My Paltry Contribution to National Poetry Month

I’ve been sick, the family has been sick, plus a million other things have been going on. So, what’s a writer to do? Write a poem! Okay, I really just dredged up a poem I wrote a long time ago and edited it. It’s perfectly dreary, fitting my current mood (well, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but let’s just go with it).

So, without further ado, here’s my paltry contribution to National Poetry Month (which is always in April, BTW)…

Still I Cry

It’s raining now…
The drops are falling
hard and fast.
I slip out into the storm
to escape.

I feel its coolness
on my burning skin
and embrace it
with everything I have.

Better out here
than in there
with the others.

Still it rains…
and still I cry.

The sky’s cold tears
mix with my hot ones
and I am defeated.

I turn and walk away
through the clouds
into a world
where I can watch
-just out of reach-
the graceful silhouettes,
and nothing more.

Life seems but a hazy shadow.
Someday I’ll be blown away
like leaves in the wind
on a cold, hollow day.

Still it rains…
and still I cry.

Dreams dance in my mind
like the elusive fey
And I wonder
how to catch them,
become a part of them.

Like an aged woman
I soon realize
the images are slippery
like good memories.
They are not for me.

It does not matter
to them
what I feel
So I wonder,
do I matter?

Still it rains…
and still I cry.

I wish someone
would take my hand
and comfort me
as I stand in the pouring rain
looking in.

Sometimes
I am so weak.
I mourn my life
even as I live it.

I just want to fit in.
But I can’t quite
find the key.

Silently
I turn to go,
giving up.
Why try?
Nothing ever changes.

Still it rains…
and still I cry.

—–

That is the original ending. Here’s what I add today, after a little living has infused me with a little wisdom…

Years of solitude
have taught me
something I wish
I’d known back then…

It was I
who created the rain…
It was I
who chose to cry.

Prince Caspian Is Coming!

So who’s getting excited about the next Chronicles of Narnia movie coming out? Me! And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll be excited, too. Spring has sprung in New England and everything is looking fresh and wonderful. I am full of hope and ready for all the great things coming my way. What better way to greet spring than with an epic adventure that was filmed in Ireland, one of my favorite ‘I can’t wait to visit’ countries, among other exotic locations?

Ah, yes… Prince Caspian is coming!

On May 16th, 2008, the movie opens. I’m pretty sure I won’t be seeing it that very day, though. I am going to delay gratification and wait for a day when the family and I don’t have to fight off other people with only our hands and a banana just to get a ticket, though the kids would probably be up for it. This movie is supposed to be more adventurous than the first and made on a grander scale.

Once I see it, I shall write a thoughtful, riveting review. I like giving my opinion and I’m sure you’ll be waiting breathlessly to hear it. And since it’s been many, many moons since I read the book, I shouldn’t have the problem of comparing the movie to the book like I did with the Spiderwick Chronicles.

So it’s all good.

At any rate, I hope the movie is great so that my childhood memories of Narnia remain untainted. Luckily I’m good at blocking things out, so if it isn’t, I shall pretend it never happened.

I Feel Like Royalty

On Tuesday, I got my first royalty check! I couldn't believe it. Here was real money I had earned from something I'd created with my own little hands and half-functioning brain. I felt great, I felt like dancing, I felt like royalty. I'm considering having a parade. I sold many more books than I was expecting - so thank you, people out there who bought my book. The money wasn't great - I earned like a $1.64 off each book. But everyone always says don't expect to get rich being an author (unless you're a bestseller). And since I never expected big money, I was quite pleased with what I had made.

Still I had to tell my husband who was already running for the phone, "Don't quit your job just yet!"

Anyway, having an inquiring mind (and work to put off) I started thinking about why they call the checks an author receives royalty checks. I'm not royalty (though many times I pretend to be), so that can't be the reason. It's not like being an author is all that special (although others may beg to differ). So why the royal treatment?

Thoroughly stumped, I ended up looking it up in the dictionary, which also serves as my second home. This is what I found out: A royalty is the money you pay to the author for each book that is sold (which we already know). It came from the idea of a "royal right" or payment, which was given by a sovereign to the person who owned the land where minerals were being mined. It eventually evolved into including published materials and patents. The origin of the word is late Middle English, from the Old French version, roial.

Fascinating, huh? Bet you didn't think you'd learn something as amazing as that today.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the beautiful spring day. This winter has been a royal pain in the...behind.

Thank you for your kingly and queenly support.

Regally yours,

Queen Kristina (there really is one, you know - she lived in Sweden from 1626-1689, but I'm not her and I'm not Swedish. I am, however, Norwegian, which I think is close enough).