Poetics – The Photography of Phyllis Galembo – Nightmares

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I awaken

Sweating

Trembling

It was there again.

Hideous

Staring

Puzzling

 

The substance of nightmares

The masks that invade my sleep

Take me on rapid journeys

Always along for the ride, no control.

 

Coming at me

Back away

Push

Slip

Slide

No use

It’s on me

 

My mother comforts me

I recall the mask, the moments

She holds me against her

I am saved, until… next time.

 

Breathing deep

Gasping

Scream

Stammering

Crying

A child

Innocence

Not again.

 

Old age has mellowed me

Such images worry me, don’t scare now

But I keep a distance, safety first

One never knows what slumber might bring.

 

Written for: http://dversepoets.com/2014/04/15/poetics-the-photography-of-phyllis-galembo/

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Haibun Thinking: Week 13 – The Monkey Cage

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My brother and I stand back and look happily on the now half finished monkey cage. There’s a good week before the cage has to be completed. My brother stands back in his working clothes, dusty from the dust generated from sanding down the timbers of the cage. He took many days to meticulously paint, made harder by the cold winter winds as he has to work outdoors.

He is very committed to the project, it’s taken him several months to achieve a life like cage, the play it is for wants and demands a sense of reality about the props he constructs. The director will travel up tomorrow to inspect his work. We both know he will be impressed as he has used my brother in many of his earlier productions.

Knowing the cage has to be strong enough to hold a child, care has been taken to realise such a factor in the construction. The cage when finished will travel to its theatre, protected from the weather, which this time of year is often unkind to anything exposed to it.

The children involved in the production, Roald Dahl’s ‘The Twits’, will be excited when they see the precision that has gone into the construction of their prop.

 

production in May

autumn oranges painted

all for a good show

 

Written for: http://haibunthinking.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/haibun-thinking-week-13-april-15th-2014/

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Photo Challenge #4 “Figments of Inertia” – Hectic Days

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Some days are so hectic

All these children

Why I ask myself?

 

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gurglegurglegurglewahwahwahjurjurjurblahblahbladgimmegimmegimme
wahwahwahhahahahapokepokepokeitsmineitsmineitsminenononogoawaygoawaygo

 

Where’s your father?

He’s in the pub.

How will I cope?

 

blahblahblahgimmegimmegimmeiwannaiwannaiwannahehitmehehitmehehitme
gurglegurglegurglewahwahwahjurjurjurblahblahbladgimmegimmegimme
wahwahwahhahahahapokepokepokeitsmineitsmineitsminenononogoawaygoawaygo

 

Please pick up your mess.

Wait till he gets home.

Just a moment’s peace is all I ask.

 

Candice stop picking your noseCheryl leave your brother aloneAlistair come insideJackie get your head out of that bookJenny no you can’tBrian you and Georgia set the tablePenny change Tommy’s pants he’s wet againHelen its your turn to wash upjust stop it you kids are driving me crazy – I’m frazzled.

 

The children are lawless

There’s so many I’m lost

There’s never any quiet.

 

I feel I’m a machine

If I can just rest my head

Oh no what now?

 

I dream of days away from them

Laying beside on an Hawaiian beach

Flowers in my hair, no child within cooee.

 

Candice blow your noseCheryl leave your sister aloneAlistair get outsideJackie get yourself in and clean the toiletJenny yes you can after you wipeupBrian you andGeorgia clear the tablePenny dress Tommy he needs clean pajamasHelen It’s your turn to dust just stop it you kids are driving me crazy I think I’m frazzled.

 

If I lie here very still

They may think I’m not here

Maybe leave me alone.

blahblahblahgimmegimmegimmeiwannaiwannaiwannahehitmehehitmehehitme
gurglegurglegurglewahwahwahjurjurjurblahblahbladgimmegimmegimme
wahwahwahhahahahapokepokepokeitsmineitsmineitsminenononogoawaygoawaygo
Oh no!

Kill me

Now!

