Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Poetic Asides Prompt Out of ths world

Moving Day

Christy was riding her bike
with her friend, their pony tails flying,
then before she knew it
she was standing alone.
She marveled
at the shininess of the street,
the blueness of the sky,
the music in the air.
Through a beautiful antique gate,
a smiling old woman approached.
She took Christy by her hand
and greeted her.
“Grandma!”  Christy said in surprise.
“Yes.”
“Where am I?”
“Your new home.”
Christy looked behind her
in a faraway place
and saw a woman
jump out of her car
shrieking, crying and
then running to a little girl
laying in the middle of the road.
 “Don’t worry, she's fine,” Grandma said.
Hand in hand, they moved toward the gate.  

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Baker's Dozen prompt cherries

Bing Cherries

Shiny jewels
On delicate stems
Deep red, sweet
Juicy, tart
Quickly disappear leaving
Pits and blood-like stains

Monday, August 29, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt Out of whack or end of summer blues

Out of Whack

O h God, I’m feeling discombobulated again.  
U sually this happens in the changing of
T he seasons. I have to regroup and question my goals.

O ver and over I ask myself, What am I doing? Why? Why do I
F eel such discontent? How do I make the changes I need to make?

W hy am I here on this earth? Lord, at time I feel like I’m accomplishing nothing
H ere. Always starting something and seldom finishing
A nd what I do accomplish matters very little.
C ould You please take all the confusion and fog out of my head,
K eep whatever is good and put in Your thoughts instead? Please, align our hearts.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Poetic Bloomings Prompt A night poem

My Nineteenth Birthday

Mom invited my best friend
and the guy next door over
for lasagna and blueberry cheesecake
and then we three took a walk,
miles up the back roads and paths
into the State Gamelands.
My neighbor, a hunter,
knew his way around even at night.
To the tune of crickets, peep frogs
and an occasional owl,
three long-time friends
walked through the woods
in the light of the full moon—
laughing, talking and joking.
My last birthday as a teenager,
a sweet, memorable one.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt Passages and Doorways

Passageway of the Heart
The secret passageway of his heart
hides behind walls
away from acquaintance, friends
 and even his wife.

She continues searching
as she has for years
for the disguised lever
to  open the concealed door.
  
She tries many things
food, sex, nagging
but then she happens upon
respect and admiration.

And slowly the door opens.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt popcorn

People are Like Popcorn

We sit around in the oil
of comfort and blessing
until the heat is turned up
and then we get hopping,
bumping together with
other popcorn kernels
undergoing changes
from hard to munchable,
and then our true
flavor and fragrance
 comes out. At times
we stay in the heat too long
and become discolored
and fragile but
even then our taste
can be exotic.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Wed PA prompt Everything's Against Me

Four Dreadful Words

Four dreadful words
send shivers up my spine.
My blood turns to sludge.
My temples throb.
Fear grips me in its icy fingers,
because I know soon
I’ll be wandering around
in a panic, in a tizz,
going this way and that
with disappointed people
tapping their feet impatiently
waiting on me.
I’ll be lost and wondering
 if I’ll ever be found again after
hearing those four awful words,
“You can’t miss it.”

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Baker's Dozen prompt -- Unraveled

Unraveled
U nraveled, frazzled
N owhere to turn
R ushing this way and that, stomach
A  churn.
V ery anxious
E motionally befuddle
L ife in a tizz
E xtraordinarily muddled. Oh the
D istress! Oh the bother! I think it’s time to go to the Father.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt Place

My Place

The morning sun comes over my house
and lights up the little gold house
across the street. My blue Prius, mailbox
in a bucket and two locust trees
by the street, my rocky yard on a hill,
my porch lined with four lilac bushes
and holds a loveseat, milk can and
coal bucket from Pennsylvania
remain in the shade till noon.
I sit by the kitchen window
breathing in the fresh air
watching cars rush off to work
while writing poetry and
getting breakfast, starting the day.

Poetic Bloomings Sunday prompt change

Time for a Change

Your spirit is restless each day
You’re wishing to go your own way
Discontent comes in a wide range
So maybe it’s time for a change

What fit like a glove does no more
What once intrigued begins to bore
What was familiar now seems strange
So maybe it’s time for a change

You balance the pros and the cons
Concepts disillusionment spawns
Priorities can rearrange
So maybe it’s time for a change


Saturday, August 20, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt Blank astonishes me

Astonishing Each Other

I asked my sister for twelve words.
She tried to make it tough.
I took the unrelated words
and wrote a monotetra poem
about a giraffe.
I astonished her.

