PAD 30 finished or unfinished

Stories Are Never Finished 

My son was in the second grade.

He could read by himself,

but still liked to be read to.

 

We read about a big, fluffy, funny dog—

very charming, but at the end,

he died.

I could not hide my disappointment.

“Awww, he died!” The sadness hit

as if I lost my own pet.

“Don’t worry, Mom,” my sensible son said,

“Just go back to the beginning,

and he’ll be alive again.”

PAD 29 First line from another poem of yours

 Ten Thousand Fairies Tap Dance on the Roof

 

Troll bellies rumble.

Ugly ogres paint the sky gray.

Dragons roar flashing their fire.

Giants try to blow out the flames.

Unicorns kick up the dust.

Dryads dance in the trees

and fluff up their hairdos.

Tiny pixies surf on falling leaves.

Imps throw bags, debris, tumbleweeds about.

Elves spray water on the earth

so nymphs and mermaids can join in the fun.

Ten thousand fairies tap dance on the roof.

PAD 28 shadorma, poetic bloomings photo of egg shell

An eggshell

Lying in the grass

Discarded

Ancient past

But yet once so important

Requesting respect

PAD 27 Mechanical

 

Arm of Pain

 

Mechanical bull

Mechanical arm

Arm and hammer

Arm candy

Candy Land

Candy cane

Cane chair

Cane handle

Handlebar

Handle with care

Care package

Care Bear

Bear cubs

Bear hug

Hug bug

Hug kiss

Kiss me Kate

Kiss bliss

Bliss and joy

Bliss and peace

Peace sign

Peace keeper

Keeper of the law

Keeper of the stars

Star light

Star bright

Bright eyes

Bright beginnings

Beginnings and endings

Beginnings and beyond

Beyond me

Beyond hope

Hope fulfilled

Hope and love

Love child

Love poems

Poems about life

Poems for kids

Kids in mind

Kids eat free

Free and easy

Free as a bird

Bird dog

Bird brain

Brain teasers

Brain pain

Pain in the neck

Pain reliever

Reliever

Neck

PAD 26 Cast

Cast Your Cares 

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. I Peter 5:7 NIV

 

Bring God your worries and your fears.

You’ll find He has attentive ears.

His Spirit listens, calms and cheers.

He knows your tears. He knows your tears. 

No trouble is too big or small.

The Lord can handle one and all.

He picks you up each time you fall.

Yes, on Him call. Yes, on Him call. 

He cares for birds and flowers, too.

And how much more He cares for you!

He knows your needs before you do.

Yes, it is true. Yes, it is true.  

So seek His face, don’t fret, but pray.

Commit to do His will each day.
He is the light, the truth and way.
Trust and obey. Trust and obey.

PAD 25 Everyone...

Everyone Loves Chocolate 

Everyone loves chocolate.

Well, maybe that’s not true.

Perhaps someone doesn’t.

Could be that it’s you. 

If it is, I wonder

how you got that way.

Did you fall on your head

on that first birthday? 

Or maybe a large dog bit you

when you tried to take a bite.

And now eating chocolate

fills you with such fright.

Maybe while you were sleeping,

you were zapped by an alien’s gun.

And now eating chocolate

is no longer fun. 

Why don’t you like chocolate?

It’s puzzling as can be.

But whatever the reason,

I hope it won’t happen to me.

PAD 24 auto, Poetic Bloomings form Constanza

Relics

The auto that the old man drives

A 1950 Cadillac

 Red interior, satin black

 

Most people gawk when it arrives

It floats like a luxury ship

From rounded nose to taillight tip

 

It looks as sharp as diamond knives

With large tailfins and shiny chrome

And crowned with classy rounded dome

 

It has outlived almost three wives

Inspired by war time aircraft

So smartly engineered to last

 

It must have had at least nine lives

To make it through these many years

It has outlasted most its peers

 

He tinkers, polishes and strives

Just out when weather’s very mild

And treasured like an only child

 

So through his nurture it survives

Who knows what future is in store

As owner goes on ninety-four

Pad 23 love, antilove

When We’re In Love with To-Do Lists 

Sometimes we get so busy

doing things for the ones we love.

We work, serve, sacrifice.

 

We feel very loving,

but eventually we look around

and notice we are alone.

 

Loving nobody.

Nobody loving us.
Loving is no longer fun.

Let’s learn to work, talk, laugh together.

