Sunday, March 2, 2014

Sweet Persephone


Like Persephone   I wait
for Spring,     to burst
can one exchange,   one’s cloth,
clay heart
Rewind to,      once was
get a do over
flower,
or

stop falling.

Cornelia DeDona3-2-14


Inspired by Start by Jean Gallagher: Persephone(2)


Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Valentine’s Day!








Happy Valentine’s Day!


Long suffering
Oracle your circle cages the
Vixen in me
Encompassing past truth; consuming reality.
……
I loved you so completely
I just couldn’t live with you
No one could.

Sorry, I don’t remember last Valentine’s Day
Hopelessly addicted
to the roller coaster;
you awakened something in me

 I could not control
despite your insistence
I fought long and hard to penetrate the frost
and now your love
 pales
in the snow drift
I shovel through
carving new pleasure and pain

ski fresh powder

flawless and persuasive. 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Mind Games

Do you think you are a good person,
you demand of
the liberated me
your scream
howling
between the porous legs of present and past
 as you carp about terror, truth and stunted lives

as you try to saw through my last nerve

as skinny, slant eyed
whiskey whores
parade through purple haze
gorge on your coffers
tramp through your lies
nightmare channel
briefly appeasing you
with their sweet meats
and clotted cream

as the clock strikes past twelve
as you curse in bold print
dripping swear
that you
are a good person.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Meadow Pause Revisited Book Giveaway

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    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

        Meadow Pause Revisited by Cornelia "Connie D." DeDona
   

   

     


          Meadow Pause Revisited
     
     


          by Cornelia "Connie D." DeDona
     

     

         
            Giveaway ends March 12, 2014.
         
         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         
     
   
   


      Enter to win



Saturday, December 14, 2013

Connie D at Mohonk Mountain House 2013



Awesome place, we had fun! Shopped at three shops and had complimentary Tea and cookies, yummy!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Embracing My Winter: inspired by, Winter Practice by Jean Gallagher from her book, START

Embracing the Dark
I extend my arms from horizontal
embrace the dark spaces
trace its kiss
It stretches me
pulls me deeper
into its hollow
beyond the now
beyond this solitude.

The Quest
I ask
You answer
The mysteries hover
We slip in and out
of the dark.
Fact checking
googling, getting scroogled
remembering
forgetting
posing as scientists
mining beliefs
digging up dead cultures
amidst the ruins
amidst our ruining temples
playing our parts
playing
with the gods.

© Cornelia DeDona 12-13-13

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

December Muse

It is December
And the days flicker by
in reel time
As the pencil thin
browns
weathered grays
traced in white
maternal pause
shielding the palette of young
green, purple, red, orange, and yellow,  
snuggled under leafy blankets
dreaming of Hawaii
and a resurgence
beyond the icy blast.


©12-4-13 Cornelia DeDona

Navigating Change: Making A Difference hosted by Connie D. with Special ...

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Pen Arts Building, Washington, DC

http://www.youtube.com/v/0E6EG8_23EI?autohide=1&version=3&autohide=1&feature=share&attribution_tag=n1VCeikOuRyoT9t8MBd2TA&showinfo=1&autoplay=1

Monday, November 4, 2013

NaNoWriMo 2013: Our "Best" Writing Advice

http://www.youtube.com/v/ys7LKtkJpk4?version=3&autohide=1&autohide=1&autoplay=1&feature=share&showinfo=1&attribution_tag=SpPvyC7i9itn0i0q7c4BYg

Mohamed Hijri: A simple solution to the coming phosphorus crisis (+playl...

http://www.youtube.com/v/D1xT2tevnIs?version=3&list=TLvn4bVnrfN2LCs3gz_j26PYqynRydVJEe&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=5Uc8CZRBWdoNwKKrtolFPw&feature=share

Sunday, October 20, 2013

#BUSY



They all mean well
they are just busy.

Don’t you love that word
#BUSY?
It’s the #trending excuse for not prying.

To answer one of your many questions and address your
temporary state of un-busyness;
I am happy with my choices
finally.
Yes, life is short
and winter is fast approaching
and twill be cold outside
in the frigid North.
Thankfully, I am not homeless
or penniless
or winter would be dreadful indeed.
Got to run now

I am  #busy.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Leaving Neverland


What stopped me
all the time
was
the lack of cash
the self-doubt
the fear that I wouldn’t make it on my own
You assured me of that.

