PROMPT #424 – “HEY, THAT’S MY LINE!” #6

Today we return to one of our favorite exercises: Take a line from someone else’s poem posted at Poetic Bloomings and, for the moment, make it your own. You may use it as your title. Or you might consider using it in the body of your fresh new poem. Either way, be sure to credit the poet and poem from which it came.  Have fun!

MARIE’S POEM

How I Long to Speak to Comets

He sang the universe
into existence.
An estimated one septillion
stars,
each with a name
given by Him.
Oh, to be bestowed
the voice of an angel
to have sung with Him a star. 
Just one.
And oh, how I long to speak
to comets.
To utter one sound
one note the comets comprehend,
then to soar on their tails,
singing praise to the One
who fashioned us. 

© Marie Elena Good, 2023


“How I long to speak to comets” from Damon Dean’s A Comet, Green





WALT’S POEM

HARD TO BREATHE

She took the breath
Of an unguarded heart,
Leaving me gasping
For the air I crave.
I cannot save myself 
So I sit still in silent
Contemplation, my station
Is my prison, a decision
To inhale deeply rests
On an uncertain heart. 
You start to pray for
A resuscitation to recover
From the strangulation. 
Amorous asthma rules the day.
In silence, breath wheezes loudly.

(C) Walter J Wojtanik - 2023

From PONDERINGS OF AN ASTHMATIC by William Preston

In silence, breath wheezes loudly.

Published by


Responses

  1. William Preston Avatar
    William Preston

    I HAVE YET TO SEE A LAKE THAT DID NOT CALM ME

    As swirling birds pass across the morning sky,
    taking advantage of currents in the air,
    they add their grace to the land they overfly
    and follow the springtime streams to everywhere.
    Then, thermals take them higher, and by and by
    they peel off on a linear thoroughfare,
    leaving me the deep blue lake that leads my eye
    to the rim of the world, and release from care.

    Title is from “Success,” by Daniel Paicopulos
    Form is a strambotto

    1. Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky Avatar
      Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky

      Wow. Beautiful reply… what a moment. And I love this form.

    2. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      Oh how gorgeous and serene. You’ve captured the soothing voice of our friend Daniel here, Bill. I especially love the final two lines.

    3. janetrcarnahan Avatar
      janetrcarnahan

      Just lovely, William!! I enjoyed this new form, too! Such rich imagery!

    4. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Just beautiful. Lovely line from Daniel’s poem.

    5. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      A beautiful, peaceful poem, William. I love the image of those last two lines.

  2. William Preston Avatar
    William Preston

    “Amorous asthma.” Spot on, Walt, especially when it combines with real asthma.

  3. William Preston Avatar
    William Preston

    Your poem indeed does soar, Marie.

    1. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      Thank you, sir.

  4. Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky Avatar
    Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky

    Honored Marie… I have enjoyed that “comet green,” though with our wintry skies

    1. Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky Avatar
      Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky

      I have yet to see it! Your poem took the thought to the highest level.

      1. Marie Elena Avatar
        Marie Elena

        How kind you are! I wasn’t kidding when I expressed how impressive you poem was. I’ve gone back to read it a few times. So imaginative!

    2. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      No doubt. I’m jealous!

  5. Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky Avatar
    Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky

    Walt!! That term, “amorous asthma” is marvelous. How you tie words together is amazing. What a perfect expression the whole poem is.

    1. Poetic Bloomings Avatar
      Poetic Bloomings

      What can I say when she takes my breath away. 😁 Walt

    2. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Yes, agreed. Those two words joined are amazing! Great poem, Walt!

  6. Marie Elena Avatar
    Marie Elena

    Unscrupulous Means

    Saturated with
    adulation. Flattery.
    No doubt soaked to bend.

    © Marie Elena Good, 2023

    “No doubt soaked to bend” from Pat Anthony’s I Dream a Door

    1. janetrcarnahan Avatar
      janetrcarnahan

      What a great line you used, Marie, and a great poem was created from it! So succinct and clear!!

