with more sparkle and pop is the only way to live
Apr. 27th, 2026 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
musesfool
Today's poem:
And Then It Was Less Bleak Because We Said So
by Wendy Xu
Today there has been so much talk of things exploding
into other things, so much that we all become curious, that we
all run outside into the hot streets
and hug. Romance is a grotto of eager stones
anticipating light, or a girl whose teeth
you can always see. With more sparkle and pop
is the only way to live. Your confetti tongue explodes
into acid jazz. Small typewriters
that other people keep in their eyes
click away at all our farewell parties. It is hard
to pack for the rest of your life. Someone is always
eating cold cucumber noodles. Someone will drop by later
to help dismantle some furniture. A lot can go wrong
if you sleep or think, but the trees go on waving
their broken little hands.
*
And Then It Was Less Bleak Because We Said So
by Wendy Xu
Today there has been so much talk of things exploding
into other things, so much that we all become curious, that we
all run outside into the hot streets
and hug. Romance is a grotto of eager stones
anticipating light, or a girl whose teeth
you can always see. With more sparkle and pop
is the only way to live. Your confetti tongue explodes
into acid jazz. Small typewriters
that other people keep in their eyes
click away at all our farewell parties. It is hard
to pack for the rest of your life. Someone is always
eating cold cucumber noodles. Someone will drop by later
to help dismantle some furniture. A lot can go wrong
if you sleep or think, but the trees go on waving
their broken little hands.
*
New Year's Resolutions and Other Goals
Apr. 27th, 2026 06:06 pmysabetwordsmith posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promo
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
goals_on_dw is a community for people who like goals and goal setting. A key focus is New Year's resolutions, that being among the most popular contexts for such activities. Although the most common time is January 1, "new year" can also refer to other calendars or cultures, whatever works for you. Alternatively, just pick a time that works for you and go for it. You can introduce yourself or make new friends here. We talk about different goal systems, pros and cons of resolutions, arts and crafts for tracking goals, human psychology, and more. You can share your resolutions or other goals. There are weekly check-in posts in January, and monthly ones in the rest of the year, for folks to talk about their accomplishments. December-January is the most active period, and it starts ramping up in November as lots of people begin thinking about their goals for the next year.
2026 Free Printable Calendars, Planners, and More is the guide post for this years goal-setting activities. For more details on relevant topics, see "Things You Can Talk About Here."
( Read more... )
Newcomers
Apr. 27th, 2026 06:01 pmysabetwordsmith posting in dw_community_promonewcomers is a community for people who are just getting started on Dreamwidth, in the tradition of twitter_refugees and reddit_refugees. This community supports former users of other platforms who are moving to Dreamwidth because their previous platform has become untenable or has closed. As such, it will increase activity with each wave of new users, in hopes of helping them get settled in Dreamwidth so they want to stick around. It also serves previous users returning after a long hiatus, people who want to do more with a Dreamwidth blog that was only intermittent, or anyone else who wants help connecting and figuring out how to use this venue.( Read more... )
Fiction
Apr. 27th, 2026 02:44 pmrivkatStephen Graham Jones, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter: ( horror horror )
T. Kingfisher, Illuminations: ( fun for younger readers )
Dessa, Tits on the Moon: ( poetry )
Cat Sebastian, Star Shipped: ( romance on set )
Nnedi Okorafor, Death of the Author: ( racialized posthumanism )
Kai Butler, Shadow Throne King: ( assassin's need )
T. Kingfisher, Snake-Eater: ( western approaches )
Laura Elliott, Awakened: ( grumpy review of apocalypse premise )
Tasha Suri, The Isle in the Silver Sea: ( excellent fantasy about stories )
Jim Butcher, Twelve Months: ( the saga continues )
Ilona Andrews, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me: ( isekai done just right for me )
T. Kingfisher, Illuminations: ( fun for younger readers )
Dessa, Tits on the Moon: ( poetry )
Cat Sebastian, Star Shipped: ( romance on set )
Nnedi Okorafor, Death of the Author: ( racialized posthumanism )
Kai Butler, Shadow Throne King: ( assassin's need )
T. Kingfisher, Snake-Eater: ( western approaches )
Laura Elliott, Awakened: ( grumpy review of apocalypse premise )
Tasha Suri, The Isle in the Silver Sea: ( excellent fantasy about stories )
Jim Butcher, Twelve Months: ( the saga continues )
Ilona Andrews, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me: ( isekai done just right for me )
New Community for Gifs
Apr. 26th, 2026 05:49 pmmaevedarcy posting in dw_community_promo
Are you a tumblr user moving to DW who misses moving images? Are you a seasoned DW user who wants to try their hand in a new medium? Do you have an extensive gif catalog that you'd like to show off? Do you like gifmaking and want to share your knowledge to others? Then this comm might be for you!
