Month: November 2023

Just another day in the Grove

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Most mornings I write at my desk

Converting my thoughts into a poem or short story

I tried writing today and strangely had no inspiring thoughts

My desk was just not doing it for me

So I have moved outside onto the balcony

Its a very pleasant 73F here in Coconut Grove

Although most Miamians would consider it chilly

They will be wearing long pants and hoodies for sure

I am giving my brain a rest today

My eyes will direct my fingers to describe what I see

I woke to a spectacular sunrise on this winter day

The bright orange sun peeping over the buildings on Key Biscayne

The sky is now gray and the clouds are the same color as the water in the bay

Joggers are running in the park next to the sailing club

Not the super fast runners who go out super early before work

We are now at the shift change where retirees pound the pavement

Mothers with babies and small children meander slowly through the park

No doubt escaping the confines of four walls for as long as possible

Dog owners are out dragging their reluctant aging pets through the park

The energetic young dogs are pulling their reluctant senior owners over the grass

Inactive elderly dogs are pushed around in little carts

Smart phone owners seem to be taking their pet phones for a walk

A flock of noisy parakeets just flew by looking for a tree to invade

Traffic is light along S bayshore drive today

Solo cyclists speed by towards Key Biscayne on the start of a 20 mile loop

Fearless electric scooter riders stand proud as they speed along

With no helmet and just a T shirt between them and a painful road rash tumble

The garbage trucks are doing their morning rounds

Picking up yesterdays discarded remnants of condo dwellers culinary efforts

Its just another day in the Grove

Time for me to head out for my walk now

I wonder if somebody will look from a high rise condo and write about me in the park

Noise

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I grew up in a small house in England

The commuter train for Liverpool was close by

The train tracks were literally at the end of our back yard

Less than 100 feet from our home

Every time a train went by the house shook

It was so noisy you could not hold a conversation

We simply paused mid sentence

Then continued after the train had gone

Its amazing how you can get used to things

I can honestly say the train noise never bothered me

I enjoyed watching the trains go by

Looking at the sad faces of the tired commuters

Track repair trains would pass by at night

Sometimes making a lot noise fixing the rails

I looked forward to being woken by all that noise

It was exciting to see all the bright lights and banging

Occasionally the train drivers would go on strike

Often these strikes would go on for days

People would ask me if I enjoyed the silence

I never even noticed that the trains had stopped running 

Many years later I am much more sensitive to noise

I no longer live next to a train track

I usually wake up to the dawn chorus of happy singing birds

Or the gentle engine hum of a crab fishing boat on the bay

Occasional visits to a city center fill me with dread

Cars roaring by and trucks clanging along

Planes flying low overhead from the nearby airport

There is no escape from the constant background roar 

I suspect the city dwellers become immune to the noise

Drowning it out with the volume button on their TV remote

My best escape from noise is the Bose headphones

They cut out all external noise while playing my favorite music

Speed poetry test

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Fast and furious franticly flowing words

