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Travis Garcelon Nov 2010
What Is ‘Is’?


 -Travis-Philosopher Major
 -Arianna-Pre-Vet

Arianna asks Travis about his Thanksgiving but soon after they begin to talk about the ideals of Philosophy. The following is an account of the conversation that took place...

Arianna
But what ‘is to think....’ I feel like if I just question EVERYTHING then I’ll be set.
I feel like philosophy is a circle of never ending questions.
Travis
It is! It is an attempt to understand the truth! It is a love for wisdom!
Arianna
Through questions?
Travis
While yes, how else would you meet your 'ends'?
Arianna
Hahaha, so it can be thought of as a series of questions?
Travis
Perhaps. Descartes was able to narrow everything he thought and knew about the world into one phrase, 'I think therefore I am'.
Arianna
Is that saying that everything you think ‘you are’?
Travis
You are because you think.
Arianna
I am what?
Travis
You are ‘you’, however, you are not I.
Arianna
Ahh...Hahaha...What if two people think exactly the same thought though? That I mean by, Person 1 is still Person 1, and Person 2 is still Person 2, and yet they are different but are able to think the same thought?
Travis
You got something going there Arianna, however, I would argue that no two people have exactly the same thought. They may think about the same exact thing, but each thought exists 'for itself' as well as 'for the subject'. Hence, two subjects, one must assume two separate 'thoughts'. As for your second dilemma, I agree. Each are the same, 'One', as well as an 'also', the 'other'. Each existing 'for itself' as well as 'for an other'.
Arianna
hahaha hmm... hahaha... whaaat. How can a thought exist for a subject?
Travis
For whom then would the thought exist for?
Arianna
For the person who thought up the thought.
Travis
You just answered your own question.
Arianna
To execute into an action?
Travis
Say more.
Arianna
Well then, why does a thought exist ‘for itself’, Travis?
Travis
Because the ‘thought’ must retain its own 'essence'; its own 'being'. Whatever this thought may be, be it a 'Cupcake', then this newly thought up 'Cupcake thought' must retain its own 'Cupcakeness'.
Arianna
hahaha...but if a thought only exists so it can be turned into an action, why else would we think a thought, that is, if we didn’t want this thought to develop into an action?
Travis
Well, let me explain. We desire our 'objects of desire'. I desire cupcakes. I get this image of a cupcake in my head and its 'deliciousness'. I now take this desire and transcend it, take my thought and convert it into a mechanical form, the action. I would say the action is merely a consequence of our 'thoughts' and 'desires'.
Arianna
hmm I think I agree.
Travis
It is funny too, if you think about Ari, if you think about the Catholic churches and their rituals
Arianna
What do you mean by?
Travis
Well, they eat bread and they drink wine.
Arianna
That is right. The body and blood of christ
Travis
They desire to be a part of Jesus' spirit, so to fulfill their desire they eat his ‘body’ and drink his ‘blood’; they destroy it and make it a part of themselves. Hegel says that this is the relationship between people. This 'Struggle to the Death' for the sole purpose to 'be for yourself'.
You still wanna take a philosophy class?
Arianna
Wait...haha. No I don’t. I wouldn’t MIND it, but it would probably cause brain aneurisms. Explain this ‘struggle to the death’ more.
Travis
While yes, when two self-consciousness’ come into contact with one another, a duel erupts and both struggle to abolish the other for the purpose of realizing its own ‘truth’ and to exist ‘for itself’; both work to **** the other off just for their owns satisfaction and selfish desires to see themselves as independent.
Arianna
hahaha what No! I don’t try to **** off you or Jaclyn!
Travis
But you do, self-consciously at least.
Arianna
No way, no!
Travis
According to Hegel’s ‘Phenomenology of Spirit’ you do.
Arianna
I respect your thoughts because they are so different, but I just continue my way of thinking, that is all.
Travis
I interpret it as an active process. It is not necessarily 'killing' per se. To '****' off a ‘self-consciousness', your not really killing the person off, per se.
Arianna
What are we killing? The other persons thought process? Their ideas?
Travis
It gets confusing. The way that I interpret it is that we **** of their existence by being totally independent and for ourselves. So in a relationship between a master and slave, or a lord and bondsman, this is the struggle that takes place. This is the ‘Struggle to the Death!”
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
Im not a good poet but I want to get this off my chest.
Maybe this is too much of a blog. If so, I am sorry.
Nobody has to read it!
I don't mean to misuse this service or to make anyone mad.
I am just not good at poetry
But I believe my words have a rhythm to them.

This is a long and boring post.
Making this post is part of my healing
Even if nobody reads it.

I met a psychopath, I don't use that term lightly
He had been in prison for ****** against his 7 year old daughter
A monster and what most people often call a baby ******.

What was wrong with me, that I did not bolt away like a wild horse?
What made me stay? Is it my Tao to be in their spell forever?
I mean the pedophiles that abused me now forty years ago?

How could I have blocked out his crime?
Where was my outrage for the victim?

He is in Seattle, I am in Minneapolis
But we played cards for 7 months
When he showed me his hand,
I suddenly realized who and what he was.
And I was struck with a sense of horror.

Psychopaths are always charming, at first.
They fool a lot of people. He fooled me.
And I can't get over it.

