Dr Bob Rich, in an interview by Fiona Mcvie
Climate disruption brings with it extreme weather such as hurricanes and floods. For instance, a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, leading to an increase in the frequency of severe major rain events, such as Hurricane Harvey over Houston in summer 2017, which dropped so much rain that the weight of the water actually caused the Earth’s crust to sink by 2cm.
Earth has not seen current atmospheric CO2 levels since the Pliocene epoch, some 3m years ago. Three-quarters of that CO2 will still be here in 500 years. It takes a decade to experience the full warming effects of CO2 emissions. Even if we stopped all greenhouse gas emissions, it would take another 25,000 years for most of what is currently in the atmosphere to be absorbed into the oceans.
Dahr Jamail
Bobbing Around
Volume Eighteen, Number Eight,
January, 2019
Bob Rich’s rave
bobswriting.com anxietyanddepression-help.com/ mudsmith.net/ previous issues
*About Bobbing Around
subscribe/unsubscribe
guidelines for contributions
*From me to you
Experimenting with Bobbing Around
Entertaining interview exhumed
Cover for my next book
How to live with apocalypse
*Blog posts during January
ENVIRONMENT
A beautiful must-read
Still a chance for survival?
Killing Gaia from the bottom up
GOOD NEWS
Cash in that empty
POLITICS
Germans want sane agriculture
COMPASSION
Only Love can create peace
These sensitive, loving beasts should NOT be city pets
INSPIRATION
What money is for
Action Nan
Inspiring quotes from Martin Luther King
DEEPER ISSUES
On being childfree
Saved by the long view
True Islam is service
TECHNOLOGY
Loop: Lock in the consumer
HEALTH
Reset your gut after the holidays
I APPROVE OF THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Everybody has to eat
I am responsible for anything I have written. However, where I reproduce contributions from other people, I do not necessarily endorse their opinions. I may or may not agree with them, but give them the courtesy of a forum.
Bobbing Around is COPYRIGHTED. No part of it may be reproduced in any form, at any venue, without the express permission of the publisher (ME!) and the author if that is another person.
From me to you
Experimenting with Bobbing Around
Entertaining interview exhumed
Cover for my next book
How to live with apocalypse
Experimenting with Bobbing Around
This time, I have simply listed the links to my posts during the month. Please let me know if I should write a very brief summary of each instead of merely the links.
Entertaining interview exhumed
Years ago, I edited a book for a nice man. To my surprise, I was notified on the 2nd of January, 2019, that he’d commented on an interview in 2014. This was soon after the publication of Ascending Spiral. Fiona McVie asked questions that allowed me full rein to be outrageous. I’d forgotten about this interview, and thoroughly enjoyed re-reading it. You might, too.
Cover for my next book
Please check out the brand new cover pic for my coming book, From Depression to Contentment: A self-therapy guide.
My publisher also wanted other aspects of the book design: author bio, back cover blurb, and selling points. Here is what I sent him:
About the Author
Bob Rich, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in psychology in 1972. He worked as an academic, researcher and applied scientist until “retiring” the first time at 36 years of age. Later, he returned to psychology and qualified as a Counseling Psychologist, running a private practice for over 20 years. During this time, he was on the national executive of the College of Counselling Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society (APS), then spent three years as a Director of the APS. He was the therapist referrers sent their most difficult cases to.
Bob retired in 2013, but still does pro bono counseling over the internet. This has given him hundreds of “children” and “grandchildren” he has never met, because many of these people stay in touch for years. His major joy in life is to be of benefit to others, which is why he wrote a book that’s in effect a course of therapy.
You can get to know him well at his blog, Bobbing Around.
Synopsis of 75 words
From Depression to Contentment: A self-therapy guide is a course of therapy in your pocket. You can be your own therapist in changing the way you see yourself and your world. This saves lots of money, and is 100% confidential.
The book starts with first aid, gives an understanding of the nature and causes of suffering, instructs you in research-based techniques for dealing with your problems, and finally teaches you an actual cure for depression.
[And it’s EXACTLY 75 words!]
What the book offers
- Many instructional books are boring; heavy reading. This book is not only useful but also enjoyable.
- Every tool in this book is based on research, but presented in an easy to understand, easy to apply manner.
- Using the many homework assignments, you will find your inner strengths, uncover the true source of happiness, and develop great resilience.
