AUTHOR NOTES

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

The poem “LETTER TO AN EDITOR” mirrors, with humor, a letter she sent to an editor querying the fate of poems sent. The editor responded with apologies and the date of publication. These letters are in the poet’s papers. The poem is included this month for other poets with similar woes for this year’s Poetry Month.

REFRACTIONS—poetry by Robert Roxby

“POKEY DAVIS,” is about an acquaintance of the author from 1931. It first appeared in his anthology, Reflections on a Lifetime, and is included this week for Go For Broke Day, April 5.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“POEMS AS LONELY ORPHANS” is included for Poetry Month as commiseration with other poets who might feel the same at times. The author composed this piece after more than one poetry prize submission failed to connect with the judges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

 

Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.

Guidelines for submission:

  1. List Splintered Glass prompt which inspired the work in the text of your email.
  2. Submit material to be published as Microsoft Word document. Submission should not be longer than one page. Editing will not be provided, please be careful.
  3. Include two brief sentences about the author. Example: Michael Whozits is the author of A Book and The Curl, a blog. He is a retired pilot and avid surfer.
  4. Submission must arrive no later than the 3rd Wednesday of the month in which the Splintered Glass prompt appeared. Only one reader’s submission will be selected for any given month.
  5. Send submission to karoxby@gmail.com.
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DIAGRAMMING SENTENCES

Every sentence is a puzzle,

A challenge for skilled gamers.

 

Diagrammed, it presents an angular web

A Mondrian or constructivist painting.

 

It is a game of dominoes

Building pattern on pattern.

 

It is a macrame tapestry

With modifiers providing the dangling fringe.

 

The game board is full of ups and downs–

With slides, full stops, somersaults and leaps.

 

It is the X-Game for grammar skateboards,

An intricate and daring parkour for words.

 

#DiagrammingSentences  #EnglishLanguage #Parsing

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THE OLD STORYTELLER

One day El viejo came from the land where the sun goes down

And now he relives his fabulous roams, south of the border town.

 

On sun-baked patio stones los niños gather to hear

Him tell of those wonder-filled days (his burro waits patiently near)

 

His sombrero shadows his brow, but, dream-filled, the old eyes glow

With gnarled brown finger at lips, he signals: Silencio!

 

Los niños grow still as the stones; no sound but the fountain’s play

Breathless they wait for the tales El viejo will tell them this day

 

Their eyes are lustrous and dark, like pebbles in a stream

Unnoticed paloma flies over los niños caught up in their dream

Los niños are carried away to far-off mesas and skies

To the place where the sun goes down and the land where new moons rise

 

Where montañas touch and the clouds and trees soar green and tall

They learn of the niños there, and they yearn to know them all

 

El viejo had traveled far, to the land where the sun goes down

And now he re-dreams those days, south of the border town.

 

#Storytelling  #HispanicCulture

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VOWEL NONSENSE, PART TWO Featuring A and U, With An Assist From O

Vowels in the English language are not content to have just one sound like those in Spanish, Italian or even Japanese. English vowels strive for a full repertoire.

The vowel A wanders all over the place. Alone it is restricted to its name or the equivalent to “uh”, but pair it up with other letters and all bets are off. See below for the “au” combination, for example. To make matters worse, the British speakers and American speakers do not pronounce A the same way. Americans say the British use a “broad” A, and they say Americans use a “flat” A. If you are new to English, you get to take your pick, though sometimes you might not be immediately understood.

U is not much better since it starts out rarely sounding like its name without help and most often is the soft “uh” (which is also common to A, E and O in unaccented syllables) depending on the word. It most often sounds like double O (oo) as in the words truth and flute. Confused yet?

Linked with I, the U still sounds like “oo” as in the word suit, recruit and nuisance. Nice, you could even say consistent, but wait.

Pair U with A, and what you get with the combination “au” sounds like “ah” for the word nautical. In this instance, the duo sounds a bit like the British version of A. There is no hint of the U. Makes you wonder why it is even there. However, the “au” combination is not consistent. In the word laugh, the A takes over again, but makes its short sound when spoken by an American. For them the U is silent. Other examples of when the U seems to be silent are the words “caught” and “haughty”.

The U is also sometimes mute when paired with E, as in guest or quest. In these words, the U appears to be extraneous. So why is it there? The answer can be found if you search out the etymology of these words.

You may stumble upon “eu” or “ue” combos which sounds like “yew”. Examples of “yew” sound can be found in the words “eulogy” and “cue.”

All this flexibility is not kind to those who are learning English, whether native speakers or not. It also makes spelling a challenge. English has a lot in common with a maze—many likely, but wrong guesses. If only the vowels were less flaky, English would be so much easier.

 

#ESL #EnglishLanguage  #VowelsAndSpelling #Dipthongs #Digraphs

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AUTHOR NOTES

GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby

“THE OLD STORYTELLER.” Although found among Margaret Roxby’s papers, the authorship is unknown. It is included this week in honor of Tell a Fairy Tale Day.

