Second Choice

Frigid winds keep us from Disney World.
Instead we play Dominoes. They click, clack, stack up
on slick marble table. Valerie, Jon, Bill and I
in a game of chance while baby Kaylee reaches,
attempts to rescue dominoes from their symmetry.

Grand and Great

I will attempt to complete one small stone a day for the month of January.  This is my frist one.  A small stone is just a short poem about a happening or something I notice each day.

Granddaughter’s smile as warm as the Florida sun,
her husband by her side. My great granddaughter
reaches up for me. In just that moment,
my dreams have come true.

I’m It

I wrote this small stone while in the hospital waiting the outcome of Bill's surgery. The fear that I had and that I saw in his eyes made me realize it was my turn to be strong; I was it!
A small stone is one little stone out of a river bank, not the whole river. I sure had a river's worth in me this week! 

I’ve never had to be the strong one
Not for forty years, not once
We’ve been devastated and down
Depressed and damaged together once
But I’ve never had to be the strong one
Not until now.

Family

(This is my small stone for November 4.  I almost titled it Family Stone. I think the name is taken though. LOL)

We talk over gift  bag, Elvis,

all blue suede shoes.  Food comes all
fettucini and tortellini ,waiter Patrick not Pat
sweaty, flustered in his delivery. We make him laugh,
drink a toast to birthday uomo bello Bill.

Bats Habitat

Eekk!

The city built homes for them
so they would rid our area
of disease carrying mosquitoes.
They want to rebuild now – more
give these beady eyed bats
amenities that would darken

their days further, so these night

creatures will be rested for their
night  forays.  For a higher cause-
but…Eekk!

Succulent

Sweet, juicy Georgia

peaches so plump,

sticky juice drips

down my elbows

as I take another

bite of sun-ripened

deliciousness right

there in the orchard.

She Sleeps

Cuddled next to me

Ear lops onto my leg

Rise and fall of her chest

A gentle rythmn

She adds to my life

Even as she sleeps.

Fourth of July

Flag gently waves, hotdogs grill, mustard

is spilled on white blouse.  Chatter of people,

smell of tan lotion, kids all splash in the pool. 

Another memory, family and friends,

another great moment of pride.

The Art of Light

The green, pristine,

perfection in color and style.

I appreciate each tree leaf,

each Hybiscus bloom.

Then the sun begins

to play across the scene

like an artist of light

and shadows, I gasp at

the change, feel honored

to witness the beauty.

Substinence

Diet in black cursive,

Coke in red block letters,

12 FL OZ,

all on a gray paper band

around the shapely plastic bottle.

My refreshment, my vice.

FIMH

My coffee mug is washed out blue,

the fired clay feels solid and warm

in my hands. The steamy brew

from Kona coffee beans, a gift

from a friend. The aromatic liquid

soothes as it slides down, takes

the scratchy ache in my throat away

as it fills my senses with feeling

for the giver of this cup. The inscription

FIMH in white imbedded letters,

Forever In My Heart, warmth floods me.

Feed Me

Warp of writers

gather

Tampa, Florida.

Group leader

speaker of the day

questions/answers

surrounded by visionaries.

Marvel at the charge

to my stagnant thought waves

just by being present.

Coffee House

Coffee scent of hazelnuts

Crunch into bagel thin

Chatter encapsulates space

Clatter of work produced

Write in this comradarie

Experience and strangers

Show Your Face

Narcotic rambles down to knee

Miniscule drops trickle down

To foot under blood soaked gauze
Drug uses dulled hatchet

Cuts off the sharp edges