they landed unseen
they scattered the earth
they hid in the shadows
we never saw them
we ignored the signals
we butchered our feelings
then,
they attacked
without mercy.
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
Photo by Jakub Novacek from Pexels
Blog
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GLASS-EYED AND 8 #poetry by jay
I preached,
when I was 8
years old,
I felt I was
an old sage,
wordly wise
and forward
praise,
I watched ants march
like obedient soldiers,
into the hills,
my jaw ajar and
my mind gone
lost in space,
a dreamy state,
the sidewalk
became,
another planet
and I,
glass-eyed
and 8,
pondered deeply
about black ants
and their militarized
state-
what
where
why
did they
serve?
and, for who’s
purpose?
I proclaim.
@Jay Mora-Shihadeh
revised 7/9/21
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THE IMPOSTER #poetry by jay
Suddenly
he appears
slipping
slithering
into the room
nobody knows
he is here
playing
make-believing
as if he is real
calm and cunning
he creates
tricking all
within his reach
even he negates
that sickening feeling
much too late.
Maybe you’ve seen him
once or twice
acting out
in spite of life
the imposter is real
in his mind
hiding out behind
behind
this melting facade
called mine.
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
revised 7/8/21
Photo by Tobias Bjørkli from Pexels
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NEVER CEASE TO SPEAK #poetry by jay
Why is it that it’s taboo to speak truth
when the truth is ugly and vile?
Especially when you address the truth
of the dead- the people that have died
those that have left behind,
the affronts, the hurt, the stink,
your open wounds left to fester,
I find it indigestible, hard to swallow
the lump in my throat is
a rock, a pebble, a stone,
a pit falls from the rotten fruit
renders me a blind, deaf, muted
forgotten denial,
un-levied bank of a corrupted
fantastical life, you smile
strange, sinister, frozen
without a gasp, or a breath.
It’s unfathomable
the grace we give to the dead
those who’ve left before you
and left for you, the pain of their lashings,
as if the living were not worth living-
when it was their brutal marks, the outright
slashing of the heart, the attempted murder
of your soul, that has left you dangling here,
as if you were inanimate, without hurt
As is the day we change
As is the day we breathe
As is the air of release
The oxygen so sweet, so sweet
the outcome is in our favor,
unleash the silence, speak loud to truth
and back down never,
to vile compliance.
Never cease to speak truth to silence.
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh- Revised 7-6-21
Photo Credit- Pixabay
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NOT THE ONE I WANTED #poetry by jay
You are not the one
I wanted,
I got you though
Even though
you let me down
a misfit, a broken-hearted
kind of heartbreak
You are not the one
I wanted,
I got you though
Even though
you pretended to be,
the one supporting me
and everyday
I somehow
try to forget,
You are not the one
I wanted,
I got you though,
Even though
you held me back
until I finally cracked,
and,
Even though
I hid away in the trees,
escaping a sadness
that would never leave
You are not the one
I wanted,
I got you though,
Even though
I never talked
for fear you’d
never let it go,
I got you though
Now,
I wish for so much relief,
the Silence, the jolted
disbelief
You are not the one
I wanted,
I got you though.
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BANSHEE #poetry by jay
I write the banshee’s in my dreams
love letters to wake them up
and you fall hard to sleep and
don’t wake up again
why has this nightmare
descended upon me?
I was only beginning to see
the light in your shadow
the lull of your kiss
swaying me to my sleep
now the screams of the banshee’s,
will not leave me be.
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
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FEAST #poetry by jay
Your not suppose
to wrap yourself
around my heart.
Do you see me?
Or, do you just enjoy
feasting on the flesh
of my heart,
as the devil enjoys
feasting
on your lost soul?
This heart,
is not on that menu.
©️Jay Mora-Shihadeh
Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels
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THROWBACK TO FOODSTYLING #foodstyling by jay
I was looking at this old post from 2012… way back when I first started blogging, AND in my old career as a Foodstylist/On-air Visual Coordinator. It put my art skills to good use for many years and I got to work with many interesting people from chefs to celebrities to product developers…but the photos from my old phone are a bit blurry…the tech seemed so advanced back then…oh well….
This is a food styling gig I did with Foodstyl.com. We spent 2 long days working on set with a couple different new products. First was some new cookware, and the next day, a new freeze dried diet food product, developed by a company in Europe. Great crew and fun times on the set.
