One of my favorite poets on these sites we frequent hails from the great state of Connecticut, a small state that holds the big vision of my Guest Host – Pamela Smyk Cleary (PSC in CT).
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Pamela Smyk Cleary was born & raised in the small, but beautiful, state of CT (U.S.A.) where she currently resides with her husband – a handsome & talented actor/retired Math teacher. A faithful “practitioner of poetry” throughout grade school, high school and college, Pamela (you may know her as ‘PSC in CT’ – or simply PSC – which is quicker & easier to type) eventually graduated, got a real job, and fell into an extended period of ‘poetic hibernation’.
After almost 25 years as an Information Technology professional, she was given the opportunity to step away from that career – a step she took happily (& with great enthusiasm) to take up yoga, and spend time hiking, biking & bird watching. Shortly thereafter, thanks to Robert Lee Brewer’s Poetic Asides Poem-A-Day Challenges, she re-awakened her narcoleptic muse and connected with a number of talented ‘poetry peeps’ – many of whom are also “Creative Bloomers”. Despite her low profile, some of her poetry has managed to find its way into print (or bits & bytes) in such places as Poetic Bloomings the first year, A Blackbird Sings (a book of short poems), Beyond the Dark Room, Sprout, Enhance, Every Day Poets, Long River Run, and Umbrella Online Poetry Journal. Additionally, she has recited several of her poems (albeit reluctantly) before a live audience at Hi5netTV’s “First Thursday” performances in Woodbury, CT.
At the present time, PSC’s favorite pastime is traipsing a nearby walking trail that meanders along a local river and reservoir. Her current ‘occupation’ (a labor of love) is best described as “keeper of the trail”, as she long ago adopted the habit of picking up litter on her rambling walks. (It’s not uncommon for her to collect up several bags of trash during a single jaunt, and local residents consider her both an inspiration and/or a nutcase – depending on who you ask.) Currently, she is ‘supervising spring’ (see: http://wanponpopix.blogspot.com/2012/04/supervising-spring.html), although the job is a year round position and offers numerous benefits. Many of the poems and photographs that are gathered along these walks – or while kayaking the waterway – eventually find their way onto her blog.
Feel free (if you are so inclined) to drop by her site “Wander, Ponder, Poems & Pics” @ http://wanponpopix.blogspot.com/ to saunter with her for a while. She’d love the company!
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PROMPT #154 – “IT COULD BE WORSE” – Somethings go without saying. And sometimes there isn’t a right time to say the obvious. Think of about seven (7) of the worst things you could say to someone who was just dumped. Make three of them the first lines on a three (3) stanza poem on the subject!
WALT’S FAUX PAX:
GOING, GOING, GONE
She doesn’t deserve you.
You’ve got a good heart,
but you start to obsess
and I guess you can be a little much sometimes.
You’re better off without her.
She’s got a good heart, and
her propensity for intensity
gives the impression she’ll never get enough loving!
On second thought, you don’t deserve her.
You can be a jerk sometimes
and I’m on the prowl to make a play.
So I guess she’ll be free this Saturday?
(C) Copyright Walter J Wojtanik – 2014
***
PAMELA’S THOUGHT:
I FEEL YOUR PAIN
“At least he waited ‘til after your birthday.”
“And you’re too good for him anyway.”
“In my honest opinion the man’s too lazy” and
“His whole family? Totally crazy!”
“Think of my future grand-kids”, she said.
“His children are sure to be slender and tall.
In family photos beside all their cousins –
your sister’s kids will seem chubby and small.”
I knew if her “nurturing chatter” persisted
my sister & I would forever be scarred;
but it didn’t feel right to just haul off and hit her,
so I didn’t hit Mom (very hard).
(C) Copyright PSC/2014
Selfie, Not Selfish
You won’t need to make that fish face anymore.
His face will be photo-bombing with her instead.
Let her face be red from stubble rubs.
Share your pain.
She’ll be the one smelling his farts.
His face will be grimacing innocently.
Let her face be green from the stench.
Share your agony.
He’ll be the one living with regret.
Your face will be the only one left grinning.
Let your face tattooed on his ass be her distress.
Share your smile.