I broke free, galloped away, but had irreversible damage.
I could not eat or sleep. I was on edge.
I felt polluted, I felt ashamed, I felt gullible
It is why I have the diagnosis of PTSD
because my entire childhood was filled
To the rafters with abuse and this psychopath
Touched upon that in a major way.
They call it a "Trigger" in psychology.

I thought I had burned that house down
But my naïveté and poor boundaries led me
From the paradise of my home
To this psychopath's perverse thinking.
What a sick *******.
I can't even describe
how perverse it got towards the end
So I won't even bother.
Why dwell on a psychopaths sick mind?

I was very sick and in a crisis for ten days
When I broke it off with him.

My last email to him was that,
God is real and that he is going to Hell.
He excuses his behavior with
Bible verses.
That's not going to help him
On judgement day.
He also will suffer karma until
He learns his lesson.
Prison was not enough to teach him

Im starting to sit back and take in the lesson
I've decided that for my own safety
I need to get a lot more paranoid because
Baby rapists and evil people do exist
And I have no radar and no set of boundaries.
Because I was abused so much as a child.

I downloaded an App that lists all
The ****** predators near your home
There are a lot of them and some look like
Your average guy, like the pedophiles who abused me.
Nobody next store but in Osceola, 5 minutes away.

And what about Jared Fogel? Is everyone a pervert?
Why do adult ( mostly men ) need to sexualize children?

I am restricting my easy going temperament
He took what was left of my innocence.
My heart is healing and I have vowed
Not to let him or his sickness
To ruin my good temperament.
Nor my Peace of Mind.

Lastly, I realize that it was by the Grace of God
That I found a loving husband
A man who truly cares, truly loves
In a way I never felt as a child.

As an abuse survivor, the statistics
For me to find a suitable relationship
were slim.
But my mother always told me
To respect myself.

But here we are, 31 years together
Or what my science mind calls
60% of our lives. We are 53.

I don't know how I found "the one"
A broken heart is so visceral and
With so much angst that I feel fortunate
That I've been spared that experience.

We met in Martial Arts class
I had met him at age 19 and he asked me out
I took him up on that offer when we were 22
I worked for my black belt in Tae Kwon Do
He was working on his 2nd degree blackbelt
We trained together for many hours
We hung out.
Ha ha, our first date was to see
The Karate Kid! Also plenty of Bruce Lee!
My husband began martial arts because
Of Bruce Lee.
I started martial arts for self defense
Having been abused by so many men
Made me want to never happen again.

Nice trip down memory lane
Back to the psychopath.
I don't have children and
I am not around any children.

I went to the State Fair, and saw some girls
Only 7 years old, like the psychopath's daughter
When he started his predation on her.  
I felt physically ill that a child of that age
Would have to deal with a grown man
And her father, on too of that.
It is beyond imagination.
I was abused at age 11 and 7 seems
Awfully young. Poor girl.

I felt a sense of nausea when looking at these little girls
That I had befriended a ****** perpetrator
Entirely negating his victims experience.
What was I thinking?

I feel almost like I am guilty because I associated with him.
I feel horrible that I had any relationship
With such a dark and bleak soul.

God bless his daughter out there somewhere
She is now in her 20s
His children are in their 20s and I think
When he has grandchildren he might re offend
I need to stop this and have decided
To contact CPS, and write a letter of concern
Every six months until he has grandchildren

It's the very least I can do.
I've taken a personal interest and
I vow to protect his future grandchildren
From ******, a crime he is not sorry about
He has no remorse, he does not repent
And in that way he can reoffend

Let me go back to my life now
It is almost Fall
And the trees will be brilliant
Thank God, that I realize
I need to out much tighter boundaries
Around myself because being gullible
Is going to get me killed

Thankfully I am not being stalked
Thankfully my life is not in danger
Thankfully we live half a continent away

Let me hold my husband's hand
Let me remember what's important
Let me remember that Im safe
Let me recover from the emotions
Of horror and dread, that have kept me
From eating and sleeping.

Im a bit of a yogini
And I do yoga Nidra
I do meditation
I take refuge in Buddha
I have a faith in Christ
These things all help.

Let the heavens forgive me
For ever getting involved
With a psychopath and for not
Giving his daughter's abuse
A second thought.

This has altered my personality
I am now an activist for victims
Of childhood violence.

I will hear their voices in a way
That is healthy and safe.

Safe. A good place to be!

If you've made it to the end of
This post, I give you my sincere
Thanks and if you did not read my post
I also give you thanks.

~Arianna
Aaron McDaniel Oct 2012
A boulder lays in a stream for centuries
The trickling water slowly smoothing it’s rough edges
Ending up a pebble at the bottom of that unforgiving stream
Slowly being covered by others
That little pebble, is still a boulder
I challenged myself to write a poem for anyone and everyone of my friends that retweeted a tweet on my twitter. This is one of them.
Hawk Flight May 2014
I ****** up
I ****** up

I used once more
after swearing up and down
I would never touch the stuff again

In a moment of weakness
IN a moment of pure agony
I got out my white powder
and did my old routine

I'm sorry Kaitlyn
I'm sorry Panda
I'm sorry Arianna
I'm sorry Sofia

Please dont get mad
I ****** up
I know I did
I'll try harder next time
I used again. ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry guys
Stu Harley Aug 2015
the voice of
the
wooden lute
awaken
the
laughter
break through
Arianna's
eyes
Hawk Flight May 2014
I wasn't there when you were born
Daddy was struggling to get better
I met you six months ago
for the first time.

