The Way, for The Unicorn Challenge. Feb 1, 2025

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The Way

The well-bricked path leads steeply down
to the bottom of the town
to mysteries that can’t be seen,
with many pleasures in-between.

Neatly stuccoed walls with doors
recessed but opening onto floors
perhaps mosaic or well-worn wood
you’d stoop to caress if you could.

Plants in front of every  dwelling
exude the green that you’ve been smelling
to balance all the brick and stone
as you walk down this road alone.

Path leads to steps to path to road
and far below, the mother lode
of other souls, milling there
beneath that final lonely stair.

Your trip down of double worth.
First lone reflection, then the mirth
of company that you knew not
all along, was what you really sought.

for The Unicorn Challenge  we are to write a short piece no longer than 250 words based on the above photograph.

Loving (More Than) Spoonfuls

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Loving (More Than) Spoonfuls

It seemed a meager portion for such a pricey place––
three peas, a single escargot. Potatoes? not a trace.
They’d spilled some brown stuff on the plate and dabbed a bit of green.
No wonder other diners all looked so very lean.

Two bites and the first course was gone, the plates all whisked away,
replaced by a sparse salad little more than mounds of hay.
A tiny slivered mass of yellow with seeds sprinkled over,
a spray of oil, some flower petals and a sprig of clover.

I looked my first date in the eye to see what he might think.
As he lifted a forkful, he gave a little wink.
We consumed their tiny lamb chops, complete with ruffled cuff
and scarfed the spoonful of dessert that wasn’t near enough.

He paid the bill, retrieved our coats and walked me to his car.
“I have another treat for you,” he said. “It isn’t far.”
He pulled up to McDonalds and ordered two big macs,
large French fries and two sodas and handed me the sacks.

Afterwards, at Dairy Queen, we sealed this new romance
with Butterfinger Blizzards and then a smoldering glance.
I accepted the next course with lips and arms most eager.
And what he served me next, my dear, was anything but meager.

I do not like posh restaurants with their nouvelle cuisine.
I find their foam and slivers and seeds and piles obscene.
Their single little vegetables hung on tiny racks?
I prefer larger portions and calories served in sacks!

And that is how we bonded, your Uncle Joe and I,
over Colonel Sanders, Taco Bell and carryout Thai.
Others may impress their dates with pricey gourmet suppers,
but my true love seduced with feasts of fast food filler-uppers!

In response to Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “Spoonful”

Last on the Card, Jan 31, 2025

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Please Click on photos to enlarge.

I am so happy that it is “Last on the Card” time again. I took these three photos and could not figure out what category they’d fit into…until Forgottenman reminded me it was time for Bushboy’s Last on the Card prompt.

I had never seen this  butterfly before. It was sitting on the ledge above Morrie’s cage and I saw it when I was giving them their morning meal. It seemed not to be able to fly. I tried gently moving it to make sure the feet weren’t stuck to the ledge and also carefully spread its wings a bit to make sure they weren’t stuck together by cobwebs or some other environmental danger. I then took it out and put it on a plant and never saw it again. I hope it flew away. It is a Smyrna blomfildia, The Blomfild’s beauty, a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae  and among other locales, is found from Mexico down to Panama. Beautiful markings.

As for the other photos, if you look carefully, you’ll see what has captured Morrie’s interest. They remained like this for some minutes. No barking, only occasional meowing. I had already fed them both so don’t know what other than curiosity caused Ollie to come and observe us from the roofline.

The silhouette of the trees and bougainvillea was actually the last on the card, so had to include it.  The others were second and third to last.

