Painting Poems

Under the mountains that tower in the sky
And beneath the painted forest

Lies a lit little cabin.

Now in this cabin so cute and quaint

Is hope and happiness and euphoria

Deep inside it’s heart.

Now some say the road goes ever on and on

I say that’s true

But at the end of the day when rest is all one needs

Turn to the lighted cabin.

 

“I love you,” said he

“I love you,” said she

The time was over

The war was over

Just him and her for as long as love lasts

Together

Though covered in scars from physical pain and emotional

Though tattered and worn and thrown and torn
The love that is shared is neither broken nor scarred

Love is not an emotion or a feeling

It is a way of life.

Scorched

     I watched the city burn.

     My life and dreams and future were like ashes blown away.

     I was safe they told me. I was safe and my brother was safe and I was protected by the people who ended up deserting me. I was gone.

     I waited in this glass high-rise that it’s only purpose now was to watch as the city burned to ash. Was this the World War Three that people spoke about for so long but never really believed in? I knew the city all around me was burning, so that meant the building I was in wouldn’t last very long either. I walked away from the window and laid down on my bed. The room was sweltering because of the lack of air conditioning, but still I covered myself in blankets like I always did at bedtime. All I could do at that moment was wait for that moment when I see Jesus face to face. I closed my eyes and surprisingly went to sleep. I was jolted by a wave of air out of my bed and into, the air? Surely not. I saw no reds and yellows and greys of fire and smoke. Only black. And that’s not just it. The air felt chill. I was falling? Why wasn’t I hitting the ground? Was I in Hell?

     Stop it, Delilah. This sounds too cliché.

     But I was. I was falling.

     “Excuse me, Ma’am,” A voice spoke in my ear.

     I panicked for a second before I fell to the ground. I landed right on my face. I put my hands flat on the ground close to my face to be able to lift up my head and chest but not my legs. I couldn’t see anything. Not even the blackest of nights could have created this dark of a sky.

     But the voice I never heard again. Only silence.

     “Hello”

     The noise startled me once again, and I fell back onto my face.

     “It’s alright, Ma’am,” The voice was gravely, “let me help you up.”

      In that instant, I felt a hand touch my shirt as he pulled me with force up to my feet. My legs were week and bent when my feet touched the ground. But once again, the man, beast, monster, helped me up once more.

     “Better put out that fire of yours,” the voice said.

     What fire?

     I looked down and raised my arms only to find out that my own body was.

     “Delilah, how long can you possibly stand the pain of your own life? How long will you be afraid of what is all around you, Delilah. How long will you keep on playing over and over this useless game inside your head? Will you fight or will you just turn the other cheek and act like this isn’t happening until your body starts eating itself? And you still choose the path of denial? You can’t fight when it’s too late. You cant stand. You cant even end it, Delilah! Because in the end, you are the world’s! What more could you possibly do? Become like me?”

     I turned around and in circles, trying to follow his voice. Tears were swallowing up my face, and not even squelching the flameless fire that consumed my body. And in the distance, when the voice halted. A light shown in the figure of a man. A red light. A bright light with flames and fire and smoke and heat. His body and face appeared in the midst of it all. His eyes shown like black sapphires and his grin was so wide, it appeared to be touching his ears. But his sapphire eyes were slipping down his face past his wicked grin as his skin melted and dripped slowly off his face. His hair was sizzling as his mouth opened wide. In that moment, he let out a blood-curdling yell that felt like I myself was smoldering and melting away. I was yelling. I was enraged. I was stomping my feet and throwing my fists back and forth with my eyes tightly squeezed shut.

     This has to stop.

     The body that was melting away was standing in a boiling puddle of his own flesh and still, continuously crying aloud. “This isn’t over, Delilah.”

     His bones collapsed in his own flesh and the sound ceased.  

     I held my eyes closed for a few beats longer before slowly peeling them open.

     “Bad dream?” A voice spoke. “You were shaking this whole cottage!”