I missed your first steps
and your first giggle.
I missed your first word
by only a week.

Your big brown eyes stared up at me
I could tell you were afraid
who is this strange man in this strange bed?
I guess being in the hospital
with wires all attached to me
wasnt the best place to meet.

I'll let you in on a secret.
I was afraid too.
what if she doesnt like me?
What if I fail her?

But you reached out to me
with your short little one year old arms
and I held out my hand to meet yours
Your little hand in mine
so tiny, so Fragile.

Being one you don't know any better
You reached out your other hand
and touched my left eye
where the scars still Stand out

You didnt cry
or try and run away
You looked thoughtful
the way only one years olds can.
does that mean you accepted me?

I missed out on some of the important firsts
But that day with you in my arms touching my face
I promised myself

I would never miss another first again.
Me and my daughters mother were seperated, she was still pregnant when she left.
she told me that she didnt want a drug addict in her childs life. I didnt even
know that I was having a daughter yet.
But I guess when I got shot and it didnt look like I was going to pull through
my friends got in conntact with her and she and my daughter and stepdaughter came to see me
I got to hold my daughter for the first time.
~
January 2024
HP Poet: Melanii
Age: 27
Country: USA


Question 1: We welcome you to the HP Spotlight, Melanii. Please tell us about your background?

Melanii: "My real name is Arianna. I was born and raised around Dallas, TX and am currently still living here. As it relates to writing, my background draws heavily from exposure to the arts as a child and the fascination, I guess, for beauty that this instilled. My parents (but especially my dad) were enthusiastic about music, art, history, literature, and the sciences, and my interest in all of these topics was piqued by association. Growing up I can recall countless visits to the local art museum, watching documentaries in the evenings after school, attending operas with my parents, and running home after school in the early days of each month to see if the latest issue of National Geographic had arrived so I could soak up the pictures and get lost daydreaming of faraway lands and peoples.

With time these influences grew into a general interest in the humanities. I attended the University of North Texas in Denton from 2014-2017 and studied anthropology, French, and Russian after doing a 180 on my initial intention of studying and pursuing psychology as a career path at a different school. At the time it felt kind of reckless, but in hindsight it was definitely the right decision.

After graduating, I was working as a barista and somewhere along the way ended up going to Prague for a month in the summer of 2018 to do a TEFL certification, fell into poetry that fall, and then returned to Prague for 11 months in 2019 to teach English. It was very much the best and the worst of times: I met some amazing people while there, took the opportunity to travel around a bit, and lived and learned from a horrendous relationship that also transpired during that year. I definitely went into that experience without any clear objectives or expectations; looking back, life definitely took that complacency and turned the tables with it, and while it took several years afterwards for the dust to fully settle, I've made it out the other side stronger, more intentional, and more assertive than before.

Since then, life has really just been what it's been. There have been ups and downs, of course, but the lows don't hit as hard anymore. Right now, there's not much to report and I plan to keep it that way. It's nice. Peaceful. It's a new year, and with it I will continue to focus on working, saving money, making a dent in the hydra that my reading list has become, and overall just living well and building towards the future."



Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?

Melanii: "As a teenager I’d scribble fragments of poems here and there, but never considered writing to be a hobby. That all changed around September 2018 when, for whatever reason, I decided that I enjoyed writing and wanted to dedicate more time to it. As mentioned in Question #2, this was right around the time I was preparing to relocate to Prague. It's kind of hard to describe; maybe it was just the excitement of the unknown, but that whole period of time had a sense of magic and beauty about the way it was unfolding which the “discovery” of poetry as a creative outlet only elevated."


Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).

Melanii:  "At first, it seemed like “there was inspiration around every corner”, to quote another poet I read here on HP one time (can't remember who it was or the title of the piece, but they were describing how great poets like Bukowski seemed to find inspiration so effortlessly, and the way they phrased it has stuck with me). Fast forward five years to today, and while I don't write as prolifically anymore the words come when I have something to say.

Inspiration comes from many sources for me: music, art, and nature; random thoughts, feelings, ideas, and observations; the works of other poets; travel when it happens; disappointments in family and other relationships; loneliness…

As far as the actual writing process goes, it's pretty random. More often than not, I'd say the poems write themselves and I just jot them down once they're ready, or as they evolve and refine themselves to fruition. Not the most thoughtful approach, but it comes from the heart."



Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?

Melanii: "To me, poetry is a language — specifically a language of consciousness in its purest, most elemental form. Poetry has the ability of transcending and even defying the typical rules of language without losing cogency, and for me it's this inherent flexibility that makes it at once so unique and so impactful as an art form."


Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?

Melanii: "Federico García Lorca, Li Qingzhao, and Pablo Neruda are the top 3 names that come to mind. I enjoy the unique way that each one of them uses language and imagery to illustrate the pieces of their lives and humanity which they decided to share through their writing. There's an element of surrealism, sensuality, and expansiveness running through each of their writing styles that speaks to me in the way it encompasses the beauty and complexity of life's possibilities across good and bad times alike."


