Edgewise

Day 68 prompt: friendships

Fleeting

the one who never lunched again,

after she started working somewhere else

  Fragile

the bond that broke, irreparable,

when I uttered one wrong word

  Forsaken

the lifetime confidante who betrayed me,

choosing to empathize with another at my expense

  Forever

the conversation that feels like just yesterday,

even when our talks are weeks or months apart

  Fortunate

the compatible co-worker whose connection grows,

Day 67 prompt: motion

  Teaching children to make a joyful noise

Sometimes the lyrics are hard

Ancient terms they’ve not encountered

Long words they can barely pronounce

So we make up motions

And somehow, body plus voice

Plants the song deep in the singer’s heart

Day 66 prompt: lots & lots & lots 

(a limerick)

On Twitter your posts are confined

To one-forty-character lines

Through retweets and replies

These short notes can fly

Day 65 prompt: reflect

  You might reject

The path I trekked

As incorrect

And I can’t object

  For I recollect

That in effect

I didn’t disinfect

Before I necked

With a crime suspect

  Eight men he decked

Drugs did inject

Six cars he wrecked

Children did neglect

  Yet we did connect

On a flight direct

When he helped protect

People I respect

  So now I reflect

On what to expect

When I intersect

With one who you reject

  There is no effect

When you coldly elect

To disrespect

Day 64 prompt: slam on the brakes

  On my way to work

Passenger seat occupied

By valuable essentials

Briefcase, purse, laptop

  Squirrel in the road

Slam on the brakes

Gripping at ten and two

Belongings worth

Thousands of dollars

Hurtle to the floor

  God damn it!

  On my way to anywhere

Passenger seat occupied

By my firstborn child

Tall, strong teen in headphones

  Squirrel in the road

Slam on the brakes

Reaching fast to the right

A futile reflex to protect

The child whose eyes roll

As he adjusts his seatbelt

Day 63 prompt: the letter E

  enormous ernestine

empress of east moline

  eats Eggs over easy

every evening til queasy

  but effects an exception

if there’s an election

  then Eclairs and Eels

enter into her meals

  her epicurean ecstasy

Day 62 prompt: ordinary

I think and talk and write for pay

I rarely ever miss a day

“High performer,” so they said

I thought I would get ahead

But jobs get cut and budgets shrink

Day 61 prompt: flight

   swipe

the bar top

place

five

spotless

glasses

  straight line

evenly spaced

delicate stems

supporting

voluptuous bowls

  present each bottle

stroke each label

announce each variety,

region and vintage

  pour

  just two ounces

just enough

to study,

sniff,

sip

Day 60 prompt: door

  a breath

of an idea

whispers

its way in

and quietly

starts

inflating

balloons in

my imagination

one after

another

until their

colors

and fullness

leave

no space

for any

other

thought

so

I pull

open the

door

and set

them

tumbling

Day 59 prompt: chocolate

  In my office

I have files

Bins and boxes

And some piles

  Things to read

Things to do

Things out from

And things in to

  Most of this

Is meant to share

Work to complete

Then send out there

  But one box stays

Protected here

It holds the stuff

I hold most dear

  It’s hidden high

Up on that shelf

My chocolate stash

Day 58 prompt: yellow

  warning

yellow baby

jaundice

severe enough

for concern

  leave her?

no! show us

what to do

we yield to

your advice

  handle with care

use this

billi blanket

more like a glow stick

for her torso

  caution

keep her

by a window all day

nurse and nurse

and nurse and nurse

  slowly

with careful cuddles

and loving light

yellow baby

Day 57 prompt: stuffed animals

(a haiku)

  at feeding time I

follow the zookeeper to

Day 56 prompt: cheese

Grate it

Perk that plate of pasta

  Shave it

Sharpen a Caesar salad

  Bake it

Mound up molten maccaroni

  Dice it

Poke in picks for appetizer

  Slice it

Stack into a sandwich

  Melt it

Fold into fragrant fondue

  Fry it

Order up some opa!

  Say it

Shine your smile at the shutter

  Cut it

Day 55 prompt: spring

  Sandy sleeps

dreaming

of catnip or

a goldfish freed

from its bowl

  Shiver …

  Sandy stirs

ears twitching

at a disturbance

I don’t even

see or hear

  Stretch …

  Sandy starts

suddenly upright

head near tail

her spine an

inverted U

  Spring!

  Sandy shoots

pink padded paws

to trap the cricket …

who didn’t stand

a chance

Day 54 prompt: plastics

(try singing it to the tune of Ode to Joy!) 

Dune Buggy Baby, Operation

Fisher Price Little People nation

Simon, Inch Worm, Bristle Blocks

Most of the tools in my sandbox

Rubik’s Cube and Lego bricks

Squirt Guns and my Giggle Stick

Lemon Twist, Deluxe Viewmaster

Big Wheel so I travel faster

  Doctor kit in a small black pouch

Action figures in the couch

Etch-a-Sketch and Lite Brite pegs

Easy Bake: look Mom, no eggs!

Barbie Beach Bus and Dream House

Colorforms of Mickey Mouse

Tumblin’ Monkeys, Potato Head

Baby dolls all over my bed

  Ants in the Pants and Hippity Hop

Weebles wobble but don’t drop

Rockem Sockem Robots, Pez

Rubber Ducky in a fez

Hungry Hippos, Hot Wheels tracks

Whistle pulled from Cracker Jacks

All these toys are so fantastic

Day 53 prompt: alive 

Alert and active

Listening, looking, learning

I am intent on

Voicing my views and