      1. William Preston Avatar
        William Preston

        Agreed

    2. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      A winner, Marie!

  7. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
    Benjamin Thomas

    Good morning dear poets! I love your work Walt and Marie! And I can relate to the Asthma attacks. Write on! ✍️

    1. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      Thank you, Benjamin! And write on! Can’t wait to see what you come up with, as always!

  8. Marie Elena Avatar
    Marie Elena

    Walt, you blow me away. Every. Single. Time.

  9. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
    Benjamin Thomas

    I HAVE NO ZEAL

    I have no zeal
    to peel away the dread
    of the day’s dire demand.

    It rests gravely upon
    wide, spent, vitiated shoulders.

    They wither and wail
    in the wake of cruel
    anticipation.

    But ready or not,
    the clock must tick.

    The short hand,
    and the long hand,
    know no remorse or consolation.

    Time and tide
    wait for no man, beast,
    or abbreviation.

    Benjamin Thomas

    (HOW TO COPE AFTER COVID COMES KNOCKING – by Janet Carnahan)

    1. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      Such excellent writing, Benjamin. And an excellent poem to choose from.

      1. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
        Benjamin Thomas

        Thanks, Marie. This prompt is fun.

    2. janetrcarnahan Avatar
      janetrcarnahan

      Oh, Benjamin! If I wasn’t already getting better, your poem would have done the trick! Your words are so beautifully put together! The clock certainly did tick on! Thanks for using a line from my poem to describe all this! No zeal was very real!

      1. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
        Benjamin Thomas

        Ty!

    3. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      “Ready or not, the clock must tick.” Spot on!

    4. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Love this, Benjamin. I also like the poem you chose.

      1. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
        Benjamin Thomas

        Thanks Sara!

  10. connielpeters Avatar
    connielpeters

    I Let the Visions Take Me Anywhere

    To Cabo Verde, isles of green
    To Caucasus Mountains seldom seen
    To Australia with animals unique
    To Mount Fuji at its peak
    To Komodo Nation Park to see the Komodo
    To Lapland—northern lights, reindeer and snow
    To England with all of its history
    To India a land of mystery
    Here, there or in the air
    My visions take me anywhere.

    “I let the visions take me anywhere” from Mike Bayle’s “Aviary”.

    1. Mike Bayles Avatar
      Mike Bayles

      Conie, I am so honored that you referred to a line in one of my poems. Thank you.

      1. connielpeters Avatar
        connielpeters

        Thanks for the line, Mike. I’m afraid I didn’t do it justice!

    2. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      Good one, Connie! Love the rhymes, as none of them feel forced. I especially like the flow of the last four lines. Well done!

    3. janetrcarnahan Avatar
      janetrcarnahan

      Loved where you took these visions, Connie! Nothing like traveling far and wide through words!! I so enjoyed your poem!

    4. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      I love this, especially rhyming “Komodo.”

    5. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Lovely.

    6. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Wonderful poem, Connie!

  11. Mike Bayles Avatar
    Mike Bayles

    In a House of Dreams Once Lost

    Have you seen the comet*
    tint the sky green
    before it disappears

    and did you ask yourself
    if it was real?

    Do you remember the first line
    of the first love poem you wrote

    and

    do you still see her face?

    Do you remember
    the first words
    said to her?

    or hers to you?

    Can you still hear
    the softness in her voice?

    Can you listen to echoes
    of words unsaid?

    Can you read between the lines?

    Think back
    to Freshman year
    in college
    or another year-

    do you remember
    the moment
    you realized it was spring?

    And who did you tell?

    Listen to the voices
    of lost relatives
    as they call out your name.

    Do you remember
    the roar of an ocean
    or faces seen
    in passing clouds?

    Close your eyes
    in a place of solitude
    while you live your life
    again.

    *Have you seen the comet?
    Damon Dean, SevenAcreSky- A Comet Green

    1. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      And there it is again, Damon. ❤

      Mike, this is such a serene read. Beautifully done, and I love the visions and emotions it brings to the surface.

