Merril’s challenge for d’Verse: Poetics is as follows: So, today’s prompt is to write about that thin line between triumph and defeat, or if you’d like, you may focus on one or the other. You may respond to the poetic examples or the painting, as well.
Today, I am sharing a few pictures from our visit to Kaminarimon Gate (Thunder Gate) in Tokyo. Kaminarimon Gate, which stands at the entrance to the processional road leading to Senso-ji, is Asakusa’s most famous landmark. Inside the gate, standing on either side are enormous wooden statues of the protective Buddhist deities Fujin (wind god) and Raijin (thunder god) after which the gate is named.
Picture caption: Thunder GatePicture caption: Dragon image underneath the large lantern beneath the gatePicture caption: Side view of Thunder GatePicture caption: Thunder godPicture caption: Wind god
When I was a little girl of seven, my cousin received a plaster of paris moulding set for a birthday gift. The set was a Disney theme and included moulds of various popular characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald and Daisy Duck. The kit included plaster of paris power and water-based paints with two paint brushes.
One look at that kit and I was envious. I wanted a kit like it, but my birthday had passed, and Christmas was months away. I persuaded my cousin to let me make two characters. He agreed to Minnie Mouse and, under duress, Goofy. He wanted me to make Daisy as at ten years old, he wasn’t keen on anything perceived as girly.
I carefully mixed the plaster of paris and moulded the characters. It was a hot day and they dried quickly so I was able to paint them. Goofy had blue trousers and a yellow jersery and Minnie had a pink dress with flowers on it. I was a good painter for my age and the characters look great. It was at this point that the day went wrong for me. Ian suggested I put the characters in a submarine made from an old HTH bottle. Back then, HTH came in large white cylinder shaped bottles with screw on lids. He had cut a door in the bottle to serve as a hatch. He would contribute his Action Man to the adventure and wanted me to contribute my two characters. I didn’t want to but he talked me in to contributing Minnie.
The great journey along the lines of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne commenced. Unfortunately, the submarine flipped over to the door side, took on copious water, and sank. Ian rescued it from the pool and inside we found his Action Man covered in a soggy mess of melted plaster paris and paint. It was a great tragedy for me.
I gave the surviving Goofy character to Granny Joan, and she kept it on her dressing table until she passed away when I was eleven. I remember seeing it when my parents took me to my grandparents’ house to help Granddad Jack pack up her clothes and other personal items. I wanted to take it, but didn’t as it felt like stealing. In retrospect, I’s sure it was thrown out and I wish I had taken it.
Picture caption: Crossing the bridge at the beginning of the trail from Drakensberg Sun HotelPicture caption: Trail in the Drakensberg Mountains, South AfricaPicture caption: Gregory crossing the swollen river using a rope. I was already across ready to help the others. I am a mountain goat – haha!
Dora’s Poetics challenge: What I’d like us to do is to write a poem that conjures a view (whether from our travels or everyday life, whether from desire or experience) that is colored by the emotion of the moment. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/06/10/poetics-a-view-of-ones-own/
The Certainty of Life
There is a quiet peace
in our deep certainty
of the changing seasons
In our unwavering conviction
that the frigid winds of winter
will always give way
to the bright blooms of spring
that the ferocious heat of summer
will invariably succumb
to the cooler temperatures
and rich colours of autumn
There is a deep restfulness
in our unwavering confidence
that the sun will always rise
sometimes early
and sometimes late
sometimes obscured by cloud
but it comes up every day
in celebration of life
Thursday Doors
These photographs are from Inyati Game Lodge in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. I’ve show a few of the doors and also some sunrise and sunset pictures to compliment my poem above. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2025/06/12/colorful-pittsburgh/
Picture caption: Doors into the reception at Inyati Game LodgePicture caption: Doors between the two visitor lounges at the lodgePicture caption: Another entrance into the lodgePicture caption: Young leopard in a tree at sunsetPicture caption: Sunset over the water.Picture caption: giraffe feeding at sunrise
When I was eight, my sister, Hayley, was born. She suffered from cholic and was a terrible howler. Mom was exhausted and thin trying to care for this fretful baby who never slept. Granny Joan and Granddad Jack were living and working at a yacht club on the Vaal River, and they offered to have me to stay with them for the duration of the summer school holidays.
