Saints and Sinners...

The world is full of Sinners who think they are Saints...prime example, a woman who issues death threats against another who had never uttered so much as a word to her. A woman who attacts others non-stop for months, even children, with a holier-than-thou mind-set. This same woman believing (mistakenly) that the people she is attacking are 'chicken shit' because they don't respond to lunacy. When I finally did respond (after 7 months of it, calmly with no threats btw) she runs off with her tail between her legs. Yes, the tail...the tail of a Sinner. I'm sure you've seen plenty of pictures of demons with tails? It's all fun and games until that tail is caught in the door and the furies have just been released. But we are all Saints and Sinners at the same time, some just tip the scale too far in one direction.

The hypocrisy of this woman is simply STUNNING! And then, Miss Crybaby Fearful continues to stalk me on the web. Let it go already...maybe a little positive therapy would do her wonders. Not that she could afford me anyway. Yet the sad part is, there isn't much anyone can do for someone with such a closed and stagnant mind. I especially love how she involves outsiders in business that is NONE of their own and then has this other stupid fool (her 'friend' is very unattractive too, I've seen pictures. The way she ran to the sinner's 'rescue' makes one wonder about the exact nature of the relationship) attacking and stalking me too because SHE can't fight her own battles. Still, I feel sorry for both of them. Maybe I will light a candle or two for them...out of the kindness of my heart. Glad to know that the dynamic duo thinks I'm 'exotic'...Poor hopeless souls.

Now, I'm far from being a Saint and I'm the first to admit it. But I give my time, energy, and love to many people every single day of my life. I can be the best, loyal, actually caring friend a person could have...and I can be the biggest bitch and worst nightmare a person could have too, once crossed. I'm very aware of myself, my energy, and my best and worst traits...and I embrace every single aspect of who I am. So where is all this leading? Is there a poem to share? Nope, not at the moment (I am working on the Karmic Love Scopes, this is just a break and tension reliever, lol) but I do have lyrics to a song that has recently become one of my favorites.

"(s)AINT"

I don't care if your world is ending today
Because I wasn't invited to it anyway
You said I tasted famous, so I drew you a heart
But now I'm not an artist I'm a fucking work of art
I've got an F and a C and I got a K too
And the only thing that's missing is a bitch like you

You wanted perfect
You got your perfect
But now I'm too perfect for someone like you
I was a dandy in your ghetto with
A snow white smile and you'll
Never be as perfect whatever you do

What's my name, what's my name?
Hold the S because I am an AINT
What's my name, what's my name?
Hold the S because I am an AINT

I am a bonetop, a death's head
On a mopstick
You infected me, took diamonds
I took all your shit
Your "sell-by-date" expired,
So you had to be sold
I'm a suffer-genius and
Vivi-sex symbol

You wanted perfect
You got your perfect
But now I'm too perfect for someone like you
I was a dandy in your ghetto with
A snow white smile and you'll
Never be as perfect whatever you do

What's my name, what's my name?
Hold the S because I am an AINT
What's my name, what's my name?
Hold the S because I am an AINT

Marilyn Manson

I'll be the garden, you be the snake...

There are several songs that call out to me as being soooo close to who I am, or at least close to how I resonate, and "Like it or Not" by Madonna is definitely one of them, LOL.

Like It Or Not ~ Madonna

You can call me a sinner
You can call me a saint
Celebrate me for who I am
Dislike me for what I ain't

Put me up on a pedestal
Or drag me down in the dirt
Sticks and stones will break my bones
But your names will never hurt

I'll be the garden
You be the snake
All of my fruit is yours to take
Better the devil that you know
Your love for me will grow
Because

[Chorus]
This is who I am
You can
Like it or not
You can
Love me or leave me
Cus I'm never gonna stop
No no

Cleopatra had her way
Matahari too
Whether they were good or bad
Is strictly up to you

Life is a paradox and it doesn't make much sense
Can't have the Femme without the Fatale
Please don't take offense

Don't let the fruit rot under the vine
Fill up your cup and let's drink the wine
Better the devil that you know
Your love for me will grow
Because....

