Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Now Showing


Now Showing

What show will play
in the sky tonight?
What pictures will
stars form with light?

Will a meteor shower
be all the rage?
Will the moon
take center stage?

Will wonders appear
before your eyes
or  will a curtain of clouds
refuse to rise?

Thanks to Rebecca Barray for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Star. What's your favorite show in the sky at night?

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Thursday, December 25, 2014

Holiday Greetings


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. May your days be filled with everything you love.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Fogged In


Fogged In

Bogged down
by the fog,
damp and dreary.
Hard to see what's
in front of me.
When the sun
shines again,
I'll have a new
appreciation
of the view.


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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Rush Hours


Rush Hours

Spinning like wheels
Spinning like tops
We no longer take
the time to stop
at stop signs or
for red lights.
We hurry to get
to our next
destination.
Will we stop when
we get there?



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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Patterns


Patterns

Circles, triangles and squares,
patterns are everywhere.
They happen by
circumstance and design.
Do we recognize the
patterns in our lives?

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Thursday, December 11, 2014

Footprints in the Sand


Footprints in the Sand

Footprints in the sand
go every which way,
chronicling the activities
of a given day.

They go into the water
and out again,
or down the beach
for miles on end.

When the tide comes in,
they disappear.
Gone--as though
they were never here.

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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

At Any Age


At Any Age

They were older when
I first met them,
singing and swinging
on television.
Louis and Ella,
the Count and the Duke
already had their place
in jazz history.

They were younger
when I met them
again years later,
at kiosks and in films,
in books and on You Tube.
Learning their craft and
creating the sounds
that turned them into icons.

I learned to appreciate them
 at any age.

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Thursday, December 4, 2014

Point of View


Point of View

The view is obscured
by cloud or crowd
or shroud of darkness.

We fill in the missing
pieces to make
the picture whole.

No longer limited by reality,
we hold on to what
we want to see.

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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

The Passage of Time



The Passage of Time

I hear each
tick of the clock.
See a hand sweep
past the seconds.

Sunshine turns
 to moonlight.
The leaves are
blowin' away.

Will I build
another dream?
Will we walk
together again?

I hear each tick
of the clock,
marking the
passage of time.

Thanks to Sarah Turnbull for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-I Spy. This was kind of a "prompt scavenger hunt."  Click on the link to see the instructions. My prompts were: clock, the line-"we accordingly walked together to the parking lot from" from Hot Money by Dick Francis and the CD "Time and Love" by Laura Nyro. [Note: Since I still listen to music the old fashioned way, I picked up a stack of CDs, shuffled them three times and pulled one out.] 

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Thursday, November 27, 2014

Giving Thanks

I  am thankful for

The sky above, whether blue or gray


The coolness of the ocean spray


Anytime I get to play


 The ups and downs of every day


and all the people I meet along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Stowaways


Stowaways

Gum on a shoe or
mud when it's wet
Hair on clothing
from us or the pets
A price tag we
forget to remove
A piece of tape
that sticks like glue
The feelings we hide
inside but can't let out
no matter how hard we try


Upcoming Events


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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Grocery Shopping


Grocery Shopping

Mom and I walked to the A&P.
I had to work to keep up,
even though she held my hand.
She had the list and easily
found the items she needed.
The only thing that slowed us down
was a chat with someone Mom knew.
"This is my baby," she would say
each time she introduced me.
On the walk home,
I would switch sides when
she shifted the bag to give
her arm a rest.

Now when I buy groceries,
I pull my car into the parking lot,
get in and out of the store
as quickly as possible and
load my purchases into the trunk.

Once in a while, I see someone
walking home with a bag
of groceries in hand and
remember the time when
I was someone's baby.

Upcoming Events

November Local Life: Meditations on the Beauty of the Everyday


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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Pathfinder


Pathfinder

How do we get to where we are?
Are we led to the water to drink?
Are the steps controlled by what we think?
Do we wish upon a star?
Will that get us very far?
Do we aspire to be like someone else?
Does that help us find ourselves?
Does it matter what we do?
Is everything planned for me and you?
How do we get to where we are and
where do we go next?

Thanks to Janice Sheridan for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Freedom. Do you believe in destiny? Do we control our own fate? How have you found your way?

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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Winter Came Overnight


Winter Came Overnight

Winter came overnight.
I tried to turn it away.
Hold on to the sunshine
and warmth of the day.
The wind picked up.
The clouds moved in.
Forty degrees of 
separation between
what the temperature 
became and what
 it had been.
In the morning
indisputable proof,
a dusting of snow
 up on the roof.