     My eyes were fixed on the straw roof above me.

     “Bad dream,” I whispered, not having a clue whether the mother of the house would hear.

     I stood up slowly and walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall.

     My hair was charred. 

Past Halloween Costumes

    Over the past years, I’ve participated in Halloween many times.  I never really got into the whole trick-or-treating thing or the scary story part of it, but I loved to dress up. My first Halloween costume that I ever wore was a mouse costume. I remember seeing a picture of this in my mom’s photo album. I guess my mom had a Halloween party with her friends who had children. So I was a grey mouse with big ears and a painted face and whiskers. I think I was a pumpkin sometime after. When my sister was born (I was four), my mom dressed us up in the same costumes. The first year, we were both ladybugs, my mom had dyed pillow cases and painted black dots on them. She also painted our faces to match. We wore black under that. I remember that because we did Halloween at the Zoo. The year after, we were cowgirls. We had a couple of stick horses we rode around the battlefield mall. We also once both dressed up as black cats and went around our neighborhood. I feel like we dressed up in similar costumes a couple times else, but I cannot recall any other. I do remember dressing up as a Native American with a costume I bought at Kmart. As an upper elementary schooler, I began my Narnia faze in life. I dressed up as Lucy three years in a row with a dress that matched hers perfectly. I even had a big crown and a little satchel. One year, I dressed up as a volley ball player just because I was not creative enough to think of anything else. That was the year I officially stopped trick-or-treating. I just wore sports shorts and a jersey of some sort and held a volley ball in my hand as I passed out candy to little kids. The year after, I volunteered at my church and passed out candy. I was a princess because little kids like girls who wear a crown and have a big poufy dress on. I seriously felt like a Disney princess because there was girls who began to line up in a line to take pictures with me. I’ll see if I can find a picture of myself at home to show. The dress was one that my mom actually wore as a bride’s maid dress for a wedding. I don’t remember dressing up last year. I don’t know what I was doing either. But this year, I’m not going to be home for Halloween, so I won’t be celebrating it. I will try to dress up for school on Friday just because I have a Minnie Mouse dress from an ensemble competition I competed in. So depending on how much humility I have on Friday will determine if I actually dress up. But these were most of my costumes that I wore in my life.

A little view of my Minnie Mouse dress------------>

Favorite Movie Quotes

The Lord of the Rings

The Count of Monte Cristo

Pirates of the Caribbean

Brave

Unbroken

My movie preferences

    I don't really have a favorite movie. Those movies that I do like would be The Lord Of The Rings, Unbroken, and The Gladiator. I tend to like more serious movies. I'm not really into comedy or Romance. I also really like History documentaries on things that History classes do not usually cover. Like the Truth in King Arthur and on Hadrian's wall. I just find it very interesting and kind of dark, but that's what draw me in.
    I already touched on the fact that I do not like comedy or Romance. I also do not like movies that tend to be unclean. I just do not get what the point is. I do not like cliche movies. I do not like Pitch Perfect or even some of the Marvel movies.

    I watch movies more than I watch TV shows. I read more than I watch movies. A lot of times I will watch movies in the movie theater then I will not watch them after. But The Lord of the Rings for example, I've watched them many different times with a friend or a relative who maybe has never watched it.
In order to sit down and watch a movie, there has to be no lights whatsoever. I do not like the lights, especially since I like to watch more dark, serious movies, it just adds to the movie. It makes me more into whatever I am watching too.
    I took the survey and it said that I was not an introvert to any extent and that Socializing is not major when I decide to watch a movie, which means that I am more choosy when it comes to which movie I am going to watch. I often times use movies as a way of escaping reality. I also enjoy watching violent movies, but not horror. I think this is very accurate when it comes to me and movies.
    If my life story was made into a movie, Miranda Otto would probably play me. We have similar personalities and plus, she plays in some of my favorite movies where she kicks butt. I honestly dont know the major plot events in my life story. It could maybe focus on my dream to hook reality and fantasy together through my writing. But that's about it. The story would end happy, of course because I want to be very successful in my life.