It's a beautiful Mother's day...the Sun is shining, my plants are happy, the kids are being quiet and behaved, and I've received lots of Mother's Day blessings and greetings :D I spent some time this morning taking photos of my recently started seeds...we put them in Friday night at around 8 pm EDT and already have lots of them coming up. Last night I put in my new exotic flower seeds: Black violas, Violet Nightshade, and Vanilla Ice Sunflowers (ice, ice baby). I CAN'T WAIT to see how they come up and how they will grow. I also ordered wood betony and stevia seeds. I think I am going a little bit overboard with it but it's fun to learn and explore. When I find myself obsessively reading an herbal medicine book at redlights and staying up into the wee morning hours doing the same...well... LOL BUT at least my mind is happy and growing. I can't imagine just curling up inside and stagnating like so many other people in the world do. BORING...

I may start the new gardening blog today, or I may redo my myspace. I may even work some more on my karmic reading, but was doing that until 11 pm last night and today is Mother's Day, after all. :D Yes, I celebrate things in the strangest of ways but I've never been a materialistic person. I'm much more pleased with the card Gare made me and his help and interest with the garden than anything anyone could buy me. Even Dae showed a spark of interest last night. Getting her research paper done without my having to nag is the only thing I want today! LOL I'm laughing so hard - I was eating Jaipur vegetables and let my sister try them...I didn't tell her how spicy they are!!!!!

Blessings!

There's nothing quite like dirt under the nails...plus I've gone and fallen in love today

There's nothing quite like digging your hands into the earth in the early morning hours...plucking dead leaves here, pulling up weeds there, and of course gently fondling and cooing sweet words of love to the babies. I am considering starting a gardening blog here soon, where I can share my joy, experiences, and any tragedies of learning to grow organically along the way. I have taken some pictures to share just in case I get around to it. I wish I would have thought of that when I first planted the seeds! LOL C'est la vie...live and learn and all that.

I really need to get back to my paying work in a moment, but figure I deserve a short while off to eat and take a breather. I didn't plan to write in here this afternoon but alas, I have gone and done it again...fallen in love, that is. With a poem. LOL Yes, I'm a romantic, loving soul but my heart is currently bound up with another soul so tightly there is little room for human encroachment...but there is plenty of room for plants and poetry ;)

A nice man left a comment on one of my recent poems on author's den (hopefully you can see it, if you like) so I went to check out his work and found a lovely beauty just waiting to be read. Here is the opening verse to The Perfect Rose, by Paul Berube:

Gems upon this fertile soil
bring wealth into our world.
Forget the diamond pure and spoiled
or charm in every pearl.

You should be able to see the whole poem by clicking the linked poem title. I really enjoyed this gem...the flow is so beautiful.

Back to heavy karma I go...wish me luck!!

And Nothing Else Matters...

Such a lovely song and I have so many versions...I do believe my very favorite is the instrumental by Apocalyptica. You wouldn't believe how many poems were pulled out of me by listening to it :D And nothing else matters...

So no sonnet yet...to be honest, I've been out in the garden for a great part of the day and enjoying it immensely. I started 25 new seeds only 2 days ago and 19 of them have broken ground and are growing at an alarmingly beautiful rate. 2 days...YES, 2 days! From seed. Love will indeed work miracles...I have no doubt of that. The tomatoes are wonderful despite the disease the plant managed to pick up...getting it under control and the fruit is amazing. I have harvested a decent amount of parsley and basil and dried it in the dehydrater, and now have Lemon Balm going in it. This evening we released 1500 ladybugs and I was delighted to find that they STILL love me, even fully grown, lol. They wanted to be on me, not the plants. I probably had a good 20 or more on me at a time...Dae was laughing. When I was little, I was a ladybug and butterfly magnet. All I had to do is sit or stand still and they would land on me and stay for a while. I could capture butterflies in my hand and talk to them. I do have a lot of butterflies out in the yard too as they love the Mexican petunia.

So where is this ramble leading? Why, to a poem of course! A short little haiku I just wrote...not a sonnet by any means, but short and sweet.

Tender little ladybug
Crawling on my hand -
Fly away now, fly away…

Perhaps I will try to write more yet tonight, time will tell!

Love, Light, & Ladybug blessings,

Dena

Sonnets, Sonnets everywhere

All right, here is the very first sonnet I ever wrote, Death's Victory. It was written on August 28, 2001 - ages ago!! LOL My, how life changes and yet seems to stay the same.

