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Author Archives: John Swinburn
Leaving Cameron Bay
This is a revised version of Cameron Bay, a short story that won some contest or another a year or so ago. I was generally satisfied with it when I wrote it, but I am not a fan of love … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
1 Comment
Crack, Sizzle, the Sky is Alive
Half an hour ago, the NOAA weather radio awakened me with a loud announcement that a severe thunderstorm watch had been issued for parts of Arkansas, including Garland county, which is where we live. Moments after the announcement ended, flashes of … Continue reading
Posted in Weather
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Anthropomorphic Atmospheres
Trees that shed branches like dogs shed hair; they drop leaves as if suffering from green dandruff. Rivers that wash the rocks beneath them as if that was the singular role of rivers, except those same rivers slice through once-solid … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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Erotic Vignette
She was too thin, but her kiss was like lightning, an electric jolt that transformed me in ways I could not have imagined. I wanted, over many years, her to kiss me, but it was just wrong to even think it. … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
4 Comments
Petrichor
There’s a word for the smell of fresh rain, an aroma that evokes memories of my childhood better than any other. The word is petrichor, derived from the Greek words petra (stone) and ichor (the blood of the gods), coined … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Weather
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Mother Nature
This morning, as I was sipping my second cup of coffee, I went outside to inspect the metal deck chairs I subjected to pressure washing yesterday afternoon. My intent was to determine which ones needed more work and which ones … Continue reading
Posted in Nature
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Learning Who They Are
After returning home from my routine (I hope) echocardiogram this morning, having nothing more pressing to do, I decided to explore the names I’ve used for characters I’ve written during the last two or three years. I was surprised at … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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I Do Not Like the Term “Church”
I just watched a program on television entitled, “Ten Towns that Changed America.” That was a mistake. Now, I’m absolutely fired up about returning to school to pursue an education in urban planning. Did I ever tell the blogosphere that … Continue reading
Posted in Church, Just Thinking
2 Comments
Inquisition
Lift that curtain of certainty to reveal a veil of doubt, a sheer screen that exposes naked pretensions of truth. Struggle through a choking web of counterfeit explanations, concealing honest skepticism behind a mountain of lies. Peel back layers of … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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Captive
Poem #18 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry Month Starving for color. Everything in sight is beige and grey. Every stone, every plowed field, every damn stretch of highway is a wretched monotone, devoid of color. God, I’m starving for … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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On Politics
Poem #17 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry Month The sound I hear when chew a piece of raw celery catches my attention and makes me think about noise and its uncanny ability to distract one’s attention from what matters … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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So, I Forgot
Yeah, I was going to post all my poems, as I wrote them, here. Well, someone goofed. That notwithstanding, here are the recent ones commanding my attention. Here are #13 through #16: Poem #13 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
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Griffin
Griffin the donkey was a sad little guy, the saddest donkey I’ve seen. And I’ve seen some sad donkeys. But Griffin’s sadness exceeded the normal sadness one expects in donkeys. He was forlorn, dreary, bereft—downright unhappy. Let me tell you … Continue reading
Raw Contempathy
You will, I believe, one day acknowledge me as the creator of a new emotion, one that combines the attractive friction of sandpaper with the slickness of fish oil on a wet pane of polished glass. This emotion, which I call contempathy©®, … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
1 Comment
Question Everything
The title of this post constitutes advice to myself. It’s an admonition that I too often fail to follow. But I take the exhortation seriously, because rooting about for answers about even “certainties” can rapidly lead to knowledge and, ultimately, wisdom. … Continue reading
Posted in Just Thinking
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The Words I Write
Sometimes I look at myself in the words I write and wonder how I came to be the way I am, how anger transformed into an active volcano, how compassion blossomed into an embrace of the downtrodden. I read the … Continue reading
Volpice Firepickle
Volpice Firepickle lived on a ranch, climbed up a tree, crawled out on a branch, he fell right down, dropped on his keister, and then he called out “Please help me, Meester.” Said, “I’m Volpice, Volpice, and I’m in a … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
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Making Things Up
[I wrote this earlier today; couldn’t post it then, so I’m trying again.] I am sitting in the Subaru dealer’s waiting room, creating life stories of people around me, people I do not know. Two chairs down from me is … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Just Thinking, Writing
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Chimeras
Poem #10 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry Month (April 10) Chimeras Chimeras steal my imagination and take it on terrifying rides at night through dangerous territory, making me wonder whether the horrors are real or whether I’m just undeniably … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry, Writing
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A Single Word Can Change Everything
I stumbled upon an interesting bit of wordplay this morning, courtesy of a writer-directed Facebook post. Here it is: She told him that she loved him. The post went on to say that by inserting the word ‘only’ in various places, … Continue reading
Posted in Language, Writing
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Loom
Poem #9 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry Month (April 9) Loom Light seeps upward from a dark horizon, hiding last night’s darkness with a swelling sphere, a gradual pink and orange glow. The sounds of birds, celebrating survival through … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
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Penury
Poem #8 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry Month Penury Poverty slams doors and binds them shut with shackles purchased with the fruits of avarice, thick ribbons of greed sewn from raw hubris and cold conceit. Devoid of the fibers … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
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April Haiku 2
Poem #7 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry Month (April 7) April Haiku 2 Shards of brittle sand sear like hot needles in flight in the desert air.
Posted in Poetry
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April Haiku 1
Poem #6 of the 30/30 challenge for Poetry Month. (April 6) April Haiku 1 day breaks roosters crow light leaks from the morning sky dawn awakens us
Posted in Poetry
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