TRAVEL TUESDAY 512 - KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

“Malaysia is a country unlike any other: Full of promise and fragility. Its history, cultural and religious diversity make it a rich, compelling and surprising land.” - Tariq Ramadan

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a federal territory of Malaysia. It is the most populous city in the country, covering an area of 243 km2 with a census population of 2,075,600 as of 2024. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 8.8 million people as of 2024. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development. The city serves as the cultural, financial, touristic, political and economic centre of Malaysia. It is also home to the Malaysian parliament (consisting of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara) and the Istana Negara, the official residence of the monarch (Yang di-Pertuan Agong).

Kuala Lumpur was first developed around 1857 as a town serving the tin mines of the region, and important figures such as Yap Ah Loy and Frank Swettenham were instrumental in the early development of the city during the late 19th century. It served as the capital of Selangor from 1880 until 1978. Kuala Lumpur was the founding capital of the Federation of Malaya and its successor, Malaysia. The city remained the seat of the executive and judicial branches of the Malaysian federal government until these were relocated to Putrajaya in early 1999. However, some sections of the political bodies still remain in Kuala Lumpur. The city is one of the three Federal Territories of Malaysia, enclaved within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 6th most-visited city in the world on the Mastercard Destination Cities Index in 2019. The city houses three of the world's ten largest shopping malls. Kuala Lumpur ranks 70th in the world and the second in Southeast Asia after Singapore for the Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Ranking and ninth in ASPAC and second in Southeast Asia after Singapore for KPMG's Leading Technology Innovation Hub 2021. Kuala Lumpur was named World Book Capital 2020 by UNESCO. In 2025, Kuala Lumpur was ranked second for the best outstanding city in Southeast Asia, after Singapore, and 79th in the world by the Oxford Economic Papers' Global Cities Index.

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THAT LITTLE SOMETHING...

“Only do what your heart tells you.” - Princess Diana

This week, Poets and Storytellers United asked us to write on something small but beautiful. What smaller than the dawning of first love? Something that we’ve never felt before and which starts as an insignificant little nothing that becomes something? That little spark that becomes a flame, and then an all-consuming fire?

That Little Something

What a feeling... Almost nothing,
In my mind and in my heart.
It is nothing or it’s something;
But it makes me jump and start...

What could I be lacking now?
What I need, and what I want,
Would my sweetest fate allow?
Or its lack my dreams to haunt?

Is it hunger, is it thirst?
No, my stomach wildly turns;
What to wish for, should I, first?

Ease of mind, for which it yearns?
Or peace of heart, about to burst?
What a feeling... How it burns!

What a feeling... Almost nothing,
In my mind and in my heart.
It is nothing or it’s something;
But it makes me jump and start...

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

THE FRENCH HAT

“The difference between style and fashion is quality.” - Giorgio Armani

The New What’s Going On Blog has set a theme of “The Stories We Wear” this week; the theme relates to headwear - hats and such-like that we choose to place on our head for one or another reason…  Here is the story of Fashion Queen Imogen and her long-suffering husband…

The French Hat

“Imogen, dear, that hat you wear will never do
We’re going to the cinema you know!”
“Oh, yes, of course it will and don't you stew,
It’s French, so elegant, so ‘comme-il-faut’…”

“Imogen, those behind us shall grumble and complain,
We’ll never hear the end of it, I feel…”
“Oh, shush! A chic and wee chapeau, makes me feel urbane,
Besides, it’s such a delicate shade of teal!”

“Imogen, dear, I am sure you know what is best,
But I fret that we shall spoil our outing…”
“Tut-tut, Henry you are such a bore, desist and rest;

All’s well there will be no loutish shouting!”

So off they went, he short and fat, she lean and tall,
The hat balanced precariously on coiffed beehive.
They sat right up the front and in the centre of the hall,
She high, while Henry shrank and hoped all to survive.

“Down with your blasted hat, up front I cannot see!
Take off the darned contraption and let us enjoy the flick!”
“Oh, Henry an appalling place! Oh, goodness, me!
I feel as though I could get up and give that man a kick…”

“Oh Imogen, dearest love I knew it all along, that hat
Will cause much trouble, strife and discontent!”

“Henry get up and be a man! Don’t let fools treat you like a mat!
Use violence if you must, that lout’s no gent!”

