Patchwork Prose and Verse
Go Ahead. Roll the Dice.
And so it unfolds ~
a tempting delicacy
on a glistening silver tray
sugar-laden phyllo
luring the senses
beckoning one taste
of Eden’s secret
but be forewarned
cheating is
a nutrient-rich
harbinger
bolting shut
home sweet home
and all its
familiar comforts
Today’s poem was inspired by Metaphor Dice, with host Margaret Simon on ethicalela.com as part of the November Open Write. My rolled metaphor is in bold.
Covid Booster Blues
heat lightning against
a nighttime sky ~ random bolts
jagged energy
Covid booster shot
flared the same effect on me-
muscle lightning storms
sore left arm like a
petrified tangerine lump
hornet sting of pain
ice pick scraping skull
like a dentist drills a tooth
eye socket headache
trembling Jello ring
fetal position shivers
fire poker iceberg
warm-socked feet, blankets
tucked tight holding this body
weathering this storm
Ten Dollar Lunch
that ten dollar bill
you gave me to clasp with your
windshield wiper if
I had a message?
I’ve always kept it folded ~
hidden, close to me
I’ve never told you
how often I think of it
how it melts my heart
because – just like you –
it’s so random and quirky
and unexpected
– was it for dog food? –
I forget. But now all I
see is one part of
a thirty dollar
lunch that caused a steep nosedive
bursting pinatas
I should return it ~
lift your windshield wiper and
say it bought that plate
Wait, what? Take 2
SB 226
to ban harmful books in schools
is really a thing?
What defines harmful?
Our religious difference?
Political lines?
Kids won’t want to write.
When we silence and censor,
we are admitting
that our own beliefs
are too weak to stand against
the ones we don’t keep.
A nation so rights-
oriented for guns and
vaccination choice
wants to ban free thought
and speech. Because books have the
power to change us
in a way guns and
diseases don’t. Indeed, books
are healing vessels.
Wait, what?!
wait, what??? the earth is flat??
what about the round pictures from space?
<am I in some kind of vortex??
can this conversation be happening?>
why are sunrise times different, then?
how would we have different time zones coast to coast on a flat earth?
wait, aliens and spaceships?
why would secret footage be hidden?
we really aren’t allowed to fly over antarctica? how did my friend visit there?
so the 4 different kinds of map projections are all out of whack and things are distorted?
but isn’t that a visual representation challenge and not evidence of a physical planetary impossibility?
wait, we didn’t land on the moon?
so Glenn said he did it and later denied ever taking the one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind?
<what has he been smoking? 🌎>
A New Son
“A young male schnoodle –
a stray on the streets,” she told
me, about this dog…
“…animal shelter
placed him with his first rescue,
who called another…..
more breed-specific –
we took him as a foster…
he’s such a sweet boy!
Come meet him!” she urged.
Off we drove to fall in love,
welcome a new son.
“Here is all his food~
oh, and the ball is sacred.”
We brought him home, changed
his name from King to
Ollie, bought a new collar,
tag, and dog sweater.
We introduced him
to his new tribe of brothers –
a family tree!
He doesn’t like baths,
wants to play fetch all day long.
His eyebrows tell all.
He whine-talks his thoughts,
outright barks his firm demands.
He’s made us his own!
The Pickup
They’d been boarding since
Friday – I opened the door,
there to pick them up
Waiting, I heard their
squeals of anticipation –
they knew I had come!
Mama’s three good boys
ready to be home again,
back in our own bed!
My brother Ken here in Savannah watching the Georgia/Tennessee game in a hotel lobby with a room full of other happy Bulldog fans!
Weekend Trip
Savannah, Georgia
Quick weekend getaway trip
City Market stroll
Bella Napoli
Late Italian dinner
Warm cookie dessert
Saturday morning
Writing in a comfy chair
Husband tucked in bed
Coffee scent wafting
No rush to be anywhere
What does the day hold?
“Watch my smoke,” he quipped
Pointing out that coffee steam
Is not the same thing
Facebook Funeral ~
Organist John Harper died
Church bells rang for him
Brother and girlfriend
Meeting us for a visit
to watch the ballgame
Ginger and I shopped –
bought fun Spartina bracelets
with matching whale tails
Our chins kept dropping
Sunglass-eyed people watching
Who dresses these folks?
Street performer shows
A mini Faneuil Hall
Fun at every turn
Dog watching: more fun
City Market butt-sniffers
with card-holding rights
Pecan praline secrets
Hidden, brown paper bag:
Secrets never told!
Sandwiches, pizza
We toasted John Harper’s love
of savored moments
Planning our next trip –
for Ken’s fiftieth birthday
Hoping Dad will come!
And so the day went –
smoking heels in Savannah ~
smoke long outlasts steam!
If Love is the Degree
If love is the degree
of attention we pay
to something,
then I love praying my way to work
and writing first thing each day
and wrangling my dogs
and doing life with my husband
and traveling to experience places
and special family text chats
and camping in state parks
and planning what to do next
in this big world of opportunity
If love is the degree
of attention we pay
to something,
then I love life!
This is written on the day my brother Ken and I sell his home in Pike County, Georgia – filled with memories!
Goodbye, Spring Road
Bittersweet closing
So long, Spring Road Property
We shan’t forget you!
Shell of memories
Wonderful and sad
Three dogs buried here
Tranquility farm
Eighteen acres of peaceful
Respite from the world
Fresh water springs where
Dogs walked, lapped refreshing drink
Splashed, played together
A Weimarauzer
Best dog ever, Feivel – was
Born on your front porch
Marriage and divorce
New career and mother’s death
Pasture overgrowth
You offer more peace
A young family coming
To bring you new life
Bittersweet closing
So long, Spring Road Property
We shan’t forget you!
Common Threads 