#caffeinated-capi

[claphandsound]

Out of the question

swim whole schools of questions

flashing in and out

of each other’s shadows

and always followed by a hook

with a point:

Why are there more questions than stars?

How can a small child seeing

through her tiny retina take in

the whole of a starry night sky?

What if our universe is a molecular

speck inside another universe?

Mommy, where do people go when they die?

Do they sometimes get hungry?

What does a whale’s song

sound like to another whale?

What does it sound like to the krill?

How many poets does it take

to change a community?

How many politicians does it take

to change it back?

What shape is love? A sphere?

Does it expand beyond the edges of creation?

Is love what creation is made out of?

How many years of light-speed journeying

brought these glimmer points

to this black mirror of lake

on a dark dot in the Milky Way

where we stand right now

on a softly sighing dock?

© Scott Thompson

[soulreserve]

Winter-Long

Winter's cold is curled like a lick beneath underneath the beating heart. Like a hand of a stranger on my shoulder.

Your name is the white breath I realease from trembling lips. It escapes from me and into the dense air that carries cold with a purpose.

Loss is a constant companion, it doesn't fade with time. I watch it shiver outside under the burden of heavy snow.

What does it know of warmth? I let it slip inside, and sit by the fire. but little by little it takes over. It creeps below,

leaves my body damp and aching, swamped by run-away thoughts of you. And cold settles like a tickle in the lungs.

© SoulReserve 2023

[moldgonee]

Italian restaurants hawthorn

Vegetables are the undisputed heroes at the southside's newest casual eatery, which is located right on the edge of South Melbourne Market. Marko is kicking it slow, embracing an old-school food philosophy and dishing up a vibrant offering that's entirely plant-based.

The brainchild of food industry amazon states restaurants are set on getting back to basics, focusing on serving food that's better for the community, the planet and the people eating it.

In the kitchen, Head Chef Nabin Shrestha (Rumi, Vegie Bar) is plating a daytime menu of vegan and vegetarian dishes, curated by long-time champion of plant-based dining, chef Charley Snadden-Wilson (Ramblr, Etta, Embla). There's a strong emphasis on sourcing ingredients as locally as possible, working with the seasons and, of course, snubbing any preservatives or other nasties. But Marko isn't afraid to have some fun, too, with a colorful lineup of eats that shows plenty of creativity.

Diners can choose from the list of burgers ranging from $12-15, all available with gluten-free alternatives — from the signature Marko cheeseburger layered with coconut cheese and a plant-based patty to the spicy cauliflower number with jalapenos and chipotle mayo. Fluffy pitas ($13-14) from Brunswick's Alasya Bakery are also on the menu, and come stuffed with the likes of green pea falafel or roasted mushrooms with quinoa tabbouleh and tahini sauce.

Marko also serves up a range of vibrant veggie bowls ($13-15), along with sides like chili-topped corn ribs ($8) and crispy chips finished with your choice of house seasoning. And, you can make a meal of it with one of three 'feed me' options, matching a burger or pita with chips, dip and a Capi soda ($23-26). To drink, expect to find a rotation of craft brews, natural wines, and cocktails both boozy and non-alcoholic, along with caffeinated options shuttled down from nearby coffee window Clement.

As a bonus feel-good factor, there's also an environmental conscience that extends beyond the meat-free menu. Marko is using all recyclable packaging, has implemented a special system for recycling food waste and powers its kitchen partly by renewables.

[ginadope]

new past

Let's write a new past Hang the other one upside down Afternoon sunshine will find herself In raindrops Spilled carelessly, red rubies Begin to dream of carefree waves There's no need, not anymore To ask about reasons They were never there, after all

[dancing-on-the-waves]

Too Old!

Too Old!

We’re too old! Too old you say!? Too old to enjoy a sunny day? Too old to smell the roses along the way? Too old for a romp in the hay? Too old for a dip in the bay?

But we’re too old! But we are alive I say Alive to drive with the top down Alive to go out on the town Alive to play on the playground,  to ride a merry-go-round,  Alive to push the bounds

We’re just too old. Just too old for what my dear? Too old to make angels in the snow? Too old to listen to the Summer breeze blow? Too old too remember who we were just a while ago? Too old to see how high a kite can go?

I guess you are right We are too old to care what others might think or bray Too old to make excuses and keep life at bay Too old to waste this wonderful day Too old not to make a wish on a star and pray Too old to let our love just slip away

K. C. Barry

[al-yen]

[ace & minor friendly]

let me whisper into your ear

about how beautiful

your strawberry marks are

scattered across your skin

little gifts

for me

to find and

greet good morning

with my revering kisses

— dict entry: hello [1]

'vocab' - al ed.

[haikkun]

Update: apparently the max likes/day is 1,000. 😬 200 is great, but do what’s manageable for you! ❤️

Day 7 Writers CPR: Hit the max daily likes (200) on other people’s work.