- Bob teaches you how to put the philosophy of all great religions to practical use, even if you are an atheist.
- You are not experiencing depression, but people you love are? A chapter is devoted to helping them.
- Carrying through the program Bob describes can start a new life for you: one of meaning, positivity and purpose.
Comments and suggestions are more than welcome.
How to live with apocalypse
If the all too obvious slide toward extinction worries you, you will want to read my answer to a concerned young man on Quora.
New stuff
Responses
We’ll keep him anonymous
Environment
Planet on fire
That word “unprecedented”
Psychology
Girls think I’m a little kid
I am suffering from my daughter’s BPD
Is there hope for a self-destructive guy?
Deeper Issues
I agree with Avaaz
Technology
Antibang dog home
Look over a writer’s shoulder
Principles of good writing, condensed
Help with your grandma
Secondary characters for Rhobin
I approve of these announcements
Food for the soul for publicity
Reviews
Through Other Eyes, reviewed by Fiona Lemmon
From Depression to Contentment: advance review by Beth Burgess
Down to Dirt by Kevin Killiany
Instant Wisdom, by Beth Burgess
Poetry
Loving Lance, by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Fun
11 year old genius
We’ll keep him anonymous
One of my grandchildren I’ve never met is a nice young man in a northern European country. Our original contact was when he’d posted a suicidal cry for help at Queendom.com some years ago.
He was one of the beta readers for my coming book, From Depression to Contentment, and has conscientiously put it into practice. He has told me he has the manuscript on his phone, and regularly refers to it.
Here is a message from him that made my day:
Hi Bob! I hope you’re well just checkin in to see how you’re doing 🙂
I passed my math course, I am now able to search to university next fall. I want to study biology and climate research. I keep doing the opposite of what depression wants me to do and it works! I sleep better, and I do strength training regularly. I try to spread happiness with acts of random kindness like you say :). I am currently being evaluated for ADD, but it feels alright to finally getting to know my friend. Cause ADD is not only a disease but it also brings some cool superpowers. That’s how I choose to face it.
Life is alright! And you’re awesome Bob, thank you for the guidance.
Environment
Planet on fire
That word “unprecedented”
Planet on fire
In 2014, the first major WINTER fires devastated Norway.
We all know that the Californian wildfires of 2018 have been the worst, ever.
Every year, Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, and the Russian taiga burn.
Every summer, a big part of SE Asia is blanketed with smoke from Indonesia’s peat fires.
But now, there are new areas devastated by wildfire. It has caused terrible damage in the Amazonian rainforest, which used to be safe from fire, and the new news that provoked this rave is that central Chile is burning in an unprecedented wildfire, said to be worse than the previous most disastrous in 2017.
This is a necessary consequence of climate change, and has been predicted for over 40 years. It’s a positive feedback loop: the more there is, the worse the causes become.
What can we do?
For a start, of course, practice fire safety wherever you are.
Vote against climate change denying politicians.
Boycott any merchandise involved with forest destruction. (Non-certified palm oil, Reflex paper, rainforest timber, etc.)
In general, as far as possible, live from local resources, and as little of them as possible. The basic cause of it all is the global economy. Sabotage it.
That word “unprecedented”
It’s the essence of climate change.
This time, it’s been applied to the melting of ice on a part of Greenland previously thought to be safe. But research published in January in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has demonstrated that ice and snow fields in southwest Greenland are major contributors to current and future sea level rise.
This is yet another bit of evidence, if any were needed, that all predictions are overly optimistic. Climate and geography form an incredibly complex system. Humans have a tendency to straight-line thinking, so we inevitably miss multi-level interactions. This time, according to lead author Michael Bevis, the interaction is between warmer sea temperatures due to climate change and variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation.
Do you happen to live in Boston, New York, Amsterdam, London, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Melbourne… one of the hundreds of cities near (current) sea level? I recommend either moving inland, to a higher elevation, or investing in a houseboat.
Psychology
Girls think I’m a little kid
I am suffering from my daughter’s BPD
Is there hope for a self-destructive guy?
Girls think I’m a little kid
I look like a 12 year old boy. This makes it hard to attract females because they think they are breaking the law by being with me. Is there anything I can do to make these women feel like they are not breaking the law? Anything on Netflix you recommend to improve my “game”?
