Decisions, Decisions

 

Weigh and research,
set up through the night,
feel fire consume gut,
headache constant companion.

Conclusion: Decisions  made

without much thought
turned out well
at least half the  time.

Rubáiyát

 

If I were to write a rubaiyat
what would be my first thought?
I’ve never heard of this form before,
certainly I was never taught.

I’d sit down right here,

tell myself no fear,
write to the form, then rearrange,
that’s right, now get it in gear!

Four A.M.

Alone in the bathroom at 4 a.m.
I sit with the toilet seat down.
Try to think of nothing,
then something
benign. Try to dry the tears
from their source
by wishing, praying,
sop up the ones outside.
Cover my mouth
so sobs won't explode into
quiet house  sounds;
ticking clock,
guest's cough
husband snores
serenade my madness.
I can get up in another hour
off the toilet, out the door.
to begin the daytime noises;
clacking at the computer keys,
coffee brewing, teeth brushing,
rushing to start the day.


*Take a line from another poet's work and write a new poem using that line.

From Mary Rosenthal Mansfield's "Three Minute Wait." (Alone in the bathroom at 4 a.m.)

It's Sunday

He speaks.

We listen.
Try to interpret
his broken English.

The congregation

becomes my conspirator.
We kneel, recite, sing,
pretend to understand,
respond when we think it’s right.

What do I get from this?

Why do I keep going?

It’s what I do

on Sundays
It’s Sunday again.

Home

 

Sanctuary, four walls or more.

Scent of candles, low light.  
Encapsulate nature, continuation
of home.  Palm trees catch every breeze,
soft seats for writing and thinking,
oaks sturdy and magnificent overhead,
native grasses, fire pit lined by boulders,
natural seating from storm
downed tree. I flourish.

(Home in less than 48 words)

She Had It All

 

Country singer dead at age thirty-seven.

She sang like an angel, had the face of one, too.

Dead  by her own hand.

Lost custody of her two sons to her estranged

mom, her husband died a few months before
in the same place her body was found,
her court ordered rehab under way, her home
reeked  of waste. The headline:

She Had It All. 

First Kiss

 

The team rushed you off, out of sight.
Steady stream of commands then
hissing, suctioning
machines. Filtration of fear all around. 

No one said a word to me.  No eye contact.
I closed my eyes, didn’t ask, didn’t look,
mumbled, Please God, before oblivion.

I could see you from time to time
Through panels of glass and the hum
of your breathing machine.  Lights blinding.
You were too vulnerable and dependent
on machines, wires, and tape.

Finally you were brought into my darkened

room. The blue clad nurses an entourage

coming to see the reunion
of mother and miracle child. 

You looked strong, wondrously made

ten fingers, ten toes, all the right appendages.
They handed you to me.

I engulfed you in my arms, couldn’t see
for tears, but I found your precious cheek. 
That kiss has lasted my lifetime.