Writers’ Workshop

William Wordsworth wandered lonely as a cloud,

as Dylan Thomas beseeched him to, “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

Langston Hughes pondered to no one in particular, “What happens to a dream

deferred?”

In a heated debate all their own, J. Alfred Prufrock asked T.S. Eliot, “Do I dare disturb

the universe?”

Maya Angelou interrupted and proclaimed, “I know why the caged bird sings.”

Herman Melville, for some unknown reason, wanted us to call him Ishmael, while

George Orwell swore the clocks were striking thirteen.

Charles Dickens was beside himself for he couldn’t make up his mind and kept

muttering, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”

Sensing that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders, Ray Bradbury struck a

match and lit the collection of old parchment he had gathered. As he watched the

flames rise, he announced, “It was a pleasure to burn the books.”

This didn’t sit well with Jack London for he believed that only he knew how to build a

fire.

I stood with Rebecca, and the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea.

Robert Frost, having had enough of all of us, called it an early night and took the road

not taken home.

Strawberry Shortcake

Summer fresh

Strawberry shortcake.

Tender, crumbling cake,

Spill of glistening berries,

Mounds of whipped cream-

Taste it!

 

Sublime, perfection.

Except, look close-

That berry holds half a worm,

You never know when you are eating a worm.

Life is like that too.

It can still be sublime

If you accept the worm.

Bette Low 2020

Missed Flight

No one ever booked a flight with the aim to miss it

Often passengers miss it

Due to oversleeping, traffic delay and misplaced ticket

 

The taxi driver came to me late

Reason for making it late

to the airport

 

In a far-away country, without a friend

You are at your wit’s end

and no one for you to fend

 

 

 

 

 

Only Human (Prompt 9)

Tell me were you disappointed
when you finally reached the top
and
was I what you expected
when you peeled the mask off

Was it like chasing a fallen star
to only find a firefly
some
fluttering thing with shredded wings
not enough light to guide you by

I wonder which you think of more
the bottle or the backseat
this
strange exchange of secrets
windows fogged in desert heat

Bypass the synchronicities
you’ve never been one to believe
but
you’ve licked your wounds and paid your dues
and still have yet to leave

 

TWA

The day finally was here!

I’m flying to London, then Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam

and then back to Paris.

We were on TWA 747 and my dad upgraded

us to First Class!  Yahoo!

So we had soft blankets, and real pillows.

We were lavished with champagne and caviar,

linen napkins, a real menu.

I chose prime ribs that were served

with au jus sauce and baby carrots.

Then, for dessert:  gigantic ice cream sundaes!

It was too good to be true.

But not long after our meal was complete

and in between the beginning of Titanic,

we hit turbulence.  Thunder, lightning!

We bounced up and down like bobbing heads

on car dashboards.

People began to scream and cry.

I was laughing because that’s how always deal

with fear and especially terror.

And then the captain came on the loud speaker

and said, “Sorry for that, it’s over for now.  Sit back and enjoy

your flight.”

And before Titanic sunk, we landed in London.

Trans-Pacific Misery, hour 15

Stuck in this metal tube

Air stale and recirculated

Single serving fruit cup tastes like claustrophobia

Knees jammed against front seat

Can’t sleep

Wet wipe dry against red eye flight stubble cheek

Weeping internally

Economy wasn’t made for 6 foot 3

No I don’t want your shitty burnt coffee

Just let me be

OGG to SFO to PEK to BKK

WTF

International flights fucking suck

Let me outta here

 

Hour 15: Revelry in Flight

A

plane

is a vessel

for adventurers

To take you many places unknown

Other countries to explore and learn

Many sights to see                                    Many things to experience

When I was a child I hoped to see        Cloud people living like you and me

On top of the clouds watching us fly    Shaking their heads as we went on by

Throwing rainbow darts into the air

With thunderclouds within their hair

Many a daydream I dreamed up high

Trying to see with

My little eyes

The sun

The stars

Earth moon mars

Eternity.

Poem 15

Why would you carry a body around?
You know her now
You can notify her kin.

Why carry a body around?
Perhaps you engage in sin.

It isn’t. It ain’t right.
You can’t keep that thing there.

Why carry a body?
It must have disease.
It has flies buzzing round.

Let us burn it to the ground.

We will give you a new cart.
Assume you meant for good.

But he took his cart insisting I will bury her as I should.

He push his mule to thw desert. No plan where to go. Her childhood had been 2 months journey away. Colorado, still several days. The body would have to end its journey somewhere in the desert haze.

Checked Baggage (Hour 15)

People watching, ticket check,
boarding pass print, panic, time efficiency
Shuffle past multitudes of lives, interplaying,
happening to occupy the same space for mere instances,
rushing to catch various flights,
mechanisms soaring across the globe in days, hours.

People who would never have likely met, see each other, for a moment, a glance.
The power of flight, of world travel, too busy for minds to connect.

Marked with rows and files,
segmented stomachs of the flying worm,
Seats next to the aisle, seats next to the window
Food, entertainment, alcohol,
satisfied to surrender motion,
absorb the air, ride the flight.

People up to their asses in people
Up to your elbows in people,
Breathing people, breathing other people breathing.
Flying in my seat across the sky,
We sever clouds
And soar over mountaintops.