For Bushboy’s Last on the Card

Reblog of Archon’s Den’s Brilliant Answers for Last Week’s Fibbing Friday

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I must reblog these brilliant answers by Archon and his daughter to last week’s Fibbing Friday.  Cliick on the below link to see them:
 
https://archonsden.wordpress.com/2025/01/31/subcontracted-fibbing-friday/#comments?page_id=17230

A Rose is a Rose for FOTD Jan 31, 2025

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For Cee’s FOTD

for Fibbing Friday, Jan 31, 2025

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For Fibbing Friday,  the challenge is:

1.   To the nearest mile, how many miles of nerves do we have in the human body?The number of miles of nerves in the human body is 1/5,280 th of the number of feet of nerves in the human body.
2.   Of the 300,000 different edible plants on earth, how many do we eat? As many as we can pile on our plates at the local Salad Buffet.
3.   What colour is snow on Pluto? The same color as it is on every dog’s coat. White.
4.   What is the dot on the letter ‘i’ called? A polka dot.
5.   How many presidents of the USA died on July 4th? This year, none of them.
6.   What does Pinocchio mean in Italian? It is a variety of pineapple with a very long stem.
7.   What are the six official languages of the UN? Pig Latin, Sign Language, Morse Code, Gobbledegook, Baby Talk and Walkie Talkie.
8.   What city was Italy’s first capital? Spagheccity.
9.   What does an average human head weigh? It can’t weigh anything. You should use the scales.
10.  Who was Spencer Perceval? I don’t know, but all our swains commend him!  (if this is too obscure go HERE for a clue.)

 

String Theory for dVerse Poets, Jan 30, 2025

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String Theory

This string you see between the cat
and my stepmother’s witch’s hat
was strung by me to work a spell
to send them both straight back to Hell.
As you can see, the witch has vanished
so more than half the threat is banished.
I think, perhaps, without her
the cat will just curl up and purr.
But ’til I know that this is true,
I’ll wait until it gives a clue
the reason it is naughty’s that
it is, after all, a cat!!

For dVerse Poets Open Link Night  # 377  we were to create an ekphrastic poem describing the above painting. .“Where or When (Things Past)” (1948), oil on canvas, by Gertrude Abercrombie. Image from Carnegie Museum of Art and Colby Museum of Art      Source

To hear Kim of Glover Garden’s oral recitation of this poem, go HERE.:

To see other poems written to this prompt, go HERE.

Trouble in the School Cafeteria, Jan 30, 2025

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The hullabaloo
in the breakfast queue 
just had to do
with those picky few
who walked the beam
on the gymnastic team
who declared the waffle
was simply awful!
Who, at the most,
could slug down the toast!

For Esther’s “Can You tell a story in. . . . ” Challenge,  the challenge was:

Can you tell a story in 38 words? You must use the following words somewhere in the story:

  • HULLABALOO
  • QUEUE
  • SLUG
  • BEAM
  • WAFFLE

\

Gazania for FOTD, Jan 30, 2025

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For Cee’s FOTD

Borrowed Words for dVerse Poets, Jan 29, 2025

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MAGA

Nose to nose,
we meet as one.
Our cause?
To hide
the smoking gun.
We have not even
half begun!

WISH

If I were more than
a toothless crone,
I’d  gnaw our summer
down to the bone.

THE DEATH OF JUSTICE

Attempts to name it
were of no use.
Its means were silenced
by a swinging noose.
Justice arose
and is swinging loose.
Its long neck stretched
by long abuse.

On Track

Those nearest to us
cannot remove
that sure belief
in our mutual groove.

National Anthem

We crow its verses
to try to see
if they’ll renew
our liberty,

Lone Rider

We can’t assume
what we once knew.
Our van’s life passengers
(that sum of two)
no longer number
both me and you.

Buried Wisdom

We hide awareness
in deep dark caves.
The sea obscures them
in rushing waves.
The cream of sea foam
roars and paves
a ceiling over
truth’s buried raves.

 

The prompt for dVerse poets was to write a poem using one or all of the lines of words below, in the  order in which they appear. I composed a different poem for each set.

nose – one – cause – even
were – crone – our – summer
name – use – means – arose
near – can – remove – sure
crow – verse – see – renew
assume – once- van – sum
aware – caves – sea – cream

 

To read other poems written to this prompt, go HERE.