ASCII Frankenstein Monster

ASCII Frankenstein Monster (Can't Leave Well Enough Alone Version - Advanced Text Formatting)

ASCII Frankenstein Monster (Original Version - Basic Text Formatting)

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Writing to Dissolve

I'm tossing and turning in bed.
Can't get comfortable.

Trying to quiet a restless mind.
But there's no off switch.

Outside it's raining, again; steadily.
On the inside, too (of me).

The darkness is a mental lens,
Through which each thought becomes a scene.
                                        (Becomes a seen.)

Where's the Sandman when you need him most?
A grain or two would surely do.
Maybe he stayed home due to rain.

Adjusting pillows for the hundredth time.
There's no fit to this feathery puzzle.

Keep checking the clock,
As if reminding myself how late it (still) is will suddenly induce slumber.
It doesn't.
It never does.
Time marches on,
       and I'm awake to see it go by.

I decide to crawl into the pages of a notebook,
And write until I see
       a parade of words
              dissolve
                     behind
                            closing eyes…

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Discontent in others doesn't worry me. We all experience discontent, in varying degrees of severity and duration, at various points in our lives. Simply put, discontent is part of human nature. It happens.

What worries me are those that cross the line from run-of-the-mill discontent to focused, targeted discontent, because they're just one step away from disgruntled — and dangerous.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

    An acquaintance once said to me, "I never had a dream I didn't like."

    I replied, "Really? What about nightmares?"

    The disbelief in my voice and on my face was obvious, because he returned proudly, and quite matter-of-factly, "I never have nightmares."

    "How sad for you," I said. Then I turned and walked away, wondering about a life devoid of nightmares and how empty that must be.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Fallen (Blue Serenity)

 

About

Leaves, ice, and nightlight, all colored by the imagination.

Tranquility found in the solitude beneath the moonbeams of a cold winter night.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

The snow drifts of memory block the path ahead, and the way home has blown away with the passing of the clouds — and the closing of the mind.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Thankful: When you've been pushed to the edge, teetering on it, glimpsing the black void below, and then, out of nowhere, a mighty gust of wind comes along and blows you back to safety. Some call this chance. Others call it luck. I prefer to call it the breath of God.

Dedicated to my Notebook Brother.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Ever have one of those days when you feel like you're walking through mud, with an agitated monkey on your back, a black cloud above your head, sand in your eyes, and dumbbells for hands? Yeah, me, too.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

An Afternoon at the Lake

Sitting on a beach chair,
  by a modest lake,
    on a seasonably mild summer day,
      writing this…

Clouds slowly spread like vines,
  growing across the powder-blue sky.

Ripples on the water –
  concentric circles of happiness,
    emanating from so many points of splashiness.

In the sand, all around me
—surrounding me—
  lines,
    and footprints,
      and dunes in miniature.

Bodies of all shapes,
  and sizes,
    and colors,
      and ages,
        and degrees of swimsuit coverage,
          mill about,
            with unseen purpose,
              like weekend ants.

A circling hawk.
  Speeding sparrows.
    A lone crow perched on the longest limb of a dead tree,
      on the opposite shore,
        surveys (stoically) the peculiar little wet things
          romping about in the dark blue expanse below.

Something hornet-like hovers in place for a few moments,
  a few inches above one particular patch of sand,
    then zips away,
      then returns,
        and repeats the cycle
          about a dozen times.

Now and then a cool breeze caresses and cools the sun bathers,
  while the water lilies shiver and chuckle in place.

Paperback books pepper the sandscape.
  Some are held in laps, like precious little things.
    Others hug them like teddy bears,
      while Zzz-Zzzs dissolve above their heads.
        And there are those lost in the pages of the moment,
          wondering what the next turn will bring.

A continuous mix of voices rises and falls,
  constantly stirring the conversation stew.
    Bits and pieces of daily lives arrive out context to my ears,
      becoming the characters and stories in my mind.

And what must they think of me?
    The sunglassed man in a beach chair,
        with paper and pen,
          writing intermittently (though intently),
            with a wry smile.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Self Portrait (Abstract)

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Mindstorm 1

 

About

There's always a mindstorm brewing in the mind of artists, innovators, and dreamers.

This piece is the cerebral answer to Heart of an Artist.

Dedicated to my wife, who inspires me and is always there when I return home from a voyage through a mindstorm.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Smile 2

A helium balloon, no longer aloft, and a bit crumpled,
was holding down the floor.

Little did I know that it was a trapdoor to the imagination.

Dedicated to my family.

P.S. When I look at this image I see a greeting card, whose interior text is, "Down, but not out... Smile to another day."

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Said an Angel...

     Said an angel to an orphan...

     "Faith is the family that binds us, Julia. Not a Christmas tree. Not a pumpkin patch. Not a birthday present signed, 'With love, your Mom and Dad.'

     "Normal Rockwell paintings, The Brady Bunch, and The Partridge Family are only types of family, Julia.

     "At best, they are families born of wishful thinking. At worst, they are simplifications and sterilizations; devoid of the everyday mundane, and the trials and tribulations of life choices. Either way, they are fabrications; the products of writers, producers, and ratings.

