Clouds

In the days when I was your sun
In the time of shared imaginings
We watched white manatees
swim across a sea blue sky

In the days of endless summer
In the time of possibilities
We lay belly down
on the sun bleached pier
and watched bull frogs part the duckweed
singing their anthems of revolution

Your heart
was a crystal
transforming smiles into rainbows
and rainbows into reality

Your laughter
was both wind and windchime
My cause and
my effect
I breathed it like air
Aware of it only by its absence

When you are gone
Time ticks away
minutes, hours, days
Rainbows fade to gray
And the clouds
are just clouds.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Artistic Interpretations w/Margaret, Simply Beautiful

Pink Washing

Welcome!

Or should I say, "Well-Komen"?!!

We at the Komen Foundation are so happy

to introduce Lake Komen,

the very first lake dedicated to breast cancer research!

Yes, it's even pink!

The Komen Foundation was able to purchase this lake

with generous contributions from folks like you!

And we vow to dedicate

a significant* percentage of tourism profits

back into breast cancer research and treatment

Come bath in the pinkness

and allow the wellness to seep into your body**

Drink our rosy elixir

and feel your health improve**

We even offer Lake Komen water in bottles

for you to take home for yourself

or to give as gifts

At Lake Komen we offer

you a choice-

group swims or individual bathing

(pink towel and swim cap included!)

Do something good for yourself,

good for the fight against breast cancer,

and good for the economy*** as well!

Visit Lake Komen today

At first blush, it's just a pink lake

but really, it's so much more!

*amount to be determined at a later date but not to exceed 0.04 of net profits
**statements have not been evaluated by the FDA
***our CEOs

submitted (albeit VERY late) for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads , Transforming Friday, Nature's Wonders




Watch this 2 minute video and be enlightened!

Untitled

We linger at a crossroads
where snow buries the crocus
and the muddy rose struggles
to think of blooming
Thorny nights
of suicidal fervor
The owls bury their heads
under soft feathers
and hope for sleep
You are but a thread
in my fabric of worry
The birds keep quiet
when the sun finally shines.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Flash

Phantom Pain

The Phantom was having a rough day

No one was taking him seriously-

An elderly woman with a small dog

was sitting his seat

and that bloated diva Carlotta

still couldn't sing worth a damn!

He thought he had made himself clear-

Threatened "a disaster beyond your imagination"

should his demands be ignored

Then he received the note

He, the Phantom,  was being charged:

"making serious threats of bodily harm,

and creating a hostile work environment"

This was unbelievably insulting

He was the one bullied

all those "monster" and "gargoyle" taunts

Now they were accusing him?

It must have been that twit, Christine

He should have known not to trust her

A beauty for sure 

but one crystal short of a full chandelier

He was only trying to encourage her

flatter her

and now, he's looking at a sexual harassment charge!

Homeland Security had been notified too

Seems that "You will curse the day you did not do 

all that the Phantom asked of you"

was perceived as a terrorist threat

Good God! 

No hope of coming above ground now

O.G. was a criminal suspect!

Oh well

the daylight hurt his eye anyway

He would wait until this blew over

He had his music

and his stash of Hustler magazines.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, FB Friday, Mashup

Carmilla

When the inky black of night

Washes over the day's canvas

That is your time

Your blood red lips

Your alabaster skin

mesmerize

Your scent

intoxicates

Your raven hair

binds me

even as I stroke it

I bloom under your touch

With each soft unfolding

I become more of you

and less of myself

With the sun

you are gone

I sleepwalk

through the shell of the day

waiting for yellow/pink sky

to become indigo

Come the gloaming

We drink each other in

Nourishing

Depleting

Again and again.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Bits of Inspiration, Queen of the Night

Immigrant Stories

He was a big man with
big hands
That was all Sarah could remember
about Papa
........................................................................................
When they arrived at Ellis Island
he called her and Mama
"little greenhorns"
Sarah thought it was a term of endearment
.......................................................................................
She wore her bruises
like her daughter would one day wear
Girl Scout badges
She had a story for each:
The time she spilled her milk and broke the glass
The time she spoke Yiddish instead of English to Papa
The time she let the ice block melt
on her way home from the iceman
There were many more
.........................................................................................
Papa called Mama a fat cow
When Mama wouldn't stop crying
he hit her-hard
Sarah hid in the closet
hands over her ears
...........................................................................................
Mama lost the baby
Sarah didn't understand
but vowed to find it
Maybe then, Papa would smile
and Mama would stop crying
But Papa slapped her across the face
and Mama cried even harder
..........................................................................................
Every Friday night
Sarah says the berakah over the candles
The golden candlesticks,
the only possession they were able to bring to America,
remind her of Mama
Tarnished by the years yet
still strong,
still valuable.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Open Link Monday