This is our camera guy Eric. He is an excellent shooter, very talented Photographer and professional.
Eric again working his magic.
Our food prep kitchen and backstage area.
Lost the “O”, this studio did a shoot with Richard Blais winner from Top Chef All Stars.
That’s Kat one of the owner’s of Foodstyl.com working very hard as always! Below she is testing out the new product before plating it.
And the finishing touches on the freeze dried rice dish. Not bad for freeze dried pouch food, eh?
Here is a shot of an “everyday meal” in the new cookware, Sauerkraut and Kielbasa, Yum!
Good times and hard work!
Yum Food!! Yum Art!!
© [Jay Mora- Shihadeh] and [artistfromtheinsideout.wordpress.com], [2012]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, artwork, or photo’s without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Jay Mora-Shihadeh] and [artistfromtheinsideout.wordpress.com] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Related articles
- Foodstyling and -photography 101 (30smagazine.wordpress.com)
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THE WRETCH, published on Lucy’s Blog
Of sin Of abhorrence Of bent and, Of broken. In the dry bough wooden and drifting. Pretenses and pickled mouth Besieged by pines and corked by ...READ FULL POEM Many thanks to Lucy over at A LITTLE WRITING WORKSHOP OF HORRORS for publishing my poem THE WRETCH. I am honored to be selected by her, and Editor Mark Borne, for publication on their amazing blog.
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#BookReview-The Ferryman and the Sea Witch @DWallacePeach #Fantasy #Reading
Originally posted on Jacquie Biggar-USA Today Best-selling author : Description via Amazon.com The merrow rule the sea. Slender creatures, fair of …
#BookReview-The Ferryman and the Sea Witch @DWallacePeach #Fantasy #Reading -
THE LAUGHTER #poetry by jay
Forever by day
words rain
like a roar
though soft
and still-like
your world
rememberest
forever
the change
the laughter
deceased.
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
Photo by omar alnahi from Pexels
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PAINTING AND POETRY #poetry by jay
Dabbing and jabbing
colorful words grabbing
the canvas
conceiving
relieving
my creativity reliving
the experiences
of my life
dropping
hitting the paper
not stopping
mixing and blending
intensity
sending
messages
retrieving
memories pretending
too vast
fast
slipping into the past
never too late
hit the page
in great feverish debate
depicting
pictorial landscapes
to date
poetry, painting
swirling
slanting
dream catching
panting
utterly entrancing
dancing
upon the plate
glass-
scraping
screeching
brush rotating
sweeping
great strokes
of colorful words
straightening
the canvas
stretching
reaching
for thoughts
escaping
then enlightening
words soaring
heightening the fury
circling the canvas
completing
but,
never leaving.
This poem expresses the feelings and thoughts I often experience while I am in the creative process of painting, or writing poetry.
This painting I did was sold at an auction to benefit a coworker who was diagnosed with breast cancer.
It is called, “Abstract Divide” , oil on canvas. Since then, the friend is doing wonderful, is happily married and has a little boy.
Art and Poetry © [Jay Mora-Shihadeh]
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THUNDERSTORM #poetry by jay
Well, it’s five’ til three
and wow! The sun’s gone
the skies lit a powdery solemn
gray with a silence that haunts,
as a scream of sirens sound off
in the distance.
The calm before the storm is here.
A midday thunderstorm is forecast
for Florida today, not unusual
but still ominous. The smell of humid
sidewalks and tarry macadam
waft in the front door.
Acrid at first but swiftly replaced
with life-saving oxygen, in between
the toxic fumes that mingle in
the breeze,
ahhhh I breathe
slow and deep
Boom!
Thunder strikes!
And,
I lose my breath once again.
