The old Singer stands in the corner waiting,
legs still slim and pretty, veneer still holding,
though the years have left their scars.
And sometimes I let her sing again,
let her merrily ‘chat-chat-chat-chat-chat’
as we pass the cloth back and forth,
like old times.
But yesterday I sat with threaded needle and
quietly sewed by hand.
She seems to sleep more now a days,
in her corner, on her slim and pretty legs.
#266
Solve, Solver, Resolve
Revolve, Revolver, Revolter,
Loiterer, Reorient, Overtire,
Retrieve, Reliever, Relieves,
Reviles, Restive, Sterile,
Toilers, Outliers, Resolute,
Troubles, Absolute, Tableaus,
Adulates, Adulate, Default,
Deflate, Floated, Bloated,
Albedos, Absolved, Absolve.
#265
In case you didn’t notice – each word is only one letter away from the one before it, either a letter was added, dropped, or swapped. I enjoyed the scenarios that played through my imagination as I progressed through the evolution from solve to absove; hope you do too 🙂
I had a dream last night
of walking down a familiar street yet
the houses were old and gray
and I was young.
The air was cool and unbreathed and
seethed with ideas unthought,
dreams only starting to prickle the edge
of consciousness.
I had a dream last night
of a familiar place in an unfamiliar time.
Night fell like a silent blanket and no light shone
but the ghosts of candles
lighting the path for late wayfarers,
and the liquid glow of starlight and moonlight
playing on edges and dabbling ponds.
I had a dream last night,
then I awoke to the song of the wild goose calling
goodbye.
#264
Friends forever fly apart
so slowly,
and now somehow you are somewhere
on this planet but I have no idea
where that is
and I have trouble remembering
my grandchildren’s birthdays
yet I can always remember yours.
Happy birthday, friend of my childhood,
wherever you are.
#263
The Meaning of Life
lives in a candy store jar
without a label.
The jar is never
full or in the same spot twice,
except when it is.
The candy inside
is sweet, sour, and salty
all at the same time.
The tang on your tongue
makes you shake your head and wince
and yet you want more.
The candy store is
open and yet you stand with
your nose to the glass.
The Meaning of Life
is just taking what you need
and leaving the rest.
#262
I was afraid of heights
then I felt the wind rush ‘neath my wings,
dwelt in the mindless joy of the dive, swoop, and reel,
hung motionless and watched the world spin beneath me
and when I awoke I felt your breathe on my shoulder and
somehow it was not a dream.
I was afraid of the dark
then I opened my eyes to the hidden colours of black
and saw the auras shining, blue-green, gold, red,
pulsing around tree and leaf, rock and sand, ocean and raindrop,
eagle and ant.
I watched them shimmer and breathe and
when I awoke I watched your shadow emerge
from the darkness beside me and
somehow it was not a dream.
I was afraid of thunder and lightning
then I rode a grey, rumbling mantle across the sky,
drawn by an electric destiny I leapt into your arms
freefalling a jagged streak
we crashed and flashed our meeting and
when I awoke the smell of ozone lingered around us and
somehow it was not a dream.
I used to be afraid of losing you but
I’m not anymore.
It is not a dream.
#261
Always a faint hope
doing stuff I’ve always done
might yield new results.
Always a vague thought
that results may not reflect
a lot of what’s true.
Always a slight chance
that I’m overthinking things.
I do that a lot.
#260
With basket empty,
Farmers’ Market bound am I
to fill the basket.
Whole grain bread, honey,
eggs, tomatoes, yellow beans,
Into the basket.
Unpack the basket
taste the sunshine, soil, and rain
of the Peace Country.
#259
What are you searching for?
I may touch upon
a chord that sings for you
but still…
the notes will eventually fade
and you will be on your own again
to search or to create a poem
of your own.
Take heart and write,
write your heart and perhaps
you will touch upon a chord that sings for others.
But if critique is your only way to interpret,
this is not the poem you’re looking for.
Move along.
#258
Remember to see
I know your eyes are open
but just see, just see.
Remember to listen
I know that you can hear me
but just listen, just listen.
Remember to breathe.
When your back’s against the wall
breathe, just breathe, just breathe.
#257
Linda Studley 