NaPoWriMo #25 "But Wait--"

But Wait--

The eerie howling I hear
is nothing but the wind.
Or so I tell myself.
The voices from the
heating vent
are nothing but a radio
in a neighbor’s apartment.
That’s the comfort I give myself.
The bumps in the night
are nothing but the creakings
of an old house settling.
I’m sure that’s all it is.
The cat’s low hissing must
mean a mouse is visiting.
What else could it be?
But wait—

****
I will come back to this because today has beaten me to a pulp. At least I'm tenacious!

NaPoWriMo #24--"Writer's Block"

Writer’s Block

When students struggle with writing papers

they often tell me it’s because of “writer’s block.”

“Nonsense,” I boom.  “There is no such thing,

especially in this kind of paper. Not a lot of

creativity involved!” And there’s not.

Actually, after years working as a reporter.

I learned that in non-fiction, writer’s block

is a luxury none can afford.  With strict deadlines,

Bob’s yer uncle, the writing gets done.

All the impetus in the world to churn out prose.

But tonight, as I said, “I have to write today’s

poem,” I heard myself mumble,

“But I have writer’s block!” I laughed,

opened a WORD file, and lo, a poem was born.

Have a strict deadline, and Mary’s yer auntie,

the poem gets done. It might be weak, it might

be silly, but it’s there, a start. As I tell students:

there’s something to this discipline thing, so WRITE.

NaPoWriMo #21--"Earth Day 2015"

Earth Day 2015

This is the day we celebrate Earth

and remember that  we are called

to stewardship.  Our footprints grown

so large. But a good steward is chary—

caring. Growth and conservation,

carefully balanced.  Here in this

booming desert, no large celebration.

This land of oil’s riches, but sand,

as well, the conduit needed for

the power of the sun. One is

running out, the other abundant.

May we be good stewards—

Protecting our charge for the

grandchildren’s children. 

********

There is so much I wanted to write about today, but after grade 25 term papers, I just can't!  Happy Earth Day

NaPoWriMo #21 -- "Upon A Yawn"

Upon a Yawn

I thought it was a simple exchange of gases:

my brain both needed to bring in oxygen

and dump the carbon dioxide. Shallow

breathing brought on by tiredness has

all my balances askew. But then I learned

that it might just be that my brain is

overheated and needs to cool. I think I

like that idea better. It certainly feels as if

my brains are boiling at times. But if that is so,

drinking hot tea (even though mint and

green) probably isn’t helping the situation.

The cause isn’t all that important. As long as

I don’t gape at students. They gawp at me,

and I take umbrage. I really do. At least cover

your mouth! “Am I boring you?” I sweetly ask.

One had the temerity to say, “Yeah, sorta.”

My haughty “I heartily beg your pardon” clued him

in to his faux-pas. Well, the second one. No one does

haughty like me in a snit. Perhaps, though, my

body is telling me “take a rest.” I think that’s it.

Good thought, but work beckons, so once more

into the breach; the quivering nostrils the only

clue to the quietly stifled sign of a teacher’s lot.

NaPoWriMo #20--"Grading"

Grading

 

Words upon words upon words,

piled one after the other in a

dizzying array. Sometimes with

meaning, but many times

meaningless, empty, filler.

Meant to boost a word count

not understanding.

“No joy in the writer, no joy in the reader,”

the old axiom. Not only no joy,

no care, no understanding, no

desire for anything but an “A”

without the effort it demands.

Palpable frustration the grader’s lot;

Much to be said on this, but no time—

the list of papers seemingly endless.

 

***

It's the end of term, and sometimes the frustration spills out. It's not really this bad! I actually have a number of very talented and hardworking students. But at this time of the year, it's the bad apples that stand out--human nature, right?

 

 

NaPoWriMo #19--Food Haiku

Magical flavor.

With neither butter nor scotch.

Childhood memory.

      ***

Pierce the skin, juice bursts,

smelling of earth and sunshine.

Taste now lost to time.

      ***

 

Scratchy thorns protect

blackberries from tiny hands.

But Pop saves the day.

******************

Exhausting day at work, so three memories: butterscotch, tomatoes stolen from the garden, picking blackberries with my grandfather. Pathetic, but determined not to miss a day.

NaPoWriMo #16--"To Cheren"

To Cheren 

Just sitting here, contemplating

how much I’ve overeaten (overhungry

and ate too fast), bemoaning that full-

to-bursting feeling, when a sweet memory

comes out of nowhere: “Too Much Food Night!”

And suddenly, there she is, full-blown.

She asked me if I ever had those nights—

order everything off the menu for delivery,

go to bed with a movie and “too much food!”

She was a woman of muchness—much love,

much joy, much humor. We met over food—

a stranger through a newsletter asked me

to send her mélasse from Switzerland.

She’d send me money, she promised.

This before PayPal and QuickPays.

A young one, sweet, begging for

a jar of golden childhood memory.

I took a chance, sent the jar,

a friendship was born.

Parcels exchanged—fruit pastilles from London,

clogs from Sweden to her.  A matryoshka doll

and Indian tea, brass and shawl to me. Much email,

her in the US, me in Europe. A penfriend forged

over love of food and travel.

One sweet visit, a dinner etched in memory.

Planning more—a nice long visit, but then—

An illness.

Phone calls.

Love.

Gone too soon.

But still here, still in our memories:

Ever beautiful, ever smiling, and ever,

for ever, lest this be too solemn, the wiseass.