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Cathy Coley

poetry (9)

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Tuesday, November 23, 2021

In my last entry I discussed a new project I'm working on. I'm making some headway in it, and edited my last blog post here to reflect the work as it is now. I have gone far enough that I have a sense of where the story leads, even as I research the current events of 1981, and continue to "Pants it" in the parlance of writers. I'm usually more a plotter-pantser, but this one is slowly shaping up with the research. I have opened a Patreon to hold myself accountable [...] more
Orange and white kitten sits on white haired woman’s shoulder

Everything comes to an end one way or another, and begins again

Thursday, June 10, 2021

It’s been a year plus, huh? Oh, my spouse and I drove 1500+ miles to get a new kitten, meet Neroli. He’s growing fast and keeps Valentino from beating up on the elder cats by being a good wrestling partner. We also visited old friends and got out of the house for a weekend. A couple of days ago, my chemo port was removed, signaling the battle is over, time to put the weapons down and celebrate. I will still be going to multiple cancer doctor appointments for [...] more
Loblolly pines against blue sky with puffy cloud

Poetry and Woodpecker

Monday, April 12, 2021

Poetry Poetry is the heart Written with the mind We poets try to express what makes Our pumping vessels swell and contract So that others may know their living meaning Because we can’t know our own Until we write it 4. 11. 2021 Woodpecker Before the rain, I brought a book outside and heard the woodpecker Chomping to find the heart. I looked up and a breeze blew yellow swathes from high in the loblolly pines Before the grey skies shadow the brightening sun [...] more
a morning glory vine wrapped around a sunflower stem, with one pink bloom

Untangle

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Untangle Andrew built a wooden frame for privacy. I planted morning glory seeds and sunflower seeds to fill the space between us and neighbors. It’s past Midsomer. The sunflowers stand happy sentinels, as delicate vines begin to wind and climb to strangle them, unaware. I spent a good part of the morning unwinding the precious threads from the sunflower stalks they chose to entangle around instead of the posts of the frame. I wound the long vines around the wood frame. The morning glories are [...] more

Migraine

Friday, January 3, 2020

Migraine has subsided a bit. I’m outside. It’s a beautiful, breezy afternoon. These days happen from time to time. If I were up north, it would seem like summer leaning into fall, a breeze to blow in winter from the sea. But there’s no winter in its warmth. It’s freshly baked bread coming out of an oven. A day for a sail, a walk in the changing gold and grey light of clouds passing quickly like time reels on film. It’s the kind of day [...] more

Missiles at Dawn

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Missiles at Dawn Living close to a weapons testing area not far from Camp Lejeune can be interesting. Sometimes the air pops and eventually I know it’s not a rowdy neighbor by how the corn settles into a practiced rhythm. Sometimes it’s quite loud. The house shakes, and I wonder if this might be it. I think they’re testing land mines. This morning, I learned the fft-whoosh of missiles at dawn is nothing like the movies. Now I will recognize it [...] more

Breakfast with Mary Oliver

Thursday, January 24, 2019

It's been a while, again. I've been thinking, and life happens. Here's a poem. Breakfast with Mary Oliver The rain is a deluge for waking, dark and heavy, a blanket beyond my blankets. I move slowly into the kitchen, dreaming Mary Oliver’s voice,“Pay attention, that’s what I can do. ”I pour coffee and glance to a covered pan of last night’s sautéed mushrooms on the stove. Oh, what a waste. I won’t waste the cooking of them. I won’t waste the bit of life left in them [...] more

piano ghosts

Monday, November 19, 2018

It's been a little while. I did finish the story for the anthology deadline with revisions, and I'm pretty happy with it. Then I had writer's block by a few contributing factors, and my ten year old daughter got bit by the writing bug for fanfic of a series she's reading. For at least a decade, 10 year old girls have gone crazy for the Warrior series. It's a Nancy Drew prolific series of series, but a Watership Down of cats, plot-wise. I was a bit envious of how easily the creative process came [...] more

Mars

Sunday, August 12, 2018