    2. janetrcarnahan Avatar
      janetrcarnahan

      What a sweet walk through memory lane and all triggered by a green comet! One heavenly event can certainly engage the heart! Well done, Mike!

      1. Mike Bayles Avatar
        Mike Bayles

        Thanks, Janet. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem.

    3. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Deep sighs here

      1. Mike Bayles Avatar
        Mike Bayles

        Thank you, William.

    4. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      I echo the others. Excellent poem, MIke.

      1. Mike Bayles Avatar
        Mike Bayles

        Thanks.

      2. Mike Bayles Avatar
        Mike Bayles

        Thank you, Benjamin.

    5. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      “Listen to the voices
      of lost relatives
      as they call out your name.”

      This haunted me.

      1. Mike Bayles Avatar
        Mike Bayles

        Thanks, for your comment, sara.

  12. janetrcarnahan Avatar
    janetrcarnahan

    ITS THE NATURE YOU SEE – a line from Daniel P., entitled, ‘Conundrum’! (Thanks, Daniel!)

    interactive
    as I was as a child
    very verbose
    extremely playful
    delighting in being outside
    observing things
    especially people
    fascinated me
    almost as much as
    how the stream babbled by
    why the waves
    became bigger
    then smaller
    why and how the sea birds
    sailed by in formation
    then in chaotic
    patterns
    I learned a lot by watching
    listening
    just being aware
    nature
    amazed me
    human
    animal
    flowers
    plants
    and
    most dear to my heart
    children
    always
    children
    they were magical
    mystical
    wonderfully creative
    joyful
    funny
    best of all curious
    watching them bloom
    for my twenty year
    career
    owning a preschool
    for ten
    wasn’t like an actual job
    more like a sheer
    delight
    their yearn
    to learn
    matched my interest
    to teach
    to reach
    each
    little mind I saw
    a stellar find
    the kind
    that still makes me smile
    their unique natures
    unfolding
    as their development
    began molding
    expanding
    through understanding
    who they
    were becoming
    just like watching
    a flower bloom
    a natural beauty
    filling the room
    I could see their young nature
    take shape
    and endure
    something I love now
    and always will
    I’m quite sure

    (c) Janet Rice Carnahan 2023

    1. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      Janet, this is packed with imagery and nostalgia. I feel it with you. Thank you for this!

      1. janetrcarnahan Avatar
        janetrcarnahan

        Thank you, Marie Elena! I knew you would feel this because you have such a heart for children, too! 🙂

    2. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      So marvellously visual, this.

    3. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      This is like two poems wrapped in one. Nicely done, Janet.

      1. janetrcarnahan Avatar
        janetrcarnahan

        Thank you for your kind comments!

    4. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      I love the line breaks you chose in this lovely poem, Janet.

  13. David Avatar
    David

    Who Trained Who

    His years are showin’ in his palin’ face
    But he still acts as if he rules the place
    I sometimes wonder, who taught who to stay
    But there’s no denyin’ he loves to play

    He’s stubborn as a mule, strong as an ox
    But a scaredy-cat, of a misplaced box
    He once ran from his shadow, cast in snow
    Taking me along, on his leash in tow

    The tricks he knows, he conjures on his own
    He’ll wait outside, until cookies are shown
    I’m most sure he fakes, the need to go out
    Gettin’ more cookies, is what it’s about

    If he’s tired of playin’, he’ll just lay still
    Or test your patience, as well as your will
    Smart as a whip, actin’ dumb as a bat
    His wheels are turnin, you can count on that

    He’s got a heart of gold, that suits his name
    No matter your day, he’ll love you the same
    He smiles when he greets us, on the back step
    By curlin’ his snout and a waggin’ pep

    He thinks he’s human, but he can’t say why
    His bark cannot speak, as well as his eye
    His look tells it all, in sternness or glee
    Or beggin’ contently, chin on your knee

    He’ll steal your spot, when you get out of bed
    Usin’ your pillow, to rest his big head
    But if told to scoot, he’s suddenly deaf
    Totally paralyzed, no muscles left

    So, you have to move, this eighty-pound lug
    Give him the message, his bed’s on the rug
    And wonder if by chance or could it be
    You failed to read’, How to Train a Puppy

    “How to Train a Puppy”
    PurpleInPortland – How to Train a Puppy

    1. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      David, this is adorable and makes me want to meet your baby! Love the imagery, detail, cadence, rhymes, and the smile it put on my face as I picture this obviously precious dog I don’t know. Wonderful.

