The Proposal
He’s economically trustworthy, but has a humdrum mind.
He’ll never write a sonnet, for he’s more the right-brain kind.
He’ll never sculpt a fountain or create a work of art,
but he’s brilliant at accounting, numerically smart.
So he won’t paint your masterpiece, but if you ever spy it,
if he’s the one you married, you can bet that he can buy it!!
Prompt words are sonnet, fountain, humdrum, economic, trustworthy. Image by Andra Jackson on Unsplash.
Teenage Angst
High dudgeon is the proper mood of teenage revolution,
and their parents’ interference will not aid in its dilution.
Tactics that they utilize to make their children straight
do little to sort it out, and instead, agitate,
creating more rebellion. So, leave them to their snit.
By the time they’re twenty, they’ll grow out of it!
words today are dudgeon, interference, revolution, utilize, straight.
The Dandelion Forest
The dandelion forest is spooky deep inside,
so it’s not a perfect place for small creatures to hide,
but when a mouse comes creeping up to steal a single berry
from your breakfast cereal, he’ll put up with those scary
dandelion spirits who register the stress
of all the timid creatures who register distress
and quickly gobble up those fearful ones who enter.
He’ll weave around the edges, avoiding the dead center,
careful not to manifest any dread or fear,
so the dandelion goblins will not come very near.
I’m qualified to tell you this tale I verify
is the gospel truth, for I wouldn’t tell a lie.
That a stand of dandelions is a cause for care,
maybe isn’t obvious when you are way up there,
but before you question this tale of fear and vice,
remember that this tiny mouse is not afraid of mice!!!!
Prompt words are spooky, qualified, register, manifest, berry and dandelion. Mouse image by Ricky Kharawala on Unsplash, Dandelion by Judy. And, also for Cee’s FOTD.
I admit, this one is a stretch, but a person’s gotta try…..
Can of Worms
I find I have no antidote for your ogreish moods.
I can’t dispel your fury and the dark cloud it exudes.
Nothing can dissuade you from your atrocious mood.
It is your obligation to sit there and to brood.
I try to draw you out the door to take a little walk—
to absorb the joys of nature, for a picnic and a talk,
but your mood is much too durable to fall apart so easily.
It cannot be deflected by cajoling made so breezily.
If I drew a stat sheet on these redundant snits
that are bound to come on weekly and soon turn into fits,
the graph would be predictable, with bad moods every Monday—
ironically, that day you’ve set aside and call your funday.
It’s that day you go out feeling fine and come home feeling sick—
that day that you go fishing with your brother Rick
who always catches bigger fish than those that choose your hook—
the ones that you throw back and don’t bring home for me to cook.
So, all-in-all, my gloomy spouse, the thing that I’ve been wishing
is that you’d suspend your bouts of familial fishing.
Stay home with me and prove to me that you’re my sexy man,
and we can dine on tunafish straight out of a can!!!
Promp words for the day are ogreish, obligation, stat, durable, draw and redundant.
Vulture
I am not too fond of this peculiar guy
who seeks an invitation to see my latest buy.
He barely fits the envelope of people I can bear,
for he is always scouting out possessions that are rare.
So it is with priceless antiques that he says are just old
and so he makes these propositions that are brash and bold.
When I replace this table with one brand spanking new,
he could haul off this old one for me (for a buck or two.)
He thinks I do not know the value of all that I buy
and so he reconnoiters with a greedy eye,
and when he sees an object that has seen a bit of wear,
he’ll focus on the object with his greedy stare
and say that when I’m done with it and go to buy another,
he could take my old one and give it to his mother.
Friends like this, I’m sure you’ll say, come a dime a dozen,
and I’d agree and shun him if he weren’t my only cousin!
Prompt words today are envelope, peculiar, invitation, seek, latest and spanking.
Makeover
She yearned to be apocryphal, a legend in her time.
Her face on Wikipedia would make her feel sublime.
She yearned to be a feature in all the major papers.
To be of national interest would give the girl the vapors.
Her impact on the fashion scene she knew could change the world.
They’d want to know her lipstick brand and how her hair was curled.
The collapse of world markets would be based on her whims—
where she took her refreshments and where she took her swims.
It didn’t really matter what was inside her head,
for everyone would concentrate on what she did instead.
Her bikin waxes and her French manicure
would be the accomplishments destined to endure.
No one would remember the plain girl that she’d been
once that she had changed her name to Kardashian.
Prompt words today are face, feature, collapse, apocryphal, impact, refreshments. Image by Freestocks on Unsplash.
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.
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.
Walking Wounded
I have a giant blister growing on my foot,
and I’ve had a breakthrough about what’s at its root.
Its cause is not a secret, no mystery at all.
The truth is that I buy my shoes at least a size too small.
Blame it on my vanity that’s making me a gimp.
My need to wear a daintier size is why I have a limp.
Today’s prompt words are breakthrough, giant, blister, root.
The Fruits of My Labors
I drink smoothies for stamina. Somehow, they maker me brighter.
If I skip one for one day, I’m a more mundane writer.
I grow the fruit right in my yard: papaya plump and round,
and the freshest bananas—as delicious as they sound.
Together, they form food for thought and make me much less grouchy.
My skin acquires a healthy glow. My eyelids are less pouchy.
When I mix these fruits together with oat milk and some berries
and drink them down, all editors respond to my queries.
What we put into our mouths comes out in our thoughts.
Mixed up in our blender or boiled in our pots,
they form a magic elixir, a wild creative brew
that when you imbibe in it, will inspire you!
Today’s prompt words are stamina, drink, mundane, grouch, mix and writer.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 