I tried to hurry through
and write a tanka today,
but “temporary insanity”
is eight syllables long,
and I only had space for seven.
Some days, I don’t
set the bar very high
for this project.
Today’s poetry prompts were:hurry, temporary insanity, and the bar.
Photo by RealToughCandy.com
I see myself sitting poolside, my pool boy in his tiny shorts skimming the cool blue water, and I ring a bell for someone to come bring me another iced tea. It’s so Gatsby. Though I am nowhere near the glitz, and nobody knows my name, don’t underestimate me. I’ll publish five books a year and be a millionaire before I’m done with this life.
Today’s poetry prompt words were: poolside, underestimate, and five.
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
The frequency
with which you hurt me
surprises me still.
I really put up
with all that
for so long?
I have a
dilemma of self,
because now,
who am I
without you?
I’m the girl
that keeps going,
nose to grindstone,
making the grade,
getting her heart broken
every single day.
Today’s poetry prompt words were: frequency, dilemma, and making the grade.
Photo by Deepak Gupta on Unsplash
The fight’s gone out of me, taken flight.
You’re here but not here, you’re there and gone.
I’m left empty, and why not? I deserve it.
Today’s poetry prompt words were: empty, flight, and why not?
Photo by Adil Sattarov on Unsplash
Another day is fading away and soon you won’t be here anymore. Your presence here has an expiration date, even though I don’t know what it is, or how I’ll get through it. You’re going to go, so I need to grow. I need to remember that I have wings too, and leaving the nest isn’t necessarily not an option. What a wonder it would be if I could get by without you, without my pills, without my therapist. What a wonder it will be if I do.
Today’s poetry prompt words were: expiration date, leaving the nest, and pills. … Read the rest
This isn’t a time out,
this is an end,
and I know now
it’s coming, soon.
We don’t need a
critical analysis or
more digging down
into our psyches to know
that we’ve gone
as far as we can go.
It’s not as easy as
sweeping the past
under a rug and hoping
to forget the mess.
What’s left here will linger.
What’s left here will poke
at my tortured heart
long, long after you’re gone.
Today’s poetry prompt words were: time out, critical analysis, and sweeping.
Photo by Joseph Sharp on Unsplash
Decades ago,
it’s been decades now,
you and I shared space
in the same place
at the same time
and the fact that
was even possible
feels like magic.
Now all I have are
memories and imaginations,
like the lump of my belly
growing with our baby
and the house we
would have bought together,
the home we would
have made forever.
Remember marching
up the sand dunes to see
the most beautiful sunset
of our entire lives?
Do you remember dancing
at Limelight, utterly high with the
flashing lights and pulsing music,
our sweaty bodies sliding
against each other … Read the rest
If only things
had worked out
the way I’d wished they would
We’d be opening gifts and
taking photos in front of
our first Christmas tree
But now I wish you
weren’t here, and instead
I’m planning my exit strategy.
Today’s poetry prompt words were: if only, dinner, and exit strategy.
Photo by Andrew Abbate on Unsplash
