Bedtime Stories

We travel the world

She and I

Her bed is a vessel

That can sail or fly

We swim with mermaids

And walk on the moon

We are the sailors

Of a magic pontoon

We march out of Egypt

‘neath Moses command

We race on the beaches

Of tropical sand

We eat at the King’s table

Or sleep in a box

With the three little bears

We meet Goldilocks

We are the cowboys

The ruffians, the queen

We pick grapes in Sicily

Rove Ireland’s greens

We shiver with pioneers

And suffer their woes

We live in a palace

And wear the queen’s clothes

We brave the storms

And the pirates at sea

We swing from the stars

And land in Chile

We cry with the orphans

Sing with the Von Trapps

We explore with Tom Sawyer

In an acorn, take naps

And we simply can’t wait

For our next thrilling trip

To the past or the future

On our white, linen ship

As we travel the world

From our cozy, warm nook

A mother, a girl

And a story-book

Janet~

Unshared Story

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/poetry-prompts/2011-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-28


On the week-end when no one was looking
You were so nice to me
But back to school Monday, held things more important
Like popularity

We lived on the north side
And I assumed that was why
You gave yourself a license
To laugh; I tried not to cry

Age and time bestow maturity
We move past the resentment and pain
I saw you yesterday; and instantly
I knew that scars remain…

Janet

Today's Prompt: -----Story

She said, 'My Name is Hope'

She said, ‘My name is Hope’
And then I knew
Hope is an angel
Five years old
With perfect black dread-locks
And I told her
Hope is beautiful
As her smile
Parted the heavy clouds...

Once, new-born perfection
Grasped my little finger
And heaven was warm
With soft silky hair
And a wee baby’s cry
Tonight, in his awkward drawn-out hug
I knew perfection has many layers
And love is thirteen years old
And nearly a man

Once, you whispered to me ‘just believe’
And I was afraid but I said ‘yes’
And then I knew
That God is a poet
Yet, I will never know why
He chooses to pour
The Perfection of His grace
In ten-thousand thousand
Kisses on my face

J~

Acceptance

http://magpietales.blogspot.com/


They come from everywhere
or anywhere
To rest
upon its shabby, unbiased form
Waiting for the train
or life
Or simply to escape
a sudden thunder-storm
A humble, red shoulder
of compassion
In a world of
concrete indifference

Janet~

Prelude to Proof (Sunday Wordle)

http://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/

Leftover sunshine quivers
Like soft strains of a violin
Subliminal master-piece hovers
On night’s mellow hastening
Upon earth’s ruddy fulcrum
The untidy moments of day
In a rustle of smug defiance
Shudder; before spinning away
I turn, in this rush of blue quiet
Tonight I am willing to prove
Darling, I am not gullible
But oh, I am in love

J~

Tribute to my Grandma

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/poetry-prompts/2011-november-pad-chapbook-challenge-day-27

Ninety-two years was not long enough
For me to learn to appreciate
The simplicity of your wisdom and love
But now, many years too late
Suddenly, graciously I find
The whisper of your wisdom
Echo in my mind
And when the tick of the clock grows heavy
And the daylight has long grown dim
I can still hear the creak of your rocking chair
As you hummed an old German hymn
With the mending basket for others
Always within your reach
As you helped out busy mothers
With stitches that somehow still teach
For when I think I am too tired
To move another step
I think of you, my dear Grandma
Never too tired to help
And all that I can hope for
As my feet climb this ladder of years
Is that someday someone will think of me
With a smile shining through their tears

Janet~

Today's Prompt: A tribute poem

The Unfolding of my Good, Old Days...

She tumbles into my morning
All blue-eyed and sleepy-headed
Then brings me the comics to read with her

He, feigning innocence, asks me
If there’s any way cookies could work
Into a healthy break-fast

I’m living in the good, old days, I know…

They have succeeded in emptying my fridge
And the gas tank in the van
And, sometimes that well of patience

They forget more than they remember
Then feel so bad

Oh, yes, I’m living in the good, old days

People smile when they see my grocery cart
And ask if I’m feeding the town
I smile, and say it’s amazing
How much food kids and their friends can down…


…and I return to my oven, and the kitchen-sink
And my mountain of laundry,
Tripping over an ocean of shoes left inside the door
And I sweep the floor for the ump-teenth time


…yet I know,
I’m living in the good, old days
As little moments drift away
Like the dizzy leaf spiraling on the wind

Janet

It struck me as I surveyed my mental to-do list
and as the morning began unfolding
that I really am living in my 'good,old days'...

Good Old Days #2

I recall that day
A blue-eyed promise
Called summer

The good old days are good
Because the mind has the ability
To forget the bad

Once, I told my dad
I wished we still lived
In the good old days,
He replied, ‘well, here is a pail
The creek is just beyond the hill,
But you better take something to break the ice’...

I thought the good, old days
Were the days of the pioneer…
I remember them,
But then we got computers and cell-phones and…

In the good old days
Ignorance was bliss...

In the good old days
Youth didn't need a fountain...

Back in the good old days
I thought you would change
And you thought I would not...

The wisdom of the good old days
Still is...

The good, old days
Never existed
Until there was history

The good, old days
Are being formed
Even as we breathe…