a lifetime moment
when the moon comes and takes the
sun’s moment to shine
I meant to post this in the morning today… but I do have an excuse. Drove up to Newport, VT yesterday to view the eclipse and got home 1am last night. 😭😝😪😴
It was so worth it, though!
Happy Tuesday! I am pivoting and trying something new. I am now going to post (lord willing) Monday and Tuesday mornings, and Thursday afternoon around 1pm.
On Mondays look for some Monday motivation in the form of a quote either about conquering the week, writing or mental health. Most likely…I’ll post a lot about mental health.
Additionally, I’d like to post on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday mornings look for a poem. (With the exception of today, which I’ll post about 1pm today.)
Thursday afternoons could be a poem, an update about the blog, my day, the writing process…what have you. We’ll call Thursdays miscellaneous day, hah.
I hope everyone has a great week! 🙂
Hi all, no poetry from me this week because I spent most of my Monday in the Emergency Room.
Everything is okay, but at the time my face and arm was going numb, so that was less okay. I have a muscle strain in my right shoulder that makes me feel like there is an icy-hot poker stabbing at me. That is, when I’m not taking pain meds. Oh, and I have been getting muscle spasms in my neck, too. Fun times.
So, nothing creative from me this week. Or, maybe there is…
Monday in the ER
shoulder hurt, stabbing
pit stop, pit crew, she dying?
safe. home with pain meds
OR
my arm and neck numb
not dying. feel kind of dumb
remember: ergonomic
Ahhh…I could go on and on with the haikus. At least the dogs cuddled me at the end of the night. Showing their love, as doggies do. One big, giant, doggy pile.
Whose yard is this? The dogs. (I know)
They both like it covered with snow
And lake-like puddles on the ground
And squishy grass that’s hard to mow
They will chew their sticks to the sound
Of wind blowing their ears around
With snow that bites with winter’s chill
They chew, oh — another stick found!
And the dogs always get a thrill
Smelling bunnies and things to kill
Noses to the ground, at my side
They sniff until the world grows still
The yard is icy, cold and wide
And I continue to abide
Please, it is time to go inside
Please, it is time to go inside
This poem is inspired by Robert Frost’s Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, but obviously with a less serious and sillier theme. I had the pattern of this poem in my head while out walking the dog one evening and I thought it might be fun to play around.
Wishing everyone a meaningful Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
If you’ve liked what you’ve read, check out my poetry book, Walking in Cemeteries available for purchase here.
Every month, a woman sheds the lining of her uterus
Except, mine is scraping through me
like a sweater-rake that claws at those scratchy balls of wool
I’m shedding barbed wire and lava
Feeling red hot and deflated
Men laugh at a woman’s period
Think we’re over-exaggerating
Like that small-pinched-lie you’re told you’ll feel during a procedure
Why can’t we be honest about a woman’s pain
A woman feels pain as easy as a man succeeds
In this patriarchal society
Where a woman just bleeds
And bleeds
And bleeds
If you’ve liked what you’ve read, check out my poetry book Walking in Cemeteries available for purchase here.
i moved a table into the kitchen
covered it with a tablecloth
and thought, this feels right
realizing later
that grandma covered her kitchen table
how i remember her white, wrinkled fingers
reaching for the mayonnaise
or ‘dressing’ as she called it
her fingers etched with hard work and mischief
how we’d sit on a Saturday afternoon and eat lunch
just sandwiches, chips, and pickles
and it felt like everything in life was alright
i eat my sandwich now and remember her
Christmas is gone, and she is too
but the table remains
and i sit here at my tableclothed table
eating my pickle
feeling like a queen
and honoring one
Happy New Year!! 🥳
If you’ve liked what you’ve read, check out my poetry book Walking in Cemeteries available for purchase here.
It’s amazing how a cafeteria smell
Will instantly take you back
The way it smells like broccoli cheddar soup. Like cheese but with a funk
Only 20 seconds
And the anxiety flashes back
High school anxiety. And middle school anxiety.
Standing in line forever to get food
If you kept your head down, the kids that were lewd, that were cruel, left you alone, rushing to eat
Difficult to swallow when your heart is pounding
Choking down chicken and gravy
That sticks to your throat like plaster
Or a doughy pizza that’s okay. Thank God for Pepperoni
Then you got the years Michelle Obama tried to make us eat healthy, and everything palatable (fries and cookies) were taken away and replaced my wheat rolls that looked and tasted like cardboard
What will we eat now?
It was okay with friends
It was safe there
Laughing and creating together
But on my own, I felt anxiety about a crowd
A teenage boy loves an easy mark
Especially someone so gullible
Innocent, naive, and unaware of the world
A 16 year old should have been more aware
Should have been not so afraid
I didn’t know how to be
Every day was fight or flight
And mom would be instantly there. To make it all better
dogs tell tales
like humans do
scratch an ear
steal a shoe
a stolen slipper
means, “I missed you”
a sock in mouth
means “hello,” too
love is the language
that dogs speak
except they say it
with a toy that squeaks
or slobbery kisses,
with head on your thigh
hands in warm fur
a deep, contented sigh
and muddy paw prints
on the kitchen floor
nose prints on the window
scratching the bathroom door
a minute is an hour
when you’re gone away
because they love us
every. single. day.
If you liked what you read, considering following me on Instagram @ajmorse_writes and follow my Facebook page A. J. Morse. My poetry book Walking in Cemeteries is available on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/cAsZUxa
And…because we love our two buds…some pics below! We recently got a new golden retriever puppy. Meet Teddy! You can follow them both on instagram @kodabear_and_teddy
Went and saw Christopher Robin today, and it was fantastic. I went in expecting some childhood nostalgia, and a heartwarming story and got exactly that. The animation of our old friends to look more like the actual stuffed animals is amazing, and makes you want to pick them up and hug ’em all!
I’m feeling a little nostalgic tonight, naturally, so reading The House at Pooh Corner.
Will also probably re-read Winnie the Pooh at some point, too. If I could ever write anything as well as A.A. Milne, I would count myself very blessed indeed!
Happy writing everyone! (And reading!)
About a week ago, Mike and I had to say goodbye to his dog, Marley. He had Lyme disease that went to his kidneys and after a few trips to the vet we were saying goodbye sooner than we ever thought possible.
Although he wasn’t mine, I loved him. He was our family and now he’s gone. We are dealing with it as best we can. But it’s never easy saying goodbye.
Saying Goodbye
I didn’t want to say the words, “put down”
Like he was some shiny toy
We had picked up and lost interest
too cold to think of leaving
Such a treasure behind
to think of all the tail wags, the last sniffs in the snow
the moment before the final moment the worst
a deep sleep that hurts
One final pin-prick, back leg trembles.
I couldn’t find the words to say
I’ll help you
I’m right here
I’m sorry
Then, sobbing in the car like I’d lost something I’ll never find again
Tail wags, brown, liquid eyes full of courage
You’re hurt and you’re dying and all you have to say is: I love you
A. J. Morse 