Ritu reads so much! Wonderful collection of books to discover. Thrilled by the 5 star review for Mr. Sagittarius and well done to Robbie Cheadle too! Awesome.
The above is a poetry excerpt from my poetry, prose and photography book Mr. Sagittarius which is now available on Kindle Unlimited, and to buy in Kindle and full colour Paperback.
I added the last line as the dragonfly has such a short life like the butterfly and change can be fragile unless we encourage and nurture it and learn to be our better selves.
A while ago on my frequent visits to Cambridge Botanical Gardens I came across a very friendly dragonfly. This particular fellow, or lady dragonfly, landed right next to me on the bench. Mr. or Miss. Dragonfly remained for a very long time as if enjoying my company! I even placed my hand above expecting the dragonfly to fly away but it stayed motionless enjoying the sunshine with me.
It flew off for a few moments and then came back to me as if showing off its flying prowess.
Later, I posted about this encounter on Facebook and received several comments, one of which said: dragonflies are good luck omens and seeing one may denote change.
How interesting! Yes, this ancient insect has many myths and legends attributed to it. In Japan, it is revered as a good luck symbol and often mentioned in haiku poetry. Some cultures link the dragonfly with the dragon which is a startling synergy as I intend to write about dragons in the final book of my YA series The Curse of Time. I’m currently editing book two and hope to have the second book out by Christmas.
The first book in the series is available via Amazon and is receiving a good amount of 4 and 5 star reviews: Buy Book:myBook.to/TheCurseofTime
Returning to the dragonfly I’d recommend the following post if you want to find out more about dragonflies. It is a fascinating dragonfly article sharing different reactions from all over the world ranging from: celebrating, or fearing the dragonfly: J Sedgwick: http://www.icysedgwick.com/dragonfly-folklore/
Whatever the truth about dragonflies I like to believe in their magic.
Certainly, it is true that my life has changed in the most amazing way since I’ve discovered the joys of writing, blogging and photography.
Since encountering my dragonfly friend I have written a short story about twin brothers and a dragonfly bound to the magic of the gorgeous Golden Willow Tree which opens the narrative in Mr. Sagittarius.
I’ve mentioned the Willow Tree before in my series of posts about the magic of trees:
It’s amazing that there are ideas/characters/inspirations for writing everywhere. All manner of strange beings: (Insects, trees and people!) can supply ideas which excite me as I pass by on my way to my day job, or on my days off work.
For instance, the two brothers in Mr. Sagittarius: Harold and William were inspired by a couple of elderly gents that I noticed on my way to work one day. They were such extraordinary looking characters that I just had to write about them! They had no idea what I had in store for them… Thank goodness it’s all fictional. Lol.
If you open your eyes to magic you will discover stories everywhere. Time to embrace change with a full and happy heart.
Getting back to the dragonfly. Have you had a similar encounter with a spirit animal?
Do let me know, I’d love to hear about it.
Some good news! My full colour paperback is now available in Amazon. Here’s my universal link for Mr. Sagitarrius which is available in paperback, kindle and free on kindle unlimited: http://mybook.to/MrSagittarius
I’m sitting in a cafe in Cambridge watching the snow fall. A lady crosses the road with a large black umbrella, the white flecks of pure snow fall covering its surface. I am drawn to this image to write a poem.
The world faces so many challenges at the moment: climate crisis, Coronovirus, economic crises. Where are we headed? Unfortunately, the Coronovirus has led to some racist abuse due to the origin of the virus. So, this is my poetic take on the state of affairs, expressed with a Tanka…
White snow falls to black Umbrellas hiding cold stares Finding clarity Sick quarantine continues Media spreads people’s fears.
Basically, parts of my heart are not functioning as they should, forcing the rest of my heart to work harder.
The cardiologist confirmed my primary doctor’s findings, I probably suffered two heartaches in December.
My doctor wants me to undergo a procedure (in April) that should stimulate and revive these slacking walls. THE DOCTOR COULD NOT GUARANTEE this procedure will be successful. He also informed me that out of 1,000 hearts in the conditions that mine is currently in, 1 will not survive the surgery.
He also stated WITHOUT THE PROCEDURE parts of my heart will totally stop functioning within two to three years.