Question 6: What other interests do you have?

Melanii: "I enjoy traveling and would love to be in a place someday where I can do so more often. The urge to explore again has been gnawing at me recently, so after a little bit of research and number crunching, I renewed my passport and booked a flight to Peru for three weeks in March. I had promised myself to visit a new region the next time I traveled, and despite growing up in Texas I have yet to visit Latin America. The plan is to start in Cusco, sightsee there, then head south into Bolivia to tour the Salar de Uyuni, which has been on my bucket list since learning of its existence from National Geographic. I couldn't believe that a place like that was real, and words cannot express how excited I am to finally experience the landscape in person! With March marking the beginning of the end of the rainy season, I'm hoping to still catch some of the “mirror” effect that the salt flats are so famous for. After touring the flats, the plan is to take an overnight bus back to La Paz before heading north again towards Lima with some sightseeing stops along the way and a few days left over in the city before flying back home. So we'll see what happens!

Languages are a long standing interest as well. I studied French for 7 years between high school and college, and Russian for the 3 years I spent at university. Since graduating, I've kept up with both through podcasts, YouTube videos, news articles, and music, and despite being far from fluent in either it's helped a lot with retention and comprehension. Learning ancient Greek has also been an on-and-off endeavor since 2017 after reading Euripides’ plays and deciding that I'd like to read Medea in its original text someday. Time will tell if that ever happens, but I did recently complete an online introductory course to the language which was a nice memory refresher and helped with unpacking some of the grammatical concepts that threw me for a loop back when I first started and which are part of the reason I fell away from Greek in the first place. After Greek, I would like to learn some Coptic, Farsi, and Turkish, and would be satisfied with learning to read at least one sentence in Mandarin in my lifetime.

Outside of travel and languages, I enjoy researching and cooking dishes from various cuisines, reading, taking walks, trying out different exercise classes on days off (recently I've done tai chi, pilates, barre, aerial silks, and kickboxing, but in the past I've tried pole fitness, archery, aerial silks, cycling, and horseback riding), visiting art museums, dropping by the symphony or opera once in a blue moon, and watching videos and documentaries on philosophy, history, theology (not religious, though, just curious), and science."



Carlo C. Gomez: “Thank you so much for giving us an opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet, Melanii! We have loved adding you to this series!”

Melanii: "Thank you so much for having me and for all your efforts conducting this series of interviews! It's truly a pleasure having the opportunity to break the ice and learn more about our fellow poets."



Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed getting to know Melanii little bit better. I indeed did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez

We will post Spotlight #12 in February!

~
Robert C Howard Oct 2013
intermission with the UMSL Orchestra

The backstage hall was wall-to-wall smiles.
Just moments before,
Barbara Harbach had charged the stage
after we premiered her joyous *Jubilee Symphony

screaming at them all the way,
"That was spectacular"!

The Arianna Quartet's Kurt and Joanna
stormed down the steps
spewing out pieces of their minds
in no uncertain terms
"excellent" - "great job" - "beautiful".

I preferred to hang out on the edge
wrapped in the silken echoes
of Tchaikovsky's Andante cantabile
(so eloquently sung by our youthful strings).

Intermission was up and it was
back to work time.

In the abyss of despair
over his dying ears,
Beethoven flooded the world
with the blazing sunglow
of his prophetic second symphony
and it was now up to us
to pass on the word.

Just call me,
"Grateful (underscore) 1".
Nat wanted me to cough up a music poem so here's my latest verbal fur ball.
Vernon Waring Dec 2015
It was a water-cooler rumor,
an office joke circulating,
all about 'the girl in the picture' -
a framed photo on my desk.
They called her 'the mystery girl,'
a radiant blue-eyed brunette
with a beguiling smile. They
said they couldn't believe
someone so great looking would
ever have eyes for me, would
ever care about me, would ever
share my hopes and dreams. They
thought it was a lark. They even
said she didn't exist because
they never saw her, she never called
me at the office, never met me
for lunch

Tough! I thought. She's very shy,
very timid. She's an artist, she
works out of our apartment, she's
not a people person. But they didn't
believe me because I never brought
her with me - to Christmas parties or
weddings or the company picnic in May.
They said I made her up, that the picture
on my desk was something I got from a
stock photo book or from something I
picked up off the shelf of a dollar store

Give me a break!

And then the unthinkable happened.
She left me - just like that!
There was a note and nothing else.
I still don't understand it.
I quit my job. I cleaned out my
desk at the office and went back
to the apartment...she seemed to be
everywhere...in pictures all over,
her smile beaming at me from
every room

Now in my loneliness, in my drift
toward sleep each night, my heart
is hollow. I murmur her name in
the darkness...'Arianna...Arianna...'
- a name like the wind - free, restless,
rhapsodic, an anthem bursting
from my heart, the answer to my
most desperate prayers
Stu Harley Sep 2018
the voice of
the
wooden lute
awakened
the
sweet laughter
in
Arianna's
green eyes
Hawk Flight Jul 2014
The fireworks explode above my head
lighting up my daughers faces
Arianna wide eyed with fear
Sophia wided eyed with wonder

Kaitlyn met my eye
Smiled at me
knowing what I was thinking.

