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Monday in the ER

/ Ajmorse / 2 Comments

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.

Not a Poem – How’s Your January Been??

/ Ajmorse / 1 Comment

January has just been one big suck-fest. Anyone with me?

I have a poem I’ve been working on, but instead of coming together like things usually do, pulling the words out for this one is like trying to pull blood from a stone.

I am on the struggle bus. Physically. Mentally. Creatively. I long for sunny days. And warmth.

I hope everyone else is doing better than me. If you’ve kept up with this blog and my poetry book, you’ll know that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) hits me big every year. This past month, more so than others.

I take comfort in my light therapy, friends, comedy, and the dogs.

I don’t have anything creative for you today. I’m sorry. But here’s a few dog pics, because dogs are awesome and cute. Bowl is life. ❤️😆 love them. (The chocolate is Koda; the golden, Teddy.)

tablecloth queen

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment

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.

Unsure

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment

on campus
walking through a crowd of people
I still feel like that same nerdy girl
who didn’t know how to talk to ppl
who felt lost on the way to class
who couldn’t just be. normal.

except
I pay my own bills now
I’ve seen the Grand Canyon
and I’ve had sex

does it matter that I’m an adult
and was back then, too

but I still feel seventeen

who actually feels their age?
the president?

hah.

Unlucky

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment

Said the elk to the zebra, “It just isn’t right that I have the horns, and you have the stripes.”

Said the zebra to the bear, “I think it is wrong that I am so thin, and you are so strong.”

Said the bear to the hippo, “It must be quite fun to stay in the water and out of the sun.”

Said the hippo to the fish, “I wish I was free, to swim in the ocean and live in the sea.”

Said the fish when I caught him, “This just isn’t fair! I wish I was an elk, a zebra, a hippo, or a bear!”

For some time now, I’ve been considering writing a poetry book for children. 🤔🤔 Hmm.

For more poems from me, check out my poetry book, Walking in Cemeteries, now available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/72YgJ1O

The Basketballs

/ Ajmorse / 2 Comments

To the person who left
An old, deflated basketball
In your back yard

To Mother Nature
Who picked it up
Carried it to the next house
Then the next
Until it rested on a muddy bank
That belonged

To a chocolate lab
Who rescued it
Claimed it
As his own

To the countless hours
Through rain, snow, dust and sunlight
Spent catching, jumping
and loving this half-deflated
Junk that no one else wanted

To the person
Who thought that deflated
Meant not useful enough
Who tossed it aside

To the universe who knew
That a chocolate lab needed it

To the water
That brought it
where it needed to be

To Koda who
Loves, loves, loves
His first, dirty, lumpy basketball
That the universe gifted him another

To the universe
Who knew that a chocolate lab
(and their human)
Would spend countless hours in the yard
Playing, catching and listening

To the universe
Who knew that two, lumpy, half-deflated basketballs meant
More fresh air, more exercise, a friend and friends

To the basketballs
who often sit on our front porch
Lovingly named “Outside Balls”

Thank you

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

For more of Koda, our chocolate lab, you can follow him on instagram @kodabear_thebud.

POEM: When My Dog Works

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Author’s Note:

I am very lucky in my current situation to be able to work from home. My heart goes out to those who work in essential jobs who are more and more at risk everyday. It’s been stressful for all of us. Our chocolate lab, Koda, has been providing the entertainment here. He might not be the most well-behaved co-worker sometimes, but he is definitely our free-lance therapy dog right now. Below is just silliness.

Stay safe everyone!

Amanda


When my dog works
It’s all about play
He sits near your chair
As you begin your day

Somehow, his ball makes
its way on your desk
His wet nose touches your elbow
You tell him to rest

Just when it’s quiet
You have to go pee
Of course, he has to come along
(In case there’s something to see)

Back in the office
You answer a call
He gets stuck under the desk
While getting his ball

He looks up at you
With a big doggy grin
Wagging his tail
Let’s do it again

And again

And again

And again