Tag Archives: sleep

The Mixed Mercies of Sleep

Mercy by Maria L. Berg 2022

Mercy

I’m finding this study of abstract nouns fascinating. We think we know what these words mean, but the more I study them, the less clear they become. When I dive into their definitions, I always find something surprising. Mercy has a very interesting definition: compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power; compassion, pity, or benevolence.

Compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. “Stricken by misfortune” brings in ideas of destiny and luck, and forbearance brings patience into the mix. But it’s the next part of the definition that surprised me: “an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power.”

The wording implies that an offender or enemy is a person in one’s power. That any person is in another’s power is a warped idea. Power struggles are one of those facts of life from beginning to end that are an instinctive part of the human struggle that is intertwined with the question of evolution and/or creation; and the basic questions of nature vs. nurture. However, I was even more interested in the idea of the offender, or enemy being that person in one’s power. When I think of an offender, or enemy, I think of bullies: people out for a fight; people looking for those they perceive as weaker than them, to belittle and have power over. How would that person be a person in my power? There’s a lot to think about there.

For today’s images, I thought of my door filter that I created for “Close” and used again for “Adventure,” symbolizing the mercy of giving someone a way out. What could symbolize removing suffering? A mouse with a thorn? Too obtuse, the viewer would have to think of the fable of the mouse and the lion, and interpret, a line in its paw as a thorn removed from a lion. Instead, I tried to open and close my door filter to flowers.

Mercy 2 by Maria L. Berg 2022

dVerse Poets Pub

For today’s quadrille, Sarah challenges us to write 44 words about sleep.

The Poem

Merciful sleep,
thick, heavy fog
with power
over me,
have pity
this one night
keep out intruders
lock the doors
and hold them
fast from the
dreams of
suffering
and sorrow,
haunted
memories of
possibilities
filled with desires
that you steal
away come
morning

Mercy 3 by Maria L. Berg 2022

Goodwill Toward

Goodwill Toward by Maria L. Berg 2021

It’s fun to have a mix of specific and abstract words for prompts. When I think of “bells,” I have a specific image in my mind of what bells look like, but what does “Goodwill” look like? I had fun exploring different ideas.

Creating Goodwill by Maria L. Berg 2021
See No Evil
Hear No Evil
Speak No Evil

New Poems

Today I’m going to continue to explore Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation as a poetry prompt for the Changing Focus December project.

The Dream Harvest

I dream of reaping
a deep sleep
a sleep so deep
that I can’t crawl out
until morning

to make it deep
I heap the blankets
on the clean sheets
on the queen-sized bed
and fall in

in the room
of perfect heat
for my feet
I’ll meet an ease
in degrees of appeal

and a treat so sweet
to keep sleeping
through the stream
of scenes that seep
and leak through

the sheer veil
I’ll seek meals
of meaning there
in my deep sleep
when I’m dreaming

I also grabbed my Z-shaped filter and caught some Zs.

Catching Zs by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. While you’re looking, please click the hearts to like the images on the RedBubble site. It will help my work get attention. Thank you.

Lifting Up by Maria L. Berg 2021
December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Making Icicles

Dripping Icicles by Maria L. Berg 2021

This morning I finally tied up the other mirror and turned the mirrorworld into a triangle. This created some nice borders to attempt some light icicles.

Making Icicles by Maria L. Berg 2021

New Poems

Today is Open Link Night at dVerse Poets Pub. I think I’ll start exploring Rest, Sleep, and Hibernation as a poetry prompt for the Changing Focus December project. This image I made this morning “Freezing Mist” makes me think of REM sleep.

