Travis J. McRoy

500 followers!

I got a notification this morning that I hit 500 followers! The support in the WP community has been out of this world!
Hitting such a milestone, I figured it would be fun to continue with sharing some fun facts about myself. This time I’ll share 3 fun facts!

In no particular order….

Fun Fact #1) So this is a fun fact with multiple branches to it…
My favorite actor is James Stewart and my favorite actress is Grace Kelly. They both star in the movie Rear Window which also happens to be my favorite movie.

Fun Fact #2)
I work in the IT industry but also have the proclivity to DIY (do it yourself) on home projects. Here is a recent project I completed, adding a fireplace.

Before:

After:

Fun Fact #3)
I love giving gifts instead of receiving them. In 2019 my wife and I donated five iPads to the local autism clinic where my son is a patient. The bottom line is that this technology helped us communicate with our son. I felt that with the clinic’s tireless efforts, it was time to give back to them, which felt great!

I can’t say enough how grateful I am! Thank you so much for the support thus far!
I appreciate every comment and interaction and look forward to many more!

If you are reading this and not a follower of mine, please feel free to read over my blog, follow, like, etc., and I’ll show the same respect!

Short and sweet!
Thank you again for all of the support!!!!
Travis

An Inspirational Poem, The Graveyard of Hopes

I recently came up with this poem out of thin air. I got all situated to start a new chapter in a novel I am working on and got entirely sidetracked with creating a poem. I’d get a verse down and say, “okay, I’ll finish it tomorrow.” However, as I am sure you are all aware, when the creative juices begin to flow, they do not calm quickly. I caved in and finished the poem.

The point and purpose of the words are to touch on the fear of collecting countless failures. We soon realize that the failures are guarded by a glasshouse that we created in our minds. It is meant to inspire hope and flush out the desire to quit, ultimately replacing it with the desire to persevere.

The Graveyard of Hopes

My efforts futile, so I lay you in the ground next to the others,
With a deep breath and a sigh, I continue forward, anticipating defeat,
A modicum of happiness as I lay my burdens down anxiety smothers,
I file down the fangs of failure as I refuse to retreat,
It feels different this time something changed within me,
Hope cloaked in specious delight, but still, I falter,
I lay you into the ground asking how can it be,
With a blood-soaked tongue I say, it is my mind I must alter,
Determination amassed a graveyard of failures that cannot die in vain,
Armed and bemedaled with a mountain of mental fortitude,
I resile not as you huff and puff from your glasshouse, ignorant to my pain,
Refusing to bury another, I throw rocks as the words elude,
The Graveyard of Hopes, a glasshouse that shatters quickly in fear,
Atop my summit, I mourn my losses, nurturing the graveyard with a tear.

Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Poem, The Ill-fated Astronaut

Dramatis Personae: A 40’s something astronaut and his escape pod, which is now his coffin of sorts.
Setting: Deep space

This poem follows the last few moments of an astronaut on an ill-fated space mission. Out of desperation, he rushed to an escape pod. Due to an explosion of the shuttle, the pod’s trajectory was thrown off course.

Mission control, I’m off course
Were the last words that I spoke
I float in space with no chance of recourse
A victim of fate’s cruel practical joke
Two hours of battery life remains
I smother the hunger pains with my pills
The silence of space so deafening, my mind strains
My lips crack as blood fills
One hour left, as I hear the chime
I press a picture of my family against my lips
Understanding that I am now on borrowed time
Hallucinations from the pills as my mind slips
The time has come, as darkness falls
Desolation is now my bride
The escape pod judders and stalls
Aimlessly through space, I shall glide
The welcoming sight of a black hole
At least the devil won’t get my soul

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Haiku, The Sunrise

We had such a beautiful sunrise this morning. It always seems like, after bad storms pass through, we always get a beautiful sunrise the following day. So I wrote this haiku to encapsulate the experience.

Nighttime surrenders
Vibrant light beams cut the dark
Sun blooms the new day

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

Travis J. McRoy 2021 All Rights Reserved
Image by Lars_Nissen from Pixabay

A Poem, No More Pins

I wrote this poem yesterday, and it is written from an interesting perspective. It is a doll that knows its purpose but does not want to be punished for wrongdoings anymore.

I anticipate the pins
Sharp with pain, it pierces me
Now the healing begins
My lips sewn shut but still I plea
I don’t want to feel this pain
I see the hand approach to punish again
With all my might, I strain
I’ll continue to grow my disdain
Ironic that I am the enforcer of revenge
I breathe in all the hate my lungs can hold
Through my pain and suffering, I’ll avenge
Through my eyes, I can watch your demise unfold
I am not a doll but an effigy to punish thee
Please stop doing wrong; I do not want pins in me

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Haiku, The Critters

I was creek fishing a few years ago, and I cast my line upstream and noticed what looked like a skinny log coming towards me. I stepped to the side to let it pass by and saw it slither in the stream. It was a snake. I said to myself, “hmm, that was interesting,” and continued on with my fishing. Within a minute, here come two more “skinny logs.” Two more snakes coming downstream. I decided to move out of the water for a moment to try a different lure. I was curious about the snakes all of a sudden coming downstream. I was fishing in that creek for at least two hours before the snakes came floating by. I looked in the sky and noticed birds flying with great haste as if they were in a hurry to move out of the area. No sooner I finished the thought, there was a fierce earth-shaking lightning strike. What followed was the worst storm we had in that area for the entire summer. It caused flash floods, downed trees, power outages—even a tornado briefly touchdown. I often think about that experience. There was no doubt the critters in the area knew something was coming our way.
Nature is an incredible thing. Needless to say, I wrote a haiku about the experience!

