Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Friday Flashback- On vinyl
2008-04-18 12:55:00
New AlbumThe plastic tearsThe record slips outThe dust-cover squeaksThe needle clicksThe speakers blareThe song thrillsThe voice excites meThe eyes seduce meThe hands beckon meThe leather entices meThe pose confuses meThe face distracts meMy heart throbsMy hands trembleMy eyes succumbHis face relaxesHis voice haltsThe music fadesMy mind wanders??No one?s homeI play ?Heroes?.Kathleen Mortensen (nee Davison) © 1979
More About: Friday , Flashback , Vinyl

High School Musical - almost.
2008-04-16 16:52:00
The results of the poll are in and by an overwhelming margin of 78%, the people have said "No" to the double-blog approach". This actually comes as a bit of a relief to me, since maintaining one blog is far easier to do than keeping up with two (or more). I apologize to the poets out there who were more than likely the ones who wanted to keep my works separate, but as Walt Whitman said, "I contain multitudes", so I feel comfortable with keeping all of my pieces, be they poems, anecdotes, fictions, or just gibberish in one place.Having said that, here's a little story from my youth.The Audition by Kathleen Mortensen In Grade 12, when I learned that my high school was putting on the play, The Music Man, I was ecstatic. I love musicals. I was raised on them. My mother and used to watch them together when they were on television. My parents often took me to see stage-productions at the O?Keefe Centre in Toronto. I saw Camelot, Annie, Anne of Green Gables, Oklahoma! and A...
More About: Musical , School , High School , High , High School Musical

A poetic feast!
2008-04-16 12:51:00
Photo on Flickr by cdw9Please make a journey over to the Soup To Nuts progressive dinner blog carnival where I, myself am represented in all 5 categories.The carnival hosts a marvelous collection of blogs to visit for some creative "culinary" delights.Thanks to the five hosts on Soup To Nuts "2" as well as everyone who entered posts.Here are the venues:Fear and Loathing-The Gonzo Papers The Soul And The Witness for Hors d'oeuvres and CocktailsMusings Of A Manic Mom for AppetizersHealth Plans Plus for the First CourseSimple Pleasures for the Main CourseSoham Das at the Soul and the Witness will be hosting the Hors d?Oeuvre of the blog carnival, Kilroy at Fear and Loathing will be hosting the Dessert Section, the Appetizer course will be on at Nicole?s on Musings of a Manic Mom the first course at Helene?s on Health Plans Plus, and the Main Course will be served by Dana at her Simple Pleasures So get your mouse or cursor hopping, and join in for this one of a kind blog carnival.B...
More About: Feast

After thoughts
2008-04-14 23:14:00
Photo by Dalvina on FlickrGone Who still will ponder me when I?m long goneStop to remember my favourite song,Think how I so loved my toast with my tea,Or watched the wildflowers bloom forth for the bee;Who will know diddly-squat about me?Who will reflect that I wore funky clothes,Perched arty specs, on the edge of my nose,Smelled of Ma Griffe, and berry lip balm,Had striated nails and a silky-smooth palm;Who will recall when my carcass is calm?Who will be left to mull over my past,No progeny birthed, and me being last,None to look over my photos and muse,"She was quite pleasant--but had a short fuse";Who will expound about me, or enthuse?Will anyone think how I oft tried to smile,On those in misfortune, whom others revile?What can I do now to remain in the mind,A postcard perhaps, or a poem, would be kind.Best do it now, while the years yet unwind.Soon, all too soon they?ll unspool to their end;Must not dilly-dally--no time to misspend.Rich ruminations that slip into my sleep,I'll w...
More About: Thoughts

Sunday fun...Quick! Think of ten songs...
2008-04-13 18:08:00
that you can't hear without singing along.Here are mine:Supertramp - The Logical SongElton John - Someone Saved My Life TonightINXS - Never Tear Us ApartGeorge Michael - FaithDavid Bowie - HeroesFleetwood Mac - DreamsOlivia Newton John - Let Me Be ThereLenny Kravitz - Let Love RuleWaterboys - Whole of the MoonSimple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
More About: Songs , Sunday , Quick

Self-image - a lttle fun from those crazy Brits!
2008-04-11 23:46:00
This is one of a series of wacky Creature Comfort flicks brought to you by Aardman Animations. This one is all about self-image, so I thought, in light of my recent posts it is appropriate.
More About: Crazy , Image , Creature Comforts , Brits