Real Life Questions

 17. My perfect day.

This will be my perfect day set in the future of courses, with a family and a career. My perfect day is really simple compared to most people I think.  In the future, I want to live somewhere in the hills. Not in a big city, but close to one so that the grocery store and entertainment is close. I want to wake up early so that I am able to make the most of each and every day. I’ll help my kids get ready for school and send them off as well as kiss my husband goodbye as he heads off to work. After that, I’ll eat some breakfast and make some tea. On some days, I’ll even run to the farmer’s market. Maybe around 9:00, I’ll begin writing for the day until lunch. I’ll run to my kid’s school or meet my husband somewhere to eat lunch with one of my family members before I run to a meeting or talk business with someone. I’ll work on my work some more before I pick my kids up. I will help them get started on their homework before I start making dinner. We will all eat dinner as a family. If it was the weekend, we may go do an activity together or watch a movie. I want to be there to tuck my kids into bed and read the younger one a story. Then I’ll go to bed! Perfect! That’s all I want. To be content and happy in my life.

20. Asking questions.

I do believe that asking questions makes someone a good conversationalist. It shows the other person that you really do care about what they are saying and you want to know them on a more personal level. Naturally, people love to talk about themselves, so let them! Ask them questions. What do they like to do? Favorite food? What is their family like? How does it compare to yours? Asking questions builds relationships and helps form bonds relating to the things both of you connect with. I believe that it is really important in a conversation and in a relationship with anybody.

21. Large gatherings? Activities? Unusual sleeping arrangements?

Yes. Yes. Yes. I have family that lives in western Maryland, where half of the town is somehow related to one another. Occasionally, my family will all go up there. My cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents and my sister, and occasionally a pet all caravan up there. There is one particular town house that we all tend to squeeze in. All 20 of us. Once I even had to share a twin bed for a week or two. But it’s all fine. We love each other and really bond over games and walking through old abandoned buildings.

29. My vacation or getaway home. I would want a vacation condo on Sanibel Island, Florida. My family goes there sometimes in the summer. It is the most peaceful vacation place ever just because of the laws there that require no building be built there that is more than four stories tall. The white sands and many sea shells makes it even more perfect. Quite a while ago, I promised my mom that I would buy a condo in Sanibel Island and let her stay in it any time she wanted to because of all the hard work she has done. Her life has been really stressful and chaotic lately, so this is my goal. For my mom.

My future, as a Writer and in Life

    I really enjoyed hearing Mr. Odom speaking. I enjoyed listening to how he got started as an author, through his struggles and accomplishments. Knowing that it is really true. It is hard to get an Agent to back you up and then eventually a publisher who will be willing to get the book into the public eye. I thought the idea of joining a critique group was very interesting. I never thought about joining one before, but I can see how it can be a great help to many people, especially if one is just starting out and trying to get their name out. I liked how many options he gave out on ways to publish a book. If someone is not able to get an agent, they can always first self-publish it.
    A question may I would have for him now would just be, "Is there a certain author that you would say you try to mimic or mirror?" As a writer, there are certain authors that I am influenced my in a way where I would try to mirror.
    Where would I be? That is the question. In a year, I would love to focus more on my writing than I do now. To the point of me actually disciplining myself to get in a habit of writing everyday. Maybe then I will be almost done with writing my first book then I will start to query agents to ask them if they can be my agent. I have high hopes.
    In five years. I definitely want to go to college. Where? Maybe Corban University or The C of O or George Fox University. Maybe I'll even have a book published! That's my goal. To do something that will actually benefit me in my future life. And that's what I enjoy doing as well.
    In ten years, on my list is to definitely have a book published by then. I want to have a family. A husband and maybe a child, and I cannot forget a dog! If I decide that I could support myself with just writing, I want to move to maybe Scotland or somewhere else, just to get away for awhile. With my family, of course. If I can't support myself by just writing, I think it would be fun to be a linguist and work for the government somehow.
    In 50 years, I still want to be writing books. I never want to retire from something like that. Slow down a little, yes, but still keep it up. Because if I have a fan base like some of the authors that I like do, then my followers would be extremely sad if I just decide I'm going to retire. I don't really know other than that where I will be. It is the future; anything can happen.

