I WON.....FINALLY AWARDED FOR MY POETRY AT NIFCA !!!!

So today I received the call from our National Cultural Foundation  that I had received two (2) BRONZE AWARDS for my poetry : Forever I Won't  & Re-Evolution at our annual NIFCA competition in Literary Arts.

This win is bittersweet because for almost three years I have entered the Literary Arts in both Prose and Poetry. I have excelled in Prose with Silvers, Bronze and Incentive Award but never made the cut for my poetry. 

I was told at one stage that my writing was a bit clinical and that maybe I was putting too much of my science into the language I was using. My rebut to that was that I write how I feel. I am not a trained writer or poet. My learning is from experience, exposure and association with my peers. My literary journey is not of the orthodox kind and I think this lends to my creativity.

Don't get me wrong, I will never ever belittle the value of the formal academic education and instruction for the written word but I do feel that there is still a little space for the unorthodox, the radical and the revolutionary (I was actually called that once, not sure if it was a compliment at the time..lol).

So, today I am feeling happy (even tho this headache is killing me) and I will use this elation to push me forward and to continue to do what I love. 

I will post the two pieces for your enjoyment (hopefully).

Thank you Judges at NCF/NIFCA and thank you even more to my family who has always supported me, my writing buddies (Simon, Robert, Re-Shana), my friends - both near, not so near, and very far (143 Forever) and of course my readers and followers. You keep me going!!!!

Thanks again

(I will be having that glass of sweet red tomorrow ;) )

NO RIGHT

You ask me what I wish for

What I need

Your attention

Your comfort

Fulfillment

Is that too much to wish for

I need my worth to be recognized

Valued

And revered

Is that too much to ask for

For too long

I have been the one to give

I have been the one taken

Taken

From my path

Taken

From the happiness

Seen in the eyes of my children

I am not my physical appearance

I am not my smile

I am not my eyes

I am the energy

Inside of me

That part of me for which you have little time

Or interest 

But you wish to explore

The outside

Enter the tight spaces

Feast in the ambrosia

Released

Seducing me

Knowing that I crave intimacy

Connection

Copulation

But that is not what I want

That is not what I need

My soul cries

Cries for understanding

You don't know me

You don't have the right

To question me

To make me read between the lines

You put me on the sidelines

To watch the game being played

To be the substitute

The understudy

Whose name is not on the Playbill 

But in everything there is a beginning

And in everything there is an end

The cries of my soul will be heard

Distance will no longer be

The hemispheres will be whole once more

As the world folds on itself

And I

And I will become the woman

I know I am

For I would have found

The man who knows me

----------------------------

Cher Corbin 2014

DAWN TO DUSK - #MUSINGSofCHER #VIRTUALIS

ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS: Virtual or Reality, Truth or Lies - Is it for you? #VIRTUALIS

During the time I have been away from this blog, quite a lot has happened in my life. I (as most of you would know and the rest of you will most likely find out soon enough) am driven to act or write by my emotions and what happens in my interactions with people, places and things...animals included lol......

Having said that, the topic of online relationships, and whether they can work, whether you are living in a fantasy world, or being scammed...whether those deeply routed stirrings in the pit of your gut when he says (types) certain words is real or not....truth be told, no one can tell you how you are to react or what rules you are to follow. It is all dependent on two key factors that each party has to buy into before you even start...these are, honesty and transparency. If these two very often elusive parameters are in play at the beginning of the interaction, then there is that chance in hell that it may work...or at least provide some bliss and satisfaction for a  period of time.

To date I have known two couples who have embraced the online connection and I was honoured to stand as witness to one couple's civil wedding ceremony and the other happy duo has plans for the very near future.

Personal experience (yes I do tend to approach things logically...even after the hurtful facts are on the table) has shown that the bliss that is felt during the "relationship" is beyond any that seems of the real world.

The anticipation, the waiting, the talking (typing) for hours on end, the imagery - words translated to mental images to heartfelt emotions..unimaginable to some...but I can attest to you..it is very very real. Until the level of honesty that was thought to be on the table is totally smashed and covered by the black veil of dis-honesty and selfishness. What is also evident to me is that this also happens in face to face relationships but the beauty I find with the online platform is that because you do not have the physical distractions, the materialistic influences, the societal compasses by which to gauge your progress, things move very quickly and in most instances very clearly. Once in your own mind you know what you want and what you will and will not tolerate, the poker face does not stay for too long - the cards are played, the hands exposed and you then make a decision whether you are going to get up from that table or wait to be dealt another hand.

So confession time, over the past year I have sat at that table three times....yes, I know, sucker for punishment....but three times I am not sure was the charm - call me a hopeless romantic, or just right outright crazy.