Salad Days
2008-04-11 14:55:00
(Grade Eleven on the right - some improvement to Grade Eight, but not much. See Grade Nine at above left in the trio of photos for a really somber sight.) I apologize for the quality - no scanner and my digital isn't co-operating.Okay, so here's the poem I promised. It's along the same lines as my aunt's (see below), but it's rather scattered, I think. My rhythm changes every so often in a disconcerting way (I believe it was for emphasis), and it may have held some meaning for those who are listed, but now, I'm sure it's more humourous than anything else (in a retrospective sort of way).You'll notice I had to get the reference to lunches in there again. Before I went to this Catholic all-girls school run by nuns, I thought the lunch my mother packed for me with Kraft singles and grape jelly sandwiches (Hey! Don't knock it, it's a precursor to wine and cheese!)or peanut butter and apple slices, with a "wagon wheel" for dessert was the best thing since...sliced bread. ...
More About: Salad , Days

Friday Flashback - Way back!
2008-04-11 02:07:00
Recently, my mother came across one of her old yearbooks from 1946. My mom lives just a 2 minute drive away, where she and my dad are tucked up in a lovely apartment complete with en suite laundry, a roaring gas fireplace and two fully equipped bathrooms. She is hooked up to satellite t.v. and nary a day goes by where she doesn't say, "We watched the greatest old movie last night!" It's a good thing she has these distractions because my father, the one with Parkinson's and dementia, is quite a challenge both mentally and physically and she needs all the escapism she can get.So, anyway. She was on the phone with me the other day and telling me about this yearbook, and she's flipping through it while she's on the phone, when suddenly she exclaims, "Oh, I just found a poem, written by Joan ." Now, Joan is my dearly beloved aunt, who passed away a couple of years ago from complications with emphesema caused by a lifetime of smoking Players' cigarettes. Make no mistake, she was ...
More About: Back , Friday , Flashback , Poem

Grade Eight Beauty
2008-04-09 15:56:00
Kathy at The Junk Drawer blog wanted to see me in all my pre-pubescent splendour.Here she is, Kathy!Doomed to be dateless and holding up the wall with the other "flowers". In the 1974-75 Yearbook: Kathleen DavisonP.P. LiverSchool: H.N.MLikes: Big LunchesWeep for me now folks!Kat
More About: Beauty

Days of Hell
2008-04-08 16:35:00
Check out Michelle's post on the puberty lesson and make sure you watch the YouTube video from 1957 - it's a classic!After reading her post, I felt it was the perfect time to put up this poem I wrote recently about my experience as a grade/high school kid in Gym Class. I'm sure some of you will relate to those woeful times, especially if, like me, you were an uncoordinated little pipsqueak who couldn't play sports to save her life.Class Action I remember the knot, like it was yesterday,In the pit of my gut as the clock ticked away.What did they have planned to sadistically mock me,This day was it parallel bars or floor hockey?I stood in my gym-suit, that evil creation,That tugged at my tush and revealed no inflationOf training-bra hidden beneath the blouse, blue,And waited as captains, to their pals were true.No gain, being gangly and short with no speed;It came down to me and the chubby of breed.Then filled full of dread I?d join up with a line-To await the embarrassment soon ...
More About: Hell , Days

Put on your boogie shoes and dance!
2008-04-08 14:26:00
I was born in 1961 and as a teenager in the 70s, I was a HUGE music fanatic. Every Wednesday, I would listen to the CKOC top 40 Countdown and write down every single song and every artist. I knew (and still do) every word to Queen's, Bohemian Rhapsody (1975). I even drew a picture of them all as they had appeared on The Midnight Special.I did the "Bump" to KC and the Sunshine band in the basement of my friend Kelly's house next to her big stone fireplace and overlooking her fabulous kidney-shaped pool.My first single was Vicki Lawrence's, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia(1972) and my first real album was Elton John's Greatest Hits. I bought K-tel records and scads of 45s and taped from the radio and friends' vinyl records (still have some of my originals of those too!)When Peter Frampton's double album, Frampton Comes Alive came out in 1976, I was one of the first to buy it and I played it to death!My favourite album of all time is Elton John's, Captain Fantastic...
More About: Shoes , Dance

Would you believe it?
2008-04-04 13:33:00
Kitchen Window (above) Side door (on right) I had planned on a Friday Flashback for today, but as this is my *surprise* weather this morning and I had this more appropriate (time-limited) piece for just such an occurrence, I thought I'd treat you to it.I wrote this last week while on my mini-sabbatical and though I am frustrated by the situation, the poem was a bit of fun to write. I hope you enjoy it and can commiserate with our plight here in the still somewhat-frozen North.Snow Job Spring has played another joke; No flowers burst, no buds have broke; ?Gainst gusts and grippes our fires still smoke-- For winter, us, will not unyoke. Spring is just a jackanapes; Our bills get high as heat escapes; Through leaks and gaps behind the drapes-- We long for sun and scented ?scapes. Spring has bashed us with its bane; The blast blows past my bathroom pane;...