I was delighted. I loved staying with my father’s parents, and they liked having me as I was quiet and used to entertaining myself. The South African summer holiday runs for six weeks from the beginning of December, through Christmas, until approximately mid-January. The yacht club was great fun, with lots of family staying in chalets and enjoying the many activities including boating, swimming in the large pool, and eating endless ice creams and snacks from the small shop that Granny Joan ran with a helper. I made a few friends and joined in the swimming but, never one for crowds, I also liked alone time.
Prior to school closing, paper dolls had become popular. All the girls wanted these glamorous dolls made from thick cardboard. They came in a pack with stands and a vast wardrobe of clothing with tags to attach them to the dolls. I didn’t have one of these packs, and I didn’t ask for one, but somehow, Granny Joan knew I wanted paper dolls. Granny was an artist, and she kindly turned her drawing hand to sketching me a series of beautiful figures along the lines of Betty and Veronica from the Archie comics. She cut these figures out of firm cardboard and even made stands for them. She then drew several outfits for the dolls with tags, and I spent many happy hours colouring them in with felt tipped pens. I treasured these dolls and kept them for months before they eventually became too wobbly and bent to play with anymore. The creation and subsequent playing with these dolls are some of my favourite memories with Granny.
Picture caption: Cover of Run for the Roses featuring an axe, a fluffy hat and a bunch of red roses
What Amazon says
The Headless Horseman has mellowed over the centuries, somewhat. Who knew that he is a horse lover, and needs Lizzie’s help. An unaffiliated witch is torturing race horses in an effort to skew the parimutuel betting odds.
Can Lizzie and the hat find this renegade witch before one of these beautiful animals gets hurt? Can they do it before Detlef, The Horseman, takes things into his own hands and violates the terms of his magical parole.
It seems like everyone is standing in their way this time, including a team of YouTube ghost hunters and members of the coven itself.
Saddle up for this supernatural ride through the world of Lizzie and the hat.
My review
Run for the Roses is another dive into a world of supernatural events directed by mythical creatures who fly just below the perception of humanity. All of humanity, except for Lizzie, the possessor of ‘the Hat’, an unusual and ancient creature who choses to take the form of various hats that can be worn by the current member of the family it has adopted. The Hat has been in Lizzie’s family for decades and came to her following the death of her grandfather. Together, Lizzie and the Hat have been on seven previous adventures where they fight mythical creatures who have chosen to follow a selfish path of personal gain of some sort. Lizzie and the Hat are, in essence, the champions of ‘good’ mythical creatures who want to live in harmony with humanity. The duo, together with helpers and friends, prevent discord and disruption in the human world that could have negative implications for everyone.
This story steps up the role of the ‘Headless Horseman’. Detlef made an appearance in an earlier book and it was very enjoyable to see him making a greater appearance in this book. Detlef is a champion of horses and is angered by the actions of witches who have summoned a ‘maar’ to terrify and torture horses for the purpose of changing the outcome of horse races. Detlef needs Lizzie and the Hat to help him destroy the maar and end the reign of terror.
As always, this short and fast story is packed with dark humour, fascinating mythical creatures, and an exciting story line. This book introduces the Gravedigger who I really enjoyed. Lizzie’s interactions with her band and their various gigs create a fun and relatable background setting for the adventures.
If you are looking to escape the anxieties of life through some well written and highly entertaining escapism, you will love this book.
Thank you to Thomas Wikman for this lovely review of Burning Butterflies. Thomas has a wonderful appreciation of nature and wildlife which shines through in his review.
If you don’t know Thomas, his has a lovely blog where he writes about Leonberger and other dogs as well as book reviews and other interesting dog and book related articles. Do take a look around while you are there.
