her beloved son, she blames her husband and moves out of their home.
Poor Inspector Button, he also adores his stepson, and must investigate the murder/robbery while worrying about Josh’s recovery and his wife’s rejection of him. Button is such a wholesome and good person that I felt really sorry for him in this difficult situation. Nevertheless, he continues with his investigation and a second body is discovered, hidden in the stables at Ardwick Green.
As the mystery unfolds, the complicated relationships between David Frazer, who is planning to retire, his two sons, his investment partner, Mitch McCallum and his two sons, is unveiled. There is a lot going on in both the House of Frazer and the House of McCallum. There is also bad blood going back years and years. In addition, there are disgruntled and dissatisfied employees in David Frazer’s household.
This is an intriguing plot albeit complicated, with lots of twists and turns. You cannot cruise through this story, but need to read with attention to keep up with the plethora of characters and all the intricacies of their lives and involvements in the storyline. I really enjoy a good brain cell work out and I always get it with this author’s historical novels. I like the way characters from the previous novels are woven into the storyline. If you haven’t read the other books, you’ll miss this and it won’t matter, but if you have read the earlier novels, it is a really nice touch.
Congratulations to the author on another well researched and engaging book.
Purchase Seeking Truth at Ardwick House from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Truth-Ardwick-House-Investigates-ebook/dp/B0CNCPWMH2
And Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Truth-Ardwick-House-Investigates/dp/B0CP4P94HP
These are photographs of the door to the outside shower in our chalet at Ivory Tree Game Lodge. You can join in Dan Antion’s Thursday Doors challenge here: https://nofacilities.com/2024/04/11/alumni-doors/
The mini prompt d’Verse Open Link #360 + Saturday live option is green. You can find out more about it and the meeting today here: https://dversepoets.com/2024/04/11/open-link-360-saturday-live-option/
South Africa is in mid-autumn and our green is fast disappearing. My poem thus addresses the yellow of autumn with the remaining green. It is a double American cinquain (2/4/6/8/2 x 2)
Yellow
Autumn colour
Of African bushveld
Perfect camerflage for tawny
Lions
***
Cubs hide
Among green shrubs
Life’s blood of buffalo
Big predator’s favourite food
Cycle
As always, I am inspired by South Africa’s amazing wildlife. Here are some photographs of the animals on which this poem is based.
Kim’s d’Verse challenge is as follows: Your challenge today is to write a poem about your own metaphorical box. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about a relationship, but I would like it to be autobiographical, free verse, and in three stanzas similar to those in Clarke’s poem: the first stanza describes the box; the second what is in it; and the third where you keep it, with a summarising list in the final two lines.
You can find out more about the challenge and join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2024/04/09/a-box-of-poems/
My box is made of cardboard
It is battered, well-loved, and a bit torn
It held the carrycot I chose with love
When my oldest son was born
It holds pieces of my mother’s heart
My most treasured possessions
Priceless to me, but valueless to others
Thus, I see no need to lock it
***
My bulging box is over stuffed
With memories – good and unhappy
Hospital bracelets from tiny wrists,
photographs – even an eco-friendly nappy
My oldest son’s outstanding report cards
A recording of his walk towards the sun
My younger boy’s paintings and drawings
He and I have enjoyed days of artistic fun
***
This shabby box full of objects of love
Cards declaring “I love you mother”
In block letters formed by determined hands
Reminders to let go; love shouldn’t smother
First on my list of items to save
Should there ever be a home fire
When I’m gone, I hope these cherished items
Will continue to comfort and inspire
In this memoir, Anthony Candela, a self-described “all-around regular guy,” traverses a lifetime of challenges. Some of these are accidents of birth, like his poor eyesight and slow trek to blindness, and some are of his own making, like choosing to compete as a scholar-athlete. Infused with lots of New Yorkana, a touch of California, and a few related historical references, this memoir conveys that in any environment, life does not always follow a prescribed course.
Moreover, as humans, all of us are imperfect. This includes people with disabilities who are often thought of as transcendent beings, but who should also be regarded as “all-around regular guys.” Just like the rest of the human race, they often strive imperfectly to get through life.
In his descriptions, the author hopes that readers will understand a little more about the nuts and bolts of running and wrestling, not to mention skiing and scuba diving. The ups and downs of coping with life and progressive loss of eyesight and, by extraction, disability in general will be clearer. Readers will come away with a fuller appreciation of the ways people deal with challenges. In the end, we all have a choice whether to stand up or sit out.
The story related in these pages will occasionally give you cause to chuckle or even shed tears of sadness or joy. Above all else, it will enlighten you about why things happen the way they do. Ultimately, this memoir increases our understanding of what it means to be truly human. Perhaps after reading it, we will be kinder and gentler to each other. Most important, perhaps we will take it a little easier on ourselves.
I had read some of Anthony (Tony) Candela’s blog posts prior to purchasing this book so I was already familiar with his style of writing. Tony’s frank approach to writing about his slowly deteriorating eyesight and his ultimate blindness is interesting and revealing, as a result, I was keen to read his memoir.
Tony’s story starts with the details of the tunnel vision and reduced vision he was born with, and an overview of the overarching diagnosis for his condition which was complete blindness. He talks about the reactions of his parents to his genetic condition which also presented in his youngest brother. When I read this section, I thought about how difficult it must have been for his parents to adjust to the knowledge that not one, but two of their three children had inherited an eye disorder. Tony’s parents rose to the challenge and did their best to give Tony a good education and the same opportunities as his sighted peers. Tony became involved in wrestling at school and, together with his coach, found ways of overcoming his disability. This being said, Tony suffered some difficulties in socialising with his peer group and was a lonely child and teenager.
The book moves on to detail Tony’s academic achievements at college and his difficulties and successes in the work environment. He was fortunate enough to meet a few lovely women who helped him through different phases of his life and helped facilitate some of his sporting achievements. Tony has been quite frank about his thoughts and feelings as he traversed life and faced challenges. He pushed himself very hard in order to achieve and maintain a high level of academic and physical achievement and to show the world that despite his poor vision, he was a regular guy.
I found this memoir to be very insightful into the practical difficulties faced by people with tunnel vision, which I didn’t know much about, and limited vision leading ultimately to blindness. The book was also quite revealing about the assistance and support that was available to sight disabled people during Tony’s younger days (in the 1950s) and how this has changed over the course of his life. I also gained a lot of knowledge about life in New York City.
Blindness aside, Tony led an interesting life with numerous career achievements and dabbling’s into a number of sports including skiing, long-distance running, and triathlons. The overlay of his visual disability makes his life story all the more interesting.
An engaging memoir that I recommend.
Purchase Stand Up or Sit Out: Memories and Musings of a Blind Wrestler, Runner and All-around Regular Guy by Anthony R Candela: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B094YW3FDW
