The stage is set… Tomorrow at 11am Pacific Standard Time I will be reading my poetry at Opensim Fest 2022. I’m nervous but excited!!! As you can see, I have created a dark, cozy set and in virtual worlds, we can choose the time of day, so even at 11am we will all be at midnight:)
The stage is huge, for other big acts, that will follow mine,
over the next 3 weekends. This festival is a major production and done entirely with talented, dedicated volunteers, working in teams to pull this off seamlessly.
I will be putting up pictures after my participation and the recording, for those who would like to listen, here on my blog. For those who could possibly tune in and hear it live.. just click this link to go to my radio station. It is offline now, but will be online a few minutes before 11am tomorrow.
Karima’s Stream Our Motto is: Experience The Chemistry of Community! Opensim Fest… The creative community experience!
I am pleased to announce my poem, “At The Cemetery,” is up on Spillwords today. I am very grateful to Dagmara K. Director of Development
and the entire editing team for choosing to publish my poem.
As it is short I will just ask you to read it in its entirety on their site. Please click here to read, At The Cemetery It is a real memory I saw years ago and never forgot. Enjoy and if you see fit, little hearts are always appreciated:) ❤️
I am very thrilled to announce that I will be doing a very special one hour reading on stream as one of the 95!! entertainers that will be performing over 3 three weekends!
I have been a resident in Kitely for 11 years, but this will be my first reading in Opensim….ever!
OSFest celebrates the creative talents of residents in the decentralized Hyperverse sector of the Metaverse. They welcome residents of any world, merchants, exhibit presenters, and entertainment artists. For two full weeks, including three weekends, they’ll have music, dance, art, and merchant expos in one place!
I have built a cozy stage with comfy chairs and ambiance to get settled and let me entertain you between 11 am PDT and 12 noon on July 8th (Opening Day!)
My set is keeping with my Goth look and attire. I hope all will find it more cozy than scary..plus I will be fang-less for this important event.;)
Thirza Ember, who heads up Hypergrid Safari, included me in a cool post about this upcoming get-together.
In her blog she included me as the 2nd good reason to come to Opensim Fest
in her article. Three Good Reasons
In her interview she asked me… Thirza Ember: How did you end up volunteering to perform for OpensimFest?
I answered…
Karima Hoisan : When Rosa Alekseev asked me to form part of the line-up I was proud and delighted to be part of this magnificent event, It will be my first public reading in Opensim. I have performed continually in SL for 14 years! I really look forward to entertaining the Opensim community as my way of collaborating with you all. For You Hypergridders Click here to get the address: Karima Hoisan:Stage 3 Opensim Fest
Wish me luck!!
Black Aconites and Lillies
Photo taken by James Ottobre in his garden
Black Beauties
Black beauties with your heads held high. towering over the garden wall Were you ever meant to blend in with the tangerine and green, the indigo and rose?
What was the plan for your existence? and who approved it? Something from a Goth castle’s mad tea party, croquet with swans?
I have seen you creeping about your shadow bathing the lilies in dark penumbras You never stay put and that is just not right. Your are a flower, after all, and should not be walking around. after the sun goes down, at night.
On your woody stocks you arch your ebony heads and open, flaunting your extraordinary face. I am hypnotized by your midnight color, your starless sky.
You love the lilies, wherever they are and creep up behind them like umbrellas shading them from too much sun at night, from too much moon.
Just some “Black Aconites” the gardener told me your name.. and yet, not even Google can find another picture like this one.
Please listen to my recording of the poem to the music, “Cansaco” by Nym
A cracked fountain, spewing water in the plaza I’m asking for the impossible once again and making broken promises at midnight while throwing pennies to the bottom of a well.
My tears are just painted on tonight,
by the stars filtered through my veil.. A lady unapproachable, who’s given up on Life and presses herself into the pages of the past.
But this cloudy night does not reveal the hidden the yearning for that light touch, the sweet smell of the flowers you hold in your hand.. I said I’d never conjure you again…. but I am hopeless. hopeless hopeless hopeless
And somewhere down the street our song is playing I bet you paid the angels just to see my face. Only I can see you, only I feel you pressed to my side as we parade past that cracked fountain, burbling away the night
I have given you up every end of the year every birthday and anniversary and yet..you’re still here, grasping my forearm in your death grip of love; I know you’ll never let me go, and I am hopeless as I pass by, everyone sees and everyone knows…. I am hopeless hopeless hopeless hopeless
On June 1st, I posted about an illustrious visitor that suddenly appeared in our yard, an amazing, docile beautiful solitary creature, a two-toed sloth. I was hesitant to post this sad update, but I was was moved to by the perfect poem that was written for her/him by Swadharma9 who has the blog, “This Happened” The sloth was baptized “Pablo” by Samreen’s son, who awaited pictures and movies of him every day. We suspected Pablo was a “she” but then decided on the non-binary name of La Pablo:) Moving from tree to tree they stayed in our yard almost three weeks.
