british ways

i wanna be
like the british are

cultured and calm
ones

sly eyed knowing

but it's hard
to measure up

when i can't metric

it's hard
to drive around

when i can't find
the lane i'm supposed
to be in

it's hard to imagine
the turmoils of
shakespeare

when i can't even
spend my last pound

without turning around

and going back for a
dictionary

nothing's ordinary
about the british

(thank goodness!)

prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-29

sense memories

she walked out
in the misty rain

escaping from
the words and deeds
that had her swimming
upstream

the wind gently combed
through her hair
as if it were trying hard
to calm her down

she was crying again

and even though
everyone was ok
and even though
it was all talked out

she still was
stirred up
by the stupidest things

the accent of a stranger
that sounded so much
like his voice

the colour of a shirt
that she knew he had
in his closet

the smell of a tree
that reminded her
of his hygiene

neat and square
calm and strong
and clean

not at all like her

she walked slowly
through the blue
from above

lost in the spell of
the splatters and drops
before her

wondering when
the sun would come back
into her world

and when she 
could smile 
again


prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-28

the pest

i used to hate it
when you cracked
your knuckles

with the beat
of every song
you heard

i tried my best
to keep up with
your words

when you would
ramble away at
nothing

each hiccup that
happened
each burp that
bursted

went on a list
inside my head

the pest

but oh
what i wouldn't give
to hear you
laugh again

do you know i
feel your smile
before i see it?

do you know i
smell your hair
before you round
the corner

to my heart

do you know that
it's been rains
inside my soul
for many a day
now

as i wait for the sun?

i wince
at every petty word
that i jotted down
in anger

wishing for a way
to a reprieve

but how can i
cross bridges that
smolder in smoke

in the remote chance
of forgiveness?

and now i find
the pest 
is me

(free)

prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-27

regret

Is there anything
you regret about this?

no

i learned about me
and what i could create

i learned about him
and how socks mate

i felt the warm breeze
on the bare of my head

i didn't wish i was dead
half the time that i
used to

But you do now......?

yes

but the darkest clouds come
at the hint of the dawn

and the loudest noises happen
at the end of the song

i feel like the universe
is starting to blow

and i've learned long ago
that i cannot smile

without paying the price . . . . .

Are you always this dramatic?

yes

but you have to expect that
from poets

(do)

prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-26

fault

no matter
what i say

it's my fault

no matter
what i do

it's my fault

no matter
how clearly
i describe what's inside

on the outside,
i'm wrong

thanks for
reminding me
what's due

nothing's ever
true when i
spite myself

(learn)

prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-25

in faith

in faith
you crossed
many miles

just to see me

thinking
all the time
about the thought
of me

and how your dreams
would all come true

but the smoothness
had some wrinkles

and the truth
had some lies

and yet you
defied everything

just to be with me

and now you list
all the excuses
to stay

and all the ways
you can leave

nothing good 
can stay 
to the willingly
deceived

and so you
grieve
in a trap of
your own making

lacking in the graces
it takes
to extricate yourself

what fate
brought you far
away from your
troubles

and into the
puzzle of what
should be?

(free)


prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-24

bookends

once friends

two people
in the sun

bookends

frame the sky
one to one

 extend

separated by
all the rain

transcend

moving past
all the pain

depend

one to hold
in the park

now end

nothing left
but the dark

i was nice to you

i was nice to you
then you cut me deep

i was nice to you
now i cannot sleep

i was nice to you
and you cut me off

i was nice to you
even when you scoffed

i was nice to you
and you didn't play fair

i was nice to you
and all you did was stare

i was nice to you
i stayed the man

i was nice to you
but you didn't understand

i was nice to you
i was nice to you
i was nice to you

i was nice to you
but you know what?

who gives a damn

finale

i used to lean
on what words
were said

now i lean
on the past

i used to look
at the first
of the day

now i look 
at the last

i used to know
how worthy
i was

now i know
i was wrong

i used to hear
the beauty
in me

now i hear
a different song

i used to wait
to read each
email

now i wait
for you to send

i used to think
you would stay
forever

now i think
about the end

(goodbye)

goodbye

goodbye
to innocence

goodbye
to loss

goodbye
to confidence

without cost

goodbye
to sunshine

goodbye
to songs

goodbye
to happiness

that rights the wrongs

abrupt
and decided

dark
and true

the world
was brighter

with the heart of you

now passed
now gone

(on)

last time you called

i'm sorry

the last time
you called
i couldn't hear
anything

but wind and
thunder
and rain

and the soft
whispers
i was used
to sending
your way

turned into
a volley of
yells
growls
and
screams of frustration

not at all
what i want
to leave you with

i know my voice
is a word picture
of what i am

and i want
that image
to be perfect

to see you through
the night

bookends of
conversation can
make for volumes
of beautiful words

as long as
the connection
is true

(new)

prompt:  http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-23

whispers of kitties

he was an orange cat
who laid out in
the sun

she was a shy
siamese

hiding from everyone

he was the only one
who cared enough
to visit

she was the only one
who understood
his spirit

without words
they talked around
the differences
they had

good and bad

one choosing
to ignore
what the other one
was

the other
forgetting
what the other one
wasn't

living in the
true and now
that fables hoped
to be

(free)

prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-22

at the automat

who will she meet

who buys the meat

at the automat

who's in her head

who's got the bread

at the automat

who'll hold her hand

who'll open the cans

at the automat

mysteries abound 

love can be found

at the automat

at the automat ....

(eat)

the knife

he held
the knife
so carefully

and cut
with such
precision

his tone
was soft
and casually

he told her
his decision

she winced
with each
indignity

but hid
behind her smile

she waited
for some
sympathy

but that
was not his style

all she heard
was the chopping
sound

of the blade
against the board

all she felt
was the beating
down

of her heart
and how it tore

each time
the shaft 
separated the bone

(alone)

prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-21

a task

i'll send her
a message

i'll give her
a task

i'll see if
she answers

and do
what i ask

i'll form my words

so carefully

and see
what she'll do
for me

after all,
isn't that what
love is?

(see)

prompt: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/2017-april-pad-challenge-day-20