Fourth of july is my Holiday
something about the fireworks
And seeing my children light up
just like me it made me smile.

Arianna's first 4th of july
Sophia and I's first one together
Kaitlyn and I's first one
As Husband and wife.

My favorite holiday
just got even Better
TO my WIFE and Daughters.
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
Of all creatures that exist on earth,
I think the cat is the most fascinating.

We take them for granted
because they are so common.  
We don't give them a second glance.

It is said that pound for pound
Cats are the earth's supreme
predators. I agree with this.

The big cats are the most beautiful animals.
But I'm talking about house cats, now! :)

I am especially intrigued as to how
Felines can be sleeping and suddenly can
do extreme acrobatics.

This seems impossible and yet it's so.
A magic trick with no smoke, no mirrors nor
any explanation.

The cats who own me, are three.
Mocha, Peanut, Qweeny.
Mocha and Peanut are on my profile photo  

The cats who own me
Are indoors, strictly
But I have watched feral cats
Hunt things as big as a rabbit
Felines can take down prey
that are half their own body weight.
That is truly impressive.

However, cats can also be prey
And a large hawk or eagle
Can end their lives.
So while they prey upon rodents
They also make themselves
vulnerable to predation.

I find this predator/prey aspect
of their existence
To be fascinating.
Natures balancing act!
A great study for Evolutionionary
Genetics of felines.

More of a cat person than a dog person
Loving their velvet paws
And loving purring
Over the constant panting of dogs

Cats are the cleanest animals and
Just one more reason to love them.
I admire this quality of cleanliness.

Cats were worshipped in Egypt and
I feel it's a sacrament to care for cats
You are contributing to the Divine
in this simple way.

Purring is a blessing.
One cat who owns me,
Purrs all of the time.
She never stops.
She is in my top three
animals I have ever loved
In my entire life of
53 years.  

The cats that own me
Are Beautiful.
They are Burmese, Siamese
and finally Tonkinese.

They are obviously very important
And one if the best things
In my life. That is why I'm writing
About them.

They are not only important
But also paramount.

I often think, that if my husband
Would allow it, that Id like 10 cats.
Id like to be a crazy old cat lady
Dressed in a faded purple dress,
With sacred beings prancing their way
Across my living room!

They sooth me, in a way that
Humans cannot & in a way dogs cannot.

I never cease to be amazed
By the qualities these cats imbue

I feel fortunate that these
Three cats have adopted me

I feel a sense of love from them,
from some very wise beings.

I love them, too.

They are now all senior cats
I won't have them forever.
I am facing the fact that humans
simply live longer than critters.
The number of animals I've lost
In my life is truly staggering.
Each death as painful as the one before.

On the other hand, one of my
cats lived to 22 an I hope the
current kitties will be so lucky.
I can only do my best to care for them.

You have to love fearlessly
As if you've never lost.
I will suffer when they die
But I do not hold back my love
for them.
You have to be courageous to
Love sometimes.

You have to face impermanence
By losing your loved ones
And in this way
The three cats that own me
Teach me valuable
Lessons of life.

A huge lesson is not to cling
Another is to accept death.

What else can I do but appreciate their love
And love them in return.

I never take them for granted.
I am always appreciative
Toward these blessings in my life.

They are both Holy and Divine.
And also, most revered spiritual teachers

~Arianna Darshani
Anais Vionet Mar 2022
I’d just sat down for lunch with a tray loaded with pizza slices when an attractive redhead plopped down in the chair in front of me. “You’re trying to steal my guy,” she said, clutching her purse close, like it was in danger.

“I’m sorry?” I said, searching my book-bag for the small garlic powder I carry everywhere in case I encountered a pizza.

She inspected my tray, piled generously with a selection of pizza slices and said, “You know, you could just start with a couple of slices and then go back later for pieces that are HOT.”

I nodded thoughtfully at the idea but countered with, “Now I can just sit right here and eat them all.” Which was a lie because I was planning to take a few slices back to my room. Then I followed up with, “Your BOYFRIEND?”

“Peter,” she said, “he’s my longtime boyfriend,” she seemed excited to deliver this news.

“Well, Peter and I are just friends - so far - What’s your name?” I asked.

“Shirley,” she said, not offering her hand.
“Hhmm, your name hasn’t come up.” I reported.

“You need to pump-those-breaks,” Shriley said, becoming suddenly serious.

I thought I’d offer a distraction since she seemed to be winding herself up. “I wonder if Amazon sells a little, battery operated, heat lamp I could carry with me to keep my pizza warm?” I touched my phone, lying face down by my tray but decided looking it up now might be rude.

“It’s actually a whew,” Shirley noted, “being faced with the thing I’ve been absolutely hyperventilating over.”

“Peter and me?” I ask for clarification.
“Peter and ANYONE,” she clarifies and puts me in my place with one sweeping comment.

“Again, Peter and I are friends-without-benefits, but he hasn’t mentioned a wife.” I said, giving as good as I got.

“Peter and I are.. taking a break,” she revealed, “but we’re getting back together.”
“You should talk to Peter,” I said, my mouth finally full of pizza.

“You need to **** YOURSELF!” she snarls. I was shocked by her sudden force. I went into self defense mode, wondering if I was going to be physically attacked but I chose to disassemble and not give her any energy to feed off of.

