Fences

   When I think of fences keeping something in, I tend to think of emotional fences. We've never had a fence around any of the houses we've lived in, so I don't really relate to them physically.
   All of our neighbors have had them though, to keep their pets in, except our current neighbor. I'm not really sure why he has one, but I think it's because he likes to garden. I can't see anything of his backyard except a tree with some very pretty pink flowers, a shed, and a few months ago he added some sunflowers that peeked over into our yard.

I took this one rainy day a few weeks back. It doesn't show all of the fence because my brother's roofing materials were in the way
   My response to Mary's prompt is this:
No matter what
I won't take down the fence
Around my heart.
I've made that mistake
Twice before.

To read others' response to the prompt at The Imaginary Garden with Real Toads or to join in go here.

Landai for the soul

It is not revenge or hate that drives me,
But the love I feel when the sun begins to rise

The life I now lead
Will not dictate how my soul lives

One may look at me and think I am not worth much
But they don't know that I am gold purified by fire

Every inch of me is covered except my eyes
That way I can speak with more than my mouth

I came across this through Grace's post. Kenia's challenge today at the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads is to write a bunch of landai. This is a form of poetry used by women in Afghanistan. The poems are only two lines for easy memorization, since only five out of 100 women graduate high school. This goes to show how important poetry and expression are. To read more or join in go here.