Winter Scene by BJ Neblett

Hard to believe 2014 is about over, winter is here. I will be celebrating my Christmas Eve birthday with friends and fellow softballers at an annual get together to benefit orphans at Conor Byrne Pub in Ballard. Everyone is invited for a fun pot luck starting at 5 PM. And here's wishing everyone a blessed and happy holiday season.
Keep watch for more stories on my author's blog, and a very special month long continuing blog on love and romance, right here the month of February. In the mean time, here's a new poem to celebrate the new season.
Peace and love.
BJ

Winter Scene

by BJ Neblett

© 2014

Crystalline flakes dance in the wind outside

Frozen avenues mock the lamenting sun

Fleet footed snowmen assemble to play

Bundled warriors in the snow and sun

Apple cheeked invaders that laugh and play

Through my window the war rages outside

For children snow is to dream and to play

Matterhorn’s for conquering in the sun

Laughter is the sugar of life outside

To play in the sun and snow outside is

To be a child and laugh again

Autumn Scene by BJ Neblett

It's been a while. I want to thank all for the concern and well wishes while my face repairs itself. Still some swelling and pain but all is going well! I am looking forward to getting back on the mound next season! In the mean time a bit of housecleaning and updating. You can now access all of my stories in Romance and eFiction magazines as well as my books by clicking the picture to the right. They are also available at Barnes & Noble. For those without Kindles or Nooks, they are available through the publisher at fictionmagazines.com.
Also, just in time for Halloween, I have posted one of my most popular and scary horror stories, Satan's Blood to my author blog for a free read. Just click the link to the right and enjoy. I suggest with the lights on!
Finally, here is a recent poem to get you into the season. Enjoy, and be sure to link, like, comment and share the love.
BJ

Autumn Scene

BJ Neblett

© 2008, 2013

October enters wearing a jacket

Knit tasseled cap and rosy freckled cheeks

With harvests of plenty farmers delight

World Series, State Fairs and pumpkin delights

Hunter’s moon simpers down with gibbous cheeks

Aquilo’s sharp breath toys at your jacket

Candied trick or treats, children’s apple cheeks

Grid iron reunions, Thanksgiving delights

Homecoming Queen in letterman’s jacket

Frosty cheeks glow

Windswept leaves delight in a final dance

Before the sullen earth is shrouded

Beneath an ivoty jacket

Nicolas Cage Or John Travolta/New Poetry by BJ Neblett

Nicolas Cage Or John Travolta/New Poetry
BJ Neblett

The new issue of Five Poetry (Vol 2 No 2) is now available through Amazon, B&N and the publisher Fiction Magazines. Just click the image to the right. The magazine features five works by five poets on a single topic. I have five somewhat personal recent poems in this issue relating to love, tracing a faltering love affair. For those of you without a Kindle type device, the issue will be available in other formats (.pdf, etc) through the publisher next month.
Tuesday is the day I enter the dreaded hospital for some facial reconstruction surgery. Now that most of the swelling has gone down, I actually don't look too bad. (Some will argue the fact. Many I'm sure wish there had been more damage done.) But the doc says the procedure is necessary to prevent future complications. He also needs to see first hand if there is any other damage not revealed by the MRI. I SHOULD be out sometime Wednesday, maybe Thursday. Most of you know I am not comfortable in or around hospitals and I am doing this one all alone... such is the life of a bachelor. I guess the only question left is will I come out looking like John Travolta or Nicolas Cage. (Vague movie reference.) I'll be happy just to come out. You can bury me under the pitcher's mound. (Grave marker inscription: HE LOVED NOT WISELY BUT TOO WELL.) I just hope they have softball in heaven. (Vague reference to my short story It's Only A Game, posted November 11-18, 2012)
Thanks. I'll be in touch as soon as possible.
BJ

