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There Are Roughly Zones -- Robert Frost

We sit indoors and talk of the cold outside. And every gust that gathers strength and heaves Is a threat to the house. But the house has long been tried. We think of the tree. If it never again has leaves, We'll know, we say, that this was the night it died. It is very far north, we admit, to have brought the peach. What comes over a man, is it soul or mind-- That to no limits and bounds he can stay confined? You would say his ambition was to extend the reach Clear to the Arctic of every living kind. Why is his nature forever so hard to teach That though there is no fixed line between wrong and right, There are roughly zones whose laws must be obeyed? There is nothing much we can do for the tree tonight, But we can't help feeling more than a little betrayed That the northwest wind should rise to such a height Just when the cold went down so many below. The tree has no leaves and may never have them again. We must wait till some months hence in the spring to know. But if it is destined never again to grow, It can blame this limitless trait in the hearts of men.

#poetry #robert frost #there are roughly zones

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Daily Doodles for 4/16/24 - 4/20/24

#daily doodle project #ddp2024

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Daily Drabbles for 4/16/24 - 4/20/24

4/16/24 Sidi grabbed a handful of sand and watched it slowly drain out of her clenched fist. Here in the shade the grains were cool to the touch. A refreshing change from the rest of the beach where the hot sand had burned Sidi's feet as she'd run across it to the water. But the pavilion she was resting under had protected this small patch from the heat of the sun. Sidi burrowed her feet into the sand, enjoying the cool sensation that spread over her. She almost wanted to dump some on her head to further cool herself down. Almost.

4/17/24 Thick drops of rain fell heavy from a dark overladen sky. The water-soaked pavement reflected the rainbow of neon lights strung out across the city. Multi-colored droplets splashed into the air as Nokia stomped down the sidewalk. She had brought an umbrella but her long flowing hair had managed to get soaked anyway. It would be a frizzy disaster when she finally got back inside and dried off. People on the streets, all as brightly dressed as the lights around them, eyed Nokia warily as she passed. She must have looked a sight, with her drab clothing and wild hair.

4/18/24 Georges confidently moved his piece forward across the board. Armand took the bait and captured the piece. Lining up his pieces for Georges to jump them all in a long chain and landing his piece on Armand's side of the board. Georges grinned excitedly as Armand begrudgingly kinged him. Georges was now primed to capture the rest of Armand's pieces and win the game in only a few turns. Armand was well aware of this, he leaned forward in his seat and stared intently at the checkerboard. Armand lifted a piece and jumped all of Georges' checkers except his king.

4/19/24 Janey heaved a heavy sigh as she stared down her bed. A pile of recently cleaned sheets and blankets lay in a crumpled pile in the middle of an otherwise bare mattress. It was very late and Janey wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and pass out. She also wanted nothing less than to make her bed. Thus, she was at an impasse. She was so very tempted to just flop down on the mattress and make a nest of the pile of blankets. She could make the bed properly in the morning when she had more energy.

4/20/24 I can't forget the look on her face. Just… the absolute betrayal in her eyes as she turned to look at me. It's an image that's going to stick with me for a long time. It takes real dedication to break someone's trust like that. I had to be very patient with her. Spend years always playing the good friend, the reliable one. It was almost ironic. All that time I put into our friendship. All the years getting to know each other. She should have already known. I was never gonna give her up. Never gonna let her down.

#daily drabble project #ddrp2024

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Daily Doodles for 4/11/24 - 4/15/24

#daily doodle project #ddp2024

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Daily Drabbles for 4/11/24 - 4/15/24

4/11/24 Whilma took a deep breath. The room smelled of peaches. Nancy's room always smelled good. Whilma looked around at the large collection of candles Nancy had spread out across every available surface. They ranged in scent from the conventional to the bizarre. Whilma picked up a pink candle from the edge of a shelf beside her. It promised to smell of honey glazed ham. Whilma replaced it and picked up a green candle. This one claimed to smell like freshly cut grass. Those weren't even the weirdest. Nancy had a whole collection of unpleasant scents. Like manure or wet dog.

4/12/24 Saba stared up into the woods through the glass door. The trees were still bare, so she could see farther than usual, but it was overcast and there was a light snowfall to further obscure things. Jingo had run up into the forest again, chasing after some imaginary danger. Saba had called him, and now she was waiting for him to come back. She couldn't see any hint of his light coat between the tree trunks. Saba pulled back from the door and opened it. She called out to Jingo again. She could hear him crashing through the dead leaves.

