Talent Show Bellydance

I finally got my steampunk ear cuff this past Friday. I absolutely love it! It's tiny though... I'll have to be careful not to lose it!

Oh, and in addition, I won 2nd place at the talent show that I did my bellydance in. They had a very diverse group in the adult division. I was happy to receive what I did. =)
Everyone loved my dance... or so they said

I even got 1st place on both of the poems I entered at my county fair. They were the ones entitled "Where It Began" and "Wispy Memory". I entered the first as a poem, the other as prose. I was extremely happy at the results the judges gave me.

Here's a video of my performance from Thursday night (July 22nd, 2010).

Ear Cuffs and Cookie Jars

I just purchased a beautiful piece of jewelry from COGnitivecreations at Etsy and thought I'd share it with you. It's a steampunk themed ear cuff, complete with tiny watch parts and metal stars. I love it! I should receive it in about a week or so if all goes well.





Also, I bought a cookie jar on Ebay today. It's identical to the one that my Grandmother Zola Wooden used to have. It was handed down to her from my great-grandmother. It was very special to me.
However, not knowing that I loved the cookie jar so much, grandma gave it away to one of my other relatives a couple years ago. It was only recently that I found this one on-line for a little over $40.00 and decided to buy it. I'm glad I did, too. I'm going to re-paint it and show it to my grandmother. I think she'll be proud.
The cookie jar tells the story of Hansel and Gretel. When it used to be in grandma's house, I'd always go over and tell my younger cousins scary stories which included the original Hansel and Gretel fable, using the cookie jar as a visual for them. I never ceased to amaze them with my dark tales. They would want to hear my stories every time we were near the cookie jar! 

Smiling Faces

Short poem I wrote today. This one isn't really all that different when compared to my older ones. It's about loneliness and the strange, terrible feeling you get when faced with a world full of people that expect entirely too much of you. We live in a place where you either have to "Face it or Fake it" to make it through the day.

~~~

"Smiling Faces"

As the wind blows and the shadows dance,
There, in the corner, sits a girl who knows not the meaning of "romance".

She's never heard the word "love" and been able to truly understand,
Her soul is incapable of trusting someone who offers her their hand.

The night smothers her in loneliness and her tiny body aches,
Her dreams are filled with horror, dreams of death and of earthquakes.

Walking blindly into danger, she's done it way too many times before,
Always having regrets and failing to see life as anything other than a "chore".

Surrounded by fake people, shining brightly with smiling faces,
She can't help but wonder if they, in their lives, are dealing with similar cases.

Everything in her life that was once magical and real,
Has no value and has been thrown away, yet her secrets she plans to forever conceal.

Flashbacks and daydreams are an unhealthy combination for a person such as this,
This person with a memory of words and of actions, this person who is so frequently dismissed.

She doesn't beg or ask for your pity, she doesn't want those things at all,
She only asks that have mercy and that you respect her, crying out to you, she calls.

Refuge she takes in the strangest of places,
Just as long as she can get away from all of those people and their smiling faces...

Copyright Casandra Camp 2010

Normality

I decided to write a poem about how things were during my childhood, somewhat. This is what I ended up with. Hope you like it.

~~~

"Normality"

Far from popular, in my younger days, I remember always being alone.
Existing as nothing but a “freak” to most, not much kindness was ever shown.

Never quite knowing what else to do, I'd speak to my only friends...
Which, of course, were invisible to you.

Rescuing bugs from the hands of mean little boys was my duty.
In all things labeled "disgusting", I somehow seemed to find beauty.

I haven't changed much since then at all.
I don’t let the lies of others make me feel small.

I'm always going to remind my children, when they arrive, of how special they truly are.
Whenever they feel lonely at night, I hope they look up to the brightest star.

Unique and simply "you", please never fear to be.
When you have imagination, you're never really stuck in reality.

Now that I'm grown and have taken time to look back at my past,
I'm very glad that I let my true personality last.

The children that used to make fun of me are no longer doing so at this time.
It has taken them years to see that being different isn't a crime.

Being a "freak" has more good things about it than bad.
Don't allow people to ruin your life or make you sad.

Happy in being myself I choose to forever be,
Nothing can hold you back if you protect yourself from the sickness of "normality".

Copyright Casandra Camp 2010