Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Floralia Cosiddetta Flora from the Villa di Arianna in Stabiae near Pompeii, 1st century Roman fresco The festival of Floralia is another very old holiday. It honors Flora, the Roman idea of fertility that is embodied in spring flowers. Flora is one of the oldest deities in the Roman pantheon. She is older than Rome,… Continue reading The Daily: 28 April 2023
A Red-Letter Day April 25th is a complicated date. It is St Mark’s Day, which is honored with a wide variety of celebrations; and it is Robigalia, an ancient Roman festival intended to propitiate the god — or demon — of wheat rust and thus ensure a good harvest. These disparate themes may actually be… Continue reading The Daily: 25 April 2023
It wasn't the most productive weekend. I got some weird flu bug that created the most painful immune response I've ever endured. That lasted from Wednesday to Saturday. I was out of bed on Saturday, but I wasn't doing much but reading and writing. I did get a lot of both done, so that was… Continue reading The Daily: 24 April 2023
April 23rd is St George's Feast Day (though in the Church of England it is moved until Monday when the 23rd falls between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter). For the day, I've written a modernized tale of Andromeda, an old story of annual agricultural sacrifice. 'St George and the Dragon' is a version… Continue reading The Daily: 23 April 2023
Earth Day Earth Day was created in 1970 as a direct political challenge. Wisconsin's Senator Gaylord Nelson wanted the US government to do what government is supposed to do — protect its people and lands from rapacious business. He created Earth Day and organized the first demonstrations across the country to force the hand of… Continue reading The Daily: 22 April 2023
I'm in the last third of the National Poetry Month challenge. This is when haiku and other forms of brevity start creeping in. I used to write quite a lot of these spare cut gems, but they start to lose their luster when tossed into the rule bin. Being a merry anarchist, I don't go… Continue reading The Daily: 21 April 2023
I've been reading Art Goodtimes', Dancing on the Edge: The McRedeye Poems, during my morning meditation time. This collection draws out laughter and head-shaking, tears and hope. Goodtimes, himself, is an intriguingly contradictory person. He studied to be a Roman Catholic priest and then turned rather feral on points of religion. His poetry reveals a… Continue reading The Daily: 13 April 2023
There have been many good writes this month. My All Poetry site is overflowing with kudos. (For those unfamiliar with that platform, there are contests and awards.) So I'm sharing a few here. beyond words so much invested in these sounds and symbols so much granted to meanings and myths we bequeath primacy to numeracy… Continue reading The Daily: 12 April 2023
I'm a third of the way through National Poetry Month. Touch wood, but I haven't missed a day yet. Nor have I slacked much on this blog. But today I have a repost for you. It's a story I first wrote about thirty years ago. I've tweaked it repeatedly in the decades since, but the… Continue reading The Daily: 11 April 2023
The fifth moon of my solar year is the Sap Moon. It is new between 24 February and 24 March, full between 10 March and 7 April. This is a period of rapid change. The Sap Moon rarely sees the same weather from year to year. When it’s early in the solar calendar, this month is… Continue reading The Daily: 6 April 2023
By My Solitary Hearth 