i have to do all the pots and pans
Apr. 26th, 2026 05:40 pmmusesfool
Okay, crispy rice = pretty good. I tossed 1 cup of cooked rice with 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of toasted sesame oil, a sprinkling of garlic powder, and 1 diced shallot, spread it on a foil-lined sheet pan, and cooked it at 400°F for 25 minutes. I still have a bunch of rice left, so I might make fried rice tomorrow.
The salad part was less successful. I cleared some stuff out of the freezer - an old bag of frozen corn, a handful of frozen roasted chicken chunks I got in my misdelivered grocery order a few weeks ago - and then I added some toasted sesame seeds, some dry-roasted peanuts, and some arugula. The dressing was lime juice, toasted sesame oil, ground ginger, and olive oil (all scaled down for one serving) - it was ok, but I wouldn't make it again.
The stuff in the salad was mismatched and didn't go well together, which is my own fault, since I didn't really think about anything but the rice ahead of time. If I did it again, I might use shredded cabbage instead of arugula, and leave out the corn and the peanuts. I might also just dress it with olive oil and vinegar.
If I do it again, I will probably eat the crisped rice by itself, maybe with some scrambled egg like in fried rice, and some scallions. And I'd keep the toasted sesame seeds, because those are always tasty.
Here is today's poem:
An old story
by Bob Hicok
It's hard being in love
with fireflies. I have to do
all the pots and pans.
When asked to parties
they always wear the same
color dress. I work days,
they punch in at dusk.
With the radio and a beer
I sit up doing bills,
jealous of men who've fallen
for the homebody stars.
When things are bad
they shake their asses
all over town, when good
my lips glow.
*
The salad part was less successful. I cleared some stuff out of the freezer - an old bag of frozen corn, a handful of frozen roasted chicken chunks I got in my misdelivered grocery order a few weeks ago - and then I added some toasted sesame seeds, some dry-roasted peanuts, and some arugula. The dressing was lime juice, toasted sesame oil, ground ginger, and olive oil (all scaled down for one serving) - it was ok, but I wouldn't make it again.
The stuff in the salad was mismatched and didn't go well together, which is my own fault, since I didn't really think about anything but the rice ahead of time. If I did it again, I might use shredded cabbage instead of arugula, and leave out the corn and the peanuts. I might also just dress it with olive oil and vinegar.
If I do it again, I will probably eat the crisped rice by itself, maybe with some scrambled egg like in fried rice, and some scallions. And I'd keep the toasted sesame seeds, because those are always tasty.
Here is today's poem:
An old story
by Bob Hicok
It's hard being in love
with fireflies. I have to do
all the pots and pans.
When asked to parties
they always wear the same
color dress. I work days,
they punch in at dusk.
With the radio and a beer
I sit up doing bills,
jealous of men who've fallen
for the homebody stars.
When things are bad
they shake their asses
all over town, when good
my lips glow.
*
3 Weeks for Dreamwidth - Writing offer & meme
Apr. 26th, 2026 01:22 pmpetra
First off, an offer for 3weeks4dreamwidth -- prompt me for a drabble or a poem (probably a limerick) in a fandom or crossover of fandoms that I know, any time in the next three weeks, and ye shall receive!
For those of you who have oft perused my fandom's list, the new entry is: T. Kingfisher's Paladins series, #1-3. I have not dug into the whole universe yet and I have #4 on hold from the library, but I got distracted when it took a while to come in.
*
In honor of3weeks4dreamwidth, a meme that sanguinity gakked from regshoe, who had it from goodbyebird:
Reply to this post saying 'icon', and I will tell you my favourite icon of yours. Then post this to your own journal using your own favourite icon if you're one of those inhuman things that are actually capable of choosing betweenYOUR PRECIOUS BABIES! userpics.
*
Regarding my favorite icon, which is the one I use Everywhere, I have finally gotten around to putting the source page's relevant bit on Dreamwidth:
I don't remember why I saturated it slightly more than the original art. I guess I needed the red to pop.
Tim is just So Heterosexual. Absolutely. Why would anyone ever think otherwise? Seriously, DC Editorial, took ya long enough.
