Hour 20
morning tea
a sprig of lemongrass
in the window
Up Where I Belong (Hour Nine, A Diamante)
Up Where I Belong
HEAVEN
golden, glorious
reuniting, rejoicing, reveling
paradise, perfection, monotony, madness
floundering, falling, failing
temporary, terminal
EARTH
(A diamante is comprised of seven lines. Lines one and seven are two opposite nouns. Lines two and six are made up of two adjectives referring to lines one and seven respectively. Line three should be three -ing verbs related to line one; line five follows the same formula but in relation to line seven. Line four is composed of two concrete nouns describing line one, followed by two additional nouns referencing line seven.)
Running on (Prompt 21)
Running has never
done much for me as
exercise routine
being non-confrontational
but I do excel at
being in charge
for a time I tried jogging
which is running, but not
losing interest when
it all became just
point A to point B
B usually being right back
where you started
backing down has
never seemed optimal
but being the top guy?
That I can do.
Having run the show
run the race
run the gamut
gotten and given the
runaround
now I’m just running on
so maybe it
would be best if I just
stopped running
– Mark L. Lucker
© 2023
http://lrd.to/sxh9jntSbd
(Hour 20) 17.30pm-18.30pm. VISUAL PROMPT: animal with red eyes in blackness
embers in the dark
He’s walked right round
the town twice now taking
Rueben & Ben with him
(Did you know
I’ve only just realised
The double Ben)
Priya & I have been
In & out of kitchens
& the supermarket
Gathering supplies
Of anything everything
Might be useful
& bringing it back to Base
Camp Fig Leaf
As Ruby named it Day 1 here
Tells me he’s almost done
& we’ll be on our way
South. Soon, so very soon
Been exhausted so long
But his eyes in the dark
like red embers glowing
Ain’t No Perfect Folks in Church
There I am, each Sunday morning,
underwired and high-healed hurting,
and it doesn’t matter to God a bit, at all.
just don’t flop, just don’t fall,
Don’t be human.
Don’t be small.
Don’t notice the whispers
that don’t whisper at all
about how short I’ll always be.
Never big enough for their decree–
But theirs ain’t the approval
that matters to me.
and for goodness sake,
don’t eat eggs in the morning
‘cause when you kneel for forgiveness,
then without warning,
your ‘silent prayer’ echoes
up to the rafters
And if you can’t laugh now,
they’ll all laugh after.
But God has heard it all.
Seen it too.
When you step from the shower,
He’s there with you.
Standard issue.
Standard parts.
All the same, down to burps and farts.
Don’t be so shocked.
God formed them all.
Views every soul naked—
dirty or clean.
There isn’t a bit
He hasn’t seen.
We fall face down
before God’s glory
so don’t bother repeatin’
my tired old story
that’s worse than yours,
with all my old behavior–
Ain’t none of us perfect;
that’s why there’s a Savior!
Hour 21: The running
Running away from her fears and responsibilities
She finds herself in a faraway land
Where nightingales sang delightfully
And the weather was always pleasant
Here everyone lived in harmony and no one needed to work
But as days flew by, she missed the pile of work
And the rush of adrenaline and the smell of fear
Her hands twitched and her legs itched
And picking up her billowing skirts, she took off from paradise
To embrace back her imperfect world
For now she had found her calling
She would excel in what she knew best; that was running!
Running (double nonet) – Hour 21, Prompt 21
Running, words jammed together in here
mind is jumbled, not very clear
four more poems, tangling hair
nouns thrown through morning air
fresh picked verbs, bulbs rare
one more poem done
bedtime, I
now need
run
except …
running will
never be done
three more times, more words
a million more puns, ones
my mind is afraid to wake
possible great mistake I make
in the end, I’m still writing, running.
– Sandra Johnson, 9-3-2023
“Running”
Hour Twenty-One
Text prompt: “Running” as first word and final word.
Running a store was once an aspiration, not interested now.
Running programs for kids was fun, maybe not now.
Much in the world today is so unnatural.
A dispute can become deadly, a misunderstanding a felony and who knows why this happens when no one is telling.
We ‘ve harmed Mother Nature so much, that fish are not spawning, they’re just running. DMW
Hour 21 – The Roar – Image Prompt
In the heart of the wild, where savannas sprawl
Stands a mighty lion, proud and tall
With mane like fire, a crown of gold
In the African plains, a story is told
His eyes aflame with a hunter’s desire
In the sun’s embrace, they gleam like fire
With muscles rippling, power untamed
In the circle of life, he’s forever named
Mouth wide open, a fearsome sight
Roaring thunder into the night
In the silence of the wilderness, he reigns
The king of the jungle, where courage remains
With every roar, he claims his domain
In the circle of life, he’ll forever reign
A symbol of strength, courage, and pride
The lion with mouth wide open, cannot hide.
©️ Divya Venkateswaran
U Back #2
We played phone tag over and again
And when we finally connected U couldn’t talk cuz the nurses were in the room
Nurses?
It seems that U had been tryn to let me know that U were in tthe hospital for pneumonia
And there U tested positive while being vaxed up
U were pretty sick for a few days
Even your asthma kicked in
Damnit U COVID, U back
I saw on our group text that she tested positive
I didn’t reply like the rest of our tight knit group
So I called 2C what was really going on
Her grandson, her daughter all had it
Inspite of being vaxed up
And they weren’t mild
Damnit U COVID, U back
U were on my mind so I just called to say hi
U were in your car driving back home from the store
Getting soup for your son cuz he tested positive
Altho’ he was vaxed up
He wasn’t really sick, just under the weather a lil bit
Thank God U were negative
Damnit COVID, U back
Calls, texts, kept coming in, even seeing it on FB
Ev’rybody vaxed up
Being precautious
Y’all still got COVID
We all waitn on that new booster next month
And startn back to wearn our masks
So even tho’ that Damn COVID iz back
We fighting back to get back
Us