Submissions by VeronikaB
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
Writer of poetic prose (fiction and non-fiction) — Builder of a fantasy world — Traveller on the Heroic Journey — literary translator since 1984 — discovering my dormant poetic potential
NON-FICTION PROSE
Published
22nd Aug 2023 7:37pm
22nd Aug 2023 7:37pm
Canvas
a brief history of the English word canvas, including what sailing, painting, and the American flag have in common with jeans and politics
When Christopher Columbus set sails in 1492 to discover a new route to India his ships were powered by wind and canvas. Renaissance artists of the same era painted their masterpieces on canvas. Canvas was still used by the Dutch masters Vincent Van Gogh and Rembrandt in the 17th century.
Betsy Ross wasn’t an artist. But in the biography of the word ‘canvas’ she has a unique place. Her name is remembered for sewing the first American...
When Christopher Columbus set sails in 1492 to discover a new route to India his ships were powered by wind and canvas. Renaissance artists of the same era painted their masterpieces on canvas. Canvas was still used by the Dutch masters Vincent Van Gogh and Rembrandt in the 17th century.
Betsy Ross wasn’t an artist. But in the biography of the word ‘canvas’ she has a unique place. Her name is remembered for sewing the first American...
#narrative
#PowerOfWords
#historical #nonfiction
#historical #nonfiction
154 reads
4 Comments
NON-FICTION PROSE
Published
16th Aug 2023 5:31pm
16th Aug 2023 5:31pm
new project Power of Words
https://www.symbiopaedia.com/
Dear fellow wordweavers,
this is a work in progress
a new project inspired by Symbiocene (see link on website)
would be lovely if you'd come and visit, give some feedback, make suggestions, watch us grow...
and perhaps even get involved.
ˇsoon more!
∞ with lots of love ∞
Veronika
Dear fellow wordweavers,
this is a work in progress
a new project inspired by Symbiocene (see link on website)
would be lovely if you'd come and visit, give some feedback, make suggestions, watch us grow...
and perhaps even get involved.
ˇsoon more!
∞ with lots of love ∞
Veronika
#PowerOfWords
148 reads
8 Comments
STORY POEM
Published
15th Apr 2021 10:42pm
15th Apr 2021 10:42pm
The Elfin Way
(A song by Poppy, accompanied on her fairy lute)
Beneath the trek to
Heaven and the highway to
Hell there is
The elfin way
Where no path leads
Catch it
Before dawn pales into light
Hold it
Where dusk snakes into dark
Follow no path
Where fairies dance and goblins grow their gold
We slither through wyld tangles
We vanish in wyrd mist
But you must
Feel wonder
Smell the sweet musk of awe
Taste enchantment on the tip
Of your tongue you must
For fear you will hear ...
Beneath the trek to
Heaven and the highway to
Hell there is
The elfin way
Where no path leads
Catch it
Before dawn pales into light
Hold it
Where dusk snakes into dark
Follow no path
Where fairies dance and goblins grow their gold
We slither through wyld tangles
We vanish in wyrd mist
But you must
Feel wonder
Smell the sweet musk of awe
Taste enchantment on the tip
Of your tongue you must
For fear you will hear ...
#LifeStruggles
#TruthOfLife
#philosophical
#fairies
#magic
820 reads
9 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
17th Feb 2021 10:35pm
17th Feb 2021 10:35pm
Bethlehem's other Children
In the village of my childhood,
where apricot trees blossom
in February,
a sanctuary
celebrated with festive cheer
and happy children,
sugar plum fairies,
and Santa's elves,
there is a refuge,
a crčche for babies
rescued from garbage bins,
for many orphans the only home
they'll ever know,
just around the corner
from that famous crib
where a baby called Jesus
is said to be born,
and where women are
no longer allowed to walk
about on their own.
where apricot trees blossom
in February,
a sanctuary
celebrated with festive cheer
and happy children,
sugar plum fairies,
and Santa's elves,
there is a refuge,
a crčche for babies
rescued from garbage bins,
for many orphans the only home
they'll ever know,
just around the corner
from that famous crib
where a baby called Jesus
is said to be born,
and where women are
no longer allowed to walk
about on their own.