Also, I cannot read that page without wanting Dick/Babs/Tim, and I cannot think of that threesome without thinking ofminoanmiss, so I guess now my default icon comes with heartache. That definitely doesn't mean I'm going to change it -- I know the grief will become more nost and less algia in time -- but right now, damn.
3weeks4dreamwidth -- prompt me for a drabble or a poem (probably a limerick) in a fandom or crossover of fandoms that I know, any time in the next three weeks, and ye shall receive!For those of you who have oft perused my fandom's list, the new entry is: T. Kingfisher's Paladins series, #1-3. I have not dug into the whole universe yet and I have #4 on hold from the library, but I got distracted when it took a while to come in.
*
In honor of
3weeks4dreamwidth, a meme that sanguinity gakked from regshoe, who had it from goodbyebird:Reply to this post saying 'icon', and I will tell you my favourite icon of yours. Then post this to your own journal using your own favourite icon if you're one of those inhuman things that are actually capable of choosing between
*
Regarding my favorite icon, which is the one I use Everywhere, I have finally gotten around to putting the source page's relevant bit on Dreamwidth:
I don't remember why I saturated it slightly more than the original art. I guess I needed the red to pop.
Tim is just So Heterosexual. Absolutely. Why would anyone ever think otherwise? Seriously, DC Editorial, took ya long enough.
Also, I cannot read that page without wanting Dick/Babs/Tim, and I cannot think of that threesome without thinking of
minoanmiss, so I guess now my default icon comes with heartache. That definitely doesn't mean I'm going to change it -- I know the grief will become more nost and less algia in time -- but right now, damn.how one loves the ache of your cracked lips
Apr. 25th, 2026 07:35 pmmusesfool
I made these salt bread rolls today (pic), and they are very tasty, but I think I still like pretzel rolls better, even with the mess of having to boil them before baking. There isn't much I like better than a big old soft pretzel, so pretzel rolls are where it's at for me. The salt bread is good though - very buttery.
I also made rice this afternoon in preparation for making a crispy rice salad tomorrow. I am very intrigued by the idea of crispy rice salad, but I don't know if I will like it in actuality, even though I like all the components I plan to put in it. (I'd also be more confident if every recipe I look at didn't call for a different type of rice. I made basmati, for the record.) I guess I'll report back tomorrow and how it goes.
And it's been a full day of watching hockey, after a long night of watching hockey last night. It's been exciting, but so much more relaxing since my team isn't in it.
And finally, here is today's poem:
Why You Should Never Marry A Poet
by Heather Bell
Think about it - the way that credit cards, bougainvillea,
vacations, dictionaries, the road on the way to work will
all never be enough. The poet wishes
with her deepest bones
and writes that she wishes
she would have killed you
in the supermarket. She wonders why
she ever loved you in song.
She publishes book after book. Each line detailing
how your hair is ugly and monstrous in the morning. And how,
like moss, you cling to her
so piteously.
But you marry her anyway.
and she looks like a roar of snow
in white. You figure she will read a poem about you
that day in front of everyone: her throat
is, after all, a stamen
or matchstick.
But she is silent, says only the I DO's
and a few Bible verses.
The poet loves with a most violent
heart. What you have not known-
she has wanted to tell you the truth
all of these years,
but grew silent as an old lover does
at eighty. There is no way to say
how one loves the ache of your cracked lips,
the heavy belly of your tongue, the years she spent
feeling not loved,
but still loving. Think about it-
the poet is fearful of others knowing and finding your mouth.
She is frightened of you -
realizing you could have been
loved better or harder
or with real words.
***
I also made rice this afternoon in preparation for making a crispy rice salad tomorrow. I am very intrigued by the idea of crispy rice salad, but I don't know if I will like it in actuality, even though I like all the components I plan to put in it. (I'd also be more confident if every recipe I look at didn't call for a different type of rice. I made basmati, for the record.) I guess I'll report back tomorrow and how it goes.
And it's been a full day of watching hockey, after a long night of watching hockey last night. It's been exciting, but so much more relaxing since my team isn't in it.
And finally, here is today's poem:
Why You Should Never Marry A Poet
by Heather Bell
Think about it - the way that credit cards, bougainvillea,
vacations, dictionaries, the road on the way to work will
all never be enough. The poet wishes
with her deepest bones
and writes that she wishes
she would have killed you
in the supermarket. She wonders why
she ever loved you in song.