4/13/24 Chubuu twisted open the jar of jelly with a satisfying pop as the seal broke. There was nothing like the smooth surface of a new jar of jelly. He scooped up the purple goo on a knife and smeared it across a slice of white sandwich bread. The jelly spread beautifully and Chubuu soon had the bread covered in a thin layer of the fruity substance. Chubuu next wiped the knife off on a second slice of bread before opening a jar of creamy peanut butter. This too spread cleanly and smoothly across the bread, creating the most perfect sandwich.

4/14/24 There was a series of loud metal clangs as Arid piled the empty feed buckets into each other. She scooped them up and marched back towards the barn. It was still early enough that the sun hadn't climbed above the mountain ridge yet, but its light was slowly filling the sky. Arid paused just outside the barn and stared up at the tallest mountain peak across the valley from their farm. It was far too dark to see clearly, but Arid liked to imagine that she could make out the red flags that lined the trail up to the shrine.

4/15/24 Purple popsicle juice dripped over Timmy's fingers and onto the wooden deck beneath his bare feet. As he sucked on his frozen treat, he stared out across the darkening backyard at his brothers trying to pelt each other with a large rubber ball. They hollered and laughed as they took turns stealing the ball after dodging a hit from it. A game Timmy had been a part of until he'd run to the house for a drink and been offered a popsicle as well. It was the perfect refreshment after a long summer day of running around in the sun.

#daily drabble project #ddrp2024

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Unharvested -- Robert Frost

A scent of ripeness from over a wall. And come to leave the routine road And look for what had made me stall, There sure enough was an apple tree That had eased itself of its summer load, And of all but its trivial foliage free, Now breathed as light as a lady's fan. For there there had been an apple fall As complete as the apple had given man. The ground was one circle of solid red.

May something go always unharvested! May much stay out of our stated plan, Apples or something forgotten and left, So smelling their sweetness would be no theft.

#poetry #robert frost #unharvested

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The Quiet Life -- Alexander Pope

Happy the man, whose wish and care A few paternal acres bound, Content to breathe his native air In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, Whose flocks supply him with attire; Whos trees in summer yield him shade, In winter, fire.

Blest, who can unconcern'dly find Hours, days, and years, slide soft away In health of body, peace of mind, Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease Together mix'd; sweet recreation, And innocence, which most does please With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown; Thus unlamented let me die; Steal from the world, and not a stone Tell where I lie.

#poetry #poems and such #alexander pope #the quiet life

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Daily Doodles for 4/6/24 - 4/10/24

#daily doodle project #ddp2024

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Daily Drabbles for 4/6/24 - 4/10/24

4/6/24 Una yawned as she stumbled down the sidewalk in the early morning light, barely hanging on to Riot's leash. Riot was too busy thoroughly investigating a patch of weeds to notice how unenthusiastic about his walk Una was. Una had hoped that Riot would let her sleep in a little, but the dog had insisted on his walk at six in the morning like he always did. Una suspected that even if Riot could understand that she had been out late last night and needed more sleep, he would have no compassion for her and still insist on his walk.

4/7/24 Katie drew a circle. It was a little lumpy but she thought it was okay. Beside her Ally also drew a circle. Hers was also kinda lumpy but no more than Katie's. Ally frowned and drew over her circle, trying to make it rounder. She erased off the lumpier parts and redrew the lines. It was better, but now the lines on one side were really thick. Katie drew a second circle. It was as good as her first. Ally was still drawing over her first circle, trying to make it as perfect as possible. Katie drew a third circle.

4/8/24 Mike shifted his weight from foot to foot. He'd been standing up all day and his knees were aching. He really needed to get better shoes. He'd been working longer shifts the past few weeks and they were taking their toll. Mike glanced up at the clock, his shift had ended forty minutes ago, but they had been so busy he'd been stuck at the register. Now that things had slowed down a little bit Mike was hopeful that he would be allowed to leave. But, looking at how short staffed they were, Mike doubted he'd be going home soon.

4/9/24 Guyo carefully examined each apple before placing them in his basket. Conversely, Bodi was chucking any apple he could get his hands on into his basket. Guyo shook his head as he slowly and steadily filled his basket. Sure, Bodi would fill his faster, but there was no telling the quality of the apples he was picking. He might feel like he was saving time, but if he had to come back to replace a few bad apples, he'd lose way more time than Guyo was on ensuring that all of his apples were in good condition from the beginning.

