Scrabble Quibbles
I move the tiles back and forth but still I cannot lick
the secret to which words may be made from my weird pick.
I cannot spell “memorial” without another “m,”
so instead I settle and simply spell out “rim.”
Before too long I find another perfect word to make,
but, alas, I do not have the “u” to spell out quake.
I spy the final “u” when my opponent shifts her rack,
and so I skip my turn to return some letters back.
And this segment of the story will prove I was to blame
when my sister drew the “q” and spelled out “quick” to win the game!
Prompt words today are segment,lick, memorial,back,spy and tiles.
Not the most thrilling poem ever, but at least it used up all the words. Mea Culpa.
All three of these tiny plants are growing out of little holes that opened up in one of my big pots near the pool. They are like bonsai volunteers.
For Cee’s FOTD
Epitaph on a Hilly Gravesite
Claim custody of the mourning that has led you to this place
and cease your arduous journey so that you may face
that foggy veil of sadness and the fiery coals that burn
deep in that place within you as you sink into the fern.
The sentence of your heartbreak becomes a paragraph—
that surety you’ll never love again, or smile, or laugh.
But nature is a circle that spins us on its wheel,
balancing the joy and pain of what we feel.
What we have been given will be taken in the end,
for all of nature’s riches are only here to lend.
Give thanks for what you’re given and accept what must be rendered,
for every happiness is preordained to be surrendered.
Prompt words today are fern, paragraph, mourning, arduous, fog and custody.
Quartets of Memory
To what extent
do you lament
losing the blush
of teenage crush?
Tease and chuckle,
tight-gripped knuckle,
that challenge of
teenage love—
to cultivate
a future mate—
dawdling where
a certain stare
might meet with yours.
These sweet amors
left in the past,
nonetheless last.
Some afternoons
listening to tunes
of a past kind,
they come to mind.
Prompt words today are knuckle, challenge, lament, cultivate, dawdle. Image by Eric Krull on Unsplash.
For Cee’s FOTD
Tonala Adventure
When my family visited, we took a little drive
to Tonala for shopping and all that tourist jive.
And no, you’re not hallucinating. I met a new guy.
I think he is stunning and I’m apple of his eye.
I found him at my favorite store, on a small settee
that had room for two only and the other half was free.
But shortly after I sat down, his hand was on my knee!
I told his wife about it and she said “It’s fine with me.”
She was busy at the desk, adding up their sales,
balancing their ledgers and polishing her nails.
So in spite of her presence, we started our romance.
With no further touching, it was woo by speech and glance.
It’s true he was a smoker and that really got my goat.
I told him he was likely to get cancer of the throat.
I had a quick solution that I hastened to propose,
that he take his cancer stick and stick it up his nose.
Our flirtation was soon over as I left the store with nieces,
sadly fearing that my heart had been reduced to pieces.
I never had an inkling that I would ever meet
such a stunning cowboy so handsome and so sweet.
But alas, it was inevitable that we two would part,
for I learned that in his stuffing, they had failed to add a heart.
Prompt words today are drive, hallucinate, stun, spite and inkling.
This looks like baby’s breath to me, although I don’t know how it crept into my garden.
For Cee’s FOTD
Breakfast Sandwich
My puppies heed no boundaries. They flop down where they will.
Coco crowds me, head on shoulder, in my bed until
I need my arm for writing and to gratify my need,
I nudge her very gently, but still, she does not heed
the necessity for space between us on the bed,
so promptly she moves closer to lie on my arm instead.
She appreciates its flavor as she licks it fondly, then,
extends her pastel tongue to lick it all again.
Then Zoe comes to join us from her place down by my hip,
and expresses her love likewise with a little lip.
Then her tongue extends as well so I am doubly tasted.
massaged with love’s caresses until I’m thoroughly basted.
At length, both fall asleep again, their energy depleted,
and our morning’s sandwich is finally completed.
I wedge myself out gently so our sandwiching is done,
extracting my meat from between its canine bun.
Prompt words for today are boundary, gratify, flavor, likewise, pastel and promptly. It is almost impossible to get photos with one’s arms pinned to the side but this was as close as I could get.
