Him Indoors and I – Write a Fairytale Set Here – Writespiration #96

I was accepted to have an apprenticeship with BASF Chemical Company, in Ludwigshafen, Germany. It’s the largest production site worldwide and the company’s global headquarters and research centre. I spoke no German, but then, I’ve survived in France and Switzerland without French, so why not? I was convinced I would get by and would learn the language when I was there. I was allocated in the Inorganic Department, producing and analysing some dyes. Herr Raider provided me a name who was also working in the same building, but in a different laboratory. “He’d help you get sorted,” he said. Hence, first thing in the morning, I knocked on Room 602 and a tall English man opened it, some parts of his white shirt still untucked from his trousers. “I am, indeed.” was his answer to my question and that hooked me! “Such an accent,” I thought. He helped me obtain my lab gown and safety goggles that morning and waited for me for lunch every day. “There’s your English man again,” my Laborant would say.

That English man is Him Indoors…and we got married two years after we first met….and we’ve just celebrated our 30 years anniversary this year!

For: Writespiration #96

Limerick Challenge Week 36: Fairytale

Alice asked: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
Depends on where you want to go, answered the cat as he sneered
She didn’t really care much
Then, it didn’t matter as such
She carried on walking for as long as she had the right footwear

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: Limerick Challenge Week 36: Fairytale

In Search of Atlantis

Atlantis, where would you be?
Just jiggle if you can hear me
My Uncle Beau has feet of a sow
I’ve always dreamt of milking the cow

Atlantis, how could you be so elusive?
I find that numbers are an easy alternative
Transferred to the dreams of the unaffected
For in black the Madonna was highlighted

Atlantis, am I seeing what I’m seeing?
All the spirits have began humming
The snow leopard will soon be back
All horses running on racetrack

Atlantis, are you here to stay?
It was Grendel that Beowulf did slay
And you find yourself at the bottom of the lake
I’m familiar with that! For goodness sake

Atlantis, how wonderful can you be?
And perhaps spin into how you must be
Nonstop raids on my liveliness and mind
I have fallen into the perplexity of my mind

For: #Maydays Prompt – Fairytale Fun

Thursday photo prompt – through the trees… #writephoto

I packed my bag one day and bid goodbye
To find Utopia if that place really exists
My family and friends were sad but let me go
Come back and tell us all about it, they said

The fairy tale land, where most of their stories end
With “and they lived happily ever after” that must be it
I stayed for a day or two to observe, with Cinderella
Most of them had their Prince Charmings at the end
Or Little Red Riding Hood reunited with her Granny
But then there would always be the Wicked Witch or
The Big Bad Wolf or even the Bad Stepmother
The anti-heroes or nemesis in every fairy tale
What if they also have some redeeming qualities?
Why do they always have to be really, really bad?
And the heroes, why do they have to be really good?
This is not the same as in real life, I thought
I’m sure I’ll get bored in the end, and so I left

Then I went to a place where there were no negatives
Words like no, never, crimes, diseases, death and war
They don’t exist; people live forever and stayed friends
Did I find Utopia, the paradise, the Shangrila, the heaven?
No fighting? No pestilence? No death? That can’t be real!
People live forever, surely, that’s not possible
The Earth won’t be able to sustain everyone
No natural disasters, no drought, no catastrophe
People will have some sort of false security
They wouldn’t know what to do when reality’s there

Do I really need to find Utopia? Will it change my life?
All this searching made me tired, I wanted to be back
To my cosy house and garden, to Him Indoors and HRH the son
Perhaps it’s not a place, it’s not a religion, it’s not an idea
It’s always in my heart and soul where I feel peace and loved

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: Thursday photo prompt – through the trees… #writephoto by Sue Vincent

It was Good While It Lasted

I once was a prince which was turned to a frog by the evil witch
Then the beautiful princess saw me and I croaked and we were friends
I croaked and she listened and she told me her life in the palace
She came to the pond every day and we fell in love, she kissed me
I was immediately turned back to a prince and boy, was I handsome
I asked the king for the princess’ hand and he approved
The day we got married, the whole village celebrated
All the lovely ladies in the village were there, too
I was enamoured by them and they to me
I started having some extra love affairs
After all, it had been years and years that I was a frog
The princess found out about my affairs and she was mad
She went to the wicked witch and pleaded with her
To turned me back to a frog and the evil witch did
Now I’m back to the pond croaking forever after

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: TW/FT Prompt: April 21 2016: Rethink – Rewrite

B is for Ballad

Keeping me busy with all challenges!

For: Six Word Saturday

Ballad – A short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain. The story of a ballad can originate from a wide range of subject matter but most frequently deals with folk-lore or popular legends. They are written in straight-forward verse, seldom with detail, but always with graphic simplicity and force. Most ballads are suitable for singing and, while sometimes varied in practice, are generally written in ballad meter, i.e., alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, with the last words of the second and fourth lines rhyming.