Request from Poetikat
2008-04-02 23:56:00
Please fill in my poll at the top in my sidebar.I appreciate your input.Thanks,Kat
More About: Request

An end in sight
2008-04-02 21:19:00
Winter?s Wake Ice spikes drip, at torture pace Pine-clumps plunge from upper place Minefield yard, of scrap and scree More flurries on the way, I see. Mounds of snow, rock-hard with ice Will not be moved, for trying, twice Porch is heaped with husks of seed Here nature?s hungry come to feed. Rusty vines of leaves entangle Redbud?s rangy fingers dangle Limp limbs droop where once they bore Flakes, water-logged that lag no more. Frozen fringes silent creep Behind the bushes March hares sleep The corvine crew morosely caws As winter hedges, hems and haws. Kathleen Mortensen © 2008
More About: Winter , Sight

Elegy for a singer's youth
2008-03-28 21:56:00
Corinne Bailey Rae and Billie Holiday Corinne Bailey Rae, so young, became someone Her love has died, now where?s the sun? Heartache is here to stay-- Sing the blues like Billie Holiday. Poor girl, the pain is much too much to bear Her sweet and light is sure to disappear Solitude has come today -- Sing the blues like Billie Holiday. Lonesome lass has lost her lover man No, never will she be the same again Keeps on rainin?, so they say? Sing the blues like Billie Holiday. It?s just a cruel crush of fate One never knows the time, the date Never more his sax will play-- Sing the blues like Billie Holiday. ©2008 ? Kathleen Mortensen
More About: Youth

Extended Leave
2008-03-24 22:00:00
Dear Loyal Readers:I have to admit that I've reached a bit of a dead end these last few days. This break has proven that I need more time to rejuvenate. In order to produce some quality poems and writing, I need the time away from this laptop with its demands and statistics and hits and distractions.So, I'm going to be offline for another week - restoring the creative juices, reading, thinking and writing. When I get back, I hope there will be another world of works for you to read and enjoy.Perhaps the Spring will actually be here in my part of the world, and I will be uplifted at last.PoetikatNote: As of Tuesday, The Dinner Party Episode 5 has been posted at Mystories and Imagination (see link in sidebar under Top Spots)
More About: Leave , Extended

Taking a break
2008-03-19 14:29:00
Photo by SparkyLeigh on Flickr Poetikat will return to this spot after the Easter holiday. Enjoy the rest of the week with your families and friends! Kat
More About: Break , Taking

Announcement! (*fanfare & enthusiastic cheers ensue*)
2008-03-17 22:53:00
Announcing a companion blog to Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes:As I'm enjoying writing stories so much, I thought it might be best to create a separate blog exclusively for my fictional and semi-autobiographical pursuits.Join me over at my new blog:MYSTORIES and IMAGINATIONwhere you will find the next episode of The Dinner Party right now!Meanwhile, you will still be able to read my somewhat prolific poetry at this site as per usual.Thanks for being my loyal visitors and I hope you'll travel the short distance to my co-blog, right here on Blogger.Poetikat
More About: Announcement

Happy St. Paddy's Day!
2008-03-17 02:07:00
On St. Patrick 's DayI remember what happened, St. Patrick?s Day,As soon as the music filled the air;There were shamrocks and rainbows everywhere;My father would sit in his worn velvet chair;The tears would come as the pipes would play;I remember what happened, St. Patrick?s Day.I remember what happened, St. Patrick?s Day,The whiskey would flow and we'd eat so well;There?d be cabbage cooked despite the smell;We?d laugh at jokes we loved to tell;Daddy would sigh as the pipes would play;I remember what happened, St. Patrick?s Day.I remember what happened, St. Patrick?s Day,He?d croon ?Danny Boy? and sit and stare,Off in the distance to some other where,He could only recall from a boyhood rare;The eyes would mist up as the pipes would play;I remember what happened, St. Patrick?s Day.I remember what happened, St. Patrick?s Day,He?d regale with tales of the country, fair;Those times when he always was ?on the tear?;He?d ponder that long ago day he left Eire;His voice would break as the ...
More About: Happy

