<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></title><description><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></description><link>https://ecency.com</link><image><url>https://ecency.com/logo512.png</url><title>RSS Feed</title><link>https://ecency.com</link></image><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:30:44 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://ecency.com/@cicero/rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Winds on Mars]]></title><description><![CDATA[I scare myself with my own desert places. --Robert Frost As I’m sitting Watching clouds roll The wind punishing My hair, I’m reminded There are winds on Mars, Dust demons Paint the air. Another place Much]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/winds-on-mars</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/winds-on-mars</guid><category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 05 Jun 2021 05:46:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/vM1pGHgNcyCXUWJECrZbvn1NMPj1oFGUo3gYfF3NNPRD9UrgaHqVhHgg2yEhT7tm3noGG6bdi2oZNtjY3v5KyDdXc9Ed1LRHcfygb641RWYSiLGsQs4huqDjNWNaf56TSjQZBPL?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[the man in the picture]]></title><description><![CDATA[Lies don't end relationships the truth does. ― Shannon L. Alder I was vain in my youth—never once experienced rejection. Oh, I might have tasted women’s bitter hatred—but never once knew their indifference.]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/the-man-in-the-picture</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/the-man-in-the-picture</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 07 Aug 2017 01:32:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/3q52Dkr5nBe4KqtYErggN37o2DCekaPz4ztePVHsNg5EvMgSMEKya9buqD9Qkbsbm4rVkxwoiswCr?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[waiting in the rain]]></title><description><![CDATA[waiting in the rain and getting soaked, fearing you won’t come but holding hope; you walk down the street it won’t matter that my feet, are cold and wet… because you’re home. Image credit:]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/waiting-in-the-rain</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/waiting-in-the-rain</guid><category><![CDATA[poetry]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 20 May 2017 15:56:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY9LMNBrMVg7hReSDfQGv?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Is anybody else having trouble loading pics lately?]]></title><description><![CDATA[I haven't been posting in a while mainly because of frustration with the whole process of uploading pics to my posts. It used to be so easy. I'd simply locate pics and save them to my desktop. Then, I'd]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/is-anybody-else-having-trouble-loading-pics-lately</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/is-anybody-else-having-trouble-loading-pics-lately</guid><category><![CDATA[steemgig]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 02 May 2017 17:24:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/PB8ro82ZpZP5xqHVTtgzxr9jRnPYTxeDK7ZMexdP1JM8K1HnLPJYHKhR5ZqxGVdajLYjKZsBGgUVTa3uqMX6JERAeTdu3kZE1E7TciHQmVg5sFzN?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pendle Hill Witches]]></title><description><![CDATA[I came to Lancaster to assist on an archaeology dig, not get involved with witches. Emma Manley the local historian invited me and I brought along my assistant Lizzie Willard. But when we met up in The]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/pendle-hill-witches</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/pendle-hill-witches</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Mar 2017 18:05:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY8XYXNnc1GsekbMqTUPG?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Inhuman            ... over twenty thousand years old and the lights are still on]]></title><description><![CDATA[Damien Moshe contacted me out of the blue. We had been working together at Gobekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey and uncovered stone circles 7,000 years older than Stonehenge. The discovery really upset]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/inhuman-over-twenty-thousand-years-old-and-the-lights-are-still-on</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/inhuman-over-twenty-thousand-years-old-and-the-lights-are-still-on</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:02:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY9GBsipXcufPMeLvWQhc?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Leprechaun    ...what would St. Paddy’s Day be without an Irishman?]]></title><description><![CDATA[The annual Library Technical Services Party was to be held on Saint Patrick’s Day. Being a Murphy, and black Irish, I was doubly blessed—but Carranza was a Covington and reserved English. I figured my]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/leprechaun-what-would-st-paddy-s-day-be-without-an-irishman</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/leprechaun-what-would-st-paddy-s-day-be-without-an-irishman</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 17 Mar 2017 22:38:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY8AKQgQDxkhTKNkNvoYr?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Past Imperfect]]></title><description><![CDATA[On her forty-seventh Birthday, Emma took a big risk and entered Nursing School. Now, in her fiftieth year, she faced an even bigger challenge—she’d have to put her eighty-seven year old father in a nursing]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/past-imperfect</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/past-imperfect</guid><category><![CDATA[creativity]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 09 Mar 2017 01:13:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXoUWTd5tMF8dR49hWQFx?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Peel Off My Socks     ...the depression is worse tonight because I shot a boy.]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’m finally home. I sit on the edge of my bed, peel off my socks and come apart. After the anger comes tears. I’m angry because that’s how I push away feelings. Once the rage is spent, depression returns—]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/peel-off-my-socks-the-depression-is-worse-tonight-because-i-shot-a-boy</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/peel-off-my-socks-the-depression-is-worse-tonight-because-i-shot-a-boy</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2017 19:01:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY8EKKHv8n6pWHiVBGzHC?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Build the Wall        ...Do good fences really make good neighbours?]]