The Ballad of Maria Makiling

REFRAIN:
There was a mysterious fairy
Guarding Mount Makiling
Her long hair floating in the air
Her singing echoing
I.
She appeared after a storm
Wandered around the woods
She mended wings of butterflies
Replaced nests on branches
II.
Storm vanished as she walked by
Roses and orchids bloomed
Birds built nests and chirped happily
Deer ran around again
(REFRAIN)
III.
She was known to have a good heart
Helped old women get wood
Left them with gold nuggets and coins
Cooked meals for hunters, too
IV.
Nowadays they saw less of her
Why? Excessive hunting
And people cut a lot of trees
Which disappointed her
(REFRAIN)

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: Day 2 and Day 2 and the Party is Just Starting to Heat Up! #AtoZChallenge

The Quest

It’s a story of strength
A quest to an ancient ground
Where the spirit of darkness lives
A dragon guarding the treasure
Defiant resistance to the game
The sparks of amethyst lay
In front of the hearth
And so is Prinsesa Mayumi
Waiting for her knight
Few men and knights tried
But to no avail, dragon won
From steely blue skies
A white charging horse
Descending from the clouds
Prinsipe Makisig to the rescue
And so he slays the dragon
Saves the princess and they kiss
Take all the amethyst and treasure
And they be wed to the delights of all

(c) ladyleemanila 2016

For: Tale Weaver/Fairy Tale Prompt #57 – Quest

Prince Eugene and Princess Louise

There was once a Princess named Louise
Who loved her garden with its flowers and trees
One day she sat by the pond
Saw a frog who was far beyond
Gave a kiss to a frog who was immediately free

He was called Prince Eugene who was bewitched
Fell in love with the Princess when he was switch
They got married and lived in the castle
After the honeymoon he found life to be dull
All the meetings, problems, duties, such a glitch

He went back to the witch and asked her to turn him back
Life in the castle is tedious and he didn’t mind getting sack
He said goodbye to the Princess
Sorry but please don’t make a fuss
He’s used to life in his pond and he’s not making a comeback

For: Tale Weaver#49 – Fairy Tale Prompt

Just Jot It January 15th – Leadership

Evil King Badinoff has issued an edict saying that all dragons must be “properly licensed”, must buy their sulfur supplements from 1 of 3 officially sanctioned stores, must pay a nuisance tax, and must not be seen on public streets between the hours of 9 PM and 9 AM. Dragons who break the rules will be hunted down and they and their families will have their heads mounted on King Badinoff’s throne room walls.

OH WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT
NO, WE AIN’T GONNA TAKE IT
OH WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE

WE’VE GOT THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE AND
THERE AIN’T NO WAY WE’LL LOSE IT
THIS IS OUR LIFE, THIS IS OUR SONG
WE’LL FIGHT THE POWERS THAT BE JUST
DON’T PICK OUR DESTINY ‘CAUSE
YOU DON’T KNOW US, YOU DON’T BELONG

OH WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT
NO, WE AIN’T GONNA TAKE IT
OH WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE

OH YOU’RE SO CONDESCENDING
YOUR GALL IS NEVER ENDING
WE DON’T WANT NOTHIN’, NOT A THING FROM YOU
YOUR LIFE IS TRITE AND JADED
BORING AND CONFISCATED
IF THAT’S YOUR BEST, YOUR BEST WON’T DO

The Council of Dragons from the Bundok decided their protest song against Evil King Badinoff, “We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore”. They’ve had enough. They were not really the bad dragons; in fact, they were doing their share in helping the community. For instance, GINTO is the champion against evil and foul play. He helps the people when they were being robbed in the streets or when some anomalies were done to them. They can always rely on him. PILAK heals the injured, helps the meek and the lowly. As for KOBRE, he’s an incorrigible prankster, he tells jokes and riddles and the people love him. TANSO loves talking to people. He spends hours and hours entertaining them with some anecdotes and stories and if people have time to debate on some issues, he’d be happy to be on the other side of the debate. The leader of the Dragons, TANSONG PULA has a strong sense of justice and doesn’t tolerate cruelty. They don’t really know what they’ve done to deserve this bad treatment from the evil King.

For: Just Jot It January 15th – Leadership

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Once upon a time, there was a selfish emperor who lived in luxury while his people lived in poverty. A man came and told him he’d make him the best robe in the world, and only the pure of heart could see it. Actually, there was nothing but the emperor believed him. The next day the emperor paraded in front of his people – naked. All the people waved and pretended to see what the emperor was wearing. One boy shouted: “he was naked!” The guards took the boy away and put him in prison. How dare he questioned the emperor!

 

For: January 13: Flash Fiction Challenge