I keep my cool incognito sort of like Clark Kent. No one knows that I am the ultimate badass. I hide it under layers of flannel and grey hair. I hide it very well but take no chances so occasionally I throw in a klutzy move or an awkward encounter. No one suspects a thing.
FF55
Just for Today
Today I want to go for a ride
and visit Pam or Kate.
I want to drink lemonade
with real sugar.
I want stroll
and window-shop
while holding your hand,
as though life were simple.
I want to laugh and drive fast
and not think of consequences.
Just for today
I want to be happy.
55 words for Joy’s Verse Escape.
Knitting – 55
I am a beginner
but already enchanted
with the beautiful
colors and
textures
of yarn
the way it slips
through the needles,
the feel of it on my fingers
and the repetition
knit, knit, purl
purl, purl, knit, purl
over and over
like a meditation,
the clicking of needles
a mantra
calming
soothing
and creating
Friday 55 – Unexpected
My husband is on Facebook now.
He shares pictures of kittens
with me
and shows me posts with
funny tee shirts
and dad jokes.
This is rather like
watching a
prong-horned antelope
having high tea
or a construction worker
using doilies on the handles
of his jack hammer
Not wrong, exactly,
just very…
unexpected
FF55 – Black and Blue
There is no
Officer Friendly
in George’s neighborhood.
And
violence,
non-violence,
neither has worked.
Gandhi would be dismayed.
How can MLK RIP
with his dream
still such a long way off?
WTF?
Does our hope
for justice
reside
in a video camera
that shows the horror of
ourselves
to ourselves
in a world on fire?
RIP Mr. Floyd
This is for Hedgewitch’s Friday 55 at Verse Escape.
NaPoWriMo – Day #17
Somehow my baby
turned thirty
last week
and her big brother
will be thirty-two
next month
Once I thought the
sleepless, pacing nights
would never end
as I carried one
then the other
trying to sing away
nightmares
and colic
But I closed my eyes
and dozed off
and somehow my baby
turned thirty
last week
This is for Hedgewitch’s FF55 Verse Escape
NaPoWriMo – Day #3
Between the clouds
and the ground
and the leafless trees
I see 12 different
shades of gray
As dusk begins
to settle
the daytime
folds in upon itself
Without sun
or moon
in sight
there are no shadows,
but the grays
blend and deepen
A coyote’s lonely call
hangs
unanswered
in the thick, dark air
This is for National Potery Month/ NaPoWriMo, and is linked to Verse Escape where the amazing Hedgewitch is doing extra duty with FF55 each week in April.
Communicating with the Dead, in 55
I imagined
communicating with the dead
was shrouded
in mystery
But it’s not
It’s a note
in his handwriting
tucked into a favorite book
it’s the smell of
his closet
it’s the work gloves
still stiff with
the shape of his hands
Communication with the dead
is small, common
everyday
and
pretty much
one way
This is a 55 word version of a longer piece I’ve been noodling with for FF 55 hosted by Hedgewitch, with a tip of the hat to Galen. Click on the link to go to her blog, Verse Escape, and join the fun!
NaPoWriMo #12
I am no physicist
but I know about time
I know how it changes
how it bends
and folds
I know it’s not a constant
but races, then
stops and
pools at one’s feet
then scampers ahead
I know how it can deceive
What I don’t know
about time is
how to spend
it wisely
Wordless – 55
There are
things older than words
dark, feral things
without form
that gather in my mind
and crowd my throat
pushing down
against the back of my tongue
Or, at times, they rest
thick and heavy
in the ends of my fingers
and the tip of my pen
as I try to write
even now.
Once upon a time, a wise man named Galen began writing 55 words on Fridays. And he invited others to joined him. Then one, sad day he left us. But a good witch, Hedgewitch, took up the 55 and carried it for as long as she could.
I think of these people every time I manage to coax 55 words from wherever it is they come from.
In Other Words 