Ringing In The Year

Sitting here watching the evening pass
Waiting for the next year to start
Reading what others are saying
As the year begins to depart
Reliving things they have done
Or hoping for what next year will bring
All this seems so important
As the new year is about to ring
Why are we not like this on other days
In the middle of the year
When the calendar changes from June to July
What is it about January that brings this fear?

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Free Mixed Nuts!!

Mixed Nuts is free for the Next 5 days!! This book is a Kindle exclusive, so if you don't have a Kindle, please visit here for a Kindle app - all platforms including PC's and Macs!

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Being Cut Off

My smart phone's brain died
My computer left miles away
How am I to communicate
As I do every day?
I find myself reaching
For the phone that doesn't work
Especially when waiting too long
(The guy in front of me - a jerk)
I want the distraction of the internet
Or some texting to be done
Or that stupid bubble game
That I think is so much fun
Anything but being here
In a line alone
Stuck without a thing to do
Without my "smart" phone

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

New Kindle eBook!!! Mixed Nuts

Hey all!! Just completed another collection of poetry. Mixed Nuts is available on Kindle now, for just $0.99 per download (or free with Amazon Prime membership!). This collection rounds out the "Box of Chocolates" series, which may or may not make it to paper - still debating on that!

I know I should be telling you how great the poetry included in Mixed Nuts is, but while I may be a prolific poet, I cannot for the life of me SELL it. I don't want to tell you what is in it, because I want you to experience it through your own reading, as "It Is Yours" will signify completely. While I believe what I have to offer is good stuff, my opinion isn't the one which matters, because in the end, the story is just words on a page until a reader transforms it into the story it becomes.

Please enjoy! (Reviews welcome!!) :)


© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Taking a few days....

Since I started this blog of poetry, I have been trying to keep to a new poem every other day, or every third day, or as close to that as I can come. The holidays are upon us, and I am now surrounded by family and friends to the point that my time is very limited. Therefore, I can't keep to that pace for this week. I will be back next week, with a new collection as well as some new poetry for you to read here.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Memories

Triggered by something
Haunting in their approach
Can't be contained
Always beyond reproach
New ones form
Old ones relived
Twisting into a past
Waiting to be forgived
Why do we keep them
To relish in the pain
To expound in the joy
Or to try to regain
The past we want to remember
Instead of the one we lived


© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Clear Path

Sometimes you just need a roadblock
To keep you from doing
That really stupid something,
The one that will be screwing
You for the rest of your life
The roadblock blocks your path
And keeps you in the clear
It holds back the wrath
Of the evil thing you could do
Or the stupid thought
It keeps you out of harms way
And from being caught
So why be angry
For something in the way
It could just be the one thing
That just saved the day

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Twisting, Turning, Upside Down

Emotions running amok
Around the heart and through the head
Can't see the light
So filled with dread
Over the end of the world
So soon will come
Freaking out
Over what will become
Of this world after the day
The Mayan calendar ends
Emotions so coiled
Over the media trends
Twisting, turning
And upside down
Freaking out
About to drown
Within the hype surrounding
Over the end of the world
That may never come

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Very, Very Bad Thing

Shut it down
Shut it out
I can't take it
Without a doubt
There is such a thing
As too much feeling
I feel it now
I hate it
Shut it out
I can't take it
There is more
I just know
But I can't see
Need to let go
But I can't
Shut it down
Shut it out
It is everywhere
It is everything
That is wrong
With this world
Rolled up in one
Very, Very bad thing.

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

In a Funk

Well, I logged onto facebook yesterday to find the most horrible news being posted over and over and over again. I turned on the tv and the same - the same bad news over and over and over again. I turned off both the computer and the tv.

My heart still hurts.

I don't know what else to say because I shut down. I don't want to feel, because it hurts too much. And without feeling, there isn't writing. I will wait to feel for tomorrow.

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

#121212Concert

Here I am on my couch, watching some of the best poets perform for the world in order to raise money for the people affected by Hurricane Sandy. I am in awe. I am overwhelmed. I am crying. Granted, most people would look at this concert performance so outside the world of poetry, because of the music, but it isn't. If you look at the song choices, the words, and the emotions they invoke, well, it is some POWERFUL stuff.

I am so far removed from any of the devastation, I might as well be on another planet. It's not that I didn't know about it - I just don't personally know anyone directly affected and it is in the part of the country I have never been. Seeing this, especially though the scope of music, well, I can't even begin to figure out how to explain it. The tears streaming down my cheeks do that for me I guess.