The first thing is, if you haven’t already, get a competent medical evaluation. They’ll check for the levels of the relevant hormones in your blood (e.g., growth hormone, thyroxin, testosterone), and if the blood tests indicate a deficiency, a few months of medications may help you to catch up.
Second, do you need to shave? If so, why not grow a beard? Along the same line, start on an exercise regime that will build muscle. You don’t need to go overboard and become a bodybuilder, but you can improve your health, self-confidence and strength while at the same time changing your body shape to look more adult.
Also, I recommend you engage in one of the eastern martial arts. Examples are karate, judo, ju jitsu, kung fu, aikido. All of these have multiple benefits, some of them philosophical. As you acquire expertise, you will project to others a sense of inner strength and power.
The third tool is to let go of your desire to have romantic/sexual connections with girls, for now. Approach girls with the intention of being a good friend. Learn the social skills that will make people laugh, be the person known for helpfulness and decency, become the one everyone turns to when they are in trouble. This will lead to people (some of them young women) thinking of you as special, someone they want around. If one of these relationships develops further, fine, but that’s not the aim of the exercise. Rather, you’ll be changing your social situation into one that’s of benefit to others, enjoyable and meaningful to you, and where you are sending out positives. What you send out you get back.
The next thing is, you’d be surprised at how many people, both male and female, and of a very wide age range, experience this kind of problem. I don’t mean your body build, but rather some physical aspect that they feel gets in the way of finding a romantic partner. Your belief is, “No girl would ever love me (have sex with me) because I look like a 12 year old.” Other people have the same belief for other reasons: “My nose is too big,” “I have acne scars,” “I am too fat,” “I am too skinny,” “What boy would be interested in a 6 foot tall girl?” “No boy would ever want to kiss me because of my crooked teeth,” on and on.
I have a final point. Suppose that before you were born, you were guided by a Superior Being (God if you are religious, but it doesn’t matter) to design this life in order to be able to learn certain lessons. OK, what is the lesson you are required to learn that needs to have you in this situation? Take your time thinking about this question, even while implementing my earlier suggestions.
You are welcome to get back to me.
Your new grandfather,
Bob
I am suffering from my daughter’s BPD
My 15 year old daughter has been told she has BPD, has constant triggers, and rages with Mother mainly. Mother worn out and has tried many therapists social workers. Nothing works. Mother is on the verge of wanting to leave but cannot.
What can I do to cope?
Indeed, someone with “borderline personality disorder” is perhaps the most difficult person to live with. As well as all the anger and strife, there is the unpredictability, self-harm, suicide attempts, disruptive behaviors at home and everywhere else.
BPD is treatable. There are several research-validated therapies that work, including dialectical behavior therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. However, they take about two years of intensive work, some of which needs to be residential. I don’t know the kinds of government subsidies you can get for such therapy, and your financial situation, but the costs are the best investment you can make in your own and your daughter’s life.
How to manage the problem? Rather than write a self-help book on the subject, I suggest you contact the Ottawa Network for Borderline Personality Disorder.
You’ll get all the help, support and advice you need, and companionship with others in your difficult situation.
Good luck!
Bob
Is there hope for a self-destructive guy?
I was just released a few months from BUP (which is basically Sweden’s version of an insane asylum for underaged people) and now I have no clue what to do. I am in therapy and I’m seeing a shrink and a bunch of other people. One weird thing that is happening while I’m seeing these people is that when they are trying to “profile” me I “adjust”, somehow my subconscious is taking notice when I’m being “profiled” and adjusting. I can’t ever be myself and give them an accurate profile to work with, at this point I have forgotten who or what I really am. For example a nurse I was seeing was taking tests on me to see if I had ADHD and while I was tested I made it look like I have ADHD even though I’m almost certain I don’t have that particular diagnosis. Every time someone (shrink, nurse, doctor, whatever) is trying to profile me I get this desperate need to “act”, either like I have the diagnoses they are trying to put on me or the opposite.
This is very difficult because I can’t resist doing it, It’s like someone else is taking over my mind and responding for me.
This is what I think keeps me from getting a proper diagnosis, I have done plenty of awful and quite frankly disgusting things (for example I strangled 2 of my step brothers cats to death not because I didn’t like them but because he loved those cats), when I was 9 years old I dragged a 6 year old girl in to the woods and beat her bloody with a stick because she had annoyed me. Trust me, I have done irreversible damage to people I love (and others) just because I felt like it. I’m not sure there’s any hope for me, I can assure you that if I keep on living more people are going to suffer.
