This week’s word was ‘stare’. It was a great word for drawing out our feelings and thoughts about life and moments.
Where does the word take you?
Perhaps take a moment and stare into space, and see what arrives!
There’s a lot to this word stare, as we found out through the discussion.
And you wouldn’t believe it, the next page I read from my novel, after this word was selected, contained the word ‘stare’!
Hope you enjoy this week’s collection.
The word next week is ‘chimney’.
Let’s see where this goes!
Hope to see you there.
Where does the word take you?
Perhaps take a moment and stare into space, and see what arrives!
There’s a lot to this word stare, as we found out through the discussion.
And you wouldn’t believe it, the next page I read from my novel, after this word was selected, contained the word ‘stare’!
Hope you enjoy this week’s collection.
The word next week is ‘chimney’.
Let’s see where this goes!
Hope to see you there.

Stare
so stare as long as you like
I refuse to bite and begin a fight
I’m not going to speak or meet your eye
   I will not lose my self-control with a reply
I’ll withhold my feelings hidden deep in my soul
you will discover my love for you has grown cold
no more a punching bag for your vocal jabs
for your constant verbal derisive stabs
your words are like a creeping cancer
so now my silence is my only answer
I now no longer look for an excuse
      for the pain I have suffered from your abuse
the time has come for us to be apart
finally I can make a brand new start
I’m taking on the responsibility for my own life
    no longer will I be influenced by our daily strife
so stare as long as you like
I refuse to bite and begin a fight
 Â
PJRÂ Â Â 11.12.2023Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
I refuse to bite and begin a fight
I’m not going to speak or meet your eye
   I will not lose my self-control with a reply
I’ll withhold my feelings hidden deep in my soul
you will discover my love for you has grown cold
no more a punching bag for your vocal jabs
for your constant verbal derisive stabs
your words are like a creeping cancer
so now my silence is my only answer
I now no longer look for an excuse
      for the pain I have suffered from your abuse
the time has come for us to be apart
finally I can make a brand new start
I’m taking on the responsibility for my own life
    no longer will I be influenced by our daily strife
so stare as long as you like
I refuse to bite and begin a fight
 Â
PJRÂ Â Â 11.12.2023Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

Deep in Trance
 As I stare out the window
I’m in a tranceÂ
Still and fixatedÂ
yet traveling withinÂ
Â
I see the usual vistaÂ
Dog scaring ducksÂ
From behind a shield
A time warped invisible field
 Â
What is this phenomenaÂ
I don’t understandÂ
Like a reset or recharge
It feels so grandÂ
Â
It’s not something I can make beÂ
More like it takes over me
A welcomed friendÂ
Something I love in the endÂ
Â
But what do I doÂ
When I hear you callÂ
another layer of this realityÂ
In amongst it all
 Â
I try to pull myself outÂ
The tugs coming from everywhereÂ
Still frozen though I remain
Deep processing I claim!
Â
So what do I do insteadÂ
I bide my timeÂ
Enjoy this unusualÂ
Sensory rideÂ
Until it breaks me freeÂ
Â
TLaB 11th December 2023
Â
I’m in a tranceÂ
Still and fixatedÂ
yet traveling withinÂ
Â
I see the usual vistaÂ
Dog scaring ducksÂ
From behind a shield
A time warped invisible field
 Â
What is this phenomenaÂ
I don’t understandÂ
Like a reset or recharge
It feels so grandÂ
Â
It’s not something I can make beÂ
More like it takes over me
A welcomed friendÂ
Something I love in the endÂ
Â
But what do I doÂ
When I hear you callÂ
another layer of this realityÂ
In amongst it all
 Â
I try to pull myself outÂ
The tugs coming from everywhereÂ
Still frozen though I remain
Deep processing I claim!
Â
So what do I do insteadÂ
I bide my timeÂ
Enjoy this unusualÂ
Sensory rideÂ
Until it breaks me freeÂ
Â
TLaB 11th December 2023
Â

Sunglasses Staring
At an Irish music session,
I saw the banjo player stand out.
He was the only young person in that performing crowd.
Wearing a black cowboy hat, red plaid shirt, and tight black jeans.
Even though he had his sunglasses on,
his high nose bridge was still shining.
I was secretly delighted.
It was summertime,
so, I could stare at him behind my sunglasses as long as I wanted.
Just sitting there, appreciating his beauty quietly.
I also sensed an aura of mystery from him,
which triggered my curiosity to explore.
Ok, I made up my mind,
I would ask him afterwards,
‘How do you feel playing music with a group of elders?'”Â
XQZ 11th December 2023

Stare Awhile
I see the reflection in the creek
Is this the me I used to be
Cheeks sagging, eyes look shallow
To stare, completely deep in thought
So deep they’re not really there
No thoughts, for only a moment
They almost have a rest
To be miles away as they say
What does that really mean?
Â
CCon 11th December 2023
Is this the me I used to be
Cheeks sagging, eyes look shallow
To stare, completely deep in thought
So deep they’re not really there
No thoughts, for only a moment
They almost have a rest
To be miles away as they say
What does that really mean?
Â
CCon 11th December 2023