My inner voice demands to be heard

Words escape my fingers by jumping onto the keys

This poem grows on a computer screen with incredible ease

By now you should be totally hooked and smitten

As long as you read this at the same speed it was written

So sad for those who read this poem too slow

The true feeling of speed poetry they will never know

Those who failed will only pass the speed poetry critical test

When they can read aloud all ten lines in a single breath

Bad dream goes into hiding

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she woke suddenly

in a cold sweat

it was still dark

a bad dream was clinging to her

pulling and clawing her back to sleep

to continue a terrifying ordeal

she was exhausted from the escape

staring into the silent darkness 

she refused to close her eyes and surrender

the dream gave up and released his strong grip from her mind 

she vowed to remember the details

to warn others of the danger

knowing she would soon forget it all 

the dream slid away into hiding

waiting to ambush her another night

she stayed awake until sunrise

counting her breathing

listening to her heartbeat 

the soft dawn light gently bathed the room

a big yawn and stretch snapped her into the real world

climbing out of bed and walking downstairs to make breakfast

the dream saw she was distracted

dashing across her mind one last time

to steal her nocturnal memory

Five things you need in troubled times

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In troubled times

You need to have hope

A desire that things will get better

The belief that it will certainly happen

Never stop hoping

In troubled times

You need to have faith

Be confident in somebody or something strong

It might be a person or your religion

Never lose your faith

In troubled times

You need to have trust

Trust in the reliability and strength

Of somebody or something

Never give up trusting

In troubled times 

You need truth

That fundamental reality

That spiritual reality

Never stop looking for truth

In troubled times

You need a community

People who connect with you

With shared caring attributes

Never abandon your community

Its over until the next holiday feast

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The Thanksgiving feast was a severely tempting array

Plates piled high in a well arranged display

Golden turkey was the savory sight

Roast potatoes screamed their crunchy delight

Lumberjack sized planks of honey baked ham

Pour on some gravy just because you know you can

Gravy rivers winding aimlessly through the mountainous spread

Oh look there is more whispers a fake hungry voice in your head

Green bean casserole with water chestnuts ever so crispy

Broccoli drowned in melted cheese looks ever so risky

Cranberry sweetness better than a lover’s tangy kiss

Stuffing indulgence impossible to dismiss

All washed down with gallons of Beaujolais Nouveau

A kings feast served up in your very own family chateau

After a long digesting pause its time to attack the dessert

Your anesthetized stomach is unaware that this will eventually hurt

Apple pie with an oversized scoop of vanilla ice cream

Your never to be forgotten exploding sugary bomb dream

Belly surrenders to the inevitable food coma

In a few hours you awake to that familiar reheating leftovers aroma

Invisible people

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Downtown Nashville

Music city

Strolling Broadway

Cowboy hats

Fancy boots

Honkeytonk bars

Live bands

Country music

Broadcast loudly

Drinks flowing

Party central

Bar hopping

Busy streets

Bachelorette parties

Noisy groups

Fun overload

Some sadness

Homeless people

Openly begging

Every corner

Holding signs

Need food

Sad contrast

Tourists party

Alcohol flows

Endless selfies

Social media

Constant posting

Attracting tourism

Hungry homeless

Not publicized

Invisible people

Sad refection

Divided society

Refections on the middle of everything

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If Wednesday is the middle of the week

Do you consider the week half over or half to go? 

If you knew when you will die, would you celebrate living half of your life or having half left?

Are you happy in this moment of time or are you waiting for a happier moment to come along?

I am declaring this moment in time to be transient because by the time you finished reading this sentence, the moment has gone forever and been replaced by another moment

Does this mean you can only be happy for the tiny moment we call now and then lose it all at the end of that moment forcing you to refill the arriving empty moment with more happiness?

What an exhausting way to live, much easier to stay happy constantly and let the moments come visit you

Happy ?% completion of your life

Happy 22nd day of this eleventh month of your yearly orbit around the sun

Happy middle of this week

Happy Wednesday

Happy Thanksgiving eve

Happy Now………..

A taste of her own medicine

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he arrived early at the restaurant

an on-line dating encounter

it was just lunch for their first face to face meeting

messaging chats at first

then a video call

this was their first real date

they had both been married before

the dating scene was intimidating

it was much easier when they were younger

a large pool of unmarried friends and coworkers back then

twenty years later that pool was dried up

forcing them both to reach out further

he checked the time every few minutes

she was late but he waited

after fifteen minutes he sent her a message

sorry I am running late was the quick reply

still no show fifteen minutes later

he sent another short message

asking her arrival time

sorry I will have to cancel she said

something cropped up at work

he left the restaurant disappointed

taking a walk to relieve his frustration

then he spotted her in the restaurant across the street

having lunch at an outside table

with a very attentive man

she was laughing and having fun

a lucky escape he thought

she is dishonest and untrustworthy

he sent her another message

how about same time and place tomorrow

he watched her pick up her phone

ok was the quick reply

he made the reservation with no intention to go

the next day she showed up late

he ignored her messages asking where he was