On Aging

photo by Mark Haley
courtesy of The Mag 188

*

 

I never thought my life

solitary, never wished

for anything more, until

 

gray appeared, one

strand at a time, wiry

springs a bird's nest

 

locking me within

the confines of my home,

and then I wanted

 

to go out and live my life

among people, celebrate

my remaining days. Instead,

 

I followed the footpath

to your shore, hoping

the horizon might not end.

 

*

 

October Orange

Photo by Drew Loker

**

 

Prompt inspiration:

Poetry Jam- OCTOBER

Battles of the Mind

I am; how did you guess?
Was it the fact I cried out

in the middle of the night
for King Kong, declared

him handsome and easy-
going as if he were Jesus?

Or was it the fact a lesser
god promised to center me?

**

Prompt Inspiration~
 Poetry Jam: Battles
3WW: easygoing, fact, handsome
PU Verse First: Just Past Center

Siren Songs

artwork by Jeanie Tomanek
courtesy of The Mag 184

she conversed with birds

perched in trees, she made music

 

with branches strummed, the strings

plucked like a harp, heard for miles

 

luring men she scrambled

on the sidewalk below

 

 

 

Descension Into Ascension

step right up, he said,

then threw her down

and watched her

twirl deep

into a

hole

so he

could pick

her up and lead her

step by step, the healing

path of twelve she'd only

recognize from where she's been

 

*

Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: Steps 

In a Matter of Seconds

photo by Steven Kelly
courtesy of The Mag 183

A curvy road

too dangerous

to pass.

Your

bold promise

a fishtail swerve.

The other side

ethereal.

**

Let's Talk About It

Silence like a cancer grows*
a weed within the mind's confines
that weaves obsession in the throes
of overtaking thoughts benign.

Too distraught to regulate
or yank habitual response,
this cancer of a sealing fate
soon consumes the s(u)n's blossoms.


*Simon & Garfunkel

**

Edited to elevate for Verse First:

watching weeds
thread through your mind
you find cancer

**

Poetic Inspiration~
Poetry Jam: The Sound of Silence
PU VerseFirst: Edit to Elevate- See Below
3WW: distraught, habitual, regulate

I Hope Not

When the lights go out, I hope

you're not drunk. I hope

it's not night and you're not

living in a new apartment

in a new area that's not

safe because you ran

away from an ex, yet

wanted him to worry

about you. I hope

 

you don't go berserk

and call a coworker,

quibble back and forth

about why it's dark

in your apartment

and no one else's

because you're drunk.

 

I hope she doesn't

have to duplicate

her words ten times,

get frustrated and put 

her friend-of-your-ex's

husband on the phone

to calm you down. 

 

**

 

Prompt inspiration~

Poetry Jam: When the Lights Go Out

PU Verse First: Difficulty

3WW: quibble, duplicate, berserk

It's All In Perspective

Drawing Hands, 1948 by M. C. Escher
Picture prompt courtesy of The Mag 180

If you draw my hands,

erase protruding veins.

Smooth over sun spots

with fingertip smudges.

 

If you draw my palms,

accentuate the major lines

of heart, head, life, fate;

read me as who I am.

Kiss Me Aqua

Picture prompt courtesy of The Mag 179

You parked the antique car

and kissed me, aqua

 

eyes lifted 

one deflated heart

to the heavens

where I danced

on moonbeams.

 

100 balloons,

a blissful high

long enough to trust again

 

until you confessed~

I was too far gone.

Final Trip

Supermoon 2013, Julio Cortez, AP
Pic prompt courtesy of The Mag 176
 

She flew

to the moon

and back

in one night,

the flight

a liberty--

consequences

unknown.

 

Chance

enhanced

white dust dreams,

 pink clouds--

nonchalance

the blush

before 

descent. 

 

Meditation, continued

 

It is imperative to take action

when you feel distraction.

 

Find an oasis, a place to chill;

mindful thoughts felicitous fill.

 

Replace garbage, negativity

with harmonious images of the sea.

 

Think of the waves as lullabies,

salty air absorbing the lies.

 

Reward yourself when you're done;

an ice cream cone under the sun.

 

 

~~

 

 

Poetic Inspiration:

Poetry Jam- Knickerbocker Glory- What do you delight in?

3WW- garbage, imperative, action

PU Verse First- Omniscience