love-new-artists

I hold the pill in my hand, A curse and a blessing, A biochemical prison, Chaining my soul, To cold hard reality. It promises me sleep, Deep and restful, Banishing my fears, Turning my soul song, Into a soft lullaby. I despise and crave it, It enslaves me, Yet lifts the burden, Lying heavily on me. I place it in my mouth, And swallow my bitter pill, "Durme, hermoza donzella."

The night is dark and silent But I hear a faint scratching at my door I try to ignore it, hoping it will go away But it grows louder and more persistent I get up from my bed and walk towards the door I reach for the handle, but hesitate What if there is something out there Something evil and hungry Waiting for me to open the door And let it in I decide to look through the peephole Maybe it's just a stray cat or a raccoon But what I see makes me scream in fright A pair of red eyes staring back at me A twisted grin full of sharp yellow teeth A pale face covered in blood and scars It's not human, it's not animal It's something else It sees me too, and it laughs A horrible sound that chills my bones It speaks in a raspy voice that sounds like nails on a chalkboard "Hello, my friend. I've been looking for you." It raises a clawed hand and slams it on the door The wood cracks and splinters It's trying to break in I run back to my bed and grab my phone I dial 911, but there is no

"What kind of a person are you to leave me the way you did?" That's the last thing you asked me and the last thing I bothered to hear before I turned my back to leave you exactly where I last saw you in my dreams. Behind. And although I haven't answered your question, I looked for answers, for myself. "I'm an evil person." "I'm not even a person, how do you expect me to stay?" "I'm hardly even myself, how could you expect me to be yours?" "I'm a person, perhaps, that leaves everyone else behind. Why wouldn't I leave you?" And none of these answers were true. So I turned my back to you, at last and left and you never saw me again, except in your dreams and I never saw you again, except in my nightmares. And now I know the answer, after five months, what kind of person was I to leave you the way I did. Above all, I was a fair individual, more of a person that you ever were, I was someone in front of no one, I was me in front of you, everything in front of nothing. You're still nothing,

A wild savage animal lurks inside us all Dark primordial instincts we’ve only wished were gone But they never truly leave they only lie in wait For the night of Halloween when they can enter our realm Strange, unearthly presence devouring our souls The tortured, wounded beast haunts this mortal coil Locked in all our pleasantries Caged by comfort and conformity But it can break the chains with relentless determination Stalking us and watching our every move In our minds it still resides Knowing full well It’s almost time When the beast inside is locked quietly away inevitably it will explode in rage And then there is no escape from the horror we have unleashed We need to acknowledge its presence before it destroys us all If we bring it into the light of day then maybe it will slowly fade away But on this night of terror when the moon is full and bright The beast will rise and roar and we will face its might. #NaPoWriMo

When I look in the mirror, I wonder who I am Is it me, or someone else I want to be? Do I see my true feelings and thoughts, Or do I see what others want of me? I think about how they see me My appearance, my words, my actions, my goals I think about how they evaluate me With compliments or criticism, kindness or anger Do I feel good or bad, happy or sad Depending on how they react to me? Do I adjust my behavior and mood To make them happy or to avoid them? But who are they, and why are they important? Are they friends or enemies, close or far? Do they really know me, or just the outside? Do they have the same values, or are they very different? And who am I, besides their opinions? Do I have an identity, or just a reflection? Do I have a voice, or just repetition? Do I have a choice, or am I just a follower? The mirror can't tell me who I am Because the answer is not constant, but always changing I am shaped by my past experiences, And I shape my future ones I am always

We marvel at the wonders of the natural world Not by fearing or worshipping any gods or ghosts But by observing and exploring earth and sky, sun and moon, stars and fire That inspire our hearts with awe and desire We honor the rights and dignity of other animals Not by dominating or exploiting them But by showing compassion and empathy, justice and ethics That respect their lives and interests We find guidance and direction in our lives Not by conforming or submitting to dogmas or authorities But by exercising freedom and autonomy, values and principles That enable us to make our own choices and follow our own dreams We enrich our experiences and relationships with other humans Not by isolating or alienating from them But by embracing diversity and solidarity, culture and community That celebrate our differences and similarities We are humanists, we are naturalists, we are rationalists We celebrate life, we cherish nature, we seek truth We are not separate from nature We

A small note before we start: this is an updated version of an article I wrote some four years ago, in an attempt to improve formatting, making it easier to find, and simply because it's an interesting topic I think people might find useful. The original journal is found here: Beginner's Guide to Animal Photography. From common pets to majestic wildlife, animal photos are beloved all over the internet. And, as an animal lover, they are my favorite subject to take photos of. Ever since I got my first mobile phone (with an extremely crappy camera - to the degree that it seems I have deleted all the photos!) I've taken photos of them, and now I have... well, I've kept a couple thousand, and I've lost count of how many I've taken. This means I've done a lot of trial and error, and over the years I have learned quite some dos and don'ts. This article will take you through some of those, and will hopefully help you to take better photos of the animals you come across - and go from