Five Stanzas

One

Ripple in the water

Sunshine on the ground

Two

Flowers in the garden

Needles in the mound

Three

Kittens in the kitchen

Children in the tree

Four

Puddles on the sidewalk

Freckles on my knee

Five

Fingers on my right hand

Stanzas in this poem

All I've Done

Right now

No tunes in my head

No notes rumbling or mumblin’

No words to write down

I can’t think of what to write

I can’t think of what to say

Every day the drowsy fogs

Cloud my head and make it harder

Already so much

So many things I remember

How can I make new without repeating

And yet, here I am

Using words all used before

Just in a new order

Writing about how I can’t

Write and yet look at

All I’ve done

Unspoken

Little words

Cracking open

Crying out

They can’t be spoken

Little sounds

Frail and weak

Try to break

The endless streak

They crack

They cry

They wail

And weep

They gnash

And growl

They scream

And squeak

Little words

So frail

So small

Crying

Crying

And yet

They

Fall

Raining Rose Petals

Raining rose petals
softly land on my
fingertips
Tainting my once clean
skin
Pressed against my open
heart
Feeding on my pain
Spreading across the
fear-stricken ground
healing
stealing
Cries for help muffled
by the overbearing rubies
Red rose petals turning
crimson
Liquid crimson across
my open chest
Ripping apart
what little is left
Dissecting the remains
of the corpse you
left behind

My Turn

“Are you ready to order ma’am?”
Startled, she looked up at the waiter. “Um, no. Sorry, I’m expecting someone.” He just nodded, then walked away.
Pathetic.
That’s all she felt: pathetic. Twenty minutes after the time he had said and she was still sitting here, quietly sipping her water. All dressed up in her silky black gown, those new shoes she’d been so excited to wear, and her hair tied up in some do that had taken her at least an hour.
Wasted. And pathetic.
Cry? She was tempted to...Wait? That’s what she’d always done. Leave? Now it was her turn.

Empty Bottle Cap

Sitting on the couch, T.V. on, a small bottle cap between her fingers continuously moving.  She glanced at the clock, then the door. 2AM and he’s still not home.  The flickering lights of commercials played on her face, but she couldn’t watch them. She’d been staring at the T.V. for the past three hours and not seen a single thing that was on. The only thing that was calming her was the little cap she was twirling between her fingers.
A click and a crackling and the door was open. She jumped up, then hesitated. He tumbled through the door, a beer still in his hand.  She slowly approached him.
“Hey, you okay.”
“Why dyou always ask meh that?” He slurred, looking into her eyes. His were empty, as usual.
“Here ya are, lazy watchin’ the tube. Do somethin’ useful fer once.”
“I’m sorry.”

Elmo's Hug

Bang! Bang! Bang! Then Elmo’s song came on again, followed by her little giggles and her feet rhythmically pounding on the back of my chair. I kept my eyes focused on the road, keeping my anger securely in control as Elmo’s singing stopped and she banged him once more on the side of her little chair.  More giggles.  Would it never end? “Hey, honey. Don’t you think Elmo is tired of singing?”
“No. Elmo loves to sing!” She cried, just loud enough to make me cringe. Then she started singing along, not knowing half of the words.
Just a half an hour more. Suddenly, I couldn’t hear Elmo’s singing anymore. I looked back, making sure she was alright. She was just staring at me.
“What’s the matter, honey?” I asked, not ready to more banging and singing.
“Mommy’s sad...” she said quietly.
I didn’t know what to say. Before I could think of something to reassure her, she spoke again.
“Here Mommy, Elmo will give you a hug.” She held her little toy out to me, leaning as far as she could in her little seat.
I looked back and picked him up, little tears forming in my eyes. “Thank you Mollie. Thank you so much.” And I hugged Elmo softly, watching my girl smiling in the rear view mirror.