She asked for some graph paper
and scrap yarn.
I gave it to her.
She crocheted a potholder
with a hot-air balloon design.
She astonished me.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt Food

Yes, Ma’am You Were

I met my husband
during a summer-long stay
with my sister in Wyoming.

Right before I returned to P-A
I was sick for a week
and ate hardly a thing.

The morning before I left
my new sweetheart took me to breakfast
where I ordered the super special.

I ate every last crumb,
pushed back from the table
and said, “I was hungry.”

He said, “Yes ma’am you were,”
making me feel like a pig.
But years later we laughed about it.

Since then, we’ve had many occasions to say,
“Yes, ma’am or sir you were,”
or, “You did,” or, “You shouldn’t have.”
What started as an inadvertent insult,
turned out to be a good-humored way
to support each other in our weaknesses.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt Question

Where are My Glasses?

I need my glasses
to find my glasses.
Left alone on a deserted island,
I would miss 
someone to help me find my glasses.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Poetic Asides Prompt--Escape

Escape
E xiting with
S omeone hot on your tail
C areful planning
A nd patience
P erfecting the route
E mbracing the moment


Anguish
Unbearable
Can’t take it anymore
There’s got to be something better
Escape


A Sweeter Life

Like a prisoner
digging a tunnel
with only a spoon,
I carefully plot time out.
Alaska?
Hawaii?
Motel down the street?
At last I make my escape,
pamper myself
enjoy the moment.
I return to a sweeter life.

Tuesday's Baker's Dozen Prompt--family

Family

Life begins
Nurtured, guided
Learning, growing up
Making mixed memories
Practicing to start your own
Human nest

Monday, August 15, 2011

Baker's Dozen Prompt Moving

Moving On

I loved moving
when all I owned
was a Bible, camera, tennis racket
and a suitcase full of clothes.

But now that I have my house
and thirty-five years of accumulation,
you’d have to drag me out of here
with me hanging onto the doorknob.

Will I ever abandon this stuff
and move onto new adventures?
Someday…when the angels come.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Poetic Bloomings prompt Title of a Song

I Can’t Think of a Thing at All

Oh, it’s happened again.
I stare off into space.
My muse has disappeared
without leaving a trace.
They say it happens to everyone,
writers block will fall.
But what an awful feeling
when thoughts begin to stall.
Oh me , oh my
I can’t think of a thing at all.

Gone are the metaphors,
the passion and the angst.
That temperamental muse,
she’s up to her pranks.
Ideas bounce away
like a red rubber ball.
My poetry writing
has hit a brick wall.
Oh me, oh my
I can’t think of a thing at all.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

BD Prompt Haiku or Monotetra

Counting Blessings

It’s very easy to complain
of thunderclouds and too much rain,
of losing much with little gain.
It brings Him pain, it brings Him pain.

He is the Father up above
that we are so unworthy of,
as gentle as a morning dove.
Yes, He is love, Yes, He is love.

When we prepare to go to sleep,
instead of counting all those sheep,
let’s count the blessing He does heap.
He isn’t cheap, He isn’t cheap.

Let’s thank Him for the food we eat
and for our eyes, ears, hands and feet,
and for the times we can retreat.
He is so sweet, He is so sweet.

And greater than the gifts He gives,
Christ once was dead but now He lives.
He lets us know Him as He is.
And He forgives, and He forgives.

Some day this life on earth will cease.
We’ll close our eyes in sweet release.
So let our praise only Increase.
He is our peace, He is our peace.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Poetic Bloomings In form

Someday I Would Like to Meet Ted Kooser

Old Ted and I’d have lots to talk about.
Oh maybe not the place and date of birth,
he from Iowa in 1939
me  from P-A  in 1958,
but we both lived in Lincoln, Nebraska.
We both word paint the simple things of life
using clear language and plain metaphors.
He didn’t have a lot of time to poem
working his business of life insurance.
Pulitzer winner, Poet Laureate
and Nebraska U-Lincoln professor.
And me a full-time host home provider
who writes a poem a day and blogs away.

