When Testosterone Starts Kicking In

He said he couldn’t wait ‘til high school
when he could date, and then he paused
said it didn’t matter if
she was smart or not as
long as she was hot.
I rolled my eyes
said a prayer.
Here it
comes.

@laurie kolp


*Prompt Inspiration: Nonet Poems: Poetic Form at Poetic Asides


**I was so happy to discover that I won second place in the challenge! Here's a complete list of the Top 10.

A Boy and His Dog

image by Zelko Nedic

One might think it strange:
a wayward, rampant boy
whose rough conditions early on...

...one might think would cause
a frenzy of foster parents
falling left and right,
a stack of cards misdealt;
but a good old faithful friend
learned to attack
his checkered moods
with wholehearted love
and sublime attitudes...

...one might think a calming channel
that coaxes robust energy
to settle down, enjoy life
as it is now, not how it was...

...yes, one might think
the ball is finally in his court
and, thanks to his dog, they’re correct.

©laurie kolp

Prompt inspirations:

The Sunday Whirl #67- wayward, falling, frenzy, attack, sublime, strange, settle, rough, channel, ball, robust, life

The Mag 128 (picture prompt)

PilLOWed

Cut the crap,
the hazard trap-
endanger not your
words with shallow
verbs and adjectives
too fluffy. My voice
is a pillow- when
I open up people
listen then fall
asleep.

@laurie

Prompt inspirations:
Imaginary Gardens- Words Count with Mama Zen
 3WW- cut, endanger, hazard

I WILL work out again...

Ever since my frozen shoulder pushed me into physical therapy, I've had a yearning to get back to the gym. I realize how much I miss the clang of metal weights drowning out top forty music and the malodorous bodies stepping off the cardio machines dabbing sweat with white hand towels.

Now this urge has steadily grown over the summer and I find myself romanticizing the time in my life when I had gym memberships and ran five miles a day; especially since my shoulder stiffens up when I don't do my mundane stretches. I just know a gym would help!

Pete once surprised me with a fully paid year-long gym membership. It was in-between birthing three babies in four years. I was falling asleep in the shower when I was lucky enough to have one. Needless to say, I can count on both hands the total amount of times I went to work out. I think I might have a wee bit of a problem trying to coax him into another one.

Years later, when the itch reappeared, I decided I'd just have to build up my own repertoire. I escaped to Target when the kids were in school and bought all the stretchy pully, arm shaking, thigh squeezy things I could find. Two weeks tops, and they were carefully tucked away in a drawer. Next, I tried the Wii Fit Plus, but it only lasted through the month of January; I'd much rather write in that spare time. Finally, I've always done push ups... until the frozen shoulder ordeal. Sigh.

Yesterday, Katie did some Wii yoga and reminded me that I was once the champ with the highest score. Hmm...

Then an hour later, I had an encounter that proved to me that the man upstairs really wants me to get back to the gym. I was at the drugstore buying a get-well card for someone. I had on sweats because where I was going is freezing cold. A lady who looked a little familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on it, came up to me while I was checking out.

"You going to the gym today?" She said.

"What? Uh, no."

"I'm headed for Cathy's class, then some weights. Isn't she great?"

"Oh, yeah... sure, she is." I do know a Cathy who is pretty special. I smiled, paid for my cards and then waved goodbye.

I just know that was a sign from God. The problem is... will Pete be convinced?

I have it all planned out- when I drop Katie off at dance, which is four times a week, I'll go work out in the gym down the street. Pete can taxi Andrew and Nicholas to and fro on the nights he's not in school. When he is in class, I'll send the boys to Taekwondo classes that sync with my exercise schedule. Sounds great, but something tells me it's a pipe dream.

 Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll keep you posted.

Blanched

Figure Eight, 1952, by Franz Kline

On a pale cover
in my mind 8 years
of disappointment spray

melancholy memories

with erotic delusions

~~a sprinkle of powders~~

~~psychedelic powers~~

  ~~illusionary grasses~~

blanche rosy intellect.

Sometimes,

8 stray fibers

wrapped in
blingy gold

swing from the corner,

fling flaxen affiance-

hope that soon dissolves

like the 8 antacid pills

I stuff down my throat

on a daily basis

since you’ve gone.