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
Photo by Raychel Sanner on Unsplash
#Poetry #Storm #Freeverse #Poem
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EVERY POEM HAS ANCESTORS- an article from the PARIS REVIEW
N. SCOTT MOMADAY. PHOTO: DARREN VIGIL GRAY.EVERY N. SCOTT MOMADAY: recipient of the 2021 Hadada Award
“In this time of a virus roaming methodically across the earth, infecting the earth’s population, this poem centers us in the natural world, and declares a healing. I imagine the voice of Earth speaking the first stanza. The Earth, and all beings, are always moving toward healing. This poem reminds us.” PARIS REVIEW
“The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee”
I am a feather on the bright sky
I am the blue horse that runs in the plain
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water
I am the shadow that follows a child
I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows
I am an eagle playing with the wind
I am a cluster of bright beads
I am the farthest …read full poem -
IN THE HOURS OF CARE #poetry by Jay Mora-Shihadeh — MasticadoresUsa
I’m excited to announce my poem, IN THE HOURS OF CARE, is published in MasticadoresUsa today.
I want to thank the editor, Gabriela Marie Milton, for selecting and publishing my piece in today’s post. It is an honor to be part of this publication, please make sure to stop by and give them a visit.
IN THE HOURS OF CARE
in the hours of care
a rabbit dodges a shooting
and hobbits
into a hole in the groundgrasses burn and pencil a path
crooked footings land
grounded in sandsun crescents the…read full poem
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MY SISTER THINKS I’M A FREAK #poetry by jay
my sister thinks I’m a freak-
since childhood
her coldness has wafted about
hung in the air
stench blank and distant stare
steeled defiance
like the sharp pointed tip of a knife
her judging disapproval
stabs at the walls with a loud
screeching silence
fool-hearted and on the brink
of some kind of
manufactured insanity
spewing and churning out
a patented righteousness
a seal that blights my world
hoping to unfurl
that freakiness
she finds so disarming
she leaves me wondering…
after all these years, how did we relate?
speechless words
grating gratuities
our bloodlines deflated
flattened in fact
yearning for some
elusive return
of a closeness
we never had
never shared
never spoken
yet,
always wanted.
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
(updated and revised 6/16/21)
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AREN’T YOU SICK OF POMPOUS PEOPLE? #poetry by jay
Assumptions-
arrogance and gumption.
They walk in before all
displaying their gall
destroying all grace
leaving beauty out of place, hurting feelings
contriving, depriving, cut-open and dividing
boundaries widen to try and swallow
their conniving, sniveling embrace
only to choke on …read full poem
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THE WHIP-POOR-WILLS #poetry by jay – published in free verse revolution
THE WHIP-POOR-WILLS
Frozen in stone
above the epitaph
alone I linger
amidst the ether
and the night whisper
becomes my hell
in limbo
I beg and wander
‘til my soul is stolen
unglued from the past and
delivered to rest
shepherd me to Gods
in heaven to myths that
pass by and delight my love
to light the flames that flicker
this candle held by under gods
of evil to torment my passing
the afterlife eluding but
the whip-poor-wills
ascend and lift me to heaven.
By Jay Mora-Shihadeh
I would like to thank Kristiana Reed over at Free Verse Revolution, for editing and publishing this fantastic looking second edition: hermes (the kaleidoscope).
The summer issue celebrates the abstract, surrealism and the multi-faceted with many contributors reflecting upon life and death
You can download a free copy below, to read all the other talented poets and artists included in this summer edition.
Issue II: hermes (the kaleidoscope) is now available to download!
The digital download is completely free but if you wish to donate/pay as you feel, you can do so through the Donate tab.
Our summer issue celebrates the abstract, surrealism and the multi-faceted with many contributors reflecting upon life and death
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CHORES ARE BORING #poetry by jay
There are things that seem
to never get done
but who cares when
I’ve waited
for you to finally come
back to me
never knowing when
that moment will arise.Blue jays screech
in the background
reminding me to do the laundry
sweep the floors and
wash the breakfast dishes
as I teeter, on this precipice
this crazy lit up place
clinging to your essence
I won’t let you go, just yet.chores can …READ MORE…
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LOVE IS TO THE SPIRIT WHAT A MOON BEAM IS TO THE NIGHT #poetry by jay
Love is to the spirit what a moon beam
is to the night
A smile so bright
that darkness hides
under a rock
defeated by the brilliance
of the white-hot light
Dancing on the stars
staying awake all night
darkness runs
to the corners
of the earth
escaping the wrath
of its competitors heart
Love is to the spirit what a moon beam
is to the night
Reflections of galaxies
upon the oceans bright
mirrors of adoration
adorning faces despite
the darkness that challenges
loves white-hot light.
Original Post– Revised 6/8/21
Art and Poetry ©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
