toearlyretirement
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‘Consider the Watchmaker’ New Collection now available
My new poetry chapbook Consider the Watchmaker is now available in ebook format from Amazon and other good retailers. It’s a collection of eleven poems, some of which have appeared here on the blog, others which have not been published. I would encourage you all to head over to your preferred ebook supplier and purchase…
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NaNoWriMo 2021
Regular readers of the blog will know that I have been participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) every year since 2012. This year will be my tenth year participating. The stats on the NaNoWriMo website say I’ve written 466,945 words as part of my NaNo projects, which seems amazing and doesn’t include the words…
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What’s in a name?
Fleur de lysFleur DelacourFloriadeFlorida French. Noun. Popular in the Netherlandsmisheard as Laura or Clairemy name evokes many moodssaccharine, feminine, delicate Brings to mindold wallpaper, couchesvintage polyester dressesplastic plant arrangements I like my name, especially the doublewith Eloise between them for contrast.Despite disdain towards my fatherI keep his name; it suits me Grown from the dirt…
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The end is near*
*or nearer than before. Next Monday will be my birthday. The second to be celebrated in significant restrictions as a result of COVID-19. Back at the start of all of this, in March of 2020, people said it would take two years to get through and out the otherside. We’re already well into a year…
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Anniversary Gift – New Release
Time in the last year or two has become meaningless in a lot of ways. 2020 started with being hit by a car (I refuse to call it an accident), and then we all went into the long lockdown. Things were looking up in early 2021 but we’re back in long lockdown again, perhaps we’ll…
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Here we are again
It’s probably not news that COVID-19 is still a thing. In Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia are all in lockdown. We’re not allowed out except for the five basic needs; food, medical care, caregiving, essential work, and getting a vaccine. In a little over two weeks I’m supposed to be going to…
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Indoor Passtimes
It’s winter in Melbourne, we had the shortest day of the year yesterday and the weather is getting chillier. I have always like cooking, and the cold weather seems to be bringing out my European peasant roots (my Dad’s family is German and I’m going to pretend that’s what it is). I ordered a box…
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Café Gummo
I stand on stageCables at my feetCan’t move farLest I fall over the edge Beats a bit outThe drums slowThe guitar fastI’m in the middle I look out at the facesAll turned to meSome seem tiredUninterested Will they regret itToo loud, too countryToo slow, too rudeWhat do they think? Last week I enjoyed itBeing in…
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NaPoWriMo Wrapped Up
Just a short post today to say once again I have finished up my annual challenge of National Poetry Writing Month – NaPoWriMo. Modelled after National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, the idea is to write a poem every day over the month of April. I wrote every day, some of the poems were even…
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Structure before Meaning
Today I will try to write a poem that rhymeswith strong meter and developmentI acknowledge content suffers sometimesin the pursuit of perfect accompaniment Time marches ever onwards, I’m in a hurryto get one thing or another done. Finished before the next one is due. I scurry towards the end, usually diminished Lessened by the need…
Fleur Blüm 