#1524 (#204)

another day sick

and those guilty feelings come

up and keep me down

#1523 (#203)

a day wasted, sick.

when the time wasting backfires.

and poor ozzy gone.

#1522 (#202)

the kitchen graveyard:

a place too hot for insects,

yet they keep coming.

#1521 (#201)

fuzzy blob moving

behind him in the teams call

i want to warn but…

#1520 (#200)

two dead deer this week

in an urban area

what paths did they take?

#1519 (#199)

penalty shoot-out

stress relieved only when the

players surge forward

#1518 (#198)

sat at the red light

a tropical roundabout

con- fuses and founds

#1517 (#197)

under the linden

our conjugal affection

flowers and we yield

#45

a quiet morning

trying silent recycling.

but it's just so hard -

the paper is no problem,

but my god, the tins! the tins!

#1516 (#196)

covered paddling pool

looking like a prized sports car

now falling apart

#1515 (#195)

the cool and the breeze

watching the clothes sway gently

in their own relief

#1514 (#194)

so busy, no rest,

no time to see a topic

as the sun beats down

#1513 (#193)

flattened ginkgo trunk

the only evidence of

the house that stood there

#1512 (#192)

stubby tail squirrel

is it extra nervous or

am I projecting?

#1511 (#191)

fond memories of

time spent under the ginkgo

its leaves fanning us

#1510 (#190)

the scattered smashed glass

of the old nurseries lies

where plants used to grow

#1509

a face silhouette 

smile, prettiness, crookedness

each now paid no mind

---

From words on page 198 of Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh (Vintage, 2022).

#1508 (#189)

overgrown pot plants

always a backlog of these/things

that need to be done

#1507 (#188)

a sunset painting +

a tropical paradise =

work from home daydreams

#1506

more control to breathe

beneath her flesh she had

grown pride and space

---

From words on page 198 of Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh (Vintage, 2022).

#1505 (#187)

to use mine freely

the way a child’s is cut loose:

(imagination)

#1504 (#186)

to those that i write

but lose before they’re written -

wait for me beyond

#1503 (#185)

when the night moves fast

and you know that you've slept well

yet cannot grow light

*

The feeling of heaviness after what should have been a decent night’s sleep but it felt like it went by too quickly, completely dreamless, and somehow without relaxation, and now you can’t shake that weighty feeling that comes from a lack of sleep.

#1502

deep breath and new strength,

mountains, river, waterfall,

green hills, forests, sky

---

From words on page 170 of The Magician's Nephew by C.S.Lewis (HarperCollins, 1955/2009).

#1501 (#184)

at the edge of things

in the liminal spaces

we find space to talk

#1500

youth falls asleep and

lilac petals are scattered

across battlefields

---

Written for the Tricycle February 2024 May Challenge using the Spring season word, lilac, but was not entered.

#1499 (#183)

i was once tallest

these young ones all look down

as i used to do

#1498 (#182)

it looks down on us

through its awesome golden crust -

pasty in the sky