4/10/24 Sark grunted in frustration as he leaned on his sword and caught his breath. He'd tried and failed five times now to kill the Morzog beast and it was starting to piss him off. The only way to hurt the monster was to hit it in the eyes while it charged its beam attack. The problem was getting the timing just right. Too soon wouldn't do any damage. Too late and Sark would be burned to a crisp. Again. Sark hoped that sixth time was the charm. More than dying repeatedly, he was getting tired of Mochi laughing at him.

#daily drabble project #ddrp2024

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Clear and Colder -- Robert Frost

Wind, the season-climate mixer, In my Witches' Weather Primer Says, to make this Fall Elixir First you let the summer simmer, Using neither spoon nor skimmer,

Till about the right consistence. (This like fate by stars is reckoned, None remaining in existence Under magnitude the second.)

Then take some leftover winter Far to north of the St. Lawrence. Leaves to strip and branches splinter, Bring on wind. Bring rain in torrents-- Colder than the season warrents.

Dash it with some snow for powder. If this seems like witchcraft rather, If this seems a witches' chowder (All my eye and Cotton Mather!),

Wait and watch the liquor settle. I could stand whole dayfuls of it. Wind she brews a heady kettle. Human beings love it--love it. Gods above are not above it.

#poetry #robert frost #clear and colder

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Daily Doodles for 4/1/24 - 4/5/24

#daily doodle project #ddp2024

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Daily Drabbles for 4/1/24 - 4/5/24

4/1/24 Kelly knew that Princeton was in the room somewhere, but she couldn't see him. Undaunted, however, she placed her plate of food on the desk next to her computer before sitting down to eat while she watched YouTube videos. She was still pulling up a video when Princeton made his move. He leapt up from behind the trashcan onto the desk and made a mad dash for Kelly's sandwich. Acting on pure instinct, Kelly snatched the sandwich off the plate and held it high in the air while Princeton tried to climb up her arm, meowling loudly as he did.

4/2/24 Petey threw the rock out into the lake, not even attempting to skip it. It didn't matter how perfectly flat or smooth the stone he chose was, he could never get it to skip. Chuck said it was all in the wrist and Petey could skip rocks if he wanted to. He just had to learn the right way to throw them. Petey watched as Chuck skipped a stone across the water. It bounced three times before sinking under the surface. Truthfully, Petey didn't mind not being able to skip rocks. Chuck could do it for the both of them.

4/3/24 Danica stared dully at the assortment of potato chips on display in front of her. She'd hardly eaten all day, so she knew she must be hungry, but she had no appetite. Sitting in a car for several hours usually did that to her. Seeing as they had no plans to stop for a meal until later that evening, Danica felt like she ought to top off their snack supply while they were stopped at the gas station. The only problem was she had no interest in anything the convenience store had to offer. She grabbed some chips at random.

4/4/24 Kimbor tapped his fingers on the back of the chair impatiently as he watched Tibo die over and over in the video game he was playing. Tibo had promised that he would let Kimbor have a turn ages ago, but as more time passed and the more lives Tibo lost in the game it was looking like he had no intention of turning over the controller to Kimbor any time soon. It was maddening for Kimbor to watch Tibo fail the simple platforming puzzle again and again, especially when Kimbor knew that he could beat the level in five seconds.

4/5/24 Elliott was getting a headache. Between the flashing lights of the battle, Jordan's incessant yelling, and the jetlag of having been yanked out of his time zone in the middle of the night, Elliott was ready to call it quits and let the Sadistic Sages take over the world. Or whatever the hell it was they wanted. He could never be bothered to pay attention to them long enough to find out. Right now, he was more concerned with the sleep he should have been getting. He still had lines to memorize and another appointment with wardrobe in the morning.

#daily drabble project #ddrp2024

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Daily Doodles for 3/28/24 - 3/31/24

#daily doodle project #ddp2024

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Daily Drabbles for 3/28/24 - 3/31/24

3/28/24 Hannah rubbed her temple with one hand as she tried to decipher her grandmother's cursive. She had spent hours digging through boxes of old files searching for the stack of recipe cards she knew her grandmother had left behind. Hannah had been so excited when she finally found them that it took her a couple minutes to realize that finding the recipes and having them might not be the same thing. Hannah liked to think she was halfway decent at reading cursive, but her grandmother's sloppy scrawl was something else. The secret to Grandma's cooking might forever remain a mystery.