“Down, down! Off with that tatty blue thing up front!”
“Henry, stop hiding, up you get we shall leave!
This is no place for people of quality; Oh, such affront!”
“Imogen, dear, indeed! The ones who leave won't grieve!

So off they went, he glum and fat, she proud and tall,
The hat still held precariously on coiffed beehive.
She killed with dagger eyes the youth, whose catcall

Forced their exit; but hat was held high, joyously alive.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 511 - CHAND BAORI, INDIA

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." - Jawaharlal Nehru

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Chand Baori is a stepwell situated in the village of Abhaneri in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It extends approximately 30 m into the ground, making it one of the deepest and largest stepwells in India. It is named after a local ruler of Nikumbh dynasty called Raja Chanda and its construction is dated to the 8th-9th century. It has 3500 steps cascading 13 stories deep into a massive tank at the bottom and has been constructed in an upside-down pyramid style. The state of Rajasthan is extremely arid, and the design and final structure of Chand Baori were intended to conserve as much water as possible.

Many of these stepwells, including Chand Baori, served multiple purposes alongside drawing water and playing a significant role in religious or ceremonial activities. Pilgrims are said to have found comfort in quenching their thirst and finding a resting spot at the steps of Chand Baori after their long travels. This unique form of underground well-architecture remains constant from the 7th century in the existing monument. Excavated stones of the temple are now kept by the Archaeological Survey of India in the arcades of the well. Chand Baori is a significant architectural site in western India.

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SERENITY...

“Surely we have a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy and habitable by all species” - Sir David Attenborough

The prompt from “Poets and Storytellers United” this week is to write something about “something with both spooky and summery themes”. I am watching with horror the terrible Summer wildfires in Europe, the worsening situation in Israel/Gaza, the ongoing war in Ukraine. I see the world leaders of many countries blithely following a path of totalitarianism and self-interest, ignoring a looming climate catastrophe and a path leading to more warfare… I look at the increasing destruction of world wilderness areas, the effects of our pollution, and our thoughtless use of natural resources, and yes, I am spooked by all this…

Serenity...

The news is bleak, the world is marred,
We live in fear, our lives are scarred.
Our leaders crazy, and the people crazed
Crime, greed and murder, society’s razed.

The planet’s suffering, the climate’s changed
Animals dying, nature’s deranged.
Fires are raging, floods drowning each city,
While nature’s turned on us with no pity.

All that I wish for is peace, serenity,
And all I get is conflict, obscenity.
All that I need is a home and love,
And what I get is bombs from above.
Oh, please, give me serenity!

Oceans are poisoned, rivers polluted,
Species extinct, resources looted;
The air is toxic, our water’s blighted
The people uncaring, deeply benighted.

The threat of war, total destruction,
The earth beset by an evil fluxion;
We dread the worse but choose inaction
It’s time to shake off vapid abstraction.

All that I wish for is peace and quiet,
And all I get is conflict, evil, riot.
All that I need is care, affection
And what I get is scorn, rejection.
Oh, please, no more disquiet!

All that I wish for is peace, serenity,
Give me true justice, give me lenity…
Oh, please, give me serenity!

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube,  Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

Please note that the song has been submitted to music sharing sites, but there is a variable period of delay until the song is publicly released. YouTube is generally the most prompt.

COUNTING STARS

“Perhaps they are not stars, but openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.” – ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The New What’s Going On Blog has set a theme of “Love Letter from the Afterlife” this week. One of the hardest situations we have to deal with as humans is the loss of a loved one. Especially so a partner, with whom we have shared our life up to the point of the cruel separation. If we are believers, we know that after death there is the assurance that we will rejoin our loved ones. If belief is absent or if doubt in the existence of the afterlife is in our heart, the pain of loss becomes much more severe. Losing a partner, especially one who is young may seem unjust, unfair, irrational. My poem today looks at this loss, but the viewpoint is from the eyes of the survivor…

Counting Stars

The night is dark,
But sky so starry.
You’ve left your mark,
I’m now so chary…

Mars red, is bright, angry tonight
Venus so silver, hides behind a cloud;
The moon has set, no more alight,
While stars by early morning cowed. 

And I, look up, the heavens scan
To find a reason and an explanation;
Perhaps a goal, illusions, or a master plan?
Or some divine order of causation…

Alone, my heart is hard and cold,
Alone, my thoughts irrational,
I tremble and my breath I hold,
To make of chaos something rational.

