Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Hollow, Misery, Shallow

I shall go to the hollow.
It's nothing to hallow--
just a place where some tombstones
sit crookedly shallow,
where, fearful and flattened, they hid from the foe--in misery minding their mortars below
until all the others had safely retreated.
They held through the firestorm that suddenly heated the rocks where they huddled:
hopeless, heroic
No sign of their sacrifice
Tombstones are stoic.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Jumble, Grin, Naked







 Naked trees, smashed homes
Jumble of glass, iron, mud, blood
"We'll rebuild", he grins.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011


They said, "It's too dainty a tune
to be played on a contrabassoon."
But the thought tantalized him,
And so he surprised them
With a haunting rendition of bass Clair de Lune.











Dainty;  adjective: Delicate and pretty or choice, delicious and tasty; noun: something delicious, especially a small piece of food.

Haunting; adjective: Evoking strong emotion, especially a sense of sadness, that persists for a long time.

Tantalize; transitive verb: To tease or torment people by letting them see, but not have, something they desire; to cause one to be tantalized.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Obit for an Oceanographer


Did I mention the fate of the fearless first mate
who dove into the deep with the best of intentions?
Well, sadly, along with his fidgety nature,
he'd a curious affinity for explosive inventions
and, mingled, this duo of inherited traits
created a splash of unequaled dimensions.





This weeks words: Affinity, fidget, mention.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Three Word Wednesday Draws a Blank

Here it is--Thursday--
and I can't come up with anything for the Three Word Wednesday prompt,
not even a juicy bit of gossip to share. My mind is blank.
I figure it's just the stress of having a couple of full time jobs.
Oh well, maybe next week.










This week's words:

Figure; noun: A written or printed symbol representing something other than a letter, especially a number; an indistinct object or shape; an indistinct object or shape.

Juicy; adjective: Full of juice; succulent; richly interesting; racy; titillating.

Stress; noun: Importance, significance, or emphasis placed on something; a state of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain; to place emphasis on or prominence to.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Home on the Strange

While drivin' around
and surveyin' the ground
for interesting barrows and hills,
I chanced on a sign
as it hung on a line
of old barbed wire. (kind of gave me the chills).

No huntin' it said
Then, painted in red,
This land has already been leased
I looked to my right
And there in full sight
Hung a hapless, but trespassin' beast


And wouldn't you know,
There hung a whole row
Of varmints caught chasin' the cattle
And sort of alone
On a post of his own
A porcupine caught in the battle

 I looked for a gun,
and didn't see one,
but I stayed in my car just the same
A calf might start bawlin',
that farmer come callin'
And see an occasion for blame

I didn't want to quit
taking pictures a bit,
but this time I knew that I must



The warm western skies
Shone bright in my eyes
And I blinked as I drove just ahead of the dust




I took these pictures yesterday in the nick of time for this three word Wednesday.
I had to take liberties with the definition of kind, but I'll kindly forgive myself for that.

Blink; verb: to open and close the eye, especially involuntarily; wink rapidly and repeatedly.

Kind; adjective: of a good or benevolent nature or disposition.

Occasion; noun: a particular time, especially as marked by certain circumstances or occurrences.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Deeds of Daring Don't

Inside I'm a dreamer, it's true
But the dreams that I dream, I don't do
Lost caverns are deep
High mountains are steep
Those conquests I've left up to you*


*The impracticality of the project is always the essence of my argument.

















ABC Wednesday Prompt was D and
Our Three Word Wednesday Prompt was:

Dare; verb: Have the courage to do something or defy or challenge (someone) to do something.

Essence; noun: The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character.

Practical; adjective: Of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas.

Monday, February 7, 2011

"A man who reported the news…"

Said a man who reported the news:
Spin it left? Spin it right? Must I choose?
If I stick with the facts,
Will they give me the axe
For a colorless lack of political hues?










Mad Kane's Limerick Prompt was: A man who reported the news.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Abrasive, Handful, Loss


A handful of hair,
It's no great loss after all.
I shouldn't have been so abrasive.
No great loss
Just a handful of hair
I shouldn't have angered him.
Hair grows back.
It's really no great loss.





(Sorry, these words just seemed to suggest a very serious topic this week.)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Slang Three-Word-Wednesday

She needed a place to sit
But no one would scooch down a bit
Since her temper was janky
She became rather cranky
And tossed a conniption fit.











conniption: noun: a bad tantrum. One has a conniption or conniption fit.
janky: adjective: broken or functioning poorly or improperly; messed up.
scooch: verb: to move over, or to scoot. 

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Descent



Slow, surreal, spirals
They slide in a long descent
Toward the killing fields

Toward the killing fields
In a long descent they slide
Spirals: slow, surreal



Our three words were: descent, kill, surreal

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Harmless, Moist, Yelp


He’s harmless, the owner assured me, just a young puppy, really, that wants to play.

I smiled at the yelping mass of spotted fur and tried to get over my irrational fears.

Nice puppy, I crooned in a soft, sweet voice, Nice little Saint Bernard that’s as big as a spotted Jersey heifer. His jowls were slobbery moist but his tail thumped in welcome, and  his dark eyes were playful.

You’re a sweet, little doggie. I smiled bravely, and reached out to pat the top of his huge head. In a flash, jaws snapped upward and I realized that he had bitten my wrist.

Stop, Samson! Drop it! yelled someone standing on the edge of shock-blurred reality.

The hulking brute quickly released my bleeding, tooth-marked arm and looked expectantly at his master, who gave him a doggie treat and said: Look how well he obeys orders!

Smart Puppy.”
Good Dog.”

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Mount Huashan Hiking Trail

The scenario quickly turned dark,
And his chance of survival was stark
 But he only would say,
Concerning that day,
"Well, it wasn't a walk in the park!"



Mount Huashan Hiking Trail

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Willingly Suspending Disbelief

In the Ozarks? Now can ya believe it?
She goes to a fancy, dress ball?
And the plot? Well what in tarnation?
T'aint likely or plausible at all!







Our Three Word Wednesday prompt was:
willingly, taint, plausible