Wary of the Waltz

Hardships strung
like a string of pearls
broken and
scattered on the dance floor.


Melancholy Mindset

I step up to
an imaginary bar
as the tender pitches a highball--
some non-existent bourbon
to the brain with hope
the mind will find a way
to cease trying to fix the unfixable.

Without success,
I wrap my hands around
the cup of tea and stare
out the kitchen window
wondering if there's warmth outside
in the light
of a dying autumn sun.

Inspired by the music of: Queen - My Melancholy Blues (Instrumental)


The Funambulist

Walking the wire
net-less,
I brace against a head wind
and wait for fate
to pluck her harp string.


Self Portrait in Still Life

A porcelain pitcher
adorned in blue hues
sits silent
in the center of the table.

Filled to spilling,
the vessel barely balances
water teetering at its brim,
shivering at the slightest sound
and threatening to abandon
all self-restraint.


Making an Impression

Blue jeans frayed at the heel.
Black bobos worn almost gray--
the holes in the the soles
patched by rubber cement
and duct tape.

With a Copenhagen tin ring
etched in his right back pocket
and a Snap-On cap nearly rotting off
a head full of unkempt curls,
he takes all of his seventeen years
to the street, strutting
with an air of confidence
he doesn't really feel.

Inspired by: The Byrds - Stranger In A Strange Land (Instrumental)


Random Wisdom: Eleanor Roosevelt - Fear Quote

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. ~Eleanor Roosevelt


Priceless

The tiny jewel
catches first light,
its reflective fire
more brilliant than the sun.

Polished to perfection,
it holds the world suspended
in a bubble of beauty--
both captured in
the gossamer setting
of a garden spider's web.













Image Prompt for 10/16/13 at Poetry Plus


Holding Hands

Without words,
the gentle pressure of fingers entwined
firmly reassures
that he's still here--
still steadfast and strong,
wading through the waters
beside me.


Inspired by: Diversionary Writing #111


Unfettered

In the gray mist
before dawn,
spinning in slow circles,
the amber oak leaf dances
in its fleeting moment
of freedom.


Inspired by: Sakura "Cherry Blossoms";Traditional Music of Japan, Classical Koto


Hopping the Fence

So innocent
with his ice blue eyes...
the gentle face
of man's best friend
stares from the missing slat--
unable to follow me
and what remains of the seat of my pants.


Inspired by: Mag 190


Random Wisdom: Abraham Lincoln - Mind over Matter

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. ~Abraham Lincoln


Sitting in the Glen

Finding space deep within
the forest of my mind,
I surrender
as the pop and hiss of creative fires
burn back the blackness,
allowing me to listen
to the sea of memory
gently breaking on the rocky shore
of consciousness.


Inspired by: In Flames - Timeless


A "Heady" Limerick

In the past it has often been said,
if you sever a talking man's head,
you'll be clean out of luck
for he'll never shut up
even after the poor sap's been dead.


Just getting into the Halloweenie spirit... ;)


Measured Tinkering

A clockwork imp
with mischievous fingers
winds my day for a bit of fun.
Pushing hands
both fast and slow,
he'll play with time 'till my day is done.

The morning's work will drag and crawl
the afternoon will grind
but just as I step foot outside
he'll choose to change his mind.

Evening twilight
should bring long hours
as daylight comes to close
but not for me, the imp decrees
and spins himself
on the grand clock's nose.


Inspired by: Mag 189


Fabrication by Default

Random points draw together
to make something of nothing.
Like finding faces
wandering in wood grain,
the mind makes associations and,
aided by emotional upheaval,
twists benign events
into maliciousness.


Inspired by: Poet Share 10/5/13, Number Twelve


Random Wisdom: Henry David Thoreau - Quiet

If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment. 
~Henry David Thoreau 


Perception is Everything

A single black line
on a crisp white page
defined only
by perspective

A demarcation of horizon
a dividing ultimatum
or simply
a line drawn
on a blank page


Cooking with Gas

Inspiration hits like a cast iron skillet
and he writes.

Mood sets itself--
each sentence a gleaming clever
as his fingers find the keys
and put the plot to boil.
Characters,
some well done,
others half-baked, begin to breathe--
to speak his words
no longer his own.

Beating on the backspace button,
he struggles in vain
to whisk himself away
from the tale's tenacious grip
but the story has set
and the diners are at the door.


A Promise Kept

  Post-it® Poem from April 30th on a 3x3 note. And that's it for this year! :) Thanks for following along...