enter title here

driven by an inexplicable yearning
I log into my blog at wordpress
and try to find the proper words
for a feeling that I can’t express

upon looking at the add new post screen
I’m intimidated and words escape me
the text area impatient for some input
is, like my mind, now blank and empty

what was it I wanted to say, anyway?
my mind is now foggy and full of doubt
so, I force a few random lines and rhymes
but I don’t know what they’re all about

something important feels forgotten
an itch scratched until it bleeds
a smell in the fridge that needs cleaned
an argument that I forgot to plead

in the end, I forget to click any selections
leaving the work without a title or category
and without a tag that would give any context
to what is a pointless draft of my poetry

why do I blog?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Most of the hits to my blog actually came from people searching for information about a spam “secret admirer” email that i got and, presumably, they also all got. I only posted about it on a whim. I actually tried to think of who could be my secret admirer, until I noticed there was nothing personal about me, or the secret admirer, in it. So, I Googled about it and then posted about it. Later, I kind of regretted that post because it overwhelmed my blog stats of posts that I really cared about. I deleted it at one point because someone thought that I had sent the email to them. I restored it later because a lot of people liked it and commented. I still occasionally enjoy re-reading the comments. Some are pretty funny.

I didn’t start this blog looking for followers and likes. Though, getting “Likes” can be as addicting in blogging as on any other social media. Why do you blog? Originally, I just wanted to capture a dream. I remembered that I had notebooks of writings and cassette tapes of original music from ages ago. They were lost in storage. I remember thinking that it would be fun to dig them up and share them.

I hoped for some “free” criticism by sharing. Something that would help to improve my old works. I had missed the criticism and reviews of my creative writing professor at ISU. This hasn’t happened, however. Bloggers that don’t like my work don’t comment and bloggers that do like my work have mostly been kindred souls and poets. I only get positive comments and encouragement. I have found friendship and comradery.

I also thought this document would be nice to leave behind for my children and grandchildren. I would love to have something like this from my Dad, now that he has passed. Of course, who knows if my children or grandchildren will ever read any of this? I hope, at least, that my granddaughter someday enjoys the poems I wrote for her.

Recently, I realized that my blog has grown to become something of a best friend. I can share my secret thoughts, yearnings, expressions, emotions and life experiences. My Blog always quietly listens to me without any judgment. I don’t have to impress my blog. I can be myself. I can say whatever I need or want to say. Maybe, that’s really why I continue to blog.

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here's an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,800 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 8,500 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 19,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

there is something to blogging

Google Translation: “There is nothing about blogging.” Monkeys Blogging (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s Just Words today reached 300 follows
which is about 300 more than I ever expected
although, I knew my mom would’ve followed my blog
if only, she could figure out computers and get connected

it’s been two years since September 2011
when I first started this humble blog
and there have been 578 posts and 9 pages
through which some unwary readers have had to slog

I’ve already posted most of my college poems and songs
and even written more new stuff than I ever anticipated
and I now I want thank all the blog’s readers
and commenters that have also very kindly participated

Super Sweet Blogger Award

Nominated on July 11, 2013 by the super sweet and very beautiful blogger San. Thank you for this sweet nomination, San. Check out San’s blog, 35andupcynicismonhold or her tagalog blog sasaliwngawit. Her writing and poetry are heartwarming, sensitive and inspiring. I also especially enjoy her descriptions of her travels, she makes me wish I was there traveling with her.

I think there are five super sweet questions that go with this nomination. But be careful reading them, they could make you hungry for a treat!

I must admit that after I got my first blog nomination/award, I was very slow to make a page acknowledging that and expressing my thanks. And I’ve since been slow or reluctant to make any nominations of my own. However, I have spent some time picking out links to add to my BlogRoll, please check out those links. Also, I once wrote a little poem about blog awards, in case you’re bored and want to check that out, too.

Have fun blogging my sweet friends, and save a Hostess Twinkie or Cupcake for me.

… is no longer available

Adirondack Chair (Photo credit: frontier.1968)

Blogging is not as easy as it might seem, I think. It can take our precious time and can sometimes play havoc with our emotions. It can lead to the joy of new found online friends and sharing, or sometimes to hurt and pain and misunderstandings. I’ve only been blogging for a couple of years now, but over this time there have been blogs that I enjoyed reading and following that have been deleted. I’m sure there are lots of reasons to stop blogging. Perhaps, more reasons to stop than to start. However, I wanted to create a little list to mark some of those blogs that have touched and inspired me and that are no longer available. All of these are greatly missed and I truly thank the bloggers for sharing them with us for the time that they did.

• planaquarium.wordpress.com – I think this blogger was one of the first bloggers to like one of my poems. He was a prolific poet and always had amazing pictures to go with his poems. His use of pictures inspired me to go back and add pictures to my blog and I’ve been including pictures with my poems ever since. So, if you have ever wondered why “It’s Just Words” has words and pictures… well, now you know.
• bellesogni.wordpress.com – was an amazing blogger and poet. She was very free and open with her comments. If I had anticipated that her blog might be deleted, I would have tried to save it all to one of my disks for future enjoyment and reading. It’s sad that the world doesn’t have access to her work right now. I would read her poetry and immediately think to myself, I wish I had written that!
• eaglewingssoaring.wordpress.com – a follow on blog by bellesogni that was very appropriately named, but brief. She also included reblogs of interest in addition to her own original work in this beautiful, but short-lived blog.
• hellisafourletterword.wordpress.com – was another amazing poet and blogger. I found the often darker and exposed raw emotions in her poetry very intriguing and refreshing. I was often inspired by her work to try and make my own  poetry more edgy, but I just don’t have it in me.  I hope she is arranging to have her work published.
• zoemecredy.wordpress.com – a very young blogger and, I hope, future writer. I believe she was still in high school. I enjoyed her poetry and stories and her comments on my blog.  I hope she is doing well and is perhaps now busy in college.
• hereismar.wordpress.com – a very dear blogger that I miss a lot.

Any other deleted blogs that some of you want to mention that inspired you and that you now miss?

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 44,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 10 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

gravatar graveyard

blogging (Photo credit: hgjohn)

sadly, here’s to old friends whose blogs are now gone
for in my memory their writing will linger on

over time, I’ve grown accustomed to some blogs
mostly poetry but a couple are prose or photo logs

and when I’m in a meeting at work or when I’m all alone
I’m looking forward to each email on my smart phone

or at night when I can find some quiet time
to pull up the reader and look for some fine lines

I often see many gravatars that I recognize
that have left their mark and clicked like to apprise

forming a small community spread all over the world
meeting sometimes on line to share our love for words

so, is it too late for me to say some blogs will be deeply missed?
and that, for me, the memory of their words will forever persist?