Brews coffee ☕️

Pops popcorn 🍿

Looks excitedly at the long list of writers I’ve followed this week 😍

This is going to be EASY!!!

Also, if you haven’t been able to start the challenge yet, no worries! Each person starts when they can! Or jump in today if that’s all you can manage.

If 4 more people do it today, that’s 1,000 likes going out into the writing community. ❤️❤️❤️

Also, we got #writerscreed back!!!!! So go unload a slew of likes there @writerscreed or on @smittenbypoetry @bitsofstarglow @poetryportal @recognizingthevoiceless @poetry-reruns @thespians-drumming @a-little-less-peckinpah @caffeinated-capi-reblogs who ALL reblog and deserve our immense thanks, as it is an extremely time-consuming task that MAKES this community thrive!

[claphandsound]

Cool Blazing Brink

Ivory cushions float against the strawberry

redolence of magenta immensity

washed through with fields of violet.

Are you tasting what I am

seeing, breathing?

Are you hearing through echoing bells

where splashing dragon fruit

emits waves of lilac aroma?

 Some call it sunset.

 I call it cool blazing

brink of evening.

© Scott Thompson

[soulreserve]

Perfume

You become a    sound      that slowly leaches from my body into air with the softness of breath, a quiet keening,   an undertone   of heartache  I've always felt.

    You release  from wrinkles, from birthmarks I have known and carried. From freckles that darken in the sun.

You unsettle from the folds of my clothes   my hair     my eyes like a memory—washed      dried and fading                           fluttering outside on clothes lines.

You aren't gone    although you are dissipating     leaving in more ways than one.       The perfume of you   is still damp on poems I write with tears.

© SoulReserve 2023    

[dancing-on-the-waves]

Forever Young

Forever Young

We were forever young Runnin’ the roads Chasing the girls Promising diamonds and pearls

We would party the nights away Hopping from bar to bar Dancing with flirts Hoping to unbutton shirts

We filled our Summer days  Hunting and Fishing Nights looking for dates Kissing and tempting the fates

We spent Winters grabbing our pay Making our way Saving for a car Hoping to go far

We were for ever young Carefree and loose Living for today And making hay

We have grown older And life goes much slower We have made our hay And lost some along the way

We are no longer young And now we look back Youth having past us by Memories bring deep sighs

We enjoyed our youth And made our way But in our hearts we wish To be forever young and catch one more fish

K. C. Barry

[claphandsound]

Nightscape

You walk the labyrinth of twisting streets

where lamps light the silver needles

of falling rain and orange squares glow

from the stone towers of gothic homes.

For miles you walk

leaving homes for black forest silence.

Arriving at the undiscovered lake

you gaze across flat-mirror surface

sensing unseen reaches.

When a loon cries

a cliff answers.

You alone hear the clattering

of branches where a lightning-singed birch

collapses and a snowy owl

disappears into the white  

muted glow of the moon.

 Then you know.

 © Scott Thompson    

[soulreserve]

by the lakeside

the season is pregnant with                       turtles leaving    the lake to nest, heavybodied,  with red-blue-iridescent dragonflies                                         flitting across the surface            in search of something,     with wildflowers unfolding,                         fanning out from puckered buds     into terse displays.  

love is perched where thoughts of you                          linger. scattered like cast runes. among the fronds,                with sunk, glistening pebbles.      along the sun-fed veins   of flowing water.

        like crinkled paper-glass inside pockets of moss                        that cling to the earth.

        like congealed nectar                     of floating algal blooms                           that are beginning to flourish.

        like the slowly rising timbre of frog-song   that reaches a crescendo              and dissolves into nothingness                            at the slightest                                                       tug.

© SoulReserve 2022

[dancing-on-the-waves]

I Am No One

I Am No One

I am no one I am everyone I am the man who lives down the street I am the woman in the store that you meet I long for a better life I’ll fight to protect my life Each day I grow a little older A little wiser and a little colder I have lived with strife And I see the good in life I take one day at a time Just trying to keep it in rhyme I fear just like you I hurt just like you I face the threats The pain hasn’t stopped me yet I hunger for peaceful times I yearn to see peace in my time I am the one that picks up litter I have fought and won or lost but I am not a quitter I have gotten quite a bit older But my days are not over I treasure each new person I meet I treasure my friends from early years so sweet I have loved and lost, found and loved For the future I look above I will leave no profound statements No history of great accomplishments I will be forgotten like millions of others But what I did will live on in others For good or bad Hopefully they will be blessed, not sad Perhaps they will do grand deeds Or proclaim wisdom from articulated seeds There are things I regret As we all do I bet In the end I will be much pleased If I can look back and see that I have someone else’s burden eased Though my life may not seem like much By the hand of God and friends I have been touched Giving what ever I could Doing whatever I should Though it not be much I lived life to the full And for this I am most thankful K. C. Barry