#children
#family
#war #memories
#war #memories
444 reads
10 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
17th Feb 2021 9:25pm
17th Feb 2021 9:25pm
The End of the World (translation of 'Der Weltuntergang' by Franz Hohler)
(translation from German, Veronika Bond)
The end of the world,
ladies and gentlemen,
given what we know today,
will go something like this:
In the beginning, on a fairly small island in the South Pacific,
a beetle will vanish,
an unpleasant one, and
everyone will say,
That beetle’s gone, at last, thank God
the horrible itch it used to cause,
and it was always full of grot.
A little later, the inhabitants of this island will notice
that early in the morning
when the birds are singing
one voice is...
The end of the world,
ladies and gentlemen,
given what we know today,
will go something like this:
In the beginning, on a fairly small island in the South Pacific,
a beetle will vanish,
an unpleasant one, and
everyone will say,
That beetle’s gone, at last, thank God
the horrible itch it used to cause,
and it was always full of grot.
A little later, the inhabitants of this island will notice
that early in the morning
when the birds are singing
one voice is...
#environment
#pollution
#greed
1563 reads
6 Comments
STORY POEM
Published
23rd Aug 2020 9:58pm
23rd Aug 2020 9:58pm
The Secret Truth
Memoirs of a Fairytale Princess
I was born in a Palace,
a dream come true,
for my parents and fairy godmother.
From thereon, however, things went downhill.
Mama got sick, a difficult birth,
and Papa, with his power, wealth and all that,
would have given his crown, I was told.
Couldn’t save her though.
My mother died, I was nursed
by a maid, wish I knew her name.
Then the Queen took over,
became my new mum, can’t tell exactly when.
Didn’t see her much,
and anyway, she’s all I’ve ever known.
My...
I was born in a Palace,
a dream come true,
for my parents and fairy godmother.
From thereon, however, things went downhill.
Mama got sick, a difficult birth,
and Papa, with his power, wealth and all that,
would have given his crown, I was told.
Couldn’t save her though.
My mother died, I was nursed
by a maid, wish I knew her name.
Then the Queen took over,
became my new mum, can’t tell exactly when.
Didn’t see her much,
and anyway, she’s all I’ve ever known.
My...
#LifeStruggles
#narrative
#historical #tradition
#historical #tradition
624 reads
13 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
22nd Aug 2020 4:04pm
22nd Aug 2020 4:04pm
The New Normal
and its confusing linguistic consequences
She says Hi at the checkout,
no idea who she is;
I like your mask, she says.
never been good with masks,
outside of Venice,
or a spa.
Did you make it yourself?
Struggling to match voice to eyebrows, I say,
There’s a seamstress in Oliveira,
the heart on my sleeve in a pickle.
How long does it take to forget
people’s faces?
How long for
the word face
to become obsolete?
Some day we may have to swap face for mask
in every sentence and phrase. ...
She says Hi at the checkout,
no idea who she is;
I like your mask, she says.
never been good with masks,
outside of Venice,
or a spa.
Did you make it yourself?
Struggling to match voice to eyebrows, I say,
There’s a seamstress in Oliveira,
the heart on my sleeve in a pickle.
How long does it take to forget
people’s faces?
How long for
the word face
to become obsolete?
Some day we may have to swap face for mask
in every sentence and phrase. ...
#LifeStruggles
#satirical
#honesty #PowerOfWords
#honesty #PowerOfWords
504 reads
18 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
21st Aug 2020 11:54pm
21st Aug 2020 11:54pm
Questions of the Fire Dragon
and a cycle of emotions
The fire dragon dropped in
one evening after dinner,
the sky, way past sunset,
red, glowing, aflame,
she crashed into the garden
the other side of the drive
set trees ablaze
got us worried about gas bottles,
wood store, cedar car port,
wondering whether to leave or stay,
suitcases still unpacked
from our trip to Switzerland.
She crackled and spat,
What if fear
lives
inside yourself?
Do you believe any
thing
is yours to own?
Got us thinking of books and stuff, ...
The fire dragon dropped in
one evening after dinner,
the sky, way past sunset,
red, glowing, aflame,
she crashed into the garden
the other side of the drive
set trees ablaze
got us worried about gas bottles,
wood store, cedar car port,
wondering whether to leave or stay,
suitcases still unpacked
from our trip to Switzerland.
