Tag Archive | love

Twelve Red Roses In Verse

Feb10

Book Link

From Amazon:

The world isn’t always kind, but there is love awaiting to release its boundless gifts in every corner. One of those gifts is the beautiful aromatic rose. Derek R. King reaches into a treasure trove of emotions to bring you on a journey of love—one rose at a time.

From the first poem to the last, you will learn the meaning behind each rose and bouquet of roses given to the love of your life. Then, as you travel along with the love affair of the rose and its lovers, you’ll learn what it’s like to yearn, to need, to want; and finally to become entwined with your one true soulmate.

The roses in this book symbolize the growth that people endure while seeking companionship throughout their lives. While one rose means one thing, ten roses mean another. In the end, what matters is how we show our love and the significance of the rose in the banquet of emotions as we become entwined, unconditionally, Forevermore.

My Review:

Fifty beautiful poems about love forevermore. Each poen has a Roman numeral of rose blossoms just above the title of each poetic piece. That alone makes this book a one of a kind. But the best is found within the words written about enduring love when missing one who is across the ocean and a forevermore love whether apart or in times of together. The essence of pure love and joy shines via the words in a brilliant manner that is swoon worthy. Never let Derek go, Julie! As if you could, entwined together evermore.

More Red Roses in Verse

Feb6

Book Link

From Amazon:

The love poetry collection, More Red Roses in Verse, is the perfect way to express your love on those romantic evenings with your special someone. Each word of love contained within these pages will help you convey the depth of your feelings, whether it’s under the glow of candlelight or any time of year. This companion to Twelve Red Roses In Verse is a beautiful addition to any collection of poetry and is sure to warm the heart of your loved one.

My Review:

Top reviews from the United States

Mary Schmidt5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and tender true love

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2025
  • Verified Purchase
  • This is another beautiful poetry book by Derek King. I’m not reading them in sequential order, yet that is part of why they are mesmerizing to me. Derek and Julie live an ocean apart and love each other deeply. The words are sensual and actually are the same as making sweet love to one’s true love. Not only that, but this love transcends time itself. The yearning for each other. The deep love. Everyone should come to know this level of sublime love.

Forevermore (Red Roses Book 3)

Feb3

Book Link

From Amazon:

“Forevermore,” the third volume in King’s Red Roses Series, offers poetry expressing the true and profound love shared between the two that started in volume one, “Twelve Red Roses in Verse,” and beautifully develops further in volume two, “More Red Roses In Verse.” Now, in “Forevermore,” that relationship blooms fully and, as the book’s title suggests, reveals the forever-lasting, entwined love between these lovers. This collection warms the heart, satisfies the soul, and reminds each of us that the possibility of true love is real. This book is a treasure trove of eternal love.

My Review:

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars Moved beyond measure

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2025

Verified Purchase

This particular book of poetry by King moved me beyond measure. The words speak of a true love so rare and perfect moments in time while walking, viewing the night sky, sketching nearby each other, the twinkle of stars, the curve of lips, the yearning to be together as one, not an ocean apart. King is deeply in love with Julie, and the poetry from his soul speaks deeply. That love is returned by Julie to him, but this book focuses on his feelings for Julie and what he sees in a simple raindrop or the waves lapping the shoreline. Thank you for sharing how you feel with me. You are truly a forevermore man and woman.

Yesterday

Oct12

Good evening, everyone. I hope your Friday was awesome and your weekend will be even better!

I went wrong today by leaving home with my hair down for the first time in forever. Picture below taken before we left the house. I literally did nothing with it. I even joked with Mike about how long it had been since he could remember, and he could not. Do not get me wrong; he does see it down every day but I do put it up out of convenience when leaving the house. But I digress…and best get on with this saga…

So, we headed out on a nice easy drive to Kansas City and KU Med for my 3pm appointment. Things went well. Then I received a call asking if I could be there at 2pm. No problem. See you at 2pm.

Ring…could I come in any earlier? Like how early? She said 1pm. I replied yes, no problem, we were in Topeka, Mike had was shopping.

