Why Blank, PAD 21-3

 

Why?

 

Why does it rain?

Why do birds sing?

Why did the creek go dry?

Why does it snow in April?

Why do trees whistle in the wind?

Why do animals eat other animals?

Why do chipmunks die in bird houses?

Because.

Just because.

Why Blank, PAD 21-2, Shadorma

 

Why Not?

 

Go to Egypt?

During the school year?

Ride camels?

Is it safe?

Adventures, history, fun

So we say, “Why not?”

Why Blank, PAD 21-1, Sevenling

 

Sevenling (Why?)

 

Why do I write?

Why do I exercise?

Why do I pray?

 

Why do I binge on Netflix?

Why do I scroll on Facebook?

Why do I eat too much?

 

Could it all be for the same reason?

Explanation PAD 20-3, Septolet

 

Early, dark

Scrape windshield

Forested mountain

Rambunctious children

 

Some income

Love nature

Best friend

explanation PAD 20-2, senryu

 

He makes goals

Next day texts his excuses

But that is his own business

Explanation PAD 20-1 sedoka

 

Perspective

 

She is such a snob

Only talks to ones she knows

Such an unfriendly person

 

Introduce myself?

I hate this awkward shyness

Part of the reason I write

Six words PAD 19-3, Saraband

 

Fizzled  

 

Roiling emotions at his words,

They seemed like simply gibberish.

Completely crazy and absurd!

 

Beneath gnarled branches of the apple tree,

He kneeled before her with a diamond ring.

The expression on her face, could he see?

She declined with the phrase, “Well, here’s the thing.”

six words, PAD 19-2, ryuka

 

Spring days of kites and giggling kids

Dandelions, bubbles, and wind

Squinting and sneezing at the sun

Breathing rain-washed breezes

six words PAD 19-1, plus my six words, rhupunt

 

Gibberish

 

Mysterious
Bubble and fuss
Intricate dust
Add in some grace

 

Dandelion
Rolling on fine
Squint at the time
Setting the pace

 

Indigo storms

Fitting the forms

Gibberish norms

Try saving face

 

Crystal in thought

Radiant lot

Gnarled but not taut

Ending in place          

Nature Center poem

 

Ringtails

There’s a secretive animal

That is seldom seen.

He’s tan and has a long white tail,

Covered with black rings.

 

He looks somewhat like a squirrel,

And a bit like a raccoon.

He only comes out at night.

You might see him at full moon.

 

He eats bugs and plants

And perhaps a lizard.

And at climbing trees,

He’s practically a wizard.

 

He lives in rocks and caves

And is called a Ringtail Cat.

But he is not a cat at all.

What do you think of that?

Optimistic/Pessimistic PAD 18-3

 

Nightlight

 

When all seems dark

and I’m afraid

and things aren’t looking great.

 

I take my Bible

and begin

to pray and meditate.

 

My favorite verse

in Scripture,

Romans 8:28.

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV).

Optimistic/ Pessimistic, PAD 18-2, acrostic

 

Pessimistic

 

Problem focused

Expecting the worst

Sad countenance

Stubbornly negative

Intimidated and anxious

Morose and melancholy

Intensely doubtful

Scared of the future

Tragic attitude

Imagining disaster

Cynical outlook

Optimistic/ Pessimistic PAD 18-1, acrostic

 

Optimistic  

 

Open eyes to possibilities

Positive attitude  

Turning focus upward

Inspired, enthusiastic

More than hopeful

Imagining the best        

Sanguine personality

Taking a bright outlook

Intensified expectancy

Cheerful and Confident

Trope PAD 17-3 Rubáiyát

 

Lies

 

I’m tired of romance stories based on lies.

What one relates as true, the next denies.

The deeper into story, falsehoods grow.

It makes me wonder if they’re ever wise.

 

And when, at last, the lovers tell their tale.

It certainly appears that they will fail.

Then somehow, they accept each other’s love.

But I am not convinced that all is well.

Tropes PAD 17-2, haiku

 

Tropes

 

Telling a story

Repeating scenarios

Often switching up

People, places, happenings

Ending nicely

Sometimes

Trope PAD 17-1, Rubai

 

College Dating

 

My college years sound like a trope,

With cross connections like a rope,

Between some roommates and some friends.

Yes, it was like a real-life Soap.

 

From ex and beyond, it extends,

Relating in curios blends.

Roomie liked my ex plus a guy.

The guy liked me and here it tends

 

To complicate and go awry.

I liked my ex’s roommate, sigh.

Another friend’s ex asked me out.

I dated him, but not sure why.

 

It grew tangled, without a doubt.

Somehow or other, all worked out.

I got with ex’s roomie, yay.

Roomie got with ex, roundabout.

 

We had some months to date and play,

But then, time came to go away.

I went to Wyoming to stay.

And met my hubby one fine day.

