Bright burning candle
Beacon of hope
Flickering fanned flame
Slow burning wick
Feeding the fire
Molten wax dripping
Candle shed tears
Sad lonely candle
Left burning alone
No birthday cake
No blown wishes
Slow steady burn
Defiant flame flickers
No more wax
Wick burned out
Flickering flame dies
Nobody to witness
The candle’s demise
Candle all gone
Wax drippings remain
Spilled candle blood
Laying in darkness
Hope was extinguished
She cared for him while he was sick
A terminal illness that got progressively worse
He fought hard right up to his last few days
Then he surrendered and let go
Telling her he was at peace
She comforted him until he passed away
Her best friend and partner had been taken away
Gone forever without her consent
She was not sure how she was supposed to feel now
She certainly was not at peace with it all
Relieved that his suffering had come to an end
Sorry that he would never be alongside her anymore
Confused that nobody could answer all her big why questions
Grateful for the support of family and friends
Sad that there were so many things left undone
Their list of places to visit together was still pinned up
Should she leave it there as a remembrance
Asking herself if she should complete that list alone
Or should the list perish with him
She asked herself so many unanswered questions
Her pain and sorrow slowly subsided
Replaced by a numbness that felt much worse
A numbness that blocked her attempts to feel guilty
A numbness that refused to let anger creep in
She felt an emptiness inside that was cavernous
Bigger than the emptiness left by his absence
No words of comfort took away the numbness
There were no magic pills to make it go away
Ignoring the numbness did give some brief temporary relief
Until she thought about him or saw something to remind her of him
Then the numbness came back stronger
She never told anybody about her numbness
Afraid that it could be seen as indifference
She tried to keep herself busy with mundane tasks
There was plenty to do in tidying up his affairs
Time seemed to have slowed down immensely for her
Long lonely days and longer sleepless nights
She did look forward to falling asleep
Knowing that she would dream about him
He visited her in those dreams
Which felt so real and vivid
He told her in one dream that he would be with her forever
She woke up from that dream clinging to his words
Her emptiness feeling had strangely vanished
Her days were filled with happy thoughts again
Knowing that they would be together again nightly in her dreams
She had finally found peace
Oh lazy Sunday
Sleeping in late
No energetic tasks
No travel today
All day chilling
Lets skip breakfast
Brunch sounds great
Read a book
Light hearted conversation
Plenty of smiling
We venture outside
An afternoon stroll
Entering park life
Breathing fresh air
Making frequent stops
People watching time
Families out walking
Happy smiling faces
Children at play
Screams of laughter
Grass looks greener
Trees seem taller
Meander back slowly
Home is welcoming
Quiet peaceful place
Take afternoon nap
Time slows down
Dream pleasant dreams
Oh lazy Sunday
Sometimes things do not go as expected
Plans that never materialize
People who break the promises they made to you
Suppliers sell you things that are backordered
Items are delivered damaged or to the wrong address
Accidents occur that destroy things
You or a loved one suddenly fall very ill
The weather brings floods and damaging winds
You drop your reading glasses and they shatter
Extreme cold causes your pipes to burst
New neighbors turn out to be obnoxious and noisy
Your boss at work decides to blame everything on you
You don’t get the pay rise you were promised
Somebody stole your car and its never recovered
Wine gets spilled over your expensive suit
You drop your cellphone into a sink full of water
The dog is sick all over the bedroom carpet
Your child gets into big trouble at school
The spring and summer extensive landscaping work is eaten by deer in one night
The TV DVR did not record your favorite show
Dreaded relatives show up at your door unexpectedly
Your credit card stops working when you need to pay for dinner
You cannot find one shoe and you are late for work
You break a tooth while eating popcorn at the movies
Despite your pleading, the policeman still gives you a speeding ticket
Your partner announces they want a divorce
Your employer sells the company and the new management lay you off
The roof starts leaking during a heavy storm
Your pet dog runs away and never comes back
No spare bicycle inner tube and a puncture 30 miles from home
You desperately need a shower but somebody used all the hot water
The list is endless
How do you cope with all these things
The word cope is a big fat clue
You must develop coping mechanisms to deal with life’s problems
Without coping mechanisms you would probably curl up and cry all the time
Coping mechanisms help you navigate through the rough spots
Then you can enjoy the brief moments of peace and tranquility
Until the next unexpected calamity hits you
Use your coping skills to handle the unexpected gracefully
You are having a conversation with somebody
Its pretty lame mundane stuff
Then all of a sudden without warning
They start giving you too much information
It might be graphic details of a medical procedure
Or details of some uncomfortable bodily function
Perhaps just too much personal information
You want to interject and ask them to stop
But decide to let them go on
Hoping that the TMI is finished
But TMI keeps on flowing faster and deeper
