
“Camoflage”



“Star Trek” Klingon ship reference.
She hadn’t had a mate to curl up next to and share the burden of leadership with for far too many, too long seasons.
She stared in awe at the huge clouds roiling, emanating energy like a godlike presence watching them as it rapidly encroached and shifted between shapes of majestic, mythical creatures – and the crew quickly lowered the sails and battened the hatches.
“I can’t tell of my hands are getting smaller, or if I am getting more muscular.”
“It has never been safe for me to need a man – for men of this age have been cracked or broken, and they no longer understand.”
Even when they had abused her and used her body, she had known to cause them no harm.
An unwilling sacrifice while they blasphemed in the names of gods, she should never have been forced to do men’s bidding.
(Flashback)
“I don’t know if I can accomplish what I must accomplish in one month.”
By Athena Stairs, November 25, 2025
Sidlin’ up textin’
In the middle of night
Askin’ politely
Evrythin’ been alright?
Promisin’ to give in to
Your dreamin’ delight
But leavin’ you achin’
Once he’s gone outta sight
Your heart wedged open
So it cannot close
Libido in a hissy
‘Cause he left it morose
Jealousy and envy
Punchin’ into your gut
He’s out chasin’ others
Gluttin’ in his rut
Don’t expect follow up
Of his bein’ there
Faulty promise given
So to buyer beware!
You’ll be strung up edged out
Beggin’ for scraps
If you call him on his bullsh**
Then you’re under attack
Baby I had told you
That I had some excuse
Don’t you cry to me now
For my cuttin’ you lose
‘Cause a fair handshake
Ain’t gonna win me this fight
Nah I’d much rather keep you
Waitin’ up evry night
And dump you in a second
So you witness my might
‘Cause if I do not love you
Why the heck should I try?
Get your life together
Find a better guy
Yeah
Get your life together
Find a better guy
—–
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“I keep dodging uppercuts – but it sucks when they’re swingin’!”
“The mask struggles to not come off as my mind works it loose – and the pathway from brain to mouth natural instinct instant response is still compromised.”
“Actually, none of this is pretty, nor funny, and just keeps tripping the cortisol.”
“A bill that had been granted a three week extension defaulted two weeks early, reactivating autowithdrawal without my permission, reoverdrafting my account – and now its and following overdraft charges for other normal small bills no longer covered by my before meager balance (sucked away by this bill) accumulate.
Weeeeee!”

Photo by my youngest.

“Nobody startles or jumps when I suddenly cry out in pain from an injured mistep.”
“Do you know?
How we can keep it going?”
“‘Seniors aged fifty-blah-blah-blah and higher…’ goes the commercial, showing ladies barely lifting their arms while doing slow dance moves in their gray-haired, osteoporosis late-staged retirement…
But, ‘I’m not dead, yet!'”
(Last quote is Monty Python)
Elderbrook has such a classy groove style. Isn’t that a dancing monkey toy rhythm interwoven into this piece? Pure creative subtle genius.
“It shouldn’t be this difficult to get the banks working smoothly.”
“Sometimes, it’s just too much to try to overcome.”
“When I saw you at last in person, I took a risk to share with you.
I wanted you to experience my energy – how it can be at its brightest.
Of anyone I’ve ever known you’re the one who could match and reflect it.
And I wanted you to feel my passion supporting you.”
“I am beginning to try adding a few more select machines to my workout routines with the focus of reactivating muscle attachment strength to regain secured joint pliability.
But the response is serious if I ‘get it wrong.’
For example, when in the past I tried quads and hams, the quad portion activated muscles pulling too hard on anterior hip joint tearing = no more quad machine.
Recently, I tried modifying the leg press, including calves, by focusing on smooth alignment stability transference through slow movement up and down.
But this resulted in too much pressure across my knees the next day, which I attempted to counter by adding hams to stabilize the pressure load all around the knees more evenly.
Now I know that if I use the leg press, I need to decrease how low I go and be sure to finish with hams to balance.
Similarly, I tried the free-floating arms pec machine to get at posterior upper rotator cuff weakness from that ttorn muscle deactivation, thinking a little pec activation following would balance.
But while targeting the pec zones to support was a good plan, the followup balancing activation needed for me is actually the bar pressing machine having shoulders pushing upward.”
“I remember the established golf club members in their ritzy, traditional housing turning up their noses at the prospect of nearby cheaper housing construction projects bringing pressure to “sell out” to “lesser” candidates.
But, eventually, it just came down to increased numbers winning by majority.”
“I can’t help but find it wryly laughable that I must meet the mark by end of May, when my body is still experiencing reinjury destabilization in striving to.
I’m only able to inconsistently meet a minimal portion of trying to reclaim once greater target cabilities.”
“The difficulty is that where things are stuck, they keep holding for a reason…and I am not sure yet what is safe to remobilize.”
“A thigh’s fear tries to tell me with courage that while it is the inner anterior joint surface that gave way, something along the lateral IT band took the hard hit, as well, which may still be affecting the torsion.”
“I remember long ago, falling in love with your heart’s beat – although I did not know it was you because visuals included other artistry.
And when you began to emerge, more and more in different purviews, I saw and felt your anguish, yet something was strongly stirring.
I barely dared to hope that you’d be free to someday join me.”
NO to the bomb being
Taught to our children
YES to caring for nature’s
Integrating nourishment
Pilot whales bobbing
Shift into new friends
Embracing us in welcoming
Humanity’s sea of awakening
—
(This morning’s dream)
“Leave her tail alone!”
“Squirt-squirt!” goes the water-stream spray gun at our young tiger as he loves to pounce upon and chew our “poor baby girl,” barely tolerant hound’s tail as she whines at me – glancimg back at him – and tries desperately to not break sitting form while I am prepping to feed the two dogs.
(Title references “Knick Knack Paddy Whack” nursery rhyme)
βBe the change that you wish to see in the world.β
–Β Mahatma Gandhi.

This looks better surrounded by a black background.
By Athena Stairs, April 23, 2025
I made a promise a long time ago
When I was too young on the road
That one day I would sing out loud
Create music that makes me proud
But oh the journey has been tiring
To get back to my heart’s aspiring
When and where I grew up nobody knew
What mattered most was what love grew
I’m tellin’ you all the heartbreaks
That I witnessed and experienced
If I’d had my voice out in the world
It would’ve started over brand new
—
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Closeness
Commitment
Or Accountability
His words are sweet pursuasion
But actions pure manipulation
Promising to get the door to open
Leaving addiction’s vacant hoping
And when the bill comes due
He’ll put all the blame on you