Friday, May 30, 2014

The Chocolate Book Tag Challenge

I've been invited to write a blog post about delicious books and chocolate.

Thank you to author Maria Savva for tagging me. You can read her blog here.

The rules are to choose between 6-8 types of chocolate and link them to different books.

Here it goes.

Nocturnal Embers




Nocturnal Embers by Helle Gade is fine and rich like Ferrero Rocher. The photographs and poetry are like magic on your tongue.





Beautifully written and moving story with characters you can't forget. A Splash of Hope by Charity Parkerson is like chocolate covered cherries exploding in your mouth.

From the Cafe and Beyond



Milk-chocolate covered espresso beans capture the essence of From the Cafe and Beyond by Nadia Hasan. Her emotions are powerful and so is the espresso. Both keep you awake and wanting more.

Sandcastle and Other Stories




Sandcastle and Other Stories by Justin Bog sifts through your consciousness like the crumbles of a Butterfinger. These psychological thrilling stories are ones you don't want to miss - much like your next bite of chocolate delight.

Trailer Trash, With a Girl's Name

Stacey Roberts is talented and hilarious in his book Trailer Trash, With a Girl's Name. And what candy sounds more funny than Whoppers Malted Milk Balls?

Pulse


Pulse by Natasha Head bleeds words like the dripping chocolate of a rose. It is intense and memorable.

Now, I'd like to tag my partner in poetic crime, Chris.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

In Memory of Maya Angelou

I wrote a post in 2010 titled My Regards to Maya Angelou.  In memory of a great poet I thought I would share it today.


I Know Why the Twitter Bird Tweets

The free bird leaps
on Google’s back
and scrolls down page
till the browser ends
and dips his wings
in Facebook rays
and dares to claim the internet.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow page
can seldom see through
his lists of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his claws to tweet.

The Twitter bird tweets
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tweet are read
on the distant hill
for the Twitter bird
tweets of freedom

The free bird may watch tivo'd Glee
And order up some good Chinese
and laugh as Sue Sylvester drones
On and on of kids off tone.

But Twitter bird stands on the grave of tweets
Getting “trends” for Trick or Treat
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his claws to tweet.

The Twitter bird tweets
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tweet is heard
on the distant hill
for the Twitter bird
tweets of freedom.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

3D Print

3D print me into
something real, impulsive 
and distinguished.

successive layers
built around a
pulse and backbone.

fused electrons hardwired
to my brain like therapy.

we are broken and
the sum of our spare parts.

©Ben Ditmars 2014









Image Source: Flickr

Monday, May 19, 2014

The Fresh Maker

Hello, everyone! It's good to be back. Thanks to Chris McQueeney for getting me back on Blogger.

*****

Club wielding imps were nothing.  I took them out with some well-placed Mentos and a Pepsi bottle.  But the assassin sent more fantasy creatures to dispatch me.  There were creatively concealed as always.  My box of Corn Pops did not hold delicious corn bites, but rather, unicorns.  They came charging out as I poured milk in my bowl.  Unicorn Pops!  I screamed.  Luckily, I remembered Tinker Bell from Peter Pan and called out, “I don’t believe in unicorns!”  They burst into flames and died a horrible death.

I packed my belongings and prepared to move again.  If I kept going place to place maybe the diabolical zookeeper would lose interest.  Or he would run out of fantasy creatures.  I mean, really, how many could he spare?  I was about to find out.

Before I went to the store I put on a fake mustache and parachute pants.  If I picked items at random there was no way a pixie or unicorns could hide inside them.  I became so confident I grabbed some of everything: Mountain Dew, M&Ms, deli meats, and so on.

I opened the first can of Mountain Dew carefully and there were no monsters inside.  It looked like I had finally fooled my nemesis.  The M&Ms and deli meats were delectable together and I kept gorging myself until I had one left of everything.  That’s when it happened.  The can of Mountain Dew let out a rabid Mountain Dew Goat.  The M&Ms released the Minotaur from Greek mythology.  I had no weapons to defend myself and a serious case of indigestion.


This is the third installment in the Pop Wars Saga started with Sprite...followed by Rasher of Bacon and Club Soda by Chris McQueeney.