PAD 28 I want blank, Poetic Bloomings gift

I Want This and This and This and This

I remember as kids

we loved pouring over the pages

of the Sears catalog.

We’d make a long list of what we wanted,

marking down the prices and page numbers.

We’d marvel at how much it all cost when we added it up.

We knew we’d get only one or two things on the list,

but half the fun was the wishing.

PAD 27 Falling Apart

Writing Captain

I’m afraid my forty-year old writing group

is falling apart

and I’ll be like a naval captain

not abandoning ship

until the last glug, glug, glug. 

PAD 27 Falling Apart

Junkers

Many times, I’ve gone cross country

in a car that was falling apart,

with two little kids in the back seat

and not much money in my pocket.

(Just in case you wonder where

my strong prayer life comes from.)

PAD 27 Falling Apart

Falling Apart

F ifty-something, falling apart

A ware of the creaks and the groans

L acking in energy, shuffling along

L etting the pain out in moans

I  can’t see worth a

N ickle. My ears are all waxy.

G aining weight at great speed

A nd I’m not feeling sexy.

P lease lend me a hand

A s I try to get up, and

R emind me why

T here’s no tea in my cup. 

PAD 26 Visit

Hermits

We used to be more hospitable.

We’d always love to have people over

even when we lived in a small trailer.

Now as caregivers, we permanently

have people in our house.

We’ve become so busy

with this unusual family

that at times it feels like we’ve adopted

the “our four and nothing more” mentality.

I’d like to have people visit again,

but the thought exhausts me.

We’ll just have to be hermits for a while.

PAD 26 Visit

I’d Like to Visit Hawaii.

It will be my fiftieth state.

I want to see the rainbow trees,

eat pork at a luau, and watch hula dancers

I’d like to coast a bike down the mountainside

and swim at pools beneath the falls.

I’d like to hike in bamboo forests

and sight unusual birds like the kiwi.

I’d like go cruising on a Catamaran

and spy humpback whales.

I’d like to sit on a lanai,

watch surfers out on the waves.

and dream of packing up and moving there. 

PAD 26 Visit

A Century

We’re planning a visit

to Texas to celebrate

my father-in-law’s 100^th birthday.

Just think of what he has gone through since 1916.

The Great Depression, serving in WWII

Raising a family. He’s married to wife #4.

One hundred years of technology,

from the pop-up toaster to the iphone.

I can hardly imagine living that long.

I have 42 years to go.

Forty-two years ago I was 16,

just learning to drive.

That was about a couple hundred thousand miles ago.

What’s the world going to look like in 2058?

Maybe I’ll have to get my pilot’s license

to drive my flying car.

PAD 25 tape

When I think of the hours I have spent

wrapping gifts with yards of paper and scotch tape,

God bless whoever it was who came up with gift bags. 

PAD 25 tape

Duct Tape or WD40

I used to get duct tape for my husband for Christmas,

but then that’s akin to him giving me dishtowels and spatulas.

So I usually give him clothing for Christmas and birthdays.

But he won’t wear something new until the old is worn out.

So he has new jeans, shirts, socks, underwear and shoes

that he’s never worn.

I would get him duct tape again,

but he’d probably use it on his jeans, shirts, socks, underwear

and shoes to make them last longer.

He was raised by parents who grew up in The Great Depression.

So maybe this year I’ll give him WD40.

The bathroom door’s been squeaking.

PAD 25 tape

Whoosh and Wish

It’s about time

we get out packing tape

and shove pretty things

we made or bought into a box

and with a whoosh of the tape

and a wish that our loved ones

will feel the hugs and smiles

the gifts represent,

off they go. 

PAD 24 imitation

New Florence, PA

With a hint of Knoxville, Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni

I always like autumn the best,

when the hills surrounding our valley

burst out looking like a bouquet of flowers.

Red and orange maples

Purplish oaks

Reddish orange Sassafras

Golden birch

Mixed in with deep evergreens

The fresh, crisp air energized us

as we explored fields and woods

and breathed in spicy air.

We’d gather hickory nuts

and swish leaves up to our knees.

We’d rake and jump

and thrive in our colorful playground.

And when we grew up and moved out west,

Mom would seal up bright leaves in plastic

to entice us home for a visit.

PAD 24 imitation a8b6c8b6

Life in Christ

The life that I now live in Christ

Is one of hope and love

Though darkness hovers all about

His light shines from above

I once felt lonesome every day

Until the Lord came in

And now He’s with me all the time

I have a Friend built-in

He has a purpose and a plan

For me while I am here

He guides me sweetly every day

And hears my every prayer

Someday I’ll be up there with Him

In that Heavenly place

Then I will know Him as He is

And see Him face to face

PAD 24 imitation

A Yellow Dandelion

With hints of A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns

My love is like a dandelion

That’s just a common weed

His bright ideas scatter about

So like the flower’s seed  

And with its roots sunk firm in earth

All bright and cheery yellow

And so my love does spread his joy

He’s such a funny fellow

And many know the dandelion

Can crush into good wine

So with the pressures of this life

My love is just as fine 

PAD 23 when blank

When Two or Three

When two or three

get together to honor Christ,

they may as well pull out and extra chair

to remind them that though He is invisible

He is with them.

He promised. 

PAD when blank

Vanessa

When she does that belly laugh

Life suddenly seems okay

It makes me smile to hear her so

And ready to face my day

PAD 23 When blank

When I Meet Uncle Bill

When I meet Uncle Bill

I’ll be so happy to see him

and I’ll tell him how Dad

used to always talk about him,

how they would hunt and fish together.