Dan’s Thursday Doors Writing Challenge has closed, but I wanted to write for Resa’s picture below, so I’ve combined the sunrise and photograph challenges into a single poem.
Picture caption: Cover for Saturn’s Favorite Music featuring a microphone and an old fashioned control box.
What Amazon says
It’s the summer of 1992. Clara Jane is an alternative music-loving graduate from a broadcast school in Detroit. She lands her first job at a small market station in northern Michigan in a one-stoplight town called Saturn.
The hyper-local programming (featuring lost farm animal reports and radio obits) and its mix of light hits and great oldies is a far cry from the rock star glamour she hoped to achieve with a radio career.
But Clara finds a home with an eccentric cast of characters, especially the recently-divorced morning man Seth Jones. As Clara and Seth bond over their shared sense of humor and a mutual love of different genres of music, the station is sold and staff members start to be replaced by automation. Will Clara find the radio stardom she craves before the station goes completely robotic?
My review
Picture caption: Banner for Rosie’s Book Review Team featuring a rose unfurling
I reviewed this book in my capacity as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team. If you would like your book reviewed, you can contact Rosie Amber here: http://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.
I must say upfront that I really appreciated the time and setting of this book. I enjoyed learning about how a radio station, and the DJ’s who worked at them, operated during the early 1990s which was when I was listening to radio stations and top music hits the most. I also appreciated the insights into life for a female DJ at a time when women were just starting to come into that market. The commentary around the ‘boss’ expectations of what a working woman should look like and how she should dress took me right back in time to when I first started working in 1997. There was no equality between men and women in the workplace, and it’s still difficult in many countries and work situations.
The intricate details about the working of the equipment, the chats and impromptu conversations between the morning team, and the selection of music for the audience was all fascinating to me. And then there were the characters.
Carla is a young woman who has pushed back against her parents’ expectations for her and followed her own path. She is on a journey of discovery and soon learns that many obstacles are placed in the path of working women in male dominated jobs. The exploitation of Carla and her ambitions by the new boss were frustrating, sad, and very relatable. Carla, of course, needs to learn what life is all about and she makes a judgement error that almost leads to disaster. Walking Carla’s path of discovery reminded me of my own and I found it riveting. This is not a thriller or an adventure, it is a coming-of-age story with a romance element.
Seth is an appealing character, dreamy and fun, but also idealistic, unrealistic, and recovering from a failed and disappointing relationship. I found myself routing from him throughout this slow burn romance. Rad is the opposite of Seth, ambitious, self-absorbed and competitive, he doesn’t come across particularly well, but he is on his own coming-of-age journey and improves dramatically over time as he too starts learning about change and needing to constantly evolve as a career person.
In summary, a most entertaining and interesting book that shares much about life as a DJ in the USA in the early 1990s and which is populated with relatable and interesting characters.
Dan’s Thursday Doors challenge closes today. With these two final entries, I have written twelves poems for twelve different contributions. Today’s photographs were contributed by, in order, Miriam Hurdle and Teagan Riordain Geneviene.
Thank you to Dan and all the photograph contributors for making this such a wonderful challenge.
Punam’s challenge for Poetics Tuesday is: For today’s poetics challenge, I would like you to write a poem about any pivotal moment in your life that left you with gnawing regrets or you could cover the entire gamut from anger to forgiveness and reconciliation. In short, you will be writing about a krisis in your personal life. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/05/27/poetics-tuesday-regrets-and-more/
Those of you who follow my Facebook know I’ve been entering a number of photography challenges recently. I like them as I’m learning a lot from viewing the entries and winning pictures. There are thousands of photographs entered for each competition. I have achieved several Merit awards for photographs and this week I managed to achieve four Commended’s which are one up from Merit’s. I am pleased and these are the four Commended pictures:
Picture caption: The Marico River in NorthWestPicture caption: The White Umfolozi River in KwaZulu NatalPicture caption: The Sand River in MpumalangaPicture caption: River at Monk’s Cowl in the Drakensberg Mountains
roberta-writes.com 