Judgment Refrain

Sun rises
day bright, new
Burst of color
brilliant design
Hope blooms
night horrors diminished
brightness chasing shadows away
revealing truths within lies
Though lies still exist
betrayal suffocating
step back from pain
look behind motives
On surface obvious
in-depth may be complex
Mistakes made
choices taken
Fear driven
love inspired
Before judgment
think
Fill shoes
decision make
Different
or same

© 2021 Heidi Barnes



Sweet Words Devil’s Work

I ask you
why do you persist?
I ask you
Why do you resist?

You tell me
this is my choice by right
You tell me
this is my soul’s plight

I wonder
do you see the truth
I wonder
does ignorance bleed youth

You follow
walking blindly into darkness
You follow
walking where evil harkens

I see
the danger ahead
I see
the traps they set

You don’t hear
evil’s lies
You don’t hear
angel’s cries

Evil dressed as good
is still evil under the hood
Be careful of sweet words
that pull you into the devils work.

© Copywrite 2021 Heidi Barnes

Free

Have you ever wanted to be free?
Free of burdens,
free of choices
free of morality
free of consequences?
Have you ever wanted to let go
fly with the wind
go wherever
however
with whomever you please?
Have you ever not wanted to worry
about the choices you make
the way others see you
think of you
judge you?
Have you ever wanted to just be
who you are
feel how you feel
do what you want
without fear of condemnation?
Have you ever wanted to be
free?

Copyright © 2018 Heidi Barnes

Soap

Okay, this topic might seem a little strange, possible weird, boarding on too much information, but it’s something that I’ve puzzled over for sometime. Why guys won’t use a washcloth when they take a shower. Now I know there are those that do, or maybe the use one of those loofah thingies, but what I’ve notice in various conversations is that the majority don’t. Now here is what puzzles me. How do you wash those hard to reach places? The middle of the back. Between the shoulder blades. Here’s another. How are you sure the dirt is washed off? Soap or body wash have nothing abrasive. They are smooth. So if you’ve been playing in the mud, working in the yard or on the car, painting, how do you scrub the dirt, oil, paint off? How are you truly clean?

See, told you it was a bit strange!

There is a Friends episode that has always stuck with me and is so true. Chandler and Joey are roommates and Chandler is trying to make Joey understand why he doesn’t want Joey to use his soap. He tries having him visualize where he starts washing with just the soap, then the steps that follow, finally the last place he washes. I still remember the smile on Joey’s face on that visual. He he he. Then Chandler takes him back to the first place he washes. His face. Suddenly that smile turns into revulsion. He gets it. What was last washed is now all over his face. Ewwww! Again, if a washcloth or loofah is used then the problem would not exist. There would be no cross contamination.

So I guess my question is, if you only use the bar of soap to wash the grit and grime off your body, are you truly clean?

On that note, have a wonderful week.

Heidi

When Darkness Falls

When darkness falls
Night creatures crawl
Entice you they will
Promises of riches and thrills
Stay inside where it’s safe and sane
To venture out
May bring blood and pain
You might think yourself brave
You might think yourself invulnerable
But the creatures in the darkness
Can see your mind
They know your weaknesses
They know your fears
Venture if you must
I’ll pray what comes to pass
Will not leave you in tears

Copyright 2017 Heidi Barnes

Choices and Balance

In everything, there is a beginning and an end.

Even great mountains rise and fall as time continues to roll on.

Within that time, a delicate balance must be maintained
or all will fall into chaos and ruin.

The universe is no different.

Among the chaos of creation there is still a semblance of balance,
or nothing would be able to form, to grow, to endure.

But what keeps that balance?

Is it divine force, or just chance?

Is it strong and sure,
or just holding on by a thread that is ready to break at any moment?

Do we have centuries, years,
or days before the life we know ends as suddenly as it began?

Is it as simply as a choice between good or evil, right or wrong, love or hate.

Or is it as simple as choosing it embrace both,
because without one the other does not exist.

Copyright 2107 Heidi Barnes

 

Daily Prompt: Crossing

via Daily Prompt: Crossing

The days go by
one by one
there seems no end
to this torment
and scorn
When lines are crossed
and bridges burned
there is no turning back
no redemption earned
The chasm before me
is wide and deep
Desert lay behind
green and lush before me sweeps
Crossing into the unknown
is scary at best
One last bridge
one foot forward
one last hope
for a life worth living.

