(The pantoum is a poem of any length, composed of four-line stanzas in which 

the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as 

the first and third lines of the next stanza. 

The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first.)

 ACCESSORY

by

Carol Mossa

Color and motion are on parade 

as she sashays down a cracked city sidewalk.

The teal backpack is careless in both content and style,

but it’s paper stuck to a boot bottom that steals the show.

As she sashays down a cracked city sidewalk

her sweater swings to the beat of her steps,

but it’s paper stuck to a boot bottom that steals the show, 

and that tells you all you need to know.

Her sweater swings to the beat of her steps,

but there’s a stowaway on her sole,

and that tells you all you need to know, 

as she hoists a bursting teal backpack.

But there’s a stowaway on her sole. 

On a free ride down cracked city streets, 

As she hoists a bursting teal backpack. 

Color and motion are on parade. 

POLL

 

Friends:

The Footloose Muse has turned four! In order to keep content fresh and members engaged, I would LOVE feedback on the features you'd LOVE more of. 

Feel free to respond to these questions in the chat below, or private message me if that approach works better for you. 

1.  Do the daily quotes resonate with you? Are they readable? How are you making use of them?

2.  Which of the daily themes are you most engaged in? (Mindful Monday. Tuesday Tools. Wednesday Whispers. Thankful Thursday. Fun Friday. Showcase Saturday. Soulful Sunday) Are there other themes you'd prefer? 

3.  Do you intend to participate in the Mindful Monday LIVE group meditations? 

4.  Do you intend to participate in the monthly muse book club? 

5.  Do you intend to participate in weekly writing prompts? 

6.  Would you be interested in any of the following educational workshops? (How to Live a Debt-Free Life. The Chakra System for Beginners. Single-by-Choice: Living Your Best Life Solo.) Which additional topics would you like added?

7. Once it's safe to travel, would you be interested in private multiple-day artists' retreats at Sweet Caroline's Vintage Cottage in Charlestown, Rhode Island? 

8.  Do you envision yourself engaging the 1.1 services of a creative midwife or creativity coach to help you birth your creative vision/dream in the future? 

9.  What other features would you LOVE to see added.

10. How has your participation in The Footloose Muse group changed your outlook and output creatively? 

Let your voice be heard!  

Thanks,

Carol

Creative Midwife

The Footloose Muse

BLACKBIRD

(The nonet is an awesome 9-line poem whose syllables trickle down in descending order until they are done. The first line has nine syllables and the last line has one.)

BLACKBIRD

by Carol Mossa

A fierce and crafty old bird known to 

haunt humans in dark dreams and death,

perches atop stone watchful 

and ready to pounce on 

prey without a prayer.

The circle of

life and death

here and

now.

 

 SINGLE-BY-CHOICE

It's the middle of Valentine's weekend, and I am enjoying a blustery three days on Block Island, off the coast of my Rhode Island home. Friends who know me well, didn't question my decision to book an Airbnb room, secure a car reservation on the ferry, and venture off on my own. Two acquaintances, however, rather passive-aggressively insinuated that I might be taking off on a secret rendezvous with someone special. Once I got over my initial annoyance at their supposition, I realized I had in fact taken off with someone special, and that special someone is me. 

I've been divorced for over a decade. Early on, I dated and in fact, had two committed relationships with men that latest nine and fifteen months respectively. Since 2016, I have not dated, nor actively sought out a partner. When I got sober in 2008, my sponsor suggested I stay out of relationships for a year, that I needed to get to know myself first. How I resisted her advice! I'd been married and divorced three times by the time I sought this wise women's counsel and sponsorship. It took years for her wisdom to sink in, and eventually, I came to appreciate and embrace her wise words. For the last five years, I have been blissfully single-by-choice and have no interest or desire to change my relationship status. None. 

I have healthy relationships with my three adult children and grandchildren. I have a successful small business and do meaningful and diverse work that I love. I am enterprising, creative and in love with life. I have a gypsy soul, hippie heart and gangster spirit.

Blessedly, I've been able to guide a few other women who, like me back then, couldn't begin to imagine life without a partner. If you're reading this and you're single and desperately want a partner, and/or you feel like you won't be complete until you find your soulmate, you're right. You need to be complete first. You must level up. You must develop the qualities you wish for in a partner. If not, you will attract the very things that you lack. I wish I had a dollar for every woman who has told me, "I'm lonely. I want someone to be with." Let me ask you this? Would you want to be with a partner whose sole purpose for seeking you out is because he's lonely? Oh, God forbid. Become the best version of yourself before you cast your net.

Then maybe, just maybe, you'll level up so high, you'll realize, you've had that special someone beside you all along---you!