Facial Stitches, Poetry and Downtime

Regular readers of my blog will be aware of the results of my last softball game of the season. Those of you who aren't just switch over to my author's blog and check out my last entry: Deja Vu All Over Again, September 16, 2014. Kids, don't try this at home!
As a result, from September 30 thru October 1 or 2, the good folks at First Hill Campus of Swedish Hospital here in Seattle will be busy rebuilding my face. (They promised I wouldn't look too much like Frankenstein's monster... I even suggested to them to do a nip here, a tuck there and take care of the old eye bags) This will be especially fun for me since I am not exactly fond of hospitals. Anyone who knows me will tell you I have to have a VERY good reason to even go into one for a visit.
I've laid in a stock of soup, cottage cheese and pudding. I've already been living on Ramen Soup for the past two weeks! As soon as I am able, I will post new blogs, not sure how long that will be since I am on my own here. Maybe I'll even throw in a couple of 'after' pics. Until then, take care, thanks for reading and be sure to share the love.
Oh, the good news: five of my poems will be featured in the new issue of Five Poetry, available through Amazon, B&N, etc. Not sure of the issue date, should be this month or early next. As soon as I am able I'll make a post and link.
BJ

Living, Learning and Reaching by BJ Neblett

“…a man’s reach should exceed his grasp.”

                                    Robert Browning

            I’ve been grasping for what lies just beyond my reach all of my life.

            It has led me afar and on many adventures. Yet my hand remains empty.

            The trick is to keep reaching…

                        But stop running…

                                    And it will come to you.

                                                            BJ Neblett

Thanks to Ibrahim Abdulbaqi for the beautiful and inspiring photography.

Peripheral Vision by BJ Neblett

New day; new beginning; new poem. Starting over is never easy no matter where or from what you are starting again. (Didn't I write a poem about that?) Anyway, enjoy this new poem as you enjoy your own fresh start, even if it is just a fresh new day. And please be sure to check out my latest blog, the link is to the right, and my new story Ponytail - Never Say Uncle in the new issue of Romance Magazine. Just click the image on the right. Please like, link, comment and share the love.
BJ

Peripheral Vision

BJ Neblett

© 2014

Gone from my sight

Not from my mind

Memories remain

I hear your voice

I feel your heat

I taste your tears

A blind man stumbling

Amorphous visions

Whisper to my ear

Tell me you’re near

Tease and torment

Bitter and sweet

Memories remain

Gone from my sight

Not from my heart

                        Seattle, WA

                        July, 2014

Sorry from BJ Neblett

As my new romance story Tulips is released today in July's issue of Romance Magazine (Vol 2 No 6, click the image to the right), here is something to ponder, a bit different, but oh, so powerful, by way of my friend Clancy Tucker. For more of Clancy's wisdoms click here: Clancy Tucker's Blog

If you still don't understand contact me. In the mean time be sure to link, like and comment.

Peace,

BJ

.

Outside The Wire by BJ Neblett

I taught Creative Writing, Poetry and ESL for a while to inmates in several federal prisons. While I like to believe my efforts touched and helped my students, I was the recipient of a very eye opening education. I came away from the experience with several new poems, material for more short stories, and a decidedly different outlook. Here is one of several poems I wrote from an insider's view point. If it frightens you... good! Be sure to like, link and comment.
Peace and love,
BJ

Outside The Wire

BJ Neblett

© 2007, 2014

Outside the wire

Sun shines warmer

Wind blows cooler

Air smells fresher

Life tastes sweeter

Outside the wire

Rivers sing

Flowers dance

Children wish

Mothers pray

Beyond the wire

A blood red sun

crosshatched with chain link

and razor wire

surrenders to an indifferent world

while a bloodied fourteen year old

pot marked with scars and tracks

and tags and tears

surrenders to the blue crush

of cold steel and sequestered dreams.

