Walking Back

     Photo by Mary Bach

Snow steps carry me home,

not just the mile or two back to my house,

but all the way home

back to where Grandma waited

with warm hugs and hot chocolate,

back to the little, stone house

on the edge of town

surrounded by fields of corn,

back to my climbing tree

that reached across

the path toward the hen house,

back to my childhood.

This is for dVerse where Marina Sofia asked us to write about some aspect of the snowy weather.

On Being "It"

    Public Domain Image, Old Teddy Bear by George Hodan

While I loved to play

Hide and Seek

when we were kids

I always hated being “it.”

I worried I would wander forever

and never find a single soul.

But then again, I worried when

I hid, no one would find me.

and there I would sit,

in the dirty clothes hamper

’till wash day.

This 55 is for all the Toads in the Imaginary Garden at IGRT, and especially for Hedgewitch who is taking over, this week, for the G-man.  Click on the link and check it out.

Happy Birthday Kate!

My girl is 24 today.

Yesterday she was 7

Last week she was brand new.

8 pounds, 13 ounces,

round and red

with a perfect 

rosebud mouth.

What happened

to all those years?

My best advice -

don’t blink!

Don’t even blink…

My amazing daughter Kathryn is 24 today.  The poem really says it all!  I have no idea where all those years went, but I am so proud of the young woman she has become.  PAD and NaPoWriMo day 14.

11th August

     Universal Studios Lot, Instagram by sessepien

At day’s end

 when shadows were long

we’d sit and dangle bare legs

over the edge

of the fire escape.

Looking down on the city

was sort-of magicy.

The smell of

bus-fumes-liver-and-onions-pot-curry

danced through the air

and the tiny people below

softened into vagueness

as the sun snuck off.

You and I would talk about

far away…

   long ago…

      yet to be…

There were forests 

full of green and grey,

swimming pools,

and yards big enough for puppies.

There were dragons and gargoyles 

to be dealth with;

criminals to be fought, 

awards to accept.

We could go anywhere,

do anything,

and nothing could stop us.

Except for mama

calling us to bed.

This is for The Mag creative writing site hosted by Tess Kincaid, and also linked to dVerse open link night.  Click on the links and check them out for some great writing.

On Why You May Want to Reconsider Growing Up

CAUTION!

 As you age you may lose:

-joy from licking the sugar-dust off a stick of gum

-soles that can walk on gravel

-wishes from dandelion seeds

-your invisible friends

-magic

-the effects of fairy dust

-the ability to taste your dreams

                …or to even remember them.

This is for G-man at FF55.  Click on the link and check it out.

I Didn't Know

I didn't know

I had an idyllic childhood.

I only knew my piano teacher’s house

smelled of cabbage.

I knew Sandy was nice,

mostly,

Bryan’s was mom was scary,

and the Cowell boys

had flaming match fights in their basement.

And I knew

when the street lights came on

it was time to go home.


Here is a 55 word trip down memory lane for G-man's FF55.  Click on the link and check it out.

Peaceable Kingdom

     Image from tshritsmoselikes.com

Here in my fort

of cushions and chairs

draped with blankets,

I am Queen of all I see -

from one end of the living room

to the other.

In this kingdom

everyone is happy;

and no one fights

or leaves 

or divorces.

Here I sleep with arms flung wide,

safe in a memory.

This is for Mama Zen's Words Count at IGwRT.  Click on the link and check it out.