Death’s Victory

Your words were like a whisper
Drifting in the summer rain,
A soft sigh frozen in acrid disdain.
I wander woefully, a drifter,
In a land of fragrant dreams,
Clutching your essence close,
Tempting love with thoughts morose,
The illusion shatters fated schemes.
Though our love is naught
But a fairy tale lurking in my mind,
And my heart’s destiny is undone
With swift currents and blistering sun,
The bitter sea separation is not blind;
In death we reap what life has sought.

Dena L. Moore
August 28, 2001

I've been so busy I haven't had time to play around with writing a new one, but perhaps soon since I am on an almost 2 week reading/consultation free break starting tomorrow. Yet one of my best friends will be here tomorrow for a few days, then I have my son's birthday and a trip to Disney so will I be in a sonnet-writing mood?? Only time will tell ;)

Oh, what a tangled web we weave

It's a bit of a wonder to contemplate that I have been writing poetry for over 30 years...over this time I have developed my own style, which is quite easy to distinguish as genuinely mine if you know my work...when I am writing thusly. :D As I look over my recent work, I find that I have preferred a heavier, almost solid, wall of words in contrast to my older style of stanzas, most often quatrains or 5 lines - which at the moment I am too tired to remember if it is officially called canto or if canto is simply the division of the poem. I find it amusing that Saturn is so heavy that he is even affecting my work at the moment...perhaps in a good way, but only time will reveal or hide the pearl.

I think I may challenge myself and work within a more constrictive form soon, perhaps a sonnet as I haven't written one in a number of years. I believe it was in 2002 when I was playing around with traditional form. This may be when I was taking a poetry class at university, as I wrote a paper on Louise Bogan that year called Louise Bogan and the Pleasures of Formal Poetry I remember how a man I knew through a poetry group stumbled upon it a few years later and emailed me saying he was surprised I wrote about Louise Bogan...I don't even know which poetry group I knew him through, but he was a heavy hitter who was always raging against the machine. His poetry was full of anger, but sometimes that is what is needed to get the job done. Funny, I can't even remember his name now. So yes, it is an experiment more than anything to 'bind' myself, if you will. Why not? Perhaps I will dig up those old sonnets and share at some point. Or just write new ones, lol.

Love, Light, and Darkness,

Dena

Message from Metatron - April 14, 2008

All is well in the Spirit World,
Love is as love does -
The flock gathers for wisdom
The liars are in need of guidance now
For they are unable to speak their own truth,
They bite their tongues and wither inside until the light is gone
And their health fades.
Yet you cannot guide those who will not face the person in the mirror,
You can only stand to the side and wait while the visage cracks and the tears pour.
You are blessed as one who knows, you are strong in countenance,
This is what you must do, you must anchor the rocking ship, you must be the light in the storm.
But you cannot create the storm, you can only be the guiding light.
Each must make their own mistakes, each must pay their own price.
You are the guide, you are the light.
Do not let the light fade, do not dim the light in the storm.
All will be as it should be.

Love Thy Enemy...or not?

It's difficult for me to hate too deeply for too long, generally because I know that the 'enemy' is nothing more than a wounded soul in need of solace and comfort. Yet, to be truthful, my own personal saying has long been an eye for an eye and an inch of skin. Just because I know that the person attacking me and attempting to make my life miserable (which is impossible, I am simply a way too positive person who can always find the beauty in the worst situations) is a miserable, lost wreck themself doesn't mean I do not have human emotions, desires, and needs. I can pretty much hold my cool in even the worst of storms...often I just sit back and allow them to bite off their own tongue, which is the greatest revenge of all. Do nothing and you can always count on the idiots to fumble the ball.

I used to think how strange it was that so many Christians are hypocrites, but then I realized that they can't help it. Think of the conflicting message of the 'teachings'...first they are told such things as:

"Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them. (Samuel 22:40-42)

and

"Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." (Deuteronomy 19:20-22 )

THEN Jesus comes along and teaches:

"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:38-39)

Smite me on the cheek and you better be prepared for the fall out. It may not come for several years, but when it comes, it will be amazing! But there will also be a higher purpose underlying the 'lesson' that must be taught. I think that quote from Matthew would be a great line for those into BDSM.

I love my enemies, really...they give me something to think about when I get bored. People either absolutely love me or they just don't like me at all. I don't care, I'm just me and that's all I have to be.

