Category Archives: personal blog

Sitting in the Dark

The lights burnt out,
Darkness cast across a nation broken,
Lit only by fiery wrath and ire,
Graffiti hate betraying fear,
He watches from his Oval Office,
Admiring the power of his chaotic pen,
Speaking of peace while waging war,
Promising luxury hotels in the wreckage,
Is that the plan?
To pick up the pieces in a bankruptcy auction?
The ultimate steal deal?

Defunded, positions eliminated,
So many lives derailed,
As the safety nets are methodically unravelled,
How far will we fall before we stand and fight?
Or are we past that?
Already too jaded?
Are we getting what we deserve?
After all this is what we voted for.

My mom tells me to add my light
To the sum of the light,
A lasting message from her dearly departed;
So I feel I need to make a turn here,
To find the silver lining,
To spin this into a positive;
But what if it’s not in me?
What if, today, I’m just too tired?
What if all I can do is sit here in the dark?

Be well,

Monty

I’ll Be Ok

I fell down, hard. First tripped up by my own feet, I’d lost my balance. Then they saw their chance and pushed me. Slammed me into the ground. I hadn’t seen it coming. I’d mistaken their wingtips as gentlemen’s attire. I didn’t anticipate their fancy high heels would be used to grind me down. I was naive. I didn’t even realize we were fighting. I thought we were all on the same team. So naive.

It’s been years since the first time that I was KO’d in the corporate world. Knocked down and out. Yes, I got up. But I was walking wounded for months. Unsure of my footing. Uncertain of the path forward. My confidence shaken. I eventually found my way. Stood up a little taller. Stronger for the experience, but not exactly grateful. It was just too damn painful.

These days, I’m back in a battle I never asked for. I’m a generally smart guy, but when it comes to office politics I always feel like I’m playing checkers while the real game is chess. I just don’t have the knack for it. I’ve no interest in playing, but there doesn’t seem to be much choice in the matter. The only difference now is that I’m less naive – not that I can see the next moves, but I know that in the end game I’ll survive one way or another. I’m less driven by fear. It doesn’t mean it won’t be painful. It doesn’t mean it will be easy. But with God at my back, I’ll be ok. I’ll be ok.

Be well,

Monty

A Life Being Lived

I’ve been retracing my steps all morning. Not deep into the past, but shallow moves forward followed by equal measures backward. Stuck in a reciprocating pattern where nothing changes except the clocks progression. I’m trying to write myself out of it. It took a while to get anything to stick. To survive the backspace button. No surprise that it’s just an account of my experience. So often that is what my writing boils down to. Nothing to interpret. No plot to unwind. Just a life being lived.

I have a confession to make. Not a confession to absolve myself of guilt, but rather one to share in case it resonates for anyone reading. Loneliness has been coming up lately. Not the type of loneliness that comes from being physically alone. Rather the type that pervades even when surrounded by others. I often feel lonely in this way and it brings me great shame. I ask myself how can I feel lonely when I have a loving and caring family? Do I not appreciate them? I feel unworthy. That my depression is a betrayal of their love. It’s often when I’m in this type of headspace that I’m at my most dangerous. That I’m weak and fall into old self-fulfilling behaviors that undermine my worth. Last night I battled such feelings and compulsions and came out whole. For that I’m grateful. I’ve found that by strengthening my faith I’m more resilient against these feelings. I still have them. But I don’t have to indulge them.

Be well,

Monty

Monty’s Very Short Shorts – #Jungle

#Jungle

Lance Bumbleworth @Threads

Typhoon (#Jungle)

Typhoon winds and rains batter against our windows. The wind whistles and bangs through every crevice it can find. The chandelier detects the building’s shimmers and chimes to its off-tune rhythm. How is a mere man supposed to think in this racket, let alone write about fantastical geographies afar? Better to ask of the God’s that created the mountains and seas, the jungles and deserts, the wooded lands. For I’m at a loss for words waiting for the eye of the storm.

If you enjoy these very short stories, you can also check out one of my earliest books – MONTY’S VERY SHORT SHORTS which includes 366 illustrated pieces (one for each day in my life of 2020).

Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty

Monty’s Very Short Shorts – #Cave

#Cave

Lance Bumbleworth @Threads

Once (#Cave)

Once human in form
Digging
in
dirt
to
unearth
mysteries
Deciphering
ancient
scripts
Interpreting
cave
scratched
triptychs
Studying
remains
in
old
crypts
All
to
understand
what
they’d
Once already known.

If you enjoy these very short stories, you can also check out one of my earliest books – MONTY’S VERY SHORT SHORTS which includes 366 illustrated pieces (one for each day in my life of 2020).

Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty

Monty’s Very Short Shorts – #Desert

#Desert

Lance Bumbleworth @Threads

Dark Silence (#Desert)

With a mouthful of desert sand,
Mind cocooned in dense fibers,
Eyes glued shut from disuse,
I listen to the dark silence.

If you enjoy these very short stories, you can also check out one of my earliest books – MONTY’S VERY SHORT SHORTS which includes 366 illustrated pieces (one for each day in my life of 2020).

Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty

Monty’s Very Short Shorts – #Wing

#Wing

Lance Bumbleworth @Threads

A Gentle Breeze (#Wing)

A gentle breeze forms
Taking flight on his new wings
Chasing the wind’s tail

If you enjoy these very short stories, you can also check out one of my earliest books – MONTY’S VERY SHORT SHORTS which includes 366 illustrated pieces (one for each day in my life of 2020).

Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty

Monty’s Very Short Shorts – #Island

#Island

Lance Bumbleworth @Threads

I Stand Alone (#Island)

I stand alone,
An island in a sea of strangers,
That come and go with the tides,
Some with fleeting greetings,
Passing niceties – meaningless.
Others with distancing stares,
Silently remarking that I am other,
All temporary inhabitants
That lap up to my shores,
Then wash away – I prefer it this way.

If you enjoy these very short stories, you can also check out one of my earliest books – MONTY’S VERY SHORT SHORTS which includes 366 illustrated pieces (one for each day in my life of 2020).

Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty

Monty’s Very Short Shorts – #Woodland

#Woodland

Lance Bumbleworth @Threads

Dream (#Woodland)

I dreamt I was king,
King of the woodlands,
With a crown of braided branches,
Decorated by autumnal leaves,
Life was colorful.

I dreamt that my crown’s leaves
Fell to the ground,
The braided branches became brittle,
Perfect tinder for the fire,
Life was warm.

I dreamt that the spring fae
Crafted me a new crown,
With fresh greens to welcome the season,
Along with a chorus of birds,
Life was vibrant.

I dreamt the my crown flourished
In the summer light,
Providing cushion to rest my head,
During long afternoon naps,
Life was restful.

If you enjoy these very short stories, you can also check out one of my earliest books – MONTY’S VERY SHORT SHORTS which includes 366 illustrated pieces (one for each day in my life of 2020).

Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty

Monty’s Very Short Shorts – #Ice

#Ice

Lance Bumbleworth @Threads

Mountain Spring (#Ice)

Glistening under the late day’s sun
She trickles forth
Squeezing between giant, ice-glazed stones
Into cupped palms
From which I sip.

If you enjoy these very short stories, you can also check out one of my earliest books – MONTY’S VERY SHORT SHORTS which includes 366 illustrated pieces (one for each day in my life of 2020).

Monty’s Very Short Shorts

Be well,

Monty