Small Choices

Dawn kisses the edge

Of my dreams;

Already they’re fading,

Lost to the day.

The sky brightens

With a scheme of small choices,

Each seemingly insignificant,

But any one could create

A surprise new pathway.

Was there something

I should have remembered?

I chase the last molecules

Of the night’s revels,

But they’re wisps on the wind,

Dancing out to the stars,

Perfect gone ghosts,

Too insubstantial to matter.

I get up.

I wash my face.

I make toast.

~*~

Prompt provided from the Daily Echo

FPQ25: Nowhere & Poof

Fandango provocatively asks…

“Where do you believe you were you before you were born and what do you believe will happen to you after you die?”

He answers the question himself by saying “I do have a position on where we were before we were born (nowhere, we didn’t exist) and what happens to us after death (poof, we’re gone and no longer exist).”

That’s also what I believe, and I can’t state it any more clearly than “nowhere” and “poof,” which is why I copied his words.

This shouldn’t be a provocative question. If others believe that there’s a supernatural realm with souls floating around that attach and detach to human bodies (and idk some good doggos?), why do they care if Fandango and I disbelieve it, and vice versa?

But it’s a big farooking deal.

I believe that the most important things are what we do right now, how we treat people here on earth, how we care for animals and the environment, etc. But there isn’t any payoff. I’m not going to be rewarded in heaven for not being a litterbug. So, why not throw garbage on the street? Why care that the ocean is a toxic dump? Because this is our home, and keeping a clean home is an end in itself. I don’t need a gold sticker like a three-year-old for doing the right thing.

No, this isn’t actually a tangent. People who get it will get it. 😛

Favorite Flower… No Can Do

Sorry, no favoritism here. I adore tulips, as pictured, in lovely pink. To me, they’re the epitome of spring, bright and velvety.

Of course, it wouldn’t be summer without sunflowers! I used to have a sunflower theme in my old house. They’re just such a happy flower. Golden yellow… how can you not smile when you see one?

They may be a Valentine’s cliche, but there’s just something so romantic and lush about a rose, whether it’s red or yellow or any other hue.

I will end with orchids, a mysterious bloom, from which we get vanilla, one of my favorite flavors. There are so many varieties of orchids…even an entire blog couldn’t do justice to them.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

~*~

THW Favorite Flower

If Only…

How wonderful it would be

To have a fuzzy memory

Of heartbreak and pain,

While still able to retain

Valuable lessons learned.

Tender new leaves of love

Would not be put in jeopardy

From old acid tears of rain;

I’d raise my arms to the sky,

Embracing the chemistry

Of the warm summer sun,

Mixed with mystery.

But alas, time passes by,

Fear surrounds me,

And I stay underground.

Thursday Inspiration 5

Welcome to Thursday Inspiration! This is my weekly prompt post and hopefully it will inspire you to write something creative, perhaps a poem or a piece of flash fiction. If you’d like to share your writing with the community, please indulge me and tag your post with #p0eticlicense and/or #lightm0tifs, and of course link back if you wish. I will try to visit everyone who participates. 🙂

This week’s theme is follow and the picture is below. Here is the song snippet from “Follow You Follow Me” by Genesis :

I will follow you will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year

Photo credit: Manfred Richter

In Other Words, unhappy…

We anthropomorphize and decide

They’re “unhappy” if they can’t roam freely outside.

Outside is where hungry coyotes cry and cars whiz by;

Outside is where poisons and bullies reside.

Love your fur babies and keep them safe INSIDE! 🐱❤️🐾💕🐱

~*~

Prompt from Patricia

Favorite Summer Memory [dating story]

It was still technically summer when I met him, though just barely. One of the hottest days ever, over 100 degrees, even at the beach. You may wonder why I consider this such a great memory, since it marks the start of my spiral down, but the day stands alone, beautiful and shimmering, alive with the promise of something wonderful.

I had been sick for a month and couldn’t eat much, which he attributed to a mental disorder, and it’s true I have that as well. But it’s also true I had been ill, whether he believed it or not. Nevertheless, I loved meeting him, loved the way he looked and spoke, loved his gentle criticisms, of which there were many. But I am used to being criticized by men.

This was the second time I’d met a man at Skyloft. The first time had been a complete disaster immediately and I’d gotten lost on the way back to my car. I had spent two hours walking the streets of Laguna alone searching for my car that night. So, this time I took photos of all the storefronts on the way from my car to the restaurant. And like breadcrumbs, we followed them back.

This first meeting lasted over six hours. Brunch, conversation, walk, beer, ice cream, walk… He kissed me on the beach, in the sizzling heat, as the waves rolled in. I think I was still slightly ill and dizzy, and my whole world tilted from the chemistry I felt for him. He appeared to be likewise smitten with me.

But I don’t know anything about men.

I was so happy, for a short time, before the crash, before the year of darkness. This was one perfect, sparkling day. There were three more. And then it was done.

~*~

THW Summer Memory

Rainy Reflections…

My soul loves the rain:

It seems dreamy and poetic.

Fog rolling in after love departs

Is such a perfect metaphor

To describe a dismal day

And a lonely, broken heart.

But my head dreads the storms,

Which trigger loads of pain–

Not of the romantic variety,

But actual pounding migraines.

Blustery winds stir up debris,

And dust swirls through the air;

I want to celebrate thunder

But feel nothing but despair.

Yet, when pressure subsides,

And the world sparkles clean,

I adore rain once more…

My equilibrium restored.

~*~

Reflections Prompt

Thursday Inspiration

Last Light

Tuesday Photo Challenge ~ Night

Echoes

One mournful lovesong

Howled to star-spattered heavens

Echoes through the night

~*~

Thursday Inspiration