Let’s make sure we do things with each other,

not just for each other.

PAD 22 complex

Words like intricate

Lightly tap dance on your tongue

And sing their meaning

PAD 21 senryu

From books to Kindle

Addicts switching pills to shots

Straight to the bloodstream

PAD 20 Beyond

Beyond 

B eyond here, beyond now, beyond me, beyond them

E ternity waits

Y ou wait

O pen our eyes and ears to see and hear spiritual truths

N ever let us sit amuck in the moment

D o an amazing thing in our lives beyond our comprehension.

PAD 19 burn

Two Types of People 

Ones who toast their marshmallows golden

And ones who burn them black 

The toasters dare not get too close to the fire

Barely touching the surface to the flame

Timid, tentative, tenuous

Turning the marshmallow around

Until the light brown is even

Then chew on the morsel that has changed little 

The burners plunge the marshmallow into the fire

Until it catches and engulfs like a torch

Making sure fiery tongues lick every bit black

Sliding it off the stick despite dark residue and burnt fingers

Popping the whole thing into their mouth

Savoring acrid ashes as well as warm gooey centers

PAD 18 I am...

I am on Empty  

I am on empty

With no gas station in sight

I wish that was one

Just off to the right

But no, it’s a carwash

So I’ll stop there right now

And I’ll contemplate

While I rub with this towel  

I am without cell phone

It's leant to a friend

I like to be someone

On one can depend

But now I’m high and dry

Just like my car
Now I’m wishing
I had OnStar

 I am walking

It’s good for my health

And that is much better

Than magnificent wealth

I spy a pay phone
But oh my gosh
I spent all my quarters
At the carwash

I am enjoying the scenery

As I trudge a long
But when I return
My car is now gone
I flag down a policeman
He found my car
Since it was on empty
It didn’t get far

I am supposed to get married

At quarter till four
But now that it’s seven
My chances are poor
Now that I made it
My bride is in tears
I hope she’ll forgive me

But it may take years

I am now married

And will be awhile
Since for better or worse
She said with a smile
Whoever stole my car
Must have been mean
But now for my honeymoon
At last it is clean

PAD 17 Express

Gift-speak 

The large diamond sparkled on her finger.

Expensive chocolates hid in the freezer.

A dozen roses wilted in the crystal vase.

She wandered back to her bedroom,

stretched and reached

the shoe box on her closet shelf,

opened it and pushed aside the tissue paper.

She admired the ceramic work—a gray-haired couple.

He had said it may be them in fifty years.

She turned the key and listened to the tune,

In the Good ‘Ol Summertime.

She had said yes to the one,

but wished for the other.

Matthew 19:26

“All things are possible with God.”

We nod our heads

as we sit on the pews,

and during the week

we say, “I can’t, because…”

“I can’t, because…”

“I can’t, because…”

And then we return

and sit on the pews

and nod our heads

“Yep, all things are possible with God.”

We’re just not so sure

it has anything to do with us.

PAD 15 Infested

Infested 

I ntense concentration of germs, critters, parasites

N umerous, flooding, overwhelming

F ull capacity and beyond

E normous census, overstocked, overkill

S warming, teeming, brimming

T ainted, infected, corrupted

E ven too much of a good thing is a plague.

D ivine moderation is my goal.

PAD 14 sonnet, Poetic Bloomings Spring Rain

Spring Dance 

A hidden wooded valley in the east,

A child awaits the first sweet signs of spring.

Some yellow buttercups and, not the least,

Pale purple violets that raindrops bring. 

Ten thousand fairies tap dance on the roof.

Sweet scented breeze breathes life and makes her sing.

The rains pour down their unrelenting proof

That spring is here with all life raindrops bring. 

The dancing rain becomes her childhood friend.

They greet her while she sits on her porch swing.

And when the lightning and thunder storm end,
She skips about in puddles raindrops bring.

But in the mountain desert brisk winds blow,

Spring showers she now meets are likely snow.

PAD 13 Comparison

Time  

Time is like a river,

steadily flowing on.

Time is like a paycheck,

how quickly it is gone.

Time is like an ocean,

always seems to be more.

Time is like a disease,                                  

for which there is no cure.

Time is like a teacher,

on whom you can depend.

But time is psychotic,

it kills you in the end.  

Time is like a buzzard,

looking for a good meal.

Time is like the Wizard.