Did the weather in your area suddenly turn cold? Have you had your first snow?

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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Fishing for Words


Fishing for Words

After sunrise, I rise.
Coffee ready,
I sit and sip
as a steady stream
of words runs
through my mind.
I wish I could hook
them one at a time.
Create the perfect line,
the perfect line,
the perfect line
until I finish.
Instead, I scratch
down what I can
then revise and revise.
I tire and go to sleep,
only to rise and start again.

Thanks to Rebecca Barray for the Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Finish. What projects have you finished lately?

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Monday, November 3, 2014

Silent Scream


Silent Scream

Who's there?
Don't stand and stare,
run, run, run, run.
No use, I can't get away.
Scream, scream.
I open my mouth,
but nothing comes out.
That's when I know
this is only a dream.

Thanks to Dana Dampier for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Can you scream in your dreams? Do you have recurring dreams?

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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Halloween Hobos

Halloween Hobos

We went door-to-door
down neighborhood streets.
Walked among witches
and ghosts made of sheets.
We were rewarded
with all kinds of sweets
as long as we called out,
"trick or treat."

Happy Halloween! Do you have a special Halloween memory?

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Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Enter the Forest


Enter the Forest

Enter the forest.

What do you see?
Miles and miles
of twisted trees.

What do you hear?
Howls and screeches
that sound too near.

What do you feel?
The presence of something
that's not quite real.

Leave the forest
or do you?

Thanks to Elissa Field for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Wicked Wording This Way Comes. Do you have a poem, short story or book you like to read every Halloween?

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Life at a Glance


Life at a Glance

Fly by,
zip past.
Do you give 
everything a glance?

Don't engage,
hurry up.
Take a peek.
Do you see enough?

Rush, race,
skim, scan.
Do you live life
as fast as you can?

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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Modern Curses


Too many keyboards/keypads




Too much sitting



AND way too many selfies


Thanks to Sarah Turnbull for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Curses. What is your favorite story that involves a curse?

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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Collaborative Story


Jessica quickened her pace. The cool air encouraged the increased speed. I'm surprised more people aren't out. She stumbled on a tree root, took a step off the trail to regain her balance,and came face-to-face with a hole in the rocks. It looks like a dog's head.

Thanks to Kasie Whitener for this Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-A Dark and Stormy Night. The challenge is to contribute to a scary story. I started it, now it's up to you to help finish it by contributing a few lines in the comments. What happens next?

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Here are a couple of other collaborative projects I'm involved with:



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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Artist Profile

Thanks to The Arts Council of Johnson County for featuring me in an Artist Profile on its smART blog.


Thanks to Sharon Rodriguez, Judith Towse Roberts and Maria Vasquez Boyd for permission to use their photographs.

The Arts Council of Johnson County is an advocate for the arts and is dedicated to the enrichment of the community through the Arts. Learn more about the Council and its mission here.

Related Link

Friday, October 10, 2014

Pastels


Pastels

These colors are shy.
Don't burst on the scene,
loud and brash.
Instead, they speak in whispers.
Give us a hint of what
they have to offer.
Make us take the time
to get to know them
before they reveal all.


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Tuesday, October 7, 2014

The Phantom of the Opera

from Amazon.com via Google Images

The Phantom of the Opera

Before Andrew Lloyd Webber
wrote The Music of the Night,
a silent phantom
gave me a fright.
Even on a small screen
in black and white
the face was startling:
a damaged nose,
high cheek bones,
eyes that glowed.
A scream rose 
in my throat
and I cried out,
"Mom!"

Thanks to J.lynn Sheridan for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Shivers. When I was a child, there was a program on Saturday called Silents, Please, that showed silent movies. It introduced me to the work of Lon Chaney and the character of the Phantom. Little did I know that years later this story would be set to music and become a worldwide sensation. Yes, I did go to see the play.

What are your early memories of fright night films and scary stories?

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Thursday, October 2, 2014

September Roses


September Roses

I am startled,
taken by surprise
when in late September
I see two roses open.
I can't believe my eyes.

I had no idea
they were in season 
when the air 
begins to cool,
when tree leaves
start to match
the color of
their blooms.

I may pass them by
when they are out
earlier in the year,
but in the fall, I'll linger
anytime a rose appears.

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Up and Over


Up and Over

Rough stone
Sharp edges
One misstep
results in
brush burns.
Another could
mean a fall.
Find firm
footing and
up you go,
over the wall.


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