One of our writing assignments for June 2015 at the Golden Pen Writers Guild was to write about…purple. So here’s what I came up with:
Murex brandaris.
You’ve likely never heard of this sea snail, but it held a treasure worth more than gold in ancient times. The seacoasts of the ancient city of Tyre emitted a constant stench from millions of these crushed and rotting shells for centuries. One tiny gland from 12,000 of the animals produced a mere 1.4 grams of this treasure—Tyrian Purple dye.
— Seneca, Liber XI: Ad Polybium De Consolatione
— Seneca, Epistle VIII
Even though I’ve been otherwise occupied for most of this year and not devoted as much time as normal to writing, there’s always time for haiku and tanka—one of the reasons I love them. It really doesn’t take much for one to pop into my head, and I’ve actually been using them quite a lot in Instagram posts—they’re perfect for the purpose of accompanying a photograph.
* * *
Just when life grows dim
And it seems there’s nothing left
But a downward trend,
Suddenly flow through my pen
Words of comfort from my mind.
Written as a piece for my return to activity at the Golden Pen Writers Guild in April after a long absence.
* * *
Cool, refreshing morn
After an unpleasant night
On the Southwest Chief…
Looking out my door
Pouring rain is what I see
Yet the sun is out.
Yesterday was rain,
But today on waking up
SNOW is what I find!
Written during my spring trip to Flagstaff, Arizona and attached to various photos and video clips I posted to Instagram.
* * *
Flowers in a pot
Stand in humble tribute to
Loved ones who are gone.
Memorial Day 2015 at the Veterans Historical Plaza Park, Saugus, CA.
* * *
© MMXV Douglas P. Kendrick, all rights reserved.
— Seneca quoting Socrates, Epistle XXVIII On Travel as a Cure for Discontent
So—traveling in and of itself will not change a person.
By the way, you’ll be seeing lots of quotes from Seneca for a while since I’ve been reading my way through his complete works. He’s probably my favorite of the ancient Stoics—with plenty of wisdom that’s applicable for our time.
— George Gordon, Lord Byron
A spectacular, starry sky shone brightly over the slippery path, when I was surprised to encounter an enormous, angry chimpanzee. The enigma caused me no little consternation; but, to my relief, his recalcitrance was assuaged by tossing him some candy.
Here are the given words: surprise, enormous, slippery, chimpanzee, spectacular, consternation, stars, enigma, candy, angry — Bonus: relief
We hadn’t done one of these at the Golden Pen Writers Guild for a long time (not to mention I wasn’t attending for a while) so this was a welcome bit of fun. And by the way—it’s been a long time since I’ve uploaded any writing, hasn’t it? Sorry about that. I’ve had lots of other cares and woes on my plate this year. Hopefully I can get back on the wagon again.
©MMXV Douglas P. Kendrick, all rights reserved.
journey, not destination 