Christmas In The Graveyard

Poinsettias & carnations sprout,
grave by grave, in my old hometown.
My parents. Doc Johnny.
The boy I had a crush on,
sixth grade.
Carlton
Skeet
Ella Ruth
Malley
A roll call of breathless days
I thought I could wrap in tinsel,
hold tight in my fist, but

hey, I'm just an aging ex-hippie now,
searching for one more mistletoe kiss.

Piercing the Veil (an older one)

My crystal ball rests on the mantle,
a reminder of endless yesterdays,
hair flying past bared shoulders,
beaded earrings, bartered savagely
from Washington Square peddlers,
clinking in time to sandals slapping
over cobblestone trails.

A gypsy, they called me,
those men who bent to kiss the hem
of my skirt.

My feet now stick to one place,
velcroed by the gravity of lost choices,
sandals tossed to the trash
scarves folded into camphorwood chest
earrings, toys for my neighbor's child.

Yet, nights when the full moon rises
and the raven sings his sweet song,
I take my crystal ball into my lap
and gaze, eye to eye, at the glass.
I see the gypsy I once was,
the gypsy I still am.
My gift...
Me, returned to myself.
Welcome home, the crystal sighs.

Pris Campbell
(c)2002

Some fun!

A friend found this site for creating all sorts of fun and unusual effects with your photos. Flickr organized the page. I was dabbling with it yesterday just to check out the magazine effects one, but didn't try to put together a polished (and hilarious) cover like she did. This is one created from a baby photo of my mother. I had erased the background and copied it onto a colored one. Voila. Mom flies!



The site is located at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/

Have fun!

Pris

More music. A WOW~

One of my favorite cellists, Yo Yo Ma, first with the amazing Bobby McFerren (I have that CD and love it), then Yo Yo playing Dvorak. His commentaries are interspersed throughout. Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIKdv0mjg6k

And this one...it's a WOW. Tango dancers interspersed with Yo Yo Ma playing solo tango on a deserted practice dance floor. Wild and temptuous!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJC2bOmAEn8

Pris

Newport Blues

Before the base shut down, and
the America's Cup migrated west,
they wandered the streets of Newport,
sailor hats cocked to one side
and a Gene Kelly spring in their stride.
War wasn't yet a teacher,
wiping their innocence clean.

My cousin came back from the 'big one',
just to be killed on the road by a drunk
with much better aim than the Germans.

After Nam, with my husband land-based in Newport,
I searched the cobblestone streets
like a crazy woman,for some hint
Dolph was still there.
Maybe I thought ghosts of old sailors
returned to the place their free fall began,
came to retrace their steps home.
Back to their mother's arms.
Back to a lover's embrace.
No different, really, in that longing
from any of us, when our own
life-changing wars begin.

Pris Campbell (c)2006

Music for a Monday

A musician friend sent me a link to this haunting duet, so I wanted to share it with you. I'm posting the link since the youtube videos push my right hand column to the bottom. This is an early video when these two were still together.

Richard & Linda Thompson :
A Heart Needs A Home (Thompson)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGhhAcjA-Ks

Spotlighting artist Elena Ray

A friend on MySpace introduced me to the work of this wonderful artist. Enjoy!


The Bird Madonna







Butterfly Bridesmaid




See more of her work at Elena Ray Website

Ode to a Banana

Men frighten me.
They creep around,
take my measure,
denigrate my size,
claim men don't really
want big ones,
but say
Freud was dead right
about penis envy
in the 'weaker' sex.
I ignore them.

Women peel me
with gentle hands,
swallow me
with warm mouths.
I have given my life
more than once
for the love
of a good woman.

Once I starred in a movie.
W.C. Fields.
Mae West.
Lord, that woman
adored me.

Now that
was my finest hour!

(c)Pris Campbell

(this is a whimsical poem I wrote a couple of years ago)

Angel Crossed

This is an older graphic, but one I like. The background is from the ocean near my house and the two headstones combined into the graphic were sent to me by Sue Baker Wilson of Katikati, NZ.

Yes....sigh, more Bush

Set to George Michael's song, Freedom, I found this Youtube video at Michael Parker's blog. The Youtubes are so wide that they push down my right hand column, so you can go directly to the Youtube link HERE, or click on Michael's name, and watch it from the video already downloaded onto his blog.

Voting day is coming up. I'm curious if we'll come out with a Democratic congress this time.

Pris

Receivables

Retainers back in her purse and
Frank long gone away,
she stole Previn, but lost Woody
to her own wide-eyed silent child.
Innocence ebbed from that street urchin's smile
teasing out legs-spread nude photos,
to scatter like dead leaves over the mantlepiece
for Mia to rake up and see.

Is my blood still to be spilled like hers was
for the passion filled debts of my youth
or mght some man with heart
big as the moon's belly
now safely touch me again?

I'm weary of paying the Piper,
want no more penalties.
No more interest due,
save
        in handfuls of fairy dust,
drifting and tumbling,
igniting the late afternoon sky.

Bush Video. Music by The Indigo Girls

Dear Mr President - Pink / Indigo Girls

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