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.  

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Baker's Dozen prompt wishes and dreams

Wishes

Swishing above

Like gold fish in my head

Fed with hope and speculation

Go fish

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.

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!

Poetic Asides Challenge Ha (na) ku

Loneliness

Determined compassion

Connecting once again

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.

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?

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

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.

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.