To contain whatever is living inside of me I have during the past few years resorted to alcohol and I am sorry for typing this while I’m drunk (plenty of spelling errors I’m sure) but when I’m drunk I feel like it’s the only time where I feel truly distant from the thing that I am sure is lurking inside of me. I beg of you, help me please, I don’t know who I am and I don’t want to die from drinking because that would just be pathetic.
Niels
The first thing I note is that you are unusually intelligent. Until now, you have used your high abilities as weapons against yourself. Now, you can start using them as tools for building a good life.
You are obviously good at ACTING in certain ways: simulating ADHD when in fact you don’t have it, and so on. So, talk to your therapist (NOT shrink: we make people grow not to shrink) about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. If this person is not competent at it, get a referral to someone who is. Central to ACT is to design the kind of person you want to be (not what someone else wants you to be, but YOU), then consistently ACT as if you already were that person.
When you succeed, congratulate yourself. When you fail (we all do, because habit change needs a lot of practice), forgive yourself, remind yourself of your decision of acting like the person you designed, and do it better next time.
I did this for myself. The person I would like to be is the hero/narrator of a novel. Everything that happened to me happened to him, but he handled things in the way I should have but often didn’t. This has been a wonderful therapeutic exercise for me, and resulted in an entertaining book, “Ascending Spiral.”
At the same time, you can take a second approach. Suppose when you were very young, indeed as you say “someone else” took over your mind. A monster moved in. This monster is able to mimic your thoughts perfectly, so they feel like they are your thoughts, but are not.
You are the person who considers your cruel acts as a child to be disgusting and awful. If you had been in charge then, you would not have done those things. They are the monster’s responsibility.
First, therefore, please forgive yourself for those terrible actions.
Second, now that you are a young adult, you can distinguish your own thoughts, urges and actions from those of the monster. Ask your therapist to set you up with an ABC diary for monitoring thoughts, and note which are yours, which are the monster’s.
It helps if you give the monster a name. Work out what it feeds on. This could be shame, guilt, anger, feelings of superiority, vengeance… anything negative. Yours may be the “I’m better than you!” monster. That explains why you needed to show your stepbrother you were better by hurting his cats, and that girl with your violent attack, and fooling the nurses and doctors and therapists with their attempts at diagnosis.
Once you are able to distinguish monster thoughts from your thoughts, it’s time to starve the monster. When you do what the monster suggests, it gets stronger. When you smilingly decline, you make it weaker.
Currently one of the monster’s lies is that you need to drown its voice in alcohol. It can then laugh at you for doing something you know to be self-destructive. You don’t need to wipe out the monster’s suggestions. Let him carry on. You can laugh at him, and do the opposite of whatever he suggests.
My childhood monster is still in there. Its trick many years ago was to get me to bash myself up for making a mistake. Nowadays, when I make a mistake, I smilingly treat it as a learning opportunity, and without effort shrug off the monster yelling at me that I am an idiot.
You can get there, too.
You are welcome to join my global family of grandchildren, and email me back.
Bob
Deeper Issues
I agree with Avaaz
Dear Avaazers,
Powerful forces are moving in our world. It feels like much is waiting to be born, both great and terrible.
Will the world turn towards fear and darkness, or love and hope this year? And what is Avaaz and each of us meant to do, and be, in rising to these times?
I’ve been listening for the answer to that question, and here’s what I’ve gotten back:
We’ve won beautiful and powerful victories together — important ones that will serve humanity. But we haven’t yet realized the full potential of our greatest power — the magic of human connection. Love.
The nearly 50 million of us receiving this message come from every corner of the world, every walk of life, every part of the human family. But a common spirit of care and service, of light and love, has connected us. In many ways, Avaaz embodies the spirit of humanity, the idea that we are one people, and stewards of each other and all life.
The world needs this spirit more than ever. Because we will only survive the challenges we are facing, together.
So this is what it feels like we in Avaaz are meant to be and do: form a great fellowship of humanity, spread the truth of our connection, and work to build the world that is waiting to be born not from fear and anger at the ‘other’, but from hope and love of us all.
If this calling feels right to you, let the Avaaz team know by clicking below:
Yes, this feels right, I’m in.