Friday Flashback Part 3
2008-03-14 15:31:00
The Dinner Part y - Episode 3Five albums and 3 joints later, I was trying to get my sixth glass of wine down. Apart from the fact that I couldn?t stand up without difficulty and the room was in a haze, I felt nothing. Marc thought they should get going. Mel?s sister was due home soon and they had a fair trek home. Mel went out to start the car. Marc followed her. I cringed. Alex poured me a fresh glass of wine. I gagged on the first sip. He sat beside me now on the love seat. To my amazement, he began rubbing his foot up and down my leg. It was absolutely absurd and inside my head I was laughing hysterically. Mel and Marc came back in the room. He sat on the bar stool. I asked Mel, ?Can I talk to you for a minute?? She followed me into the front room where I recounted the bizarre episode with Alex. She literally fell on the floor laughing. We were not quiet. When we returned and sat down, it appeared that Marc was signaling to Alex to make another move on me. ...
More About: Friday , Flashback , Part 3

Riddle me this!
2008-03-12 12:04:00
Photo on Flickr by GregkendallballMost of us have dozens--Give or take.Generally, they're real,Tho' some are fake.We try to keep them polishedAnd pristine,But often we get stuff caughtIn between.Some trick them out with silver,Some with gold.Most can take the heat,But not the cold.We use them every dayTime and again.The saying goes, "They're rareston the hen".We all start out with noneWhile still a tot,Then gain a few with timeIn ev'ry spot,Then lose them each in turnAnd cash them in;They all come back again,So it's win-win.And when we die, they'll be hereIn days hence,In case of murder, givingEvidence.©2008 ? Kathleen MortensenSubscribe to Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes
More About: Riddle

Uplifted
2008-03-11 18:06:00
Raising the DeadIt takes but a few moments,Before the load?s dropped in,From truck-bed, long, it?s lifted,By steely arm and pin.I watch with fascination,As ?takers do their work,Hoisting bodies ever higher,Lowering lower, jerk by jerk.Some days there follow manyTo mourn beside the mound;On others there comes no one?None are left to grieve the ground.One morn I yet remember,Of pomp and circumstance,Horse and carriage out of Dickens,Coal-black colt, a-plumed did prance.No matter makes the send-off;They all get done the same:The bed, the box, the bushel-Full of dirt to end life?s game.©2008 ? Kathleen MortensenSubscribe to Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes

The Dinner Party - Episode 2
2008-03-11 16:15:00
She took off in the silver Mercedes as I watched intently from the front room window. I slipped David Bowie?s Scary Monsters album out of its sleeve and plopped it on the turntable. The first song was Marc?s favourite. I listened to it a few times, carefully lifting the needle and returning it to the first groove. I was lost in concentration as I bent over to set it up for a fifth time, when the door opened. My heart jumped and my throat constricted.Marc stepped in, looking every bit the Adonis ? blond hair, blue eyes and sexy smile, ?Hi. How are you??he asked. I managed to say something utterly pedestrian like, ?Fine. How was your ride out here?? I was dismayed when I saw Alex behind him, lugging a 12-pack of Molson Canadian, rather destroying the idea of a sophisticated formal dinner.Mel seemed intent on losing herself in drink and taking me right along with her. She poured me another glass of wine and filled up a couple of glasses for the guys. Marc put one of my Genesis...
More About: Party , Episode , Dinner , Episode 2

Hunt Your Muse with Brady Frost.
2008-03-10 17:48:00
Feeling inspired? Head on over to Hunt ing the Muse , where Brady is calling for submissions based on the unique and interesting photographs he posts with each and every piece he writes.Brady is a talented writer with an intriguing literary voice and he also has some great ideas and advice for other writers like you and me.Drop in at his site. You won't be disappointed.P.S. I've got a poem over there that you may not have read.
More About: Frost

Friday Flashback - Part II
2008-03-08 11:46:00
Photo by Rubicles at FlickrOver at the Mr. Grudge website, the man himself posted a very interesting article the other day about challenging oneself to do something against type. I was inspired by this to take up the gauntlet and write something I don't often do - a story.There's a bit of a cheat involved here though, as I wrote this story way back in university, but I have gone over it with a fine-toothed comb and improved it greatly. It's about the fellow of whom I was speaking in the poem I posted yesterday. (So, if you have not already, please read yesterday's Friday Flashback first.)I hope you enjoy this trip down my memory lane as much as I enjoyed reliving it.The Dinner Part yChapter 1For months Melanie and I had been friendly with Alex. He was a prime example of the lazy residence dweller. He sported the same faded, wide-leg jeans day after day. He rarely washed his hair, he always wore his battered, rust-suede jacket with the fake fur collar and he smoked only ?DuMaurier...

