A Wee Bit of Advice

 ~ For Friday Writings Magaly has us considering the juxtaposition between despair and delight ~ 

Good Afternoon, my friends. Take a step outside to breathe in that fresh air, sit yourself down for a moment of peace and quiet ~ enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, a glass of lemonade, wine ~ or a stiff belt of something stronger if you so desire. 

NOW turn “them” off. I'll wait. Just turn them OFF! OK? Better? Turn off the scrolling doom, the flashing alerts, and the weight of a world that feels constantly broken. We need moments like these, to resettle ourselves, to turn off the crazy noise.

Breathe in, breathe out, you'll know when the volume, the incessant shouting, has diminished. Now close your eyes, open them to look at something that gives you joy, peace and comfort ~ maybe your garden, your child, your pet.

Simply BE for a moment. IN the moment. You may learn that between despair and delight lives afternoon delight! 

I Promise.

---

Remembering Sally ~~~

 

 

She formed words

in her mind

brilliant, succinct

words she could not speak 

mind intact, body failing

motor neurons misfiring

muscles wasting

bone density lost 

like iron converting to rust 

there was no way out

 

no happy ending

disintegration unstoppable

ALS ~ a cruel, merciless disease

Take A Chance

sometime in the late 70's

take a chance, take a chance, take a chance 

is chanted [rapidly] during this ABBA song

my little quartette got all tongue-tied

then we began to giggle 

giggles soon turned into guffaws

we had to leave the stage

talk about embarrassing

Listen to the song, you will soon understand!

A Barrage of Books!

this is the home library

of a good and great friend

his library speaks volumes

[ pardon the pun ] 

those who love him

label him 'a hoarder'

[ in the most gentle of tones ]

the beauty of his quasi Dewey Decimal system ~

he knows exactly where to find what he seeks

even though it may rest 

in a stack on the floor or on dining room table

this historic home was built in 1902

quite close to the 1904 World's Fair site

rumour has it dignitaries from Europe 

rented the home for 

weeks at a time during the Fair ~

if they could see it now!

Unfinished Business

Rosemary [ Friday Writings ] asks we respond to a provocative question:

 "This world has no meaning. Why fucking bother?” 

Also Submitted to Lisa and the dVerse Poets Pub ~ Open Link Night

'The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep'. ** Robert Frost **

you ask me why, why bother at all?

i have stood in that question's shadow

in a world that shrugs at meaning 

should i forget the sound 

of my own footsteps

it will only grow louder

the woods are lovely, dark, and deep

but i haven't come this far

to lie down in them just yet

meaning is not found ..

it is made in the small

insistence "of staying"

so why bother?

because my story is not done

because love has not released me

because there are miles before me

i walk them, shoulders back

gloriously awake

  

Feeling Deeply

Rosemary asks us to share something precious today ~ feelings we hold deeply and close to our hearts with the Friday Writings Community 

Also sharing with dVerse Poets

Once upon a time

not that long ago

our special needs Son, Carl

walked into the living room and asked me:

"Mom, if you and Dad had known

how I would be ... would you still have had me?"

Yes, those were his exact words

I was momentarily dumb-struck

trying hard to find some semblance of composure 

I responded ... 

"You, my precious Son, are without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to our family .. you made each of us BETTER human beings! I cannot imagine our lives without YOU. You've inspired us to be generous, empathetic, inclusive, without bias. 

Everyone who knows you, customers who interact with you each day at Safeway [ the supermarket where Carl works ] admire and respect you!" You brighten their days, elevate them.

Carl is turning sixty-five this year

He is my housemate, my buddy

travel companion and assistant chef 

he makes me laugh, we share movies 

television shows, sporting events

concerts, walks and dinners out.

a family strong

what is truly important 

for all our lifetime 

 

Remembering Tuscany, 2016

Magaly provides this phrase as inspiration for our poetry ~ “the world is burning, but…”  

the world is burning, but

when olive groves call

leaves dance in the breeze

Fourteen Words

 For Poets & Storytellers ~ Friday Writings

once I looked 

into your eyes 

I knew the flame of love 

burned bright

Through Time

Rommy jump-starts our creative thought processes with this quote:

“Don’t be afraid to start over

this time you’re not starting from scratch

you’re starting from experience”

 

I've tripped more times

than I can count

each time i stumbled

i looked for the silver lining

usually found it and said to myself 

'well that didn't go quite as planned'  

i've had new jobs, new loves, new hips, new friends

replacements for things i wore out living 

each time, learning how to begin again

with grace, more determination

all the encouragement I needed

   

Summertime and the Livin' Was Easy

 

Summertime in the mid-1950s came with a golden hush, a kind of softness that settled over the small town of Caseyville like a quilt stitched from sunlight. Back then, life moved at a slower pace. Dusk was the hour we waited for all day, when the heat of summer finally slipped away and the sky turned the color of dreams ~ lavender, honey and softening blue.

We were children on the edge of something for which we didn’t have names. We spilled from our homes, played hide and go seek among bushes, tree trunks and fences. Boys darted like shadows, laughing ~ girls clutched giggles behind willow trees, hearts beating fast for reasons having nothing to do with the game. We traded whispered secrets like currency.

Someone’s mother would call from the kitchen window, her voice warm and distant, offering a tray of clinking glasses ~ half lemonade, half iced tea, ice melting fast. A few minutes later, another parent would appear with a hand-cranked churn of homemade ice cream, the kind that left your tongue tingling, your soul wide awake.