“I’d LOVE to, but this lunch isn’t going to eat itself.” I said apologetically. “It’s not like I haven’t thought of THAT before,” I confide, leaning in conspiratorially, “my parents bought me an electric toothbrush when I was twelve” I entrust.

Shirley snarled like a panther and left in a huff. I noticed several people furtively looking at me, like I’d been caught in the act of something, and I felt besmirched.
“Nice meeting you!” I offered cheerfully to her back but I don’t think she heard it.

Lisa immediately sat down next to me. “You homewrecker,” she offered. “Who's arianna?”
“Ha! Thanks for THAT” I laugh. “I never had this play in prison.” I said, shaking my head.
“Better late than never?” Lisa offered.
BLT word of the day challenge: Besmirch: "to damage the purity or luster of something."

Slang:
whew = a relief. ……. arianna = a girl better than you
play = drama ……….. prison = high school
judy smith Mar 2017
In keeping on track to make art more accessible, Isabella Huffington has a two-item collaboration with Designow and two upcoming exhibitions.

While her paintings can be “kind of intense, colorful, bright and a bit overwhelming,” she decided to translate a “very light one” called “Chrysanthemum” for the dress and scarf that will be sold on Designow’s site starting March 30. The artwork’s floral motif is actually a collage made of found objects like books and magazines. With clothing, you’re thinking about the consumer and you’re thinking about yourself, so it’s much more like an architect. You want to be authentic but it also has to look good on the person.” Huffington said of the $250 long-sleeve knee-length dress with a tapered waist. “You could wear it to a party but you could also wear it to work at 20 or at 40. I’m really interested in making art that has mass appeal.”

There is also a scarf with an artistic box that is geared for gift-giving or for a younger shopper who might not want to wear a dress. Huffington said of her fashion debut, “This is the first dip in the water but I’m definitely interested in pursuing this further. A lot of people don’t think they have interest in art or access to art so I love the idea of bringing art into the everyday.”

On April 28, Huffington will open an exhibition at Rebecca Minkoff’s gallery adjacent to the designer’s Melrose Avenue store. The artist has another show opening May 3 at Anastasia Photo on the Lower East Side of Manhattan about women and politics.

An admirer of Japanese artists Yayoi Kusama and Haruki Murakami, Huffington said a lot of Japanese artists, and American ones too, are collaborating outside of fine art so she’s looking to what they’re doing for cues. Even buying flowers in Japan calls for almost “artlike wrapping,” she said. “We’re almost missing that in the States because art is very much seen as something that is reserved for the elite. Even with Trump trying to cut [the National] Endowment for the Arts, it’s just not seen as a priority. But people who need art most almost don’t have access to it. I love being in a country where art is so much a part of the culture.”

Huffington said she has been really lucky to have her mother Arianna’s encouragement for years. “Since I’ve been a kid, she’s basically let me completely destroy my entire bedroom. I put paint on the walls and colored. At one point, I glued sponges so she really let me experiment. That really was my introduction to art,” Huffington said. “The best lesson my mom ever taught me, it’s especially [good] for my generation, was if something doesn’t work out it’s very easy for us to get discouraged. My mom basically said, ‘You have to knock on a lot of doors before things work out.’ So you just keep going. It’s like a task. A bunch of tiny things will lead to a big thing. It’s not one thing that changes everything. So you have to do a million different things before the right thing comes along.”

In other Designow news, the first Collective x Designow fashion show will be held April 2 with 28 students from FIT, the New School’s Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute. The event at 526 West 26th Street is part of a competition.Read more at:http://www.marieaustralia.com/formal-dresses-sydney | www.marieaustralia.com/black-formal-dresses
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
What is really important in life
Is the delicate art of growing plants

Of course the animals come first!
My dog and three cats.

I have orchids the size of a quarter
I have a 7 foot tall Cape Jasmine tree in my porch

All of this challenging, growing things tropical
While it is -20F outside, living here, in Minnesota!

There is nothing like feet of snow,
Piled so high you are house ridden,

With a porch filled with tropical plants.

Sometimes I pretend I'm in Maui.
And I'll lay in the sun for as long as it's out.

The days get short here.
I believe the shortest day is close to
9 hours!

Having some help from plant grow lights
That guide the flowers but also
Brighten the house.

The plants have to speak to you.
You need to listen to them,
Long before they have a hint of brown.

I let my plants speak to me,
And they seem guided by my voice.

~Arianna Darshani
Sophia Bridget Oct 2014
I am a big sister
to a little sister
her name is Arianna
she is almost two

we share the same room
she screams a lot at night
crying and crying
for mommy and daddy
it gets annoying trying to sleep

so some times I sing her a little song
Or sometimes I hum
because singing doesn't always work

She quiets down and grabs her binky
and stares at me

Icky
sometimes being a big sister
is such a hard job.
Fenix Flight Jul 2014
Nine years ago I met you
You were in rough shape,
Strung out on *******,
A merc for Hire.

I was 12
you were 15.
Living your life in the shadows
hiding from the world.
The blazing sun could not reach you.

You were a monster
A deadly creature
Not to be messed with.

Living your life
On the wrong side of the Law.
A question that always plagues me
how the hell were you never caught?

I strode up to you
A fire in my hands
Reached out to you
And let the fire spread.