      1. David Avatar
        David

        Thanks – He’s a hand full.

    2. janetrcarnahan Avatar
      janetrcarnahan

      This was marvelous, David! I feel like I know this dog after your marvelous descriptions! He seems very aware, especially of the cookies! Smart dog!

      1. David Avatar
        David

        Thaks Janet!

    3. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Wonderful storytelling, in rhyme yet.

      1. David Avatar
        David

        Thanks William!

    4. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Thank you for choosing my poem, David. You did get right to the heart of the matter!

  14. Marie Elena Avatar
    Marie Elena

    Here, There, or In the Air

    To fly in the air?
    My worst nightmare.
    Fear has caught me in its snare.

    Don’t want to go there
    (don’t matter where).
    Won’t consider. Won’t prepare.

    I’d rather be here
    without a care
    settled into my armchair.

    © Marie Elena Good

    Title from “I Let The Visions Take Me Anywhere” by Connie Peters, via Mike Bayles’ Aviary. 😉

    1. connielpeters Avatar
      connielpeters

      lol, Marie!

      1. Marie Elena Avatar
        Marie Elena

        Connie, we may be alike in many ways, but we are opposites in travel! 😀

    2. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Chuckling merrily here.

    3. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      😂

    4. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Love this, Marie!

  15. purplepeninportland Avatar
    purplepeninportland

    When Touched By Dreams

    An amazing array
    of ages pop up
    when I dream.
    Oddly, I am
    never my true
    age. Sometimes
    I’m that little
    girl in grade
    school with my
    first crush on
    Jeffrey. Often
    my forties come
    soaring back,
    decade I loved
    best for all
    the laughter, friends,
    and full life.
    If I wake in
    the middle of the
    night from
    a happy dream,
    I try to continue
    it, but that seldom
    works. I am always
    touched by my dreams,
    whether happy or
    nightmarish.

    (Line taken from Mike Bayles,
    Hotel Suite, Prompt #420)

    https://poeticbloomings2.wordpress.com/

    1. Marie Elena Avatar
      Marie Elena

      So interesting that you are never your true age in dreams. Also interesting that even if it is a nightmare, you can still be touched by it. Dreams are strange things sometimes. Nice capture here, Sara!

      1. purplepeninportland Avatar
        purplepeninportland

        Thanks, Marie!

    2. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      The long shape of this poem emphasizes the desire to continue the dreams, in my opinion. Wonderful piece.

      1. purplepeninportland Avatar
        purplepeninportland

        Thanks, William!

    3. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Love that first line, Sara!

      1. purplepeninportland Avatar
        purplepeninportland

        Thanks, Benjamin!

  16. danielpaicopulos Avatar
    danielpaicopulos

    Friends

    One of us will die first, one left behind.
    One of us will remain, it’s just the kind
    of deal we’re dealt, a true fact of this spin
    of the wheel, however we feel, and it’s in
    understanding this we can have the best
    of this life, this true friendship, the real test
    not in who dies first, in who longer lives,
    but it’s the here and now which gives
    a chance for joy to the two of us, a daily win,
    not waiting for the future for our lives to begin.

    From the “A New Creation…” in the New prompt, by Mary Elizabeth Todd,
    the line, “…The day we answer the call,”.

    1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
      Mary Elizabeth Todd

      Thank you so very much and your poem is lovely

      1. danielpaicopulos Avatar
        danielpaicopulos

        Make me the first person to wish you a happy birthday for NEXT year

        1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
          Mary Elizabeth Todd

          Thank you so much and I plan to make. The last two weeks have been a bit rough, but I am getting back on track and next year will be the 22nd birthday I almost did not have.

