The Poetry Marathon

The wind through my hair carries the call of a hawk circling nearly out of sight far above.

Look up at forever.

The sun is bright and hot, but in the canyon shade creates cool seats on the boulders.

Relax, stretch, and feel.

Water streams and gurgles over stones, as small children giggle and shriek stepping in the cold creek

Celebrate play.

Dogs, butts in the air, bark for the joy of smells and sounds.

Give attention to your senses.

Children and dogs chase crayfish and minnows, without catching or caring

Outside exploration is its own reward.

My Facebook page is gone.

   My Gmail is just fine.

      All my bookmarks work.

         But my Facebook page is gone.

What games are the Tennessee boys playing?

   Could you complain about my candidate?

      Is there news about your garden?

         I’ll never know, my Facebook page is gone.

Hey, Molly! Let’s go play fetch!

   Man, I need to weed-whack.

     I think I’ll bake banana bread.

        Hmm. My Facebook page is gone.

I am so ready for the challenge and the chance to read so many amazing poems. See you all tomorrow morning!

I write for a local paper, have 2 dogs (one who grew to be an UNEXPECTED giant) and a cat, lots of kids and grandkids and 2 great-grandbabies. I garden, sculpt, paint, and hike. I’m not the world’s greatest poet, but I loved the challenge and the prompts last year. So, I decided to go ahead and join the half-marathon again this year.

After the divorce

After my daughters and I spent months redoing the house for sale

After endless showings and endless days keeping the house showing-ready

Today, with freezing rain and ugly skies, is moving day.

Bought on my own

The smallest place I have ever lived in

In my life

So tiny

And so perfect

Surrounded by soggy boxes

With a very confused dog and cat

I’m home.

I adopted Molly four days ago.

She is sleeping at my side.

Her foster mom knew nothing about her dad.

I adopted little Molly for her playful nature.

She loves food of all kinds.

She likes playing with toys and in the garden.

I adopted Molly so Tsunami would have a little sister.

She likes him a lot.

He barks at her and she barks back. It’s working

My summer picture face is just fine.

Pictures show a joy-filled smile in the sunshine.

In the mirror, I am less satisfied.

My face has been touched by gravity.

Sixty-three years of gravity.

Wrinkles and age spots are minor, so I can’t whine.

My generation began summer with a sunburn, if possible, soaked in ocean brine.

Summer was lived outdoors, from sunup to sundown.

But my face seems to frown because of this gravity.

I don’t mind age, but I despise gravity.

I love to write about pets

(but so do lots of other people)

Writing about gardening is fun

(but, other people know more)

I’ve written a lot about education

(but honestly, I need a break)

I was quite successful writing about travel

(but, have I traveled enough lately)

I’m awesome at writing picture books

(but, not sure how to go about it)

Maybe, I should just work at the grocery store…

We need an occasional snowfall in summer to remind us to celebrate the heat.

We need to spend a week without goodies to appreciate treats.

We need to sleep under stars to remind us about their beauty.

We need to volunteer sometimes to remind us that we all have duties.

We need to read and write, cry and laugh, dream and share to remind us all of our common humanity.

Blue, blue summer sky touched by rocky mountain peaks with blankets of green

Breezes, constant and cooling

Piled against the mountains; tall, taller, tallest sand dunes

Sunshine and sharp-edged shadows

Giant curving shadows ripple the dune field

Mimicked in miniature in the creek bed

Cold mountain snow-fed creek, endlessly wide but ankle deep

Water reflecting the blue sky, mountain peaks,and the dunes

Cooled by the constant breezes