As dawn comes gently, like a feather
The eastern skies blush and lighten;
I count the fading stars to see whether
One will shine on, as the hours brighten.

Even the brightest star soon is gone
The mystery of night, I’ll never know,
Soon comes the sun, birdsong, early dawn,
And somewhere, near, a cock should crow…

Alone, my heart is hard and cold,
Alone, my thoughts irrational,
I tremble and my breath I hold,
To make of chaos something rational.

The day so bright,
But my heart is black.
You took your light,
I feel so much your lack…

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 510 - BADAIN JARAN DESERT, CHINA

“I had to live in the desert before I could understand the full value of grass in a green ditch.” - Ella Maillart

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

The Badain Jaran Desert (Chinese: 巴丹吉林沙漠; pinyin: Bādānjílín Shāmò) is a desert in China which spans the provinces of Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. It covers an area of 49,000 square kilometers. By size it is the third largest desert in China. This desert is home to some of the tallest stationary dunes on Earth, with some reaching a height of more than 500 meters, although most average at around 200 meters. Its tallest dune is also measured, from base to peak, as the world's third tallest dune and highest stationary dune in the world.
The desert also features over 100 spring-fed lakes that lie between the dunes, some of which are fresh water while others are extremely saline. These lakes give the desert its name which is Mongolian for "mysterious lakes". These lakes are not completely studied and high pH lakes harbour extremely interesting animal communities. It is also crossed by one river, the Ruo Shui ("weak water"), which has formed an alluvial plain in the desert.
The Badain Jaran megadunes is one of the few places where the singing sand phenomenon occurs, in which the sand emits a sharp, loud noise that can be maintained for more than a minute. Although it is not fully understood, it is believed that it is caused by an electrostatic charge that is generated as wind pulls the top layers of sand down a dune slope. This will produce a low pitched rumble that can reach over 105 decibels. The "singing" starts with an avalanche of sand down the leeward face of a large dune.

On July 27 2025 China's Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes, successfully passed the review process to be included on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

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CASTING HOROSCOPES

“We are born at a given moment, in a given place and, like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born. Astrology does not lay claim to anything more.” - Carl Jung

The prompt from “Poets and Storytellers United” this week is to write something about “the most important step”… How one should best progress forward after that most important first step towards a desired goal has been taken.

While some people manage to succeed in progressing forward and taking charge of their lives in a planned and courageous way, others seem to stumble, vacillate, or look for guidance from others, or perhaps even from the stars…

How many people read their horoscope every morning? How many consult astrologers or tarot card readers? Maybe palmists? All seeking to find the true path forward and to take that most important step…

Casting Horoscopes

Trine Jupiter and square Mars,
The moon always  in opposition
While Mercury yet again is retrograde.
I gaze up counting all the stars,
Trying to define my position,
While searching for your hand, so much afraid.

Sextile - Jupiter and angry Saturn,
Gemini’s in the eleventh house,
Aquarius on the ascendant.
You left me once, now it’s my turn,
Trying my love for you to douse,
Ignoring all the pains attendant….

The sky is dark,
My thoughts so stark;
My heart languishes lonely,
Stars for my company, only.
I cast you far, far away,
The moon to keep at bay
My maddening, whirling thoughts of you.
I read my horoscope and find in it a taunting déjà vu.

The sun sets, Venus will follow
The zodiac rotates, and high up in the sky,
Cybele reflects in the moon’s shade.
My heart is empty, feels so hollow,
I cast the die, I try to push thoughts of you by,
But time reminds me of a fate I can’t evade.

Trine Jupiter and square Mars,
The moon always in opposition
While Mercury yet again is retrograde.
I gaze up counting all the stars,
Trying to define my position,

While searching for your hand, so much afraid.

The sky still dark,
My thoughts so stark;
My hand still empty, lonely,
Stars for my company, only.
I cast you far, far away,
The hag of a moon to keep at bay
My maddening, whirling thoughts of you.
I read my horoscope and find in it a taunting déjà vu…

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube,  Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

TOGETHER

“You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together.” - Nicholas Sparks

The New What’s Going On Blog has set a theme of “Friendship” this week, one that I covered last week in my poem. I don’t think I am too much off-topic if I present a poem on a special kind of relationship: The one that begins between two people who have a lot in common and where the special closeness and bond of friendship develops. As the relationship progresses, love enters the equation and the two become a couple. This to me is more preferable than the “love at first sight” situation, a relationship that is often like an exploding firework that fizzles out.

