Tag: My Ideal Partner

What is Love? #FridayFunReads #Poetry

Today, my late husband Bill and I would have been married sixteen years. In his loving memory, I’d like to share a poem we wrote together. This appears in my memoir, My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds.

When he proposed to me, I was confused. I’d never been loved by a man before. So, I asked, in a poem, what it was like to be loved by a man who wasn’t your father or brother. Although Bill didn’t like poetry or claim to be a poet, he did his best to answer my question. You can click the poem’s title to hear me read it.

Rest in peace, my hunky poo. I’ll always love you.

WHAT IS LOVE?

by Abbie Johnson Taylor

Being warmed from within by another,
having someone with whom to share dreams,
a soothing voice that comforts you,
gentle hands that smooth life’s hardships,
strong arms that hold you close,
lips that bring you pleasure.
Love is a heart that’s yours forever.

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New! The Red Dress

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Propelling Myself Through Summer Heat #OpenBookBlogHop

Welcome to another edition of Open Book Blog Hop. This week’s question is: “What do you wish you had an unlimited supply of?”

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Of all the things I could wish for an unlimited supply, I would love Propel, a flavored bottled water that has no calories, no sugar, no nothing. My late husband Bill often had trouble urinating and moving his bowels because he wouldn’t drink enough water, being more partial to Mountain Dew and Pepsi.

It got so bad one night that I had to take him to the emergency room, where they performed two enemas and another procedure. After that, when one of our home health care aides told us about Propel, we were willing to try anything once.

Propel comes in several flavors such as grape, berry, and strawberry lemonade. One sip of the grape flavor, and Bill and I were hooked. You can read more about this in My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds.

Now, almost nine years after Bill’s passing, I still drink Propel. I buy it by the case, and because it tastes better than tap water, I’m likely to drink more of it. During these hot summer months, it’s more important than ever to stay hydrated, even when you’re indoors. So, if tap water isn’t your thing, try Propel. Believe me, it’s worth the extra money.

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How about you? Is there something of which you wish you had an unlimited supply? You can tell me about it in the comment field below or participate in this week’s blog hop and read what others have to say at this link.

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New! The Red Dress

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Last Day of Smashwords July 2021 Summer/Winter Sale #Events

This is the last day that My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress are available from Smashwords ABSOLUTELY FREE as part of its annual summer/winter sale. So, now is your last chance to take advantage of this opportunity to download these books for free. Thanks to those who have already done so. If you haven’t, you can still visit my Smashwords author page.

By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.

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New! The Red Dress

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The Rise and Fall of My Zorro

The Rise and Fall of My Zorro #Poetry #TuesdayTidbit

As promised, here is my step-by-step process of how I wrote a particular poem, modeled after a similar post by fellow author and blogger Lynda McKinney Lambert. You can read her post here.

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Step One: Select a song lyric that you like or even one that you don’t like. Use one or two lines from that song as the theme for your new poem.

I used “I want to spend my lifetime loving you” from the song by that name, which was used in The Mask of Zorro. This was one of my late husband Bill’s favorite movies, and after he proposed to me, “I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You” became one of our songs. You can read more about that in My Ideal Partner, which is available from Smashwords this month for free. Please see below for details.

Step 2: Select one or two lines from the song as a place to begin your poem.

I used these two sentences. “Take my hand. Dance with me.” They don’t begin the poem because I wanted to describe Zorro before he speaks. After his strokes, Bill couldn’t walk, let alone dance. So, there’s the irony.

Step 3: Choose the format you will use for the poem.

As with most of my poems, I chose free verse because I didn’t want to work with limits imposed by many traditional forms of poetry. This poem appears in My Ideal Partner. Below it, you’ll find a link to where you can hear me read it plus a video of the song that inspired it.

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THE RISE AND FALL OF MY ZORRO

by Abbie Johnson Taylor

With cape, hat, mask, rapier,
he rode out of the darkness.
“Take my hand. Dance with me,” he said,
“I want to spend my lifetime loving you,”
but happily–ever–after was not to be.
My hero fell and rose many times.
I felt the glory
until he fell for the last time.
Where there’s love, life begins again.
When life dies, love goes on.

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If you’re a poet, and there’s a song you like or dislike, why not write a poem, using the three simple steps outlined above. If you have a blog, I suggest you post that poem there, along with your explanation of how you followed the steps, a video of the song, and a link to Lynda’s post. Otherwise, you can leave that information in the comment field here or on Lynda’s blog. In any case, I hope to read your responses.

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And now, I’m pleased to announce that throughout the month of July, My Ideal Partner and The Red Dress are available from Smashwords ABSOLUTELY FREE as part of its annual summer/winter sale. You can visit my Smashwords author page to download these books. Happy reading!

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New! The Red Dress

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