REGRET

 It's Poetic Tuesday, and Ingrid is our guest host.  She asks us to consider narrative poetry.  In my city this week, two young people died in an auto accident who were on their way to their high school prom when they collided with another car of young people.  The city mourns. No cause for the accident has been published.  My poem is supposition only, submitted to dVerse on May 5, 2021.

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Come, sit with me, let’s chat a while

My days are lonely here

I’d so much living left to do

Too quickly it was through

The car was fast, the road was slick

And I paid no attention

Before the night had ended

I was in this new dimension

My heart is heavy as I learn

I’m not the only one

Other lives were lost that night

When I was out for fun

I sit alone on this stone bench

No chance amends to make

I pray forgiveness from those they loved

Their lives were not mine to take.

MOTHER

Quadrille #127.  We're inspired by the words "planting seeds".  I thought immediately of my mother, and her annual excitement when her seed catalogs arrived.  In her garden was a plaque which read "The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth. One is nearer God's heart in the garden than anywhere else on earth".   Submitted to dVerse, May 3, 2021

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MOTHER

Each Spring she anxiously awaited

arrival of the annual seed catalogs.

She spent hours perusing the pages

and plotting her garden.  She used 

the ancient tiller to till the soil, and

     she planted expectantly. Her happiest 

hours were spent  in her garden     

communing with God.

 

STUFF

Writers' Pantry and I thought we might need to consider the extraneous stuff we all accumulate, and what happens to it when we're gone.  Submitted to Poets & Storytellers United  May 2, 2021

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STUFF

Seems we think we never have enough

When drawers are full,  we yet acquire more stuff

We don’t even recognize, I guess

that our accumulation has reached excess.

We rent a storage pod to take the overflow

when we run out of places for stuff to go,

keeping this and that and those, in fear

we might need them come next year.

Yellowed letters and forgotten lockets

Forgetting caskets don’t have pockets

Gotta remember when we talk to God

Tell him we’re coming with a storage pod! 

CHANCES

 Sunday Muse #158

CHANCES

There once was a girl named Vanity

Who walked above city depravity

She took a big chance, got some implants

And lost her center of gravity

HIDDEN PERSUADERS

For this week's Scribblings, we're asked to consider liminal space.  I segued to subliminal space, which is a long-ago interest of mine. Forgive me for offering verbose prose, but it's what came to mind for this challenge!  Submitted to Poets & Storytellers United, April 28, 2021

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When I saw the topic for this week's Scribblings, it triggered the archives in the attic of my brain, and I remembered an interest of mine from around 1960 ---subliminal advertising--so my mind leaped from liminal space to subliminal space  Advertisers have  been experimenting with subliminal messaging -- either auditory or visual stimuli given at a level the conscious mind cannot perceive.  An early example was by a man named Vicary who claimed an experiment by placing subliminal messages of "Drink Coca-Cola" and "Eat popcorn" in the screening of the movie "Picnic" in a Fort Lee, New Jersey theater.  He claimed the hidden phrases, flashed at 13/1000 of a second at intervals increased the sale of Coca-Cola and popcorn exponentially.  While his experiment was later found to be a hoax, subliminal advertising continues to this day by such entities as, for example,  Marlboro, Benson and Hedges,  KFC, and McDonalds, and in-store music. When researchers played music in a liquor store, they found a startling result. On days when German music was played, German wine outsold French wine. However, the reverse happened when French music was played--this from a study in 1999.

Today, the use of subliminal messaging is banned in many countries. Unsurprisingly, the United States does not expressly forbid the use of subliminal messages in advertisements, though their use does fall under federal law enforcement jurisdiction  So, next time you're grocery shopping or in an elevator, pay attention to the music.  You may be receiving messages unaware!  If you'd like to know more, check out "Hidden Persuaders" by Vance Packard, published l957, the book that sparked my interest.   

NATURE'S SURPRISE

Frank has asked us to "live in the moment" for our haibun/haiku today.  It's a gorgeous sunshiny day with balmy temperature, so that's easy to accomplish!   Submitted to dVerse 4/25/21

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Such an ordinary day, hardly worth a star on 

the calendar.  A little computer time, then time 

to sit on the patio and absorb the sunshine. Our 

new home backs up to the forested edge of a

walking trail.  We are still identifying trees and

shrubs, clearing undergrowth and planning 

to turn this into a pretty, relaxing spot. We 

notice one of the trees has bloomed small 

white blooms, perhaps a dogwood.  What 

a nice surprise. Time to contemplate nature’s 

unexpected gifts….and be grateful.  

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nature welcomes us

unexpected blooms of white

bright spot in our day

THE SURVIVOR

Submitted to Poets & Storytellers United, and to dVerse   April 25, 2021 This is not autobiographical, but honors a survivor I know and admire.  

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THE SURVIVOR

She left in disarray, thoughts scattered

with only vestiges of broken dreams

betrayed, abused, emotions tattered

she’d lost herself, a victim of his schemes

escape and freedom all that mattered

she fled with faith alone, or so it seems.

she vowed to find a safe and better place

where she'd find peace and healing

 regaining strength and renewing grace.

slowly they returned, the things she treasured

things she scarcely realized she’d lost

confidence, identity, resolve unmeasured

she came to know how great had been the cost

when she had lived only to see him pleasured

and he, in turn, had cruelly double-crossed.

she put in the past the deceit and degradation

and faced her future, filled with celebration.