Together

I saw you, you saw me, we clicked:
We chatted, we laughed, time ticked.
Love at first sight? 
No, just good fun.
The night was so bright,
Something had begun.

I called you, you called me,
You spoke, you enthralled me.
We went out and dined,
Was all so civilised.
Your mind a great find,
Your company prized.

And then love stepped in slowly,
It overwhelmed us wholly;
You kissed me, I kissed you,
How could I resist you?
We watched the stars rise,
In each other’s eyes.

You stayed over, I stayed over
With breakfast moreover;
Became an odd couple
To never decouple.
With days so exciting,
And nights like lightning.

I moved in, and we both thrived,
Our house a calm, serene haven
Our lives renewed and revived,
You are at love a great maven.
We are together, to part never
You and I, a couple forever.

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube,  Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 509 - KYRGYZSTAN

“A wise man isn't the one who has lived the longest, but the one who has travelled the most.” - Kyrgyz Proverb

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek (photo above) is the capital and largest city. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east and southeast. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's over 7 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians.

Kyrgyzstan's history spans a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its highly mountainous terrain, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilisations as part of the Silk Road along with other commercial routes. Inhabited by a succession of tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under larger domination, for example the Turkic nomads, who trace their ancestry to many Turkic states. It was first established as the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate. Later, in the 13th century, Kyrgyzstan was conquered by the Mongol Empire and under several Mongol dynasties; it regained independence, but was later invaded by the Dzungar Khanate. After the fall of Dzhungars, Kyrgyz and Kipchaks were an integral part of Kokand Khanate.

In 1876, Kyrgyzstan became part of the Russian Empire, and in 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic was formed to become a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Following Mikhail Gorbachev's democratic reforms in the USSR, in 1990 pro-independence candidate Askar Akayev was elected president. On 31 August 1991, Kyrgyzstan declared independence from the USSR and a democratic government was established. Kyrgyzstan attained sovereignty as a nation state after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. 

After independence, Kyrgyzstan was officially a unitary presidential republic. Following the Tulip Revolution it became a unitary parliamentary republic; however, it gradually developed an executive president and was governed as a semi-presidential republic before reverting to a presidential system in 2021. Throughout its existence, the country has continued to endure ethnic conflicts, revolts, economic troubles, transitional governments and political conflict.

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APRIL SHOWERS

“Anyone who has surgery scars knows there's probably still some tenderness there.” - Breanna Stewart

The prompt from “Poets and Storytellers United” this week is to write something relating to “Telling Scars”. Scars are physical, emotional or spiritual. They are traces of what has blemished our body or psyche, leaving marks of healing. Healed scars may indicate healed past wounds and pain, but often that scar may be prodded into renewed pain if we press on it…

April Showers

April speaks with words of rain

Uttering watery farewells,
Crying through peals of laughter
As he leaves me all alone…

April says goodbye

His hollow words carefully chosen,
His false tears duplicitous
As his rainy days run out.

April showers, in shady bowers
Bringing forth May flowers - of pain…
April, friend, you have betrayed me,
And a shadow you have made me.
April showers, fall for hours
Bringing forth May flowers - of bane…

April leaves me once again,
Wounding, healing, promising much,
Giving little, taking all;
Dreams run, dissolving in his rain.

April is over, tonight his last night
April finishes and my love for you
A tired traveller, wearily stumbling
Exhausted, stopping finally by the wayside.

April showers, in shady bowers
Bringing forth May flowers - of pain…
April, friend, you have betrayed me,
And a shadow you have made me.
April showers, fall for hours
Bringing forth May flowers - of bane…

April ends my hopes
He kills my every fantasy,
Destroys my world, dissolves sweet images
Of happinesses he promised me would come.

April speaks with words of rain
Uttering watery farewells
Crying through peals of laughter
As he leaves me.

