Reverse Advertising (Poem Just for Fun)

Alternative Title - "I'll Keep My Old Wife Thank You."

Sale streamers flutter at me
Like a flirtatious look from a new wife
Come hither, they call from the street.

I step out of the shadowy afternoon
And into the brassy showroom.
I am showered with flowered guises.

They parade on stage, tufted, or buttoned,
Pink petals, pert and perky.
Their frames, flexible yet strong.

Their looks hold up well under these conditions.
But what, after the turn of twenty years,
and the weight of bouncing of children?

In front of me, a taught one shimmers.
A butt so firm, it’s quarter worthy.
THAT one would promise me no rest.

Over there, another advertises,
"No springs" - and dreams fit for a King.
Her sighs are silvered whispers.

I turn to go and she tugs me back,
"I promise an unforgettable memory -
and I know how to not spill the wine."

But I know better.

In one soft exhalation, she would return to her former state,
And welcome a new lover without giving me
a second thought. So much for remembrance.

I think I’ll keep my old one.
She’s saggy in all the right spots,
And knows which side I sleep on.

Who cares what they look like anyway?
No one ever sees them naked.
Except maybe for a few minutes in the spring,
when we air them out on Sunday.

Grief

It ricochets off the walls,
a push here, a pull there,
on the hunt
for a weakened seam.

I know
if it finds one
it will unfurl
and fill all the space

like an automatic lifeboat
expanding,
sucking in all the oxygen,
a balloon
of unwanted air.

Until fully bloated
it displaces everything
and crushes it
beneath.

So I clutch my fingers
over my belly,
and will it
to stay
inside.

Reclaimed

Reclaimed

Hot sand refracts and cakes
gritty on sinking soles.
Mirrored shards in waiting
reflect the wave’s laughing children.
Their foamy tongues lap and tickle
between grips of loamy toes.

There for an instant they hang
until reclaimed by their mother.
The sea’s grasping hairs
pull rivulets in undertow
and the very ground beneath me
disappears.

I have copyrighted your underwear. Be warned.

Ok, so I have completely lost my mind and I am participating in Nanowrimo.

In an effort to carve out a little more time, I have written a letter to my kids.

The link to the letter is below:

Letter to my kids:

I thought it was hilarious.

My kids - not so much!

I guess have no future in comedy!

All the same - I hope I finish my goal and write a 50k novel in 30 days.

Wish me luck!

#whyiwrite

Today is the National Writing Project's Why I Write: A Celebration of the National Day on Writing

It's made me stop and think a lot about why I write.

I write because it's an opportunity to explore my creative side. As a busy wife and mother, with a job at OSU and a family business to keep going - I don't have much time to be creative.

Writing lets me make the most of my creative moments. There are no limits. I can explore so many things - my soul, the lives of others, language, even imaginary worlds.

I also write because I am fascinated by the power of words. How things can be communicated, both successfully and unsuccessfully, based on word choice and word order. I love things like connotation, denotation, and context. I love to explore the aspects of language.

But mostly - I write because it's good for me.

And if I get good enough - Perhaps someday it will be 'good' for you too!

Why do you write?

Have a great day. Happy Thursday!

Chris

Book Recommendation: David Orr’s Beautiful and Pointless * * * * *

I greatly enjoyed David Orr’s book Beautiful and Pointless.

It is intended to be an introduction to understanding modern poetry. I found the book to be interesting, enlightening, and well written. I was surprised and pleased with the unexpected humor found in the book.

I appreciated Orr’s examples and poetry recommendations. I now have several new artists to investigate.

I felt a kinship to Orr and his writing, as well as his take on poetry. I’m sincerely grateful someone recommended this book to me.

This week I’m reading The Discovery of Poetry by Frances Mayes (which I found mentioned in an Amazon review of Orr’s book), and Edge by Jeffery Deaver.

I think the Mayes book is going to be really good. It already made me cry, and I'm not even through the first chapter.

Relevant references:
Amazon Link to Beautiful and Pointless.

OSU library link to Beautiful and pointless.

OSU Library call number:
808.1
075b

Happy reading!

Odd Thomas

I have been reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. I'm not a big scary book fan. I am more into suspense. But I've been struck by the poetry in Koontz's writing.

It really amazes me how it is written. Like this:

"The soft features of his wan face brought to mind pale mushrooms that I once glimpsed in a dark dank corner of a basement, mealy puffballs clustered in a moist mounds of forest mast." Dean Koontz - Odd Thomas

Now that's a whole lot different than saying perhaps - He had a pale mushy face. There is a greater depth of description, and it's beautiful.

I also liked this -

"She served it hot, kissing plate to counter without a rattle, as she always does." Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas

What a depth of meaning in two short lines. I love it.

I've been using the Stephen King principle in my writing (KISS), just tell the story and get it done, don't put too many ruffles on it. But when I get good - really good - I hope I have some flavor of Koontz in my writing.

King doesn't seem to think much of Koontz. Go figure.

Luckily - I can love them both. Who do you think is better?

Happy Thursday!