One may ask, why you bothering to even talk to anyone on line when you can go out and meet people? There are plenty answers and reasons I can proffer, then again I can justify almost anything, lol but suffice to say if I had to do it all over again, I would do it all over again..maybe with a few tweeks. The outcomes may have been different, but hey..that is the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result....So by the time I reached interaction #3 I decided I needed some form of closure and so I wrote VIRTUALIS: A New Age Love Story. 

VIRTUALIS - fact or fiction? Well I am not telling, but  I embarked on writing this novella to also give my readers some insight into this genre of relationship and I will leave it up to you to decide whether you can come to grips with this new phenomenon that is now part of our lives and evidently may outlive some of us.

Virtualis will soon be available as an e-book on multiple platforms but for now if you wish to get a hardcopy you can contact me at cher.insight@gmail.com or you can send a message to the Facebook page
         https://www.facebook.com/VIRTUALISbyCherCorbin

Come join Rosalie and DeCarlo and see what happens. I know you are curious.

#IamBack I AM BACK

My dearest friends

I have been away for what seems like ever...and for that I give my sincerest apologies. So much has happened since the beginning of this year and it has brought new insight into my life.  Quite a bit of it has been painful but suffice to say, I am not one for making mistakes but making memories and to learn from them.

But what is clear is that the goals one sets for oneself are very difficult to reach especially if you are unwilling to compromise. At this time of my life I am on borrowed time...well we all are for the most part...but scientifically certain elements of my existence start having  a very aggressive battle with gravity and erosion. My eldest son however put things in perspective for me and I captured this in the MUSING below :

This is a Life Lesson of which I am most grateful. I also know that I will continue to cherish those things and actions in my life that before would not have garnished much significance....but now...significance is relative....as my perspective changes and my heart listens to my soul and my mind becomes less noisy....I strive to be more in tune with my sacred space.

All of this may be considered the ramblings of a woman who is searching...but I am sure I am not alone in this quest.

I will strive to post more often to the blog and I again thank those of you who did come back to see if I was still here.  I am back and hopefully will be around for a while.

Blessings to you all

Cher

CHER - The Writer: My Journey Now Travels to the Second Level: #NoApologies for being ME

CHER - The Writer: My Journey Now Travels to the Second Level: #NoApologies for being ME: A few days ago, I posted this status on Facebook I may be stubborn and opinionated, some may consider me aggressive and strong headed...b...

#NoApologies for being ME

A few days ago, I posted this status on Facebook

I may be stubborn and opinionated, some may consider me aggressive and strong headed...but those who know me would know that I speak my mind and I am honest with myself...and I make no apologies for that. I will not live a lie. — feeling free.

It never fails to amaze me that we, as women must apologize for the positions we take and get characterize as being aggressive, arrogant, bossy and some much less pleasant adjectives that I will not include here.

When relationships start, everything is always very ethereal and beautiful and lovely....we fall in love.....when maybe in some instances we fall into the idea of falling in love...the glimpses that we have of what a future can hold...irrespective of obstacles and challenges...irrespective of stubbornness and impenetrability of character of the focus of our attentions.

And then, there are those relationships that everything goes really well for years and then it seems that "all of a sudden" what you thought you had, you don't have.....your heart is no longer there...you try to reach for recovery....it is not that you think the person who has been beside you all this time is mean or anything...quite the contrary...you wonder why you they are no longer the object of your affections....you cannot put your finger on it...but you know for sure you can no longer live with it.....

Inevitably this brings hurt and much pain...and all you can do is stand firm and take the barrage of insults, threats, accusations, illogical reasoning, knowing full well that none of that is the cause or the reason for your position.....

The reason is......you are no longer in love...your heart is not in it...and you cannot live with...without the love in your heart....

You are labelled as selfish, self-centred, cold, witch, bitch, evil...at times even made synonymous with lower class persons with no abode (that was really below the belt by the way)....arrogant, aggressive, bossy...and at no time has anyone ever acknowledged the truth of your character...YOU ARE HONEST.

You must be honest with yourself...cuz that is who you have to live with everyday.....

Yes you have regrets, plenty...too many to mention....regrets that the plans made by two did not come to fruition and be that plan of one.....regrets that the dreams of the happily ever after with no limits were stopped dead in their tracks because of illogical incorrect premises.....

But what is constant throughout it all is the sense of understanding oneself, feeling comfortable with your decisions, and being honest with your spirit.

That being said.....I can apologize to others for the pain, hurt, misunderstandings, and all such like that you perceive has been inflicted on you.....

but

............I MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR BEING ME..........