April showers, in shady bowers
Bringing forth May flowers - of pain…
April, friend, you have betrayed me,
And a ghost you’ve made me…

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

FRIENDS

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” - Helen Keller

The What’s Going On blog informs us that July 30 is International Friendship Day, as proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 2011, so as to promote friendship between people, countries, cultures and individuals with the aim to build bridges between communities enhancing peace efforts. Friendship is one of the glories of humankind and is an indisputable part of the meaning of “being human”. Here is my poem and as usual, the song from it is linked below it.

Friends

We are best friends,
Our bond never ends
We are friends…

When things aren’t right, when dark the night,
You feel so down, when wearing a frown —
Call on me, friend, what’s broke we’ll mend.

We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, together we’ll sigh,
We’ll eat ice cream, while sharing a dream,
Talk until dawn, without a yawn…

Friends, you and I, we see eye to eye;
Never pretending,  our love unending —
Giving and living, each other forgiving.

When everything’s good, with you I would
Share all the best, you are my guest;
Fun times together, bitter words never.

Loving each other, like sister or brother
We are the team that makes our dream
Really come true, just me and you!

Friends, you and I, we see eye to eye;
Never pretending,  our love unending —
Giving and living, each other forgiving.

Friends are forever, so we will part never,
Our bond is too strong, will last our life long,
Friends you and I, we have a deep tie…
Friends we will be, always together,
Through the rough weather,
Giving each other a hug and a helping hand…

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 508 - ELISTA, KALMYKIA

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” - The Buddha

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.
There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.
Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia, is a republic of Russia, located in the Volga region of European Russia. The republic is part of the Southern Federal District, and borders Dagestan to the south and Stavropol Krai to the southwest; Volgograd Oblast to the northwest and north and Astrakhan Oblast to the north and east; Rostov Oblast to the west and the Caspian Sea to the east. Through the Caspian Depression, the Kuma river forms Kalmykia's natural border with Dagestan.

Kalmykia is the only polity within Europe where the Dharmic religion of Buddhism is the predominant religion; the majority of Kalmyk people are Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhists of the Gelug and Kagyu lineages. The Kalmykia republic covers an area of 76,100 square kilometres, with a small population of about 275,000 residents. The republic of Kalmykia is home of the Kalmyks, a people of Oirat Mongolian origin who are mainly of Tibetan Buddhist faith. The capital of the republic is the city of Elista.

Kalmykia's natural resources include coal, oil, and natural gas. The region has a developed agricultural sector. Other developed industries include the food processing and oil and gas industries. As most of Kalmykia is arid, irrigation is necessary for agriculture, through the Cherney Zemli Irrigation Scheme.

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DRINKING MOONSHINE

“The phoenix must burn to emerge renewed.” — Janet Fitch

The prompt from “Poets and Storytellers United” this week is to write something relating to “Celebration”.

One of the things we associate with celebrations in the Western tradition is to have a drink… People drink alcohol for a variety of reasons, including celebratory, social, personal, and even self-medication purposes.
Some common motivations include stress relief, social lubrication, enjoyment, and coping with mental health challenges.
Alcohol consumption can also be influenced by environmental factors, family history, and cultural norms.
For people who are not drinkers, a substitute may need to be used. Drinking the light of the shining moon perhaps?

Drinking Moonshine

Tonight the moon fell into my cup
Was drowned; and dissolved all up.
The stars fell down as golden rain
To assuage my loneness and the pain.

Tonight, I’ll drink the fallen moon
And sup on stars with silver spoon,
To make the blackest night less dark,
Less silent, as I try to clear your mark.

Tonight the clock seems stopped

As minutes drag, the hours dropped.

I drink the moonshine, swallow stars

In hope the potent mix will heal my scars.

Tonight, your absence all the more acute
My thoughts run after you in vain pursuit.
The drink burns more than any spirit neat,
In deep swallows it’s drunk, my pain to cheat.

Tonight is black; of moon, of stars bereft
As dregs of moonshine are in my cup left;
My sweet star-meal has a bitter aftertaste
My empty night has my soul embraced

Tonight I’ll stay awake, despite my drink
My mind too full of you to think;
My heart too empty, and my bed too cold,
Tonight I feel deserted, frozen, old…

This poem is set to music, and you can find all references to my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel, or listen to it on YouTube,  Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

CELIA

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” -  Frederick Douglass

The New What’s Going On blog has prompted about “In Uncertain Times”.  In our days, perhaps more than ever before, we are seeing a wave of inhumanity sweeping the world. It seems that most of the powerful countries have been swept by a rush of dystopic authoritarianism in which an all-powerful leader seizes the reins of government, supported by a small minority plutocracy.

