Zelda, Zelda, Zelda

 

Bumbershoot 

It's supposed t o be three strikes

That we can deal with

Us women

But when they come fast and furious

Strike after strike

Decimating

Like the Dresden

Bombing

Even a woman falters

And you realize that a woman is only as strong

As the man who holds the umbrella over her head.

12/12/14

Zelda Knows Me

 I love my Zelda poems. Zelda is not an alter ego--she's her own swashbuckling, crazy, free-spirited wacko who tells it like it is and often like it isn't. Completely, utterly politically oblivious. And she's got my number :). Here's Zelda:

Negotiation

Shut up, says Zelda 

I've heard enough

I want to neck with Bubba here and you're interfering

With your gurgling and burbling and general

Sighing

Shut up

He didn't love you

He didn't even like you

Okay?

You want me to clarify?

He's a moron.

A given, says I.

You're a moron.

Negotiable.

Zelda poem for Romantics

 A friend from college wrote me today about my poetry--poetry from those halcyon college years. I thought I'd check my page here for poems and found this one. I think it's the kind that those of you who have loved and lost or even loved and stayed, might read and like.

The Empty Wind

Listen, hear that?

What, Zelda?

The wind. It's sighing.

I cock an ear.

Sounds more like whistling.

No. It's the sad wind, the forlorn wind

The wind of dying dreams.

It sighs for never loves.

What rubbish. What are 'never loves' anyway?

You don't know? They're the people who

Long to love and never find it who

Pray for love, wish on stars for love, look into each face that passes

Thinking, "He's the one."

The one who wakes up each morning believing that today will be the day when

He'll meet her

Their eyes will lock and he will whisper, "She's the one."

They never give up.

Well, that's just stupid. At some point isn't it better to move on?

Fashion your own life?

Make your own way?

Zelda stubbed her cigar out. "Tell me something.

What's the first thing you think about when you wake?

Breakfast.

Liar.

Okay, the weather.

Tommy brings a fresh drink to Zelda. She tosses it in my lap.

Used to this treatment, I mop it up and order another.

A pregnant silence ensues.  I know

From experience

That Zelda cannot stand pregnant silences. I wait.

"Liar." She spits it out unwillingly.

"Yes. I think of him."

She leans forward, cheeks tense,

Chin wobbly.

"Him? Who?"

"Him who isn't afraid. Him whose eyes light up when challenged.

Who has a story to match every story, but remembers

All mine. The man with a mind that never sleeps

Except with me.

Zelda sips her martini.

The wind whips the curtains into dust devils.

Far out in the bay a water spout rises, rips the clouds apart,

and falls back exhausted into the deep.

Finally she says

Never love.

I know, Zelda. I know.

Hidden Gem: the Secret of St. Augustine Can be Preordered Now!

 

My latest creation, Hidden Gem: the Secret of St. Augustine, is now available for pre-order! It will be released April 4, 2022 from the fabulous Wild Rose Press. To get you salivating, here’s the cover from Tina Stout (who won #5 In the Critters Readers Poll for Mrs. Spinney’s Secret):

Hidden Gem is a cozy mystery with quirky characters and historic sites and romance set in the oldest city in North America, St. Augustine. This is the story:

Barnaby and Philo’s story begins with very bad chili and a dead body.

Barnaby is in St. Augustine, Florida, to teach a college seminar, and plans to use The Secret—a treasure hunt book—as a framework for his class. He enlists Philo Brice, owner of an antique map store, to aid him in seeking clues in the historic sites of the ancient city.

Together they face murderers, thieves, thugs, and fanatics, heightening their already strong attraction to each other. Can they solve the puzzle and unearth the treasure before the villains do? Philo and Barnaby pursue several twisting paths and false leads before arriving at a startling conclusion.

Here's the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Gem-Secret-St-Augustine-ebook/dp/B09QJHCB4V

And the Barnes and Noble link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hidden-gem-m-s-spencer/1140893266

Annual Critters Readers Poll out--and Great News!

 WINNER!

The 2021 annual Critters Workshop Readers Poll is out, and I am honored:

M. S. Spencer (that’s me) is #3 in Authors

And Mrs. Spinney’s Secret is #3 in Mystery!

Congratulations to my fabulous publisher The Wild Rose Press, on being voted #1 publisher.

And to my fantastic editor Eilidh MacKenzie in Editors

And my lovely artist Tina Lynn Stout for her cover for Mrs. Spinney’s Secret (#5)

Here are the links:

https://critters.org/predpoll/

https://www.critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_novelmys.ht

https://www.critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_author.ht