from the floorboards to the flies

sunshine_revival Challenge #2

Tunnel of Love
Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like

so I mentioned I had done this one but was holding off posting it because it was for D&D. well, it came up in yesterday's session so now I can share it :D

for some context, this is my legend of zelda based campaign. shadowhive's character, a zora druid named ahno, has had an ongoing clueless academics flirting thing going on for a while with an npc, shad (the twilight princess character but reworked for my purposes), and we're about to have a gala at hyrule castle so I had shad follow some info he got about zora courtship rituals from our other zora pc.

one of the things forte mentioned was that zora will write or perform love songs for each other. shad is very much an academic and not a musician, so I had him present ahno with a translation of an ancient love poem he had found. of course I realised that meant I then had to write the love poem, but hey ho. in game I said it was a love poem written by a river zora who fell in love with a sea zora. shad is hylian, so the metaphor for people from two different places coming together held up.

I'm going to post a screenshot because it is specifically formatted and I'm not savvy enough to copy it over correctly on here, but I will transcribe it below.



( estuary )

I'm skipping ahead in sunshine_revival for now! as mentioned I have completed challenge #2 but I can't post it yet because I'm using it in D&D and don't want my players who follow me to see it before it comes up in session. which could happen today!! but we'll see how it goes lol.

Challenge #3
Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I love food and cooking! when it comes to recipes I'm more of the sorcerer class rather than wizard; I just do what feels right rather than consulting a spellbook recipe book. I will use recipes as a jumping off point though and then just adapt as I see fit or once I've made it a couple of times and feel confident enough to play around. when I think of summer foods my mind goes straight to fruits: strawberries and cherries in particular, but I also love the fresh zesty taste of citrus fruits when it's really hot out. all my favourite summery cocktails are citrusy in nature.

I'm making slow cooker lemon chicken for dinner today and that feels like a good summery meal so I'll share that one. as I said, I'm very improvisational with recipes so this more guidelines; do what you will with it!

( lemon chicken )

what is an ending
except for the beginning
of something diff'rent?

*

I made it! 29 poems rather than 30 since I combined two prompts but it still counts and I'm very proud of myself for getting through it on time. I hope you've enjoyed reading these ♥

I never say tired when I mean sleepy
a habit I picked up from you
when you said you were too tired
it wasn't something a good night's sleep
would fix

tired wasn't a big enough word for it
fatigue came closer, chronic dressed it up
syndrome made it clinical, made it official
but three little letters
couldn't capture it

the way it hung over every single day
choosing where you could place your energy
and what you had to give up or let slide
yet your illness never defined you
you defied it

it had you in its grasp for half of your too short life
but you were indomitable, you would not sink
and the thing you felt more than pain, more than fatigue
more than anything
was love

when he died, the thought crossed my mind
"who's going to love me now?"
he was my world and I was his
and the world ended when I was just twenty five

it's twelve years on and he's been gone
longer than we were together
longer than we knew each other's names

and to think I have not just another
but another two
with whom I want to spend my days
and who love me just as hard

I wish I could show me back then
all the love that's still waiting in the world
but I doubt he'd believe it

what a joy it is
to have time to do nothing
with people you love

the knackermen used to come
to clear away dead or dying animals
the sick and injured
they'd take the carcasses
and turn them into something else
that they could sell
and burn whatever was left over
now the knacker's yard
is the palace at parliament
picking off the old and sick
the weak and hurting, those deemed
unfit for human consumption
they render our bodies
for profit

It used to be going back home,
but then home changed where it was
and who it was.
Now I'm only visiting,
just passing through,
touching base with people who remember
a version of me
that no longer exists --
who rarely come to see
what my life looks like now.
The line between love and obligation
gets harder to define,
and those 179 miles of distance
make it blurrier with each year.
Now travelling 600 miles further,
to go where another piece of my heart is,
feels more like being home
than going back
to where I came from.

the woodland held audience today,
calling me to come and bear witness
to its majesty.
the birds heralded the morning,
the hushed chatter of water
underscoring their chorus,
as the river glided by
with diamonds sparkling
upon its slender neck.
the air was fragrant, perfumed
with apple blossom and honeysuckle.
I weaved between the slender trees
delicately dancing across dappled leaves
and when I stopped to bask
in the stillness
awed by the arbors, bowing to each bough,
a passing cloud curtsied with the breeze
and the sun came forth,
crowning the canopy with golden light

I took a photo of you once
We were in an art gallery
One of our first trips together
You stopped to look at a painting
A still life
A vase full of flowers
You paused mid motion, one foot still out
Delicately pointed
Years of dance lending you effortless grace
The gold of your jumper matched the frame
Your wine red leggings mirrored in the painted petals
So elegant and beautiful
Poised
Like the elegant stems in the image you studied
As I studied you and captured my own still life

*

we're currently sitting in frankfurt airport, waiting for our connection. triad spring break starts soooon ❤️