3/29/24 Quasin stared down his tiles as though he could change them into something better with just the force of his glare. Unfortunately, they remained as unhelpful as ever. Fortunately, across the board from him Nixus was looking just as frustrated with his own tiles. They had hit something of a stalemate in the late game with similar scores that they were only incrementally increasing now. Having used up all the good tiles already they were forced to make plays for less and less points as they tried to use up what was left. One point could make all the difference.

3/30/24 Jan gripped the lid of the jar and twisted with all her might. Nothing happened. Jan tried again, but the harder she tried the sweatier her hands got which only made them slippery. She just couldn't get a proper grip on the lid. After a fourth failed attempt Jan set the jar down and wiped her hands off on her pants. Then she used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe off the lid. Of course, then her hands were too dry and Jan still couldn't get a grip. She heaved a deep sigh of frustration and called her husband.

3/31/24 Trayton groaned as he looked around the room. The whole place was littered with candy wrappers, empty soda cans, pizza boxes, napkins, and various other detritus left over from the party last night. Trayton had had a great time hanging out with his friends and playing video games all night, but now the party was over. It was morning and Trayton needed to clean up or his girlfriend would be pissed off at him. She was always complaining that Trayton's friends were a bunch of slobs. And looking at the mess they left, he kinda had to agree with her.

#daily drabble project #ddrp2024

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Daily Doodles for 3/23/24 - 3/27/24

#daily doodle project #ddp2024

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Daily Drabbles for 3/23/24 - 3/27/24

3/23/24 Dusty pictures lined the hallway. Dozens of old family photographs staring blankly from behind dirty glass. She walked by them slowly, taking the time to thoroughly examine every one of them. Searching for something familiar in any of the familial faces she saw. She could see traces of herself in some of them, or so she thought. She had the family widow's peak that was common across her father's side. She could see her nose repeated in several relatives on her mother's. Bits and pieces of her spread out across time and space. She was the culmination of her past.

3/24/24 Binny was getting dizzy running down the tightly wound spiral staircase. She clung to the railing as she descended hoping it would keep her from pitching forward down the steps if she lost her balance. She had several floors to go before she'd reach ground level but at her breakneck speed she was moving down the building at a rapid pace. Just as she was starting to worry about making herself sick on the stairs she stepped off the last step and stumbled out of the stairwell. She had to take a moment to clear her head before racing onwards.

3/25/24 Kira coughed as she walked between the dusty shelves. She used to love the smell of old books but lately she'd grown tired of it. She'd been coming to the library for days now, looking for any scrap of information that could point her in the right direction. Kira couldn't count the number of old tomes she'd pried from the shelves now. For all her digging, her research was getting her nowhere. It felt like she was going in circles. Every reference leading her on a chase of tracking down sources that only lead her back to where she began.

3/26/24 Lana considered the cards spread out in front of her carefully, hovering her hand back and forth over them as she made her decision. At last, she grabbed the one on the far right. It must have been a good one since Dina tightened her grip on it as Lana wrenched it away from her. Flipping the card over and adding it to her own hand, Lana was pleased to see that she had indeed managed to snag a powerful action card that she was looking forward to using on her next turn. Dina glared across the table at Lana.

3/27/24 Brandie really needed to trim her nails again. She usually liked to keep them a little on the longer side for their usefulness in scraping things but lately they had gotten too long for comfort. She kept snagging them on things or accidentally scratching herself. To say nothing of all the dirt and grim collecting under them that Brandie regularly had to clean out. It was all very annoying. The nails had to go. The only problem was Brandie also hated clipping her nails. She found the whole process unpleasant. But not as bad as trimming her toenails at least.

#daily drabble project #ddrp2024

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Afterflakes -- Robert Frost

In the thick of a teeming snowfall I saw my shadow on snow. I turned and looked back up at the sky, Where we still look to ask the why Of everything below.

If I shed such a darkness, If the reason was in me, That shadow of mine should show in form Against the shapeless shadow of storm, How swarthy I must be.

I turned and looked back upward. The whole sky was blue; And the thick flakes floating at a pause Were but frost knots on an airy gauze, With the sun shining through.

#poetry #robert frost #afterflakes