My daughter Natasha and I saw this beautiful mural in Glasgow when we were looking at accommodation for her course starting in August. She is going to Strathclyde university to study to be an English secondary school teacher.It is the work of Australian artist Smug and depicts the patron saint of Glasgow, St Mungo, appearing to be breastfed by his mother, St Enoch,while a robin – said to signify one of his later miracles – perches on her wrist. It is alleged that St Mungo restored life to a robin, that had been killed by some of his classmates.
This is my HAIGA in response: 5/7/5, 3/5/3, 2/3/2 syllable structure. A Haiga is an observational form of poetry which contains an image with either a Haiku or Senryu written on it or near it.
My new release: Mr. Sagitarrius, poetry, prose and photography is now available in full paper paperback, kindle and free on kindle unlimited. Buying Link: http://mybook.to/MrSagittarius.
This is a collection of love poetry inspired through interpretation of phrases in the Amy Lowell poem ‘Madonna of the Evening Flowers’ (A Lowell, 1919). This collection of poetry is the first of a planned series of three, with poems derived from Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass, 1855) and T. S. Eliot (The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, 1910) also scheduled to feature in their own collections.
The nature of the love poems in this collection is personal or interpersonal.
Frank Prem’s interpretations breathe a new life into contemporary love poetry and utilise Lowell’s original work to inspire a tender immediacy and a wonderful warmth of response.
My review
Walk away silver heart is the first of three poetry collections written for A Love Poetry Trilogy.
My favourite poems:
the way you wield (flashes in the light) too much (to bear) finding me (a warm place carried) I think (I paint) murmuring (the lake) need (goes on) chiming a little tune (of you) for the summer red and pink the blossom tell me everything (about you) walk away (silver heart and again lucky one a muse for the madonna (awesome!)
I received an ARC copy from the author Frank Prem and am pleased to share my unbiased opinion of his work.
This is a beautiful collection of love poetry and in my opinion my favourite of Frank Prem’s poetry that I have had the pleasure of reading.
And what is his connection to twin brothers, Harold and William?
When Harold dies he leaves a simple memorial request
Will his sister Annette honour it?
Or, will the magic of the garden ensure that she does.
A magical story expressed via poetry and prose with photographic images.
Mr. Sagittarius is a collection of poetry, prose and photographic images inspired by the botanical gardens in Cambridge. Photography is in the genes! Both my uncle and grandfather were photographers. My grandfather A.G. Ingram was originally with the photography company Ingram, Gordon & Co in Haddington up until the mid thirties. Then he ventured on his own to form the Scottish Pictorial Press in Edinburgh supplying photos to the press. When war broke out Scottish Pictorial Press became defunct. After the war he started AG Ingram Ltd, Commercial Photographers, at 3 successive locations in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mr. Sagittarius features a variety of photographs including ones of: trees, a robin and a dragonfly! As well as this there are several stories, and some Halloween poems.
It is dedicated to two amazing ladies: Colleen Chesebro (for her weekly poetry challenges and Charli Mills (flash fiction challenges.) Both ladies have been a source of inspiration and encouragement.
Mr. Sagittarius is a magical celebration of the natural world, a circle of life story with an emphasis on the changing seasons of the year.
Contents include:
THE GOLDEN WEEPING WILLOW (story and poem plus photo of a dragonfly)
GOLDEN WILLOW TREE (poem and photo)
ROBIN: ETHEREE (poem and photo)
LIFE LESSONS FROM BUDDHA (poem)
LIFE LESSONS FROM CATS (poem and photo image via Samantha Murdoch)
MR. FROWNING TREE (poem and photo)
RAINBOW CHILD (story and image of Tourmaline crystal via Samantha Murdoch)
FRIENDS FOR TEA (poem)
THE CANDY CORN MONSTER (Halloween poem)
CANDYFLOSS CRITTER (Halloween poem)
MR GHOST WITH EASE (Halloween poem)
DREAMING AT HALLOWEEN (Halloween poem)
ODE TO LOVE –ETERNAL (Ghost/love poem)
LOVE TAKEN BY DEATH: DIAMANTE (poem)
GHOST: SEPTOLET (Ghost poem)
A FACE ON BARK: ETHEREE (poem)
LOLLIPOP SUNSHINE TREE (poem and photo)
FOR MR. SNOWMAN (poem)
SERENA’S CHRISTMAS BUBBLE MONSTER (humorous story and photo)
BUBBLY SNOWMAN KISSES (poem)
THAT TWINKLE IN HER EYES IS MAGIC (poem)
THE OLD MAN OF SNOW AND THE SNOW SNAKE (story)
MY HEART IS A CAVE (poem)
MR. SAGITTARIUS (story)
MR. SAGITTARIUS DIED THIS DAY IN THIS SNOW DROP GARDEN (poem/prose/photo of snow drops.)
I am an author who has been blogging for many moons at my lovely blog home Kyrosmagica: https://mjmallon.com.
