Gallery of Shadows and Reflections

The April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl has made its $200 goal, so you get a free epic. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I will keep it open at least until Tuesday night. If there's a clear answer then, I'll close it; otherwise I may leave it open a little while longer. Here are your options...

"Better to Be an Outcast"
Summary: Shahana and Ari encounter a former paladin of Gorrein.
122 lines

"Filled with Things You Don't Know"
Story Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Summary: Marjane works on library decor and gets a new assistant.
98 lines

The following poems from the April 7, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my Dreamwidth profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods. There are still verses left in the linkback poems "A Sense of Weather Changes," "The Loving Embrace of Night," "Generations of Cooks Past," "Homefree and Clear, " "One Bite at a Time," "Mishpocha," "Changing Your Nature," and "Besa."


"Any Terms You Offer"
Story Date: Monday, March 18, 2019
Summary: Barb feels confused by changes, but he's still standing up for himself.
125 lines, Buy It Now = $63

Gideon came home to find
a puddle of black fur
moping on his bed.


"The Doom Puff"
Summary: What started out as a cute fluffy bunny didn't stay that way.
39 lines, Buy It Now = $15

"Eat It Happily Because It Is Good"
Story Date: Thursday, September 1, 2016
Summary: In which Shiv is a salad snob.
501 lines, Buy It Now = $251

Professor O'Keeffe had done a great job
of showing everyone around Memorial Park,
pointing out where the canna bulbs and
other tender perennials had already been
dug up to store over the winter or how
the rosebushes were dropping leaves.


"Edge of Enchantment"
Story Date: Morning of Thursday, May 1, 2025
Summary: Digby and Maerwynn come to a trading post where they meet the first people in their new world.
357 lines, Buy It Now = $179

In the morning, Digby and Maerwynn
woke to song, but only half of that
came from the familiar birds.


"An Equally Valid Way of Being"
Summary: Xavia finds that becoming a werewolf improves her mental as well as physical health.
66 lines, Buy It Now = $33

Xavia Brown had been
an indifferent college student
and an avid bicycler when
bad bicycle crash left her
with arm and leg impairment
on the left side, a lot of scars,
and chronic pain that made
every day into a struggle.

goals_on_dw is a community for people who like goals and goal setting. A key focus is New Year's resolutions, that being among the most popular contexts for such activities. Although the most common time is January 1, "new year" can also refer to other calendars or cultures, whatever works for you. Alternatively, just pick a time that works for you and go for it. You can introduce yourself or make new friends here.

We talk about different goal systems, pros and cons of resolutions, arts and crafts for tracking goals, human psychology, and more. You can share your resolutions or other goals. There are weekly check-in posts in January, and monthly ones in the rest of the year, for folks to talk about their accomplishments. December-January is the most active period, and it starts ramping up in November as lots of people begin thinking about their goals for the next year.

2026 Free Printable Calendars, Planners, and More is the guide post for this years goal-setting activities. For more details on relevant topics, see "Things You Can Talk About Here."

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Here are the notes for "An Expression That Crosses Boundaries."

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Today is cloudy, cool, and wet.  It's been storming all morning.  We sure need the rain.

I fed the birds.

EDIT 4/27/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

 

This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It was inspired by a prompt from zianuray. It has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. This poem belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.


"The Graffiti of the Rich"

[Wednesday, November 5, 2014]

For months, Shiv had been
enjoying the ever-changing display
of graffiti along a retaining wall
between Blues Moon and
Buster Hump's Gym.

It was a perfect place
to get a good feel for
the neighborhood
and its current artists.

Then one day, Shiv
arrived to find that
someone had covered
the wall with grey paint.

Fuming, he glared at
the nearby billboards.

Funny how nobody ever
covered up those eyesores.

That got him thinking about
some stuff that Dr. G had said
about cultures, graffiti, and
what counted as artwork.

Smirking, he pulled out
a black paint pen and
scribbled his rebuttal.

With grey paint we silence
some voices in society.
Advertising is fine -- it is,
after all, the graffiti of the rich.

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poem: "Our Homemade Safety Nets"
Birdfeeding
Friending Meme
Today's Adventures
Philosophical Questions: Different
You Don't Have to Stay
Science
Birdfeeding
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 4-24-26: Metal
Vocabulary: Scabrous
History
History
History
Community Thursdays
Earth Day
Poem: "When You Learn to Read"
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Hard Things

Poem: "Walnut Park" has 41 comments. Early Humans has 22 comments. Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy has 66 comments. Safety has 77 comments.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth is running April 25-May 15. People aim to make a new post each day, or participate in various activities to celebrate the platform.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction to Becoming an Expert
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Architecture




"No Faster or Firmer Friendships" belongs to Polychrome Heroics and needs $45 to be complete. Josué makes friends with Maria-Vera.


The weather has been mild here. We got some rain the other day. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a male cardinal, and a fox squirrel. Red-winged blackbirds have been singing overhead. I heard a bluejay screaming but didn't see it. Currently blooming: violets, tulips, anemone, Solomon's seal, pansies, violas, sweet alyssum, bleeding heart, chokecherries, alliums, lilies of the valley, marigolds, honeysuckle, raspberies, snapdragons, lantana, million bells, blue lobelia, petunias, portulaca, nemesia, wild chives, star of Bethlehem. Flower buds: peonies. Green fruit: mulberries.

This poem came out of the March 17, 2026 Bonus Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from dialecticdreamer. It also fills the "Thread" square in my 3-1-26 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by fuzzyred. It belongs to the Mercedes thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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Today is sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, plus a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

I set out some of the potted plants in flats.

4/26/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

4/26/26 -- I planted 4 petunias, 4 blue lobelia, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia in the blue chalk horse pot.

4/26/26 -- I planted two pots, each with 2 petunias, 4 white alyssum, and a 'Dusty Miller' artemesia. I put the last 'Dusty Miller' into the previous pot of yellow-and-white flowers.

When making a container garden of different flowers, it helps to create some unity by repeating elements. I do that with the fillers: 'Dusty Miller' artemesia, alyssum, and lobelia.

4/26/26 -- I potted up the three ice plants for the new picnic table garden. This concludes the batch of plants from DeBurh's.

4/26/26 -- We picked up dead weed stems from the edge of the south lot. We filled the wagon and only cleared about 3-4 feet by maybe 20 feet. :/

4/26/26 -- I got the groundcloth laid out; it's still flyaway and fragile, but at least on a calmer day I got it pinned down good enough for government work. I hauled out the solid-top pallet and sprayed the top side with waterseal.

4/26/26 -- I sprayed the underside of the solid-top pallet.

We rolled up the hose.

My partner Doug is going out to mow the little bit we got cleared.

4/26/26 -- I put the solid-top pallet back in the shed.

4/26/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is now dark, I am done for the night.

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 3: Dance.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 2: Architecture

Architecture is the art of designing and building structures, such as houses, offices, churches, or skyscrapers. It goes back only a little less far than humanity does. People have always needed shelters and event spaces, and started making their own rather early on. Here on Dreamwidth, check out farmhouseprints, flaneurs, photographic_i, and urban_photos.




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