    2. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Wow. So much wisdom and understanding are within these lines.

    3. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Well said, Daniel!

  17. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
    Mary Elizabeth Todd

    Night Falls Clumsily

    I was driving between
    Twilight and Night…
    The white moon
    Of the snow moon
    Was rising and casting her light
    Through the trees of winter
    And I was caught in that light,
    But in the west
    Twilight was still the queen
    As the horizon wore a robe
    The color of watermelons
    Light pink to deep red,
    And I gasped at the beauty
    Guiding me home.
    The twilight robe
    Cast a glow onto me,
    And said to the night…
    Your time is not yet…
    I still rule.
    I saw the edges of the night
    Losing their strength
    Against the glow of twilight.
    Like a warrior spreading nightfall
    With practiced conquering strides…
    Until that glorious color counter attacked
    And the night fell clumsily
    Against the far-reaching twilight
    And lost her footing
    against the deepening
    Burgundy wine that my soul
    Drank upon this night.
    Maybe the night had drank upon it also,
    And that is why it was so clumsy.
    Before I could ponder this notion
    The earth moved, and the night grew strong
    And the twilight faded quietly from the land.
    The Snow moon then did guide me
    Down my forest and greeted me
    As I stepped on the land
    Where I called home,
    And I smiled for I had seen the night stumble,
    And the twilight reign as queen
    In a most glamourous battle
    Of wits and color
    That for this alone I knew
    Was why I am alive.

    Mary Elizabeth Todd
    February 6, 2023

    I chose this line early in the day from Walt’s poem “Perchance to Dream” because that first line grabbed my imagination “Night falls clumsily”. Last night riding home God gave me the view to write about it. Part of it I wrote as I was driving to help me remember the sights of the twilight and the night.

    1. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Superb

      1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
        Mary Elizabeth Todd

        Thank you

    2. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Love this one, Mary!

      1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
        Mary Elizabeth Todd

        thanks

    3. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      This is gorgeous, Mary!

  18. Candace Avatar
    Candace

    On Meeting an Unknown Cousin

    We didn’t know each other
    But we were bound by family roots

    And I knew when I saw her that
    We would be fast friends

    For “she wears sensible shoes”


    I used the line “she wears sensible shoes” from Marie’s poem for last week, How to Recognize Yourself.

    1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
      Mary Elizabeth Todd

      I love this… My great great Grandmother Mattie Jones McGee had an affair after her husband my ggggrandfather went to the state mental hospital after the civil war and she was left to care for the children and the farm. SHe had a baby by the man that helped her take care of her farm. Unfortunately the baby was biracial and she had to send it to his family to raise. When her husband died she lost her home because his brothers took it, and she lived in boarding houses in town where her child lived and taught school in that town. I would like to think she taught her child. Anyway through DNA I have a cousin living in Texas who descended from that child…Your poem touched my heart deeply

    2. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Touché!

    3. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      😂 I love that last line. This is a short one, but it says a lot.

    4. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Love it!

  19. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
    Mary Elizabeth Todd

    this happened last Friday

    Why have you abandoned me?

    Binkey, my faithful cat, had bumped me awake.
    I lay there disoriented, and he looked worried
    Down at my face,
    But he was always worried.
    I laid there feeling my body abandoning me,
    And I said in my mind…
    Why are you doing this?
    My time has not come…
    Then I knew something
    I had did wrong
    Had led me to this morning.

    I was alone, and my heart
    Was racing something it does
    More and more…
    I know these signs, and
    My bladder was saying,
    “I need you to find the bladder gladder.”
    I said to it- “Be patient!
    This will take time.”

    I stood on wobbly legs,
    And I felt the tears on my face.
    I held a flashlight in my hands,
    And prayed,
    “Lord don’t abandon me now.
    Hear your daughter’s cry.”
    In the light, I saw my fingers
    White, and I knew my iron was low.
    It has been a long time
    Since I have been here.

    I felt the post at the end of my bed,
    And prayed I could walk to the wall.
    Each step I had to rest.
    I breathed deeply,
    Until I got there, and started back.
    I struggled until I laid down.
    There I lay eyes wide open
    Praying for aid in the early morning.
    As all the world whirled and twirled around me,
    I did not sleep, and barely thought
    As I listened to my heart pounding
    Within me.

    I knew I had to rise, and
    Take those pills that keep me going.
    I knew this was important,
    And I knew I had to contact a friend,
    Who is dear to my heart.
    I did both, and sat at my desk
    Hoping this feeling of being unsettled would pass.
    I felt my heart calm, and a message from that friend
    Told me what do do.
    I knew it was an answer to my prayer…
    My body may have abandoned me,
    But my Lord had not.

    After I did what my friend told me to do,
    I went to sleep until late morning.
    There was a peace settling on me…
    I knew a crisis had passed.

    I gave thanks to God
    For my friend and my cat Binkey
    Without whom I may have not made
    It to my seventy-first birthday
    Which was delightful
    And brought me joy.
    I also thanks to God
    For this condition
    That often tries me,
    But also reminds me
    To be thankful for the day
    I am living.

    Mary Elizabeth Todd
    February 6, 2023

    The line “Why have you abandoned me?” is from Benjamin Thomas’s poem “Forsaken Sleep”

    1. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Wonderful. Mary, you’re a natural born story teller. I love your style of poetry.

      1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
        Mary Elizabeth Todd

        thanks

  20. janetrcarnahan Avatar
    janetrcarnahan

    Way to spell it out for us, Walt and Marie! The wheezing of a longing heart left me gasping for more! Love and asthma have never looked so good together, Walt! Marie, I rode that comet with you! Hearing the word, ‘ONE’ throughout the galaxy, green tail and all! Well done!

  21. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
    Mary Elizabeth Todd

    Eyes in the Mirror Smiles

    I have known my hairdresser
    Over three decades, and
    What a life we have both lived.
    She is the adventurous one,
    And my days my adventures
    Are going to the grocery store.

    She made my hair look right
    For more funerals than
    I want to count, and
    Each time I left
    She hugged me
    Giving me a bite of hope.

    When the dark spot
    On my face,
    She said,
    “You need to check that out.”
    I did and it was melanoma.

    She has given me courage to be brave,
    When this old warrior
    Wanted not to battle, but
    Knew I should.

    I don’t expect miracles
    Because I know what I am.
    I am a plain woman
    With a beautiful soul,
    A kind heart,
    With a wicked sense of humor,
    And a curious mind…

    I don’t expect miracles
    For most will not see beyond
    The plain face that is me.

    But when she whirls me around
    To look at my reflection,
    I don’t see what I am,
    But who I am
    My eyes in the mirror smile
    For the woman who sees my value
    When others don’t,
    And for that reason alone
    She is my friend.

    Mary Elizabeth Todd
    February 6, 2023

    The line “Eyes in the mirror smile” from the poem “Eleven” by Marie Elena Good

    1. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Good description of a true friendship, it seems to me.

      1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
        Mary Elizabeth Todd

        She is that…

    2. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Bravo! 👏

      1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
        Mary Elizabeth Todd

        smile

  22. Earl Parsons Avatar
    Earl Parsons

    She Waves

    “O say can you see by the dawn’s early light”

    Peering through the billowing smoke
    Sir Francis Scott Key strained in hope
    To see if, perhaps, Old Glory still flew
    To look once more at the red, white and blue

    “What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming”

    When last he looked the night before
    From his floating vessel far off shore
    Above the fort she bravely waved
    He strained to see if she’d survived

    “Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight”

    On a field of blue laid fifteen stars
    With fifteen stripes laid out in bars
    The largest flag known for that day
    It could be seen from miles away

    “O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming”

    Proudly she waved on high through the night
    Proudly she waved on high through the fight
    If she would fall, the fort would be lost
    Proudly she waved in spite of the cost

    “And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
    Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there”

    Straining to see her throughout the night
    When bomb blasts flared she flashed into sight
    The battle continued till the morning dawn
    Through it all, Lady Liberty proudly flew on

    “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
    O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

    Francis Scott Key was witness that morn
    Old Glory survived, though quite battle worn
    Two hundred years later, his words still ring true
    She still waves free; the red, white and blue

    1. Earl Parsons Avatar
      Earl Parsons

      Oops! Didn’t read the instructions properly.

      1. William Preston Avatar
        William Preston

        Hardly matters. What a wonderful job, rhyming included.

    2. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Splendid, Earl!

  23. Earl Parsons Avatar
    Earl Parsons

    The Drift

    Life it a drift from day to day
    From year to year and so on
    We drift through youth
    Through puberty
    More confused as life drifts on

    Sometimes we drift and settle down
    But never for very long
    Then we drift into the next phase
    Trying to find where we belong

    We drift through young adulthood
    Toward more rewarding years
    Only to find the same struggles
    And the good times mixed with tears

    Then we drift into our senior years
    Some will drift toward senility
    And as we near our time of death
    We wonder if life was a reality

    From “Generation Gap” by William Preston

    1. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Ah, yes. Understood.

    2. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      Wonderful, Earl!

  24. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
    Mary Elizabeth Todd

    All is Forgiven*
    (Or how to try to teach a kitten manners)

    There was one lone kitten outside.
    I had invited him in,
    But he always ran away.
    Then last year about this time…
    I heard him scream and
    He was held down by a big Tom Cat,
    Who ran when he heard me.

    I called the kitten Zippy
    Because he is greased lightening.
    I went out to feed him,
    And he ran between my legs
    Into my house and then sat down.
    I looked at the part Bengal kitten,
    And knew he would be a handful.
    His eyes looking so innocent
    While I glimpsed a tarnished halo.

    I had help on teaching him manners
    In the form of Tillie
    Also known as Fluffy-tuffy,
    Who with Inky Bink
    Formal name is Binkey
    Taught him well
    They were not to bother them.
    Not that Zippy listened.

    All manner of things
    He thought were his…
    A tiny vase, two keepsakes
    From children I once knew,
    My pens, silk flowers,
    One rhinestone pin,
    And others small things
    He thought was pretty
    And needed to be his toy.

    He guards me when I take a bath
    Something I wish he wouldn’t do
    For he looks at me like I am crazy.

    I had to teach him to sit before
    I placed his food down, and
    Now he wiggles his butt
    In excitement of being fed.

    Binkey and Tillie love catnip,
    And he races away
    And they say good
    More for us.

    My house is a race track
    At least three times a day.
    I have learned to stay in place
    Until he sits down for a nap.

    A few things have been broken.
    I have had a few more scratches,
    And there is the problem
    Where he thinks a dead mouse
    Is a gift I would like
    But when he curls up in my lap,
    And purrs his sweet purr…
    All that is forgiven,
    And I am thankful he chose me.

    Mary Elizabeth Todd
    February 7, 2023
    From the poem “How to train a puppy” written by Sara or Purplepeninportland. I liked the line “All is Forgiven” and the idea…I did not intend to get a kitten but Zippy decided he was moving inside.

    1. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Nodding here

      1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
        Mary Elizabeth Todd

        thank you and his nickname is Brat….because he is. Sometimes I think Gus sent him.

    2. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      👌

      1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
        Mary Elizabeth Todd

        I love the little brat

    3. purplepeninportland Avatar
      purplepeninportland

      They do insinuate themselves into your life and heart.

  25. pat anthony Avatar
    pat anthony

    Long Distance

    You should forget your old phone number/
    That would be so much easier.

