Tag: poem

February in San Francisco: Books, Poems and Creations

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

The rain continued through February, but today there is a bright blue sky, and the Chinese New Year parade will crawl through downtown.

I’ve been missing, busy working on The Happy Poet Studio releasing creepy crawly inspired products.

Reading here and there, I’ve already finished five books this year. Do What They Say or Else was an intriguing stream of consciousness of a young woman. Indelicacy pulled me into a poor fabulous world of obsession and evolving relationships. Poor Things took me for a ride I wasn’t expecting with the last chapter a full 180 degree turn.

Listening to music as usual, I’m trying to expand my tastes and try something new, but the Spotify algorthims are keeping me in place.

Writing? Well, a poem here and there, and daily writing exercises when I can. I’m scribbling a few hundred words at the end of the day, but now mostly completing my writing on the weekends. I’m looking for journals to submit a few mismatched lonesome poems – recommendations welcome.

What are you reading/writing/listening to? I want to know.

Wishing for sunny days, this is The Happy Poet signing off.
–Alina

Greetings From the Happy Poet

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Hello,

It’s been a while. I haven’t posted anything since June with my Creature in the Forest series but I’ve read a few books, more recently Circe which I kind of enjoyed kind of didn’t toward the end (story = meh, but the writing is good).

On the weekends, I’ve been writing less and playing Hogwarts Legacy – this is the reason behind my lack of presence via blog and social media. It’s enjoyable to get lost in another world on my days off, relax, and stop obsessing over writing. I’ve had time to breath and in the process start gearing up for this year’s NaNoWriMo.

Even though I haven’t had the itch to write these past few months – I’ve been working on three poems (really one long one that keeps morphing into two then back into one again and a faceless third). I even dared to edit a couple of chapters of my NaNoWriMo project from 2022 (it’s half of a book about, surprise, witches).

Everyday I’m thinking about my novel and as for the future – trying to decide which journals/publications I want to submit some of my work to.

Besides Hogwarts Legacy (which I won’t even talk about right now – there’s too much to say), I’ve been going to a movie or two a week just to get out. The Little Mermaid was captivating in a weird nostalgic way while Oppenheimer was meh. I loved Barbie, enjoyed the latest Spiderverse and want to see TMNT.

Between it all when I’m commuting I’ve been listening to anything I can think of from Doja Cat to Muddy Waters, 80’s New Wave, and Frank Sinatra. All over the place really, I’m in an exploratory mood and looking to shake up my routine.

What’s next? I’m not going to promise anything besides you’ll be hearing more from me closer to October/November. Until then, here’s a poem for the day, my August 2023 spotify playlist, and what I’m currently reading.

Signing off,

Alina

Creature in the Forest (Part 6)

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

I’m hungry.

The men have been scouring the woods for five days. I’ve stayed hidden, climbing up into the trees when needed. They stink and their clothes and boots are loud when they move.

I watch them, trying not to breath, they are ruining my forest. They have scared all the other animals away while they look for that man wedged in the rocks.

I think about leading them to him, I think about eating them, but both ideas make my stomach turn.

I want them to leave so I don’t have to flee to the north where it is so cold and there isn’t as much food. I don’t want to have to sleep for years again when the weather is bad.

I will wait.

Creature in the Forest (Part 5)

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

-8 Months Later-

I’m drinking from the belly of a doe I just tore up. I like chewing on the fleshy parts just underneath the fur, it is elastic and keeps me preoccupied. The aroma of blood, the dissipating essence of death has already left her.

In the distance, I hear a growl. Not from an animal but something else. Something I had forgotten. There is a grinding and a roar, it’s getting closer.

I rip some meat off the doe’s thigh and run toward my shelter about a mile away.

It’s trucks.

A whopping sound above belonging to a bulbous metal thing, the blades spin in a circle, keeping it afloat. Helicopter, that’s right. They had those in the city.

The men used them to hunt for other men.

They must be looking for the body I left in the boulders. I had forgotten all about it.