I had prepared myself for loss, as they could leave just as they came, but every day our yard felt blessed to have them with us. When one gives their heart to a wild free animal, they can have it broken. Last Saturday, the unthinkable happened, Pablo fell from a tall tree 35 meters, and within, two hours they were gone. They died on my bed, my cats very concerned, and they died peacefully.
We cried.. We all cried.. and I felt a deep sense of loss and wondering why? Then the next day, I received this poem from Swadharma9 and my tears changed to understanding. Her words rang true and to share them all with you, I decided to make this post. Thank you, Joy, for finding the words, that were still lost to me.
to the one who fell to earth
languid angel in the tall green trees, who lost her grip & fell to earth, thank you for your holy presence that you gave to us whose feet are firm upon the ground.
you blessed us for a timeless while & now you make your way to higher realms that we cannot yet see, welcomed warmly back to formlessness, as you began before you blessed us for a spell.
you left your traces in our hearts, left your body, left us all but for the memory of your brief enchanting life, your sweet face saying hello, & then goodbye.
Sooo beautiful and healing. I am grateful for the short time this angel graced our lives and our land.
Hello! Very exciting news to share!! The Poetry of Strong Women is now a #1 Amazon#bestseller. I am so thrilled to be part of this amazing anthology and I recommend it for the quality and diversity found between its covers. I will let Amazon speak for me, more eloquently about why purchasing this book is a must-have if you are socially conscious, or want to raise your consciousness about women today: their struggles and their victories.
Amazon says: “Award-winning authors, Pushcart nominees, emerging poets, voices of women and men, come to the fore in this stunning, powerful, and unique anthology. These poems testify both to the challenges that women face in our society, and to their power to overcome them. A memorable collection of over 200 poems by more than 100 authors, this anthology is a must-have for anyone. We all can benefit from the poetry of survival, and of healing. We all can benefit from the experiences so beautifully evoked in this book. We can all come together to emerge triumphant from pain.”
Here is a direct link to order now:Wounds I Healed on Amazon Add it to your essential collection….Today!!
Please click Play to hear the poem recited to an instrumental version of:
Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand
The Grandfather Clock
It was the tapping of the pane, that rhythmic insistence that put me on my feet… leering & giggling, the full moon peeking out from the clouds,
making all sorts of fun of me. Tooling out my door, on the stroke of midnight, the clock face, hands straight up to the sky. I went skipping through the foggy black clouds on the sidewalk, having no idea why. The tick n tock of the grandfather clock, hiding in the corner in the shadow of the lock, made it hard to resist for this girl, going out for a midnight walk.
I was getting sucked right up in the haunted valley, of those uncommon airways. Shivers of wonder, what-am-I doing? started to fill my mind. I had just woken up and all a sudden, the world was opening… a big fat door; maybe I got caught up in Life’s persistent thrumming taking a chance, heading straight out into some unknown shore. This could be just a crazy dream, that thought did cross my mind; my steps got lighter; when the leaves of the trees were spinning… the streets below my feet were solid and drumming, then I was carried away upwind on a gentle blast incoming. `
Oh, this will be an adventure and a lesson in surrender, closing my eyes, the swirls painting ahead my way. Blowing through the corridors, in time to the grandfather clock, letting it take me along, with no resistance, just getting out of the way. Torn t-shirts and oh so polite. I met these entities out in the black inked night… Everyone had an idea about, where everyone else should be. I was just on a midnight walk, that wasn’t my idea, just my destiny… If I was being abducted by aliens…well it seemed all right to me.
Well my stage-fright is over and I think it went well. Please listen to the recording of the whole reading and let me know if you agree:)
I am adding a few pics Dale took along with changing images.. Thank you Dale
for making these readings possible!!
So if you would like. just press play, sit back and relax and enjoy!!
Reciting “Allies of The Night” – Painting by Jan Betts
The audience below staying cozy by the fire
Reciting “Leaves of Mercy”
Everyone’s favorite..The Swamp House
Maybe next time, you can join me in avatar form…in the audience:):)
I would love that!!
It is Offline at the moment , but will go online at 6pm PDT sharp!! If you have an avatar for Second Life…you can find us here at Circe’s
I look forward to reading for you!!!
Digital Rabbit Hole 