Everyone
including your mother, warned me to
put some money away
because even though I was in love
and blind
they know how you are.
I reasoned that the time was not right
that perhaps if I gave it a chance
I would change you
or even
see things from your
point of view
but
that never happened.

On countless occasions
when you snowed me
I had decided that I must be insane
to doubt you.
After all
you were a good provider
and always right
even when you were wrong
you were right
because
you told me so.
And I being the younger
less mature one
I would have to abide by that fact
unless of course
I could come up with some hard facts of my own
I didn’t.
I wanted so much to believe.

I gave up on myself when I met you
Your master plan was to shape me into a Wendy
I just had to cooperate
I didn’t
I fought you tooth and nail
You told me to just do it and not to think
Don’t think!

I thought
I don’t have to be here at all.

I can conjure another Peter Pan
he can claim me as one of the found
we can have adventures together
be kids
I could just be me.  And this Peter

this Peter would be proud. 

Monday, October 14, 2013

Treading Water


I am in awe
most of the people I meet at readings
must’ve known Jesus,
walked down those same streets
carried his cross
up to Golgotha
because their words have power
their speech is charismatic
 perhaps one of the apostles
recruited them to pen their book in Acts
they couldn’t possibly be from the mean streets
of Gotham
couldn’t know the Batman
or have visited Wayne manor in their Rolls Royce
I am humbled at the mastery of syntax
the quiet juxtaposition
metaphor
magic
As they deign to glance in your direction
ethereal in their gray
horn rimmed specs
stained teeth
so hard core
and so frighteningly real.

©10-14-13 Cornelia DeDona

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Worth sharing!

Hugh Howey’s Top 10 List of Counterintuitive Tips for Self-Publishers


Hugh Howey
Hugh Howey with a Wool poster in the London Underground.

1. Asking people to buy your book doesn’t work. Instead, try to entertain or enlighten with your Facebook posts and tweets.

2. The people who sell your books are your existing readers. Concentrate on interacting with them and being accessible.

3. There is no promotion as strong as writing the next book. None. That always comes first.

4. It doesn’t matter how quickly your book jumps out of the gate upon release. An undiscovered book remains fresh and new. You have the rest of your life to promote or gain sales, so keep writing!

5. Give your books away. You need to build up a fan base. That means free ebooks, sample chapters, and not worrying about piracy or DRM.

6. A good agent is your best friend. Even if you don’t want to sign with a publishing house, there are overseas markets and media rights that they can help you with.

7. An email list is more powerful than Twitter or Instagram (though not quite as powerful as Facebook). You want to reach out to those who are receptive, those who have signed up to hear from you. Build that newsletter email list as soon as possible.

8. Videos are worth a million words. Readers love connecting with and getting to know their favorite authors. Shoot a video rather than typing out a blog post. They are quick to watch and easy to share.

9. Be yourself. This shouldn’t be counterintuitive. I hope it isn’t. Don’t lose sight of who you are. Embrace the awkwardness, the glee, the dumbfoundedness.

10. Authors are not in competition with one another. We are in this together. A happy reader buys more books, so celebrate others doing well and help who you can. Remember those who helped you. Pass it along.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

A Meddler’s Fate


They placed them there

in two pretty boxes

high on a shelf

one for him

and one for her

their bones still warm

they set them there.

 

And when the mood arose

 

they took them down

and MADE them

to clown around

reminding them again

of their place

on the ground.

 

Once fearful

they slapped down some coin

and purchased two locks and two tiny keys

and drilled two patterns with such great  care

pronounced once more to the poor trapped pair

that they wouldn’t grow much

way up there

Or get too wild

with so little air

permanently sealed

in their chronic despair.

 

Then continued to feed them

little white lies

an earful each day

lest they surmise

that the dark chocolate trifle

rich with their scorn

had been their folly

kept them forlorn

and so they mocked them

year after year

convinced and comfortably

locked, in their fear.

