Skin Crawl by Scott Thomas Outlar

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“Skin Crawl” is an excerpt from my book, Happy Hour Hallelujah. Which celebrates its two-year anniversary of being released through CTU Publishing this month…

Creative Talents Unleashed

I feel it to be a noble deed

to refrain from killing spiders that enter the house,

and to instead capture and release them back into the wild.

My reasoning behind such action

is not to pat myself on the back

and feign a false sense of honor,

it is simply because it would hurt my conscience

to take an innocent life without just cause.

Yet, such a Jainist attitude

can sometimes get one in trouble

when the spider crawling upon one’s shirt

is carefully maneuvered onto the bed to be caught

but then quickly gets lost in the design of the sheets,

never to be found again…

because then there is a damned creepy-crawly on the loose

and it gives one the damned heebie-jeebies.

© Scott Thomas Outlar

Happy Hour Hallelujah front cover draft

Excerpt from the book “Happy Hour Hallelujah”

$13.95 Plus Shipping ~ Available at CTU Publishing Group and Amazon.com

Seated (Visions of Verse) About the Author

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Wonders of the 181

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My poem “Wonders of the 181” was published recently at Academy of the Heart and Mind…

Academy of the Heart And Mind

By Scott Thomas Outlar

Come to me in dreams tonight

so we can speak even while we sleep

as crickets serenade our spirits

Hour upon hour of hearing your voice

is still not enough to satiate

the need that you’ve created

to keep goosebumps tingling

along my spine and skin

dive in

dig deep

of the buzz

of the bliss

of the burn

of the fire

of the rise

of the sun

One hundred and eighty-one rays of light

shine from the seat of your soul

with a resonance that magnetizes my lips

to place a kiss on your forehead

on your hair

on my neck

on your navel

on my heart

Arrows aimed with the intention

of casting webs to capture

all the sweetest signs of synchronicity

that pulse when our thoughts

and emotions are entangled

Moments enriched

with silver and gold

linings and crowns

with lavender and rose

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Just Like That

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Big thank you to The 13 Alphabet Magazine for publishing my poem “Just Like That” recently…

The 13 Alphabet - MAGAZINE

When you trip (see also: fall flat on face)
it can take some time
to stand up, dust off, and once again see clearly.

Life is dirty like that.

I have flashed enough fake smiles
during the past month
to truly earn the one I’m wearing now.

Life is a joke like that.

I’m not looking for a fifth ace
to hide up my sleeve;
I’d rather carry just one and call it a cool hand.

Life is a gamble like that.

There is a song in every silent surrender
when the album stops spinning,
and there is a scream always shining from distant stars.

Life is a roar like that.

© Scott Thomas Outlar

About the poet: Scott Thomas Outlar hosts the site 17Numa.com where links to his Poison in Paradise 4published poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, live events, and books can be found. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize…

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717

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This moment in time isn’t perfect. I’ve done my best through the years to make peace with the fact that such an ideal state can never actually be fully achieved. I am thankful to have learned that lesson repeatedly by this point in life, and that’s why I’m usually able to keep smiling (even halfway) regardless of circumstances. Because it means we must always keep seeking toward the next stage of growth in order to become a better person. Take the leap. Embrace the journey. Kiss your karma. All the best, my friends.

 

Black and White 2

Summer Solstice

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On the occasion of a turning season and a rising sun.

This summer will bring you days of peace and moments of pain. This summer will bring you hours of joy and instances of sadness. This summer will shift your soul toward the light, but there will always remain shadow aspects that must be integrated so as to realize the completeness of your psyche.

This life is tragic and comedic and broken and brutal. But this life is also oh so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Everything continues to be exactly the same, and everything is constantly changing. Each new breath is a miracle set it motion. Every sigh births another opportunity for salvation.

This summer will either make you or break you (and there is a good chance it will do a bit of both before its purpose has been fulfilled). This summer is everything you have ever dreamed of. Open your eyes. It is time to awaken.

This summer is a choice. To run from your fears, or to face them with courage and faith. To tell little white lies, or to speak from the deepest source of your truth. To close down and shut off, or to flip the switch and ignite. To be petty, or to have empathy. To cast blame, or to seek forgiveness. To let hatred fester, or to experience the power of love.

This summer will burn that which has fallen to embers and ash. This summer will grant you wings to rise again. Soar, my friends.

Love and light to all. This summer belongs to you. Seize its infinite shine. Selah

Grass 5 (2)

Interview with Scott Thomas Outlar

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Thank you to Adam Levon Brown for conducting this recent interview with me at Madness Muse Press…

Madness Muse Press LLC

Q: When did you start writing?

A: Once upon a time…

That statement is both sarcastic and true. Humor can help provide a bit of sweetness sometimes when one is busy biting into the bitter realities of this world. I’ve been oh so serious of late, but am now beginning to work (diligently) to regain the shape of my aw-shucks smirk. The ability to shrug shoulders when things turn sour will not be far behind. For sure.

But I’ve danced around this opening question for long enough. Now it is time to let my bird loose from the cage so as to sing. Thankfully, spring is the perfect season for just such an action.

I began writing as a child, inspired by Nintendo characters. Stories about Mario, Luigi, and Link battling the rotten villains that weaved their wicked spells of bad mojo on every level of the game. Trying to…

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