Edith Bunker’s Ah-OOOOO-ga.
My father’s nasal stutterings.
My husband’s wheezing gutterances.
My own sleepy ratchetings.
The nighttime Sound of Snoring…
Daily Prompt: Honk
ubiquitous
Isn’t it odd
and somehow gratifying
when some word
(one you’ve never heard of
or rarely used)
crosses your path
again and again
jumping out at you
from the pages of a book
or in your RSS feed
or on Dateline
some Friday night
and you’re like
‘huh. that’s weird.’
a word like tangled
or onomatopoeia
or gronk.
yeah.
i think that’s pretty cool.
Daily Prompt: Gingerly
you’re too sensitive, they told me.
wear your heart on your sleeve, they said.
i lashed out.
too often,
too frequently.
insisted i didn’t need to be treated
with kid gloves.
Turns out
i was wrong.
Daily Prompt: Gingerly
Permanent Exhibit
The wily heart
Clever and sly
Beats for true art
Low may be high
Patrons with wine
Bow ties, fancy dress
Tis lovely, divine
I like this one best
Economics
I used to covet things.
Physical tangible possessions
new clothes, jackets, shoes
magazines, CDs, books and DVDs
drawers and closets jammed tight
tunes and words not yet absorbed.
I have plenty and then some.
Will I live the years necessary
to enjoy all that I’ve accumulated?
Will my ROI pay ample dividends?
I Don’t Know How to Do This
Focus on the relationships
that are working,
she said.
Like I could just so easily
disregard
the pain
and rejection
of being tossed aside.
She was right,
I knew.
Making it happen
was an arena
I was not familiar with
as that required
believing more of me
than I was capable of.
Pumpkin
Orange orb
beacon in the gloom
dark, rainy skies:
dramatic, moody, one of a kind.
Just like you.
Look at me, look at me!
Oh, we will. We will.
Traversing the Continental Divide
I’m rocked
by your splendor.
Tears gather strength,
seeking release.
A choke in my constricted throat
as I’m overwhelmed
(and humbled)
by the raw power
you exude
at every twist and juncture
of this crazy road
as higher
and higher
we drive
into a world
and a creation
as alien and sparse
as Jupiter’s landscape
to wandering Neptunians.
You enthrall
and terrorize me.
I’m captivated
and frightened.
I’m bewitched.
Switchbacks
and drop-offs.
Cold feet
amid hairpin turns.
My four chambers
ratcheting wildly.
Nothing else matters
at this moment.
You make me aware
of what it means to be alive.
Daily Prompt: Flavorful
Pizza oozing,
enticing,
bursting
with temptation
certain to both
sate and deflate
with every glorious
bite.
Thick crust or thin
(thin, please)
mozzarella
parmesan
(lots of it)
basil and oregano
spicy Italian sausage
pepperoni
crispy capicola.
Flavorful? Oh, my.
Yes,
she says
wiping the drool
while simultaneously
dreading
the cholesterol check
she’s put off for too long.
Daily Prompt: Flavorful
Daily Prompt: Sympathy
She’s a hard woman to like
let alone love.
I know I should try harder.
She is weak, manipulative
and lacking in charm.
She is joyless and self-pitying
and worries about
every. little. thing.
On steroids.
I should be more caring, more tolerant.
Patience is not my strong suit.
It would be easier to show sympathy
if she were someone pleasant,
someone cheerful, someone fun.
But no. Instead, she is the dullest person
on the planet.
I’m pretty darn sure of it.
And seems content to inflict her misery on the rest of us
instead of making her own way,
finding her own happiness.
Yes, I suppose I should be more kind
but damn if she doesn’t make it
almost impossible to care.
Daily Prompt: Sympathy
A Sawyer's Daughter 
Chit Chat