 

AND when the season came…as they do

they did not see it…

 blinded by the light

of their precious trapped two

who wisely knew

the infamous route

having plotted and planned

and grown their way out

one of them skinny

the other one, stout.

 

Two boxes remain

hallowed and high

on a dusty shelf

touching the sky

with two small

locks and two small keys

tarnished and swinging,

from one of their trees.


© 9-24-13

Cornelia DeDona

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Requiem for a Star

Yesterday we remembered and honored Dad.


Requiem for a Star

He died, just short of his 80th Birthday

survived by Mom, their three daughters, three son-in-laws, four grandchildren and one great grandson

so we stand here today in his garden

to pay our last respects

and to remember

the funny,

I’ll finish it tomorrow

lovable despot, that we called Dad.

 

He used to tell me

“Don’t touch me, I’m a star”

and I believed him.

I aimed high

and I followed my star to Hawaii

where I raised a family and flourished.

He expected great things

from his offspring

and we produced, as good offspring do.

And I oft times wondered if it was enough

I think it was, because Mom tells me so!

 

So we gather to remember the good

to heal, to reconcile the past.

We gather to laugh, shake our heads

to raise our glasses

and toast

the loose boards

hanging wires

half driven nails

and let us not forget

the bamboo, the sumac, and the poison ivy

because in spite of it all

he stayed long enough to

know, love and praise his four precious grandchildren

Jason, Kenny, Taylor and Lauren and great grandson, Chad

indeed, he loved us all.

 

Dear old Dad

a happy-go-lucky sort

rich in aspiration

and poor everyplace else.

A tyrant

with a dream of restoring a drafty old summer house

without running water

nestled on a hill between a rock pile

and a wild jungle of vines and sticker bushes

a house that sucked up money

like a good HEPA vacuum, leaving us just enough to get by

 

He had envisioned a sparkling jewel

and she stands to this day

an earthy un-pinned floozy.

a small poorly lit home

where he and Mom raised

their three sparkling fashionistas

each one of us

a strong-minded finisher

despite

Dad’s shining example.

 

Mom, Angie and Chrissy

brilliant, polished and uncut

and me

chasing stars

cherishing faint memories

of an iron-willed father

too hot for mere mortals

flawed but sweet

a man

whose light still shines in the garage

because like its creator

there is no off-switch

a man

resolute and irreverent

who never kowtowed to the crowd of popular opinion

an imperfect German perfectionist born in the free city of Danzig

a master electrician, a craftsman, and a ham-radio man

who shocked us with his frayed wires, his genius

hot-wiring his way into our hearts and minds

an enthusiastic family man with hopes and dreams

who touched us with his light

and left much too soon.

A man whose legacy includes

a bushel of antenna wire

three Bic lighters

and a nude statue of EVE

causing me to

rise each day before the dawn

gaze up at the sky

and to wonder

which star

might be his.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Home



HOME

I round the last bend
and embrace the sweet scent of belonging, 
inside a house that I grew up in 
weathered, drafty and cold 
but firmly tied with a comforting ribbon of warm hearts and helping hands.
One hundred years and still standing beneath the birch, maple, and pine
encircled by a flecked emerald carpet
shining like a precious gem
surpassing the test of time and space.

And the journey apart 
melts before me
like morning dew
reviving the earth, the two red rose buds outside the kitchen window
my bliss. 

The bees, bamboo and the poison ivy
wrestle constantly
to block my path, change my mood
challenge me to ignore the Why’s, the uncompromising past. 

As I steady myself to run up and over the last hill
musing over humid nights in Hawaii
trapped inside a filthy haze
of never enough
should have and might have been.

I clench my teeth and smile 
knowing the fleeting nature of memory
that now and tomorrow remain impermanent
confident as I sprint the final stretch, smother the ache
brood over the cost
As I reach the finish line and know
I am home. 



Sunday, March 17, 2013

Kealoha Slam Poetry with Connie D at Habilitat Hawaii

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQfXXntUlRM

Written, hosted, performed and co-produced by Connie D. Also starring: Habilitat Residents, Sarah S. Ocie G., Mark B. and Shannon N. and featuring Special Guests, Marcia Zina Mager and  Kealoha, Hawaii's First Poet Laureate.