Night Battles

Fresh cool pillows
like fluffy clouds
hold my head
at odd angles,
my neck sloped
and kinked
I fold the clouds
turn and twist
them violently
Soft flannel plaid
pajama bottoms
bunch around my knees
and heat my groin
but leave a bare cold spot
at the small of my back
as if the top and bottom
are magnetically repelled
just there
I tug and squirm
trying to force
their union
Now the pillow clouds
have changed shape
and must be wrestled again
I think about the computer
something to distract me
but it is no longer allowed in
and it’s cold out there
and I unplugged the internet anyway
I roll onto my back
I can’t sleep this way
but a pillow holds my head
for a brief truce
and glimpses of colors and shapes
behind my closed lids
give me hope of fantastic
dreams, so I roll to my side
and rejoin the battle
until the cat wants out.

Freezing Mist by Maria L. Berg 2021

Making a Poetry Collection: November PAD Chapbook Challenge

I’ve started working on my chapbook and wanted to share my progress. As with my poem revision process, my creating a collection process is already changing. I had Step 2 as doing the poem reviews, but while doing my read through, I found selection and organization came first. I am really glad that Step 1 was copying the poems into Scrivener, because I am finding that Scrivener is a great tool for this process.

Step 2: Rate the poems as Yes, Maybe, No – In my Scrivener template, I set up three sections. When I copied the poems into Scrivener, I put all of the poems in Section 1. Then as I read through them, the Yes poems stayed in 1, the Maybes went to Section 2, and the Nos went to section 3.

Step 3: Read for themes – In a brainstorming section outside the manuscript, I created a blank sheet for themes and noted the themes that stood out as I read. I noticed that many of my poems had a counterpart or pair which I found exciting. These pairs had kind of a before and after feel.

Step 4: Preliminary order – After discovering my poem pairs, I started moving my yes poems around and found a preliminary order. Moving the poems around so easily was a great aspect of using Scrivener. After I had a preliminary order, I opened the General Meta-Data and assigned labels and status. For my labels I chose: First draft, Revising, and Final. For the status labels, I changed it to form and labeled my poems as free form, rhyming, or specific structure. I may change what I use that for later, but during review it’s an interesting key.

Step 5: Review

Here’s my revised review checklist from my post Revising Poetry-a Demonstration Part Two: The First Redraft. I turned this into a template page in Scrivener and use the split screen, so I can see the poem while I review. I can make my notes for revision in the Notes section under the meta-data.

  • Identify POV, tense, form, voice
  • setting, narrative
  • themes, moods
  • identify sensory details
  • identify best lines
  • mark weak verbs & nouns
  • words to mind map
  • mark areas to expand
  • highlight cliche language
  • make easy cuts
  • choose what to edit to (theme, idea)
  • brainstorm alternate titles
  • make notes to guide re-write
  • do mind maps
  • free-write around best lines, character and narrative
  • do research
  • write a narrative poem

I’m making some progress with the review. Listing the sensory details is already pointing me toward some areas to explore. And choosing what to edit to is helping me focus on how I want the poems to work together as a whole. I’m also excited to start expanding the ideas through writing the narrative poems. This part of the process may take a few days.

As the Ice Forms by Maria L. Berg 2021

If you’ve enjoyed the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. While you’re looking, please click the hearts to like the images on the RedBubble site. It will help my work get attention. Thank you.

December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.

Happy Reading and Writing!

A is for Atresia

Ordeal questions

 

atresia – noun: 1. absence or closure of a natural passage of the body 2. absence or disappearance of an anatomical part by degeneration.

 

To Fall Asleep

Every night I play this game
A habit now, a secret shame

Multi-tasking cartoon shows
Or re-runs burned out long ago

While refreshing games of solitaire
Win or lose I never care

I tell myself to fall asleep
Knowing I avoid REM deep where

I’m taken to the terrifying nightmare
The moment of ecstasy and desperate despair

When you still loved me
Would delight in my jealousy

Before the tearing
Before the discarding

As I grow weary
My red eyes go bleary

I wish for atresia
Through lack of sleep to amnesia

Every nocturnal, natural passage binding
Me to you degenerating, closing

Letting me sleep in peace.

 

 

I found a spark of inspiration this morning while reading “Love Is Like Sounds” from The Selected Poems of Donald Hall (Poet Laureate of the United States, 2006 – 2007).