Only Six More Days
My heart is heavy
I have pain in my belly
my bones are much afraid.
but I see horses on the horizon
perhaps they foretell magic
I implore the yellow moon.
The crow caws in the distance
I hope for a silver lining
Only six more days.
Written for Shay's Word Garden word list
The Holy Ghost
People walk into church looking for something to believe in,
a God they can trust, a God who is there when there is nothing else.
Sometimes the church is filled and sometimes not so much. A pastor
appears and goes through the usual liturgy, gives a sermon filled with hope.
After all, isn't that why people are there? People seek comfort in familiar
routines and music. Somewhere in the church is the Holy Ghost who makes
belief possible, who usually comes when beckoned but occasionally is silent,
out of sight. Like this year, election year. Church goes through their
familiar routines, the organ plays louder than ever, people stand, sit,
and people parrot the familiar prayers. But there is something missing.
Church has lost something, doesn't feel the same. Perhaps the Holy Ghost
has taken leave. Perhaps God has given up on humanity, or
perhaps humanity has given up on God. Perhaps they wonder if God exists
and if God is all powerful why God doesn't save this world.
Written for Susan's prompt at What's Going On? ---- "Ghosts"
The Long Wait
I waited for the ambulance.
In a groggy state I lay on the ground.
It was raining and I lay wet and hurting,
unable to rise, knowing I was broken.
I wanted someone to cradle me,
to take away my pain or
to become a butterfly
able to fly away above it all--
higher ever higher like a kite soaring
on a warm bright summer day,
a phantom in flight, escaping
to a much kinder world.
Written with words from Shay's Word List!
Desert
Life is a barren desert.
Where is the sane life?
Surely it is somewhere.
I feel the wind blowing,
trudge slowly, feel oppressed.
I wonder what is ahead,
cannot see the future.
Sand fills my mouth,
blinds my eyes. Somehow
I must find a way to survive.
I walk on blinded, with hope.
Written for Sumana's prompt "Desert" at What's Going On?
Back in the Day
I took Latin in high school!
"Veni, vidi, vici"
"agricola, agricolae, agricolorum."
They said taking Latin would
enhance one's English,
but in retrospect Iwish I had
been lucid enough to take a
language I could speak.
I can't remember the teacher's name,
and I get his face mixed up with
the face of the physics teacher
who was cross-eyed, and I never
knew which eye was looking at me.
This drove me stir-crazy.
I spent a lot of time in the library
in the days they had card catalogues.
In fact, as a timid kid I worked in
the school library typing out cards
for new books. It gave me a sense
of being helpful, useful, even
important.
The job was a good fit, and
the librarians were always pleased
with my work. I appreciated
their kindness in those days,
as I wasn't getting many invitations
to parties, and no one gave me
their class ring to wear on a chain
around my neck. I wasn't very high
up on the social ladder.
My favorite bells were the dismissal
bells that rang at the end of the day.
I was always pleased to leave that place.
This was inspired by the word list Shay offered for her prompt this week. (Shay's Word Garden) I think I used twelve of the twenty, which isn't bad since I had no idea where I was going with this when I began. LOL.
Roadhouse Revelry
When I asked what's on the menu
the waiter laughed and said,
"This is a noodle joint, bonehead,
so probably you can guess"
I asked if they had Pad Thai,
and he said, "Do you think this is a
rich-ass place?"
"No," I said. "I wouldn't put it
in that category."
I overheard some other customers
laughing. "Well, what do you
have then?"
"Spaghetti or Mac and cheese
made from bags of noodles I have,"
he said looking at me strangely.
Creeped out, my instinctual thoughts
were either to leave the joint or to
punch him. But instead I
politely used my superpower
of kindness and ordered:
"Give me a Mac and Cheese
pleeze," and added, "Do you mind
if I take photos of this place?
Shay's Word Garden. I think I used eleven of the words in the prompt. It was a stretch!
Magic
I am not a believer
Tell me I am too cynical
I will say undoubtedly true.
I liked fairy tales as a child
but I outgrew them
I never like magical realism
too far fetched for me.
I would rather read reality
deal with life as it is or
could possibly be rather
than fantasize what could
be possible in a dream world.
There are days days I wish
I could see magic somewhere
but that is not my way, and
I doubt I will change.
This is written for Sherry's prompt "Magic" at What's Going On?
It Doesn't Have to Be Beautiful
It doesn't have to be beautiful
my hair on an ordinary morning
I was never good with hair anyway
but I was better when my hair was short.
I am growing it longer now intentionally
since the pandemic stopped my haircuts
When I did finally get it cut, I thought
why not let it grow even longer than this?
why not try really long hair? Why not?
It doesn't have to be beautiful, this
hair that so often blows in the wind,
this hair that ends up in my eyes,
this hair that ends up in my mouth,
this hair that I am always brushing aside.
A hair band helps but not that well.
It doesn't have to be beautiful, this
hair that I try to style with hair dryer
and a special brush, this hair that I
even use a curling iron on, but I don't
use any products even though the
beautician always tries to sell them.
It doesn't have to be beautiful, this
hair that I will even grow longer,
perhaps turning it into a pony tail,
something I have never had. Perhaps
I will tire of long hair in the summer
but I will try a new version of me first.
It doesn't have to be beautiful, does it?
For Susan's prompt " Hair" at What's Going On?
(I wrote the above poem after I got my first haircut after I had not had it cut in more than a year during Covid Time. I never DID grow it long enough for a pony tale! And it IS shorter now, though not as short as pre-Covid!)
Beckoning Me Back
If only there were a camera
that could take me back to
the vacant lots of my childhod
and show me once more all
that I forgot over the passing of years
the bliss as well as the anguish
like confetti in the darkness
dazzling like broken glass
bells chiming in the courtyard
transistor radio blaring the same songs
over and over, siren sounding,
beckoning me back to forgotten days.
Written for Shay's Word Garden Word List!
Autumn
Autumn is an enchanting season
a quiet time when fluttering leaves
are the backdrop of each day.
As the quiet yellow leaves scatter
forgotten is the hustle of summer
there is a smoky scent in the air.
Autumn is a blissful phantom time
a pallet of colors mixed with bliss
warm jackets for the evening chill.
As the ferry begins its last journey
and pheasants scatter on the horizon
minds once again turn to poetry and love.
Written for Shay's Word Garden list - Autumn