></title><description><![CDATA[“Is he dead?” I nodded and choked back a sob. Two cops shot in less than a week—this one, just six months back from Iraq and his head exploded by a shotgun blast. “These witnesses are claiming it was a]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/build-the-wall-do-good-fences-really-make-good-neighbours</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/build-the-wall-do-good-fences-really-make-good-neighbours</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction-trail]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 03 Mar 2017 04:33:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXrRSLc1Evnz2HridvGDk?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[War of 1812                      an image I couldn’t get out of my brain.]]></title><description><![CDATA[I didn’t like him or his steely eyes. There was something cruel, hidden behind his genial façade. I know people. I’m a teacher and have to deal with people every day. If anyone knows normal, it’s me—and]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/war-of-1812-an-image-i-couldn-t-get-out-of-my-brain</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/war-of-1812-an-image-i-couldn-t-get-out-of-my-brain</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 02:32:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXqcXi2jGTiLqbJwBb9ne?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Transparent Life]]></title><description><![CDATA[We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves. -- Francois de La Rochefoucauld The corrosive nature of secrets and lies is a common theme]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/the-transparent-life</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/the-transparent-life</guid><category><![CDATA[writing]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 28 Feb 2017 02:55:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXpx4gggnTYLk71CwZydY?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Puttin' on the Ritz        finding a woman of quality]]></title><description><![CDATA[Like the worn, but expensive furniture in my New York Apartment, I had seen better days, but also like the furniture, I had come from quality and that would serve me in the end. As I recall that time,]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/puttin-on-the-ritz-finding-a-woman-of-quality</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/puttin-on-the-ritz-finding-a-woman-of-quality</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 26 Feb 2017 03:40:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXp9QUJ9FAqcrs9DxnLSS?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Top Secret]]></title><description><![CDATA[I’m being followed and it’s got me worried. Louise says I’m paranoid and obsessed, but she’s wrong. There’s a black van out on the street right now. Shhhh! —Don’t talk too loud! I’m tellin’ you, cause]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/top-secret</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/top-secret</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2017 03:43:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY9KwLskYcXWJVMwuQxYE?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[I'd really like to see you tonight]]></title><description><![CDATA[“Am I co-dependent or just lonely? I don’t know—sometimes I think it’s a little of both. Oh wait, there’s that song by Dan Seals—let me turn it up.” The car radio sounded tinny, but that didn’t matter—Marnie]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/i-d-really-like-to-see-you-tonight</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/i-d-really-like-to-see-you-tonight</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2017 18:39:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY8XDCpHwZWFyadDB6cce?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Lonely nights     watching the stars without you]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dampness falls, drips on the roof and darkened gutters, settles on my shirt crumpled on the bed. Dampness falls, and stars are burning; their sultry disks are match heads in the emptiness. © 2017, @cicero.]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/lonely-nights-watching-the-stars-without-you</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/lonely-nights-watching-the-stars-without-you</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2017 04:22:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY7rk9zziejX4udEYc5dg?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Spell to Ward off Wayward Witches]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Spell to Ward off Wayward Witches Mob of joggers, Murder of crows, Cadre of killers, Knot of toad. Dazzle of zebra, Scull of friars, Den of vipers, Perjury of liars. Quiver of cobra, Kettle of hawk,]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/a-spell-to-ward-off-wayward-witches</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/a-spell-to-ward-off-wayward-witches</guid><category><![CDATA[poetry-trail]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 2017 03:00:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY7RfDHbMRDrAntwjoRFC?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Narcissist     ...always right, means never wrong]]></title><description><![CDATA[Leonard Brice was always right which was another way of saying he was never wrong. This fact irritated his colleagues, annoyed his wife and angered his friends—No, wait, make that alienated his friends.]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/the-narcissist-always-right-means-never-wrong</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/the-narcissist-always-right-means-never-wrong</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction-trail]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2017 02:13:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXrRX8cmxBJiE5hGjbuHg?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Labour of love       ...a poem for us]]></title><description><![CDATA[May the love in your heart overshadow any sorrows, and may you always know with a deep inner certainty, how loved you truly are. ― Jodi Livon While you are sleeping and the moths are busy at the windows,]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/labour-of-love-a-poem-for-us</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/labour-of-love-a-poem-for-us</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction-trail]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2017 22:03:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXqzCawfWEfT4L49HR4TQ?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Catch a falling star]]></title><description><![CDATA[damaged and broken and unhinged. But so are shooting stars and comets. ― Nikita Gill The suburbs were quiet for a Friday night. It was just after ten and I was reeling in the garden hose and thinking about]]></description><link>https://ecency.com/@cicero/catch-a-falling-star</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://ecency.com/@cicero/catch-a-falling-star</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[cicero]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2017 02:57:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://i.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZXqco43unWr5EVpfkQKK4?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item></channel></rss>