Day 12 - November

Today is Day 12 of the Writer's Digest November PAD Chapbook Challenge.  I've been kind of hopping around, because not all of this month's challenges have inspired me yet, but I hope they will.  I am still trying.  I'm still in the game.  Let me know what you think!  I really do want to know!

November

The crunch of leaves under my tall black boots on a lunchtime walk.

The smell of wood smoke in the air,

and the buzz of a chainsaw in the far distance.

Memories rise of fall mornings,

preparing wood to be saved and stacked so we would be warm for winter.

Dressed in flannel and thermal and denim,

boots on our feet and gloves on our hands,

sent out by our mother to

help our father prepare for winter storms.

Although we protested at first,

our work quickly evolved into play.

I don’t know who started it first,

but every log we threw was thrown with a word,

whether it was a

Star Wars character, or

things of a certain color, or a

popular song, or an

“and then” story.

We kept it going until we couldn’t go any farther and then we started it again.

Warming ourselves next to the wood stove,

cups of steaming hot chocolate topped with melting marshmallows.

Mom in the kitchen making lunch-

peanut butter and jelly or tuna fish sandwiches,

maybe some soup.

Rosy cheeks and runny noses, bright eyes and yawns.

November.

My sweet November.

Oh, how I miss it…

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Play It Cool

Today's prompt?  It's "Play", so I decided to "Play it Cool".  Hope you like it.  You can find the challenge here at Writer's Digest.  

Play It Cool

I try to play it cool, really I do.

My motto is "live and let live".

Not so much the people around me

and sometimes I get so frustrated

I just want to make them realize that

pushing

their agenda

down my throat

is not the way to do things

so I fire back in

full

righteous

mode

and blast them.

And then I step back,

rub my face,

lean into the corner and shrug.

Whatever.

That’s how I play.

Dogmental

Day 5 - Write a "wire" poem.  So here it is!  Check out the challenge here at Writer's Digest.

Dogmental

Your frantic eyes search out my face then turn away just as quickly.

You run circles around the table and get intertwined in the computer’s cables.

As soon as we disentangle you from your own trap you are back to circling. 

Bark at the other dogs, wag your tail, come push my hand to pet you, incessant whining.

I scratch your head and feel you burning up.

Your wires are crossed, again.

We talk to you softly until you calm down and your head cools.

The electricians re-routing your energy so you can run correctly again.

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A Kept Woman

Day 4 of the Writer's Digest November challenge: write a poem of a life imagined.

A Kept Woman

A kept woman has an apartment with a view of the city.

She has beautiful clothes and a neat kitchen with a wine rack and a bar.

She sleeps in silk negligees and her makeup is perfect.

Her furniture is top of the line, and everything is paid for, even her.

He visits, but rarely stays.

She listens and nods; murmurs now and then and sympathizes.

She is a haven, a stress-relief, a port in a storm.

She straddles him and does what he (and she) desire.

When he travels he takes her and they pretend they are all they have.

She belongs to him.

She loves him.

And she tells herself he loves her, too.

And when he’s gone,

home to his lovely wife and 2.5 children,

she curls up in the overstuffed chair and cashmere blanket

with a cup of tea and a romance novel,

and she imagines him across from her.

It would be different for them.

He would love her totally,

and she would make sure their home was welcoming and calm.

She would make him dinner every night and

he would make love to her after the children were put to bed.

When he headed out the door

to go back to the office to finish up some forgotten work

she would smile and think

what a great provider he is.

She sighs as she opens her book.

Someday…

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If I'd Only Followed Directions (DRAFT)

Yesterday was Day 3 of the Writer's Digest November Challenge.  The prompt was "If I'd Only ________".  Here is my interpretation:

If I’d Only Followed Directions

The directions my parents gave me always seemed so stuffy,

so grown up and

unbelievable to me.

Get an education,

get a job,

meet someone,

fall in love,

get married,

buy a house,

have some kids,

grow old together.

Add in the standard don’t smoke,

drink in moderation,

don’t do drugs.

Mix it up with treat others as you would have done unto you,

turn the other cheek,

always be kind.

All of this would guarantee me a

picture

perfect

life.

Except somewhere along the way I messed up

and following directions got screwed around and not for me. 

I was unique and I marched to a different drummer.

I did everything backwards and upside down.

I still look for that picket fence and those children

with the dad that takes care of everyone.

I wonder if he would have made a difference in our lives,

made my life easier,

made it so that I wouldn’t have had to make so many decisions.

Oh, if only I’d listened!

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Feline Queen (Draft)

Today's poetic challenge through Writer's Digest - channel my spirit animal.  Even though I love dogs, I am a cat at heart.

Feline Queen 

I come to you on my terms only.

Soft and sweet I can turn and draw blood in a moment.

Don’t doubt that.

You can touch, when I choose

and you will be happy and possibly angry ,

because you can’t do anything about it.

Spend too much time, or get too loud and

I will turn away and efficiently block you.

You envy me, enjoying my own spot in the sun,

my windowsill,

my perspective.

You hate me for the very same thing.

Just one purr,

one brush of me against you,

and all is forgiven.

My girl, AJ - she taught me well!