This path might lead us to move beyond just emails and campaigns to build spaces online and offline where we can see and hear each other. To campaign not just on policies and the powerful, but on inspiring people to a culture of humanity that knits us together. To add to our defense of what we love with a proactive vision for the way forward for all of us.
If this feels right, let’s begin this new year and new chapter with an act of connection. It might be reaching out to a loved one, or a stranger, or someone we disagree with politically, or any act of love, kindness, or gratitude.
With deep gratitude for each and every person in this movement,
Ricken, with the whole Avaaz team.
Technology
Antibang dog home
Ford have developed sound-cancelling technology for some of their vehicles. They don’t know that the hero of my Doom Healer series, Bill Sutcliffe, already did that in 2014. The concept is simple: sound is air vibrations. You can analyse the exact waveform, then create a counter-wave that cancels it.
In an act of genius, someone at Ford designed a dog kennel to use this same technology to give the four legged person a place safe from thunder, fireworks and other loud noises.
It’s not yet for sale, but judging from the comments on the press release, it may make the Ford Motor company more money than their cars.
I want one to cancel the sound of other people’s musical preferences.
Look over a writer’s shoulder
Principles of good writing, condensed
Help with your grandma
Secondary characters for Rhobin
Principles of good writing, condensed
Recently, I rediscovered Fiona McVie’s interview of me, in 2014. Here is something wise I reckon I can learn from:
FIONA: DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC WRITING STYLE?
I don’t think about it, but just write. However, when I analyze it, I can see several implicit principles:
- KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid, the motto of the Australian Army Engineers).
- All prose is poetry.
- Less is more. If you can say it in 20 words, don’t use 25. Writing is a cartoon sketch, not a photograph.
- Vary everything. Repetition, going on too long with one device, distracts the reader away from the content.
- Everything is from someone’s point of view. In fiction, this witness should NEVER be the author, but one of the characters.
- Nearly good enough is never good enough. I edit and edit, over and over.
- The writer’s underlying values color everything (even a shopping list).
- People in my story need the freedom to act according to their nature, not according to mine.
- Everything should be entertaining. I learned this from Isaac Asimov. His textbook on chemistry is the only scholarly book I’ve found fun to read.
- Write what you find fascinating to read.
Help with your grandma
Actually, it’s help with your grammar, but one of the things they focus on is homophones, so I just couldn’t help it.
Check out Grammar Cheat Sheet for Beginners.
Secondary characters for Rhobin
January Rhobin’s Round was on “How do you develop secondary characters? Do you have a favourite secondary character?”
I approve of these announcements
Food for the soul for publicity
Are you an author or business owner looking for another place to be seen?
I have a wonderful website where you can promote your books, businesses, utube videos and web and purchase links for free with a recipe submission, and to be in the shop is only $10.
On this site you can review recipes you tried and books you have read, and blog with others.
Feature your work in the banner (fee involved).
Post live promotions
Meet professional literary guest who will do live chats with you
Browse through the store to see the latest releases
Add your book covers or utube videos with links to your website in the store for 10 dollars.
And don’t forget, you get to hang out with me and my friends!
I will be promoting and marketing this site through press releases, social media advertising, as well as literary publication ads and google search tags.
For just a nominal submission fee of $10, how can you go wrong? You can’t, so submit your recipe now!
Kim Robinson
Reviews
Through Other Eyes, reviewed by Fiona Lemmon
From Depression to Contentment: advance review by Beth Burgess
Down to Dirt by Kevin Killiany
Instant Wisdom, by Beth Burgess
Through Other Eyes, reviewed by Fiona Lemmon
This collection of twenty-nine short stories opens our eyes to a myriad of worlds and cultures from a bloody and gruesome Viking saga via Hungary and India to an Antarctic whodunit which inexorably ratchets up the tension within a group of people thrown together by professional circumstance. The stories reveal human issues of universal appeal. Covering motherhood, misguided parenthood, romance, love, lust, the stresses and conflicting needs of spouses and families plus grappling with the thorny question of what life is all about, the author shows deep insight into the human psyche with a particular empathy for social misfits. Dr Rich draws on his personal and professional life experiences to look through other eyes at individual worlds and situations: his gift to the reader is the privilege of seeing through those same eyes and appreciating the wisdom imparted. This varied and interesting collection of tales is a very enjoyable and satisfying read, with the feel good factor of people finding a positive outcome from adversity. Oh, and look out for the dinosaur!
