Scrooge has entered the building!

From the swirling depths of inner turmoil, I grace you with a moment of much-needed sarcasm...

I was gifted/tempted with the task of sharing unbiased opinions for a torrent of uplifting pieces of written art that have found their way to my unapproving eyes.

And I'm left appalled at every stretch of imaginative efforts...

Great poetry comes from deep within. Souls reaching out for help through their crafting of powerful verse and clever metaphor, coupled with life's dreary experiences.

At least that's how this old, cranky man understands it...

I read every last one of the entries and I have to say, none of them did anything for me, except depleting whatever dopamine I had left in the reserves.

Some efforts left me scratching my head. But in the end, they all violated integrity. Took my mind to forbidden places I never aim to go. Every piece had the nerve to try and make me smile...

Instead of smiling, they reassured my gag reflex is alive and well.

***

From over-embellished flowery sunshine to cotton candy rainbows, these pieces were full of positive malarky...

From eyes blinking into a fanciful frenzy, to high-fiving dirty rodents who are good for nothing except stealing my birdseed.

Beyond troubling…

There were also wagging tails on caffein and animated ribworts who had a heart. I quickly found myself breaking out in hives. Not the good kind either. The kind that itches and reminds you that there are even more entries to read.

Humbug!!!

Perhaps it's just me, but if anyone really wanted to experience something uplifting, why not click on the 'Lifetime' channel? But even that is pure vomit material. Not the best example but is all I can summon at the moment...

The curators of this challenge should have thought long and hard before seducing the much-appreciated writers on this site with a promising temptation. But it happened. And one after another, scribblers took the bait. They sat at their workstations and wrote with smiling eyes and giddy fingers and came up with torrential onslaughts of fluffy filth! Tsunamis of joyous junk! Raging storms of resplendent rubbish…

One thing I was satisfied with, is that none of the pieces were longer than three minutes. Any longer would be considered a form of self-torture. So, thank you for that because yes, I had to take a break between reading each one of them. I needed enough time to recover my senses or as the youth says these days, Chillax, bro.

I didn't escape from this unscathed. I scorched my tongue several times attempting to sip hot tea while being blindsided by words and phrases that are banned from my vocabulary. I also got an awful cramp in my jaw from fighting the urge to grin...

Additionally, in order to distract myself from being 'uplifted', I had to purposely stub my big toe, allowing something to bitch about. Thank God it worked and was able to stop myself from venturing into the 'Happiness and Light'.

I best stick to the more depressing type of verse. At least I'm left feeling something—reveling in other's misfortune.

Don't be discouraged, though. I appreciate effort and I'm positive there is an audience waiting to celebrate every word. Just not the likes of a scrooge. We are of a certain breed that should never have to encounter enlightenment or participate in mind-irking experiments. I’d rather snack on mealworms or stale crumpets all day than ever put myself through this torment again.

Thank you, Paul and John and every participant. Your efforts revealed a world I never plan to visit again. It also reaffirms a belief that: not all of us can be turned out.

We best keep ourselves on the 'Sadness and Dark' side.