A blog for the midnight epiphanies and idle thoughts of a hopeless wordaholic.
Sunday Muse #157.
CHOICES
Here I stand in this alley, cast in this crack
by a careless breeze that wafted on its
way with no thought to my dilemma.
I refuse to be cast aside like a piece of
urban detritus. I will be a bright spot,
if only for a time, and send a message of
hope to those who pass by, while the breeze,
the careless breeze, will be remembered
by none
It's Meet the Bar and our challenge is hopscotch rhythm and rhyme (much more professionally delineated). My poem features a modern trend of "visitation"---that paying of respect to the dear departed---in which family meets and greets mourners without the casket of the departed in evidence. I recently attended one such reception...my first...and here's the tale in rhyme. Submitted to dVerse, April 22, 2021
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MODERN TRENDS
The husband of a friend has died
We must go to Joe’s visitation
(I had been told by a friend who knew
It was interment and not cremation.)
We all grow old, but we toddle on
We have to pay our respects
Granted when we fill the room
We’re a bunch of rambling wrecks
The room was filled with people
Remembering the dear departed
We made rounds til we arrived
At the point at which we started.
I had a burning question
But I didn’t dare to ask it
I’d looked around quite carefully
And I hadn’t seen the casket.
But we’d said hello and sympathized
Said “Sorry he had to go”
So we bid farewell and went on our way
Wondering…Where the heck was Joe?
It's Weekly Scribblings and Rosemary has given us poems for inspiration to write about April. I'm touched most by James Hearst's April. Submitted to Poets & Storytellers United, April 21, 2021 The white-on-black sketch pictured is by Matt Jagitsch, a very talented artist who can be found at Black Sheep Studios on Facebook.
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APRIL'S PROMISE
April is joyously welcome in northern climes. Winter’s dingy snow has melted away, the grass is greening, the trees are budding, and daffodils announce Spring has arrived. Bradford pear, crabapple, magnolia, and tulip trees burst into bloom, and the migrating birds reappear and start busy nest-building, greeting each day with birdsong. On the farms, it’s time for babies….lambs, calves, and piglets. Mama ducks appear with wee bits of fluff trailing after. April signals the reassuring, rejuvenating cycle of life.
It's Writers' Pantry #66. On any given night in the shady areas of most cities, lonely hearts gather at a neighborhood pub seeking solace in a bottle and companionship on a barstoool. Submitted to Poets & Storytellers United, April 18, 2021.
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Weekly Scribblings this week is "for the birds". I've used one of my digital art pieces which carries a pithy quote. Submitted to Poets and Storytellers United, April 13, 2021
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BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP
Beauty is a gift
not to be taken lightly
if not paired with kindness
beauty can be quite unsightly
It's Prosery today at dVerse, and Lillian has given us If you are a dreamer, come in from a Shel Silverstein poem to be included in our prosery. I played with some idioms, which fascinate me, for a succinct bit of nonsense advice....influenced by Silverstein himself. Submitted to dVerse April 12, 2021
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IDIOMATIC ADVICE
Don't judge a book by its cover. Watch out for truth seekers, tale spinners,
losers and winners, black sheep, lovers and dreamers. There’s more than
meets the eye, and smooth talkers are a dime a dozen. If you’re a dreamer,
come in, but they'll have a nail in your coffin before you can hit the sack.
Take it down a notch, zip your lip, and play safe. Good things come to him
who waits ……if he’s not riding the elephant in the room.