It turns out, he’s not real.

PAD 12 Broken

Abused, despairing

Spirit like her fingernails

Torn, broken, bleeding

PAD 11 In Case of ...

 In Case of Meeting a Giant Gorilla

My sis at twenty-one and I, at fifteen,  

prepared to visit a friend in Maryland
about a five hour drive from P-A.

As we loaded our luggage

my mom, meanwhile,
stuffed the back seat.

Battery cables, jugs of water,
firstaid kit, extra food, blankets,
a fist full of change-“just in case.”

“Let’s take a bunch of bananas,

in case we meet a giant gorilla.”
How did I make it to sixteen?

We didn’t use most of Mom’s supplies

but the water came in handy
to wash the windshield.

Day 10 suffering

Abilities  

Why is it

the happiest people I know

are developmentally disabled? 

They must not have that inner imp

 judging, insulting,demanding,

prodding with discontent.

They must lack that intelligence,

that quick wit, that analytical ability

to breed their own anguish. 

No, they just accept themselves

and others for who they are

and smile.

PAD 9 Hunter/Hunted

The Hunter 

A hunter thinks and breathes hunting.

His house is decorated with

antlers, photographs, taxidermy

reminding him of his successes.

He talks shop with other hunters—

favorite places, techniques, game.

He endures ridicule from nonhunters

who don’t understand.

He invests in rifles, ammunition,

licenses, clothing, camping gear.

He takes time off for his expeditions.

He rises before the sun. 

He tramps the woods in all weather.

He may not be able to see his prey,

but he knows the signs.

He sits in silence and waits.

 Or he joins fellow hunters

 to flush out their quarry.

He rejoices in the game he gets,

and shares his prize with others.  

Lord, may I be more like the hunter

in dedication, discipline, patience

passion, sacrifice, celebration

when seeking You.  

PAD 8 Instruction

Coot Ideas 

You know that old joke

about how to cook a coot?                   

Stuff the bird with bricks.

Place in a pot.

Cook all day.

Throw away the coot

and eat the bricks. 

Some poems are like that.

Start with an idea.

Add angst, details, memories

a simile here, a metaphor there.

Then delete the original thought. 

Not all concepts are coots,

but some are.

 

PAD 7 Sevenling

(Sevenling)

 

Romaine

Iceberg

Red tip

 

Yellow Jacket

Carpenter

Honey

 

Let us be.

PAD Day 6 Post

Posted

P oem in the making

O thers forsaking

S o cerebrally engrossed

T ime quickly passing

E ach thought amassing  

D ownright determined to post

PAD Day 5 Plus

Gotta Have It

This silly world makes such a fuss.

To emphasize they add a plus.

More! Extra! Bonus is a boon!

The normal stuff is good, but add

some wonder pizzazz, just a tad.

The ultra helps you reach the moon.

New and improved is such a hit.

Yes, super-size to benefit.

May, from this hype, I be immune.

PAD 4 Hold that blank

Hold Your Horses

She calls for help.

I poke my head into the bathroom

where she’s playing in the bubbles.

“Hold your horses,” I tell her

as I go retrieve something.

When I return I ask

did you hold your horses?

She throws a fit of giggles.

She’s an adult

but a child in many ways.

She’s holding her horses.

PAD 3 Tentative Poetic Bloomings duo rhyme

Volunteer

How did I get me into this?

I have to think of ways to miss.

Oh, must I face this lions' den?

Yes, there are better ways to spend

my time, on this I can depend.

I feel I will soon meet my end.

This promise I must soon amend.

I’m scared to death, I can’t pretend.

I said I’d do it for a friend.

I volunteered to speak again.

I made it fine the last abyss

I’m sure I’ll be victorious.

PAD 2

Acclimation  

The sun’s rays reach out like

a twirling ice skater.

The mountains dressed in white

appear to move miles closer.

The field snow sparkles like glitter

on a child’s Christmas card.

As my glasses turn

the world becomes deeper,

making brightness easier to bear.

How long will it take to acclimate to heaven

after the comparative dullness of the earth?

PAD 1 Arrival

S is for Smile 

Sometimes

I seem so sad

and serious

sinking into a insatiable swamp

or being swallowed

by some sensational sea monster.
Serve me up a sense of humor, please.

I’ll sit here sulking while waiting its arrival.

This poem has been brought to you by the letter S.