Doc wants me to rest and build up my strength for this procedure, but this time I will not go it alone. My intention is to continue blogging. I will read and approve the 700+ comments that are pending…
Thank you to Sally Cronin for this lovely feature of Mr. Sagittarius poetry and prose on her blog and details of Ritu Bhathal’s 5 star review for Mr. Sagittarius. ❤
This feature was originally posted on our collaborative blog: The Sisters of The Fey on 8th May, 2018. We are writing under a new name #SpiritualSisters on our own blogs.
On that particular date in May 2018 I was at a creative writing course in Cambridge run by artist Lyndell Phelps and poet, writer, producer Dan Simpson. It was a very warm day, perhaps too warm to be cooped inside writing. Luckily, we were able to sit out in the warm sunshine for the second half of the writing day.
On my way home I decided to have a wander in the sun. I stumbled upon a gate which I’d never seen before. This was odd as I often walk down this particular road and have NEVER noticed it before. Being curious by nature I decided to venture inside even though it was deserted and there were abundant eerie shadows at the entrance.
I discovered a tiny park with lots of pretty trees, a fabulous blue sky up above and the added bonus of some shadows! Yes, I do like shadows!
I took some photos which you can see and even though the park was tiny these images seem to make it look enormous!
HOW STRANGE!
I lingered a while and then left the park via a different gate. To my surprise I ended up coming out on an entirely different road. This was so odd and somewhat disorientating. How could I have started on Shaftesbury Road and ended up on Aberdeen Avenue? Is that even possible? Perhaps I had too much sun? Or maybe, could this be…
MAGIC!!
The tiny park had its gates wide open just as if it intended to say:
COME IN!
Who knows? It would be wonderful to imagine that magic played a part in this.
I shall investigate again who knows I might find a fairy or two, or maybe even a unicorn next time!
Bye for now,
Marje @ Kyrosmagica xxx
The Spiritual Sisters are:
Adele Marie Park Author & Personal Blog: Firefly465
And to Willow who closes off my official tour but has been such a supportive soul sharing all the blog tour posts everywhere! She has been such a help. ❤
Please do support these authors/bloggers they are the best.
Thank you also to all of you who have already bought a copy. ❤ xxx And twitter friends who have been sharing like mad for me!!!
I will be donating the first month’s ebook royalties to the Australian bush fires. More about the charity to be selected soon once I count up the coffers… and see how much I have to donate.
February 20, 2020, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a library cat named Rainbow who escapes. Use this situation to write what happens next. Where does this situation take place, and who else might be involved? Go where the prompt leads!
While cats hide, rainbows emblazon the sky with short-lived brilliance!
Rainbow the cat crept into the library one rainy day and never left. A confirmed cat bachelor his colourful tail had never been turned before. Not once! Until… a beautiful white cat stuck her pretty nose into his favourite book. She turned the pages with her cute paws. His imagination went wild. Rainbow imagined her to be the softest, fluffiest, most angelic being he’d ever seen. He didn’t hesitate; he followed her out the door. Purring, he realised that heaven’s shelves overflowed with rainbow books!
Thank you to Willow for this lovely blog tour post/author interview for Mr. Sagittarius. It is the last day of my tour and who better to share a cuppa with? Willow has been such a support throughout the whole tour. Can’t thank her enough.
Hi everyone guess who has come to join me today for a cuppa,
and a chat about her latest Blog Tour. Yes it my dear friend Marjorie Mallon.
Marjorie how are you today? Here get comfy, help yourself to some cake and let’s have a nice chat.
Just before we start a little Birdie has told me that your Dad is 91 years young today so let’s wish him a very Happy Birthday!
What gave you the idea for this book?
I think my lunchtime wanders in the Cambridge Botanical Gardens played a considerable part in creating this book. The beauty of the trees, flowers and the magical creatures of the garden: particularly a visit from a robin, and a dragonfly encouraged me to write Mr. Sagittarius. Moreover, my tendency to ‘people watch’ had a huge impact on the creation of my two main characters: Harold and William. I…
My poem’s a sad one today as I recently heard about the tragic death of a young woman in her early twenties. How fragile we are.
I miss you; I’m blue Above me heaven’s sky opens My light shines for you Waiting for you to return Dinner’s ready love, come home.
Colleen is looking for Senryu poetry in the 3/5/3 and 2/3/2 format to use in her new book as an example. If she uses your poem you will retain all rights to your work. Your work is copyrighted and she will cite you in the Bibliography at the end of the book. Please email Colleen at tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com.
M J Mallon YA Author and Poet 