Take a Look Back

Take a Look Back

Look back through

the lenses of

time and space

and a different place.

Take what will

help you in

the future and

let everything

else go.

Move forward

using what

you now know.

Happy New Year!

After Thoughts

After Thoughts

Weren't we just 

planning for Christmas?

Wasn't it a

few weeks away?

How did it

pass so quickly?

Did you create

memories that will stay?

Hidden in the Music

Hidden in the Music

is a secret 

you are willing to reveal

only with this type of note.

Do words fail you

or is the message

simply easier to play?

The listener tries

to figure out 

what you want to say.

The music speaks 

to each of us

in a different way.

If we listen closely 

will we discover

what resides in

the deepest part of you or

the deepest part of us?

Thanks to Carol Early Cooney for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Notes/Notebook.
 

How do you use notes or notebooks? 

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Ripples

Ripples

The water ripples.

Circle after circle

appears well after

the stone hits.

They continue to

disturb the stillness

farther and farther

from the point of

initial contact.

One action,

many ripples.

It will be

a long time

before calm 

is restored.

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If Santa were a Writer

If Santa Were a Writer

If Santa were a writer,

what stories would he tell?

We know he’s good at keeping lists.

Can he write fiction just as well?

Maybe he’s a poet.

Perhaps, even a Beat.

That’s true when he writes 

on Christmas day, before

he’s gotten any sleep.

Would his setting be the North Pole

or towns all covered in snow?

Only if he believes in the axiom

“Write about what you know.”

If ever he had writer’s block,

he could hop into his sleigh.

Go soaring high above the earth.

Get a new perspective on the day.

No matter Santa’s style,

some things he’s sure to say.

Merry Christmas to all!

Get those potted plants

out of my way.

Thanks to Rebecca Barray for this week's Wordsmith Studio Prompt-Holiday. What do you think about at the holidays? Share your thoughts in the comments at the link above.

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Talk of Raccoons and Squirrels

Last week, I got caught in the midst of a game on Facebook. I guess you could call it a form of tag. I responded to a friend's post and got a message back from her saying that the post was part of a game. Since I responded, I was supposed to choose from a list of posts she sent me and then send the list to any friends who responded to my post.

I chose to post that a raccoon had gotten into my bedroom. I had a few expressions of concern from friends and a few who told me they knew something was up. During the back and forth, however, I was reminded of the time when I was home alone as a kid and a squirrel got into our basement.

Sometimes there was a gap between the time I got home from school and my Mom got home from work. This was well before the term "latchkey kid" was coined. I was old enough to avoid burning the house down, and I had neighbors on which to call if I needed help. Well, one day I did.

The newspaper usually got delivered shortly after I got home, and I would read it. Sports section first, of course. I would sit in my Dad's recliner, which was near a vent for the furnace.

I was reading and thought I heard a noise. It was one of those noises that disappears when you try to listen for it and returns when you have decided that you didn't really hear anything. A few minutes later, I heard a clang and it sounded like something had fallen in the basement.

I headed out the side door to go get our neighbor, Charlie. Once, I was outside, I stopped. Charlie, who was in his 80's, was a wonderful man; but he also liked to tease people. I thought if I went and got him and there was a simple explanation for the noise, he might tease me about it in the future.

A basement window was nearby. I squatted down to look in and came face-to-face with a squirrel sitting on the window ledge. We looked each other right in the eyes. I don't know what the squirrel did at that moment, but I ran and got Charlie. He took one of the windows off; and, within minutes, the squirrel ran out.

We figured that the squirrel had been running around the perimeter of the basement, trying to find a way out. The first noises I heard were screws and nails falling from my Dad's work bench. A metal serving tray made the clang that sent me into action.

Later that year, I had to write a composition in school. The story of the squirrel fit the assignment perfectly.

Have you written a story that was prompted by a noise? What about one triggered by being home alone?

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Sudden Silence

 

Quiet Please

 

The building

is crowded.

People wandering

everywhere.

Asking questions.

Making comments.

Placing orders.

I step outside

into the silence.

The path lets

 me travel deep

 into the quiet,

safe in the

knowledge that

it will lead me

 back to the noise

whenever I choose.

 

Thanks to Dana Dampier for this week's Wordsmith Studio Prompt-Sudden Silence. How do you deal with sudden silence? Does it make you uncomfortable or do you enjoy the change?

 

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Anger

 

Anger

 

Feels like fire.

The kind that

used to drive a

steam locomotive.

It doesn't just

create heat.

Energy builds

until it is ready

to boil over.

The need to

 take action is

coupled with

the fear that

you won't be

 able to stop.

Best to open

the safety valve.

 

This poem came out of an exercise in which the writer was asked to describe how an emotion feels. Give it a try. You may be surprised at where your mind takes you.

 

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Rivals

 

Natural Enemies

Vandals enter

the garden,

damaging plants and

causing leaves

to curl and dry.

Rescuers come in

like guardian angels,

Eating the pests as

fast as they can.

Aphids vs. ladybugs,

One of nature's

great rivalries.

Thanks to Kasie Whitener for this week's Wordsmith Studio Prompt-Rivals. What does the word rivals mean to you? Post a link in the comments to. Your thoughts about rivals.

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