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Tag: J. Murdoch

“Salem” – a sonnet

“Salem” is an original poem written by Jessica Murdoch, published in the Salem Weekly newspaper on September 3rd, 2015. As requested by #PopUpPoetry customer, Christine, the poem is a sonnet (specifically a Shakespearean-style sonnet) written in iambic pentameter, with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEFGG. © 2015 Rhetorical Redhead All Rights Reserved  

The Rogue Ovary Chronicles: A Tale of Two Cysts

Note: This blog post includes a lot of biological/sexual/medical descriptions that may be considered graphic for some readers…this is a post about my lady-anatomy, after all. I do not spare any details; read with caution if you’re prone to discomfort when reading such content.

Monday, August 3rd, 2015 – 8:30 pm

Irony has a funny way of jumping in to my life to yell, “Surprise!” while my pants are still down.

Steve and I just had a lovely round of marital relations and were looking forward to a nice relaxing evening, probably involving a movie and going to bed early. (Don’t squirm–intercourse is kind of a thing that happens in marriage, people. And I include this snippet because it single-handedly initiated the following story.)

I stood upright to go to the bathroom and was greeted by severe cramping in my lower abdomen. Curious, as I have never, ever experienced cramping before (lucky me, I know…sympathies to my not-so-lucky fellow females out there). True, I was due to start my cycle any day now, but this was something quite different than the usual pangs of discomfort.

Cramping was soon accompanied by extreme bloating in my upper abdomen, and the pain only continued to increase as an hour passed by. I lay in bed with a heat pad on my stomach in hopes the cramping would pass. But I found myself sitting on the throne of my misery, cramping at a full roar with my abdomen refusing any form of calm as nausea and fatigue and light-headedness took over.

I couldn’t even call out to Steve, barely getting out, “Babe…something’s wrong…”

He called an advice nurse through our insurance company, who asked me a laundry list of questions and concluded with, “You need to be seen at the ER. Immediately.”

Great.

Steve was a superhero—dashing around the house to pack a small bag of necessities for the hospital as I attempted to confidently leave the bathroom behind without concern of needing it again soon.

This was bad. Let me be clear—I have a high pain tolerance. Like, stupidly high. I know when my body is just dealing with something minor, which is most of the time. But this was unlike anything I’d ever felt, and everything in my body and brain screamed wrong wrong wrong. The pain was so bad I seriously considered telling Steve to drive me to Salem Hospital (which is a desperate move…everyone knows how bad the local hospital is when it comes to ER care…or any care for that matter). The proximity was that tempting. Steve reasoned me out of my insanity, though, reminding me that I would be seen and likely diagnosed at Silverton Hospital in the same amount of time it would take Salem Hospital to simply call me into triage.

Good point. To Silverton…

Pop Up Poetry 04.18.2015

Better late than never! I wanted to give you guys another peek into my event this last weekend during our glorious 70-degree sunny weather. 🙂 I set out to perform Pop Up Poetry at two locations on Saturday: first at Broadway Coffeehouse in the late morning/early afternoon, then to Archive Coffee & Bar in the evening. My first time performing a Daily Double, I am merely thrilled that I managed to survive! It was incredibly fun, as always, and I got to meet some wonderful people who were so kind to share their stories with me. Thanks to each of you for giving me a priceless gift time and time again! Hope to see you again soon!

Some Pop Up poems below in order of creation…Hope you enjoy!

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Pop Up Poetry 03.03.2015

Improv Pop Up Napkin Poetry with my dear friend, Sharalyn…   Our two loves as our first prompts for one another… 🙂 Falafel for me, Spring for her…Falafel was the first thing she thought of, and I gave her Spring since Winter was giving her the seasonal blues. 🙂  

Pop Up Poetry 02.28.2015

Poems and backstories behind tonight’s Pop Up Poetry gig on location at Archive Coffee & Bar…

Archive’s decor and overall theme just makes me giddy with nostalgia of a bygone era. It always provides with the perfect mood and atmosphere. Combined with excellent coffee, craft cocktails, and delicious food…it will forever be one of my favorite haunts. So thrilled to be doing Pop Up Poetry with them.

PUP Archive Setup

 

Poetry below! 🙂

Remember (Letters to a Friend Series)

Dear Sir (Letters to a Friend Series)

Pop Up Poetry: “Family”

I never turn down anyone. I love you people. All of you. Come…talk with me. Tell me your story; I want to hear it. And, if I may, I will memorialize it for you because your life is just as beautiful as the next. Lovely meeting this little family of three–mom, dad, and 3-month-old Vincenzo. Hope to see you guys in Portland sometime!

The Exception

Our Impossible Story

“Our Impossible Love” by #JessicaMurdoch the #RhetoricalRedhead. A snippet of our story.❤ On behalf of the day of St. Valentine…Love should be easy. But Love also requires some work. Love is not just an emotion, but also an action…a CHOICE…a daily effort to give yourself completely to another person without expecting anything in return. If you put forth the effort, and work hard to be partners in everything, it will be easy. If the effort isn’t there…love fades and resentment grows. Marriage is different than engagement is different than dating…it’s fascinating how a relationship can grow and deepen. We have experienced…

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