A while back (sorry, I have been busy as of late…), I was nominated for a Mystery Blogger award by Lawrence Illoc, of the blog Being Bipolar. Trying to break the stigma! (https://bipolaronlineblog.com/). Though it has taken me longer than I would like to respond, I am very honored by this nomination and accept it as such.
About Lawrence Illoc and Being Bipolar
Lawrence is an incredibly passionate and open author who deals directly and unabashedly with his struggles with bipolar and the stigma that surrounds the disease. His writing is typically in the style of journal entries, with great detail surrounding how bipolar affects him and the relationships he cherishes. He has recently started writing poetry that begins dark but in its reflection shares a glimpse of hope. I would highly recommend that you visit his blog to gain a unique and valuable insight into the life of someone working their hardest to address their struggles and share what they learn with the world.
Rules
- Thank whoever nominated you and include link to their blog
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
- Nominate 10-20 bloggers you feel deserve the award
- Answer the questions from the person who nominated you
- Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice with one weird or funny one
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog

Three Facts About Me
- One:
Sweet Cerulean
I am in love with the colorBlue and all variations thereof
My world is not seen through rose glasses
But it always carries
An azure tint
Not to alter what is
But to embellish
To bring life where motion is
Not found or
Altogether too discrete
Bashful and shy
Playful foxes in den guarded by
Mother watching with loving eyes
- Two:
Think in Prose
I think in proseWords often re-arranged
To better suit
The expectations of
The “real world”
Dancing shoes and tired suit-coats
Longing only for
Weekend respite
My mouth does not easily form
Empty words
“Good day, how are you”
“I am spun beneath this sun from a yarn lighter than the one before,
Yet, in this I find solace;
The prior light shined only on the loom
And I am blessed today for form and function”
To which they may reply
With only blank stares
- Three:
Attempts
I have madeFive attempts at taking
The light from my post
Only to burn my hands
On the overwhelming heat that radiates
Outward from
A beacon I do not own
I merely care for
This form
The contents still
Undefined
But precious in that
They do not need to be
My Responses to Questions Posed
The questions posed by Lawrence Illoc, and my responses thereto, are as follows:
- How do you see a glass, half full or half empty?
Poured
Is any object ever inA state:
Permanent?
Or do we merely observe
Change
Perceived as
Form
We will one day cast these shells aside
And the air will breathe us in;
There is always balance
In all things.
- What do you prefer, to read a book or to listen to music?
Eyes and Ears
I might ask in responseWhat differentiates
Sound from sight;
Black and white
Day and night
Dark and light
Is grey a valid response?
I am enthralled to be
Here at all
Where the void and the banks
Coalesce
These bodies
Mere instruments
Tuned to sift
Screams from sighs
Beams from shadows
Empty space from
The objects that define it as such.
I hear music when I see words presented
Songs scroll on screens deep inside
The hollow chambers
In the space between
Eyes and ears.
- What do you like most about mother nature?
Your Mother Loves You
Are we like childrenRunning, sliding, slipping down
Rocks wet with
Rich afterbirth
Not to fall
To crack skulls
But to rise once more
When the sun has set
And the moon hides behind
The orb on which we ride
Through a dangerous and altogether chaotic
Journey to…
Your mother loves you
More than you
Or she
Will ever know
Will ever admit
Will ever be able to communicate
In these primitive howls;
Never forget
Home is all around you.
- What is your favorite movie?
Context and Company
Of all the colorsI have no hesitation on saying
I prefer the spectrum that lies between
New growth and
Crushed snail shells
My favorite bird
Is that which sings in the dead of night
Despite the smoke that curls
From her precious lips
Drawn from
Fires now behind her
All else
Is irrelevant;
What seeks to entertain me
Cannot be elevated
Beyond
Context and company.
- What do you like most about traveling?
