<![CDATA[Life... Art... and a bit of nonsense...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPQp!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd9d3115-4fae-4ce8-9ff2-392bdd7437d2_542x453.jpegLife... Art... and a bit of nonsense...https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.comSubstackThu, 11 Jun 2026 02:44:15 GMT<![CDATA[Interesting times...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/interesting-timeshttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/interesting-timesTue, 25 Feb 2025 16:01:45 GMT
A photo I took ages ago… dark water and interesting clouds.

I realized it’s been almost a month since I have posted here to my SubStack. So many reasons “why” rise to the surface. But the truth is, we are living in “interesting times”… interesting… frightening, decisive, unstable times. Honestly, I would prefer some solid, comforting boredom.

Everyone I k…

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]]><![CDATA[A New Year...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/a-new-yearhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/a-new-yearSun, 12 Jan 2025 17:30:53 GMT
A black and white image of a bromeliad by Cicely Robin Laing
A Silvery Grey Bromeliad at the Como Conservatory. Photo by Cicely Robin Laing
The “New Year!”…
Words that inspire new ambitions.

Or reflections on all the things left undone.
The resolution to never make resolutions again.
Even that, may be doomed to failure.

A new year begins with every breath you take.
Every moment that you stop... and just exist.
A…

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]]><![CDATA[The Art of Hanging on...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/the-art-of-hanging-onhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/the-art-of-hanging-onSat, 21 Dec 2024 16:01:15 GMT
Photograph of a poorly made plastic magnet that says "Merry Christmas" with a holiday tree. The candy canes are upside down. Photo by Cicely Robin Laing
The only tree I managed to “put up” last year. It’s still “up”.

I would love to have something profound to say. I would love to create a beautiful story or image to gift to all the people I care about. I would love to be able to get out of bed and do more than eat, try to function and get through my daily tasks without feeling like a failure. I would lov…

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]]><![CDATA[Back to a Time of Glitter and Macaroni…]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/back-to-a-time-of-glitter-and-macaronihttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/back-to-a-time-of-glitter-and-macaroniMon, 16 Dec 2024 16:01:59 GMT
I wrote this rather rough poem late at night on December 3, 2014. 
Part of a series of improvised poems.
Sometimes Christmas is all about remembering… 
even if it comes out in bad poetry…
It still feels like Christmas.

Photograph, a macro image of gold, green and red glitter glued to a Christmas bauble. Photo by Cicely Robin Laing
.

I lay my head down, nestled into my favorite comfy chair…
The holiday decorations are scattered all around the room…
Plans to hang the…

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]]><![CDATA[Missing Summer...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/missing-summerhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/missing-summerSun, 17 Nov 2024 16:02:30 GMT
A poem…
An image…
Thinking about the past…
Today, it is easier than facing the present….....
Tomorrow is a future... 
I am not ready for.

The following is an “improvised” poem I wrote in 2014 as a companion to the photo above.

.
I remember Summer…
She came and visited for a while…
Hot, and full of hunger…
She burned me with her smile…
I still feel the wa…

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]]><![CDATA[I still don't know what I'm doing....]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/i-still-dont-know-what-im-doinghttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/i-still-dont-know-what-im-doingFri, 04 Oct 2024 18:57:04 GMT

Life is a series of “stuff that happens to you”… We like to think we have control, but do we? The longer I live, the less I think “control” is a real thing. Sometimes I think I have some “control” because I make decisions to do things or not to do things… but often I have little or no control of all the circumstances that surround those decisions. Or …

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]]><![CDATA[Trying too hard...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/trying-too-hardhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/trying-too-hardMon, 23 Sep 2024 14:03:14 GMT
There is within this lifetime a multitude of threads we pull on…
get wrapped up into…
cut away...
regret...
cherish...
There is a tapestry in which we are woven...
we can not see ourselves inside it...
only the threads we touch...
plucking them...
grabbing on...
letting them slide through our fingers...
We can not see our woven image...
we look out and …

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]]><![CDATA[Born Into Chaos…]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/born-into-chaoshttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/born-into-chaosMon, 12 Aug 2024 09:23:02 GMT

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]]><![CDATA[Honey...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/honeyhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/honeyMon, 05 Aug 2024 20:44:53 GMT
Today… Life… It’s raining, the sky is dim with clouds… 
I am relieved to be in slightly less pain, wishing I could do more… 
Thinking too hard about things I can’t change… wasting energy.  
But I remember sunny days… 
I remember gardens filled with bees...
I remember yellow glowing flowers dancing... being...
A sweet stream of moments... a happy time.
I…

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]]><![CDATA[Shut Down...]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/shut-downhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/shut-downSun, 28 Jul 2024 16:45:55 GMT

This week I went from pretty functional… to down in a hole.
Barely making it to vertical for several days… sending comfort cusses out to the world.

“Chronic pain”… those words don’t really cover the reality we live in when “bad days” hit. Wallowing in the sharp darkness that steals every moment of potential comfort, the very act of being, is shredded. It …

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]]><![CDATA[Stained Glass…]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/stained-glasshttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/stained-glassWed, 17 Jul 2024 15:01:33 GMT

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Colorful windows…

Our dreams caught in fragile glass…

One rock shatters it…

.

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_________________________________________________

Let's not throw stones…

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Originally published as part of  “Silk Waves and Words” …  July 17th, 2014…

Image and poem by Cicely Robin Laing©2014

Life... Art... and a bit of nonsense... is a reader-supported pu…

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]]><![CDATA[A Bit of Candy]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/a-bit-of-candyhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/a-bit-of-candySat, 06 Jul 2024 22:23:54 GMT
Water Drop on Tulip Leaf - Photograph by Cicely Robin Laing 2014

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]]><![CDATA[Everything… All at Once… Almost Never…]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/everything-all-at-once-almost-neverhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/everything-all-at-once-almost-neverSat, 29 Jun 2024 17:00:54 GMT
The Introduction….

Them... (Insert name here)
Me… (My name)
...
The question is friendly and completely intimidating… “So, what do you do?”
My go to answer… “I make art.”

Of course, the following… “What kind of art?”
That’s when it gets harder… “Whatever my brain wants to do at any given moment.”

Slight confusion… “No, I mean, what’s your medium?”
I …

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]]><![CDATA[Life... life is hard... we need more nonsense.]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/life-life-is-hard-we-need-more-nonsensehttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/life-life-is-hard-we-need-more-nonsenseWed, 19 Jun 2024 04:43:53 GMT
Is anyone out there? …. yes, this is me… very late at night.

Start in the middle…

I started my Substack profile? Page? Journey? Whatever this is a couple months ago…and life got in the way… it got in the way really HARD! It does that… It does it more often than any of us likes. …. Crickets… crickets… Well, I’m here now. That’s something. Here in the mid…

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]]><![CDATA[Coming soon]]>https://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/coming-soonhttps://cicelyrobinlaing.substack.com/p/coming-soonFri, 23 Feb 2024 06:22:12 GMTThis is Life... Art... and a bit of nonsense....

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