April 2016 Poem A Day - #18 Restless

the prompt was to write an office poem

Restless.

The day Jim said
"You could retire from here,
head of a department."
"Just give it time." he said
That same day I went into the big boss
and gave my two weeks notice.
I feared it would be true
that Jim was right
and I couldn't let that happen.
"What can we do to keep you," they asked me.
And so from then on
I had Wednesdays off
every Wednesday.
Monday, Tuesday, Day off.
Thursday, Friday, Two days off.
It wasn't enough.
I lasted another year
then moved on.

April 2016 Poem A Day # 17 - a Haiku

Haiku day
.
For fifteen years now
warming my life, chair, lap, bed:
small bread-colored cat

April 2016 Poem A Day #16 - My Order

The prompt was go to a restaurant and write a poem there - or write a poem about eating out....


My order

I want a small order
not a plateful big enough for ten
I don't want butter or salt
Forget the meat, not today
I don't want a lot of sugar
or while flour or grease
Don't bring me green vegetables
cooked into a grey green blob
no wilted lettuce no
clump of white rice
Don't bring any soda
no creamer either
Wait.
.
I'm going home for lunch.

April 2016 Poem A Day #15 In The Gallery

For this prompt a set of words were given, an instructions were to pick four to use in the poem:

flat ring lavish gaudy vessel paper tooth blacklist 

In the Gallery

the statue wore a flat gold ring of gaudy teeth
around its marble neck, a lavish emblem
of artistic excess or social extreme
.
each tooth covered in scrimshaw
ceremonial pictures
for a biting afternoon
.
A critic in the paper said
the show should be blacklisted
or delisted or at the least recycled.
.
No one
read the review.

April 2016 Poem A Day #14 Avoidance Syndrome

Temporary Avoidance Syndrome

Decades ago I sang in noisy bars
a couple times a month
four forty-minute sets
songs of my own construction.
Between sets, for
15 minutes, I'd hide
outside in the car
or in the restroom stall
to think or read a book
too shy too introverted
needing to gather
my strength
to navigate the next set
and during each song
break the social contract
take off the daily mask

April 2016 Poem A Day #13 The Last Rain

The Last Rain

trickled off over hardened parched earth
didn't stop to water a plant
fled down hill but
in the terrible heat
shrank into vapor
failed to reach the streambed
didn't say goodbye
or write a note
to the mysterious properties
of a lovely storm.
Maybe next season.

April 2016 Poem A Day #12 Cafe Faux Pas

The prompt was write a silly or a serious poem. Obviously I went silly today.


Cafe Faux Pas

Coffee with cocoa
Coffee with loco
and a side of sly
caffeine
to keep up
the dream of busy
days.
While I'm scratching my head
they bring decafe instead.
Now I's ready for bed. :(