The Petting Zoo Dilemma

a mocha hue of dung-y mud
daubs straw beneath his feet
beside pig pen

so fast, I have no chance to swoop him up
before he stomps right in it, then steps back out
minus left shoe

and hubs is with the older kids
spinning rides so high, cheap thrills
that burn deep holes in pants

money set aside and saved
for this big day each year,
South Texas Fair

a helper hoses off the sludge
while I try to hide my smile,
the moral learned without my words

hopefully


**

Prompt Inspiration:
Poetry Jam~ Festivals
PU Mid-Week Motif~ Children
3WW~ burn, hue, moral

Debauchee

Chair With the Wings of a Vulture, 1960, Salvador Dali 

wayward one

spoon-fed by candlelight,

yet unfulfilled~

I pray for you

~~

 *Inspiration~The Mag218*

The Desert Experiment

Quite adept
at self-preservation,
the scientist
stumbled upon
a prickly pear,
a little too literally
with face needled
& ass in air

discovered
its viscous sap
gels hair
and edible fruit
intoxicates.

*

Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: Deserts
PU Mid-Week Motif: Science
3WW: adept, edible, viscous 

*

Exciting News! My poetry book, Upon the Blue Couch (Winter Goose Publishing), has just been released. You can find it at Amazon here.

The Message

animate this:
warm temperatures,
opened windows

thoughts of first
holiday without Mom

last Easter's memories
a broken record--
basket from Nini to kids
candy, money & eggs
with seeds, not chocolate
planted-- pumpkin & squash
watered for weeks
then forgotten,
by summer
overgrown weeds 

impassioned, a bee
flies in and stings
left cheek,
my reaction
an arm-waving scream

pervert 
parked next to me
laughs

~

Prompt Inspiration--
Poetry Jam: Bees, Birds and Bunnies
PU Midweek Motif- Holidays & Holy Days
3WW: animate, impassioned, pervert

one, two, three strikes you're out

 it's horrible, this home
plate I'm on, with eyes
like tasers aimed
at my swing
strike one

okay, I'm sweating now
my slip/slide palms
a slick film,
it seems as if
a hundred pounds
of listless arms
weigh me down
strike two

ouch!
strike three

how can they call
me moody? I mean
wouldn't you
do the same thing, too?
It's not my fault
I saw a bug
hop across
my shoe


Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: Baseball & Barriers
PU's Motif: Distractions
3WW: horrible, listless, moody

It's About Time

to order the tombstone--
make that a double, says Dad

to mark atop your grave statistics
as if a census

to make this final step,
and then we're done with all we need to do

to admit you're really gone
when we should have had more time

*

Prompt Inspiration~ Poetry Jam: It's About Time

Unless I Let It Go*

the wind and sky

storm inside, fears crystallize--

fractals in my mind

  

*Found poem from "Let It Go" lyrics by Idina Menzel (theme song of Disney movie Frozen)


Prompt Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: Letting Go

Skewed Intentions

owl in the night sky
owl, owl flying by

with hoots and twists authentic
eyes of wisdom to enlist

nighttime warfare, phobia
topsyturn utopia

create a mood afoul
freaky, screechy owl

~

Prompt Inspiration:
Poetry Jam~ The Owl
3WW~ authentic, enlist, phobia

True Olympians Remain Leaders

I feel for the Olympians.
From the opening ceremony
to the medal display,
their excitement
is mine.

I feel for the Olympians.
Each half-pipe flip or bobsled run
sits me on the couch's edge,
my adrenaline pumps
in overtime.

I feel for the Olympians.
My spirits glide over the ice
with skaters single and paired,
then slide to the floor
when they fall.

I feel for the Olympians.
They're all winners to me
and the world, role models
for kids. Leaders, achievers
having a ball.

I just wish they'd
keep their clothes on
when they're done.

*

Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: Olympian
PU Mid-Week Motif: Leaders/Leadership

On a Dare

Universal Studios Lot, Instagram by sessepien, The Mag207

Robert once lived
in an apartment
one story below
his bicycle shop,
walked up and
down steep stairs
three times a day.
As the story goes,
he died on a dare
while riding his bike
up the slope, backward
flipped through the air
and landed head first
in a garbage truck,
his derriere a moon
ripping him buff.

What do you see...

unkempt beds
filled with weeds
cruel and obtrusive,
ghastly eyesores
in need of upkeep

or

flowerbeds over-
flowing with dandelions
as hearts to pick
and make a wish
for Valentine's Day?


**

Poetry Jam~ Dandelion
PU Midweek Motif~ Heart
3WW~ cruel, ghastly, unkempt

Backwards Time

Mother's Day 2013

Through my years of rogue-like wandering
a circuitous path, the ins and outs and ups and downs
at times defiant as a two-year-old,
you remained passive with undying love.

And now you're dying.

I wonder if you know    I know
you stood beside me, a whisper in my heart?
That as a mother you excelled?

I'd like to accelerate backwards time, go back 
and send daily praises to your side, thank you
for mothering me, for instilling family values--

blood a thread of life forever tied to piano keys,
your tender melody woven in my mind.

Today I'll sing your lively tune.

~

Today's Inspiration:
Poetry Jam~ Tribute
3WW~ accelerate, passive, rogue
PU Mid-Week Motif~ Love (in 14 lines)