Today I will be driving back home to Oklahoma from Arkansas. It is hard to say goodbye, but I am grateful for these past two weeks with my parents. I leave with a thankful heart. Thankful for doctors, nurses, family, and friends. Thankful my Dad will be going home from the hospital today. ❤
Pick up my pen
And wait…
Batteries seem to need
Recharging
But all the packages
Are empty
Not giving up
I’ll wait awhile
Look out the window
For inspiration
Re-read some old
Cards or letters
Dig up memories that
Make my soul happy
What if I paperclip
Those memories
Together with
My dreams
For the future?
So next time I fall down,
I’ll remember the strength
Found in getting back up
Today’s prompt was very interesting. Listen to a favorite song and take notes. Make a list of things found in your junk drawer. Write a poem combining the two. For more info and prompts visit https://www.napowrimo.net/.
My song was “Like Everyone She Knows” by James Taylor. I will let you guess what is in my junk drawer. 😉
o Wake up before dawn
o Send out a few tweets
o Ruffle a few feathers
o Take early morning flight
o Make sure job site is secure
o Send out another tweet
o Dig up a few worms
o Take afternoon flight home
o Feed baby birds
o Give flying lessons
o Send out a few more tweets
o Ruffle a few more feathers
o Snuggle down in nest
o Take a nap
~Mama Bird~
Today’s prompt was to write a poem in the form of a “to-do” list for a person or character. For more info and future prompts check out https://www.napowrimo.net/.
I was old before I was old. My body weary, tired.
The cane that was always by my side left that impression.
It also begged questions, but very few asked.
No matter. When Sunday came, I had the job of a lifetime.
I was the gum man.
Chewing gum, never left home without a supply.
When the children came running, I was ready.
I’d like to think chewing that gum helped some of them sit
through sermons, avoiding pinches and glances.
Anyway, it certainly made them smile. And it made me smile, too.
I wonder if any of them remember me?
Today’s challenge was to write a poem in the form of a monologue delivered by someone who has died. I immediately thought of this sweet man from my childhood. ❤
Find more information and prompts at https://www.napowrimo.net/.
Variety of shades
Bright and light
Dark and deep
Hints of yellow
Specks of brown
Yet all described
As one…green
When the sun
Hits just right
I’m drawn in
As if seeing
These colors
The first time
I like to imagine
The trees with
Brighter hues
To be young
And energetic
Trees tinted with
Darker greens
Older and wiser
All standing tall
Young and old
Surrounding
Embracing
Mingling
With those
Somewhere
In between
A mesmerizing
Landscape of unity
Perhaps there are
Lessons to be learned
Among shades of green
I also attempted today’s prompt. https://www.napowrimo.net/ Write a shadorma or Fib. Each has very specific syllable patterns to follow. Here is my first ever Fib 1/1/2/3/5/8 then reversed.
Green
Leaves
Waving
Hanging on
Blustery wind wafts
Steady, green leaves do not waver
Tree branches sway greeting the wind
Quickly passing by
Peacefully
The green
Leaves
Rest
I hear her laughing
As if it was
Yesterday
Sweet, innocent
Belly laughs
Heard mostly
From happy babies
Which is funny
Because she
Was not always
The happiest of babies
At least, in
The beginning
Until I became
Happier, a more
Relaxed mom
Or maybe
The opposite
Is true, maybe
Her laughter
Came first
It’s a funny thing
Laughter-
When seen
As well as heard
It changes everything
From the inside out
To the outside in-
Come to think of it
Her grown-up laughter
Has the same effect
I am a little late to the game. This is Day 6 of Global Poetry Writing Month. Click here https://www.napowrimo.net/ for more information and prompts.
Today’s prompt: Go to a book you love. Find a short line that strikes you. Make that line the title of your poem. Write a poem inspired by the line. Then, after you’ve finished, change the title completely.
“Laughter is sunshine, it chases winter from the human face.”
Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
Floating
Untouchable
Across the sky
Providing shade
To Earth below
Standing
Tall and rigid
Breakable
Reaching for
What floats above
Aspiring to hold
Reflections
Within its frame
Until the sky multiplies
Clouds merging
With glass
A temporary
Work of art
For my eyes
On this day
This does not feel like a simple Sunday. Definitely not our family’s typical Easter Sunday. Yet, we are thankful. Dad is making progress, maybe not as quickly as we would like…patience. But we will celebrate even the tiniest of steps.
Happy Easter! 🕊️
Sightline is a common term in theater and art. It is also a buzzword in T.V. home renovation shows. As in, we must have a better line of sight to see the kids at all times. I understand the concept. And I can see the value at certain times.
Yesterday, I experienced a surprise sightline. One I never even considered. But once discovered, oh, so needed.
Due to COVID restrictions, we waited at an outside seating area during Dad’s heart surgery. Mom was the only one allowed in the surgery waiting room. Not complaining. We understand and appreciate the precautions.
However, the thought of her waiting alone…well, that was a hard one.
Of course, we could text and call, but nothing is the same as seeing, something we have all experienced during this time of the pandemic.
So, Mom calls:
“Are you still outside?”
“Yes.”
“I think I see you. Stand up and walk a few tables over.”
I walk.
“Yes! There you are!”
“Where are you?”
“Turn around and face the building. Now, look up toward the second floor.”
And there she stood, in the corner of the waiting room. We waved and laughed. It was a sweet turn of events.
A perfect sightline through several layers of glass and steel. An instant sense of joy and relief. A few moments of light-heartedness erasing the distance.
Update:
Dad’s surgery went very well! He is currently in ICU. This morning, he was sitting up in a chair. ❤ Only Mom can visit, but I was able to talk to him on the phone. So good to hear his voice.
Sleep came easy
Pleasant surprise
I thought surely
It would evade
Instead, it was
Baby sleep sound
I woke to a
Familiar song
But my head
Was still dreamy
Wait-was it a dream?
No-a chorus
Of birds playing
In the morning sun
Their conversation lively
And filled with hope
For the day ahead
I listened as they sang
Outside my window-
A window in the house
Where I grew up-
Now I sit outside
A hospital in the town
Where I grew up-
I sit and wait
Thankful for sunshine
And blue skies
Thankful for prayers
And loving hearts-
Thankful for the birds
I hear singing even now
In this space between
Worry and peace
What is one word almost always associated with hospitals? Waiting! 😉 But that is ok. My dad is not the only person in need of surgery today. We are not the only families waiting outside during these unusual times. Dad and mom are patiently waiting in his room, updating us with texts. We are enjoying the sunshine. I continue to write in between conversations. It is one thing that helps keep my heart calm. ❤
Strange how two
Paths begin in
The same place
Moving parallel
Until each one
Branches off
On its own
Criss-crossing
Often or seldom
Depending on
Influences from
Outside and within-
Like siblings, in a way
Inseparable as they
Share the precious
Space of childhood
One following
The other until
Big enough to
Walk side by side
Until time turns
Into distance and
The years add up
More quickly than
Either could have imagined-
No matter how far
Apart they drift
The beginning remains-
Allowing wisdom and
Sickness to reunite as
They travel unfamiliar
Yet once again
Parallel paths
Able to speak
Freely childhood truths
Long forgotten-
I love you, brother
I love you, too
