Tuesday, December 31, 2013

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!


Thursday, December 26, 2013

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?

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

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?

How do you use notes or notebooks? 

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Thursday, December 19, 2013

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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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

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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Thursday, December 12, 2013

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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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

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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Thursday, December 5, 2013

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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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

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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