©laurie kolp

Prompt inspiration: Sunday Whirl #66: erotic, melancholy, rosy, gold, swing, powders, pale, cover, spray, grasses, fling, stray

Picture prompt- The Mag 127

Terror in the Dark Night

Death revolver
Everywhere aiming
Victims' lives hanging bats
In the dark night when
Lucifer strikes

@laurie kolp

Prompt inspiration~ Imaginary Gardens: Fireblossom Friday- Devil

Making Up

Feel the shade
of red flush away
bitter scorn

blushed cheeks
the rose wine
on longing lips-

the tangle
of our limbs

intoxicating.


@laurie kolp

3WW- feel, shade, tangle
Poetic Asides prompt 184- Unexpected

The Thirteenth Dimension

Somewhere between the here and now
A timeless realm beseeches thou
Allures the faint of heart within
A wall knocked down as limbo skin

With timeless eyes and furrowed brow
A feral wolfhound on the prowl
Grabs hold of hands spellbound, allows
Imagination to check in
Unwrap almighty muse built in
Somewhere between

Yin and Yang, balance allowed
To scour the depths of mindful Tao
Except when number thirteen spins
A twist on universal kin
That wakens from the here and now
Somewhere between

*
@laurie kolp

Prompt inspirations:
Imaginary Gardens- Mary's Mixed Bag- Friday the Thirteenth
Poetry Jam- Daydream Believers
Poets United Thursday Think Tank- Bliss

A Comical Commercial Break

I'm taking a little commercial break so I could share something funny with you. I read books for PR by the Book and then write reviews on my other blog, Conversations with a Cardinal. Well, I just recently posted a giveaway (here) for the book, My Big Bottom Blessing, I'd read, and then I sent the link to the agent as I always do. I didn't hear back from her for a few days which I thought a little odd. Tonight I finally got an email and she let me know what to do next for the giveaway (which you can participate in by leaving a comment on my other blog post). I'm not sure why, but I decided to click on the link I had sent her and this is what it was! {I've started a blog for my photos so I could participate in the 100 days of summer project on Facebook, and that was my picture for the day.} She must have thought I'd gone crazy. Well, it's summer so maybe I have...

Unfathomable

I try to wrap
my brain around
a number I
imagine, so vast
it makes me
halt, so fast
it overloads
my one-track
mind, pushes
all the words
to the point of no
return. I find
a place I beg
to differ
is no different
than this poet's
letter vault.
*
@laurie kolp
 Prompt inspiration: 3WW- differ, halt, imagine

Book Giveaway!

In the nonfiction book, My Big Bottom Blessing, author Teasi Cannon shares intimate details about her lifelong struggle with body image, and how she came to accept her larger size as a blessing. Here is a clip of Teasi I want to share because it not only shows her exuberance, but it also reflects her true inner peace which can so easily be seen shining through her demeanor and voice.

This book hits home with me because I suffered from a poor body image and low self esteem most my life, and it led to some of the unhealthy habits Teasi talks about. Like her, the only way I could change this view of myself was through God. I took my focus away from all those perfectly fake models/actresses I so wanted to emulate in my 20s and turned it to doing God's will. I can honestly say that those skewed perceptions don't rule me anymore.

I'd like to give away a FREE copy of this book. All you have to do is leave a comment and your email address. If you'd like to share on some of your struggles, that would be nice, too. In a week, I'll put the names in a hat and have someone else in my house draw the winner.

Poolside Play

Every year in summer’s hot months
housewives swarm like angry
bees, their sting a bitter
look as they watch their kids fall
in the pool, then plop
down into chaise lounges
order adult beverageswith
lemon rind, skim frou-frou
magazines- all the while
ignorant to the wild ruckus
in the waves among
their own unruly kids,
a grasp for eternity

and I have to wonder
ifthey’re mentally subtracting
the days until September. I
watch from the deep end,
shirk the shallow scene as I
swim beside my children, splash
water in their faces and laugh at belly
flops as they jump like cannon
balls of energy, spurn my inner-
child desire to drop
my drawers and moon
those moms.

©laurie kolp

Prompt inspiration:The Sunday Whirl 64- ignorant, spurn, eternity, drawers, balls, year, rind, sting, months, housewives, subtracting, fall

Name this book...

