She broke a vase
The shriek was loud
She broke his heart
The silence was deafening.
He forgot his homework
He wrote 50 lines
He forgot his vows
He rewrote familial lines.
He stole a bicycle
His mother’s smack stung
He stole her innocence
His community’s curses clung.
She left home for work
She worried about home
She left work for home
She worried about work.
He drank to forget
He drowned in regret.
She stifled her dreams
Guilt drowned her instead.
—————-
DAILY PROMPT ~ GUILTY
Do you jiggle when you giggle?
Do you fist pump when you chortle?
Do you whack your companion when you guffaw?
Do you cackle till you hiccup?
Do your eyes crinkle when you chuckle?
Do you wipe spittle when you titter?
Does your bark scare the pigeons?
Does your bray cause dogs to bark?
If laughter is the best medicine,
Tell me –
Why does it split your sides?
And then put you in stitches?
—————
DAILY PROMPT ~ LAUGHTER
There’s the thin green line
That begins at the gutter
And runs down the wall.
No plumber or contractor ever detected its origin.
So it stays
As a scar on the weathered facade.
There’s the crooked copper line
That starts at the base of the bathtub faucet
And worms itself stubbornly into the drainage hole.
No stain remover or bleach ever made a difference.
So no one uses the tub
With its abberation against the snowy enamel.
There’s the terra cotta line
That seeps from under the dragon pot
And bleeds its way into the neighbour’s plot.
No patching with fresh soil ever fills the hardened trough.
So the neighbours have called a truce
Over this border without a fence.
There’re the pale silvery lines
That weep from beneath closed lids
And trickle down facial planes.
No medicine will heal the wounds.
So hope waits
For belief to touch the soul.
————–
DAILY PROMPT ~ RIVULET
Gone are the days of thirst and heat.
Long lost is the warmth of a noon-day beach.
iPods, iPads, even I, Tonya repeatedly re-visited.
Marshmallow toasties,
Mum’s backyard campfires,
Evenings now spent just wishing to perspire.
“Relax!” springs forth from the exhuberant young miss. “I’m back!”
… finally!
————–
DAILY PROMPT ~ GLIMMER
You saunter by each weekday
In your suit and backpack.
Talking on your mobile
Starbucks in hand.
You sail by each weekend
In your hipster clothes and scooter
Plugged in, singing
Someplace to go.
You struggle by each evening
Every step an effort
A victory against debilitation
Survival of the fittest.
You sashay by each Thursday
In your designer workout gear
Smiling at your phone
Sun salutations await.
You stroll by every Tuesday and Friday
Okay, sometimes you jog
Eyes ever alert
Stylish dogs on leashes.
You strut by every daylight hour
In your feathery finery
Sometimes you coo
Sometimes you poo.
You stomp by every Wednesday
In your too-tight uniform
You hate your job, don’t you?
Scowling won’t make it better.
I see you all
I see more than I should.
I am not invisible.
It is you who do not see.
————–
DAILY PROMPT ~ INVISIBLE
Where were you last night?
And the night before?
What is this strange scent?
Whose glove is this by the door?
Where were you last weekend?
Why didn’t you answer my call?
Was it you that made the hinge squeak at 5?
You know, from the door in the hall?
What’s this red petal on your collar?
What’s this stain on your coat?
What have you been up to?
What’s this smudge on your throat?
You really are a wandering minstrel
You tiny rescued scoundrel
You really need to mend your ways
Because I’ll follow you out one day.
————-
DAILY PROMPT ~ SUSPICIOUS
I insist on being polite
And have raised the kids to be so.
I persist in believing there is kindness and good
Even when there are bullies and sadists, I know.
Why can’t we resist the urge to insult or taunt?
To hurt with words or deeds?
Can’t the world consist of more angels and givers
Than narcissists or brokers of power and greed?
Be a synthesist of hope and humanity
Cease and desist with the cruelty and hate.
Build bridges and bonds of love and faith
Spread honour, kindness and trust instead.
————–
DAILY PROMPT ~ INSIST
Go tidy your room
Go read your book
Go practise your violin
Go do your homework
It’s now 10 pm
It’s time to sleep
It’s now 6 am
It’s time to wake
Go for your tuition
Go for your class
Go for your practice
Go for your game
Why can’t you be
More like your cousins?
They’re doing so well
You are so useless
Go revise your work
Go take your vitamins
Go clean your shoes
Go wash your bottle
You are so lacking
In initiative and imagination
You are so useless
You can’t do anything.
—————
DAILY PROMPT ~ STIFLE
