the last time

no one told me
that when you get older
those friends you saw everyday
won’t be around as much
those girl shopping days
nights out at the bar, dancin’
or slumber parties
don’t happen as often

because we’ve got families
and adult responsibilities
and making plans
is like getting the planets to align

and one one told me
that one night
you’ll watch a video
about two friends
and it’ll bring back a sudden ache
for those carefree nights
where a drink at a bar and a DD
were the only things we were worried about

and no one told me
that you’ll miss your friends
like a promise you can’t keep
like a cloud that blew across the sun
a hollow longing
that hollars down an empty road

and that one day
we got together for a slumber party
wished on stars together
and told secrets
for the last time

when democracy dies

when things get rough

when i feel trapped

by my responsibilities

i look up at the night sky

and think

…at least i’m still free


🥺 Our future here in the US is so uncertain. I’m scared of what our future looks like. No, I’m terrified. I’m so glad I get to watch the world burn around me because of someone I didn’t vote for. 🙄

AJM

Golf Course in Outer Space

I had a dream my dad went to live
at a golf course on the moon
and the only reason he went
was because my uncle told him to

there was a constant summer sun
in a long, flat expanse of green
a domed space that went on forever
and the people there were mean

I knew he was uncomfortable
I could see it in his face
because for some reason, I went with him
to this golf course in outer space


Because I thought we could use some silliness this month. And I’ve started this thing where I write poems of actual dreams I’ve had. This poem made my Dad laugh.

It has been soo cold. January is kicking my butt physically and mentally, and I just have to endure. I can make it through. The new presidency has me super depressed, so I am just going to read. How many books can I make it through? I am currently reading four…two audio books and two other books. A memoir, a YA science fiction adventure, an urban fantasy, and an epic fantasy romance. Variety is the spice of life. Maybe I should throw another genre in there.

AJM

Moving to Tuesday/Wednesday posts

Hi all,

I hope you had a fan-tabulous holiday season and Happy New Year!

(Our Golden Teddy tired out after the holiday festivities at Grandma’s house.)

Just dropping a quick note to say that I’ll be moving over to Tuesday and/or Wednesday AM posts from now on. Posts will range from poetry, fiction, blogging, and miscellaneous content.

I am looking forward to a productive writing year! All the best,

-AJM

Under the Sea

I had a dream I lived under water
in a station on the sea floor
We studied sharks and sea creatures
hoping we could learn more

The station walked on four legs
like a squat robot made of stone
we traveled deep and traveler far
a few of us called it home

I remember the color of the canyon
an orange-brown of cracked dirt
Yellow-green Marine life with extra frills
like maybe we weren’t on earth

Nothing else happened in the dream
we just lumbered on some more
searching for what we couldn’t find
we were made to learn and explore

selective history

how many heroes
are lost to time
because of their skin color
how many women
forgotten
because of their sex
and if you’re a woman of color
you’re a ripped page
out of someone’s notebook
trampled into obscurity
until someone with power
or money
plucks your story into the light of day

eventually

the hardest thing
about growing up
or growing old
is the relationships you grow out of

love may be infinite
but time doesn’t mean
you’ll be in the same place
or the same time
always

eventually
you have to admit
that how you once meant to somebody
is now different

she’s not a baby anymore
she’s on her own path now
you blinked
and missed the old one

but
how you wish
like you could grasp it in your hand
a wish like squiggly worms
you wish
you could zip along, too


Once again (sigh), it’s not Monday. I’ve been toying with the idea of switching to Tuesday and Wednesday posts.

Wrote this one last night. It’s difficult for me to watch my nieces and nephews get older. For some reason, it’s like I always thought they’d be little. Maybe in my eyes they still are. Even though they’re not. 😭

AJM

aliens

I had a dream I visited aliens
they left their spaceship on the moon
yet in the time they left it
I stepped on it like a balloon

and it didn’t pop or float away
it shattered and made a mess
for the rest of the dream they chased me
trying to get me to confess

the space ship was red and white
like a plastic bobber on the lake
it hovered over my parents house
so close it made the windows shake

and each time they looked for me
I ran away to some place new
getting more and more exhausted
as my paranoia grew

I was so afraid and full of fear
but I never saw their faces
I just ran away from the truth I knew
that I was lacking in social graces


Once again, it’s not Monday. I didn’t want to be away for the next few days and not post anything. This one is actually written from a dream I had a month or so ago. I have strange dreams a lot and might consider writing more on them.

I hope everyone has a nice week and to those of us in the US – a very Happy Thanksgiving!! ❤️

~AJM