On the turnpike, I told Mike we should just go straight there, and I bet they would take me back even sooner. We arrived at noon and yes, we were escorted back to a room in less than five minutes. That said, my back pain was, at that time, 70% less than it was before back surgery and the wires leads placed to block nerve impulses from reaching my brain – perfectly working. So far, so good. The dreaded question I had been expecting, they did ask.

How did you fall and how did you land? I suffered a hard fall on my left ribs 11 days ago or so. A fall that should not have happened, theoretically speaking. Yes, I broke ribs. I know when I break ribs. This was not my first or even second rodeo with fractured ribs. This was number six – I think.

I knew they broke, and I am doing a self-assessment head to toe. Ribs broke, no lung puncture, not at that time, and hopefully never! One scrape and numerous contusions.

I managed to get up and go to bed. Long story short, the pain in my ribs was a bit better today, thus healing, in the remodeling stage was happening. Then I was informed that a chest x-ray would have been the thing to do. I said yes, but I’d monitored for lung puncture, etcetera. They understood that.

Then I was informed that a hard fall like that could have displaced the wires up my spine. I am thinking…but they were sutured to fascia. Yes, they were, but a fall still has potential to cause displacement. Okay. How is your pain? Back or ribs? Back 70% for the WIN. Ribs not so much. I was informed that being I was at 70% pain relief in my back, my wires must still be in proper placement. What a relief. No x-ray needed. But if it changed, I had to go to the ER for a chest x-ray, to see my ribs AND to check my current wire placement. We were in and out of KU Med in under 30 minutes.

I had free food and free play coming to me, so Hollywood we did go. I walked from the garage entrance to the escalator going up to Turn 2.

Keep in mind the casino filmed it all. We stop to read a sign and before I knew it a drunk woman plowed into my oxygen and literally dragged it with her to the floor, and past her quite a ways. As I felt it being yanked from my hand, I turned to the right and down I went. Hard fall. On tile. Hard tile.

The woman said, “What happened?” in a drunken manner. Mike’s first words back to her were, “She just had back surgery.” Mike was ticker off. His words were loud but he didn’t yell. Then he looked at me and saw I was down as well. The woman never got hurt, but the liquor she had carried smashed on the tiles. The woman was drunk. That is not how it is to be in any casino. Her group of friends were worried about their friend first, then they worried more about me after hearing Mike’s words on my back surgery, and my broken ribs. By then she was sitting in a chair and I was still down. I was angry.

What security did with the woman is their business. I had to self-assess once again. If one has broken ribs, and they fall, it is even easier to puncture a lung. Fortunately, I landed on my knees/lower legs and used my left arm/hand to stop me from falling further by grabbing the railing on the escalator at the bottom. I am down, leaning at next to the up escalator, no oxygen, in pain, doing an assessment.

Mike retrieved my oxygen; I got back on. Never mind the yuk my cannula had been drug through but hopefully the liquor it also went through helped to sanitize it. Mike carefully helped me up as he was the only one to know how to do it with my ribs and every thing. He is my hero. Always and forever my hero.

That fall took more out of me than I had thought. I told security I would be fine but, I shook shake like a leaf – more like quaking aspens in Colorado, I did that perfectly. We took the elevator up to Turn 2. We enjoyed a meal of delicious de-veined shrimp with sides. Relaxing meal. But I could not walk as long a distance afterwards. So, I hopped from slot machine to slot machine, not exactly hopping due to my pain, Mike helping me until I saw a machine I would play. Mike was my hero again.

Security had looked at their video, and then they found me…my card in a machine, etcetera. I asked how the other woman was, and he said she was detained by security and nothing more. He had to fill out a report on what happened for me to sign. The KCK fire department and EMS arrived, to check me out. My blood pressure was up. Saturations okay. Never hit my head. Declined ride to KU Med ER. I would have had a good eight hour or more wait to be seen and EMS agreed.

So, lesson learned. DON’T WEAR YOUR HAIR DOWN.

BIGGEST LESSON? Jesus was with us the entire time. So many things could have happened but did not. Jesus was with us every step of the way. He still is. He always will be. Please – no nasty comments if you do not believe in Christ. Thank you.

