we’re cleaning out a lifetime of stuff
making room for new adventures
goodbye to all the clutter
farewell to odds and ends
we’re clearing the air
ready for new
memories ~
coming
soon!
Cleaning Out!
Cold Brew for Hot Flash
hot flashes nudge a
switch to cold brew coffee for
iced breeze sensations
better than cool sheets
more refreshing than hot brew
for summertime heat
Sunday Morning Donuts Nonet
they like their mini donut breakfasts
it’s what happens on Sundays here
pre First-Baptist-of-You-Tube
sitting at their dad’s feet
waiting on a bite
patient Schnoodles
best-behavied
time of
all
Great Granny’s Caramel Cake
my great granny Lena
made a caramel layer cake
second to none
back in the 1930s
between the Great Depression
and the sugar rationing years
teaching her daughters
the fine art of baking
just the way to moisten
the flour
just the way to bake
to touch
just the way to cook
the caramel sauce
not staying true
to any recipe, just
baking from the
knowing
baking from the heart
the way it tastes best
downtown,
a young man
“helps” an old lady across the
street when she
doesn’t want to go
still, emails come
offering to
pound cakes into molds
like this
the kind of store-bought
cake no one raves
about ever:
We are prepared
to support leaders
with individualized
coaching to positively
impact their school districts.
We have assembled
some of the best professionals
throughout the state to serve
as executive coaches.
We have made it a top priority
to provide this
performance-based l
leadership to inspire
leaders to “GROW” and achieve
maximum impact
my granny Lena knew the art
of a thing could not
underpower
the science of a thing
because frosting-forcing
falls miserably ~ implodes
like a cake that might
have been delicious
In Places Loved Nonet
today I loaded my car with books
first editions, autographed names
I’m holding on no longer
to these inked hostages ~
those sentiments are
not mine; nor those
memories ~
I’ve let
go
of
housing
what should live
in places loved
where their worth is not
measured in value of
possible return or in
collectors’ satisfaction but
in what’s inside ~ their words and message
Toxic Relics
in Genesis
Lot’s wife looks
back longingly
to the past
before turning into
a pillar of salt ~
so as I part with
these pieces of
past, these
memory scars of
what once was
but is no more
I heed
Luke’s caution ~
that the past can be
the kiss of
death for
the present
old books
have arsenic
old paint
has lead
old memories
have heartache
Slice of Life and Open Write June Day 4 with Anna Roseboro
My writing groups converge today – Slice of Life Challenge writers and Open Write writers take joy on days when we get to see all of our fellow writers on the same day when the stars align. I’m so grateful for these groups of writers who are positive people, inspiring others to write. I also joined The Stafford Challenge in January, and we are around Day 160 of writing a poem every day for one entire year – so we’re close to the middle mark. Where would I be without my writing family? I don’t want to know.
Anna Roseboro of Michigan is our host for Day 4 of the June Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com. She inspires us today to write reflection/projection poems, using synonyms for those words by looking forward and looking back. You can read her full prompt here. Today I have a working retreat before going off contract for three weeks over the summer, so I’ll be doing a lot of this today. I wrote a nonet, a nine-line poem with line-numbered syllables on each line in descending order.
Slice of Life writers are bloggers who share our posts and something about the moments of our lives. We write every day during March and all through the year on Tuesdays. You can find the home page at www.twowritingteachers.org to learn more. Today’s Slicing prompt is thinking about what inspires us to write on the early days of summer. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m almost there…….
Almost There
glancing backward to focus forward
setting the sails on this boat
checking wind direction
untying the ropes
feeling the breeze
smiling now
almost
there
Open Write June Day 1 with Sarah Donovan at www.ethicalela.com in the style of June Jordan
For Day 1 of the June Open Write, Dr. Sarah J. Donovan of Stillwater, Oklahoma invites us to write poetry using the mentor poet June Jordan’s poetry. You can read Sarah’s full prompt here.
Now This
these nights
they are
hormonal hot
flash hell ~
flapping bedbirds
fluffing sheets
sleeplessly
in all the heat
and rumble
of the dark
these nightmares
they rage in ~
nocturnal carnage
at the screaming
speed of melatonin
on the yellow
eyes of a
Great Horned
Owl in a
trembling tree hollow
these scarecrows
they lurk now
in apocalyptic meadows
where as children
we found
peaceful slumber
we called
sweet dreams ~
all those sugarplums
that once danced
in our heads
~ now this
Gregg’s Peach Bread
toasted Gregg’s Peach Bread
fresh from the orchard nearby
slathered with butter
Going Bananas
when the world
takes on its murky
hue and the heaviness
of the anchor spirals
downward making it
hard to keep my head
above water I wonder
about my age
and whether I’ve
depleted all the
happy chemicals
or whether I
just need to
eat a banana
Common Threads 