I was in the river today.
One that runs north and south,
Sometimes east and west.
Rivulets and fast flowing brooks merge,
Intertwine endlessly,
Keeping destinations endless.
Rainbows reflected off metallic scales.
I avoided angry predators,
Dodged racing guppies.
After drifting to shore, I smiled.
It was a good day to swim.
Barbara Anne DeVoe
May 7, 2017
Undemonstrativeness
Unable to say
Expressionless
Blank of face
Quiet
Sleeps
Silence is not golden.
Barbara Anne DeVoe
January 28, 2017
I had to correct spellcheck on undemonstrativeness. It is a real word. This form is called teacup poetry. Each line is one syllable less than the previous. The last line has the same amount of syllables as the first word.
Abacus, accountant, addled
Bemused, baffled, bewildered
Carafe, coffee, calculator
Dazed, delighted, done.
Ear, eloquent, earnest
Fatigued, frightened, fascinated
Gossip, garbage, go-way
Hearing, honesty, hopeful
Impression, irreverent, impeach
Jeremiad, jokester, jettison
Kaleidoscope, kaput, karma
Lawless, landless, lost
Managing, messing, monkey
Narcissistic, nerd, ninny
Oaken, offensive, oxalic-acid
Perfidy, persistent, pestering
Quad, quire, quotes
Rubbish, radiant, ruthless
Stipulate, stage, suffocate
Translate, tax, terminate
Ulotrichous, ubisupra, unruly
Velvet, vasty,venerable
Wig, wad, wonderful
Xeroscaped, XL, X-ed
Youthful, yare, yauld
Zaftig, zigzag, zed
The idea was put
words in a hat,
pull some out
Have something to write about.
Instead, I went to a long time friend
Who has served me well all my life.
Dictionary is the name,
Keeps me in the poetry game.
You might have to get out a bound copy to find some of the words.
The end of the alphabet isn’t easy.
I burst from Mother’s pod.
In warm sun, cooling rain to drink,
Sweet earth for nourishment,
I grew strong with age.
I have burst many pods.
I am ready for the harvest.
This is a series of verses written to meet the challenge, “use the old Southern” term “bless her heart.”
She couldn’t cook worth a damn.
Her family grew and they ran.
No one she fed
Ended up dead.
Bless her heart.
She was a sinner,
Did everything, everyone wrong.
When she had you to dinner
She sang God’s praises in song.
Bless her heart.
She heard blonds have more fun
So she tried to become one.
When the bleach hit her hair,
It just wasn’t fair.
She is ever so galled,
But doesn’t look SO bad bald.
Bless her heart.
She would take her bike
When they went for a hike.
Alas and alack,
She ran over a white Cadillac.
She limped and she cried,
Nobody died.
Bless her heart.
Forty years she’s a nurse,
A blessing a curse.
Now she’s retired,
She wants to be fired.Bless her heart.
A friend of mine introduced me to this form of poetry and I have found it to be very interesting. These are my efforts.
Poem #1
Starting with gauge on full
I started a trip called life.
Now, so many miles traveled,
Tires bald and
Tank empty,
I coast to my final parking space.
Poem #2
My sun,
Shining bright for so long,
Is now setting.
The moon is rising,
The night inviting.
Because I am me,
I will be me.
I will get up feeling well,
Not living in Hell,
A life that’s suppressed
By a mind that’s depressed.
Because I am me,
I will get up and see
What the world has in store
For a soul that wants more
Than hiding inside.
I WILL go outside!
A month with no holidays.
Instead, there are the “Dog Days” of summer.
“Dog days?” you ask yourself.
dogs,
Limp with the heat, even in shade,
Are to fatigued to think of barking at what may.
Do not mention playing catch.
Or fetch!
Supply cool water and leave be.
People, too,
Beleaguered by heat,
Thick humidity,
No breeze,
Have little appetite for work or play.
Even we lack the energy
To bark.
How long was my shelf life?
Did our friendship expire?
Your windows are locked,
Your blinds are drawn.
A chain helps block the door.
You sometimes invite me over,
Then don’t let me in.
The phone rings unanswered.,
My calls not returned.
A rare text avoids conversation,
Many get no response to my response.
We had so much fun as young adults.
Older now, both busy.
Busy lives bring change.
We are following different paths.
Are there no crossroads?
Does I’m busy mean I don’t want to?
Am I off your shelf?
I haven’t expired,
Have you?
This little thing I do for you,
In your mind,
the kindest thing,
Timely in it’s hour.
All I can say,
“To improve you,
Does more good to me.”
dragonbad8507 