The Plight of Persephone

I've always been entranced by myth, mythology, and archetypes...as I grew older, this love naturally expanded to envelop archetypal psychology and the voices of the Soul. If you've known me or have been reading my work for a while, you will likely be more than aware of how drawn I am to the so-called tragedy of Persephone. Indeed, I've written on this topic before, quite in-depth, but at the moment I have no idea where that article/snippet/whatever you want to call it is! It is posted somewhere on the web, or was at some point. LOL Yes, I spread my thoughts/ideas around...sort of like a bee pollinating the garden...I have a million bees up in my tree, but that's another topic all together.

I love Hades/Pluto...seriously. Perhaps that is why I cannot possibly see how Persephone minded her abduction by such a powerful mythological man. She lost her maidenhead (shall we cry about that? I bet Hades/Pluto is an excellent lover) and she was separated from her mother and the life she knew (a process of transformation) but she gained the love of the Lord of the Underworld and became Queen of the Dead, a powerful Goddess in her own right. Once we pass through the Gates of Life (or Death) we will never be the same again. Just as Persephone comes from below to visit Demeter in the Spring, we too have our own personal renewals and radiant growth...yet how many of us understand that we continue to grow when we are in the 'Underworld', in our own darkness? Life is a circle - or a spiral - with no beginning and no end, only change and evolution. Although Persephone may have been a little frightened (or was that excitement that made her cry out so?) at first, she was ready for a change. She wandered off and found the Narcissus...while we can read this literally, I interpret this aspect of the story as Persephone's search for something more. When she found it, she plucked it...this is what we should all learn to do, to pluck when it is time to pluck and don't look back!

My work often contains elements of the Persephone myth. The poem I wrote just a short while ago entitled The Bittersweet Intensity of the Shadows includes fragments of the myth. If anyone asked me what Goddess I resonate with the most, it will always be Persephone, though I have strong elements of Venus/Aphrodite too (both the pleasant and the not so pleasant aspects :)). My loves are often very Plutonian in nature - drawing me down into the Dark and striving to keep me there. But, like Persephone, I must return aboveground and shine my light and help bring growth to the world, lol.

When one stirs the Soul....

Being on a path of accelerated growth isn't easy...it's like a broken pile of bones being pulled from the grave and expected to have working muscles and organs within seconds. There are many Spiritual truths that one can be aware of but unable to discuss openly in a public forum for various reasons...mainly that there are too many fruitloops in the world who would misinterpret or misconstrue the thoughts because they aren't evolved enough to understand them. Fear breeds hate. No sense in adding to the already polluted web of life too much. Sometimes I do things that may APPEAR to be mean or hurtful, but my highest purpose here is not as an Astrologer, not as a Poet or Writer (although those aspects of myself are valuable on a collective level in and of themselves), no my main purpose is to WAKE others up. Unfortunately, awakening is often a painful process and even more unfortunately, the awakener sometimes must use quite severe methods to get the job done. (Funny how so many people are so hung up on themselves that they think everything I write is about them! GUESS WHAT, I'm NOT talking about you or ANYONE in particular)

And so I digress...I intended to write about the beauty of knowing someone who has the power to stir the Soul on such a level that no one before or no one since can compare. A connection so powerful that the two can TOUCH one another even though they are far apart...that they can feel the other approaching, hear their thoughts, know when they are happy, sad, stressed. Such a connection is so rare and so beautiful, though nearly impossible to explain to others who have never experienced such. This is a meeting of Souls, which can be overwhelming to both at times as they struggle with their earthly fears and needs and external obligations. I was stirred to contemplate on our love by a poem by Shelley:

Music, When Soft Voices Die

Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap'd for the belovèd's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.

Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1792-1822)

His soft sweet voice has always been like music to my ears...his smile radiant, his laughter the sound I will cherish until I am gone from this life. No matter where he goes, what he does, I know that the love between us will always linger on. This stirs me on such a level I find myself writing more intensely than ever.

Love's Night & A Lamp...

I haven't had time to write anything of my own today, but wanted to take a few short moments to enrich my poetic mind with the words of another. Funny how over so many centuries Love (with a capital L) has not evolved even though we, as humans, have. It is just another sharp reminder to me, as a relationship astrologer/counselor, that Love is one of the main underlying forces that pushes us all forward on our paths. What else, you might ask...well, spirituality and creativity. These three form an evolutionary triangle...one won't get very far without at least one of these forces strong in their life. When one has all three driving them at once (such as I have the great pleasure), it is like being pummeled by constant change.