    –How to Forget a True Love by Walter Wojtanik

    So I’m standing in front
    of the chest high wooden shelf that
    holds the black rotary phone with the thick
    white and yellow pages from Kansas City
    bound on the shelf beneath still raw pine
    never finished never painted but that number
    printed on the white disc in the phone’s center
    still rolling off my tongue my eyes still
    staring into the Sinclair green corner
    beside a back door we never used
    a phone I never used either
    never waited to clear the party
    line to call my Daddy
    in some city that may as well have been
    on the other side of the world

    only letters in my childish printing
    content dictated
    thoroughly vetted
    sanitized
    addressed
    to a man by a name
    he did not use

    so there was no possibility
    of me slipping between the lines
    of the Big Chief tablet
    the thin envelope
    only shadows passing between
    us
    as unreachable as the clouds
    scudding across his Kansas skies.

    1. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      So wistful, this.

    2. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
      Benjamin Thomas

      Very soothing, as always pat!!

  26. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
    Benjamin Thomas

    Intimations of Immortality From
    Recollections Of Early Childhood “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting”
    (William Wordsworth – ODE)

    Our birth is but a leaf and fragile stem.
    Light, brittle, nimble—it blows around
    restlessly, like the rest of them.

    Our birth is but a sleep and forgetting.
    Hapless dreams that mist into the wind.
    An aching for the sky that comes as rain.

    Our life is but untrammeled water—shapeless.
    An aimless, amorphous splattering about.
    A seeping, dissipation of liquid.

    Benjamin Thomas

    1. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      I admire this, especially, “An aching for the sky that comes as rain.”

  27. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
    Benjamin Thomas

    Inspired by Walt Whitman
    (Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking)

    LOW-HANGING MOON

    Low-hanging moon!
    Shall I pick—you like fruit?
    Shall I profess my love
    for you, or bear silence—stay mute?
    O’ cratered countenance!

    There you stand,
    and here—I languish,
    before your imperishable
    brightness, I brabble
    and meander about.

    O’ low-hanging moon!
    With whom…shall I compare
    your prodigious apricity?
    I’ll forever fling thy tunes!
    spread thy silver screams…

    Within pompous waking dreams.
    Catch the winds of reflection’s
    springs, and minister thy beauteous
    flames. So then, let the shackles loose!
    And prance away in the nightly flutes!

    ©️ Benjamin Thomas

    1. William Preston Avatar
      William Preston

      Could’ve been written in Wordsworth’s time. Lovely.

      1. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
        Benjamin Thomas

        👌

  28. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
    Benjamin Thomas

    Inspired by Evening Waterfall
    – Carl Sandberg

    (“What was the name you called me?—
    And why did you go so soon?”)

    MY NAME IS?

    What was the name
    that you called me?—
    a waterfall, monsterful?

    An endless stream,
    a relentless pouring out,
    of love?

    And what was the name
    that you proclaimed?
    A stubborn churning of wind?

    A ceaseless being,
    A dizzying leaf,
    A desire that knows no end?

    What was the name
    That you called me?—
    An evergreen?

    A fragrance of newness?
    Bountiful boughs swaying
    about as freshness sings?

    A precious wooded forest,
    haunted by the balm of resinous love,
    the eternal things.

    ©️ Benjamin Thomas

  29. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
    Benjamin Thomas

    Inspired by Mary Elizabeth Todd
    —Night Falls Clumsily

    “I was driving between
Twilight and Night…”

    EVASION OF PILLARS

    I was voyaging hastily unseen,
    amidst the utter realms—
    right between, the might of pillars,
    deemed twilight and night.

    There settles the slinking shadows
    that never seem to rest. It is there,
    I realize that wayward eyes disguised as grey,
    spies a traveler going by and such would be prey.

    Oh my, what should an innocent passerby do?
    There’s no power of sun to make one bright,
    nor robe of darkness that one may cloak his ways.
    I am but a spectacle for the night-gawkers gaze.

    Retrieving a trusty torch from my trousers blue—
    fetching the comfort of light to sight my way through.
    Until a familiar day dawns, the shadows fleeing away,
    Only to reach my destination, safely, I pray.

    ©️ Benjamin Thomas

    1. Mary Elizabeth Todd Avatar
      Mary Elizabeth Todd

      How lovely and thanks for using my line in such a fashion

      1. Benjamin Thomas Avatar
        Benjamin Thomas

        You’re welcome!

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