Author Archives: wonderingpilgrim

Shanks’s Pony

What is your preferred mode of travel?I was a youngster when introduced to Shanks’s Pony. “How are we going to get there?” I had asked.“Shanks’s Pony” was the dry reply that totally escaped the scope of an innocent six-year-old who, nevertheless, quickly discovered that this was the cheapest and easiest means of transport.Ever since then, Shanks’sContinue reading “Shanks’s Pony”

What chore do you find most challenging?

What chore do I find most challenging?Right now it’s responding to this question!Each day this month I hang on tightFor when Bloganuary prompts next session. Eight PM rolls ’round each dayAnd I hang on tight to my seatWill the prompt be fair? Will it stretch me tight?Will I taste sweet victory or smell foul defeat?Continue reading “What chore do you find most challenging?”

How do you define success?

Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system.Wikipedia That gets the definition out of the way! Now let’s reflect on it. “Meeting Expectations”Continue reading “How do you define success?”

Has a book changed your life?

I have been known as a bibliophile. As a child “bookworm” might have been my middle name. When I retired I culled my library, disposing of hundreds of books. I also kept hundreds and am culling again – only to make room for more. Reading has changed my life, but no book in particular –Continue reading “Has a book changed your life?”

Most Memorable Gift

What memorable gift is a pilgrim’s boon?From years of sojourning on this planet so smallWhen one looks over life and discerns its tuneOne hears a melody that threads through it all Of what does life sing and what is its lyric?Is it symphony, ballad, fairground or rock?Does it dowse my senses or is it somethingContinue reading “Most Memorable Gift”

The Shoulders On Which We Stand

“Don’t brag about your ancestors; give your descendants something to be proud of.” This was the sage advice on the back of a tram ticket when I began some tentative digging around in our family story. Genealogy was expensive and laborious back then, considered a bit of an oddity, an eccentricity. To build a paperContinue reading “The Shoulders On Which We Stand”

When not enough is too much

“Write of Rain!” urges the Bloganuary MuseIt’s not a theme I’d ordinarily choose‘Tis a tender topic within the land I dwell‘Cos there’s either too much or it’s parched as hell. O’Brien’s Hanrahan watched the changing skies“We’ll all be rooned!” were his constant criesWhether far too much or not quite enoughThat fickle rain had them doin’Continue reading “When not enough is too much”

Why do you write? – a Sonnet

Tonight I vowed to pen a sonnetRegardless of the question askedI suppose I laid a hope upon itA writing talent to be unmasked “Why do you write?” arrives the questionWhat stirs my need to be verbose?How am I stirred each scribing session?Be it rhyme or be it prose? There is a voice deep withinThat clamoursContinue reading “Why do you write? – a Sonnet”