Whipping winds, dark clouds
Lightning crashes the silence
Critters keen senses

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

Travis J. McRoy 2021 All Rights Reserved
Image by illusion-X from Pixabay

A Poem, Pluck These Strings

I wrote this poem yesterday. It just came to me out of nowhere, so I just decided to go along for the ride. It follows the grueling grind of a puppet’s life and its personal struggle.

With a tug and pull, I’m brought to life
I’ve danced for peasants and kings
I do not want to live this strife
Forced to wear a smile but bound by strings
People laugh at me, not with me
My pride is in your praise
That’s why I dance around with glee
And keep this proud steady gaze
I want to pluck my strings ever so much
For if I do so, I’ll cease to exist
They are my lifeline, so I must not touch
It is so tempting, but I must resist
My time has come to an end; back in the box I go
If only I could pluck these strings before the next show

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Haiku, The Volcano

Continuing with my natural disaster-themed haikus, here is one about volcanos.

Gray fog, rains of ash
Culmination of pressure
Earth shows dominion

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

Travis J. McRoy 2021 All Rights Reserved
Image by Pexels from Pixabay

A poem, The Angel’s Wings

Dramatis Personae: Two entities face unique precarious positions. One is a man who is both figuratively and physically at the summit of his life. The mountain of failures of his life is tall, and he is standing on the very edge of his existence. The second is an angel tasked with helping a man similar to its own. The angel needs the man just as much as the man needs the angel.
Setting: A summit out in the middle of nowhere.

Come down from that ledge, my friend
I have nothing left to give this life
This is not how your life should end
Nothing but a bed of broken promises for my wife
I lived a life bemedaled in shortcomings
You speak no truth; life itself is the gift
A release from life for me is forthcoming
If you jump, eternal damnation will not be swift
Why do you concern yourself with my existence?
I am your guardian angel domiciled to you
I don’t have my wings yet, so understand my persistence
I see your plight; if I jump, we are both through
I was on the same ledge but wanted live and slipped
You echo the same countenance as me just before my life was ripped

This was a story with the point and purpose of learning that just because you feel like your existence means nothing, it is not true. Others rely on your existence in so many ways. In the story above, it just so happened that a guardian angel came forward to let the man know of his importance, ultimately saving the man from a very lonely eternal fate.

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

Travis J. McRoy 2021 All Rights Reserved
Image by Ria Sopala from Pixabay

400 Followers!

I hit 400 followers yesterday!

With that being said, I’ll open up a little bit more about myself by sharing a fun fact again.

Fun fact: For most of my life, I’ve been told that I have a babyface, so I grew a goatee in my early twenties to shake that perception. I don’t see it at all anymore, but I will let you all be the judge.

See! Told you! That’s a full-grown baby man child; wait…what?
Obviously, I am kidding with the image I shared; it is a babyface filter. However, the fun fact that I shared is true.

Thank you so much for the support thus far!
I appreciate every comment and interaction and look forward to many more!

A Haiku, The Earthquake

I figured I did a tornado haiku, so why not do an earthquake haiku, haha!

The 2nd line of this has a double meaning when you think of it. The Earth has faults, as do we, and sometimes they collide.

Plates shift, the ground quakes
The faults of the Earth collide
Mankind plays its part

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Poem, The Werewolf

And now I’m going to venture back into the macabre, dark poetry side for a moment. In this poem, I wrote about one of my favorite mythical beasts growing up, the werewolf. I grew up on movies like The Wolfman, The Howling, Silver Bullet, Wolf (Jack Nicholson), An American Werewolf in London, and Teen Wolf (Michael J. Fox). There are so many more, but I figured I’d name just a few of the classics. What type of hardcore fan would I be if I didn’t write a poem about a werewolf?

So with that said, here we go!

We are the wolves in the night
How did I wind up here covered in crimson?
I hear their howls but yet out of sight
What is this reality or, better yet, prison?
Taste of iron, not my blood
I howl at the moon to let them know I’m around
Why does my adrenaline flood
No longer human skin bound
The wolves steer clear, full of fear
Full moon, in their blood I bask
It is time to feast as I hear humans near
Killing everything in sight is my task
Split their sides wide open with my claws
Pick my teeth with their bones as the bloodlust thaws

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Haiku, The Tornado

Taking a short break from the spring-related haikus here is one about a tornado.

Dark skies, fierce winds moan
Cyclone of air touches Earth
Unbridled fury

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Haiku, The Cold

I let my dog outside this morning and stood on the porch looking over the frozen yard. The sun was poking through onto some parts of the yard melting the frozen dew. The melting happened so quick. I walked down my driveway and back to my porch, and it was gone. It was almost as if the frozen dew was not supposed to be there, and the sun chased it away.

So I wrote this haiku encapsulating the battle between winter and spring.

Morning dew frozen
Cold winds carry brisk breezes
The sun scalds the cold

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis

A Haiku, The Vibrant Lives

Keeping it going with the spring-themed haikus, here is another haiku that I put together this morning.

The daffodils dance
Basking animals frolic
The vibrant sun shines

Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!
Travis