Big Day Ahead: Night before

It’s the night before an important event: a big exam, a major presentation, your wedding. How do you calm your nerves in preparation for the big day?

 

A War of Nerves

A War of Nerves (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 


 

The night before,

 

There’s very little to actually do.

 

Except show up and do the deed.

 

For if you’re not ready right now,

 

You won’t be ready tomorrow.

 

None can be done extempore.

 

–Linus Fernandes

 

Howl at the Moon: Werewolf

“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” — Allen Ginsberg

Do you follow Ginsberg’s advice — in your writing and/or in your everyday life?


If I were a wolf 

Or a werewolf,
I’d howl at the moon,
the stars and the planets.
“And when it’s midnight,
I’d lurk in the dark,
For  I’m the beast about to strike.”
A thriller for a triller.
—Linus Fernandes.

A German woodcut of werewolf from 1722.

A German woodcut of werewolf from 1722. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Truth Serum: Q & A

You’ve come into possession of one vial of truth serum. Who would you give it to (with the person’s consent, of course) — and what questions would you ask?


A truth serum have I,

That you might choose to take or not.

(I need your consent.)

But then you’d have to trust,

That what you confess would not be repeated

—Ad nauseam.

Or would you rather 

Sign a disclaimer,

That what’s said under the influence,

is practically inadmissible 

In court or elsewhere.

The questions I would ask then

Are neither here nor there.

—Linus Fernandes.

 

Ready, Set, Done: Test of time

Our free-write is back by popular demand: today, write about anything — but you must write for exactly ten minutes, no more, no less.


The charm of ten minutes,

Can last a lifetime.

English: Male monarch butterfly (Danaus plexip...

English: Male monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), recently emerged and getting ready to take its first flight, in Auckland, New Zealand. It flew away about 5 minutes after this photo was taken. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Maybe.

Can these words

Stand the test of time?

Not unless they’re writ in stone.

—Linus Fernandes.

Flash Talk: State your case

You’re about to enter a room full of strangers, where you will have exactly four minutes to tell a story that would convey who you really are. What’s your story?


I have but a few minutes,

In which to state my case.

Wow! Flash

Wow! Flash (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How shall I start?

How about—“Hi! Good morning!

I’m Linus Fernandes, 

and I really want this job.”

—Linus Fernandes.

Delayed Contact: All the Mes

How would you get along with your sibling(s), parent(s), or any other person you’ve known for a long time — if you only

Forever Delayed

Forever Delayed (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

met them for the first time today?(Thanks for the prompt suggestion, LisaListed!)


I meet men daily,

Men from my past, men in the present,

Men and women,

Who claim they’re me,

And it worries me,

Because I’m asked, nay begged, to be kind

To all their me.

How am I to tell them,

That then there’ll be no room for the me of now.

I’d rather show them the door, gently,

Unless they can make it worth my while,

To humor their ‘lie’.

(I tell you all this honestly).

~Linus Fernandes

PS: Thanks to Tom Balistreri for inspiring this post.

Absolute Beauty: Picture it

We’ve all heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do you agree? is all beauty contingent on a subjective point of view?

(Thanks for suggesting a similar prompt, Christian Thomas Golden.)


 

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,”

She told him with a glint in her eye.

But he was having none of it.

“Yes, I’ve heard that a million times before.

But what am I supposed to do with just a lousy picture?”

—Linus Fernandes.

 

Overload Alert: Common Sense

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” — Gertrude Stein

Do you agree?


 

The World Wide Web (WWW) 

is a wonderful thing.

It allows me to check, re-check and 

even validate,

my thoughts, my innermost reflections.

But it’s not the best,

To seek out  things in depth,

For you’ve got to question,

What’s  put out in a matter of seconds.

Is this why common sense is uncommon?

But then why just blame the net?

—Linus Fernandes

 

Cosmetic: To-Do? Done!

Quickly list five things you’d like to change in your life. Now, write a post about a day in your life once all five have been crossed off your to-do list.


The list’s all done.

I’ve transformed

Into that angel you were always searching for.

But then I’ve left a portrait

In my attic

That’s all me, all gray!

I’m cosmetic!

I’m plastic!

—Linus Fernandes

Uncanned laughter: We laughed, we dared not cry

A misused word, a misremembered song lyric, a cream pie that just happened to be there: tell us about a time you (or someone else) said or did something unintentionally funny.


It was meant to be a joke,

It was not meant to harm,

(I’ll not tell you what or why)

Or even drag on,

But the hurts hurtled on,

On and on,

With the pace of a juggernaut.

We grew weary, we grew teary

Yet, we laughed through our wails.

We dared not show our pain.

We laughed because we dared not cry.

~Linus Fernandes.