Navigating Change: Making A Difference: is a call to

 Save our Planet's Coral Reefs.

Be A Good Neighbor and Do Your Part

10 Easy Steps to Help Protect Coral Reefs

Do you want to make a difference every day? Want to learn about simple, effective actions you can take to help save coral reefs and the fish, animals, and plants that depend on them? You've come to the right place!
1.    Conserve water: The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater will pollute our oceans.
2.    Help reduce pollution: Walk, bike or ride the bus. Fossil fuel emissions from cars and industry raise lead to ocean warming which causes mass-bleaching of corals and can lead to widespread destruction of reefs.
3.    Use only ecological or organic fertilizers: Although you may live thousands of miles from a coral reef ecosystem, these products flow into the water system, pollute the ocean, and can harm coral reefs and marine life.
4.    Dispose of your trash properly: Don't leave unwanted fishing lines or nets in the water or on the beach. Any kind of litter pollutes the water and can harm the reef and the fish.
5.    Support reef-friendly businesses: Ask the fishing, boating, hotel, aquarium, dive or snorkeling operators how they protect the reef. Be sure they care for the living reef ecosystem and ask if the organization responsible is part of a coral reef ecosystem management effort.
6.    Plant a tree: Trees reduce runoff into the oceans. You will also contribute to reversing the warming of our planet and the rising temperatures of our oceans. Help us Plant a Billion.
7.    Practice safe and responsible diving and snorkeling: Do not touch the reef or anchor your boat on the reef. Contact with the coral will damage the delicate coral animals, and anchoring on the reef can kill it, so look for sandy bottom or use moorings if available.
8.    Volunteer for a coral reef cleanup: You don't live near a coral reef? Then do what many people do with their vacation: visit a coral reef. Spend an afternoon enjoying the beauty of one of the most diverse ecosystems on the Earth.
9.    Contact your government representatives: Demand they take action to protect coral reefs, stop sewage pollution of our oceans, expand marine protected areas and take steps to reverse global warming.
10. Spread the word: Remember your own excitement at learning how important the planet's coral reefs are to us and the intricate global ecosystem. Share this excitement and encourage others to get involved.


For more info or to make a donation: contact your local Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i
923 Nu`uanu Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96817
Phone:  (808) 537-4508
Fax: (808) 545-2019
E-mail: hawaii@tnc.org

Thursday, February 7, 2013

How To Promote Your Book ANYWHERE


SO you've got a WINNING Title and subtitle for your book, what’s next?
(YOU'RE NOT SURE? Read next week’s post to find out the formula)

How To Promote Your Book 

On Amazon


1.   Ensure you are categorized in super niche categories. (Where is your target audience?)


2 .   Conduct your Amazon “Book Buying” campaign during a 24-48 hour period.   (Pre-market your book)


3. Create a BOOK LAUNCH TEAM.

 (other bloggers in your network, including community leaders, people with lists and tribes, that will HELP YOU promote your book.)

4     Organize bulk book purchases from associations and professional organizations.

5     Utilize Amazon TOOLS: Amazon Create Space, Author Central, Author’s Rank, and Kindle.


To See MORE: "Bestseller in a Weekend" 
http://youtu.be/xbZXET3oxjM

Saturday, February 2, 2013

The Hound Dog


I’ll never forget that snowy winter morning when I was ten. At seven a.m.,  it was still dark, and frosty outside, my Dad would crack the upstairs hall window and stand there smoking his Kent cigarette staring into the blackness, waiting for the dawn.

His deep, throaty Guten Morgen Cornelia, exhale matched mine as I echoed my answer,
Morning Dad, close that window, its freezing I can see my breath!!  Mom tell him to close the window, we are ALL going to get sick!

KURT, Connie, Angie come look; Mom screeched from the Kitchen; I just saw the hound dog!

I beat them into the kitchen  as Mom continued to wave towards the window, as her eyes grew wider. She was so excited, I thought she would burst.

What, I countered?

The Hound Dog, the HOUND DOG!

Okay Mom, back up. What hound dog? The neighbor’s dog? What dog?
She shook her head emphatically and said
The Hound DOG has no shadow! 
That means Spring is coming early this year.

OHHH!

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