Love this one, Patricia. The daily honesty of living is in this. I can almost visualize the context and people in this one.
This is hilarious! Nice one Patricia!
Bingo!
Oh my! LOL Each stanza is very visual, Patricia. I can picture every one of those faces. 😀
Oh, I love this, especially the farting!
A great picture of all the lackluster minutiae love makes us ignore until it’s peeled back by a break-up! Liked this.
Hello, Pamela. It’s great to see you up front. <>
Interesting prompt today. I would never have thought of it by myself, but I’ve heard enough lines over the years, I should be able to come up with something. Walt, you and Pamela came up with some doozies to follow. Good for you. Be back later with something of my own. <>
Thanks, Claudsy! Will look forward to your offering. 🙂
🙂
What my “partner” for the week said!
Loved reading about you, Pamela… we used to “clean up the Earth” when we travelled to specific locations… This prompt should be very interesting, as we have all probably been exposed to this pain…
Hen, I’m always glad to hear that other folks are as crazy as I am! Thank you for that. 🙂
hee, hee… I would say that that is a word that has definitely been applied to my little eccentricities… just ask my daughter and my granbabies… so happy to have company 😀 !!
😀
Good poems Walt and Pamela! Welcome Pamela!
Thanks, Ben! And I second that: Walt, LOVED your FAUX PAX! 🙂 Particularly the ending. LOL
Said with my smirkiest smirk!
HARD TIMES
Suck it up already,
He didn’t REALLY need you
anyway. So get over it,
and keep your head up.
Lest you miss the next
Prince Charming suddenly
appear before you.
Don’t waste any more tears
over that two-timing chimp.
Your desecrating my facial tissue.
Please pull yourself together and get a grip. Set your heart on scope for next shining knight. And we’ll see what kind of wax he uses.
I’m sure, they’re a lot of others
out there who will step up to the plate,
excise your heart and knock it
out of the ballpark.
Yep, this sounds like hard times, too. Fascinates me how people think that these kinds of statements would help anyone get over anything. Yet we hear this kind of talk every day. We may even have used some of it ourselves. Great job, Ben.
Thx Claudsy
Very encouraging actually! Love the message in this…busy wallowing for the lost one your bound to miss the next fish biting! 🙂
Thx! I struggled with this one and had some mistakes. Trouble starting the ol’ muse engine after poetry month!
Understandable…you put a lot out there last month!
I finf I have to try to not try and also avoid thinking too hard…just let the ideas run on their own and then go back through several times to “fix” what feels wonky.
Just a thought…hope you don’t mind me sharing my process. 🙂
Of course it’s I *find*
Don’t mind at all friend. Sometimes that internal “editor” gets in the way right? We just have to “let go” and come back and edit later.
I agree totally! Happy writing to you my friend. 🙂
Simple wisdom here, methinks.
Ouch! Some “tough love” in this one, Ben, and “…desecrating my facial tissue”? Wow! I agree with Hannah, though, on the positive message. LOVE the advice to “keep your head up” & “set your heart on scope”. (May not be what a dumpee wants to — or is ready to — hear, but it’s still excellent advice!) 🙂
Good one, Benjamin!
Great reply to the prompt Ben! Loved ‘desecrating my facial tissue.’ Seems to have more than an immediate meaning. And always, always test the ‘wax.’
Please pull yourself together and get a grip. That one always makes me want to smack someone : )
DON’T TIE THE KNOT
She’s much too beautiful for you.
Folks might wonder how you got her,
Decide it was your Harry Potter
Collection — original, like new.
The age difference is much too much.
When you were in the Army she was three
Playing with rattles, you with artillery.
She’ll end up calling you “Old Man” and such.
She is as dumb as a box of crayons.
Converse with her? About what? TV?
You’d be hard-pressed to pick a topic to stay on.
I’m just saying. Take it or leave it. That’s just me.
#
Oh, my. Not much encouragement there for anyone. Amazing how people react, isn’t it. I like this. I get the immediate impression that the truth won this war of opinion and that truth was yours.
Wowsers! I love the way you wrote this Sal
The contrasts given in showing not telling the age difference here is striking, Sal…nicely accomplished!
I love this, especially the opening line in the third stanza.
Oh my! Another example of some really awful things to say — intermingled with some excellent advice. “Don’t tie the knot”, indeed. Love the last line, too — perfect ending, for the prompt, Sal.
Ooh, how beastly.
Sal, this speaks worlds about the value of depth in a relationship…that you both can only go as deep as the shallow end of the pool.
Good advice. Take it or leave it. He better take it.
IT COULD BE WORSE
“Good riddance.”
But,
I loved him, so.
“It’s his loss.”
So
why do I hurt?
“You’re OK.”
Will
I ever be?
I like this poem, Paula. It shows the reader so much of the internal dialogue that always responds to the remards of others. Great job. 🙂
I agree with Claudsy. This is really good.
What a contrast throughout each stanza
Excellent back and forth here, Paula…believably real.
Oh, yes, and I think the short lines and short form make it more so.
Poignant, Paula. Where most of us went for the laugh, you delivered a sincere, sensitive piece for this prompt — well done.
Paula, well displayed, this contrast between shallow replies and deep feelings. Love it.
And all that praise without prompting (pun intended) from the master of ceremonies. Well done, indeed!
Pingback: It Could Be Worse | echoes from the silence
Unlikely Help
It just wasn’t meant to be,
This unnatural happiness you felt
Was all illusion, you know.
You’ll find someone better,
Someone who’ll appreciate you
For the persona you are, not a look-alike.
Stop sniveling; at least you’re not bruised.
Bruises are sometimes so deep they
Don’t show the damage until it’s too late.
Lovely images Claudsy
Thanks, Ben.
I love that we started with essentially the same line, Claudsy!
The shift in your closing stanza to a more serious note is stingingly effective!
I agree.
Thanks, William.
Thank you so much, Hannah. I tend to get serious more often than not. I guess it’s just my inner self peeking out in verse. Glad you liked it.
Yes, “unlikely help”, but well depicted. No one wants to hear this stuff, even — or especially — when it’s true. Love the ending, Claudsy!
Thanks, Pamela. You’re right about seldom wanting to hear this kind of stuff, but people being people, a person will hear it anyway.
That last stanza was a beauty, Claudsy!
So glad you liked it, Sara. Thanks.
Yes, great imagery, Claudsy. Illusions, bruises. Loved it.
Me too!
Thanks, Damon. Glad to see you, Damon. Seems like a really long time. Also glad you enjoyed my offering.
Cheer Up
So I just want to let you know
He cheated and he lied
He’s like veneer, all just for show
So, cheer up, no one died
You’ve wasted all your time with him
And all the tears you’ve cried
Yes, he was just an empty whim
So, cheer up, no one died
Behind your back, he asked me out
Refused, at least I tried
It’s nothing to complain about
So, cheer up, no one died
Wonderful! I like this.
Amen.
That’s some perspective! Nicely done, Connie.
Oh, Connie, I know this was serious, but I’m sorry, I chuckled through it all. I’ve actually heard a conversation very close to this, so when I read this I almost choked. I couldn’t believe someone else would take this tack with the dumpee. Callus friends and acquaintances are plentiful, it seems.
Loved it!
Great twist on the perspective here, Connie, and yes, a dark humor in that insensitive treatment by a supposed friend. Well done!
Thanks all. No need to apologize, Claudsy, that was the response I was going for.
Even the title of this is perfect!
Connie, liked the staging of one thin relationship against the other, and the indifference in the brevity of ‘cheer up, no one died.’
“So, cheer up, no one died” only because of the hurt one’s restraint in not bashing the advice giver ; )
lol
Pingback: Joy, Love… | Metaphors and Smiles
Joy, Love…Joy…
It wasn’t meant to be I guess.
Don’t take it on, love –
it’s not a personal affront on you,
isn’t about your personhood…
not the way you chewed or spoke
it’s beyond any of your choices,
not because of the way you move
it’s not your pantomiming lips
constantly aflutter while silently reading.
Besides, there’re always more fish in the sea.
Go ahead, cast out again and again…
set aside the hurt and confidently try
throw out another line
only this time try a sturdier one,
let down one hundred test
troll bottomless wiser waters;
plunge deep with your webbed net…
no regrets but please remember
love’s complicated you know.
Don’t expect any of it to be easy.
There’ll be seasons within –
inside the natural course of seasons,
spells that’ll spill you painfully empty
and cycles that fill your well to overflowing
but don’t try to figure it all out
because as soon as you think you’ve got it…
love, you simply haven’t even begun
haven’t even skimmed the surface of understanding.
Just recall above all the most important factor
it’s your joy in this journey that you should try to never loose.
Copyright © Hannah Gosselin 2014
I think this is elegant; it takes a trite old saying and makes it majestic.
You make me smile,William…thank you for your generous comments and support!
Good one, Hannah. Nice and positive without getting mean. Love it and can easily picture an older, wiser woman sitting ona dock telling this to a young person. Really enjoyable.
And you’re right. We did start together, diverge, and head for different fishing holes. 🙂
Thank you, Claudsy! I love your vision with this! 🙂
🙂
Sweet, Hannah! A tender and sensitive twist on this old metaphor. (I’m imagining stanza breaks before “Besides…” and before “There’ll be seasons…”.) Agree with William; and also with Claudsy, on that wise older woman’s perspective here. Nice work!
I agree with you, Pamela, on the breaks and originally I thought about doing that and never followed through. I’ll have to fix-r-up on the ol’ blog! 🙂 Thank you for your comment and thoughts, Pamela!!
Hannah, like others I feel this solid base of wisdom in this consolation, which is enhanced by what feels like full-bodied massage of hope and possibility for this broken heart.
Thank you so much, Damon!!
Oh, very nice Hannah
Thank you, Debi! I appreciate that. 🙂
(Poem w/image: http://lettheballoonssailmeaway.wordpress.com)
Just Walk (No Run) Away
Let him go… You don’t want to spend time with one
who looks over your shoulder
for the next pretty one.
He never knew the real you… Until you
were no longer.
Next time, choose a genuine
-ly kind soul, You now know
the difference.
Great, especially the last stanza.
Thank you, William… yes, life teaches if we are willing to learn…
Wonderful advice, Hen. Niiiiice! I also liked the form you took and the image it created on its own. Good choice.
Thank you, so much, Clauds… I almost didn’t post this, as it was such a painful subject…
You’re welcome, Hen. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that trite is often right. A pain shared is a pain lessened. I hope that this is true for you ow, too.
… yess, I am only just now learning to share it… Hugs and thank you, Clauds…
Hugs to you, Hen, and you’re welcome anytime.
!! 🙂
Henri! YES!!!
Wow, Thanks Walt!! 🙂 !!
Good advice, Hen, even though it’s hard to hear at the time. Experience is a tough teacher, and (if we’re lucky) distance grants a better perspective, in time. Nice!
… yes… amazing how things seem to “mellow out” in the mind as the years pass… (“tank doodness!”, as my grandson used to say in his sweet, little baby language… ❤ !!) Thank you, Pamela!!
This one even had a sobering truth at the end. Wonderful, Hen.
… yes… genuine kindness in a harsh world is quite rare… but worth waiting for, I believe… ❤ Thank you, Sara!
Henrietta, great one. No counselor like experience.
7!! Hi!! Yes, thank you!
Love the ending – great advice
Thank you, Debi!!
Well done and yes, love the ending!
Thank you, Hannah!!
Walt thank you for tending and nurturing the plot-love the closing on your poem…didn’t expect that, humorous ending and speaking of humor…Pamela, I love your crazy family line…all too real sometimes! 🙂
So great to see you tilling the soil in the garden this week, Pamela! I enjoy your words poetic and conversational. You have such a natural and personable way about you. We’re nature loving sisters!! I gave back to nature today…after quite sometime of intending to bring a bag to be keeper of the loop I walk, I found an unused bag at the beginning of my walk…filled it up and then some and carried someone’s abandoned plastic sled out of there as well! Thank you for being such an inspiration on so many levels. 🙂
Happy weekend to everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all the poet mama’s out here!
Ahhh, Hannah, thanks — for all your kind words and encouragement! We ARE sisters of the same mother — and I’m happy to have inspired you! (It goes both ways.) A word of warning re picking up litter on your walks. It’s addictive. 😉 And if you keep it up, sooner or later, this will happen to you, too: http://wanponpopix.blogspot.com/2012/11/fair-trade-pad-nov-15.html
SERVES YOU RIGHT
What in the world’s the matter with you?
Her heart was pure; her love was true,
and you let her go, without further ado.
You’ve got to be blind, or stupid, or both
and now that she’s gone, I’ll bet you an oath:
you’ll wish you had waited for love’s halting growth.
You never miss the water till the well runs dry.
copyright 2014, William Preston
Love this, William. I like that someone took on the dumper and not the dumpee. Good one all around.
Oh, yes! Another nice twist on the perspective here, William. “Serves you right” — indeed! Nice work!
Yes, this is what I loved, too.
“love’s halting growth”–I love it. And I love the wisdom of the last line.
I love the switch in this one, William.
Yes, William. There’s advice for both sides, depending on the adviser. Loved the tone in this.
Oh, so true…such truth spilled creatively, William. Love the conversational tone.
You’re Better Off
I never trusted him, those beady eyes
were too close together, like villains
from old black and white films,
you know, the ones with paper-
thin mustaches? Well no, but he was
probably thinking of growing one.
He was too young for you.
Those romances seldom work
out. In another few years,
you would have looked wrong
with him, and he would be casting
about for a younger model.
At least he waited until after the holidays,
so you can save the price of a gift.
His gifts were never thoughtful anyway,
as I recall. You will not have to
fake a happy reaction.
This is pure fun to read. Thanks.
Oops! Mistake in last stanza, should have read, ‘he could at least have waited until after the holidays, so you could have saved the price of a gift.’
LOL Yes, fun to read, with the statements — followed by clarifications & justifications. Nice job! 🙂
Thanks, Pamela!
I especially like “he was too young for you.” That was my reaction when my son met his wife (she was too old for him) but now I see how perfect they are together. . .hopefully I won’t say these if something, heaven forbid, breaks them apart.
Thanks William, Pamela, and Darlene!
Loved this too. Especially the ‘old black and white films’ imagery. Great work.
Thanks thanks, Sherry.
‘he could at least have waited until after the holidays, so you could have saved the price of a gift.’ I heard someone say : Now you don’t have to buy a Christmas present for him… some consolation 😉
That would be someone looking for any small scrap.
This is marvelous, Sara. Oddly enough, I’ll bet each of us has heard something close to this conversation at least once and witnessed the aftermath. Love it.
Thanks, Claudsy.
You’re welcome, Sara.
Shut-Up (You aren’t Helping)
S o what? The sea is full of fish.
H ang in there. Time heals all wounds.
U se your brain; don’t wear your heart on your sleeve.
T ime wounds all heels.
U ncoupling is all the rage
P lease, remember, this too shall pass.
Ah, I love this.
Hah! Nice touch! A lot of excellent (if unhelpful) advice makes this the perfect title. 😀
how concise and witty
Too concise – I totally ignored the three stanzas. I guess it was too early when I did this. (Open palm to the forehead)
No worries. Been there. Done that. 😀
Fun! The worth of the common well known phrases seems ‘doubted’ by line four, and the remaining two lines seem to carry that twinge of doubt. Liked this.
LOL 🙂 Debi. Such a spectacular use of clichés. Well done indeed. Love it.
The last sometimes can be the worst, in my opinion. Brevity works well on this topic, I think!
All the Fish in the Sea
Three years of your life is not so much in the big scheme of things,
I know you were expecting a ring but you were a tad clingy
and most men just don’t care for the clingy thingy…
think leech, as in suck the life right out
of the relationship.
Of course I’m not saying it was your fault!
He didn’t deserve you –
you have so much going for you
your smart, talented, beautiful –
it is SO his loss.
He is an idiot!
He will definitely regret losing you –
no you shouldn’t call him, that would appear needy.
What you need is retail therapy,
let’s go shopping, after all, there are other fish in the sea.
Ahhh, now this sounds like advice from a true friend! LOL Nice work, Michelle!
A good friend, indeed
Love this, Michelle! Making light of those three years, does not make a person feel any better. She did come through in the end with a shopping trip, though.
Michelle, well done with the honesty of a friend who frankly sees at everything and shares it too…but still comes thru.
I love this, especially “retail therapy.”
Kind of a backhanded consolation in that advice. Nicely done
Michelle, this is marvelous. I could easily picture this conversation. Quite common to begin by making the victim feel guilty or at fault and then back-pedal like mad to make up for that quick and loose tongue. Wonderful. 🙂
On mother’s day I watched a couple of YA chick movies on dating and modern love-He’s Not That into You and Bridesmaids. Cute, but that’s not my experience (giving or getting advice) Rather than a humorous comment on dating, however, here’s another personal poem . . . And, oh, yes, I’m the one who did the leaving.
I spent the lost month at the hospital, if you missed me.
Happily Married—Not
Not good enough for you, my father said
Was I the fool for choosing him back then
When fears of dying lonely filled my head
Too far away from them, my mother penned.
Her grandchildren on Mother’s Day—her due
More important for us, my man of men
Control brought pleasure to him, friends saw clues
Too much, submit, too much, enough, no more
My head held high, my days unfold like new
Dark, but we’ll captured, Darlene. Sadly, this occurs more often than most folks think. I’m glad your story had a happy ending. Hoping your last/lost month did too and you’re on the mend.
Thanks, Pamela. I’m enjoying all the new faces and voices. . .since I’m so new here myself. Yes, I’m on the mend.
Amen on both counts.
Darlene, so well shared. So many live and love on ‘fears of dying lonely.’ I’m glad you are free of those fears, ‘head held high.’ Beautifully said, well penned.
Thanks–universal emotions well stated is my aim . . . poetry and fiction.
My head held high, my days unfold like new… happy to read that
Welcome back, Darlene. I hope you’re well now. Personal is often difficult to write. You did a wonderful job of this. Your choice couldn’t haven’t been easy. Glad you’re happier now.
It’s good to be back!
🙂
Funny slip – the last month was also a “lost” month.
Good for you Darlene!
Pamela, wonderful to read about you. Seems a lot of us have Robert to thank for our renewed interest in writing poetry. Love your example, and Walt – yours was a hoot!
Thanks, Sara! It never ceases to amaze — the rippling impacts of a seemingly inconsequential action. 🙂
It Will Get Better
I could see the red flags
It was about time
Glad your blinders are off
and your reading all the signs
There is really no magic formula
Just smudge some sage in your snow
Salt your wounds with sunburn
Let raindrops melt and flow
Your stronger than you think you are
Find a way to forgive
Somehow it will, get better
Just trust that it will —
Priti, you’ve related this friend’s solace well, full of hope and honest care. Lovely.
Oh, Priti, lovely! 🙂
Indeed.
A terrific poem, Priti. Support and appraisal, isn’t that what many pour onto the head of the dumpee? Support to show the other person knows how to comfort and appraisal of all the shortcomings of those involved in the dumping process. 🙂
Chuckled on this one because it sounded so familiar. Great job.
Pamela, this is a great prompt with your and Walt’s leading poems pointing us there.
Loved learning more about you Pamela.
Here’s my offering to this week’s blooms. (Hoping to get back to sharing more in the garden, finally, again.)
YOUR PRISON CELL
You’re free.
You’re free indeed.
The shackles of that worthless love are gone.
Godspeed.
Good riddance too.
Don’t call. Put down the phone.
You’re through.
Her words are traps.
She’ll take it all, heart, guts, and bones.
You can’t be freed alone,
if you aren’t freed,
indeed,
from that damn phone.
“Damn phone” indeed. I love this.
Ahh,I like this.
Fun one, Damon. Freed in so many ways–to get rid of the phone. Why is it the voice carries more memories in its shopping bag than anything else? Love it.
This freedom is made so tangible by your view here and it’s so nice to see you in the garden!!
Thanks, Damon… though I can’t take any credit for the prompt. 🙂
Nice work! I like the double entendre of a prison “cell”. Seems lots of folks are trapped by (attached to) their phones these days.
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