Tag Archives: #MVB-PROMPT

Scrabble Quibbles

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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.

Epitaph on a Hilly Gravesite

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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

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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.

Tonala Adventure

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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

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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. 

Just Be You

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Just Be You

When I look into your eyes,
your potential to improvise
and mold yourself to any guise
tells me that your talent lies
in the fine art of disguise.

You could give a master session
in the changes of expression
to obscure extreme depression,
thereby forestalling confession 
of your doom and gloom obsession.

Why not just be who you are?
Reality can get you far.
When you feel you’re under par,
just show the truth and raise the bar,
and of your life, become the star.

MVB’s prompt today is improvise. Since it is the only one posted so far, I’m going to go ahead and dedicate my entire poem to this one word.

The Fruits of My Labors

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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.

Change of Menu

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Change of Menu

Though my visitor is an excellent cook
who bought a fresh fish right off of the hook,
 he said although sturgeon is usually reliable,
he found that this one was sadly not fryable.

Somehow, its innards were too well united
which meant that the rest of it could not be bited.
The end of the story is simply that
we tossed the fish to the dog and the cat,

got into the car and took a small ride
to purchase burgers with fries on the side.
The irony, though, of our untasted sturgeon
is that my guest was a prominent surgeon!

Prompt words are visitor, united, reliable, cook and prominent, Image by John Cameron on Unsplash.

Day of the Dead

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1953

Click on photos to enlarge.

Day of the Dead

It is that spooky time of year when dead folk walk about.
They lasso wild horses to ride, without a doubt.
They leave their earthy prisons and slake their appetites
with dead bread and with other toothsome proffered bites.
Their crimson eyes shine brightly this one night of the year,
as they slake their year-long thirsts for mescal or for beer.

Each year their thoughtful mortals replenish altars nightly,
putting out their favorite brews and foods for them, politely.
They fill town squares with altars that honor friends departed,
revealing that their memories have remained open-hearted.
Candles light their way for them and marigolds form highways
that mark their paths toward friendly altars from their ghostly byways.

Dia de los Muertos is that night that spirits roam,
renewing those past pathways that have led their footsteps home.
If you doubt their coming, view their pathways in the morning
to see how they have visited you, silent, without warning.
Some say it is the field mice that have nibbled on the bread,
but those of faith know that it was their beloved ones instead!

Prompt words today are replenish, prison, crimson, spooky, and politely.

His Hopes: Love Messages

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His Hopes: Love Messages

Long after sleep is over and you’ve made your morn’s retreat,
I find an image of your kiss pressed into my sheet.
It summarizes passion and the pounding beat
of two dazzled lovers united in their heat.
I gently kiss your absent lips and smooth the cover neat,
hoping that tonight you will return for a repeat.

 

Prompt words today are sleep, summarize, dazzle, beat, lipstick.