     They are not family, Julia. Not your family.

     Your family is far beyond their reach and far beyond their comprehension. They are not us, Julia. They are not one with the divine, as we are. This is your family.

     "And your destiny, my child, is to be a guide. A resolute and compassionate guide.

     "Your wings, more than any other in our family, will flap high above the loneliness of this world. You will help set free the hearts of so many that feel lost and alone, and longing for love, just as you do right now.

     "You will help them find their faith, Julia. You will help them find their peace and their purpose—with thanksgiving—in God."

 

About

This piece is in response to, Said the Demon... (2009.07.02).

© Copyright 2009,2012 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Balance

 

About

The next image, titled, "The Evolution of Balance," is the beginning of balance.


© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

You Know You're Sad When

You know you're sad when someone asks you,

If you were a tree, then what kind of tree would you be?

and you respond:

• A weeping willow
• A Charlie Brown Christmas tree
• A sapling
• Firewood
• Driftwood
• Petrified
• The kind that gets turned into a forgotten piece of paper

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Cardinals, blue jays, and crows: my winged patches of red, blue, and black among the daybreak shimmer of broccoli-green trees.

A caravan of white-tailed deer slowly and silently trace the brush line.

A Mourning Dove calls.

Tranquility...for a moment; for a breath.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

A Prayer, of Sorts

Dear Lord,

Give me the will to write,
   to find the right,
and to shed a light
   on the darkness
  of an empty page
   – so white.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Said the Demon...

     Said the demon to the priest, "Every rule is artificial, except the rule of God. That is what we demons fear. That is what the vile angels know to be true. And that is the weakness we exploit in man: The precious belief that the rule of God is also artificial; that it is man-made and entirely subjective. … That is why you fall, holy man. Because deep down inside you don't believe in the rule of God."

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

The Night Sky

     "Hello," said the Moon.

     "Good evening," replied the Stars.

     "Looks like we're in for a beautiful starry night," winked the Moon.

     "Yes. And would it seem we're going to have an eye in the sky to guide the way," chuckled the Stars.

     And the Moon and the Stars laughed and smiled, and twinkled and wished, until it was time for them to turn the sky over to the Sun and the Clouds.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Exhaustion as a consequence of good clean fun is a badge of honor. Exhaustion as a consequence of being overworked, stressed out, and always irritable is a slippery slope to despair.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Stress is recognizing when your mental threads are starting to fray.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Frustration occurs when the expectations of high principles run into the brick walls of shortsightedness, fluid compromise, and greed.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

My Daily Tendrils

Balance. Clarity. Focus. Serenity.
My daily grails.

Strength. Courage. Endurance. Regulation.
My daily prayers.

Faith. Hope. Love. Dreams. Family.
My daily fuel.
My daily breaths.
My daily bread.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

On the Inside (Sadness Part 3)

    "Sometimes I feel overwhelmed," he said, his eyes fixed to the floor.

    "I know you do," she whispered.

    "Then I think of you – and I smile." A tear slid down his cheek.

    She cupped his face in her soft, warm hands, brought his eyes to hers, and said, "As long as I'm in your heart, then let the world stay outside. We'll be inside, together, where nothing can hurt us. Not now. Not ever."

    He smiled.

    She smiled.

    And for a little while, the world became their smiles — at least on the inside.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

The Ghosts of Sorrow (Sadness Part 2)

An open switch,
  An open wound.
Those vacant eyes,
  A soul marooned.

Constricted hope,
  And drying tears.
There's no relief,
  From deathbed fears.

No hands to hold,
  No fight remains.
What prayers to say?
  When the spirit wanes.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

A Breath Away from Dust (Sadness Part 1)

Once upon a time the man in the mirror was a child.
  A child with tireless hands,
  a strong heart,
  and access to an endless garden of ever ripening fruit.

But the vine of intention has long since withered,
 its roots receded;
 decayed.
  The endless garden is now but a patch of brown,
  a poor plot of earth,
  and just a breeze
     and a breath
  away from dust.

Once upon a time the mirror held a child.
 Now all that remains are wrinkles of worry,
 bags of regret,
 a fixed frown,
 and a lifetime of lists—
  lists that only hold a handful of checkmarks.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Buffering reality one thought at a time,
 And twisting them out of their tight
 mental shell.

On paper, on screen, in folders and files,
  All pieces of me,
  And each in its cell.

Alternate Version

Buffering reality one thought at a time,
 Then twisting them out of the grey-matter shell.

On paper, on screen, in folders and files,
 A lifetime of progress,
  A path I know well.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

God, guide me in the way of little things, so that I can find the footprints of serenity in the vastness of the day.

Alternate Version

God, guide me in the way of little things, so that I might find a path away from the colossal maw of the ever present now.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Status! State! Fried.

 

About

The status of any project (personal, professional, recreational, etc.) can be reduced to various states of green, yellow, and red.

The status path is colored black and blue.

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Tendril: My Frankensteins

© Copyright 2009 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.