Copyright 2017 Heidi Barnes

The Joys of Editing

Editing. Such a lovely pastime…..not. I know I’ve written about this before. A lot of the times there are gaps in my posting, whether blog, poem or story, it’s because I’m not sure I’ve written about the subject before and I don’t necessarily want to repeat myself. This particular subject, probably because I’m in the middle of editing right now, has been bugging me to write about so here I am. Early Sunday morning when I should still be sleeping, with my first cup of coffee, definitely not my last, talking about editing.

So where was I. Oh yes, this lovely pastime we as writers struggle through for some unknown insane reason. 😛

At the moment, I’m on my second proof of Fated to Be from the Destiny seriesLike my series Obsession, Destiny has been rewritten many times over the years. Each version changing and evolving. But not so much as this last time. This time I realized what was missing and decided to add it to the story, a supernatural element, and wallah! It started to make sense to me. Unfortunate, it also added characters and changed a lot of what I had already written. The hardest part for me is what of the already written pages still work and what doesn’t. This dilemma has slowed down the writing process, a lot.

Now I don’t know about you, but there are some passages that when I first wrote them I really like them and I don’t necessarily want to lose them. So I spend hours, sometimes days, trying to make them work until suddenly I decided it has to go. To me, this is like cutting off my right arm. These words are my baby come to life on paper. Some passages that are large enough that I cut and paste them onto another document that I label “excerpts” of whatever book I’m working on. This is an attempt to save their life, telling myself that maybe I’ll use them at some later date when I know that will probably never happen. It doesn’t mean what I come up with isn’t just as good and probably fits much better in the story as it is now. It’s just hard to let go of something that has been written down for a very, very long time. (Yes, I’m old enough to use ‘very’ twice when added to the word ‘time’. :P)

Hopefully, when I open the proof today, I am still in that mindset that if it doesn’t work, stop trying to make it fit and let it go. As I writer I want you to enjoy the book. Have it flow like it does in my head and feel what I feel. Not get mired down in the convoluted mess trying to use something that no longer works can create.

So on that note, I bid you have a lovely, and if you live in Washington, hopefully not to wet Sunday and I will see you all later. 🙂

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes

Daily Prompt: Passionate

via Daily Prompt: Passionate

Emotions overwhelming,
uncontrollable,
sincere.
Some say I’m delusional
others say I’m just passionate
about what I believe.
That I throw myself into my causes
with everything I have
every fiber of my being.
I say
maybe a little of both.
What I do know,
what I feel deep inside
where my heart beats strong
my convictions run high,
I am who I am,
whether right or wrong.
If you refuse to see me,
or simply cannot bend,
then maybe it’s time
to seek another friend.

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes

Daily Prompt: Mistake

via Daily Prompt: Mistake

“Well that was a mistake.”

“Ya think?”

Pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes, I prayed for patience. I really did not need help in reminding me that my brilliant plan wasn’t so brilliant.

“Don’t you have something else to do?” I sighed.

“Not anymore since you blew that up,” Sid snarled. “It took me three weeks to put together what took you two seconds to blow up. What were you thinking?” The exasperation in Sid’s voice had it higher than normal, not to mention louder. We were starting to draw a crowd.

“Apparently I wasn’t,” I grumbled.

“Apparently not,” Sid spat glaring at the wreckage in front of us. Then she sighed. A deep from your toes sigh, and from someone that was only five foot two that was a feat. In a much calmer voice that spoke of how much our relationship that had spanned a lifetime meant to her, she said, “Well. There’s nothing to do about it now except clean up the mess and start over again.” Turning towards me, she put a finger in my face and growled with narrow eyes, “No more bright ideas without my consent. Understand!”

“Yes ma’am,” I intoned quickly.

“Good. Now get your ass in there and help me,” she barked. Turning to the crowd she waved her hands in a shooing motion and yelled, “Nothing to see here folks. Just a young kid with more browns than brains. Move along.”

Groaning in embarrassment I whined, “Sid!” The only answer I got from the old bat was a cheeky grin as she waded into the pile of rubble that was once a speeder. Shoulders slumped, arms hanging at my side, the best five-year-old pout a twenty-one-year-old could muster, I shuffled in behind her.

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes