Candy!

Sweet Nothings

What's a sweet nothing?
Whispered in you ear:  
For your ears only.

A lover's endearment?
A special secret
only shared by the two of you?

Or is it a ton of candy
being overloaded 
by a bunch of teens...

Seeing nothing but 
sugar in their eyes?
Sugar-colored glasses perhaps?

Taste, touch, feel...
Yumm!  Sugar!
Taste, touch, feel...

@JoSH Poetic Popcorn Poetry 2014

Can you live without candy?  Of either kind?  Go whisper in your loved one's ear today!  Psst...  By the way, don't swallow any ear wax.  Please!

Amy Tan

The Joyluck Club

Have you read this book or seen the movie?  It is a great book.  The Joyluck Club is about mothers and daughters and their individual stories of what they have gone through to get to where they are now.  It is interesting to compare the similarities and differences in the lives of these women.

Baroness Orczy

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Have you ever seen this movie or read this book?  I read this years ago and really liked it and also watched the movie.  In fact, Sir Percy is a poet and has a poem that he recites about the Scarlet Pimpernel.  The scarlet pimpernel is actually a red flower.  

Cincinnati Bound

Guess where I was?

Techno Talk

text talk

who r u?
do u no me?
i no u!
b quiet!
we r in a library.
shh...
zzz...

What is texting doing to us?  Check out this YouTube video.

A little bit of quiet...

Quiet & Content

Once by a lake called Abiquiu

I watched as some friends fished

In the lake of sparkling waters.

While I sat

Content and saturated

By the total stillness and the absence of sound.

@JoSH Poetic Popcorn Poetry 2009/2014

This poem is dedicated to Anna and her hubby who shared their fishing lake with me while I was visiting with them in Abiquiu, New Mexico.  I loved the absolute quiet and wild wilderness of our surroundings.  

Tanka?!?

What's this?  

I learned about this last night.  Evidently a tanka is similiar to a haiku except there are two more lines of seven syllables each.

So...  let's try one...  Hmmm...

The day is dismal.
Rain and grey clouds everywhere.
Where did the sun go?
Will the sun peek out later
because I want to see sun!

Yeah!  So there it is!  You learn something new everyday!

Writing Groups

Poetry Please!

I've been part of a writing group meet up for some time now but have found it hard to find poetry groups.  That is until I went to a local library and found a poetry group that meets once a month.  I checked out this new group tonight and spent an evening listening to all types of great poetry.  It's always interesting to see how unique poets are.  Each has a particular style that they use and all are creative.  Writing is not a dying art  form as I have been meeting young poets and older poets all over the place.  I actually learned some things tonight.

Franklin Park Conservatory

Have you visited lately?  

Mystery Popcorn

Mack a Roni!

Did Toni rig it?  

Rigatoni did it!

Why so red?

Cuz Marinara!

What about Pesto?

He's too green!

So Bowtie pasta?  

He's too debonair!  

Then Miss Rotini?  

She's too curly!

How about Penne?

She's too cheap!

So Mack a Roni!

Mack a Roni!

That's right!

He did it!

So what did Mack do?  I don't know.  That's the mystery!  Hope you enjoyed this pasta riddle.  Have pancakes in your griddle.  Although you might end up with a big middle.  But at least you're not a fiddle.  Fiddle dee dee!  Fish stix and fish fur!  I don't even know who came up with those phrases!

Like a butterfly!

A Phoenix Emerges

A flutter of a tiny wing

sweeps across the nation. 

And one day wars are won

because of a destination

that was set in motion.

Known as the butterfly effect. 

Sometimes things happen

that we don’t foresee

because we are too wrapped up in it.

But later as we gaze at

the bigger picture we realize,

“Aha!  Now I see!”

Sometimes you need

to give it time

to ripen and to age

until a finer wine

appears that is like

fluid poetry in motion.

Every little bit we do makes sense

one day and really matters. 

Don’t let anyone tell you different

cause one day looking thru the glass

you’ll see the bigger picture

as you were meant to be. 

You are stronger than you know

and your existence makes a difference

whether you realize it or not.

Someday you’ll realize

that you meant the world to me

and to think you didn’t matter. 

When you emerge from

your secret cocoon

and show off your silvery wings

with a shimmer and a satin sheen

you will know that you are finally

who you were always meant to be.

You, yourself!  Only you!

@JoSH Poetic Popcorn Poetry 2014

This is a recent poem that captures the cataclysmic changes in my life and what has resulted.  Things in life usually happen for a reason I've learned, so if you are going through a tough time, then hang in there because there is usually a light at the end of the tunnel.  And sometimes when life throws you lemons, then you get to make lemonade.  And sometimes life-changing events are actually a blessing in disguise.

Sailing...

Windswept

Surrounded by water
Adrift on a sailboat
Catching a tradewind
Tilting over
But not quite capsizing  

Speeding 
Feeling the wind
Blow through your hair
Exhilarating
Feeling alive
At one with the sea
At one with your soul
Timeless
Priceless
Become a part of me

I love sailing!  I've taken lessons and learned how to a sail a twenty-foot sailboat.  It's one of the greatest feelings in the world to sail out on a windy day and letting your sails take you on your adventure.

Happy Mother's Day

A Mother's Day Haiku

What is a mother?
Someone who is always there.
Unconditional.  

Enjoy this day with your Mother!

Pasta Pause: The Middle (Revised)

A Sequel to Pasta Pause:  The Beginning...

It is yet another sunny day in busy San Fran where the hum drum human resource workers of Pasta Finance have another meeting discussing ways to get rid of stale, dried up, old pasta.  As Franco Macaroni and Bettina Bacon step out of the conference room they spy Sam Spaghetti hanging around.  "Hmmm...  do you think he heard us in there?"  Bettina whispers to Franco.  "I doubt it," Franco replies while licking chocolate off his macaroni.  With another flick of chocolate that  Bettina flings at Franco, she sashays off down the hallway.

Franco gives Sam another glance then heads back to his desk.  He has finally come up with an idea and he decides to pull one of the managers into a meeting with him to lay out his plans.  He schedules a one-on-one with Sera Stringbean.  Now Sera Stringbean was a tall, willowy sort with a Pollyanna-type personality but she was one of the most vicious managers around.  Some people bought into her fake megawatt smile, but not Paula Pierogi or Susie Meatball.  They knew better.  Sera was always hounding them about writing in caps and pounding on their staplers too loud.

Also, Sera was a perpetual shade of green being that she was always green with envy of all the women on the floor.  She would get into these towering rampages and hurl insults at random women on the floor and they would burst into tears.  You could tell which women were the target of her rampages by noticing the trail of tears leading to the pesto pathway.  Another notable thing about Sera was that when she was especially mad, she would scrunch her face up real tight and the next thing you knew a green pea would drop out of the bottom of her string bean.  You always knew it was bad day when you saw a number of green peas rolling around on the floor.  She was the manager you didn't want to have.

Later that day Sam Spaghetti gets called into Franco's office.  Franco asks Sam, "How are you doing?"  "Just fine." says Sam.  "Is your spaghetti getting too dry?" Franco questions.  "Only when it's too hot and windy out," replies Sam. " I see," replies Franco while twirling on his mustache.  "Hmmm...  well this is getting nowhere fast," he thinks.  Sam finally walks out after some more questions and points out to Franco, "You have some chocolate on your collar."  Then he winks and walks away.

Franco immediately heads to his desk and calls up Bettina, "I think Sam might be on to us.  He should be the first to go.  I know he's been a loyal and faithful worker for this company but he is just too nosy and won't keep out of other people's business.  I'm planning on meeting with Sera at some point to discuss ways to get rid of him."  Bettina is silent.

To be continued...

In the World of Make-Believe

Princess Tanialocks and her three dogs:  Moto, Foto, and Toto

Once upon a time in a make-believe world, Princess Tanialocks watched her kingdom from atop a castle turret wondering when she would meet her handsome prince.  However she was not alone.  For company, she always had her faithful dogs with her:  Moto, Foto, and Toto!  They'd bark and bark anytime she came to play with them.  So excited were they to see their fair princess.

Princess Tanialocks lived in a mystical kingdom that was said to be protected by a lion, a tiger, and a bear.  What Princess Tanialocks didn't understand is where this rumor got started as she herself had never seen the lion, the tiger, or the bear.  In consternation she asked that a private investigator be brought in to see her.  Robyn Hud was known to be the best private investigator in these parts as well as a great shot with a bow and arrow.  So Princess Tanialocks requested that he be hired to help her find this lion, this tiger, and this bear that everyone kept talking about.

Robyn Hud began his investigation in the forest.  He tracked this lion print, this tiger print, and this bear print.  But although he tracked these prints for hours, he noticed they often vanished into thin air.  Puzzled he kept scratching his head wondering "What is the cause of this?"

One day a fine young woodcutter came through the woods and ran into Robyn Hud staring at a bear print.  "What are you doing there laddie?"  Asked the woodcutter. Robyn Hud answered him saying that Princess Tanialocks had hired him to solve the mystery of the lion, the tiger, and the bear.  The woodcutter said he would help him and off the two of them went through the woods chanting, "Lions, and tigers, and bears.  Oh my!"

Back at the castle, Princess Tanialocks was beside herself because she was almost of age and yet no prince had appeared.  "Why is it that no prince has come to give me my love's first kiss yet,"  she wondered.  Unbeknownst to herself, what she didn't realize was that her dogs:  Moto, Foto, and Toto were enchanted dogs and in the evening hours they changed into a lion, a tiger, and a bear.  They had been discouraging and scaring any and all suitors that they had come across seeking the princess's hand.

One prince hearing of Princess Tanialocks and her mystical protectors thought to break through the enchantment of the three proctectors and went to a local dog store to buy minion chew toys and special doggie treats hoping to appease their wrath.  After which, he began his trek to the make-believe kingdom.  At evening neared in the heart of the forest, he came upon a roaring lion.  He quickly rummaged through his sack and threw him a minion chew toy.  Surprisingly enough the lion stopped roaring and started chewing on his toy.  The prince also left him a special doggie treat and went on his way.  This happened again with a ferocious tiger and a malicious bear.  But each calmed down after receiving their minion chew toy.

As morning approached, these enchanted predators gathered together at the castle gate still chewing on their minion chew toys.  However by now they were back in their doggie forms and started running toward Princess Tanialocks as she opened the gate.  The prince by this time had just reached the castle himself and watched from afar as he gazed upon Princess Tanialocks and her three dogs only to recognize the minion chew toys he had given to the three wild predators he had come across.  Unlocking the secret, he approached Princess Tanialocks and asked if he could court her.  And as the story goes, they lived happily ever after.

Now what happened to the Robyn Hud and the woodcutter?  If you walk in the forest, you might still hear them chanting "lions, and tigers, and bears!  Oh my!"

This story was inspired and is dedicated to someone single who is waiting to meet her prince.  She currently lives a busy life with her three dogs who are not named Moto, Foto, and Toto.  

Priceless

A picture is worth a thousand words!  

Have I lost my mind?

Mental Haze

What is it about getting older
that you forget your glasses 
are on top of your head?

Or why you walk from one room 
to another only to walk back 
because you forgot what you read?

Are there some days 
that you're so out of it 
that you even forget to get out of bed?

Or how about the times 
that you forgot you need to shower 
because you look like the living dead?

Be kind to yourself
and treat yourself to candy
because you like your tongue to be red.  

@JoSH Poetic Popcorn Poetry

Oh if we could all be silly all the time and not have to deal with reality.  Because reality bites!

CMA

Picture Story

Women of Faith

Women-Wise

Do you feel what I feel?
Do you think how I think?
Do you know what I went through?
My innermost pains
and my hidden shames?  

Do you know my story?
Do I know your story?
Are you willing to share
what's true to your heart
and cry on my shoulder?

My story is personal.
My story is unique.
But if our stories overlap
and you walk in my shoes
then you know how I feel.

How can you truly care
about someone unless
you know their whole story?
Their aches and their pains?
Their sobs and their cries?

Do you know women
that you consider good friends?
That if you cry on their shoulder
they offer protection 
and unconditional love?  

A gathering of women
meet year after year
sharing and yearning 
for fellowship and care
in a safe atmosphere.

I see you friend!
I feel your pain!
I'm glad I met you
so that I can share in your gain!
Because you are a woman!

Be proud of who you are 
because being a woman 
is what makes you unique.  
No matter what you go through.  
You've learned through your pain.  

This poem was inspired by a Women of Faith conference that I was at.  Women from all walks of life meet and share their stories:  You make new friends, you see old ones, you share yourself because you were never meant to be alone.  No one was meant to be alone.  No man is an island.  Nor is a woman.

Jigsaw Puzzle

Pieces and Parts

There are days 
I look at my life
and see pieces 
and parts of a puzzle
all scattered around 
and adrift like a piece 
of driftwood floating 
down a rippling brook.
Where is my anchor?
Where is my rock?
I need to be standing 
on a firm foundation
and not sinking sand.  
Especially when
everything around me
is sinking fast.  
Terribly fast. 
Never to be seen again. 

This poem was inspired by the collapse of the Baltimore, Maryland street.  It's a horrifying event to witness.  Who knows what tomorrow holds?  There is only one I know that holds tomorrow and I'm glad he holds my hand.