Beyond the wire

idealism is the commodity

compassion the cost

Folsom

Huntsville

Attica

Eastern State

Dachau

Inside the wire

Smiles are painted

Eyes are tainted

Minds are gelid

Hearts are hardened

Inside the wire

the velvet carpet of night

swallows Sodom’s towers

retching out filth

and waste

mean streets and mean thoughts

a ribbon of highway

a smugglers agenda

life exists between

the ticks of the clock

the beats of the heart

in the darkness of souls

in the shadows of reality

Beyond the wire

amidst the myopic madden masses

the blind man leads

Jail

Prison

Lock up

Slammer

Death camp

Outside the wire

Birds sing

Grass grows

Bees sting

Snowflakes kiss

Graduation by BJ Neblett

Proms, graduation and memories... it's that time of year again. Here is an oldie especially for the season. Enjoy and be sure to like, link, comment and share the love. And thanks to all for making last week's post on my author blog so popular. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so. It is another random chapter from my forthcoming memoir A Change Is Gonna Come.
BJ

Graduation

BJ Neblett

© 1970, 2014

Out of darken corners

Of beauty and of light

We send you forth our battles

To fight with guns of knowledge

To defend your wisdom walls

Built upon books of learning

Mortared by trials and falls

Of ideas seeking ideas

Of thoughts seeking minds

To plant the seed of knowledge

To seek and yet to find

The war not nearly over

The battle’s just begun

And heroes being made of those

Who dare to think as one

For Barb

                                    Broomall, PA

                                    May, 1970

Easter Sunday 2014 by BJ Neblett

A beautiful sunny Sunday can do wonders for the spirit and the muse and the memory. As you enjoy this Easter Sunday, please enjoy this special new poem.
Peace,
BJ

Easter Sunday, 2014

BJ Neblett

© 2014

I bought a bouquet

of tulips yesterday.

They reminded me of you.

The farmer’s market

where I bought them

was busy with people.

But the man selling the

tiny donuts you loved

wasn’t there.

So I had a bagel

with my Sunday paper

at Starbucks.

I placed the flowers in a vase

next to the picture

of you at the tulip

festival last year.

It made me smile.

When I returned home

from shopping

I thought you were here.

But it was just the scent

of the flowers.

It made me dream

of you again.

The pillow where

you lay your head

remained cold and barren.

I bought a bouquet

of tulips yesterday.

They reminded me of you.

Today I threw them

in the trash.

                 Seattle, WA

                 April, 2014

Looking Back by BJ Neblett

Looking Back
BJ Neblett
© 1967, 1970, 2013, 2014
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
                                                                F. Scott Fitzgerald
                                                                The Great Gatsby 
As one of my all time  favorite books concludes, I am again reminded of how desperately we sometimes cling to the past. And of how simple life can really be if we could only:
                                                                 Learn from the past
                                                                 Live for the present
                                                                 Look to the future.
                                                                           BJ Neblett
Enjoy these two poems from a different time, a different place and a (somewhat) different BJ.

Untitled

BJ Neblett

© 1967, 2013

I thought you said you loved me

When you asked me my name

I thought of how an hour from now

Would it still feel the same

But all that mattered was your laughter

It hid your last goodbye

Disguised as rain clouds in the air

And taught me how to cry

Untitled

BJ Neblett

© 1970, 2013

I wonder if you’ll ever think of me

Somewhere within your castle mind

Of crowded rooms

And sweeping halls

And ivory towers

And crumbling walls

That

            t

              u

                m

                   b

                     l

                      e

Through the caverns of time

You’ve set aside to live within

And the world

A microscopic toy to you

To play with as you will

Or destroy as you please

Heart and Soul by BJ Neblett

"The past is a hotel. You can check in any time, enjoy the view. But you can't live there, the cost is too high."
                                                          Elysian Dreams by BJ Neblett
Change is never easy, be it moving across country or moving through the loss of a loved one. I have had my share of moving as well as a loss. You never fully get over either, you just keep going. Here are a couple of poems: an oldie for the heart and a more recent one for the soul.