Grief, Loss, Love, and Anger

May27

It should go without saying that with great love comes great loss. As fiercely one can love another, then loss happens, that is how acute this loss will be. I made this post public in the hope that it will be shared and thus, help others. I’m writing this post with sincere honesty. If my words help to validate another person’s loss, then my pain in writing this verbiage was worth it.

If a person loses a child, a parent, a sibling, and so on, the level of your love will equal the pain of your loss. The King of Loss is Child Loss.

I’ve lost many loved ones, many felt more acutely and for longer than others. I’ve lost many, but my first horrible and acute loss was the death of my baby brother after heart surgery to repair the heart issues that came with Down Syndrome. An innocent one, not quite age three years. A baby I changed diapers, gave small bits of nutrition and heart medicine (digitalis), and that meant careful measuring of dose, or he could die, and I was the one honored with baking his last earthly birthday cake. It took a lot of time to deal with this loss.

Sadly, I gave birth to my oldest son, knowing he was already gone to heaven, as he’d strangled on his umbilical cord inside me, yet still had to deliver him. It did not go well at all. At that point in time, Shane dying ripped me apart. It was too much. Dealing mechanisms failed. I chose a 30 day stay in a psych unit coming to grips with his death. I still feel his loss to this day, but not acutely, not all consuming. With the great love I had for him, the loss was too much. I wasn’t weak. My little brother had died one year prior, my stepdad only a few months earlier.

The following year, I gave birth to my rainbow baby, Gene, and I was scared as he was born blue, after 30 plus hours of intense labor. It came down to one last push from me and the doctor using suction cups to bring him into the world. I thank the Lord every day for this blessing. That was December 1983. Something bright and good came into my world.

Come April 1985, my third son was born. I was in bliss. We were a family of four. I won’t delve into the relationship I had at the time with my boy’s father. Sammy was a happy and well-fed baby, just like his brother, Gene. He started getting sick a lot in September 1989. Multiple sinus infections, ear infections, and he even picked up mononucleosis! His mono spot was positive, and the doctors were amazed. Source: Most likely grocery shopping cart. Reason: Lowered immune system due to treating his multiple infections.

He remained sick and had head x-rays and CT scans, sadly misread by a radiologist in Salina. His pediatrician never looked at the scans. The Ellsworth doctors never looked at the scans. During this time, Sam had a “bad head hurt” that he didn’t tell me about until after diagnosis.

Mono comes from the Epstein Barr Virus. If a person gets this virus, they can get nasopharyngeal cancer. That was the cause of my little boy developing his nasopharyngeal cancer. When finally diagnosed, it had already spread to his brain and both lungs. He endured a living h*** for eight months at KU MED, after diagnosis.

His manner of death was traumatizing and with horrendous pain at only age five years. My loss was so palpable, I was not a pleasant person. He died in October 1990.

I was extremely angry at God. Why did my son suffer? I still attended church; I was picky on how things would be for my middle son when he was young. I was ANGRY at God. With GREAT love comes GREAT loss. Acute loss that is still felt at times, and right now as I write this piece. Many years, I’d go up to confession and discuss my anger at God. Bishop Fitzsimmons helped me the most. I no longer have anger at God, and I haven’t had anger at Him for a very long time. Not since 1993.

Why did I write all the above? There are people in the Ellsworth community and county, and around the world who are going through huge losses. It’s an unquantifiable loss for each person. It’s normal to go back and forth after a huge loss. Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross became my friend, and she helped me the most with phone calls and emails after Sammy died. Our connection was special.

People are hurting with grief. Sometimes, when we are hurt, our hurt and anger gets misplaced upon another person. I see that clearly happening here, thus, it happens around the world. My post is to help those who are hurt. Your pain is validated. Only you know your pain. Your pain is real. Anyone can talk with me. I validate what you feel. I get it. Email me, text me, drop a note in messenger, etcetera. I will help you anyway I can.

