24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
The yard had an unmarked grave.
sad flowers, pine trees lined up like soldiers,
And the blue house with treasures.
A ghost lingered.
The sun set too soon, shadows convinced the children there were monsters
And the blue house has no treasure map.
Nobody came back for the dead.
A summer evening
Caprese, wine, and the last of the sun
With friends on the patio.
A winter evening with
Hot chocolate, a book, and a roaring fire
Just me alone on the couch.
I’ll take winter.
I was awoken at 2 a.m. by my Dad,
“Come on!” he roared, “You have a bus to catch”,
Startled and confused, I rose out of bed,
“What bus? For what?”
He rolled his eyes, “School dummy!”
I stared at him in horror,
It was 2.am, for god’s sake!
I walked downstairs, to the kitchen,
and made myself a coffee,
But I didn’t drink it, instead I fell asleep standing up,
I awoke outside and in a daze,
To hear an engine call out my name?
Bewildered, I looked out my front gate,
And sure enough it was my bus driving away
I yelled and cried, “Wait for me!!”
But it drove away without me,
Until it was just a green dot on the road,
I heard a faint meowing from behind me,
I looked over my shoulder,
It was my cat!
But it’s eyes were huge,
And it was stuck in a slinky,
My eyes widened,
I had to get him out!
I rushed over to him,
But he shrieked and ran away,
He ran out onto the road,
And I chased after him,
Remembering that I was still in my PJ’s,
He stopped, and stared at me,
I picked him up and scolded him,
But the sound of a horn, caused me to almost drop him,
I saw the front of the bus just as everything went black
She had her flaws,
She expected him to change
She was stubborn, controlling and demanding..
He had his fair share of flaws,
he expected her to change
Clumsy, pig headed and a hypocrite.
Their marriage failed.
-Janice Raquela Mendonca
She was childless
as a fern is flowerless.
But she loved babies.
He was a Casanova
and proud as a peacock.
But he hated lullabies.
Though, they met one day on comprimises’ bridge. (more…)
The keys, some are white;
Black, the others be.
Major combinations.
Some like their music loud;
Others soft and tender.
Jazz, rock, country twang
…All in tune, with me.
A verdant meadow flush with bluebonnets
rushes by under their tiny feet.
The smaller one points and cries joyously,
and the elder squeals with delight,
and both run toward a fluttering gem.
A black and yellow glory
chased by two giggling pixies
in the warm Texas Spring.
I know that in days or weeks,
Nature will bury this field of joys
with a carpet of spikes and stings.
In weeks or months, the butterfly,
the insect they chase will die,
perhaps mating first, perhaps not.
In years, my children will grow,
and their smiles will sadden,
under weight of wisdom and years.
But this day, Texas is green and kind.
This hour, the butterfly swoops and bounces
like a fairy child at play.
This minute, my daughters know only laughter.
This moment, time loses.
Sevenling
We spent years looking for the perfect house –
200 years old, wide pine floors, walk-in fireplace
with huge central chimney, beech tree, and space for gardens.
We lived longest in an angular house, modern
with high ceilings in odd places, lots of windows
but too many bathrooms, and space for the kids to grow.
I can’t wait to move to my small cottage, alone.
Two directions traversed at once
the map folded in half
and deliberately marked
Signposts conspicuously absent
the face of the compass blank
with the needle missing
This is quite a journey
(22 June 2019, Hour Eight)
Ripe plums,
a neighbor’s gift,
and all I can think of
is what do I do with these things.
Eat them?