Written for: http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/photo-challenge-4-figments-of-inertia-2/

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Poem 115 – Solitude

solo-tree

Awakening

A car goes by

Silence

I lie still

What day is it?

Oh Saturday.

Shopping

More silence.

 

Time to reflect

Time to gather self

Time to take stock

Time for me.

 

My aloneness

Is ok

I am used to me

Me is ok.

Me plays fair

Me laughs at my jokes

Me loves my cooking

Me comforts me when down

Me loves me.

 

My world is big

Family is large

Love them, care for them

As they grow within themselves.

 

My solitude,

My space

Precious world.

To be invited in

You must be

Above special

Unique.

See me

As me.

 

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Wordle #4 – Going up?

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As my soul winged its way upwards, at least I was hoping it was upwards, you lose all sense of direction when you are thinking you are in pursuit of salvation of any kind. I couldn’t help but reflect on the previous twenty minutes of my life. The avenue had been shattered by the bellowing of the banshee who called herself my wife. Gone were the lyrical tones she had employed so often in the neighbourhood to woo and to cajole all about her to her own point of view.

She had stood on the stairwell, the rolling pin in her hand banishing it about as she warned me of the consequences of my continual use of her credit card.

It had never been a problem before, as she had not discovered my actions and what I thought was just her letting off steam as she did on the regular basis turned out to be a tad more serious than I anticipated. What day would go by without that now familiar furrow forming across her brow as she found something new within the house to exercise her ire which one could see salivating over the prospect of making my life as crap as possible.

The whole issue was over my purchase of the twenty-five rolls of aluminium foil. I had heard from my usual voices and informants that the aliens were coming and in my desire to protect my family, the foil was to make alien helmets which we all know would be needed to stop the aliens from frying our brains. Her argument, which was, as always completely disjointed, and a whole lot of whohah as far as I was concerned suddenly took an unexpected turn.

 

These clouds I am moving through seem to be getting warmer, maybe I am not going up as I thought.

 

Written for: http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/wordle-4/

 

 

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Prompt 51 Complete Bafflement – Emotions

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Why you?

Why me?

I ask myself this every day.

How did this happen?

What occurred to plunge me into this confusion?

This disbelief?

My emotions thrown into disarray.

What began in all innocence

Has blown out to a situation

Way beyond any expectation.

I thought I was beyond such things

My day long past

Content now in my world

No stresses, no responsibilities.

I recall your invitation

Would you mind?

Could we?

Ok why not.

Innocent enough.

The thrill of the chase

Just a game nothing more

All over by next week.

Then there was more

Another invite, more words

A question, then two.

Truths stated

Emotions peeked,

A miracle?

Fate?

I’m too old?

Now I long for you

And still I ask

Why me?

Why you?

 

Written for: http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/prompt-51-complete-bafflement/

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All in a word – Come on Darl!

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Darl? Darl? Have you mown the lawn yet? Darl? Darl?

What?

I said Darl have you mown the lawn yet? Darl it has to be mown. The Roberts-Koch’s will be here at three and you know what they are like, gossip is our business is who they are. I did ask you yesterday Darl and said you’d do it. And what about the weeding, the patio needs sweeping and the dog’s left a very nasty mess on the step.

What?

Darl you never listen to a word I say do you. It’s the Roberts-Koch and you know how important it is to me that everything be nice when they get here. Now are you going to do the lawns the weeds and the dog poo or not?

I’ll do it after the game. Last quarter is on. It’s very close, our guys might up.

Darl this is important, the footy is on every week. Do you expect me to do everything? I cook, I wash and iron, I vacuum, I dust, I’m worn out Darl worn out.

I said I’d do it.

I know you did Darl but I want everything to look nice you know what I’m like.

I sure do.

Oh don’t be like that if we make the right impression Georgia Roberts-Koch will invite us to join the club and you know how I’d love to join the club. Think of the prestige, the social contacts we’ll make.

Yeah I’m thrilled.

Come on Darl do it for me, will you. Only take you a couple of hours and the place will look lovely don’t you think?