So moved, I logged onto the 121212Concert.org website to donate, just as most people must be doing. The webpage is down. I bookmarked and will be back, but in the meantime, I am writing this:

Sing me a song
Make me forget
The devastation we face
And this mess
Sing me a song
Make me smile
Past the heartache
That will be here a while
Sing me a song
Let others hear
Let them feel enough
To send money here
We need so much
But will never just ask
We help each other out
We finish our task
Your help is great
Don't get me wrong
Please sing just one more
We need another song
Before we go back
To clearing out our streets
Thank you for raising us up
Within these tiered seats
We may still be in the dark
Without sound
While we don't see, or hear,
We feel you all around

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Writing Something...

I must write every day
Or so all the experts say
But what will I write today?
Please not the same as yesterday
Make it something grand & new
Something no one else can do
Make it read, or green, or blue
Take it from that other clue
Give it a twist, make it smile
Read it, laugh, give it a while
Read it again, then beguile
The essence of writing style
Give the readers a good read
Send it out there, indeed
Bring it back in, at speed
Rewrite, redo, knead
Question all of the motivation
In the midst of innovation
Out of the conversation
That started from writing something.

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Holiday Cheer

Singing Christmas carols in the middle of the store
Loving life, while finishing the shopping chore
Wondering if this holiday cheer
Is better or worse this year
It feels different, somehow
As if time contorted now
Being as good as times past
When I enjoyed Christmas with my siblings last
Lemon meringue, spiked egg nog, and matching pj's
All the little, silly things we did, in all these special ways
The ache has lessened even if the distance hasn't
Because I found the perfect present.....

© 2012 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved

Fiscal Cliff

Those of us working, can't see past tomorrow
Those of us not working, can't see past today
They throw this term at us
Fiscal Cliff
We don't know what it means
Fiscal is an accounting term; cliff is a terrain
They say we can't survive going over
Our government will go down the drain
We don't know why they fight
We just want it done
Give us some certainty
Come together as one
Before the end of the day
Gather round, give a solution
Don't fight over little stuff
Fix it for absolution
Because if we go over
And we don't survive
You'll be left to blame
Especially if we thrive
The anger is growing
Heavy in the air
Just make it so that we can endure
And live beyond compare


© 2012 Deanna Oaks

Poet Laureate... A dream come true!

Last night, the Paulding County Writers' Guild (PCWG) named me their Poet Laureate. I am truly honored, and am blown away by how much my poetry means to the Guild.

I just don't know what else to say! Thank you to the PCWG!

© 2012 Deanna Oaks

Challenges...

Something of Nothing

A guy with a blog challenged me to write
Create something of nothing, right?
Well, I'm trying and trying for something
Coming up with absolutely nothing
The page stays blank, just like my stare
Wanting to rise beyond with this dare
But the harder the try, the less I succeed
At this writing thing, indeed
I wonder what happens when nothing happens twice
Will the page remain blank or something as nice
All of a sudden, the page starts to fill
About nothing, the topic begins to spill
Then the thoughts become so much more complex
Like poker, it is more about the cards in the decks
Rather than the substance in your hand
A thought, an idea, understand?
Wait, maybe I can make it more clear
You read this poem, it is here
This something of nothing that I wrote

© 2012 Deanna Oaks

THANK YOU!!!

As a writer, I am always thinking everyone out there will hate me for what I write, or judge my writing in an unfavorable way (because let's face it, when it comes to what we read, we are ALL critics), or somehow figure out a way to keep me from writing. I write in my own little world, that no one (not even fellow writers) understand, as writing is such a personal endeavor  Given those things, I regard the writing I do with a sense of awe and wonder - and now I have some people to thank for pushing me in the write direction.

First, I have to thank Peggy of The Book Shelter in Hiram, GA. When I took several copies of my first  book of poetry (Lost Loves...Found Strength) to her store in 2008 and asked if she would sell them for me, she said "Yes" immediately. There were no questions about how it got published, if they can be returned if they didn't sell. The only question she had was, how much do you want to sell them for? After she read it, she proudly displayed my books right next to the register, so that all her customers can see them. Then, she invited me in for a reading. The reading didn't go over well, having only an audience of one person. Peggy didn't care about the lack of attendees; she kept inviting me back. Over the years, I have attended several of her author events, started mingling with other writers, and even formed a writer's group in her store. Peggy is the reason I continue to write. She keeps telling me how I shouldn't give up  as she wants good books to read and she can't have those books if the good writers stop writing. Every time I am about to give up, she contacts me with another wonderful event. She just KNOWS when I need a boost, and I am so very grateful for all of her support.

Then, I have to thank the members of the Paulding County Writers' Guild. Special thanks goes to founder Dana Richard Freeman - as his editing has kept me true to English, correct spelling and all. Without the insight and inspiration, my Kindle Books would not exist.

Lastly, I have to thank the readers out there...without you it is all for naught!

© 2012 Deanna Oaks