We played until the stars blinked overhead and fireflies lit the grass with secret codes. We could smell freshly cut lawns and warm earth, the sweetness of wild clover crushed under running feet. There were glances, touches that lingered, names called with a little more softness.

Now, all these years later, I still see it ~ the way a certain boy ducked behind the Holtcamp's garage ~ waited a second longer ~ ensuring I would find him. The hush of twilight when everything felt possible. Those were summers, before the world tilted us toward growing up. I carry them with me like a favorite song ~ a few notes, and I’m there again. Precious memories amassed, woven into the fabric of our lives.

Hopper's Art

"Well, I have a very simple method of painting" 

"Gas" ~~~ Edward Hopper

he stands alone at the pump

a sentinel in half light

one hand on hose ~~

other itching for a cigarette 

[ he promised her he would stop ]

sun's slipped low enough to

gray-blue-tinge the tree edges ~~

country road unraveling

into the hush of approaching darkness 

does he think of her?

long hair full of summer lightness

sweet voice that used to remind him ~~

"come home early for pie"

or ~ does he think at all

satisfied with the rhythm

of solitary duty 

pump the gas

sweep the floor

lock up

sleep

 

Let the Countdown Begin

 

Rommy has us thinking about comfort food today ~~~ 

my tooth

a tyrant tucked away in 

the back of my mouth

has declared mutiny

it throbs like a drum

sings its own aria !!

bread is too bold

carrots out of the question

even soup warrants vetting !!

i live now in the 

land of the mashed & puréed

kingdom of all that is soft

where applesauce and mashed potatoes reign

and pudding is my only pleasure !!

three days until my dentist

my knight with a shiney drill

rescues me from

this gosh-darn molar menace 👿

The Senior Mixer

Magaly asks us to consider a time we had to decide between two equally yummy options ~~ and away we go!!!  Extra points if you guess who I chose!

At eighty-three might I turn heads ?

with silvery curls and lipstick reds ?

fox-trotting in my sequin shoes ?

smart enough to choose a muse ?

Listen close, I've got a plight 

two gents there last Friday night

one a poet, spoke in rhyme

waltzed me through dessert and wine

the other? Gads, was tall and tan

drives a Harley, called me Ma'am!

the poet whispered "seize the day"

the biker roared "let's go, let's play"

I fanned my face, my heart beat fast

who to chose? which die to cast?

each brings thrills in his own way

like chocolate fudge or  Crème Brûlée 

one reads Keats beneath the stars

the other? off to roadside bars!

so I'll not choose, at least not yet

lest we forget, they call me coquette

i've earned the right to test drive both 

first a dance with polished flair

and next the bike, wind in my hair!

cheers to me, there's so much more

making sparks at eighty-four

life's a banquet, grab a plate

"HE" made the cut ~ must not be late!!

[ any gussess ? ]

In Response

 Rosemary invites us to compose a response to a poem  someone else wrote ~ I chose Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me To The End Of Love" ~ my favorite lines:

Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin

Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in

 Dancing with my Grandson Charlie

  My hand rests in his

we twirl together

his smile a melody

I have known forever

I follow, as always I will

someday my feet will falter

someday I will let go

but not tonight

tonight we dance

to the melody of a wish

I hold deep in my bones

that life is kind to him

that love finds him whole

that his road is long, never lonely

as music swells, his eyes shine

I gather myself into the moment

knowing he will carry this dance

long after I am gone

Upside Down / Inside Out

Rosemary suggests we re-write one of our poems that "didn't work quite as well as we might have liked" ~  transcribe it backward ~ follow the result wherever it takes us ~ create a new poem!

old poem backward:

real it keeping just feel i that way the yawns stifle i fawns media nude half photos food buy they where rest the and them with impressed they're admit dares really who cares really who drift my get you swift kardashian call the ignoring all it over i'm know to you want hello howdy

new poem:

do i really care what influencers say

swift and kardashians will not make my day

who are the followers so very impressed

everyday women who would have guessed

original poem:

howdy hello

want you to know

i'm over it all

ignoring the call

kardashian swift

you get my drift

who really cares 

who really dares

admit they're impressed

with them and the rest

where they buy food

photos half nude

media fawns

i stifle yawns

the way that i feel

just keeping it real

CHARGE !!!

 Rommy has us thinking about batteries running low ~ my poem is / a tale of woe!

Ode to my Cell

behold this phone / a trusty mate

charge is dropping / my sad fate

at 5% it blinks and pouts

a drama queen / creating doubts

but oh dear battery / don't you know

you mirror me / from head to toe

I too by noon could use a nap

recharge my joints / perhaps a snack

for life's a race / don't rush / don't fret

got many sparks to offer yet

I've walked the miles / laughed the years

seen the world / through smiles and tears

sure enough / knees feel 'low power'

my back can crack / at any hour

but life's still bright / on flashing screen

even when I'm low-caffeine

so plug me in / don't let me fade

I still know how pure joy is made

a glass of wine / a laugh or two

I'm good as new / now how 'bout you

Something New for You!

 To acknowledge the New Year, Rosemary invites us to look through our writings, see if there is anything we might "remix" ~ create something brand new! I published these poems years ago ~ today I created a new poem using several lines from each. 2014 poem is on my blog, 2015 isn't. 

2014

turn around look at me

see the curve of my lip

the sparkle in my eyes

arms wide open

i have enough happiness

for the two of us

2015

you came close enough

to feel my shame

I have no need

to show you more

content to lie here

wait out the night

***************************************************

you came close enough

turn around look at me

see the curve of my lip

i have no need

to show you more

i have enough happiness

for the two of us