The place always looks special. I work like a galley slave to keep the lawns mown, the weeding done, the patio cleaned and I never wanted a dog.

Oh come on Darl, Cheryl’s a lovely little puppy, so cuddly and friendly.

Yeah and craps on my freshly mown lawn.

Oh Darl come on I’ll get the mower out for you.

You aren’t going to let up about this are you?

No Darl I’m not. Its important you see. Come on I never ask you for much.

No you don’t. But in the interests of my sanity and my ears I’ll do it. Did you buy the petrol for the mower?

The what?

 

Written for: http://13thfloorparadigm.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/all-in-a-word-april-13-2014/

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Bastet’s Shadorma Photo Prompt # 3 – A Past Time

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A doorway

Ornate opening

Lamps

Steps

Heralding a former time

Take a step forward.

 

Tentative

Wrought iron railings

Pensive

Questioning

Travelling back to days gone by

I pause to reflect

 

Written for: http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/bastets-shadorma-photo-prompt-3-2/

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Fairytale Prompt #3 – Wish.

dandelion1

In the bottom of my garden just now

There is a cluster of dandelions,

All standing tall dancing in the breeze.

 

I have watched them wondering

If I could be game, to pluck just one

Blow and send its seeds off into the wind.

 

For I have heard the tales, the myths, the dreams

Of wishing upon a breath, as they float away

To who knows where, who knows when?

 

I ask myself when I stand among them

Has my day passed, my time long gone

Will wishing be a foolish gesture?

 

For love has long gone, my time passed

I am alone and fate has conspired against me

Destitute and desolate I ponder my no future.

 

Be brave she had said, take a risk,

Follow your heart, what have you to lose

I pluck one head, hold it to my lips.

 

A single breathe and away they go

Drifting on the air, rising away from me

My wish I make, I close my eyes, I hope.

 

I hear my phone, I run inside

Its her, she has called, I am stunned

Yes of course, of course, tonight? At eight?

 

She has missed me, regrets past wrong

Wants to meet, patch us up, start again.

I smile, just as my heart, skips a beat.

 

Written for: http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/fairytale-prompt-3/

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Meeting The Bar – DIY – Inventing Your Own Form – Once Upon a Time

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Once upon a time when I was young

The paper came in the mornings

My mother made me breakfast.

 

Presidents and Popes

Who won who lost?

All on toast.

 

My days centred around school

A mile or so away by foot

A walk each morning, hail, rain or shine.

 

Frustrated women

Locked in bad habits

All in ink.

 

Books were rare many passed down my way

I was soon lost in new worlds, new friends

Famous Five, Biggles, Chums and all that.

 

Saturday library

A book for the week

Always read.

 

At school I learnt hard lessons, often.

Rote learning, times tables, maps,

Singing and weekly piano lesson.

 

School never pleasant

Meet expectation

All day.

 

Punishments, humourlessness prevailed

All day every day, saved by recess sport

Make up games of great import.

 

Cricket and footy

Establish your name

All at break.

 

No special programs, only a cuts tally

Greg Burgess way in front of everyone

Lazy Lawler locked in the cupboard all day.

 

The stick swung daily

No compromise ever

All for God.

 

My world so small, family influential

Dad worked, hard task master, unfair at times

My mother’s generation’s naïve view of the world.

 

Cocoon like living

We heard but never knew

All on air.

 

Once upon a time I lived in a closed world

Eyes were opened by history, literature

Knowledge, education, enlightenment.

 

Then I grew up

Perspective widened

All now good?

 

Creating my own form is a fascinating exercise. In many ways I feel I have done that in lots of the poems I have written. I don’t model on anyone even though I have read so many over the years and here in d’verse my eyes are constantly opened with every challenge.

So for me in this poem I have taken each tercet and coupled it with a structured three lines 5 -5 -3 syllable structure, along with using those three lines to add commentary to the tercet.

 

Written for: http://dversepoets.com/2014/04/10/meeting-the-bar-diy-inventing-your-own-form/

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