Art Walk Story

This picture is a little inaccurate, but the concept is the same. The picture I had shows boats of all kinds drifting in the sea. When I look at this, it brings me many happy memories of times in my past. This makes me remember the times my parents and younger sister and I went to Sanibel over the Summer. That was our second trip in my lifetime to the small island off the coast of Florida. It is always so peaceful and not crowded because all buildings taller than 4 stories are illegal. It is full of wildlife and different types of trees. And the beaches! The white sands with many colorful sea shells. The beach was probably my favorite part. Watching people take their canoes or sailboats out on the sea at dusk and disappear into the sun. And the water. It was not that clear, but it reflected the light with amazing force that warmed up the island. I will never forget this island. This picture makes me think of every waking moment of being on that island with the people I love most.

Thomas Kinkade, The Painter of Light

    William Thomas Kinkade III was born in California on January 19, 1958. Throughout his childhood, he moved a lot because his dad worked with the Air Force and Army. Him and his family knew he was very good at painting from a very young age. Kinkade first started selling his paintings 
outside of a grocery store for 25 dollars apiece. Even though his family was tight on money, they scraped up enough money to send him to The University of California and eventually the Art Center College of Design. This is when he became a Christian. He found himself not fitting in with anyone and not liking the way the earth was turning out. He loved the country, the open lands and small cottages, and the lighthouses along the sea. This influenced many of his later drawings. Kinkade got married. He gave credit to his wife for getting him started. He began to become more known at this time. His wife, Nanette mentioned that he paints the earth’s history the way he wished it was. A long with that, a major point in his paintings is the light he uses. My grandma has many of his paintings in her house. When the lights are turned off, the lights in the painting look like they are glowing. Kinkade made a comment that he uses the light in various parts of his paintings to represent the light of Jesus. In some of his other paintings, he also paints a little 5282 symbolizing his marriage date, May 2^nd, 1982. Even though he made millions off of his paintings, he did go through bankruptcy and a period of depression. He recovered very fast and continued on painting. Recently before his death in 2012, he released a Disney collection of paintings which include, Beauty and the Beast, the Lion King, Aladdin, Pinocchio, and more. He is a very talented author, through all his highs and lows. His legend and his painting will never be forgotten.

The Gas Station Man

    The man, he hummed a quiet tune.

The world was young, the mountains green.

    No one around him to hear, just the moon. The moon at which no strain was lain until the stars above sat like a crown around the Earth. No words were brought from his mouth to the earth, but the humming continued all through the night.

    You see, that night was the last of his work. No business the old place had and no money, yet he was content with that in which he had achieved there in the past forty years.

    Dawn reached the earth so beautiful and rich with color that made the earth glow with pride and satisfaction. And it came with a new hum, more like a whistle. This one from the many glorious birds in the dense forest around.

    “Goodbye,” he said to the pumps and the store and the Pegasus. For a new journey in his life begun. An adventure. A spirit. A hope.

    With a satchel wrapped around his waist, he set off, into the forest and into the world. No place he needs to go, but everywhere he must.

    By light of sun and star and moon he walked, never daring to halt, never ceasing, and never looking back. And still, he hummed.

The world was fair, the mountains tall,

    And it was there he named the nameless hills and drank the untasted wells of deep, where he ventured far and wide and long. Not stopping until the Lord dare take him.

    Atop a hill, he peered in the great distance. The moon gleamed of red. And that morning came, in which dusk brought a red sunrise.

The blood of men was spilled that night.