Possible, PAD 16-3, Rondeau

 

Keep On Writing

Keep on writing, through thick and thin,
Though you may think you will not win.
When success seems far out of reach,
And you fear, “Those who can’t do, teach,”
Feel wasting time may be a sin.

You’re tired of being so “all in.”

Always taking it on the chin.
You’d rather relax at the beach.
Keep on writing.

Rejection puts you in tailspin.
You need to grow a rhino skin.
All’s possible with God does preach.
He does listen when you beseech.
So please, finish what you begin.  
Keep on writing.

 

Possible PAD 16-2, Rondelet

 World of Possibility

 

The travel bug

Oh, I had caught it early on.

The travel bug

It started slowly as a slug.

To see the world, I have felt drawn.

Immunity is now long gone.

The travel bug

possible PAD 16-1, PB nuisance, Rondel

 

Mean Old Winter

 

 Fair autumn days are slipping past.

Old winter’s chasing on its heels.

Who’s ready for what winter deals?

Impossible for fall to last.

 

Mean winter’s coming way too fast.

At gloominess, my poor mind reels.

Fair autumn days are slipping past.

Old winter’s chasing on its heels.

 

Bare branches stark in skies like glass.

Sheet ice on roads aims, maims, and kills.

I freeze, at least, that’s how it feels.

As days go by, gray snow’s amassed.

Fair autumn days are slipping past.

Monster PAD 15-3 Rispetto

 

Send Them Packing

 

The monsters creep about at night,

Which shows that they are truly wimps.

Afraid to face you in the light,

They hide away with all the imps.

 

So if there’s monsters neath your bed,

You tell them go, fill them with dread.

Because you’re brave and good and wise,         

The monsters run in their surprise.

Monster PAD 15-2, Rictameter

 Despair

 

Listen

Do not give up

Go forward bit by bit

Do not let despair devour you

Head up, eyes forward, one step, then the next

Chase away fog that blocks vision

You have done harder things

Be encouraged

Listen

monster PAD 15-1 Rime Royal

 Depression

 

Depression haunted me for many years.

In fact, when in my teens it rarely left.

 

In early marriage, it brought many tears.

I daily dealt with symptoms of its theft.

It left my family and friends bereft.

 

I learned it’s not the monster it appeared,

And to direct my mind from what I feared.

who blank, PAD 14-3, Rime Couée

 

Who Cares?

 

The ones who seem a tad bit odd

Though mold has broken, don’t blame God

Who see as perfect, not as flawed  

Who value each and every soul

Concern’s not merely a façade

Who want them healthy, safe and whole

Who blank, PAD 14-2, Quinzaine

 

Who Talks to Birds?

Birds meet on my bush outside.

When do you fly south?

Can I come?

Who Blank, PAD 14-1

 Who Thinks Poem is a Verb?

 

Not English teachers

Not students

Not dictionaries

Not Google

 

Not doctors, lawyers, mathematicians

Not butchers, bakers, candlestick makers

Not many, comparatively.

 

Who thinks poem is a verb?

People who poem. 

Dialogue PAD 13-3 , Quintain

 Revision

 

“My words don’t seem to come out right today.”

“Well then, it’s good that they're not set in stone.”

“So let’s forget this and go out to play.”

“A fine idea then come back to hone

your words and write them yet another way.”

Dialogue PAD 13-2, Quintella

 

That Smile

 

She spoke to me with sounds that slurred

And smiled a magnificent smile.

I knew I’d have to guess a while.

Sometimes, it seemed so hard, absurd,

To dialogue without a word.

dialogue PAD 13-1, questionku

 

I said, “Look here.

“A trip to Egypt.”

"Why not?" she asks. "Let's go!"

Color, PAD 12-3, free verse

 

Colors of Costa Rica

 

Blue skies and sea

Red hibiscus, jasper, red-hot lava

Red eyes and toes of a red-eyed tree frog

Yellow of a toucan’s chest and bill

Orange fruit: oranges, jacote, nance, granadilla

Browns of sloths, monkeys, old buildings

Five hundred thousand plus plants

Green, green and more green

Color, PAD 12-2, Quatern

 Town’s Closing Imminent

 

The oakbrush leaves have fallen down.

But why is this such a concern?

There once was green, red, orange, then brown.

The kids play there to grow and learn.

 

Each has a fort in which to hide.

But oakbrush leaves have fallen down.

Had privacy though side by side.

A bustling, cool, make-believe town.

 

The king and queen each wear a crown.

And they still rule there even though

The oakbrush leaves have fallen down.

The town will close with too much snow.

 

The handyman built furniture.

Among us it is quite renown.  

But to the barn it will transfer.

The oakbrush leaves have fallen down.

 

 

Color, PAD 12-1, quadrille (44 syllables)

 

Sunshine and Lemons

 

Yellow doors, curtains, trim

Reminding me of sunshine and lemons

Just like the time we spent  

Caring for our first special-needs client  

Sunshine and lemons

Happiness and misery