Fiona Lemmon: 17 January, 2019
Fiona considers herself British, not purely English. Of Scottish, Irish and English ancestry, she was brought up in South Wales. She has lived in South Yorkshire for nearly twenty-five years. Much of her career was spent in the voluntary and charitable sector, working with and supporting vulnerable people.
From Depression to Contentment: advance review by Beth Burgess
Have you been diagnosed with depression? Do you believe you’re stuck with it, because of your genetics, your brain chemistry, your past, or your circumstances? Luckily, you’re not. In From Depression to Contentment, Dr. Bob Rich reveals how you can re-engineer your life to beat depression. The book is empowering, empathetic, and written with great intelligence. The guide draws on many proven therapeutic techniques, and Dr. Bob adds something new and creative to each one, making them even more powerful. The author generously interweaves his own story of recovering from depression with other case studies and examples, making the book very relatable and easy to understand. The essential message of the book is that you can beat depression by improving the quality of your thinking, your behaviour, and your life. There are a couple of sections that appear to veer away from the main topic, but don’t skip them, because they offer uplifting stories full of hope, inspiration, and motivation. Overall, a wonderfully refreshing and practical self-help guide to healing from depression and living a fulfilling life.
Beth Burgess is a psychotherapist, freelance writer, and author of Amazon bestseller “Instant Wisdom: 10 Easy Ways to Get Smart Fast”, the award-winning “The Happy Addict: How to Be Happy in Recovery From Alcoholism or Drug Addiction” and “The Recovery Formula: An Addict’s Guide to Getting Clean and Sober Forever”.
Down to Dirt by Kevin Killiany
In a fun way, this book is about culture clash. We read entries in the journals of three very different teenage girls. From the first few words, there is a lot of understated humor. For example, “child abuse” very quickly turns out to be inoculations, because a girl born on space station is made to visit relatives on Earth.
The reality this story is set in has a different history. The USA has monopoly in space. Its colonies there were established at a time of out and out racial discrimination. While that has eased down in the “dirt,” the Space Agency is thoroughly racist, and brainwashes its children accordingly.
The other two girls are “twins” within their hearts, although one is a freckled redhead, the other “carob color.” The theme is how the visitor from space learns the truth about “dirt,” and about people different from herself. This is a story most youngsters will enjoy, and perhaps they won’t even notice that they are taught lessons.
The only thing I object to is that the baddie is approximately from my part of the world, but I won’t do a spoiler by explaining.
Instant Wisdom, by Beth Burgess
Imagine there is this nice lady chatting with you. She is telling you about tricks and techniques that enabled her to transform a life wrecked by anxiety and addictions into one of inner power and contentment. She then recounts a years’ long illness that should have had her plummet back into despair — but the strength and peace have lasted. And here she is, sharing her tools with you. That’s what you get in this book.
Those tricks and techniques are those of positive psychology. She gives research backing for them, but still in that chatty, easy-to-read style. I know they work, because very similar techniques have worked for me personally, and because, like Beth, I have taught them to hundreds of my clients.
No two people agree 100%. My only point of disagreement with Beth is that she explains in terms of what “the brain” does. This is nowadays a popular way of talking about emotions, feelings and behaviour, but one that mildly annoys me, as I explain here.
It is unlikely that the target audience for Instant Wisdom shares my prejudices, so… so what.
In this book, Beth’s aim is to teach you how to make better, more intelligent decisions, to solve problems with more power and ease, to grow intellectually. An accidental byproduct is that you can use her book to also grow emotionally and even spiritually.
Poetry
Loving Lance, by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Carolyn sent me this poem to show that love poetry doesn’t need to be syrupy. It is from a collection, Cherished Pulse: A Chapbook of Unsyrupy Love Poetry by her and Magdalena Ball. She is giving you permission to reproduce it anywhere, as long as the book title and link are included.
-
I shall not regret
biting into this apple,
however bitter,
it is now, the memory
will seem sharp
when November takes
both taste and fruit away
(ripe or unripe,
perfect or scarred).
Perhaps this time
I will polish it first,
hold it on my tongue
to see if the taste
sweetens with age
and not have to wait
for winter before I understand.
Fun
11 year old genius
He really is. Have a look at a selection of his anti-Trump cartoons.
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Bobbing Around 