    A shadow came upon the earth and lightning and thunder came with it, slashing through the sky above with a fierce and tempestuous attitude.  Fire and flame only started by a strike of lightning became its own person, causing anarchy in the forest.

    But still, the man hummed. He hummed with a new tone in his voice, those lyrics of hard and of dark powers that surrounded the earth in which people call home.

The world is grey, the mountains old

The forge’s fire is ashen-cold

And darkness dwells upon the earth.

    There comes a time when one has to end his journey upon the earth and begin a new one. Everyone reaches this point, including he. He lay on the mountain tall and closed his eyes for the last time and hummed.

But still the sunken stars appear 

Till I awake no more from sleep.

Found inspiration from Edward Hoppers painting 

And from JRR Tolkien's song, The Song of Durin

Comments

Maddie,

I feel like this is so true, even if we don’t have to get up early in the morning. Especially since the weather outside is gradually getting colder. I love your line, “The only thing keeping you from being lost at sea, is the responsibilities you can’t leave on the shore” I think this is true in so many ways. To be honest, my favorite part of my house is my bed because of how cozy it is and if I didn’t have to go to school or go to work, then I might as well live in my bed! I also love all of your descriptive words. Good Job!
I love all these quotes! I can connect with many of these. I really like the one that states, "were all just walking each other home." I think it speaks volumes, because I believe that life is a journey to find who we are, to find home. And people everybody who we meet is just helping us, whether they stay forever or just a season. I also like "let yourself rest" because I feel like we live in a fast pace world where people never seem to stop. There is a reason why my bed is my favorite part in the house! Thanks.
I could see you loving this. A day filled with shopping and fancy cars and concerts! Tell you the truth, my day would be almost the exact opposite, but that doesn't matter. I like your creativity with your best day ever. But I also l love your love for your family, that you would be willing to support them in a way that would benefit them the very most. I can tell you have a very kind heart. I enjoyed reading this and cant wait to read more!
In spite of all our differences, we apparently have some similarities! One of them is the age limit on retail stores. I have a late birthday, so I won't be able to work in one store that I want to work in till after I'm graduated which sucks. And what's the point of standardized tests? They don't prove anything because I work very poorly under that kind of pressure especially if it's timed. And I think all chocolate bars should be vegetables!

I loved your answers to these questions. I agree with you when you stated that people continue to learn no matter what age they are. I know my mom is a music teacher, and she is learning to play the guitar. My cousin had a journal where she would write down one fact she learned every day. I like what you said about how we are our own worst critic. That's so true! I entered a writing competition and I thought my story was horrible and so I let no one read it. when I got the results back from the judges, they all loved it. I don't get writer's block very often, I just feel like I don't have any good ideas so I tend not to write all of them down when I'm thinking.

Katie,

Hi, Katie! I can totally connect with you on these points. When it comes to reading, sitting in a hammock would be nice and I do love cream soda. I think it is really cool that your mom is a librarian. I always loved my librarians. Another thing I think is cool is that you want to write a book. Me too! From reading your other posts, I love your writing style and genre. I can agree with you about what you said about fantasy. I think that is why I like it so much. Because it surpasses the laws of this earth and makes the impossible, possible.

I feel like this describes me very well (besides being a brunette). I think just using colored words added to your memoir. I love it!

I loved all your quotes! I feel like most of them also describe me in some way or another. A couple ones that stuck out to me was the one about how women are like tea bags and the one by Helen Keller. I feel like sometimes you don’t know how strong someone really is until they’re put in front of an obstacle that they have to face. And Helen Keller couldn’t have said it any better. Just because someone can physically see, doesn’t mean they know right from wrong or can see beyond physical appearance. I enjoyed reading these quotes, Katie.

I guess this proves that “love at first sight” isn’t always the case. I like Anne’s attitude towards all of this. I believe this portrays females’ attitudes very well, especially towards someone who has been keeping a big secret. You did a nice job with the story!

