Are You Supposed to Like, Write?

This slice is part of the Slice of Life on  Two Writing Teachers! #sol24. I’m slicing on Tuesdays. I hope you’ll join me!

Are You Supposed to Like, Write?

wait
are you supposed to
write when you’re like
angry?
I forget sometimes
weird,
since it’s been
so many times, asking for
you to read between the lines

should I speak
frankly?
or wait until I’m less cranky?
like if I feel
I don’t know
like
betrayed
(not the affair charade)
being played while others watch
the masquerade
there’s disquiet
should I be quiet?

should I button my lips
wait for the bag of tricks to
pass?
what if
like
the person who wronged me
reads what I
write about them?
then they’d know what they
like did
what I
condemn
what then?


An Epic Morning

This slice is part of the Slice of Life on  Two Writing Teachers! #sol24. I’m slicing on Tuesdays. I hope you’ll join me!

This morning my son went to get us Starbucks’s.
I mean, he drove. I paid.
That’s how things work around here.
“Should I order on my phone or yours?” He said, like some sort of master negotiator

When he got back he was sorry to be late
he had seen a bear cross the street,
tried to follow it a bit,
lost sight as it sauntered into the trees
by the bus stop.

“I guess. . .
Make a lot of noise when you go to the bus,” I said
because we are not afraid of bears here
I mean, it’s not like a
man was running towards the bus stop

I left my Starbucks refresher for later
carried my dry laundry upstairs
thought about how I should have taken the dog’s barks
more seriously last night
instead of telling him
okay, yelling at him
to chill out about the neighbor’s cat
oops

After my shower I
proudly started to put my clothes away in the closet
like I imagine real grown-ups do in the morning
before school
before school!
I imagine those real grown-ups might not scream for their 17 year old when a creepy crawly bazillion leg bug crawls out of the pants they are about to fold
But I did
I screamed
then told myself
I can do this I can do this I can do this
I don’t need a husband
Who probably wouldn’t have helped anyway

I can catch this thing in something
something something I need something
I turned to find that something
something something there must be something on my dresser

I’m not a bug squasher, not a bug killer
I’m more
catch and release
less murder

But when I turned back around
the bug was gone – he will never know how nice I
was
going to be
but now, I thought…
I’ll write it, even though I don’t want to

That bug had to be somewhere in my bed
I yelled for my son to come help me again
“Bring a vacuum
or we have to sell our house!”

I tried to carefully shake the blankets
my dog looked at me confused
my cat ran under the bed
my son warned me to
be careful!
you might touch it!
it’s going to jump out of there!
I didn’t get far in my quest
it was time to go to school

So later I will decide
Strip the bed, vacuum, look in every cranny
or sleep on the couch?

Lucky for me
help must be on the way
because after school I found
not the bug
but the boys’ wanted poster they must have made before catching the bus
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BUG?
LAST SEEN: MOM’S PANTS
So although it may be true that
apparently we are more scared of bugs
than bears here
we also know how to laugh
in the face of fear
and make clever wanted posters

It’s April, and I’ve been writing poetry …all month! Thanks to Ethical ELA for all the great prompts and inspirations!

Try a Triolet?

What happens when you try a triolet?
Do your words come out the way you hoped?
Can you write or does your brain betray?
What happens when you try a triolet?
Will all the rhyming words be in disarray?
Your readers might think you have joked
What happens when you try a triolet?
Do your words come out the way you hoped?

Change’s Triolet

April’s almost over, then it will be May
Ends of things are coming much too soon
The way things are, they cannot stay
April’s almost over, then it will be May
I talk a lot, but there’s so much I will not say
Thankful for time to breathe when we break in June
April’s almost over, then it will be May
Ends of things are coming much too soon

Sound Off

Decisions are made 
Around you?
By you?
You don’t know
You won’t say

I wonder, are you
a master manipulator
Or just a clueless pawn
In this sleazy game where the
Emperor has no clothes?

I’ve already learned this
Lesson, been burned
before by letting jerks
Manipulate the truth
Said I’d never do that again

Said I’d listen to my instincts
And here we are
With you in charge
At a quiet standstill
The idiots are winning

I have sarcastic things to say
Questions I want to ask
For instance, did you know
Not only does he not have clothes,
But that isn’t the Emperor anyway?

I’m looking for poetry challenges. Sound Off Poetry was today’s prompt on Ethical ELA

Elfchens

Here are a few Elfchens…

Weekends
Come late
in the week
after a million days
Break!

Write!
Pen to
Paper, words flow
make it make sense
Think!

Sleep
Head on
Pillow, close your
eyes, empty your brain
Rest

Elfchen
Counting words
Boxed in format
Makes writers work for
Poetry!

It’s April! I’m looking for poetry challenges. Here’s a fun format I just found – called an Elfchen: 11 words in 5 lines of 1,2,3,4,1. I found it described here!

Countdown Calendar Math

It’s almost May
countdowns have started all around me
but no countdown can beat
ours
because you have to be especially good
at calendar math
follow along
it’s okay to count with your fingers. . .

Today is Wednesday
but the day is almost over
which means it’s basically
tomorrow
Thursdays are Friday Juniors
which means it’s basically
the weekend
the weekend goes by so quickly
so basically there’s just
one more week
until I see you, friend

I’m looking for poetry challenges. Today I decided a free write was just what I needed.

Chaucer Says

This slice is part of the Slice of Life on  Two Writing Teachers! #sol24. I’m slicing on Tuesdays. I hope you’ll join me!

I’m searching for a seed
of a story
that shows flowers after showers
like Chaucer says.

Instead, I’m back in eleventh grade
Memorizing The Canterbury Tales
Recording my performance on cassette
in a closet off the classroom.

Is this a real memory? It must be.
For decades I’ve randomly
thought, “Whan that Aprill…” and wondered
Does everyone else remember the rest but me?

So I get it, Chaucer
with the showers then the flowers
I just don’t think you knew
how long the rain can last.

I’m looking for poetry challenges. Today I found one by checking out Ethical ELAs prompt:: “April Showers Bring May Flowers”