You are so much more
then you realize.
You mean so much
to so many people.

Me
Twittle
Kaityln
Arianna
Sophia!

and thats not all

Angel
Pop
Java
and
Mags!


We all love you!
in all your
"****** up" glory.

You may have been a bad person then
But now you are such a good man.
The way you raise those girls
the way you look at your beautiful wife.
The way you are always there for me.

You had a ****** 23 years of life
I wont argue that
I know whats in your past.

but Guess what?
its a new year
A fresh start.

Lets make 24 and on
Be filled with light
chase away those shadows.

Shadow man
Shadow Man
Come out and play
In the warm sun light.
To my big broher. I love you Hawk you are more then you give yourself credit.
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
I had a simple wonder, one day,
As to why the moon has been yellow
Particles in the air, of course,
But what particles and from where?

I did some research on the wild fires in Canada
There is a jet stream carrying smoke
From Saskatchewan down to Iowa
Covering Minnesota, where I live.

This is an example of how the Earth is One Place
Events thousands of miles away can occur
Anywhere else on the Earth

And my first experience of allergies,
I willingly accept as part of the wild fires
That rage in Canada
Over one thousand miles away.

Harder to accept is,
the Fukishima nuclear plant which
Is still pouring radiation into the sea
And how that radiation has
Made its way to the US West Coast
All the way from Japan.

Something so very far away, is simultaneously,
So very intimate and near.

The Earth is all One Place
And we are part of the Earth

We make the Earth our *****
Instead of our intimate and loving partner.

~Arianna Elise Darshani
Aditya Roy Sep 2019
Silent screams and rages
verse dreams and sarcastic sages
The row believes in the youth of middle aged men
All belittle the your heart when hoping your pang fear
And spring into delirium, and bright gold
Bright light makes heat light asking for you to kneel
In red and leaves of gold, I ask for company
In dead cyka soldiers, the dead of the night
Brings out the company, where you might want a piano key
Loosened, and a guitar string, tuned and pulled

Silent svelte girls all are on the shore
As you she shifts she hasselblad fought him ****
Tea, as the ballad of the hounddog
Go the round midnight, call me after life
GO here, and come back by her fingers girls
In her life, is white, there is blyke
Everyone has a Jekkyl Hyyde
She doesnt know who he she means
After the shindig of time, singing life
Keep it in her, she rights the wall, and rides the fences
She rides the friendly horses, I know you before friends have ***
Feel my living, light my love with food of life
Make me right wrong is the rife
Kaddish sits on the wrong her
Reflection of lapas lazuli and Meer
Urst auf von bon, werst worde gert
Someone took the art killed it with joy
Someone lifted her with the ploy
**** and feet tastes summer and winter tastes like sum
Feets and passerby, touch my *** please master
grace my pallor with your heat, and gush in the blood of the great hand
Slow dots and polka dance that enrichen the glib gleam of Arriana
If friends were enemies and enemies were friends, and friends were summers
The winters would leave with the lush green forests that smell grape and touch my dots and follow my valley
On a figged donkey sorry masturbator
I want you to ride the wind, with gully
I want you rise with the wind, and touch my langstromme with lakes of stowaways
I want you to leave with the wind I feel the wish that touches your heart
I want yin and yang, not love
I want your balance, and not your senses

The end is the beginning when the fire comes out of the blessed wind
The end is near, the tin can man fires the black and blue
The middleman has her hips in the red roses and the masks, and so Im here to **** you
In my whips and my black college wants your education
Education is near, and you are far and tresses of your hair
Egregious error, was to frame you and keep you in my heart
When I couldn't see the picture
Innocence is a true picture
I want you, I want you love me
I want gush virgins and rush astral stars that hearts cant keep
I want the rushed visions that allotropes the love keeps me lively
Me and Ann lively
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
Children who have nothing are crying

We drown it out with our preoccupations
I do, too!

Can you imagine the Republic of Congo
And what children there, suffer?

I have travelled to the 3rd world extensively and
Have been to Nepal and Madagascar.
The children suffer in a brutal way . . .
that is hard to wrap your head around
If you've never left the US, Canada or Europe,
Australia or Japan.

How can we have a conscience
And let it go on?
We pretend it's not happening
But it is.
Google "Jared Fogle".

Let us amend the Constitution
And create a safe haven for crime victims
Let's have a two strikes and you're out
Law for pedophiles who pray on children
Under 12 years of age.

For me, I can no longer look at it
With a blind eye
For helping the children
Is what I was trained by Life experience, to do.
I was one of those children once
And not a single person cared.
Let me be there for the current
Child victims
And let's try to heal that part of
Our sometimes, twisted world.

Let me do all that I can do!

All I ask of you, is to think about children
suffering around the world for just 10 seconds.  

~Arianna
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
Perhaps I should
Not go into details
So I won't.

Just that . . .

In six months
My father
did more damage
to me.
Than my entire
Rest of my life
Combined.

Thank God
he did not raise me.
I would have perished.

Only that six months
that still rages like a forest fire
In the calm forest
Where I abide.

We all have problems
With our parents
But he is very perverse
By anyone's standards.

How many people
Start a *** cult?  
And then invite
their 11 year old daughter
To come visit?