My interests include writing, photography, poetry, and alternative therapies. I write YA Fantasy/Paranormal novels, ghost/horror short stories and middle grade fiction as well as micropoetry – haiku and tanka.
My alter ego is MJ – Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheros! I was born on the 17th of November in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit. I grew up in a mountainous court in the Peak District in Hong Kong.
As a teenager I travelled to many far-flung destinations. It’s rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six foot hunk of a Rock God husband. My two enchanted daughters often return to visit me with a cheery smile.
When I’m not writing, I eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surf to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out, I practise Tai Chi. If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.
I write YA Fantasy/Paranormal novels, Horror/Ghost short stories and multi-genre flash fiction as well as micro poetry – haiku and Tanka. I share book reviews, poetry, flash fiction, photography and inspirational details of my writing journey at my lovely blog home – Kyrosmagica: https://mjmallon.com/
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.
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.
Thank you to Ritu for this blog tour post for Mr. Sagittarius.
Pop over to read a short excerpt… and to find out more.
The first month’s royalties of the ebook will be donated to the Australian bush fires.
I am very pleased to welcome a long standing friend and fantastic author to my blog today – Marjorie Mallon!
Marje has a brand new release out now: Mr Sagittarius; a collection of poetry and prose.
Let me hand over to Marje, to tell you a little about the book, and you are lucky enough to even get an excerpt at the end of this post, too!
Mr. Sagittarius is a collection of poetry, prose and photographic images inspired by the botanical gardens in Cambridge. It features a variety of my photos including: trees, a robin and a dragonfly! As well as this there are several stories, and even some Halloween poems!
I doubt I would have created Mr. Sagittarius if it wasn’t for these two amazing ladies: Colleen Chesebro (for her weekly poetry challenges and Charli Mills – Carrot Ranch (flash fiction challenges.) Both ladies have been a huge…
A while ago I made a new friend in the Botanical Gardens in Cambridge. This sweet robin came and sat beside me on a bench as if he had something important to say to me: this happened shortly before Christmas so perhaps he wanted to impart a Christmas message. At the time, I thought he was so cute and friendly that I wrote a poem about him on my blog: https://mjmallon.com/2019/12/07/colleens-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-poets-choice/
Symbolism of Robins
These sweet birds are associated with: family, a sense of community, living in the moment, leaving the past behind, the season of spring, rejuvenation, new beginnings, happiness expressed through song/music, feeling abundant, (in nature, not caring so much for material things,) and being grateful.
Meaning of a robin sighting:
A robin sighting can be a divine messenger teaching you to protect what you love and learn to live with those who may not be like you. What in your life resembles the robin’s nature? What can you do to change who you are? What can you accept, or perhaps let go of ?
A Robin is a symbol of good luck, passion, new beginnings and renewal and sometimes can represent a symbol of wisdom and patience. In my case, I believe this is what the robin came to teach me. To be patient, to take my time in my writing path and not to get frustrated! To move forward with a sense of joy and energy to leave my past behind and not to regret any previous choices I have made.
Perhaps my little robin came to impart an important message: Believe in Myself and Accept Who I am.
This particular robin features in my new release Mr. Sagittarius – a mixture of prose and poetry and photography which is available to buy on Amazon.
The first month’s royalties of the ebook will be donated to the Australian bush fires.
Furthermore, the second in my YA fantasy Series The Curse of Time, Golden healer also mentions a robin too. This will be released later on this year. How strange that a robin plays a part in that novel too, albeit a tiny part!
If you haven’t read the first book in the series The Curse of Time Bloodstone now is the time to do so. It is on #free #promo today 21st February 2020.
It’s uncanny! This is the second encounter I’ve had with a spirit animal. I count myself as blessed. It wasn’t too long ago that a dragonfly paid me a visit.
It seems that the natural world has become my friend! What a joy that is, especially when the robin came to pay me a visit before Christmas.
Do you have a special connection with a spirit animal?
Please comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts on spirit animals and any encounters you might have had, past or present.
Cheerio, for now.
This is another post, from Marje @ Kyromagica – Spiritual Sisters. xxx
The Spiritual Sisters are:
Adele Marie Park Author & Personal Blog: Firefly465
Thank you to Colleen for this beautifully presented author interview celebrating the release of my new book: Mr. Sagittarius poetry/prose and photography. It includes a link to her 5 star review too. 🙂
2020 Conversations with Colleen ~ Featuring Author, M. J. Mallon @Marjorie_Mallon
Book reviews by a girl named Jen. Jen Watches posted weekly. Follow me on Instagram @booksbyjen or Twitter @booksbyjen1. If you have any book suggestions, requests, or questions email me at booksbyjenblog@gmail.com
Book reviews by a girl named Jen. Jen Watches posted weekly. Follow me on Instagram @booksbyjen or Twitter @booksbyjen1. If you have any book suggestions, requests, or questions email me at booksbyjenblog@gmail.com