She crackled and spat,
What if fear
lives
inside yourself?
Do you believe any
thing
is yours to own?
Got us thinking of books and stuff, ...
#grief
#earth
#environment
#tragedy
#fear
433 reads
8 Comments
NON-FICTION PROSE
Published
20th Aug 2020 10:28pm
20th Aug 2020 10:28pm
Boho
a brief history of the English word boho, how it found a home in central Europe in the era of the Roman Empire, became homeless in Paris and London in the 19th century, and is currently gallivanting around luxury homes of the rich and famous
If you have seen the film Les Miserables you'll have caught a glimpse of what life was like in Paris for poor people in the 19th century. From this urban landscape a counter-culture was born. It became known as Bohemianism.
The French Bohemians were not poor people by birth. They weren’t ‘miserable’ because they had no choice....
If you have seen the film Les Miserables you'll have caught a glimpse of what life was like in Paris for poor people in the 19th century. From this urban landscape a counter-culture was born. It became known as Bohemianism.
The French Bohemians were not poor people by birth. They weren’t ‘miserable’ because they had no choice....
#narrative
#PowerOfWords
#historical
894 reads
8 Comments
SELF POEM
Published
20th Aug 2020 1:17pm
20th Aug 2020 1:17pm
Call To Adventure
when life called at my door
and I saw the Unicorn,
saddled and ready,
I knew it was time
to leave the old
wounds
some never heal
no matter how magic a cure.
Do
not
grant
habits,
trauma,
the past,
or a secret,
power over you
or your story,
she said,
don’t let them define
your present or future,
karma or life.
I watched the bars of my cage
fade into the shadows
of the espalier hedge
and through the lattice the dawn
golden and rose
as I straddled two...
and I saw the Unicorn,
saddled and ready,
I knew it was time
to leave the old
wounds
some never heal
no matter how magic a cure.
Do
not
grant
habits,
trauma,
the past,
or a secret,
power over you
or your story,
she said,
don’t let them define
your present or future,
karma or life.
I watched the bars of my cage
fade into the shadows
of the espalier hedge
and through the lattice the dawn
golden and rose
as I straddled two...
#courage
#fate
#travel #healing
#travel #healing
504 reads
14 Comments
NON-FICTION PROSE
Published
19th Aug 2020 3:10pm
19th Aug 2020 3:10pm
Assassin (chapter from a book on English words)
A brief history of the English word assassin, including its legendary connections with cannabis and writers
Assassination is “one of the oldest tools of power politics.” It’s been around for thousands of years. In the year 336 B.C. the King of Macedonia, and father of Alexander the Great, was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
Around 650 years earlier, Absalom, a Judaic prince and son of King David, was assassinated by one of his own cousins. And the perhaps most famous assassin in the history of Ancient Rome is Brutus, one of three men who killed Julius...
Assassination is “one of the oldest tools of power politics.” It’s been around for thousands of years. In the year 336 B.C. the King of Macedonia, and father of Alexander the Great, was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
Around 650 years earlier, Absalom, a Judaic prince and son of King David, was assassinated by one of his own cousins. And the perhaps most famous assassin in the history of Ancient Rome is Brutus, one of three men who killed Julius...
#narrative
#PowerOfWords
#historical #nonfiction
#historical #nonfiction
469 reads
10 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
18th Aug 2020 10:33pm
18th Aug 2020 10:33pm
The Other Man (translated from German)
Franz Hohler, Der Andere, Luchterhand, 1988
translator Veronika Bond, literary translator,
editor Joshua Bond, poet
And suddenly
after many years
he stands there
the other man
looks at her
the one who belongs to you
he draws her towards him
and she waves to you
from the distance
and calls
I’ll be back
and you wish her luck
because she deserves him
the other man
and the feeling
you know so well
the feeling of trembling
that first touch with a stranger
the...
translator Veronika Bond, literary translator,
editor Joshua Bond, poet
And suddenly
after many years
he stands there
the other man
looks at her
the one who belongs to you
he draws her towards him
and she waves to you
from the distance
and calls
I’ll be back
and you wish her luck
because she deserves him
the other man
and the feeling
you know so well
the feeling of trembling
that first touch with a stranger
the...
#love
#relationships
#conflict #lover
#conflict #lover
446 reads
4 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by VeronikaB