KALEIDSCOPE—a series by Kathleen Roxby

“VOWEL NONSENSE, PART TWO, Featuring A and U, With An Assist From O.” This piece is a continuation of ‘VOWEL NONSENSE” which appeared last month.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby

“DIAGRAMMING SENTENCES” was written for fun during COVID lockdown and recalls the author’s experiences in both college and eighth-grade English. It is included this month for Grammar Appreciation Day.

 

 

 

 

 

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STORY IDEA – CRUISE TO MURDER

 

Characters:

  • Fred, widower still mourning his wife 3 years after her death. Fred decides to take the cruise he and his wife had planned in the hope that visiting the places she longed to see, he will feel less lost without her

 

  • Georgia, woman he meets on the cruise. Unknown to Fred, has already decided he might make a good next husband, her third—the first two having been mistakes ending in mutually agreed divorces. She was in the travel agency the same day that Fred came to book his cruise and overheard his story which he readily tells anyone who will listen

 

  • Kathyrn, neighbor and friend of Fred, a friend to the couple before she, too, was widowed. She has no plan to remarry but feels certain that is the future for Fred even if not quite yet. She worries that the cruise might be a mistake—too soon and he is too vulnerable to anyone who might see him as a rich and ready prize.

The Evidence

  • Georgia is killed with poison.
  • Fred and Georgia are both keen diarists. The tale of the voyage is revealed in their diaries, later viewed as evidence by the police.

Fred’s Diary reveals Fred did fall for Georgia and was hopeful for a happy future until she began to show a possessiveness that worried him. He writes that he is afraid she is unnaturally jealous of Kathryn to the point where he feels Kathryn may be placed in danger by his continued association with Georgia.

Georgia’s diary reveals her conniving to win Fred’s affections, but also reveals that she seemed to fall into her own trap. She believes herself in love with him. Since she knows her own duplicitousness, she cannot believe in the platonic friendship of Kathryn. Since Kathryn is a threat, she must be dealt with. She begins to plan.

But who is responsible for the murder?

  • Fred who might have switched food/drink received from Kathryn or Georgia as a precaution. Or, he might have planned to kill Georgia to release himself from his unwise and hasty cruise marriage to a woman he now feared.
  • Kathryn who disliked Georgia from the moment they met, and who may have not so platonic feelings for Fred.
  • Georgia who did intend to remove Kathryn from interfering with the life she planned with Fred.
  • Someone else? Perhaps someone from Georgia’s past?

If this story catches your imagination, it is yours to write. I only ask that you might let me know how you resolve it. Best wishes for your writing success.

 

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SPLINTERS FOR MARCH 2022

  1. For Women’s History Month, choose a female you admire. Tell your readers about her. Why did you choose her, how has she impacted your life or the lives of others?
  2. Create your own fairy tale or write a spin-off on an old favorite. Write in prose or in poetry.
  3. March is full of Special Days, here are a few to spark your ideas:
    1. FOOD: Popcorn Lovers Day, Peanut Butter Lovers Day, Potato Chip Day
    2. NATURE: Intl Earth Day, Plant A Flower Day, Learn About Butterflies Day, Goddess Of Fertility Day, Take A Walk In The Park Day.
    3. SOCIAL AWARENESS: Peace Corps Day, World Compliment Day, World Day Of Prayer, Hug a GI Day, Freedom of Information Day, etc.
    4. ANIMALS: Puppy Day, World Sparrow Day, Giant Panda Day, Buzzards Day, If Pets Had Thumbs Day.
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YEARNING TO TALK POETRY

I long to talk again to you of poetry–

to speak of the subtle shifts

that may change a tide:

 

Why the choice of “a” or “the” is better;

why there never was

and should not be a “the”

in the first line

of Houseman’s XXII: R.L.S.

 

I long to talk again to you of poetry,

to speak of the subtle shifts

that may change a tide.

 

To share again with someone

who knows the uncommon melody

who will instantly recognize the source

of the melody’s elusive lure.

 

I long to talk again to you of poetry

to speak of the subtle shifts

that may change a tide.

 

We knew, you and I,

that there would be this longing after–

when the other of us was gone

beyond the reach of speech

or written word–

for, it is rare that a poet

finds another spirit so alike.

 

Yes, we knew, you and I,

and mourned before time

the inevitable silence

that one of us would bear.

 

Oh, how I long to talk again

of poetry with you.

 

#Poetry #PoetCommunity

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FOR NYLE

Can you imagine how it was?

I can, for the story was told to me

when I was a child. the story of

the song, of the gold-voiced uncle,

the sweet tenor-voiced boy.

 

Can you imagine how it was?

He, young, eager, brown-eyed

beneath the bright brown hair,

honey-throated.

 

Can you imagine how it was?

He, leaning across the Sunday

Breakfast table, saying simply,

“I heard a new song last night,

a beautiful, heartbreaking song.

listen.

 

Can you imagine how it was?

He, singing…the words sounding…

Softly, sweetly, tenderly:

“Poor Butterfly, ‘neath the blossoms

Waiting…”

 

O, can you imagine how it must have been?

 

#Memoir #FamilyStories #MusicAtHome

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