
(Inspired by Ragtag Community’s prompt: sumptuous, and Fandango’s: common)

(Inspired by Ragtag Community’s prompt: sumptuous, and Fandango’s: common)
Dark this passage,
blustery the winds
that rattle the glass,
cold seeping through cracks,
light receding.

Life, we are sold,
should be parties
and castles – dreams
without limits –
disingenuous campaign
Truth lies somewhere
in-between –
elusive, yet enticing –
I would exit this isolation
shake the starkness
for but a glimpse.
(Images supplied by Reena’s Exploration challenge. Â Also inspired by Ragtag Community’s prompt: blustery, and Fandango’s: disingenuous.)
Wrap myself in verdant dreams –
creaseless envelope of hope –
have written my deepest desire,
sealed the vessel shut…
meanwhile, reality oozes red,
like puss from open wounds,
creeps into careful corners,
bleeds through edges…
nothing neat about dreaming –
life demands, cuts, prods,
does not bargain – hope is fine
unless control is the container.
(Inspired by the prompts of Ragtag Community: verdant; Fandango: meanwhile; and Reena’s Exploration Challenge: bleeding edge.)
Image from personal collection.
A lonely bench waits
for emergence of leaves,
rain turning to warmth,
the summer sun casting long
shadows – evening lingerings.
(A tanka for Ragtag community’s prompt: wait. Â Image from personal collection.)
Fragmented dazzle
alters scene – serene moment
rendered tenuous.
(Haiku written for RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Challenge: serene/scene. Â Also inspired by the prompts of Ragtag Community: dazzle, and Fandango: tenuous. Image from personal collection.))
Anchored, no money –
lack has a way of turning
dreams into fool’s gold.
(Dug up this haiku from August 2015 for today’s prompts: Ragtag Community and Fandango both choosing ‘fool’. Image from personal collection.)
Jumbo Jet
they called her –
fast on her feet,
zooming in,
swooping up trays,
delivering with flight
attendant flair.
When did she turn
to autopilot,
stop paying attention
to her destination?
Didn’t she know
she was set
on a crash course,
headed for disaster?
Tried to warn her,
wake her from stupor;
told me she’d reset,
but danger remains.
She is cruising now –
over-sized
turbo-lacking
under-fuelled,
no longer able
to soar – trapped
in a treacherous game.
Waits tables,
tries to keep
a clean house,
caters to others,
lends an ear,
has squeezed
every drop of self
into a low flying life
needs to land
a space of her own,
with room to breathe;
take life in shorter
intervals, refill
her jets.
(Portrait of a Waitress first appeared in April of 2016. Â I am re-introducing it here for Ragtag Community’s prompt: jet.)
Golden
this heart, this plea
no makeshift proposal
I am smitten, hard bitten, sold –
be bold!
Be bold!
say you are sold, also smitten
accept this proposal
this heart, forever
golden.
(A mirror cinquain for Dark Side of the Moon’s weekly challenge. Â I’ve also worked in the prompts of Fandango (makeshift) and Ragtag Community (bold). Â Image is from personal collection. Â A coloured version is available on KnutsonKr8tions at Redbubble.com.)
An innocent sip
too late
awareness dawns –
spiked!
Nausea rolls in
room spins
assailant offers
a hand, a ride,
the regal miss
shakes her head
wobbles, hand
held out warns
to no avail –
vomit sprays
victorious spew
depraved perp’s
plot thwarted.
(Unfortunately based on a true story. Even though she and her friends watched each other’s drinks, the bartender was in on the ploy. Thank God my daughter escaped further harm. Women shouldn’t have to worry about this on a night out.
Written for dVerse pub where De Jackson is hosting with the prompt ‘spike’. Also linking up with Ragtag Community – spray; and Fandango – regal.)
Winds picked up yesterday, gathering grey. Â Cold seeped in through the windowsills, and we set the furnace on high. Â Forecast for today is just above zero, even though we are in a tropical zone. Â Oh well, I decide, a nice spicy soup will warm our innards.
Seems my body mirrors the weather: health declining, forcing me to bedrest frequently. Â Have slept most the morning. Â In between, I check emails, the blog, and we speculate about what will happen next with Mother Nature. Â Soon, it will be time to venture home – a both welcome and sorrowful thought.
Confused winds blow cold,
winter reversing itself –
piquant soup simmers.
(It’s haibun night at the dVerse pub, hosted by Merril who challenges us to write about March Madness. Â I am also linking up to Ragtag Community’s prompt: speculate and Fandango’s: health.)