Cultural Stare
Have you ever experienced cultural shock when living in another country?
Â
My Australian friend told me she couldn’t believe what she saw
when she went to a noodle bar in China.
People made loud noises when eating,
and they even picked up the whole bowl to eat soup instead of using a spoon.
She was staring at them, speechless.
Because in the Western world, she’s been told to eat everything quietly and elegantly.
That’s the basic manner.
While in China, things are much more casual, and making sounds means you enjoy the food.
Â
What about my mum’s experience when visiting Australia?
One day, she brought a popular Chinese entertainment snack, sunflower seeds, to a local show.
You use your teeth to crack the shell and eat the kernel.
But she didn’t know in Australia, things are different.
Inside the venue, it was so quiet.
She could even hear the sound when opening her plastic bag, let alone cracking a shell.
A man in the front seat turned around, staring at her seriously and angrily.
She stopped immediately and only dared to eat when walking to me after the show.
Sorry mum,
I should have let you know beforehand. Â
Growing up, we’ve always been asked by this big question
“What do you want to do in the future?”
Â
At that time, I didn’t know the answer.Â
So I had to pick up something that sounded fancy, “Well, I want to become a doctor, so I can save lives.”
Â
3 years ago, I even became so desperate with this question.
I’ve been told that we all have different skills that only we can offer to this world, but I still didn’t know where my path was.
Â
Luckily, I didn’t give up.Â
I followed my curiosity instead.
Since I like music, I went to a local music festival,
Wirrina Bluegrass and Acoustic Roots Festival.
Â
In order to save some money, I became an MC volunteer.
I put one foot at a time to take some action.
Then magic happened, I received a pleasant surprise.
Â
The audience liked me.
They liked my warm and genuine side.
From there I became an MC for many other music festivals and started to even have some paid MC invitations.
Â
Looking back, if I had thought too much,
worried too much,
or hesitated too much,
would all these have happened to me?
Would I have received a golden key for this big question if I had skipped all this exploration process?
I think we all know the answer.
I wanted to buy a vase.So I went to a shop and searched for a long time,
but, IÂ still couldn’t find one that I liked in the end.
Â
So an idea popped up.
I got home with a bottle of juice instead.
I used that glass container as my flowers’ home.Â
Surprisingly, they looked amazing.
Â
They had tiny purple and white petals, like starry stars.
And that transparent glass made their appearance stand out.Â
So I could really focus and appreciate the sheer beauty of those flowers,Â
their tranquil and pure souls. Â
That reminded me of our humankind.
I’ve never been a fan of chasing fancy brands of clothes to decorate ourselves,
Because I believe what we need is just to find the right colour and style of clothes that we are vibe with,
and our spirits will take care of the rest.
They make us unique in the crowd.
XQZ 11th December 2023
Â
My Australian friend told me she couldn’t believe what she saw
when she went to a noodle bar in China.
People made loud noises when eating,
and they even picked up the whole bowl to eat soup instead of using a spoon.
She was staring at them, speechless.
Because in the Western world, she’s been told to eat everything quietly and elegantly.
That’s the basic manner.
While in China, things are much more casual, and making sounds means you enjoy the food.
Â
What about my mum’s experience when visiting Australia?
One day, she brought a popular Chinese entertainment snack, sunflower seeds, to a local show.
You use your teeth to crack the shell and eat the kernel.
But she didn’t know in Australia, things are different.
Inside the venue, it was so quiet.
She could even hear the sound when opening her plastic bag, let alone cracking a shell.
A man in the front seat turned around, staring at her seriously and angrily.
She stopped immediately and only dared to eat when walking to me after the show.
Sorry mum,
I should have let you know beforehand. Â
Growing up, we’ve always been asked by this big question
“What do you want to do in the future?”
Â
At that time, I didn’t know the answer.Â
So I had to pick up something that sounded fancy, “Well, I want to become a doctor, so I can save lives.”
Â
3 years ago, I even became so desperate with this question.
I’ve been told that we all have different skills that only we can offer to this world, but I still didn’t know where my path was.
Â
Luckily, I didn’t give up.Â
I followed my curiosity instead.
Since I like music, I went to a local music festival,
Wirrina Bluegrass and Acoustic Roots Festival.
Â
In order to save some money, I became an MC volunteer.
I put one foot at a time to take some action.
Then magic happened, I received a pleasant surprise.
Â
The audience liked me.
They liked my warm and genuine side.
From there I became an MC for many other music festivals and started to even have some paid MC invitations.
Â
Looking back, if I had thought too much,
worried too much,
or hesitated too much,
would all these have happened to me?
Would I have received a golden key for this big question if I had skipped all this exploration process?
I think we all know the answer.
I wanted to buy a vase.So I went to a shop and searched for a long time,
but, IÂ still couldn’t find one that I liked in the end.
Â
So an idea popped up.
I got home with a bottle of juice instead.
I used that glass container as my flowers’ home.Â
Surprisingly, they looked amazing.
Â
They had tiny purple and white petals, like starry stars.
And that transparent glass made their appearance stand out.Â
So I could really focus and appreciate the sheer beauty of those flowers,Â
their tranquil and pure souls. Â
That reminded me of our humankind.
I’ve never been a fan of chasing fancy brands of clothes to decorate ourselves,
Because I believe what we need is just to find the right colour and style of clothes that we are vibe with,
and our spirits will take care of the rest.
They make us unique in the crowd.
XQZ 11th December 2023