She publishes book after book. Each line detailing
how your hair is ugly and monstrous in the morning. And how,
like moss, you cling to her
so piteously.
But you marry her anyway.
and she looks like a roar of snow
in white. You figure she will read a poem about you
that day in front of everyone: her throat
is, after all, a stamen
or matchstick.
But she is silent, says only the I DO's
and a few Bible verses.
The poet loves with a most violent
heart. What you have not known-
she has wanted to tell you the truth
all of these years,
but grew silent as an old lover does
at eighty. There is no way to say
how one loves the ache of your cracked lips,
the heavy belly of your tongue, the years she spent
feeling not loved,
but still loving. Think about it-
the poet is fearful of others knowing and finding your mouth.
She is frightened of you -
realizing you could have been
loved better or harder
or with real words.
***
The Pitt Fic: Good Effect on Target (Abbot/Robby, NC-17)
Apr. 25th, 2026 12:31 pmalethia
I did a big bang,y'all! Of course my story ended up being twice as long as I thought, for no discernible reason. Ain't that just the way of it...
Good Effect on Target (41079 words) by Alethia
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jack Abbot/Michael "Robby" Robinavitch
Characters: Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Jack Abbot (The Pitt), Parker Ellis, Lena (The Pitt), Dana Evans
Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 01, Caretaking, Roommates, Sharing Clothes, Shooting Range, Target Practice, Idiots in Love, First Kiss, First Time, Porn
Summary:
Good Effect on Target (41079 words) by Alethia
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Pitt (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jack Abbot/Michael "Robby" Robinavitch
Characters: Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, Jack Abbot (The Pitt), Parker Ellis, Lena (The Pitt), Dana Evans
Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 01, Caretaking, Roommates, Sharing Clothes, Shooting Range, Target Practice, Idiots in Love, First Kiss, First Time, Porn
Summary:
As Jack prepped the sutures, he nodded. "You'll stay with me, then," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "For as long as the repairs take."
Something clenched in Robby's chest, a pained sort of longing at war with sober caution. "It's an imposition," he said, voice creaking on it. He swallowed, trying to lighten things. "Besides, you'd get sick of me."
"I got news, friend," Jack said, dry. He favored Robby with a soft look, a tender sort of reminder there: "And family can't impose."
An instinct within Robby viscerally rejected that.
Either life you choose will end in her arms
Apr. 24th, 2026 02:36 pmmusesfool
Does anyone know where I can get a Trinity Santos icon? [eta: icon acquired!]
*
Always need some Dorianne Laux during poetry month, so here's today's poem:
Prayer
by Dorianne Laux
Sweet Jesus, let her save you, let her take
your hands and hold them to her breasts,
slip the sandals from your feet, lay your body down
on sheets beaten clean against the fountain stones.
Let her rest her dark head on your chest,
let her tongue lift the hairs like a sword tip
parting the reeds, let her lips burnish
your neck, let your eyes be wet with pleasure.
Let her keep you from that other life, as a mother
keeps a child from the brick lip of a well,
though the rope and bucket shine and clang,
though the water's hidden silk and mystery call.
Let her patter soothe you and her passions
distract you, let her show you the light
storming the windows of her kitchen, peaches
in a wooden bowl, a square of blue cloth
she has sewn to her skirt to cover the tear.
What could be more holy than the curve of her back
as she sits, her hands opening a plum.
What could be more sacred than her eyes,
fierce and complicated as the truth, your life
rising behind them, your name on her lips.
Stay there, in her bare house, the black pots
hung from pegs, bread braided and glazed
on the table, a clay jug of violet wine.
There is the daily sacrament of rasp and chisel,
another chair to be made, shelves to be hewn
cleanly and even and carefully joined
to the sun-scrubbed walls, a sharp knife
for carving odd chunks of wood into small toys
for the children. Oh Jesus, close your eyes
and listen to it, the air is alive with bird calls
and bees, the dry rustle of palm leaves,
her distracted song as she washes her feet.
Let your death be quiet and ordinary.
Either life you choose will end in her arms
*
*
Always need some Dorianne Laux during poetry month, so here's today's poem:
Prayer
by Dorianne Laux
Sweet Jesus, let her save you, let her take
your hands and hold them to her breasts,
slip the sandals from your feet, lay your body down
on sheets beaten clean against the fountain stones.
Let her rest her dark head on your chest,
let her tongue lift the hairs like a sword tip
parting the reeds, let her lips burnish
your neck, let your eyes be wet with pleasure.