Untitled

By BJ Neblett

© 1984, 2013

             A single tear

            Washes away

            Water colored lies

            Slain by the guilt

            Of promises broken

            Tomorrow dies

             For Robin

Encore

by BJ Neblett

© 2009, 2013

Starting over

                        again

Tired old city tired old faces

Tired old friends

Been there and done that

Like a stuck record

                                    repeat           repeat

                                                repeat           repeat

Tired old questions tired old answers

Tired old fears

Starting over

                        again

Different city different faces

Different friends

Carousel of time

Ticket paid with tears

                                                        around

                                       around                   around 

                                                        around

Different questions different answers

Different fears

Starting over

                        again

Greeting challenges seeking horizons

Facing new days

Awaken dreamer

Everest to climb

                                                                        higher

                                                            higher

                                                higher

                                    higher

Answering new questions reaching new horizons

Facing new fears

Starting over

                        no more

Charlie Brown On Love

"Love is being happy just knowing she's happy... but that isn't so easy."

Growing up I suffered from un-diagnosed dyslexia. A Peanuts coloring book helped me learn to read. Later I discovered good ole Charlie Brown had a lot more to teach me about life and about love. So for Valentine's Day here are some of the lessons I learned, and a few I probably should have learned from Charlie about love.

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love."

"Love is not giving up on someone when they don't love you back."
"Love is a baseball."
"Love is standing in a doorway just to see her if she comes walking by."
"Love is visiting a sick friend."
"Love is being able to spot her clear across the playground among four hundred other kids."
"Love is wishing you had enough nerve to go over and talk with that little red haired girl."
"Love is getting someone a glass of water in the middle of the night."

Thanks Charlie.
For more on love from the Peanuts gang.

Ernest Hemingway On Love

As Valentine's Day approaches, I have come across this quote from one of my favorite authors. Known more for his realistic and gritty depictions of the human condition and spirit, Hemingway was also quite the philosopher when it came to love. Many of his private writings and letters reflect a softer and more contemplative side, as evidenced by this quote taken from a personal letter. It touches my heart every time I read it over, and I hope it does the same for you.
To someone who has touched my heart: Happy Valentine's Day!
Love to all,
BJ

"I guess the true extent of one's problems is measured by the capacity of your heart to love anything when your head knows there is no good end to it."
                                                     Ernest Hemingway

The Gift by BJ Neblett

The Gift

BJ Neblett

© 2014

Once I was a lover

Through youthful eyes I saw

The world a brightly wrapped package

Each dawn Christmas day

My heart I sent before me

Its glow lit my path

The girls who did abide me

I loved them everyone

With poems wise and tender

With songs both sweet and sad

My love boxed gay and brightly

A gift of the pilgrim soul

Many a heart would tarry

Many a breast would sing

Each gentle touch a promise

And every kiss a lie

Each moon would enrapture

Each sun revealed the truth

The package prized and desired

The gift inside ignored

And so my soul did wander

Cold years marked my path

Unopened and unwanted

My gift inside to die

Love’s song but a memory

Heart’s glow a flickering light

Through dimming eyes I saw you

A rose against the snow

My gift all but forgotten

The wrappings torn and brown

You took the love within me

Unquestioned for your own

I'm Just A Guy

Some poetry comes from the mind; some comes from life. And some just stand and speak for themselves.

I’m Just A Guy

BJ Neblett

© 2014

I am just a guy

I laugh I hurt

I smile and cry

I won’t apologize

Hopeless romantic

Foolish some say

You can take your pick

I won’t apologize

No one at my side

Dancing through life

With my stubborn pride

I won’t apologize

Just like everyone

Here all alone

Looking for someone

I won’t apologize

Accept what you can

Who I may be

Whatever I am

I won’t apologize

Look deeper to see

What beats inside

Notice the real me

I won’t apologize

My heart on my sleeve

Prayer on my lips

Just trust and believe

I won’t apologize

I am just a guy

I laugh I hurt

I smile and cry

I won’t apologize