The TMI damage is done now
You cannot unhear what has been said
You try and change the subject but they ignore you
They are determined to unload their grisly TMI story on you
You start to feel repulsed and physically sick
They do not pick up on your feelings at all
Its just one big TMI motherload dumped in your lap now
Like a steaming pile of cow dung
It becomes an information overload
More than your brain wants to process
You start to suffer acute embarrassment
Then thankfully the person moves on and leaves you
You need to rid yourself of all they told you
Visualize a big trash can in your mind
Drop all their words into that trash can
Scoop them all up while they are still warm
Then put the lid on the trash can and wheel it to the curb
It will soon be picked up and emptied
You will start to feel better quickly
Too much TMI is TMTMI
I can remember opening my first email account
Such a novelty to receive an email in those days
I was only getting a couple every week back then
Fast forward to today with hundreds per week
They come so fast I turned off the bell notification
I no longer respond to emails in real time
I scroll through them every few days
Only opening the ones I deem possibly important
The rest remain unopened and ignored
They probably contain viruses anyway
Every few months I cull the unopened ones
Mass deletions with no mercy
If its old and ignored it gets wiped out
I hardly ever look in my junk email folder
Except when somebody tells me they sent an important email
One that never appeared in my regular email
My junk email folder started to get massive
Literally thousands of unopened emails
I learned how to set rules for it
Now it purges everything more than a month old
Anything more than a year old is deleted from my regular inbox
The important ones go into folders to keep
I am no longer a slave to my emails
If you need to reach me urgently
Please call or text
Emails are no longer a priority for me
Pink carnation
Soothing flower
Brings peace
Gift one
Red carnation
Love symbol
Heart felt
Hold one
Carnation Bouquet
Happy home
Love filled
Share one
What do you get by mixing flour, butter and sugar
They are the main ingredients of cake
Almost everybody loves cake
We roll them out at birthdays and anniversaries
Cakes are essential at weddings
Afternoon tea must include cake
So where did the story of cakes start
Who invented the first cake
How did cake become so essential in our lives
Some say the word cake has Nordic origins
Derived from the word ‘kaka’
Which is very unfortunate
Because kaka is the ancient Greek word for poo
Nobody wants to celebrate their birthday by lighting candles in poo
Well nobody that I am aware of
Historians believe that cake can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians
They baked bread laced with honey
Ancient Greeks baked cakes for birthdays of their gods
Adding candles to depict moonlight
Modern cakes have have their roots in the 17th century
When the main ingredients became more accessible
Cake became more popular in the 19th century
Its was still a luxury item back then
As sugar and chocolate were expensive items
Cake is now firmly established in our lives today
Almost every restaurant offers cake for dessert
People earn a living making cakes for special occasions
So what is the future for cake
Will low carb and keto kill the cake
Will the war against sugar result in cake collateral damage
What place will cake have in the 22nd century
Life is all about choices
If you like cake then go buy one now
Or buy the ingredients and bake one
Better still buy or bake two or more cakes
Enjoy your cake today
Have it and eat it
My football team won yesterday
The ‘real” football that is
AKA soccer
They used to win consistently
One of the most successful teams ever
Winning many trophies
Feared by all other teams
But this season has been a bust
Winning less than half their games
Often losing by a huge margin
They went from being invincible
To being timid and afraid
Other teams crushed them
It was painful to watch
But I still watched
Endured the pain
Suffered in defeat
Wallowed in the misery
Dissected all their bad moves
Kept watching and supporting
I had faith they would improve
Recently they turned a corner
Winning their last two games
It feels so good to watch them win again
I stick with them through bad times and good
Because I have faith
Faith that the coach will motivate them
Faith that they will find their lost magic
Faith that they have the will to win
Faith that the strikers have the skill to score goals
Faith the the defenders will block opponents from scoring
Faith that they will work hard together as a team
Faith that I will never give up on them
Its essential to have faith in many aspects of your life
Faith In your relationships
Faith in your beliefs
Faith in your choices
Faith in your big decisions
Faith in your family
Faith in those who love you
Faith that your own future will be bright
Faith in your children’s future
Faith that they will grow up happy and healthy
Faith that you will live a meaningful life
Faith that your team will win their next game
Oh misty morning
Calm and serene
Not a ripple
Water is glass
Flag hangs limp
Covered in dew
No salute today
Sunrise no-show
Hidden behind cloud
Clinging to ground
Bleeding moisture
Everywhere hosed
Wet vegetation
Dripping cars
Damp streets
Soggy sidewalks
Clammy joggers
Moist clothing
Humid air
Muggy morning
Watery weekend
Dewy days
Dank dawn
Oh misty morning
So peaceful
So quiet
So soaking
Cheeky Monkey Poetry 