And the poem, as I found it and enjoyed it's wisdom:

Love's Night & a Lamp

Love's night & a lamp
judged our vows:
that she would love me ever
& I should never leave her:
Love's night & you, lamp, witnessed the pact.
Today the vow runs:
'Oaths such as these, waterwords.'
Tonight, lamp,
witness her lying
-in other arms.

Meleager (c. 140 - 70 BC)
Translated by Peter Whigham

Some take their love vows so lightly, only feeling it in the moment, while others are more passionate and deeply intense. Neither way is the 'right' way, they are simply different...but when two such as these meet, the more intense and serious one will be hurt by the more light-hearted, fluttery lover. When two intense lovers meet and form a love bond, it can be painful for both if, for whatever reason, they cannot be together. So who is to say that it is better to love so deeply, so purely, so truly...or to take love as it comes and let it go just as quickly?

Let me dream of Giant’s and shipwrecks...

I've been feeling very nostalgic today, longing for the rough coast of Northern Ireland, the high-reaching cliffs and winding paths and roads...the way the villages sneak upon you, the beautiful cozy homes flush against the road. And the sea...

I have found that I have been writing quite a bit lately, my latest is a poem called Lost Souls and Sheltered Harbors about the Giant's Causeway and the surrounding area. How at home I feel in that corner of the world! It's posted in it's entirety on the website now, but here are a few lines:

How I long for thee, fresh northern skies,
So blue and rich, a tapestry frozen -
White limestone cliffs dwarfing me
In this, the holiest place where sky kisses sea...

I am not sure if I have been stirred up a bit by reading Yeats in the early morning hours or if it was stumbling across my photos of the Giant's Causeway or if it was my thoughts about Banshees that brought this poem into being, likely all of the above and more.

Poetry & Music

Is it possible to be too old to learn to compose? In the deepest recesses of my being I am longing to learn to do so, though I realize at my age it would probably be exceedingly difficult, particularly because I live such an already overflowing life. At the moment I am listening to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and working on a poem I have tentatively titled "A Melody Kissing." I have a rough version done but not sure I am ready to share quite yet. Here's a short bit:

…And I heard the music,
Such a sweet, sliding serpent
Gliding over me, smooth as the keys
Beneath the fingers…each chord a memory,
Heart beating in rhythm with every note,
Phantom aria voluptuously drifting,
Teasing…

My daughter is studying both guitar and percussion, both at home and at school. She is progressing rapidly though she doesn't seem to think so...she'd go even faster if I take her Fender in to be fixed. Silly girl was trying to replace the strings and took something apart (don't you love how technical I am??) that now needs to be fixed at the factory. I couldn't even tell you what the model is though I just bought it for her for xmas 2007. I can tell you that it is smooth black and electric, if that helps at all. LOL She still has her acoustic so I haven't been in a rush. I have been considering getting one for myself though I haven't played around with a guitar in many ages.

I'm in very soft mood tonight, a nice change from all the stressful energy as of late.

Devil's Wine?

I've been getting a kick out of this quote by St. Augustine all day so I thought I'd share:

"Poetry is the devil's wine." St. Augustine

Let me dance with the devil in the pale moonlight then....

Seriously, I just discovered that there is a collection of poems called 'The Devil's Wine' that includes some of Stephen King's early work among many other wonderful treasures. I know, I know...maybe you are wondering where I hide myself away, since I am sooo behind the times and all. It's really very simple, I am either in my bat-infested underground cavern, down in a ravine with a lover, or simply enjoying the dark side of the Moon.

Has anyone read 'The Devil's Wine' and if so, thoughts??? I will find myself a copy and dig in.

New Blog...Why not?

Greetings and welcome to my new blog...here I will share my poetry, poetry related articles and tidbits, poetic thoughts, and aspects of my creative life whenever the whim strikes! I've never been one to stay within the guidelines and parameters, even those of my own making, so if I stray off topic or seem to be out of 'tune', remember that the creative mind finds inspiration everywhere...therefore, no topic is really ever off limits when it comes to poetry, or the poetic nuances of everyday living, lol!

With Love, Light, and Darkness,

Dena