The Wordsmith's Forge

This poem is spillover from the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from chanter1944, technoshaman, and Anonymous. It also fills the "meaningful choices" square in my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth and fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It is the third in a set, after "Escape a Thousand Memories" and "Who Can Create the Future," before "Layering Flavors, Tastes, and Textures," "A Vibrant Symbol of the American Dream," and "The People Who Give You Their Food."

Warning: This poem and its notes list a lot of delicious Syrian food. It may make you hungry for things you can't get easily, unless you make them yourself. But there are recipes!

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This article looks at why Generation Y is unhappy. Some of it is true, but some overlooks other important stuff.

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These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poem: "Escape a Thousand Memories"
Today's Smoothie
Poem: "One Act of Pure Love"
Birdfeeding
Poem: "Becomes the Saving Grace"
Poem: "A Strong Set of Collective Values"
Birdfeeding
Poem: "Who Puts Their Life on the Line"
Community Building Tip: Urban Improvement
Creative Jam
Poem: "The Only Real Stumbling Block"
Birdfeeding
Tree Guy
Poem: "Dig a Little to Find It"
Poem: "An Elusive, Tantalizing Partner"
Birdfeeding
Coping Skills: Take a Break
Poem: "Sharp Sauce"
Birdfeeding


The half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics went well last week.  I still have several poems to post.


Poetry in Microfunding:

There are two open epics at present. 

"Rainshadow Road" belongs the Daughters of the Apocalypse series. It introduces Maggot to the Clearwater Caravan.

"The Hobbomak" is now complete. Emma and Jesse finish explorations and think about what to do next.

"A Celebration and a Consolation" belongs to Polychrome Heroics. Keira comforts her mother after the breakup.


The weather has been warm, and we got some rain one night. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a small flock of mourning doves, a small flock of house finches, several grackles, a female cardinal, a rabbit, and a squirrel. Currently blooming: white penstemon, orange butterflyweed, Asiatic lilies, orange daylilies, Here-Lies-Butch daylily, violas, hostas, hollyhock, spiderwort, and a couple of white things in the wildflower garden. Blackberries have green fruit. Black raspberries and mulberries are ripe.  Serviceberries and pie cherries are almost done.

I am familiar with many of those upper steps!  :D

There is no end to knowledge and discovery.  It has mountains upon mountains.

Today is cloudy and cool with a light breeze.

I fed the birds.  I've seen house finches at the hopper feeder, and I heard owls hooting in the yard.

I walked around and took pictures.  Got the newly blooming hollyhock and spiderwort, but the Here-Lies-Butch doesn't currently have a bloom open. 

EDIT 6/21/21 -- I picked most of a bag of mulberries.

EDIT 6/21/21 -- I  cleared 2 spots in the prairie garden.

EDIT 6/21/21 -- I planted 2 spots with purple coneflower, zinnia, and tallgrass prairie wildflowers.  Then I watered them.

Lots of fireflies out tonight, surprising when it's so cool.

For my friends living with chronic or intermittent pain, this site has lots of other tracking tools, communication tools, and other pain management tools.  While abstract numbers are rarely helpful, concrete illustrations of how the pain affects your body/life are much more useful.

Remember, you cannot count on the health industry to provide usable tools when you need them.  If you find something that works for you, carry it with you.  Doctor training drastically damages their ability to communicate.  It often helps if you can show them a picture.

I posted pictures of the yard after the tree cleanup. 

These pictures are from Friday, June 18 after the tree guys cleaned up the yard.

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This poem is spillover from the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from chanter1944, technoshaman, and Anonymous. It also fills the "futurology" square in my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with ng_moonmoth and fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It is the second in a set, after "Escape a Thousand Memories" and before "Good Food Choices Are Good Investments," "Layering Flavors, Tastes, and Textures," "A Vibrant Symbol of the American Dream," and "The People Who Give You Their Food."

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These are the setting and content notes for "Escape a Thousand Memories."

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