So I left my mother
Who had sole custody.
What a bad mistake.
I was only eleven.
Mistakes are allowed.
Gullibility is expected.

"Grooming" is not recognized,
for what it is.  

I only hang on now
Based upon the
Magnetism
Of genes shared.

A few emails per month

He in total denial
But that's not rare.

I guess it's best
To not say anything else.

There is too much
to say.
And it happened
Forty years ago.

I have found new fathers
In my life.
That's good enough.

At my age
I am not seeking out any fathers
But did seek them out
For two decades.
That's over with.

~Arianna Elise Darshani
Hawk Flight May 2014
I guess you could say I have two children
One by blood
and one by soul

Arianna Olivia Chan
you were born
1 1/2 years ago
My blood
my family
You've got my eyes
Its kind of scary


Sophia Bridget Broderick
******* you're already 6 years old
I've watched you grow up
Your Daddy would be very proud if he were here today
I know I am
You have become just like a daughter to me

And soon you will be
I promise though
I wont ever try to take his place.

But I am afraid
that I will fail you two
You two beautiful girls

You know I love your mommy
and that I love you too

But with who
and
what
I am
I might end up ******* up

But I wont ever stop trying
to do right by you
To my Daughters
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
You did not shatter me
I never lost my center
Even as you attacked me with your fangs

And now you will find, that by escaping you,
That I have only grown stronger

Im strong enough to own a conscience
Im strong enough to contain a soul

You will never have what I have
You will never have Love
You will never have Hope
You will never have a sense of Beauty
Nor will you ever be Innocent

You are nothing but an animal
Who has to **** your own child
in order feel anything at all.

How ****** up is that?

You are why I believe in Hell.

Good bye and I thank you
for the hard Life lesson learned.

Thank you for making me stronger.

~Arianna Darshani
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
Dear Swamiji,

How I miss you
Since you've gone away
I know you are in a better place.

How can I begin to describe
How much you have meant to me

Your calm voice
Your touch

You have been my father
You have been my mentor
You have been my friend

I am a grateful recipient
Of your unconditional love

You have been my spiritual guide.

You have taught me relaxation
You have taught me meditation
You have initiated me into the Tradition
You have taught me Yoga Nidra.

Thought your 83 year old body
Was wracked by illness
You never suffered
And you always had an easy smile on your face

My last lesson, which is how to alleviate my suffering
Was never completed
And now you are not there
To teach me.
Not in corporeal form, anyway

You spoke of Will and it's a Koan
I have not found a resolution to

You have forgiven all my many flaws
You have forgiven all my mistakes
I have have been filled with plenty of both
You never rejected me
Nor did you abandon me

I came across your teaching
At age 19
And then studied with you directly
For 20 glorious years.
And for 33 years I have benefitted
From your sacred words.

Somewhere a lotus flower
Grows in the mother Ganges.
It is blooming for you
And bears silent witness
To the legacy of your life

Death has not set us apart
You will live in my heart forever
Truly, you will be the jewel in the Lotus
And i will continue the work.

I will continue to study your teachings
And I will live the way you have lived
To the best of my ability.

Dear Swamiji, I love you and I miss you

~Arianna Darshani
this poem is about the recent death of my spiritual teacher, Swami Veda Bharati. I have studied with him for 20 years. Now he's gone.
Arianna Darshani Sep 2015
If there is one thing I admire
Is the fine poetry all over this Hello site.
I so admire those who have such
Facile skills with words.

I find I can't write a single
Poetic sentiment
Leaving me with
Envy mixed with Admiration.

So I thank you all for sharing
Your wonderful gifts with me
Im truly in awe.

I have different gifts which are irrelevant
Im really good at advanced math and science

I try to bring my mind to a artistic place
And it just won't settle there.

Thank you all again.
I love your work.

~Arianna Elise Darshani
Edward Sep 2019
Hellopoetry has the greatest poets of this time.
I am so bless to know them and to share too.
On the site that has the very best of them all.
There are so many to name on here  right now.
Brandon Nagely, TheRaven,CJLove,White Wolf.
Vicki,Bijan Rabiee, Darrell Landstrom, Patty m.
Openworldview,forgotten, samanthax,Arianna, Fawn.
Dennis Willis,Evangeline Ruth Hope,Muzaffer.
Naceur Ben Mesbah, Faizel Farzee, Dan Hess.
Crazy Diamond Kristy, Katja Pullinen, Deb Jones.
M-E, Long Rager,Amulya,Pradip Chattopadhyay.
Madison,Joanna,Sally Bayan, Wendy ,Izzn,Fredrick N.
There are many more praying Blessings upon your works.
wordvango Aug 2016
but I have thoughts of Arianna grand
and Carly Rea just in my mind
Taylor swift with her legs
wrapped , well ,
I leave that to my imagination,
is it bad
an  old dude thinks like that?
I guess for the young things
with my drool on em
it might
Last month we ate turkeys from pointy beaks to wrinkly **** holes
while our wife crones were fingered like ****** Mao finger bowls
It's Kung Fu in reverse, the adoration & the adulation that paces me
across sad, fairy-land meadows where I chase fairies of race fantasy
Pry wide your gob, goofy goober, wolfin' waffles in the men's room
ain't never got 1 ****** locked up for gay pimping, we can presume

— The End —