I’m NOT a doctor and doctors are the people to see if your situational depression doesn’t get better. I’m a sounding board and I will cry with you. I pray my message is clear.

Lord,

Lift the hearts of the brokenhearted in Your Glorious Name.

Amen.

The Poetry Mouse

Jan16

Book Link

From Amazon:

Evie believes there is more to life than taking care of her house and baking for her friends. She’s not like the other mice. She has a different path; her purpose is to write poetry.

Being a mouse, she longs for the simplicity of nature. So, every day she sneaks past the woods and into the meadow where she writes her inspired words. She might even find encouragement from a friend to submit her poems.

This is Evie’s story of finding her authentic self, becoming brave enough to do what she loves, and ultimately sharing her gift with the world as The Poetry Mouse.

My Review:

This was a lovely story to read. Evie, a mouse, works at her sewing and such to make a living in her pink house at the end of a lane. She yearns to write poetry and escapes for walks in the countryside. Her pen never stops, and everything she sees, she writes a poem. Mr Fox helps Evie to understand that she is a very good poet, giving Evie the boost she needed to take her poetry down to the post to send to a publisher. This book inspires.

Memories from another Lifetime LOVE

Jan5

Book Link

From Amazon:

Can poetry be memories from a previous life?

Love is the second book in the series Memories from another Lifetime.

Memories from another Lifetime is a collection of very personal and hauntingly beautiful poems about love, desire, heartbreak, betrayal, hurt and denial. They go to the core of raw and visceral emotions, perhaps from another lifetime. A powerful and moving experience.

My Review:

I’ve read quite a bit of poetry lately, but this book is the cream of poetry due to the young age of the writer, age 13, and the verbiage of the written words found within. At 13, writing love poetry with the brain and experience of one who is older compelled me to think how this could be so. I think it was easier to lay bare emotions and feelings due to early teenage hormones but also reading her own mother’s poetry over the years. Poetry begets poetry. Like mother, like daughter. The poetry within is very deep, sensual, and full of all kinds of emotions

Love on a Winter’s Night

Dec15

Book Link

From Amazon:

Step into a world where winter’s gentle touch paints landscapes in shades of ivory and silver, where the hush of snowflakes conceals whispered secrets blowing through the trees. “Love on a Winter’s Night” is a spellbinding journey that invites you to nestle deep within the warmth of frosty evenings. In this exquisite collection of winter-themed love poetry, you’ll discover the magic of true love, woven into each verse like a tapestry of emotions.

As you turn the pages, you’ll be transported to a realm where every stanza is a hearth, crackling with the fires of passion, just like sipping cocoa by the fireside. The verses will kindle the flames of your soul, offering solace amidst the enchanting snowy world that surrounds us.

Jill Yoder, an accomplished editor, remarked, “As I read this book, I could envision nearly every scene. I could feel every bit of excitement, yearning, and love throughout each page.”

“Love on a Winter’s Night” is not just a book of poetry; it’s a testament to the enduring power of love amidst the chill of winter. Let its pages envelop you in its magical embrace, where love shines as brightly as a star on a frosty night.

My Review:

Winter’s love is what I felt as I read this book. No matter how cold, rainy, or snowy the weather, true love warms the heart and spirit of two in love. Cuddles, sharing food, an Eskimo kiss, spooning, or laughing in the rain, true love warms the heart, body, and soul. Perfect poetry on love.

Blossoms of Hope

Dec6

Book Link

From Amazon:

A poetry collection of harmony and hope.

A poetry collection through a woman’s eyes, subtle reminders of your strength and of your importance in this world. We are all connected to this earth~as the world turns, time churns, the sun rises, rivers swell, tears well, the wind blows, happiness flows and the sun sets on the horizon. There is hope for me, for you and for us.

My Review:

Wow. What a powerful book Jami Kellett has written. She has bared her soul with the world. Freely given with no expectations whatsoever. Darkness happens, but light can be found. From the scent of a flower, the glow of moonlight, or the warmth of the sun, peacefulness is found in nature and in other humans created by God above. Everyone should have a copy of this book. The evocative words reach in deeply to one’s soul.