Let her keep you from that other life, as a mother
keeps a child from the brick lip of a well,
though the rope and bucket shine and clang,
though the water's hidden silk and mystery call.
Let her patter soothe you and her passions
distract you, let her show you the light
storming the windows of her kitchen, peaches
in a wooden bowl, a square of blue cloth
she has sewn to her skirt to cover the tear.
What could be more holy than the curve of her back
as she sits, her hands opening a plum.
What could be more sacred than her eyes,
fierce and complicated as the truth, your life
rising behind them, your name on her lips.
Stay there, in her bare house, the black pots
hung from pegs, bread braided and glazed
on the table, a clay jug of violet wine.
There is the daily sacrament of rasp and chisel,
another chair to be made, shelves to be hewn
cleanly and even and carefully joined
to the sun-scrubbed walls, a sharp knife
for carving odd chunks of wood into small toys
for the children. Oh Jesus, close your eyes
and listen to it, the air is alive with bird calls
and bees, the dry rustle of palm leaves,
her distracted song as she washes her feet.
Let your death be quiet and ordinary.
Either life you choose will end in her arms
*
Yuletide request #1 for 2026
Apr. 24th, 2026 01:31 pmpetra
The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill + ... well really I would take just about any fictional or fictionalized city, so that's why I feel comfortable floating it as a possibility for Yuletide.
The original inspiration was "The Pushcart War set in Gotham City." I would take just about any year setting. The OG era. The social media version, complete with vigilantes with pea pin shooters.
jadelennox suggests that Alfred and General Anna are old besties, and I concur.
But, in the grand tradition of my Yuletide requests, typing this up makes me realize how much I want this story in any fictionalized 'verse of which I am sufficiently knowledgeable.
The Rivers of London take sides! You know Lady Ty is for the truckers.
Mountie under suspicion! Benton Fraser seen with pea-tack shooter! Claims it is reusable straw. Is Big Red Green?
Mélusine + trucks. Not necessarily including our protags from canon; the city is sufficiently a character to count for my purposes.
The Slow Horses investigate the pea-tack problem with their usual bumbling flair.
The Pushcart War was part of what spurred the Earth of the Expanse to implement UBI. Eh? Ehhhhh?
Manchester in 1973 is not maybe the best place, but London in 1981? Give me the Alex Drake peapin saga.
Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler III vs. trucks? :D If Palpatine can find time to reproduce, so can Throat.
The original inspiration was "The Pushcart War set in Gotham City." I would take just about any year setting. The OG era. The social media version, complete with vigilantes with pea pin shooters.
jadelennox suggests that Alfred and General Anna are old besties, and I concur.But, in the grand tradition of my Yuletide requests, typing this up makes me realize how much I want this story in any fictionalized 'verse of which I am sufficiently knowledgeable.
The Rivers of London take sides! You know Lady Ty is for the truckers.
Mountie under suspicion! Benton Fraser seen with pea-tack shooter! Claims it is reusable straw. Is Big Red Green?
Mélusine + trucks. Not necessarily including our protags from canon; the city is sufficiently a character to count for my purposes.
The Slow Horses investigate the pea-tack problem with their usual bumbling flair.
The Pushcart War was part of what spurred the Earth of the Expanse to implement UBI. Eh? Ehhhhh?
Manchester in 1973 is not maybe the best place, but London in 1981? Give me the Alex Drake peapin saga.
Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler III vs. trucks? :D If Palpatine can find time to reproduce, so can Throat.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Apr. 23rd, 2026 06:45 pmmusesfoolIt's been a few years since I posted some Shakespeare on his birthday, but I am tired so have one of the most famous poems in the Western canon:
Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
By William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
*
I was all excited that it's Thursday, thinking about how there'd be a new episode of The Pitt until I remembered, alas, that there will be no new episodes until next January. Sigh.
I keep meaning to post my thoughts here and not doing it, so in brief, my thoughts on the season 2 finale of The Pitt: ( spoilers )
I guess this sounds like I had a lot of complaints but I really loved this season - I just thought the writing fell down a little sometimes, for some characters.
*
Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
By William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
*
I was all excited that it's Thursday, thinking about how there'd be a new episode of The Pitt until I remembered, alas, that there will be no new episodes until next January. Sigh.
I keep meaning to post my thoughts here and not doing it, so in brief, my thoughts on the season 2 finale of The Pitt: ( spoilers )
I guess this sounds like I had a lot of complaints but I really loved this season - I just thought the writing fell down a little sometimes, for some characters.
*