The common people are becoming progressively poorer, powerless and unable to react in a meaningful and life-changing way. Demagogy and easily digested, rose-tinted lies convince the dwindling middle class “all is under control and our countries will become powerful, and the best in the world”. This assures the autocrat in power that he stays in power and has the population under control…

Even someone who is relatively well off, or frankly rich, and has a conscience can become lulled into a sense of false security and ignore the cries of help of those who have nothing. Maybe these well-meaning people are pacified by donations that they give to ostensibly genuine charity organisations, a lot of which are bogus and support a bevy of well-paid staff and corrupt CEOs.

Add to all of this, increasing violence, crime, drug use, abusive relationships, teenage delinquency and criminality, loosening morals and increasing selfishness with decreasing community-mindedness and we have a world that is tottering on the brink of total disaster… Meanwhile, Celia plays her ‘cello…

Celia

Celia plays the ‘cello
And the strains of Bach
Caress the celadon on the mantel,
Exquisitely.

Celia looks out on Central Park,
Knowing that in the cellar
Vintage wine is being cooled,
Appropriately.

Oh, Celia, open your eyes,
And your frozen heart thaw!
Your world is built with lies,
All is not comme-il-faut!

Celia plans her dinner party –
Crystal and silver, eggshell china;
Chantilly lace and damask all laid out – 
Beautifully…

Celia content, closes her eyes
And manages to spare a thought
For those who need her charity,
Condescendingly.

Oh, Celia, come on down
See how poor people live;
All’s not too well in town,
Your excess they won’t forgive

The poem is once again set to music, and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” Instagram feed or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

TRAVEL TUESDAY 507 - GROZNY, CHECHNYA

“Ever since studying in Russia as a college student, I had been in a long-distance, one-sided love affair with Chechnya's remarkable history, culture and rugged natural beauty.” - Anthony Marra

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with Georgia to its south; with the Russian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia–Alania to its east, north, and west; and with Stavropol Krai to its northwest. 

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Checheno-Ingush ASSR split into two parts: the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic. The latter proclaimed the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which declared independence, while the former sided with Russia. Following the First Chechen War of 1994–1996 with Russia, Chechnya gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, although de jure it remained a part of Russia. Russian federal control was restored in the Second Chechen War of 1999–2009, with Chechen politics being dominated by the former Ichkerian mufti Akhmad Kadyrov, and later his son Ramzan Kadyrov.

The republic covers an area of 17,500 square kilometres, with a population of over 1.5 million residents as of 2021. It is home to the indigenous Chechens, part of the Nakh peoples and who adhere primarily to the Islamic faith. Grozny is the capital and largest city.

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I AM STRONG!

“Revenge is surviving, getting out, and being a better person than you were, and breaking the cycle.” — Kristy Green

The prompt from “Poets and Storytellers United” this week is to write something inspired by the phrase “Survive Out of Spite”.  An internet friend made me aware of the MEND project, which supports abusive relationship victims and helps them survive and heal by leaving the abuser and beginning anew, healing themselves in the process. My poem is inspired by this.

I am Strong!

You used me, you hurt me,
You tried to subvert me.
You thought my meekness
Was my great weakness…

I loved you and you fooled me
Your promises, all false and hollow;
I was so tender and you ruled me
You ordered and I had to follow…

Enough, I say! Enough’s enough!
I don’t deserve to have it rough.
Your selfish ways are over,
I’m no longer a pushover…
I am strong! So strong!
You’re in the wrong,
Between us it’s all over.

You cheated, you deceived me,
You lied, and belittled me.
You laughed and crippled me,
If only you believed me…

I gave you all I had, and more,
You took it all and wasted it.
My sweetness was not tasted,
Your heartless ways no more…

Enough, I say! Enough’s enough!
I don’t deserve to have it rough.
Your selfish ways are over,
I’m no longer a pushover…
I am strong! So strong!
You’re in the wrong,
Between us it’s all over.

The poem is set to music again, and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel or listen to it on YouTube,  Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

PS: Some of you have said that the song does not appear at the link sites. Type: "Otidorchestre" and do a search. Sometimes there is a slight delay from my posting it to its publication at the music sharing sites. Generally YouTube is the most efficient.