It's hot in here, and not just because it's summer. If I tell you why, you have to promise not to say a word. Are your lips sealed? Okay. I'm steaming hot because of a book. I don't usually read books like this, but some of my friends were talking and I finally had to see what the fuss was about. Oh. My. God. Can you guess which book I'm talking about?

On a whim, I bought it for my iPad thinking I was safe, that it wouldn't be delivered to our other Kindles. Then I asked a friend if she'd read it and she said no, that it was like porn; but some of her friends had and their husbands loved it (if you know what I mean)! Too late, it was already there at my fingertips.

Once I began reading it, I felt like a sneaky teenager. I had to cup my hands around the iPad so my kids couldn't see a thing. Every page had the F- word. They'd walk by and I'd pull it up to my chest and look at them like a guilty child.

"Whatcha doin'?" They'd ask.

"NOTHING! Not a thing, really."

Then they'd look at me all funny-like as I buried my head back into the book. Pete even asked me what I was reading. This was before I told him. For awhile I felt so ashamed, I didn't even want him to know. I was preparing for confession, wondering if the priest would know what I'd read. But when Pete asked me, I did the same thing I'd done with the kids.

"Oh, it's just some book," I said.

I was glued to the story and didn't want to put it down because I just knew he was in love with her and might change. He'd give up his sadistic ways for her. Plus, it was hot. Pete soon found that out, had no problem with what I was reading. In fact, he was very pleased (if you know what I mean).

Remember I said I thought it would only be sent to my Kindle? Well, it was sent to all of them. Imagine my horror when I saw the book on the carousel, dangling in front of my children's eyes. I poked and prodded, archived and downloaded, then archived again. I hope it's been taken care of.

If you think you know what book I'm talking about, leave a comment. I might have something for you.

Flat Lined

The line you drew
with thin lips, in-
VISIBLE, threw me
off;
your demarcation
a sign of our
DANGling
relationship
as toxic as aged wine, OVER-
indulgence; broken.
Visible-Dang!-Over.

  ©laurie kolp


Prompt inspiration- IGWRT: A Word with Laurie- Demarcation
*

I'm also pleased to announce the publication of two of my poems in July's issue of TUCK magazine. Please click here to view them. I'd love to know what you think.

No Looking Back

Jackson Pollock
Ocean Greyness, 1953
Oil on canvas

Unfolding, in front of her eyes

a web of deceit,

a maelstrom of lies.

Over and over, spun

without regret,

the harm undone.

Until the vortex ended-

storm over, damage done,

nothing left to spend.

Forgiveness grim,

she chose to move forward-

without him.

@laurie kolp

*

Prompt inspirations-

Poets United Thursday Think Tank (Artist Jackson Pollock)

Poetry Jam- Forgiveness

If I Had One Wish

I’d hope for world unity
Commencing in this country
With politicians letting go
Of their overactive egos
Their game of control in Washington
Stilled by a peaceful transition
As humble role models who often agree
A buffer within the community
Patriotic red, white and blue
Joined together with me and you

©laurie kolp

Prompt inspirations:

3WW- buffer, transition, unity
Poetic Asides- Patriotic

Snapshots of Chaos

Ophelia by Odilion Redon

Hanging on a thin cusp of exhaustion

I stand in the middle of Epcot

waiting for the show’s next act-

my skin baking in the summer sun,

lips drier than a shriveled grape.

I dare not move or else I’ll touch

the other sweaty bodies surrounding me

crammed in tighter than college students

on a wild Spring Break beach.

And suddenly I’m sitting on a sandy towel

waiting for another beer I sent that jerk to find,

the bass beats blaring BA-Bum, BA-Bum

so loud I feel them in my heart-

snapshots of utter chaos I’d rather not relive,

the hopeless years wasted searching for myself

in a frothy mug of oblivion, self-centered fear.

I turn my head to Mickey Mouse and smile-

the crowd and heat a sober treat.

©laurie kolp

Prompt inspirations:

The Sunday Whirl, wordle 63- skin, lips, thin, snapshots, touch, other, act, hanging, gesture, stand, sent, utter

Poetic Bloomings- Get Some Rest, prompt 62

Photo prompt- The Mag 124

Also shared at Real Toads Open Link Monday