 I’ll tell him that when Dad had Alzheimer’s

he’d talk to me as if I was his brother Bill.

I’ll tell Uncle Bill, “When Dad

was fighting in the Philippines

and heard you were killed in France,

Dad wrote an encouraging letter to your mother

saying that you wouldn’t want her to worry

that it was your duty and no matter how tough

you’d do it. It was the way you were.”

When I meet Uncle Bill,

I’ll tell him I missed knowing him.

Missed having his wife as an aunt

and his children as my cousins.

Missed seeing him and Dad laughing together.

When I meet Uncle Bill,

I’ll thank him and give him a big hug. 

PAD 22 Sharing

Sentimental Value

Sometimes it’s easier to share money

rather than something with sentimental value.

I would more readily give away fifty dollars

than the red-haired doll Mom bought

for a quarter at a yard sale.

I inherited the doll Dad named Gooneybird

and she now sits in my living room.

I’ll have to will her to my daughter

with instructions to keep her always. 

PAD 22 Sharing

Sharing

S ee how I

H old on to things so tightly

A fraid to let them go.

R emind me, Lord, that

I become stale and stagnant

N ot allowing Your

G oodness flow through like a fresh stream. 

PAD 22 Sharing

Barn Raising

That Kindergarten book guy

grasped reality. We need to go back

and learn the simple things like

sharing our toys, snacks and smiles.

We also need to share each other’s

fears, burdens and responsibilities.

Sometimes our own stuff overwhelms  

and others’ worries slip our minds.

We’ve lost the concept of barn raising.

They used to raise up one in a day

because everyone pitched in.

Sigh. We need to raise them up

instead of burning them down. 

PAD 21 Thinking Out Loud

Tattletale

Sometimes the things I say to myself

aren’t very nice so like a little kid

who tells on her big sister I say,

“Father, tell me to be kind to myself.”

PAD 21 Thinking out loud

Musical Breakfast

Everything seems to

remind me of a song

so it’s not unusual for me to

sing choruses like

Camp Granada

Hey Good Lookin’

Yes! We Have No Bananas

I’m Going to Order a Pizza Pie

Where Has My Little Dog Gone?

All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir

during the course of making breakfast.

PAD 21 Thinking out loud

Plotting

I’m afraid I’m going to be

one of those little old ladies

ambling down the hallways

rambling words that have

nothing to do with anything

but in reality I’ll be plotting

stories that make perfect sense

to me.

PAD 20 popular saying

Nice Weather We’re Having

Nice weather we’re having,

we say when we can’t

think of anything else.

For some unspoken reason

politics, church, hobbies,

travels, jobs, kids, pets,

what we had for lunch

are all taboo subjects.

Better to focus on blue skies,

sunshine and gentle winds.

PAD 20 popular saying, PB change

Be Prepared

The other morning,

we had our first snow.

Despite it being mid-November,

it melted quickly

and returned to spring-like weather.

My friend invited me

to her Nature Center for a hike.

I realized my mistake when she came out

wearing gloves, a knit cap,

a winter coat and hiking boots.

I enjoyed our hike through the woods

and out into an open field with a 360 degree view

of mountain ranges in four different states,

though I was hatless, wearing a light jacket

and sneakers standing in two inches of snow.

Thirteen miles into higher elevation

makes quite a difference.

PAD 20 popular saying

The Elephant in the Room

We didn’t notice it at first

Until the bad went to worst

We could handle it short term

This two-and-a-half-ton pachyderm

Its grayness matched the décor

We could keep it a little more

We’d dust around it till

The elephant ate its fill

It had a way to persuade

Except for the deposit that it made

PAD 19 common place

The Bank

I remember going into the bank

barely tall enough to look at the table

with slot boxes containing slips of paper.

I remember looking way up to counter

to the woman with glasses and curly hair.

It was a big dark building, soon demolished,

making me feel like part of history.

PAD 19 common place

Grocery Store Friendship

One time while wheeling

my two children up and down

the aisles of the grocery store,

I met a woman with her two children,

at each pass, coming from opposite directions.

We’d comment about the weather,

the food labels, the prices, our kids,

the mundane activities of the day.

By the time our baskets were full

we were friends, except I never saw her again.

PAD 19 common place

Library

Rows of books

Clean shiny inviting tables

Cozy chairs off to themselves

Entranced people at the computers

I hardly ever go to the library anymore.

My Kindle and laptop keep me busy.

I feel a bit nostalgic,

kind of like missing childhood holidays. 

PAD 18 wordle: clean, logic, band, web, pack, froth

Temporary

She cleaned all day till her bones were weary.

The logic of responsibility had left her dreary.

The radio band playing kept her going,

As she cleared cobwebs inwardly knowing

That a pack of kids would soon invade

Frothing with energy like a summer parade,

And the results of her efforts would disappear.

But she did it doggedly year after year,

Until one day the kids were gone

And she was left with a spotless home.

PAD 18 wordle web, froth, clean, pack, logic, band

Crooks

With a web of evil

frothing and bubbling beneath the surface

of a clean environment,

the pack of false professionals panned out their

logic to prospective customers who were unaware

that they were dealing with a band of criminals.

PAD 18 wordle: band, logic, pack, web, froth, clean

The Band

As the band belted out

loony logic about love,

families brought packed picnic baskets

weaving colorful webs of celebration on the lawn,

with a wondrous waterfall frothing and foaming nearby,

giving everyone around a clean, joyous feeling.