A shining example inspires sweet dreams.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Poetic Asides Prompt --School

Kids Ask Homeschoolers

Do you go to school in your pajamas?
Can you eat snacks while doing math?
After gym class does your mother
make you stop and  take a bath?

Do you call your mom by her last name?
Do you have recess or time for play?
Does your mother give you bad grades
if you don’t do things just her way?

Do you have Parent/Teacher conferences?
Would your mom talk to herself?  
Do you raise your hand to be excused
or get something from a shelf?

Does your daddy ring a bell
so you know when school is done?
Do you ever learn new things
or do things just for fun?

You can take off on your birthday?
Only four hours of class--that’s cool!
And you take lots of fieldtrips?
I’ll ask my mom to homeschool!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Poetic Blooming Prompt- View from the Park Bench


The park bench
dreamed of simpler times
when it cradled lovers
instead of leaves.

Sunday's poem

Worthy Lord

W orshipping you with all my heart
O pening my mouth in praise
R aising my hands up to you in surrender
T rying to honor you all of my days.
H ow wonderful You are, worthy Lord!
Y ou are amazingly beautiful and good.

Lamb of God, Jesus, worthy is Your name!
O wning up that I don’t honor You as I should.
R eaching up to You, Lord, longing from deep within,
D esiring Your presence and forgiveness of sin.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Temp

Past moments are gone.
Future ones are uncertain.
Now dies quickly.
What do we truly have
but the hope for eternal life
in Christ?

Friday, August 5, 2011

word list: problem, ink, stitches, laugh, brown, toes, eyes, spotted, link, ranger, apple, plop

The Giraffe

The problem with the tall giraffe
His ink spots cover more than half
He puts in stitches most the staff
Yes they all laugh, yes they all laugh.

His knee-high stockings are pure brown
His toes are a long, long way down
His big eyes can see all around
A spotted clown, a spotted clown

Peeks over link fences atop
 The ranger his job he won’t swap
An apple a day, he’s no flop
But then the plop, but then the plop

Word list: happy, family, bees, place, green, Father, bean, space

Nature’s Examples

A happy home hints of heaven
A forever family—God and us
Like bees in their hive buzzing with joy
A place too loving to cry and fuss

Green living things declare new life
That our Father has provided for all
Like bean plants draw life from the sun
in space and continues to sprawl

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Poetic Asides Prompt--Normal

My World

Interpreting sounds and gestures
Hearing my own voice calling me
from a communication device
Serving weird food combinations
like smashed spaghetti, mayo and onions
Chasing him around with a piece of toast
Listening to tunes from Elmo
or from a vacuum cleaner hose
Cutting food in bite size pieces
Brushing her teeth
while she’s patting my face
Him walking into the kitchen
with his pants around his knees
Maneuvering a wheel chair
through narrow doorways
While I’m writing, his head resting
on mine, drooling into my hair
My bumps, burns and mistakes
being a form of slapstick comedy
Feeling like a three-ring circus
when we do groceries
Being wonderfully welcomed
when I return from a trip
Doing what I want to do
in the in between times
Afraid that it will end
Afraid that it won’t
This is normal for me

Word list: true, depths, forgotten, anger, suffered, happening, properly, songs

Heartsongs of King David

He longed for the good, just and true.
From the depths of his being he cried.
Alone and forgotten, he was sure
his anger and rage justified.
So long and so deeply he suffered,
hatred happening from the very start.
He couldn’t express his pain properly
except in his songs from his heart.
And there in his psalms he met Him--
the Good, the Just and the True.
Love healed all that was broken
and He can do the same for you.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

PoeticBloomings prompt Lost and Found

Horsey Sam Came Home

I got him when I was three.
I rode him hard and fast
till little sis came on the scene.
Sturdy and robust, Horsey Sam
could carry two a time.
Then he was passed on to a nephew
then another. He returned
to trot off with my daughter
then my son, then back east
to a couple of nieces.

My sister visited her grandchildren
living not far from me.
She brought Horsey Sam.
Alas, he’s ready for pasture
so they won’t be able to ride him.
No stand or springs. Reins broken.
Colors mostly worn off.
But he’s strong and solid.
For his fiftieth birthday
I’ll clear off my dresser top for him
to rest perhaps another fifty years.