Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Time to Write

Time to write
The clock begins to tick,
So to speak,
My watch is digital and doesn’t show seconds.
It does show that I walked over 12,000 steps today
And translates that to miles
And calories burned,
None of which I believe are totally accurate.
I hope the number of steps is correct
And ignore the rest.
It’s like white noise.
I know it’s there
And I don’t care.

I take a deep breath
And try not to stress
About a few major projects
I need to focus on
Better.
About the novel I am going to write
In 30 days,
Beginning tomorrow.
About the fact that I don’t have a plot
Or characters
Or setting,
Or storyboard.
All I have is my laptop
And an internal commitment
To try this.

It’s almost time to write,
So i should get some sleep.
Tomorrow it begins,
A journey into the unknown
One word at a time.
Time to create
Time to write
Time to achieve
A goal.

It’s just one month of writing,
In a year of writing.
All that’s different
Is the focus
And format
And purpose.

It’s time.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Falling off teh wagon

I fell off the writing wagon.
I was addicted
to writing
every day.
It was my solace,
my poison,
my passion,
my obsession.
But sometimes life happens
and gets in the way
of the perfect plan.
Scatters the pattern to the wind.
And maybe that can be a good thing.
Falling may sound negative
But so does forced compliance
with a random goal.
So I fell,
Jumped,
Stumbled,
Flew
off the writing wagon.
And now I am back
to try it again.
Life happens.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Starter Dough

I need a writing prompt.
A big fat juicy,
wrap my brain around,
sink my teeth into
subject to write about.

A starter,
a teaser,
a thought
a word
a nearby conversation.
Something,
anything,
to get me started.

I need a subject or story,
not a reason.
Reason to write.
What’s that?
I breathe,
I think,
I write.
Got to get the thoughts out of my head
so it doesn’t explode.
The problem is usually
where to begin.
I need some starter dough.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Angry Words

Work in progress but I couldn't hold it in any longer.

Angry words.

So much hurt
in the world.
So much pain
so much anger
invading homes
schools
businesses,
governments,
places of worship,
everywhere we go,
everywhere we look,
Hurt permeates our thoughts,
drowns out rationality,
punches through our defenses.

We let loose with angry words.

Yes, many of us are angry
and have stayed silent for too long.
The pot boiled
and boiled
and we waited
and waited
for it to cool.
But it grew hotter
and hotter,
a volcano of hurt
and now it is overflowing
with red hot flames
and the ashes of our stories
are raining down
on anyone who is looking.

Sad stories
Angry words.

Rather than sinking in
years of hurt and pain,
We are beating our way to the top
and crawling, walking, running, jumping,
flying,
Angry words
can enable us
to soar.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Me, too

#MeToo. 

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Andy, Anthony, Bob, Bill, Dan, Ed,
Name a boy’s name, any name,
and chances are
that a boy or man with that name,
Has purposely or accidentally
sexually
demeaned,
harassed,
or assaulted a female.
George, Johnny, Richard, Tim, Senior, Junior,
Wealthy, poor, middle class.
Son,
husband
uncle, dad, grandfather,
friend.
Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim,
Practicing, non-practicing,
agnostic, atheist.
Literate, non-literate.
Could be any man,
Hopefully not every man.

Me, too.
Why me?
Could happen to you.

Adulthood

Written on Sunday 10/15/17, after overhearing a college student make a comment to her friend who graduated last year and is working in Nashville. 

The adult world seems so dull.
Not really.
It can be fascinating
when you’re not being overwhelmed by so-called responsibilities.

There’s the head above water phase,
the expected of me phase,
working for a living,
Providing for others,
Losing track of
the reasons why life is meant
to be lived.

And there is the fun phase later in life,
Playing catch up.
It’s an interesting place
Trying to catch up on all the living
that didn’t get done
while consumed by fulfilling needs,
being responsible,
living the dream,
then missing having a dream
doing for the good of all,
of everyone,
except me.

It wasn’t intentional,
it just happened.
Intense then
and intense now.
It is fun and scary
this phase of living for me.
I care about others close to me,
but am working on being more selfish
than selfless,
daring to dream
daring to chase my dreams.
Daring.
Running
Flying
Chasing dreams
and whether or not I catch them is irrelevant.
It’s the journey,
daring to make the journey,
that matters.

The world isn’t dull
for me
any more.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Love and Fear

Love and fear

Love and fear
stroll hand in hand
down the street.
“Look,” says love,
“we can do this.”
“For now,” says fear,
“for now,
until we can’t.”

Friday, October 13, 2017

Seasonal Love Song

I wrote this one quickly and haven't edited it yet. I think I'll let it sit for a day or two and then come back to it.

Seasonal Love song

I love summer
Blue skies
White fluffy clouds
Heat,
Long days,
Warm nights.
Continuity.

I love fall
Maybe the most.
Cool overnight and into the morning
The way the air feels on my face
Gray clouds
Rain
Walking through fallen leaves
Nature changing
Slowly enough
That I can see the transition
From bright greens, red, yellows, purples, pinks, and more
To copper, brown, and gray.
And the change feels right.

I love winter
Snow, ice,
Wearing hat, gloves, and a warm jacket
Walking, running
Seeing my breath puff
Feeling the cold on my nose
My ears
And tingle my throat as I breathe.
Starry nights,
Cold mornings.

I love spring
Another season of change
Going from cold to warm
Death to life
Days get longer
Nights get shorter
Rain and wind
Birth and growth
Colors begin to appear
Almost overnight
A new surprise nearly every day.
Wonder.
Hope.
And the journey continues
Towards summer.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

No, I won't argue with you

Arguing is not fun.
It is not a hobby
It is not something I like to do
It is not something I try to do.
I am a coward when it comes to fighting.
I try to walk away,
Avoid,
Ignore,
Tune out,
Be teflon coated,
Let it go.
But I can only handle my button being pushed
so many times.
Even patience has a limit.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

So cute

Inspired by a video of Keith Urban and Chris Janson. Written on 10/10/17, but it didn't post.

So cute.
A couple of grown men
Playing electric guitars
and singing a bluegrass song.
Sweet harmony.
Sweet music..
Need some sweet
in our lives.
These days.
Every day.

Lost and Found

Inspired by a story in the news today.

Multiple families
With multiple children
Living in one house.
Does that explain
how a mother
could leave her three-year old
behind,
Go home,
Watch a movie,
Fall asleep,
And not notice until the next morning
that her son
wasn’t in his bed
or in the house.

Is that bad parenting?
Is that a red flag that something is wrong?
With the mom?
With the other adults in the house?
With the living arrangements?

The question gets raised,
Is this person fit to be a parent?
Many of us have grown children
and still aren’t sure we did it right.
We were sometimes late,
Sometimes short tempered,
Sometimes wrong,
Sometimes not as present as we should have been.
But at the end of the day,
the last thing we did
was tuck in a child,
Say good night,
And
Stand at the bedroom door
And marvel
at the beauty
and tranquility,
Mesmerized
by the sight
Of a son or daughter,
And marveling that
this child
was the most incredible thing
we ever created.

Physically leaving a child behind
Is sad.
Ignoring and not nurturing a child
Is sad.
Not remembering to say good night
to a three year old child
Is sad.
How
Do
Things
Like
This
Happen
Without
Someone
Noticing
Warning
Signs?

Lost in a maze,
Found by a stranger.
All it takes is
one wrong turn,
To change a life
forever.