I loved reading your opinion on dreams. I agree with you on the fact that dreams could mean something. Even in the bible, people had dreams that meant something so important to all of the world. And I have woken up before thinking, “What the heck was that all about?” Kind of interesting. But I do make sure to write down all my dreams, just in case. But in my own life, I never really considered any real life applications to my dreams. I guess it’s good to still keep it in my thoughts. And whatever we dream about, it does contain things that maybe we do need to know, even if it’s just to entertain us. We could really need the entertaining some days.

Taylor D,

Taylor, I completely agree with you. I like silence when I read. Sometimes I do listen to the relaxation station. But other than that, no. I do focus a lot on the way the author writes. For me, if the author does not have a very good writing style, I set down the book. You should try to read Ted Dekker. He is one of my favorite authors. I can remember when I was little, reading with my mom. For me, it was always Little House on the Prairie.  I’ve never read the Kite Runner. I guess I need to because it sounds kind of interesting. Thanks.

Hi. I personally have never read Stephen Hawking, but I have read philosophy books that cover the same topic as this. I can honestly tell you that I’ve never thought about the universe being supported by turtles. I found it very entertaining. I also thought it shed some light on a topic that is usually very serious and complicated. I enjoyed reading it, thanks!

I really love these quotes. I like the one by Stephen Hawking about a person's IQ. I think it is true on so many levels. I believe it's someone's level of respect and kindness where someone's intelligence shows through. I loved reading them!

I really like this story. I feel like it fits in perfectly with the theme, color. The added in color paints a picture in my mind. I can picture everything very vividly. I really like when you talked about the lips of the girl and without him, the lips were thorns. I would’ve never put it that way, but that’s why I like it. Because it is creative and unique. And someday the dusk will rival the dawn. I think that line is beautiful, especially since dusk and dawn are my favorite parts of the day. Good Job, Taylor!

Taylor, I think the story of your brother and your dream is very interesting. I’ve never had that happen to me before, where a dream of mine kind of came true. But I have had weird Deja-vu moments where I was doing something or I heard something that I feel like happened before. So maybe I have, I just don’t exactly remember. I guess that just shows how much you care about your brother. That is a good relationship. I wish I had that kind of relationship with my sister.

I am an Invisible Man

    I am an invisible man.

    Some people call me a guardian angel.

That I am not. Am I God? No. Am I a ghost? No. Then what am I? I am whatever I am created to be. I can be a theory or a religion or a culture. I could be the virulent vandal or the one who saves you from eternal desolation. I can be the water you drink or the clothes you put on in the morning. Or everything. Or nothing. But I am who I am. An invisible man.

    Did I confuse you? Good.

    The moon and the sun and the sky and the very ground you walk is only there because YOU wanted it to be! Do you want me to be there, following your footsteps as you walk through the forest or the one who holds your hand through hard times? Proclaim to me you want me to and I will. Beneath the boundless barriers of this broken world, I am here waiting for the words that you will speak. But remember this. If you choose me, I choose you.

    I am an invisible man.

    You wanna go to Paris? Australia? Narnia? I can take you there. Now I don’t want to be cliché and tell you that all you need to do is believe, because that’s not all. What if I tell you that I am friend to more children than people like you?  Not just because they believe, but because they have a childlike faith. Everything they see is new. And to them, there could be a unicorn out there riding an elephant on a plane.

    Sounds funny. Absurd even.

So you want me to be a guardian angel? God? Do you want me to be a ghost? I can! But I am nothing without you! I am just an invisible man, reclusive to this world who is in search of a marvelous adventure.

    I am your dreams! Your thoughts! Your imagination and feelings and thoughts and wishes. I am a philosopher, a poet, a narrator, a musician.

    I am YOU.

    But until you do something, you will do nothing. In your rocking-chair, by your window dreaming, shall you long alone. In Your rocking-chair, by your window, shall you dream such happiness as you may never feel.

Six Word Memoir

I paint

pictures

with words

Don’t talk to me,

my friend.

I don’t make rules I enforce. 

(my dad's life story in six words)