Friday Flashback Part I - Just Because
2008-03-07 15:45:00
A quote from Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited (yes, you would think that was my Bible, wouldn't you?) is one that made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it on television and sigh knowingly when I came to read the book. It is spoken by the protagonist's cousin, Jasper, as he tries to give Charles Ryder a piece of his knowledge about how to behave whilst at university. Charles, naturally, ignores this (otherwise we would not have a story), and I in my own way, did the very same thing.The line which now makes me look back and laugh, groan, and shake my head is this:"...You'll find you spend half your second year shaking off the undesirable friends you made in your first."There you have it.The naiveté with which one approaches First Year university, is nearly palpable. For my part, having spent 3 years of high school in a Catholic all-girls' school, I was ill-equipped for the lotharios and losers who had managed to get themselves a place under the pretense of obtaining ...
More About: Friday , Flashback , Part

Tuesday Treatise: Comments Quandary
2008-03-04 14:57:00
Comments QuandaryFirst off, I want to apologize to anyone who's been waiting for response comments on any of my posts. I can't seem to keep up with them all. Plus, I've got another blog I'm secretly working on, I'm getting my house prepped so my friend who's coming for a visit tomorrow won't die on me as a result of ingesting the dander from my cats. (She's pretty allergic. I found that out once at a party I gave when I lived at home. That night she had a severe wheezing attack because my black angora puss was surreptiously sidling up to everyone for some heavy petting.)One of the difficulties with creating a blog is that in order to have it read, or even noticed, one must adhere to certain protocols and courtesies with fellow-bloggers. Now I'm not one to balk when it comes to following etiquette or trying to keep people happy, but lately I'm realizing that the more your blog attracts attention, the more responsibility you are taking on board.Each time you widen your c...
More About: Comments , Tuesday

Monday Mayhem - Dungeon-Dweller
2008-03-03 01:27:00
Little Boy LostDown in the basement;High up on a shelf;Sits mysterious picture,No pixie or elf.Who is this figureFrom so long ago,In jacket and tieWith flames all aglow?Smiles not this small fry;The eyes reveal naught.His meticulous posture,The artisan caught.Who is this youngsterOn canvas, in oil,Sends chills up my spine;My dreams sure to spoil?Try not to ponderThe image downstairs,Tucked away in a backroomTo stop raising hairs.Each I time I recallIt?s under our roof,Belief in BeelzebubSeems to have proof.Why do we hold onTo our Dorian GrayThat lurks in its chamber;Why let the ghoul stay?It?s not just a painting;We haven?t gone mad.It?s actually my husband,When he was a lad!©2008 - Kathleen Mortensen
More About: Monday , Mayhem

Friday Flashback - Hitler's "Art"
2008-02-29 16:02:00
Story and photo from ReutersDid you know that last week a Norwegian museum director claimed that he has discovered sketches of Disney characters, Bashful and Doc from the 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as well as a sketch of Pinocchio from the 1940 film? Did you also know that he is attributing them to Adolf Hitler? Yes. William Hakvaag purchased a painting signed "A. Hitler" at auction in Germany. The sketches were found inside the painting. Imagine what it must have been like to make such a huge discovery!It is well known that Adolf Hitler tried to make a living as an artist prior to his meteoric rise to power as the Fuhrer of the Nazi party. It is also common knowledge that Hitler loved movies. His favourite film apparently was "King Kong".It is quite amazing to learn, however, that he was a fan of Disney and particularly the film, Snow White (although it is based on a German fairytale). He is said to have owned a personal copy and viewed it privately i...
More About: Friday , Flashback

Trip to the Salon
2008-02-28 18:39:00
HaircutSalon stinks of potions and peroxideAlmost masked by sprays and shampoosThe girl at the desk has the latest look?An animated advertisement She checks her appointment bookFor my name.Tick. ?Take a seat?.?Trixie? clicksAcross the tilesTowards meBig grin?Her fingers, French-manicured,Reach for mine.Shake the hand, then shear the head.I need to use the ?Ladies?.Down a steep, stone flight.At the base of the stairFormer hair-model headsHeaped on a shelfAre the stuff of nightmare.I swear.George Michael is in there.Unsettled, it takes some time to produce.Trixie leads the way backTo the black basinsI contemplate that man canPlan to live on another planet, And yet not create a sinkLess like tortureFor the trapezius.Muted mood music Moving through the room Reminds me of a classy restaurantAs Trix, clips to specificationFrom the photograph Of Mrs. Beckham??All the ladies love this cut?.Bits of hair harass the backOf my neck.The bristle brush whisks,But still I itch.Fifty bucks (with a ...
More About: Trip , Haircut