Under the Same Sun
We have stood nowUpon opposite ends of this spinning sphere
Breathing in new air
Leaving behind old skin
In every corner
On the sheets of every motel room
In the sinks of every washroom
No two faces alike
No two days occurring in like sequence
So many eyes
So few of them
Our own
But all drawing in
So many shared rays
Of brilliant light
Falling, raining down
Over so many heads and hats and
Scarves tied tightly round
Necks and shoulders
Keeping out
Cold and warm alike
Shielding from
Elemental ambience
All so different
But all so alike
Beneath ever-changing skies
Twisting and transforming always
Untethered and uncontained
But all held in relative stillness
Suspended under the same sun
My Nominees and Questions Thereto
Nominees
I nominate the following blogs for the Mystery Blogger Award:
- Poetry from the Inkwell
- writingdreamwords
- Puzzles of the Soul
- real-life
- chrisnelson61
- liefladee
- awriterssoulblog
- short-prose-fiction
- paeansunplugged
- refract reality
Questions
The following are the questions I request that the nominees answer in their acceptance post, should they choose to do so.
- In shining stars and endless sea, visions of infinity, captured rarely, grasped for with reaching fingers, always inches away…When you chance a view into the void, what do you see, and do you believe it sees you back?
- Dark and light, black and white, wrong and right, day and night… running free then taking flight…What momentum propels you now, and what will it take for you to leave the ground and soar (if you have done so already, what keeps you aloft)?
- The future grows, digital prose, zeroes and ones, the instance knows… a million suns, a millions tons, a million miles, a million kessel runs… A single smile, a little while, a single empty gesture, a little harmless dial…Where does the energy from which digital life draws sustenance spring and what does this mean to you, if anything, as a citizen of an increasingly digital existence?
- Blackbird wings and amethyst stone, discarded rings and hearts alone, changing styles and sharper tongues, fiery trials and blackened lungs, hearts alight under midnight moon, alive, a passion grows so soon, from ember earth springs forth a seed, from seed to stalk, from soil freed, reaching forth up towards the sun, a life, a love, only just begun…What symbols, relationships, concepts, and goals define your current creative identity, and how has your identity and motivation changed since your first started writing (either as a blogger or otherwise)?
- A song to sing to silent friends, a chance to love and make amends, a growth in waves, a shift in days, a chill to freeze, a flame to set ablaze…What draws you out of yourself; what extends your presence beyond the immediate space you occupy and out into the aether between yourself and others?
I am humbled and grateful for the comments and compliments. Thank you very much
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You’re very welcome. Thank you for the nomination and for being you. I appreciate you and the honest energy you bring. Keep fighting and keep sharing with us, Lawrence. We love you.
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Thank you from the bottom of my heart
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Thank you for the nomination. I am truly touched. I am a little behind schedule but I promise to answer the questions soonest. As has become the norm with me, I will not nominate anyone but will leave it open for everyone. I hope that is alright.
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You are very welcome. That is perfectly fine; take all the time that you need and approach the rules as is appropriate for you. 🙂
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Thank you. ☺️
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Congratulations
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Thank you! (I apologize for the delayed response – this ended up in my spam for some reason…)
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Its okay … 😊
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Hello Lawrence… So good to see you here. Yes…got to love Lawrence. I’ve learned so much from him. See how we value you Lawrence? I send a warm hug to you.
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We do love Lawrence… He is such a wonderful person and brings such a positive energy to this community. 🙂
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An award justly deserved. Congratulations!
You have a way with words. I can imagine you reading in different accents. In South Africa we have a lovely storyteller Gcina Mhlope, she is such a hit with kids and myself included!
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate that.
I have done one reading so far, of another poet’s piece, but I have never posted a reading of my own… I may do that soon. Thank you for the thought!
I would love to hear Gcina; is any of her storytelling online?
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I’m sure there must be. I heard her personally at a school. She’s excellent.
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I will look and see what I am able to find. Thank you so much. 🙂
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